OSU-Utah Post-Game Quotes
October 17, 2014 | Football
Oregon State vs. Utah POST-GAME QUOTES
October 16, 2014
Reser Stadium
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Mike Riley
On kicker Trevor Romaine …
“He had a good string going and made some clutch kicks.”
On how hard it would be to defeat a ranked Utah team …
“Every facet of our game had to be at a top level.”
On what this game shows …
“I think this is another game that is a good indicator of how competitive this conference is.”
On recovering for next week's game at Stanford …
“Obviously this was a very physical game so we want to make sure we get them back physically to play another physical game at Stanford.”
Safety Ryan Murphy
On Justin Strong's performance …
“He is someone to look forward to in the future. He's a good player, has great instincts and as a freshmen he just goes out there and plays.”
On the message in the locker room …
Keep our heads up; no one is going to feel sad for us. We have Stanford next week. That's who we are looking forward to playing. Those guys play hard. It is going to be another physical game and they aren't going to feel sad for us, they aren't going to have any remorse for us.”
Quarterback Sean Mannion
On what was different about tonights gameplay compared to others …
“Its really hard to say right now. I think the bottom line as an offense was that we needed to put more drives together. We did however make a lot of good plays and did some really good things out there. We just have be able to string the plays together. That was something we didn't do very well in the beginning of the game. Not scoring a touchdown until the second half, that is just something you don't want to do.”
On, the general emotion in the locker room post-game …
“Just disappointment really. I think its going to hurt now but when we go home or when we're all sitting around tomorrow we are all going to feel pretty proud of the way we fought.”
On what the team needs to do better aside from connecting drives better …
“Offensively, we can't shoot ourselves in the foot. We have to be better on third down and when we get in the red zone. Those are things that I talk about all the time.”
Linebacker Michael Doctor
On overall performance …
“We had a good game, but we need to learn how to finish and close out games. Overall I feel pretty good on where this team is headed and use this as a learning experience.”
On the double OT …
“It was very exhausting playing through it and knowing we could have won it. We will use this as a learning experience for the next game.”
On the defense on the last Utah drive …
“We have to get this stop. We all went in to it with that mindset that if we don't perform we are going to lose this game.”
Utah
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening comment…
“It was a great effort by our players. I couldn't be prouder of the group of guys, how they hung in there and kept fighting. There was adversity in the game and we went and worked through it. There's going to be adversity in every Pac-12 contest; that's the nature of the conference. There are good football teams in this league and every week you have to be ready to play the full 60, or in this case 60-plus with a couple of overtimes periods. The bottom line is that it was an outstanding job by our football team hanging in there.
“Devontae Booker, that guy is a beast. I think he's the best back in the Pac-12. He certainly was huge for us tonight with 229 yards rushing. We struggled a little bit on O, but he was consistent the entire game. Our offense did enough to get us enough points to win. Our defense did enough to keep us in the game. Special teams was not as big a factor as it has been in some games, but it was still very solid with our kicking game.
“Anyways, it was a good win and we're 5-1. We have nine days to get ready for the Trojans and they are coming into our place. That's who we have next, a week from Saturday.”
On the situation with the Utah quarterbacks…
“We need to work that out, don't we? I can't tell you right now. Each of them played a full half. We'll have to evaluate that. We like them both. They are two guys that we have confidence in, and they both had their chance tonight. We'll evaluate the game in its entirety and probably not make an announcement again next week.”
On whether they knew Devontae Booker was going to be this good before the season started…
“I had an idea, we had an idea, I should say. He was outstanding in junior college. The same things you're seeing out here, he was doing in junior college. You never know if a guy is going to be able to make that transition at the next level and do the same things he did at the junior college level, but the guy is a talent. He's a talent and he runs much bigger than he is. He's about 205 but he runs much bigger than that. He's a physical runner, great speed and he doesn't wear out. He loves the ball. He carried it 32 times tonight and just kept getting stronger it appeared as the game went on.”
Kicker Andy Phillips
On kicking today ...
“I always like kicking field goals – I take a lot of pride in what I do. I'd much rather see a six on the board and come in to kick the PAT, but when the game calls for it I just need to make sure I'm ready.”
Running Back Devontae Booker
On the last run in OT…
“Pretty much it was myself running hard. He gave me the ball – I just took it and ran with it. I got to the end zone and scored – end of the game.”
On the team's play style tonight…
“Every time my name was called I just took it and ran with it; ran hard and fought for extra yards.”
On OSU's defensive stamina…
“I know the defense was getting worn down throughout the game and the harder I ran the more softened up they were getting. I just continued to run hard and get in the end zone.”
Quarterback Kendal Thompson
On what to take away from the game...
“I feel like we were shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. We would get things going then we would make a pivotal mistake. But we will go and watch the film and correct those things.
On starting for the first time and approach to the game…
“Throughout the week we get a lot of reps and it's the same deal. You just go out, trust what you see, trust your reads and keys, and try and execute.
Quarterback Travis Wilson
On the third down keeper…
“It was definitely a critical point in the game and I saw my opportunity to pull the ball. I knew what I had to get for the first and did what I could to get the first.”
On if starting the second half was planned…
“No they really just called my name at half time and I went in and wanted to make the most out of the opportunity. I am glad that everything turned out the way it did.”
On having a back like Devontae Booker…
“It's great to have a back like that, especially in games like this when the passing game is not clicking. He kind of bailed us out to be honest. He does a good job at making us hit the chains and that's a big benefit to have.”
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