USC coach Clay Helton was staunch in his defense of special teams coordinator John Baxter on Sunday night, when asked about the unit's gaffe -- Oregon's 100-yard kickoff return touchdown just before halftime -- that helped swing that eventual 56-24 loss to the Ducks.
"I am always confident in John Baxter," Helton said.
And on Tuesday, Baxter was equally resolute about his special teams philosophies.
"How come this is the only day I've been interviewed?" Baxter said, knowing the questions were coming about the kickoff return touchdown.
It was such a pivotal moment in the game as USC had cut Oregon's lead to 21-17 with 20 seconds left in the first half, only to have the Ducks seize the momentum with the quick touchdown response and never look back. After the game, players pointed to that moment and QB Kedon Slovis' earlier pick-6 as the turning points in the loss.
The response from many was to suggest that USC should have gone with a short squib kick to limit the likelihood or room for a return.
"Here's what I would say, in the fans' playbook everybody says squib it. Certainly there's a thought that we don't squib very well. If we did squib, well, it would be something. But as funny as it is, as easy as that looks, it's one of the harder balls to hit. Some guys do it well and some guys don't," Baxter said. "So maybe a better play if we were going to do that would have been like a high ball over to the left side or something like that.
"But at the end of the day, I guess my basic belief as a coach is I believe in my ability to teach and coach kickoff coverage, and I believe in my players' ability to execute it. You can go back in time and watch every play and I don't think you'll see a squib kick on tape from us."
The other question then, naturally, is what actually happened to allow Mykael Wright to change the complexion of the game on that return?
CONTINUED BELOW!
**Want to keep reading? Take advantage of our FREE TRIAL through Dec. 6 to get full premium access to all of our exclusive content as we cover USC football, recruiting and basketball from all angles. Use promo code FreeUSC at sign-up. Must sign up by Nov. 8**
