USC Head Football Coach Pete Carroll Press Conference--
Opening Remarks\"Welcome back. Here we go...I don\'t know if you feel like it has just flown by, but for me it has taken forever to get to this game. We are really excited about getting the season started. There\'s a lot of buildup and a lot of talk. We\'ve had a tremendous process to get to this point. The team has worked really hard. The guys are together and anxious to play. There\'s always a rumor about playing around with each other at this time, but this really begins game week for us officially yesterday. It\'s just fun to have the atmosphere that the first game brings. We\'re really excited about having a chance to open up at home. It\'s been a lot of years since we\'ve had this opportunity. It\'s great for the young guys who are really pumped about it and the first time in the Coliseum. I know the fans are going be all jacked up and pumped about it as well. So, we look forward to a tough start. We want to play real well and see if we can get the season under way on a really good note. I know there are a lot of questions about individual positions and who is playing and who is starting. Not all of that\'s sorted out quite yet. We have a lot of choices and options with guys depending on their health and we are going to figure some of those out as we go. I\'m not real concerned about it because we have guys that have really competed hard and that have earned playing time. We will see a lot of guys in rotations until it becomes more clear to change that. Obviously, I felt very comfortable playing all the guys and I am going to do that again this year in a number of key spots so we can\'t wait to get this thing on. I\'m jacked up about (Idaho head coach Robb Akey) getting his first game under his belt with a new staff, new program from Idaho. They are looking forward to a shot at us, and it\'s going be fun for them and fun for us so we can\'t wait to get the thing going.\"
On having fun at the Coliseum
\"I think this is about as much fun as you can have as a college football player at the Coliseum and for anybody. There are people who look forward to this opportunity as our kids do, as well, and they will do anything they can to maximize this chance. I sure don\'t see any other side to it than that.\"
On whether or not USC has anything to be afraid of
\"You know...I don\'t think it\'s about fear. It\'s about performance and really what we are up against now is how well we can prepare and get ourselves ready to do the things that we are counting on. It doesn\'t matter who we\'re playing or where we\'re playing. That\'s always how we look at it. This performance thing is really up to us. That\'s why practice is so important...that\'s why this preparation process and the middle side of things getting ready for the game, being able to take all of this preparation to game time is what we\'re really looking for. It wouldn\'t matter who we\'re playing.\"
On handling the media in Los Angeles
\"I like handling it well. It\'s been a great trail actually. This has been an extraordinary opportunity in this media center and it\'s always a bit more fun for me being in California for whatever reason...it just feels more comfortable to me and the media in general has always felt like I\'m always more comfortable with them than the challenges of the East Coast. It has been a good challenge. It\'s something I like to do well...to make sure that we handle it well with the notoriety that we\'ve had and the hype that we\'ve had. We have been challenged to do this in a fashion that we can be proud of from the kids to the coaches to myself. We have a real way about it that I hope that we come across with a lot of respect for the media...we know you guys have a job. I just don\'t like your job description sometimes (room laughter). It\'s something that we want to do well and it is very important to all aspects of the university and the program.\"
On the health of the tailbacks
\"It looks like it\'s going be a tough game for Chauncey Washington to make it back and I\'m expecting C.J. Gable to go in this game. He\'s had the preparation that\'s allowed him to be healthy this week. Stefan Johnson is going to play. He\'s in good shape. He\'s had a tremendous camp. We will get Allen Bradford, Broderick Green, and Desmond Reed...those guys are all ready to go. Joe McKnight\'s going to work out today for the first time in full pads and see how he does. That\'s kind of where our focus is on those guys and see how they turn out. If things turn out as we see it today, C.J. Gable will start the game. He\'s been out there, he has the most experience of anybody really that has carried the load as the number one tailback. We will start there and then we will let the other guys play and see how they do...just as we have done in the past. I really don\'t have my mind set on that we have to have one guy or two guys. We like our guys\' talents, we like the different things that they bring and we are going to allow them to show it and hopefully as we go through the early part of the schedule...we will get a sense for how we can use our guys most effectively.\"
On if Joe McKnight is cleared for today\'s practice
\"He\'s cleared to practice today. He\'s cleared, but it\'s not full speed stuff today for him. He will be running around for the first time in awhile today.\"
On freshman Everson Griffin being a co-starter in a season opener
\"C.J. Gable started last year so it has happened for us. Everson has had a tremendous impact early on. This is a fantastic athlete with a great motor. He\'s learned a lot from the first week to the second week he\'s made great improvements and he\'s got a chance to help us and right now. Kyle Moore has had a terrific camp as well, but we would like to use both those guys so we\'ll see how it goes. Again, like other positions, as the competition unfolds, we will figure out who is the most effective guy and if that is obvious. He deserves a chance to show what he can do from what he has done in the camp.\"
On taking previous experience as a No. 1 team and applying to current team
\"I hope we understand what it\'s like. You know, I don\'t mean to make light of the fact, it\'s a nice acknowledgement from the people that do these polls or whatever, but it doesn\'t really amount to much until we start standing up for ourselves and start winning football games. There is a pitfall here, I think, if you allow it to let you think you\'re something that you\'re not and we have to figure out as we go. We have to prove to ourselves what we\'re able to do every week we go out there. This is an extraordinary opportunity to start the thing off right. And so, here we go, you know. In the first game, if we can get that one and get a couple games going and start to put something together then maybe there\'s something to the rankings. You understand how I feel about it, not until you get to then end of the season is it really significant. It can be if you allow it to be a factor that this can mess with you. I think we\'re pretty comfortable with it. I\'d like to say that it\'s over the last few years it feels normal for us to be like that and I know that that may sound like I\'m stepping out to say that but that is I want it to feel that way to the players so that we don\'t make a big deal about it and we go on about our business and do what we are capable of doing.\"
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\"Welcome back. Here we go...I don\'t know if you feel like it has just flown by, but for me it has taken forever to get to this game. We are really excited about getting the season started. There\'s a lot of buildup and a lot of talk. We\'ve had a tremendous process to get to this point. The team has worked really hard. The guys are together and anxious to play. There\'s always a rumor about playing around with each other at this time, but this really begins game week for us officially yesterday. It\'s just fun to have the atmosphere that the first game brings. We\'re really excited about having a chance to open up at home. It\'s been a lot of years since we\'ve had this opportunity. It\'s great for the young guys who are really pumped about it and the first time in the Coliseum. I know the fans are going be all jacked up and pumped about it as well. So, we look forward to a tough start. We want to play real well and see if we can get the season under way on a really good note. I know there are a lot of questions about individual positions and who is playing and who is starting. Not all of that\'s sorted out quite yet. We have a lot of choices and options with guys depending on their health and we are going to figure some of those out as we go. I\'m not real concerned about it because we have guys that have really competed hard and that have earned playing time. We will see a lot of guys in rotations until it becomes more clear to change that. Obviously, I felt very comfortable playing all the guys and I am going to do that again this year in a number of key spots so we can\'t wait to get this thing on. I\'m jacked up about (Idaho head coach Robb Akey) getting his first game under his belt with a new staff, new program from Idaho. They are looking forward to a shot at us, and it\'s going be fun for them and fun for us so we can\'t wait to get the thing going.\" 