If this was election time, Ed Orgeron’s poll numbers would be sky high.
He still has the interim tag at USC, but as the wins continue to pile up, so does the support, from fans, boosters and certainly the players.
As Trojan quarterback Cody Kessler said following Saturday’s 20-17 victory over No. 5 Stanford before a sell-out crowd at the Coliseum, “I speak for the whole team when I say, we absolutely love him. We’d run through a brick wall for this man.”
Linebacker Hayes Pullard, the ex-Crenshaw High School standout, echoed Kessler’s sentiments, saying, “We look at coach “O” as a father figure. He treats us all as his own sons.”
Although athletic director Pat Haden might be looking in the direction of a bigger-name coach out there (he reportedly has already interviewed Jack Del Rio, the current Houston Texans defensive coordinator and former USC star) for the job, and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin has been a name that has cropped up as a candidate, it’s hard to ignore the impact Orgeron has had on the program since he took over after Lane Kiffin was fired following the Arizona State game.
The Trojans (8-3 overall, 5-2 in the Pac-12) are 5-1 since he assumed the reins and the win over Stanford helped them return to the national polls (No. 23) for the first time since early in the season.
A win at Colorado Saturday and USC goes into the final regular-season game with UCLA.
If the Trojans hold serve and win as expected in Boulder and UCLA knocks off Arizona State Saturday, USC and the Bruins would be tied for first in the South Division going into their Nov. 30 showdown at the Coliseum.
The fans have certainly shown their support for Orgeron, that never more evident than when they formed the field after Andre Heidari’s 47-yard field with 19 seconds left broke a 14-14 tie.
“I’m happy for the fans,” Orgeron said. “It’s been a long time coming. They’ve battled Stanford for a long time and they deserve it. I have a great relationship with these fans, but it’s about these boys. To see them smile and happy with winning that’s all we want as a staff.”
As for his future, Orgeron is taking the wait-and-see approach.
“Obviously there’s going to be a decision made here after we play UCLA,” he said. “That’s totally out of my hands. All I can do is work with them every day. I think everything happens for a reason and there’s a greater plan.
“What the plan is I don’t know, but we’ll work together on a daily basis, and that’s all I know.”
Heidari’s season has been up and down and his two missed field goals against Notre Dame proved costly in a 14-10 loss, but he said he’s always had the support of the coaching staff and his teammates.
“They all said, ‘You’ve got this,’” (prior to the game-winning kick) he said. “They believe in me.”
For his part, Heidari was confident.
“It’s the same kick every time,” he said. “Three steps back, two over, line it up,” he said. “I did what I need to do and I’m just thankful for my team to put me in position. It was a good feeling.”
NOTES
Kessler completed 25 of 37 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown in an extremely efficient performance.
Nelson Agholer caught eight passes for 104 yards and Marqise Lee caught six for 83, including the clutch 13-yarder on fourth-and-two to keep the game-winning drive alive.
Anthony Sarao had 12 tackles and Pullard 11 to lead the defensive effort.
Stanford’s Tyler Gaffney had 24 carries for 158 yards and two TDs, one a 35-yarder in which he appeared to stopped behind the line of scrimmage, then broke free.
