Lincoln Riley had some fiery responses after USC"s Tuesday practice, especially when asked about defensive tackle Bear Alexander's role within the defense and how the way the Trojans' 27-24 loss at Michigan ended has obscured the positives from their performance.

"Yeah, about 95 percent of the defensive snaps were really good. We were awesome on kickoff and punt team again -- I was really proud of that. I was proud of the offense's resiliency there in the second half because we really got moving and played some good football in the second half. We had some incredible high-effort plays," Riley said. "And listen, shoot, I feel like we played about a C-level game, honestly, as a team. And to have a chance right there at the end to be up and have a golden opportunity to win the game at Michigan against the defending national champs. There's a ton to be excited and proud of.

"The line of questioning right now would be so radically different had we stopped that last play or if we had one drive. All the other things still happened, right? So we've got to own the good, we've got to own the bad and get our minds and everybody's minds here to our challenge against Wisconsin."

Riley also addressed the performance of the offensive line, the process of deciding whether to challenge a call or not, positive updates on injured tight end Lake McRee and safety Akili Arnold and more.

Watch the full interview here and scroll down for a complete transcript of Riley's comments ...

What did you feel was the root of Elijah Paige's struggles and what is the plan there for this week?

"He was cramping pretty heavily, which certainly didn’t help. Then yeah, played against some good players in a tough atmosphere. So obviously wanted a chance to play him in the second half, but he wasn’t available to go. So we made some adjustments. That’s part of it.

"On the topic of the whole group, I mean, we all have to be better there. I have to put them in better position. We certainly have to play better there. There’s plenty of opportunities in that game where we’re blocking just fine, and we miss several opportunities that way too. The reality is we all have to be a little bit better. There’s not any group that needs to be massively better. The O-line included. We all gotta take steps, coaching, the players around them, to get it going, to play at the level we want to. And frankly, within the first couple of games this year, there’s been a ton of positive signs. We’ve got to get back on track that way, and I’m confident we will."

You talked about committing to developing the O-line rather than patching holes in the portal -- how do you feel that's going?

"I felt good. We’ve had really two measuring stick games, you know, and I think when you get in those environments, especially the one other day, for an offensive lineman, it is what it is, but that’s as tough as it gets. One hundred something thousand people, what’s probably the best defensive line in the country, we get behind, so you’re having to throw the ball a little bit more. There’s a couple things we didn’t do a great job preparing them on – and I’m talking about myself, in terms of putting them in a good position. We all have got to get better from it, but I think, I know the guys in that room, I know the coaches that we have. I know what I’ve seen on this practice field, I know what I’ve seen on a lot of game clips. And I’m very confident in that group’s ability to get back to playing, kind like we did against LSU and Utah State. What we believe that group can be is really damn good, and I expect them to be that way this year, and they’re going to need all of our help."

Do you worry about the confidence of those guys?

"No, no."

What is limiting Bear Alexander's role and what does he need to show you?

"He played over a third of the game. So people want to act like the guy's not playing snaps. He's doing a good job for us out here. He's getting better. There's no story there. I know you guys are looking for one, there's no story there. The guy's out here working hard, he's improving, he's in a new system with a new coach. He's getting better. I think he's going to continue to get better. It should be hard to play D-line at USC. Like, it ought to be kind of hard. It wasn't hard last year, and that's why we weren't very good up there. We're pretty decent up there, and it's hard, and the margins are thin. Sometimes it's not what somebody's not doing. It's competitive and there's tough decisions to make every week. But if you see guys out on the field then we are excited about what they're doing on the practice field and believe that they give us a chance to win. Go look at the last snap of the game and see who's on the field. So there's no story there. The guy's getting better. He needs to keep improving and I'm confident that he will with the coaching that he has and the room that we have him in."