Coaches Review The Battle.....
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| Lou Holtz |
Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz
"This is probably as tough a loss as I've had. We made so many
mistakes in this football game. We had four turnovers - two by
receivers - and we missed an extra point, which kept them in the
game. We made far too many mistakes. I don't know why. Maybe it's
because we've practiced inside due to the blustery cold. We
weren't very sharp. This was a great win for USC. Anytime it's a
disappointing loss for you, it's a great victory for someone
else. I was proud of our football team. We made too many
mistakes to win. Every time we tried to put the nail in the
coffin, we couldn't do it."
"USC played with a lot of emotion. That kept them in the
ballgame. The turnovers kept encouraging them."
"My guts feel like someone cut out my complete insides. I never
felt this low."
I feel bad for the seniors and the players that made mistakes. I
know how they feel. This is a great rivalry, a great series, and
this one will go down as a classic."
"No doubt the loss of Kory Minor hurt us a lot on defense, but
we have no execuses."
(On his last regular-season game:) "It's like life. It's one
you'll remember, one game you'll carry with you for a long time.
It's very disappointing, but it's still great to have the thrill
of competing."
USC Head Coach John Robinson
"I always liked this team. We've been through far too
many overtimes. They never gave up. They played great
football, as best as they could. This was a great as any Notre
Dame-USC game I've been at. It's great to have a one game win
streak."
"Brad Otton was courageous, he's been courageous all year.
A lot of things went against him this year. He never blinked,
never gave up. Sammy Knight is one of the best football players
and people I've ever been around. I feel the same about John
Allred. Those men stick out in my mind as special, unique
people."
"Tonight was a great night for us. This team has been in a
lot of games this year. The Penn State game was the only loss
that was one-sided. In five games, we lost in overtime or had
leads and let them get away."
"Those things you never touch on (in the media) are the
things that go on in private. Young people fighting through
adversity is a special thing."
"Notre Dame had a good defensive team. We knew we had to
stay with the run. Notre Dame is an extremely well-coached
team. Lou Holtz is one of the best coaches around."
"There was a lot of things said about us all week. By
mid-week, we couldn't stop the letters and faxes from people who
supported what we stand for as Trojans. The external was never
the issue. It's what goes on within your people. I'd like to
thank publicly all the people who supported us."
"This team is extremely young. We needed to get over the
hump."
"In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame didn't quite have a
handle on what we were doing. We have to become a running team.
That's what I've always admired about a Holtz team, their
ability to run the football. That's what we need to do to
become a championship team. I admire Lou Holtz a great deal.
Neither he nor I were the issue. The real things are the teams,
the schools, the games and all the things you won't read about
in the paper tomorrow morning. I'm happy about this. It's one
of the great moments of my life. Much had been made about me
this week but this is beyond me."
