SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- USC coach Clay Helton's frustration was clear after the Trojans' 30-27 loss at Notre Dame.
He couldn't hide it when answering questions about the back-breaking late hit roughing the passer penalty called on linebacker Palaie Gaoteote in the fourth quarter, or about a Notre Dame coach being on the field during the Trojans' onside kick attempt at the end.
He didn't seem thrilled to be asked about running back Markese Stepp's usage again on a night when the redshirt freshman turned a team-high 10 carries into 82 yards and a touchdown but seemingly could have helped the Trojans even more in a larger role.
Mostly, though, Helton sounded like a coach who believes his team is better than its 3-3 record (not to say anything about the 8-10 overall record since the start of last season). And before the first question could be asked Saturday night after the game, he offered his own state of affairs opinion to reporters.
"This is a good football team. Notre Dame's a good football team, we are too, and I can't wait to watch the next six games. I told our team in there, if they play like they did in the second half, get ready, they're going to win a Pac-12 title and I honestly believe that," Helton said near the end of his opening comments. "We've got six games to really put our best foot forward in our conference. We control our own destiny on the way to a Pac-12 title and that's what we've got to do."
USC is 2-1 in the conference and has won its only game against a South opponent (vs. preseason favorite Utah), meaning it holds all tiebreakers in the division.
And in his final comments Saturday night, Helton reiterated that with a mention of playing in the Rose Bowl for added oomph.
"We'll look at this tape and there were enough times we had the opportunity to get a stop and we didn't come up with it. We had an opportunity in the first half to finish drives and we didn't do it. It's a team game, and as a team collectively -- staff, players, everybody -- we came up short today. That's the fact of the matter," Helton said. "It's our job over the next six weeks to make sure that doesn't happen so we can win a Pac-12 title and see you all in a Rose Bowl. That's our goal, and it will continue to be and we control our own destiny. We look forward to the next game."
See Helton's full comments as well as the postgame thoughts from offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, quarterback Kedon Slovis, running back Markese Stepp, safety Isaiah Pola-Mao and defensive tackle Brandon Pili.
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Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell
