FEDEX ORANGE BOWL: SOUTHERN CAROLINA v OKLAHOMA

January 2, 2005

Reggie Bush

REGGIE BUSH: It could go both ways. It could be a defensive game or an offensive game. It's really hard to say. We have to wait until the game time comes to find that out.

REGGIE BUSH: Norm Chow, he's one of the most highly respected offensive coordinators across college football. He's a mastermind at creating mismatches for our offense and just putting us in situations to be mismatched with players. We have so many opportunities on our team, especially for me. He does a great job at putting me in situations where I'm mismatched with a linebacker or something like that and it really gives us a chance to make big plays. We have the easy part. He has the hard part in creating mismatches for us.

REGGIE BUSH: This game, like you said, is pretty even all across the board at every position. This game could come down to special teams, a special teams play or just little things like that. Like I said before, it's pretty solid and everything is pretty even all across the board, so it's really hard to say. Usually in games like this it comes down to little things, like I said, special teams or who turns the ball over the least, factors like that.

REGGIE BUSH: First of all, when that does happen and guys are trying to cover me, then that opens up stuff for our -- other people on our team like the receivers or the running backs, so it helps us in that sense, but I mean, pretty much throughout the whole game you've just got to wait your opportunity and just be patient because it'll come eventually. They can't triple cover or double cover the whole game, so I really just try to focus on being patient out there. Like I said in the beginning, it really opens up playing for my other teammates and then I'll get my shot definitely.

REGGIE BUSH: First of all, first thing that comes to mind is the offensive line. I think in football the offensive line doesn't get a lot of recognition like they should, especially our offensive line. We have some young players on our line, and from the beginning of the season there's a lot of question marks as to whether they could do the job, and I think they've done a great job at going out there and providing holes for us and protecting the quarterback. I mean, our line is -- they're in there fighting in the trenches in every game and the practices. They really put in so much hard work and time and we love them to death. We follow behind them, and obviously the running backs love them. I mean, that's pretty much the first thing that comes to mind as far as unsung heroes.

REGGIE BUSH: Oh, yeah, definitely. I always like my chances.

REGGIE BUSH: Just because of the team we have, the type of athletes we have on this team. You know, we have so much opportunities to go out there and make big plays with Norm Chow and his offense, and the type of mismatches he creates for us, we always like our chances.

REGGIE BUSH: Oh, treating us very well.

REGGIE BUSH: You want me to talk about Miami?

REGGIE BUSH: Well, the first thing, one, it's great weather. We haven't had a hard time getting that. Just enjoying the whole opportunity and experience out here in Miami and South Beach, just kind of taking it all in. That's about it.

REGGIE BUSH: We had just got off the airplane, also. It was a five-hour flight, so we were all kind of tired. I mean, I like the way we handled it, though. We kept our game faces on. I think we showed them that we're ready for business. We're all about business, and Coach Chow always says this is a business trip. But we have our fun at times. We were just a little tired, I think, from being out there playing.

REGGIE BUSH: Probably New Year's Eve, the whole team. We were all having fun and just enjoying the whole Miami experience and just being together and just bonding, New Year's Eve and enjoying the whole New Year's Eve and bringing in the new year. That's probably the fondest memory.

REGGIE BUSH: We had a little team party just for the team, and the parents and stuff were there, and we just brought in the new year and had a great time.

REGGIE BUSH: Who said that?

REGGIE BUSH: Yeah, I mean, we weren't coached to go out there and to give our personal opinions to media. We were coached in more of a team aspect, remain humble. Like I said, we weren't coached in that manner and we don't go out there and separate from the team and give our own personal opinions about somebody else. We remain humble, and we'll just leave it at that.

REGGIE BUSH: We don't need any more motivation than we already have. This game has enough hype behind it with the crowd and the whole National Championship atmosphere, there's going to be enough hype to get us ready.

REGGIE BUSH: It's just something that I think comes along with the territory with my teammates and just being on a National Championship kind of a team with a lot of media. You know, sometimes you get those nicknames. I like it. I don't have a problem with it.

REGGIE BUSH: Not really.

REGGIE BUSH: Well, the defense, they don't have a lot of cracks in their defense. They're pretty solid at every position. They play their schemes very well. They have a lot of team speed on the defense, so they really float to the ball really fast. You know, it's nothing we haven't seen before. With Virginia Tech we saw defense kind of like them in the sense with the team speed and the way the secondary came up and played the run, and they're very well physical, so we just have to go out there and play Trojan football, hit them in the mouth and see how they play us and take it from there.

REGGIE BUSH: First of all, I wouldn't compare myself to Adrian Peterson because I feel like we're two different style running backs. We both have pretty good speed. He's a more physical upright running back, and I feel like I'm more finesse. He has power and speed and he really has the whole total package. He's one of the best freshmen running backs to play the game in college football, but as far as our running styles go, we're really different, I think.

REGGIE BUSH: Not this week, but when I was at the national -- at the Heisman Trophy awards ceremony, we got to talk and hang out a little bit. That's the most interaction I had with him.

REGGIE BUSH: There's no particular moment. Ever since I started playing football, it just felt right. It just felt like something I loved to do. It was just something that I loved doing ever since I started when I was eight years old and started playing pop warner and I just loved it, and being able to entertain the crowd and go out there and make plays happen, and it was fun at the same time. There wasn't a real moment that stands out in my mind.

REGGIE BUSH: Possibly, because I think this is one of the games that everybody wanted to see last year, and we didn't really get our chance because the BCS didn't allow us to do that. I guess you could say that. From our perspective, we're not playing for that. What happened last year, you know, that's in the past and we try to forget about that. This is a new year, 2005, and we're competing for the National Championship for the crystal football this year.

REGGIE BUSH: With his power running and his speed, you know, it opens up doors for me because defense has to play different. We're two different style running backs and they have to tackle us different. They can't tackle me the same way they're going to tackle him because he'll run right through you. We're like a one-two combination. We open up doors for each other, and with me, you have to chase me around or break down and try to play my moves or whatever, and with LenDale he's going to run right through you. He isn't going run a lot of moves but he's very forceful in the same sense. It's really hard when defenses have to switch up because we're playing our different styles.

REGGIE BUSH: No, I have no doubt that he's going to play in this game and do everything it takes to get himself to 100 percent so he can play this game.

REGGIE BUSH: Between both teams there's a lot of -- numerous Heisman Trophy winners and National Championship wins, and both programs are really known for just being big-time winning programs and just producing numerous athletes, so from the USC aspect, there's tons of Heisman Trophy winning running backs in particular and a lot of great athletes that have come out of both programs.

REGGIE BUSH: Like I said before, we're not just playing for USC anymore. We're playing for the PAC 10, too. We're playing for the respect of the PAC 10, and I still think that the PAC 10 is trying to earn its respect in all of college football. It doesn't become about USC, it becomes about California and the whole PAC 10.

REGGIE BUSH: Two good running backs playing in the National Championship, two Heisman Trophy finalists. This game has all the hype behind it that it needs. The National Championship itself it really self-explanatory. We have a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and they do, too. Just as far as the running back aspect, there's just going to be a lot of big plays I think from both sides, and that's pretty much it. We have to wait and find out and see what happens.

REGGIE BUSH: You mean with the athletes? It's going to be a great experience as far as the National Championship goes. You know, it has all the hype behind it that it really needs. It's really self-explanatory from the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback on both sides of the ball to Heisman Trophy winning running backs, so this game really is self-explanatory because we have so much hype behind it and we're pretty solid at every position as they are, too. It's going to be a great game to see. We just keep everything within our system and just do what got us here so far.

REGGIE BUSH: Possibly. This game has all the hype to be a classic. It has all the -- as far as the Heisman Trophy winners and finalists, it has all the hype it needs, so many great athletes on both teams, so it could possibly play out to be an instant classic.

REGGIE BUSH: You don't think about it. For us there's no extra pressure because we've been in games like this before. From my freshman year and since I was here last year, we've been in numerous big games. Auburn, first game of the season last year, Virginia Tech, the first game of this year. We've been in plenty of big games and we're not going to be nervous. This is something we're used to and we're ready to get this game on with.

REGGIE BUSH: Our goal is always to win the Rose Bowl because that's something we can control. You can't control who goes to the National Championship game. That's really decided by the BCS, but we can control who goes to the Rose Bowl and who wins the PAC 10.

REGGIE BUSH: Yeah, it's the orange on top. This is the icing on the cake.