FEDEX ORANGE BOWL: SOUTHERN CAROLINA v OKLAHOMA

January 5, 2005

Pete Carroll

ALAN SCHMADTKE: Good morning. Grantland Rice has been presented since 1951 so this is Southern California's sixth time to win the trophy, the most of any school. Previous years were 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, last season and now this season. Coach, on behalf of the Football Writers Association of America, congratulations on a perfect season, and I present you with the Grantland Rice Trophy. (Applause)

BERNIE KISCH: Since 1959 the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame has presented the General Douglas MacArthur Trophy to the national champions of college football. This beautiful solid silver trophy valued at $250,000 was designed by the General himself and created by Tiffany & Co and is on permanent display at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. It's now my pleasure on behalf of John Hanson, our chairman, our 119 chapters, over 12,000 members to present this award to Coach Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans. This is the fifth time that the Trojans have won the award, and I think that Coach Carroll and his team have truly epitomized the General's words "There is no substitute for victory." Coach, congratulations. (Applause)

KEVIN WALSH: Coach Carroll, the Trojans are just the second team to go No. 1 wire-to-wire in the AP Top 25 and the first back-to-back AP champs in almost a decade, and on behalf of the Associated Press, its number of newspapers and broadcasters, it gives me great pleasure to present you with the Associated Press College Football Championship Trophy. Congratulations. (Applause)

JAY STUCK: Good morning. Coach, it was a great season and a great win last night. Congratulations. On behalf of ADT as well as our parent company, Tyco International, and the American Football Coaches Association, we'd like to present you with the ADT National Championship Trophy. (Applause) By the way, we're also going to be giving you a custom-made case and a security system to protect this at the University (laughter).

COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, it's an extraordinary event to take part in. It was just a wonderful experience to take our kids through this and the buildup and all of the following and the hype and all that goes along with this month and preparation for this game. It was just a beautiful thing for our kids to experience, and then to get to the -- to come here to Miami and be treated so beautifully and have such a wonderful stay here at the Diplomat and be treated so well, I mean, everything was just perfect throughout the whole process. To culminate all of that with a night at Pro Player Stadium where everything just goes right for you, and we had just a beautiful night sharing our championship game with our Trojan fans that traveled and all, it was just wonderful. I don't know how you actually express it or state it clearly what it feels like, but it's a very, very special moment in time that we get to share together with a bunch of kids and family and this accomplishment, and it becomes quickly a memory for you, but it's one that will live on for a great while with all of the people that were a part of it, and we're very, very proud and very excited about the whole thing as it happened. The game was a surprising game the way it went. We had no way of knowing that it would be a game like it was, but it certainly was an extraordinary memory for all of us.

COACH PETE CARROLL: You'd have to ask Norm about that, but I know that he was frustrated by not getting the Stanford job. I think somebody said that on TV last night, and I think that's true. It was one that he really coveted and would have liked to have taken over, so I think he's just checking things out and seeing where he is right now. I think that's basically what's going on. We've had a great relationship, we've had a wonderful time together and we have a lot of wins ahead of us, so we'll see how things go. I don't know if you guys know, but I support my guys to the end in any attempt they want to make to get other moves upward and all, and if something comes up or something looks promising, we'll pursue it and try to get him everything he wants. I just feel that that's the way to do it with our coaches. If Norm is excited about doing something, then I'll support him all the way. I say this again, and I don't mean to make any disclaimer or any big statement here, but we have structured our program to be able to carry on with losses that occur, whether it was Carson Palmer or Tory Polamalu or the five running backs we lost a couple years ago or Mike Williams or Cary Colbert or whatever. As long as I hang in there I can keep it together. The idea of structure is -- it's probably why I'm so clear about helping our guys move on, that we have established USC's defense, USC's offense, our kicking game principles and our philosophy such that we can withstand losses. We expect our people to move on and do well and to move up, so that's how we approach it, and that's no disrespect in regard to anybody that's been in our program, but that's just the philosophy that I put out there and one I try to hold to that.

COACH PETE CARROLL: No, I can't (laughter).

COACH PETE CARROLL: Not necessarily. Let's say that he's not the lone victim (laughter). We had a beautiful night. We had a great celebration. It was Mardi Gras right there at the Diplomat. We had a beautiful time, families and kids and coaches and players all dancing and just having a wonderful dinner together, the kind of celebration that this kind of event warrants, I think, and if some of our guys are a little under the weather from -- I challenged them not to go to sleep last night until the sun came up, and I made sure that that was the way it happened. I was right there with them. That's the kind of celebration, again, that goes along with the memory that we've created and part of it. So we get to sleep on the way home.

COACH PETE CARROLL: I was very, very confident that what we had accomplished during the practice had really put us into position to play well. I knew we could play well. We had to. We were just doing everything so well. I didn't know how we would match up physically. I didn't know if they were faster or bigger or stronger, and you can't or I can't know until you get on the field with them, so in reservation with that thought, I couldn't call how it was going to go. But the process was beautiful, and we had fun every day at practice, we worked hard, we challenged our guys, they competed, ones against ones to maintain the speed of the game throughout and every single practice that we had, and there was no reason to think anything other -- I told them very clearly on Monday night that there's no reason that we shouldn't play a great football game. We've done everything you could do. Our attitude was right. We just needed to get really jacked up, and that was the last element of the preparation. I couldn't keep them in the locker room; they were just sky high. I coach got every indication it was going to work, and I just didn't know how good Oklahoma would be on that night, and it didn't matter.

COACH PETE CARROLL: No. I think the emotional part of that accomplishment is something that we have to deal with, but that's not the nuts and bolts of this kind of stuff. The NFL doesn't care about that. They're going to look at height, weight, speed, physical stature, production, a number of things, injury situations, arm strength, everything. They're going to cut it down where one emotional big-time win isn't going to make a difference. Now, they're emotional too, they're human, they can be swayed to a certain extent, but that stuff doesn't last very long. It really goes down to the nuts and bolts of the whole process and who's involved and who's picking and who needs what and all the millions of variables that go into this, and those are the things we're going to knock out and get it clear for him so he has a chance to figure this thing out. Emotionally Matt is very, very much in love with this football team and his University, and that's why he said on and on I'm staying, but the other side of it he has to look at is just the business side of it and weigh that out. So we're going to help him through that as best we can. I don't really think -- I think one game would affect him emotionally for a while, could affect somebody in a position of selecting for a while, but when it gets down to it, by the time it gets to April it has nothing to do with it. We have to make it straight in short order how this thing is going to play out.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Recruit, recruit. We have to continue to find kids that can keep this level of play there, so we have to tirelessly work at it and find the right guys and close the deals. Last night helped. We had a couple phone calls last night that were really exciting in recruiting for us, but we just have to keep bringing in kids. Our system is in order now. We know what we're doing, we know how we want to do it. The biggest deal is to continue to bring in the talent. That being said, without work ethic, without maintaining the work ethic that has put us in the position that we're in, we won't be anywhere. We'll go back at that when we get back a couple weeks from now, and then the long process and the long haul begins again. Because something happened in the past, it's got nothing to do with what's going to happen in the future, but we do know how to do it. That's why I'm excited about it. They work in our program because they want to. They're not in a position where they feel like it's an impressive state and they have to do this and have to do that. If it was that way, they wouldn't produce at this level. They're doing things for the right reasons, for the best reasons, that they really want to do what we're doing and be part of it, and that's why the production has been so high and so consistent. If we find that again, if we continue to bring the kids, which it looks like we have a chance, there's nothing to stop us but us, and that's a pretty good thing.

COACH PETE CARROLL: There have been times, you know, particularly during the long period in the preparation for this game, when we do have an opportunity -- we spent almost two solid weeks working on our younger guys before we got to game plan, and it was just strictly to position guys out there on the practice field in a competitive setting so we can get it engaged and feel how far along they are and where they can fit into our long-term plan. We've done that quite a bit, not in terms of the schedule and who we play next year, but just in the development of our team. That's a real exciting part of our program is to continue to try to develop the young guys at as fast and accelerated pace as we can create. We're going to be okay. We're going to be all right, you know, and we need to continue to bring in some kids that will push. The way we do it, the younger you are, the more opportunity you get, and we want to find out which kid can be a championship player for us as soon as we can possibly find it out. Spring football will be extremely important to the guys that are in the program because we come back to fall camp and the new guys are going to get thrown in front of the lines. Our team knows how that works, and they have to compete around the clock just to maintain their position on the football team, and without that constant competition, I don't think we can achieve this kind of level, and we're going to continue to do that. I have no idea the question you asked (laughter).

COACH PETE CARROLL: The question he asked?

COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, let me start it off, the offensive line coming bark, the whole group with the exception of John Drake, the whole group comes back in a competitive environment plus Winston Justice returns to our team, a guy that we lost last year for reasons he had to sit out. The tight end position will just blossom with the young guys coming up led by Dominique Byrd obviously who's a fantastic talent. You saw him last night. He plays as a starter but we count Alex Holmes as our starter, so that's a position that will really improve. The wide receiver spot that is so young on our team has to develop. We need more depth and more competition there. We just got racked with the guys that fell out last year, and so that needs to be better. But we're excited about it that guys can produce, and we've had great success with second and third guys coming in and helping us. The quarterback situation, if Matt is intact, then John David Booty would obviously at this moment be the No. 2 quarterback. He had a great bowl preparation and he's ready to go right now if Matt is not there. John David will battle with Rocky Hinds and the new kid that will come in for us. So we're going to be okay there. We're going to be young -- nobody will have played, but we'll be okay. The running back position is an exciting position. It's the end of these guys' end of their junior year. We'll be out Hershel Dennis probably next year, but Reggie Bush and LenDale, how much more do we need, and Desmond Reed, who is a remarkable talent for us, so that's a great spot. Obviously I'm really excited about the offense that's coming back. On the defensive side, we have to restructure a position. We had two starters that started almost every game for four years, save when Cody was hurt, and those guys have been the pillars of our program, so that's a big transition for us right there. Manny Wright played well last night until he got dinged again, but he hasn't played on a steady basis so we have to improve there. Keith Rivers coming back and Ryan Powdrell coming out of a red shirt year looks like it could be a nice spot for us. We lose Matt Grootegood there and we lose our safety, so the secondary should be young backup spots but really exciting athletically. I think one of the hardest guys to replace will be Mike Patterson. He's such a unique football player and such a productive guy. He's been there every single game, every single play. He's been a fantastic performer and we don't have anybody like him in the program, so that's a spot, we're going to have to figure that one out. And then Ryan Kalil, who had a great finish to the season, wonderful game last night. He'll be gone and we'll have to redo our kicking spot.

COACH PETE CARROLL: I don't know, ask them. We're a great turnover team. We've done it again. We're plus 19 for the season, and that's a lot of turnovers. I think we're 13, 18, 21 and 19 in the four years we've been plus, and it's the primary theme in our program, and it continues to be. Look what happened last night. Did it again for us in the championship game. I don't know how you can call yourself really a turnover team, but that's kind of what we are, and we'll continue to try and do that.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Yeah, we got called by players when we were sitting on the bus that were calling into us. I can't give you any names, but kids called us. It was awesome. I had four messages on my phone that I didn't get to last night from kids that had called us in congratulations and stuff. Really exciting that guys would be that in tune with us and had that much fun with it and were that excited about it. It's a really good thing, recruiting.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, I'm not going to let it bother me because I can't do anything about it once they're gone to tell you the truth, but, you know, our program is built on competition, and it's just part of the way we think. There's another guy just chomping at the bit to take your spot, and if you don't perform well -- I made a big deal about it last spring that John David was going to challenge Matt for his spot at quarterback, and I meant every word of it, and we gave him 50/50 reps throughout the springtime to see if he could do it, and Matt held him off. That's going to be the same thing with Reggie and LenDale and across the board on our football team, and it's just continued to create competition. We don't need to push guys out the door. I think guys need to cling to this experience. They need to hang onto it for as long as they can. It's the experience of a lifetime, and they don't get this back. So I don't want guys to leave early. I want them to finish their education, get their certificate of graduation and get the heck out on their own, and when you leave early, it makes it really hard to graduate from the school until you come back after your NFL experience, and that's very difficult. I mean, I've seen so few guys be able to turn their focus on their schoolwork while they're an NFL player. Guys sometimes do it eight and ten years later. It's just not the sequence I like to see our guys go through, and I don't think they're taking advantage of this opportunity if they do that, leave early. No, I'm not trying to make room for other guys. I just try and keep them competing. If a young guy can take an older guy's spot, I don't mind it a bit.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, he can improve immensely in his off season. He could throw all summer. He threw one week before camp started, so he didn't get to throw with our receivers. We were very, very shaky early in the year in our execution because we hadn't had enough time -- he couldn't throw during camp every other day and stuff. Once he got going, it took us a month or five or six weeks into the season before he could really practice regularly. So with that thought, you know, he can get much stronger, he can throw with his guys, he can get ready. We can hit it running at the beginning of the season much better than we did a year ago. Where it hurt is it hurt the young receivers more than it hurt Matt. They needed the developing and the work and the timing and the reps with their quarterback. That's just one area in particular. But you can't help but get smarter. You can't help but get quicker and you can't help but slow the game down as you gain your years. The jump is extraordinarily difficult. It's extraordinarily difficult to make, and the more preparation the better. We're coaching Matt on an NFL scale the way we team him and the way we coach him. His quarterback coach was a coordinator in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and been a 17-year coach, so he's getting coached on the highest level, just for instance. He'll get better. He'll improve in every way just because of the level that we approach our style and our tactics and the technical way we go about it and the preparation of it all.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Well, I feel very strongly about that. I haven't changed my outlook on that at all. You know, to do something like I like to do it, you've got to do it over a long period of time. That's why this is a cherished moment for me in my coaching career. I'm right in the middle of something really special, and I can see it, it's very clear. I had a great time last night. It was fun (laughter). Shoot, to be able to do that and share it with so many people that care so much about it, families and Trojan family members and all of that, man, it's really, really special. I'm pretty pleased.

COACH PETE CARROLL: I think that the two catches I thought were just remarkable. You know, the catch that Dominique made was just making plays. Coaches say that phrase all the time. You've got to be a "play maker". Well, to me that's not making stuff up. That's executing within the structure of your play. When guys make plays that are that far out of the ordinary, man, that was a remarkable catch that Dominique made that far down the field, and then Stevie comes back, total pass interference, guy is pulling his left arm out, diving catch hitting the ground, back line of the end zone 50 yards down the field, just an out-of-sight catch. Those two plays are plays that separate you. Those are great plays by great play makers, and there was nothing they could do about it. That's guys doing special stuff. I thought those were two really moments in that game that stood out.

COACH PETE CARROLL: I'm going back to work (laughter)?

COACH PETE CARROLL: It's already going. Just the thought processes are already going. We live this thing. You know, you guys and your job live it, too. This is nothing special to football, but we live it. If you're competing, then you're always competing. That's just part of it. There will be some days here where I'll be doing a little bit of work on the beach for a couple days when I get a chance. I've got to get pumped up a little bit first, but there will be some time in there. I don't want to put it away. I don't need to get away from it. I have people tell me, "just relax." Don't tell me to relax. I'm having a frickin' ball. We get to do this for six months, be on top of the college football world. We'll likely have a great chance at being the No. 1 team coming into next year. Shoot, that's awesome, awesome stuff. I don't want to do anything different than that. That's fine, I'll play some hoops and do a little boogie boarding and all that kind of stuff, but I don't want to get very far away from it. It's too much fun.

COACH PETE CARROLL: Can I just say thank you to the Grantland Rice group and the MacArthur trophy and ADT for the recognition. This is awesome for our program. I never saw a trophy that was worth $250,000. That's pretty awesome. It's a great honor that we have been recognized by these groups and we're very proud of that, so thank you again.