Experience Trojan football through this special inside report from the locker room and on the sidelines before, during and after USC's 28-7 win over UCLA on Saturday at the Coliseum:
ALSO SEE: "Taking timeout to spice up the win"
Tunnel vision
The near-melee in the fourth quarter was nothing compared to what happened in the tunnel before kickoff.
After warm-ups, UCLA scampered up the Coliseum tunnel to its locker room, but because the Bruins walked the 100 yards, the two-minute gap between teams didn't create enough of a cushion before the Trojans came running up. The two squads began trading verbal barbs as officials, armed police officers and coaches from both programs formed a wall to separate the Trojans and Bruins.
The visitor's locker room is closer to the field than the home locker room, which caused a backup to allow for the jawing and testosterone to flow. Only words were exchanged -- no punches were throw nor physical altercations occurred -- but it got the juices flowing among the players, especially the Trojans, who poured into the locker room heated with energy.
That excitement carried through the 15-minute break between warm-ups and kickoff -- and carried through the next four quarters, culminating in the shenanigans at the end of the game.
Before it all
Seen and heard with the team before the game:
- "Let's celebrate this night," Coach Carroll said at the top of the peristyle-end steps before the team descended onto the Coliseum floor.
- "Let's maximize this opportunity," Coach Carroll said at the 50-yard line after arriving at the Coliseum. "Just be us tonight."
- Jake Olson spent all of pre-game on the field with the Trojans, walking alongside his twin sister Emma and tight end Blake Ayles. Olson even held a field goal kick for Joe Houston during warm-ups.
- On the field during warm-ups, Coach Carroll had civil yet extremely brief interchanges with both UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel and Bruins offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who used to work for Carroll at USC.
In the locker room
Seen and heard in the locker room before the game:
- "Be relentless," offensive line coach Pat Ruel told his players. "Make them submit!"
- Stafon Johnson, still restricted from talking, walked around the locker room shaking his teammates' hands and giving encouragement to fellow players simply through his presence.
- "Let me feel you tonight -- all night long!" Coach Carroll said during his pre-game speech. "Let's have a ball all night long. Nothing's going to stop us. Bring everything you got -- heart and soul."
Stafon comes back
Exactly two months after his freak weightlifting accident and major throat injury, Stafon Johnson attended Saturday's game, watching from the sidelines with his teammates in the second half and visiting the locker room during pre-game.
At the half
Here's a glimpse at the scene in the locker room at halftime:
- "It's nothing-nothing -- we don't care about the score," Coach Carroll told the players immediately after walking into the locker room and his team up, 7-0. "Let's get it going now. We're going to come out flying."
- After being shut out in the first two quarters, offensive coaches kept reminding their players, "It's a new half. Let's keep our heads up."
- Defensive coaches called upon their players to produce much of the same that had limited the Bruins to zero points in the first half. "Keep doing stuff right!" linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. exclaimed.
- Coach Carroll's halftime speech featured a little more pizzazz than usual: "Let's kick the crap out of them one play at a time. Let them walk away with their heads down. Let's do this with our hearts beating out of our chests, together as one."
Stop, drop and roll
Special teams coordinator Brian Schneider got into the game action at one point in the third quarter.
But not by choice.
On a USC punt, gunner Jawanza Starling was violently pushed into the Trojan sideline by two Bruins as he ran down to cover the kick. Starling went flying, and Schneider bore the brunt of the play, as he took a tumble and rolled down the sideline.
Players and staffers on the sideline jokingly called out for the athletic trainers to come to his assistance. But Schneider popped back up with grass stains on his khakis and a smile on his face -- even though he missed the exceptional tackle by Ross Cumming on the 0-yard return.
"That was an all-time highlight," Schneider said with a grin.
Sample-sized address
As is his custom, USC president Steven B. Sample was in the locker room after the game. But going against tradition, he spoke to the team following the win, since it was the final time he'll preside over a USC-UCLA game. Sample is set to retire in August after 18 years as president.
"This was a great going-away present for us," Sample told the Trojans.
Relishing the win
As hugs and smiles abounded in the USC locker room after the 28-7 win over UCLA, Coach Carroll called his team together for a few final words.
"It was really important to get this win," Carroll said. "It's such a huge gift to win these games."
Carroll lauded the defense for its dominating performance.
"The defense never, never gave up," Carroll said. "The defense was frickin' awesome tonight."
Then the coach turned his team's attention ahead to next Saturday's game against Arizona, the seniors' final contest at the Coliseum.
"This week will be 1,000 percent dedicated to our seniors," Carroll said. "They deserve it."
The Trojans then broke into a hearty rendition of the fight song, filling the home locker room of the Coliseum with joyful music for the first time in five long weeks.
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