Gameday Notes: More Korey Foreman perspective, Denis Lynch and awards watch

There was the "Neilon Nudge" early in the season in that 17-14 win at Oregon State that kept USC's ultimate game-winning drive -- and season goals -- alive on a fourth-down conversion.

And last week there was sophomore rush end Korey Foreman's game-sealing interception in the dramatic 48-45 win over rival UCLA.

TrojanSports.com caught up with his father Kevin Foreman this week to reflect on the biggest moment of the five-star edge rusher's two years at USC so far.

He said what he saw from his son after the game was the sophomore "embracing the moment of happiness, but then also knowing and also embracing the history and legacy of being a USC student-athlete and what it means to beat your rival."

The elder Foreman also called it a "confidence builder" for his son, which is certainly the hope Trojans fans -- let alone coaches and teammates -- have for the former No. 4 overall national prospect.

"Just super excited for him," redshirt senior rush end Nick Figueroa said this week. "He works hard, he deserves it, just want him to keep building momentum and keep pushing forward because great things are on the horizon for him."

Safety Bryson Shaw had offered similar sentiments after the game last weekend ...

"Just so happy for him. He's a guy, all the talent, all the upside in the world. He's just been putting in the work, showing up," Shaw said. "He's a freak and he's only going to get better, better and better."

Figueroa, meanwhile, also mentioned how he loved Foreman's postgame interview about the moment.

After seizing the spotlight in a way he hadn't previously in his Trojans career, Foreman simply reiterated his appreciation for the opportunity through a couple questions digging for deeper reflection.

"It was amazing, but it's back to work. Back to work on Monday," Foreman said. "... I can't thank this team enough because they put me in that situation. If it wasn't for the team and it wasn't for how the game even went, the coaching staff and everybody, I just thank everybody. Man, I'm blessed to be in the position I'm in right now. "

It remains to be seen how much opportunity Foreman will have to follow it up this week against Notre Dame. He's mostly been used on expected passing downs for the opponent, and the Fighting Irish are a fairly one-dimensional ground-oriented team.

Foreman played just 5 snaps against a more ground-oriented Utah team last month and in that aforementioned win at Oregon State in September, Foreman made the trip to Corvallis but didn't receive any snaps in the game against a Beavers offense that is built almost entirely on its rushing attack.

There was a notable scene after that game as Foreman made the walk back to the locker room, stopping to share a long hug with his father after what was surely a tough experience not being given a chance to contribute.

"A sense of father-son, family reassurance that he will be OK," Kevin Foreman says of that embrace.

It was a much different sentiment shared last Saturday after the game as they celebrated Foreman's momentous contribution to that win.

"We were going crazy, caught in the moment, excited, happy that we were about to win the game, but then on top of that too our son had something to do with the outcome of the game," Kevin Foreman said of his reaction watching the play as it happened. "I, being an 'SC fan so long, to be honest with you, I put it up there with the [Bush] Push. With it being an 'SC historic game, I put it up there with the Push."

He could have a point ...

It was 17 years ago against Notre Dame that running back Reggie Bush helped push quarterback Matt Leinart across the goal line in the waning seconds for a 34-31 win in October that kept alive hopes for a national championship at the time.

If these Trojans are able to push for a College Football Playoff berth, Foreman's interception -- with UCLA driving near midfield in the final minutes of a game in which it sure felt like whoever had the ball last would win -- may indeed deserve a similar place in USC lore.

USC kicker Denis Lynch had a tough game last week, missing two short field goals of 32 and 33 yards and nearly missing a third right before halftime before UCLA coach Chip Kelly's timeout gave him another shot at the 49-yarder that he'd make on his second attempt.

(The first miss did come as a result of Lynch's foot hitting holder Will Rose's foot before striking the ball).

Lynch, a walk-on in his first season of action, is now 12 of 18 on field goals this fall, including hitting just 3 of 8 kicks of 30-39 yards (while going a perfect 7 of 7 on field goals between 40-49 yards).

It's that latter stat that surely has fueled coach Lincoln Riley's confidence in the kicker, which was unwavering after the UCLA game.

"Very high [confidence]," Riley said. "The holder moved his foot on the first one, he kicked the holder's foot -- I've never seen a kicker who can make a field goal and hit the holder's foot. If he could do that, he'd be really good. Yeah, just barely, just didn't hit a great ball on the second one. Those happen. But then, yeah, he comes back and drills a 49-yarder into the wind that ended up being the differentiating points in the game.

"Listen, these decisions that we make in a game, there's no 100 percent decisions, right? You can go coach it all you want, your players can do everything perfect throughout the week. Not everything is going to work out. You prep the best you can, the players prep the best [they] can, you get into the games, you let it rip. If there's a continuing problem, of course you're going to address it or make adjustments, but no, we've got a lot of confidence in Denis and I think Denis showed his confidence by going back and nailing that one because that was a big kick and a big momentum kick in that game."

A couple fellow USC offensive lineman talked this week about the emotion left tackle Bobby Haskins showed after the win last Saturday, following a very tough week for the former Virginia Cavalier after the tragedy in Charlottesville, Va., in which three of his former teammates were killed by an ex-teammate.

"It was huge just to see him being as emotional as he was after, you could tell it meant a lot. Obviously, he's going through a tough time," left guard Andrew Vorhees said. "... We all hurt and were mourning with him lastw eek and still now, but I'm thankful that we have him. And that he stepped up and contributed to the best of his ability."

Center Brett Neilon noted that Haskins had a number of friends from UVA in attendance at the game.

"Obviously, it's a super tough week for him. We just tried to rally around him, show him love, show him support. He went through it, there's a lot of emotions, especially after that win we were all happy to do it for him," Neilon said.

Haskins played 50 snaps at left tackle last week while redshirt freshman Mason Murphy logged 34.

Riley had said both deserved to play moving forward, as Murphy had emerged to start two games at left tackle (and on at right tackle) while Haskins worked through injuries.

Several Trojans are under consideration for prestigious national awards.

The USC offensive line is one of nine semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, presented to the top OL unit in college football.

Air Force, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee and UCLA are the others.

"Anytime you get a group award recognition, it's huge," Vorhees said. "Really thankful for coach [Josh] Henson and his demand of us every day to be our best, be physical and be technically sound and assignment driven. Hats off to everyone in the room for buying into what Coach Henson is trying to bring to the table."

Caleb Williams is one of 21 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award -- and obviously a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu, who enters the week leading all FBS players with 11.5 sacks, is one of four finalists for the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, which honors the top defensive player in college football. The other finalists are Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr., Pitt DT Calijah Kancey and Georgia S Chris Smith.

Tuipulotu is also one of four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, which goes to the player who in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame Head Coach Vince Lombardi. Anderson, Georgia TE Brock Bowers and Georgia DT Jalen Carter are the other finalists.

And Tuipulotu is one of four finalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which goes to the student-athlete who best exhibits the characteristics of Ronnie Lott on and off the field. Anderson, Will Anderson Jr., Kansas State's Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Ohio State's Tommy Eichenberg are the other finalists.

And wide receiver Jordan Addison is again one of 12 finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best pass-catcher in college football. Addison won the award last season at Pitt. He missed most of three games due to injury this season but still leads the Trojans with 51 catches for 765 yards and 8 touchdowns.