When you watch their team, they're much better than their record indicates. So let's not feel too sorry for them, they know what they're doing. Let's not buy into all the woe-is-me talk.

Our team [on Sunday], we were hurting. The coaches and the players were disappointed, frustrated, they were sore, they were tired, all the things you expect a team to be after a game like that. But we don't play Oregon on Sunday, and we don't play them [Monday]. I'm very confident in the leaders and captains of our team. Our guys know what's at stake.

We'll know we've caught USC when we beat them on the field. But it's still gratifying when a kid keeps his word on signing day, and doesn't bail out because of a last-minute offer.

If you ask Dr. Howard, he can probably diagnose almost all of our injuries and give you a timetable when they're all going to get back. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many of his predictions come true yet.

We'll see what kind of team we are when we wake up with an 18-1 record, not 19-0. But the guys we got right now, we know this is part of it. We understand. We're ready.

For some players, that works great. For some, it's getting our butts kicked (45-7 at USC last year). For Sam (Keller), it's about how we execute.