OSUBeavers.com provided several of Riley's responsed to the public, as well as a question each from center Kyle DeVan and safety Daniel Drayton.
Mike Riley
On Yvenson Bernard's health ...
"The word is that it is a sprained shoulder. Which is good news, it's not separated or broken or anything like that. Basically this is a day-to-day thing. As we go through and make a decision I think tolerance is a good word. How he tolerates the pain and how it feels later in the week. We will probably be talking about this each day and we will see where he is at. He won't do anything today. But you guys know Yvenson if it's possible he will probably be there."
On the OSU defense as well as the USC defense ...
"We are going to be challenged tremendously with what USC does and the talent that they have. The defense has been a consistent factor with our team in the games that we have won as of late. We have played good defense (lately), and even before that we played a lot of good defense this year and I think it is really important that we have another good defensive game. (USC's) defense is really talented. Blocking them is the first issue; they are so talented up front that is a big factor. Besides one-on-one blocking somebody, (the Trojans) have a number of blitzes and schemes defensively that they do a good job with. So you not only have to block the individuals you have to pick up the strategy of what they are doing and execute. It's going to be a major challenge for us offensively against their defense."
On Tim Clark and the possible return of Keenan Lewis ...
"I am really proud of Timmy (Clark) and I'm glad Keenan (Lewis) is coming back because the more corners we have, the better off we are. Until we know Keenan can play, we won't make that decision about who will play. What we hope we have developed are three starting corners."
Center Kyle DeVan
On playing USC after two conference losses ... have they lost their aura?
"We are playing the University of Southern California. That says it in itself. They are going to be a great football team. We can't go down there and think because they have lost two Pac-10 games, they are going to roll over for us. They are still one of the top teams in the country in my opinion.
"Their defense flies to the ball. Their defensive line is probably the best defensive line in the country and they have one of the best nose guards you will face in the country. That's how good they are up front and we have to beat them up, up front. That's where the game is going to start. They have won games, because they control the line of scrimmage. Their defense is similar to ours. They stop the run. We can't have that. We have to be able to run the football. We have to be able to run the football well. We just have to prepare to win up front."
Safety Daniel Drayton
On the USC offense and what to expect and the possible return of quarterback John David Booty ...
"They have some amazing talent. They do a lot of movement, a lot of shifting. They want to run the ball. That is their bread and butter. Everyone that knows USC, knows they want to run the ball. They are a balanced attack. John David Booty is a great quarterback. He's got some weapons out there and he's going to get those guys the ball, but from my perspective they want to run the ball with Chauncey Washington and the talented running backs that they have."</div>
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--