From the moment Lawrence Jackson sat down in his chair behind the mic Saturday night, he knew exactly how he'd approach criticisms of the Trojans' loss to Stanford.
Before the room had even filled, Jackson urged the press to get things started.
"Don't be shy; come on, somebody ask a question," Jackson said.
He was already over the loss, past the aftermath and ready to leave.
But he wanted to ensure that before he left, his two cents on the situation would be cemented in the minds of those in attendance.
"The first thing is that the season is not over," he said.
Fair enough. One loss does not end a season. Just ask Florida.
But every ensuing sentence Jackson and quarterback John David Booty spoke became less and less grounded in reality and more grounded in a warped underestimation of the loss' gravity.
"Yeah, we lost. I don't wanna say so what, but the past is past - there's nothing we can do about it," Jackson said following his opening statement. "We need to band together like brothers and get back on the right track."
Hold the train, Lawrence. I know time is a relative concept, but when did "the past" become 30 minutes ago? And before you get back on the right track, can you explain how you got off it in the first place?
Jackson got a chance to qualify his statements when asked what the loss meant to the team.
"I wouldn't call it devastating by [any] means," he said. "We made it out of this game knowing that we're still a good team … We've lost before. A loss is a loss whether you're playing in the Coliseum or on the moon."
I realize players have a duty to stay positive about their team's prospects, but there's a point when optimism and shrugging off bad days becomes a bit absurd.
Good teams don't lose to Stanford.
Or, maybe good teams simply can't lose to Stanford unless they self-destruct and give the game away.
And USC isn't your average "good" team.
With 10 returning starters on defense, at least eight All-America candidates and a supposed Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, there's a reason USC was a nearly unanimous preseason No. 1.
These specs are also the only explanation possible for leaving USC in the top 10 after falling flat on its face in consecutive weeks against two opponents that are physically inferior at nearly every position on the football field.
Yet, what Jackson and several other teammates took away from the Stanford game in the wake of a complete embarrassment was "knowing they were still a good team."
Well, unfortunately for these Trojans, potential doesn't breed performance.
Perform how it has in the season's first five games and USC will lose to Oregon, Cal and Arizona State.
Hello, Emerald Bowl.
I don't expect the Trojans to win every game and neither should their fans, but I do expect them to win games at home against perennial laughing stocks playing without their starting quarterbacks.
When asked about the boos echoing off the Coliseum seats, Booty said, "That's football to me. I think that [happens] anywhere you go."
Then he paused momentarily, chuckled, and said, "Inside I was booing, too. I was frustrated as they were."
Something about a smirk and chuckle mixed with criticism doesn't resonate with me.
I don't think Michigan players were laughing immediately after losing to Appalachian State.
I can understand the opinion that USC will eventually laugh about the debacle against Stanford. Maybe it will turn its ship around, win out, and then look back on Oct. 6 and wonder how the heck that happened.
But that's exactly the issue: Laughs are supposed to take place in the recovery stage, not the moment after the wound was opened.
Maybe the rabid post-game nonchalance explains the Trojans' complete lack of urgency this season.
The combined record of USC's opponents thus far is 11-17, yet you wouldn't be able to guess that by watching tape.
The gap between potential and performance is bridged by effort. So it's no wonder the Trojans' equation isn't spitting out the right numbers.
"We came in tonight and our energy level just wasn't up," tailback Hershel Dennis said following the loss. "It wasn't the same feeling today."
Dennis has been around since 2002 and has five seasons' worth of games to compare. Statements about effort and energy level made by Dennis speak volumes.
Talking with him after the game, it was clear he was at least one player who understood the futility that unfolded Saturday night.
As reporters shuffled in and out and players walked around, Dennis sat facing his locker, contemplating the past hour's events.
If asked a question, he'd raise his eyes to answer it honestly and then return to wondering what went wrong.
Dennis had as much reason as any USC player to find comfort in the pain. His 19-yard burst in the third quarter simultaneously pushed him over the 1,000-yard career rushing mark and reminded fans of why the sixth-year senior so badly wanted another chance to play.
In a USC victory, Dennis' return would have been an uplifting note to the game. Instead, the defeat makes his appearance a tiny footnote in the greater context of embarrassment.
"Of course I wanted to go out there and run for 200 yards and win the game," he said. "But things don't turn out that way when ... we don't play with that sense of urgency we need to."
Dennis gets it.
Championships aren't beauty contests.
From what it's shown so far, USC is pretty on the outside and empty on the inside.
Now it's time to get serious and prove that substance lies behind the façade.
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e-mail Peter at simones@usc.edu.
