Sept. 6, 2004

Columbia, SC –
The following are opening comments from USC Football Head Coach Lou Holtz at Monday’s press conference.

On injuries:

-“I just checked with the trainer before I came down… because of Labor Day, we don’t always have as accurate an update as we normally would, but I’m optimistic that every body will be available.”

-“Now, how much work you’re going to get will be depending upon the role they’ll play in this football game. I’m a great believer if you can’t practice you don’t play particularly well, but we’ll just have to see. I’m referring to Gonzie Gray, Cory Boyd, being the most severe, Darrell Shropshire with his calf bruise as well as Daccus Turman.”

Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt:

-“Looking back at the film, we made some mistakes, which you expect in a first game. A lot of the things can be corrected. I thought that really plays with how hard we played. And we did play hard, we did play as a team and we’re going to have play an awful lot better in the future.

-“I thought the first quarter was excellent. The second quarter we lost our rhythm. The third quarter we got it back after that halftime. Fourth quarter you’re just finishing up the game, so to speak. But, I’m pleased with a lot of things, but there’s a lot of things that have to be corrected.”