Jedd Fisch details challenges of facing USC

Jedd Fisch knows Arizona has no small task ahead of them with the USC Trojans on the horizon.

Preparing to face Lincoln Riley and company in the Pac-12 for the first time, Fisch explained the challenges of readying the Wildcats for the Trojans.

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“They’re very good. I think they’re a very good football team,” began Fisch. “Very well coached. They’re going to give us a lot of challenges on all phases. The one game that they lost was against Utah at Utah, in a one point game. They’ve got a good quarterback, they’ve got good receivers, their offensive line is playing well. Obviously on defense they’ve done a good job, they’ve done a really good job. They take the ball away and don’t give it away, so that’s a good formula.

“Right now we’re a lot better than we were at it, I think we’re 44th in the country, rather than 120-something in the country, in terms of turnover margin and giveaways. But we need to continue to be better there than we were. We need to keep protecting the football, and we need to have more games like we had this past week against Washington, where we didn’t turn it over. We’ve got to do that more on offense and take it away on defense.”

Alas, Jedd Fisch recognizes the Trojans are facing Arizona off a disappointing loss, and will be looking to get their season back on track. Regardless, the Wildcats will be looking to shock USC, and Fisch could prove his own rebuild on the right track with a victory.

Lincoln Riley ‘pissed off’ after Utah loss, fired up for second half of the season

Moreover, USC coach Lincoln Riley didn’t mince words following a heartbreaking 43-42 loss to Utah. After the Utes converted a two-point conversion to take the lead with 48 seconds remaining, the Trojans offense was unable to come up with a quick response. 

The loss was the first all year for USC, and Riley admitted to feeling “pissed off” in his postgame press conference. However, with five regular season games in front of them, he believes the team’s goals are still within reach. 

“Look, we knew we were gonna get everything tonight,” Riley said. “This lined up for a million reasons to (where) you’re gonna get a really good football team over there. Players, coach, they deserve a ton of credit. But you’re gonna get their very best shot here on the road with all the emotion behind this game. I felt like we would be right there, and we were and that wasn’t even close to our best. 

“Like I said before, these (players) haven’t, but our staff, we’ve all been there. We know what it looks like to make a run, and this team has got a real shot. We’ve got to go do it. It ain’t gonna just happen. But if we handle this like I think we will, we’ve got a real shot. I’m pissed right now that we lost and disappointed for the guys. They fought their guts out. But it’s balance like that between I’m so excited for the back half of this year. So excited to keep coaching this guys. Sh*t, I’m ready to go practice right now.”

Riley’s inaugural season in Los Angles has otherwise gone well, as the Trojans are already surpassed their win total from a year ago. They’ll face a difficult path to make the Playoff now, but if they can win out to earn a spot in the conference title game, they’ll still have a chance.