Sam Keller Quotations

We're just so close. Look at the games we lost - we were right there. We should have closed out the LSU game, we had SC neutralized, and Oregon we just got outplayed, and we played flat. We shouldn't have lost all three of them - that's the thing that stands out. There's such a very fine line between being 6-0 and 3-3.

We very well could have won that game, and I think they were scared, too, at a lot of points in that game. A few bad plays by me, if they don't happen, then we win.

I have a really good feeling about this camp. I can't really pinpoint exactly what it is, but it's exciting. I think we're going to do a lot of great things this year.

He's got eight seconds to throw. He sat back there, could have made a sandwich, ate it, dropped half of it, picked it up, ate it, and oh yeah, then thrown the ball.

It comes up because of the circumstances. But it is irrelevant. We're a different team than the '96 team, and USC is a better team than that Nebraska team.

Pat Tillman is a legend -- he'll never go away. He was a Sun Devil and so are we. That makes it special.

Our offense is so good, that's all I can say. We can drive down on anybody.

I think I can get the job done just as good as he did but in a different way.

We have one of the best offenses in the country, maybe top 10. I'll put that out there. We can drive down on anybody. Those were two top-10 teams going at it, in my opinion.

We're up for it. You know, this kind of game is a test for us. It's going to be a good bar for where we're at, and when it's all said and done, we have the horses and we can run all over them if we just don't make mistakes.

We'll let it go this week. I won't try to hold a ball or pick up a ball. We'll just keep something on it to keep it stabilized. I'm sure it will feel fine. I've done this before in high school.

To be able to participate in something like this, just in remembrance of him, it's big -- it's something you have to take seriously.

When I was growing up as a kid, I watched those guys on TV every Saturday. I can't believe this; they're going to be right out here, and I'm going to be playing right in this stadium. To be honest with you, it's ridiculous. I've got to pinch myself.

We're going to try to score every time we get the ball. Given that their offense is so darned good, if they score a lot of points, we're going to have to score a lot of points, too. I could see there being a shootout, but I think our defense is good, too.

I've been waiting to step up into this role my entire life, and it's here.

People say I have a lot of fire, I'm a little more emotional. But I also learned from Andrew to have a balance of being calm as well and prepared.

It's extremely important (to believe USC is beatable) if you want to win. If you look at how good they've done and how good they are, you're beating yourself before you step on the field. They are just college kids just like us.

It's the nature of the position that only one guy can play the position. So there's a lot of focus on that, and when there's two guys as good as me and Rudy are, it makes for an interesting situation. But it's all how you look at it. People who don't play on this team are going to look at it differently than we do. We look at it as, we're all men out here and the best player's going to play.

It's ridiculous, isn't it? We're just making plays right now. We just do everything at will. I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky when I say that. We just have that chip on our shoulder.

It's probably the best game I've ever been in so far, as far as competing and playing against a really good team. That's the fastest, best team I've ever seen.

That's the best deal about this game. First and foremost, there's a tragedy going on down there. The game is secondary to people's lives and homes lost. The game has to be on the backburner.

It just seemed like they were always in a position to make that play. If I made a mistake, forget it, they were right there.

It was my first camp as a starter. I'll always remember that, just because I have been waiting for this my entire life. I felt like I really grabbed hold of the team. I didn't know how they were going to respond to me. I knew I had a lot of friends out here, and I knew I had a good rapport with a lot of them, but I'm just really pleased with how the guys have my back.

It was great to get Lee that touchdown. And the way it happened too. He just held on to that thing so tight. It was good, it was fun.

I'm awesome with that (national championship prediction). I have those expectations, too.

But I keep telling you guys, he's got a lot of guys around him that make him look good. That's the bottom line.

He's very smart and I feel comfortable behind him. He's very valuable to the offense -- the center always is.

He's the man. He's probably the most consistent offensive weapon we have.

Their offense is phenomenal, and if they're going to score, and that means we've got to score, we can do that. I see it being a shootout. Heck, our defense might play lights out and stuff them and they might stuff us. It might be a 13-10 game, but I'd rather see a shootout. If you're talking to me, I think it should be a shootout just because I like shootouts.