Pete Carroll the jokester — gets it going.

“Sorry I’m a little late. I was reading Charlie’s press conference quotes (room laughter).”

Last year’s game — one of the greatest or just another win.

“I think it was a pretty special win because of the heroics at the end and the “against all odds” kind of situation with the clock and all. And then it had a little bit of flare to it too. You know, they take the field and it’s not over and all that kind of stuff. Plus, you’re at Notre Dame and every single person there was screaming at the top of their lungs for them to win on the fourth and nine play. Matt Leinart stepped into that moment and quieted the whole crowd down in his mind and executed perfectly and put us in position for a very heroic win. And he sneaks it in and you know the whole thing. So that stuff is very, very cool and very unique that it happened in that setting. For us, it enabled us to be in the national championship game by winning that game. It’s the kind of heroics that happen sometimes when you’re very lucky and fortunate and in the right place at the right time.”

On running back Chauncey Washington’s availability:

“He’s going to sit out today at practice but he’s going to play in the game. He’s going to be alright–we’re going to rest him one more day. He’s in pretty good shape…much better than he was last week so we’re going to rest him one more day.”

On the improvement in the defense and maturity vs. technical changes:

“I think it’s been a combination. The reason that the maturity has shown up is because we’ve trusted in them a little bit more and we’ve allowed them to show who they are and what they are. This is a very physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed group of guys. This whole defense from (defensive coordinator) Nick Holt to the whole staff and everybody in there is just a bunch of hard-knock guys and they like playing in that kind of a mode…”

On Ohio State and Michigan playing a rematch for the national championship:

“It would be awesome for the Ohio State and Michigan people (laughter) and the Big Ten would love it–cash-in, in a big way…”

On players’ emotions running high for big games (Matt Leinart/UCLA last year):

“Yeah he was a mess last year and I’m not letting that happen this year. He was crying and all this stuff. He couldn’t throw the ball in the friggin ocean for us in the first half…”

On Desmond Reed’s recovery since last year’s Notre Dame game:

“It’s been nothing short of miraculous. It’s been startling to see what he’s been able to do with what he’s been dealing with right now. None of you would really be able to appreciate unless you saw him with his shoe off and what he deals with. His foot still doesn’t work but he’s found a way to overcome it and he never ever doubted for a moment that he wouldn’t be able to do that. In that, he’s been a tremendous inspiration for our football team and for everybody that loves football…that loves SC ball…”

On the annual Champs for Children toy drive:

“We have our annual toy drive going on at the stadium this weekend–so we’d love for you to help us get the word out. Thousands of kids get presents they wouldn’t have received otherwise by the Champs for Children foundation (www.champsforchildren.org). They did a great job–they sent presents to New Orleans and the kids down there and the kids in the area. They did a great job and so we hope that people can bring presents…unwrapped presents. There will be places to deposit them at the Coliseum and it’s really a good cause and they did a good job last year so I hope you can support that Saturday night at the game.”

Pete Carroll Talks About Saturday’s Game Against Notre Dame [USCtrojans.com]