OSU-ASU Post-Game Quotes
November 16, 2014 | Football
Oregon State vs. Arizona State POST-GAME QUOTES
November 15, 2014
Reser Stadium
Corvallis, Ore.
Oregon State
Head Coach Mike Riley
On the game …
“The crowd was awesome, the atmosphere was great. It's great to see us just cut loose and play football. It was hard, it was good, I really appreciate how our team responded.”
On the team win …
“It was a team game, we had lots of contributions all the way around the block. Mark Banker and the defensive staff did a great job of getting our guys ready to play. Offensively we had a great game plan against a blitz-happy defense that caused a lot of problems early. I am really happy for our players. They have competed well and been ahead three times in the fourth quarter in the last month and haven't won it was a great reward for them to finish and win.”
On the Long runs …
“Sometimes when you blitz it can be feast or famine. ASU has been very successful blitzing but the more people you blitz if you get past that first line you've got a chance for a big play throwing or running. That's what we did twice; we made nice blocks at the hole against pressure and they didn't have very many guys in the back end to pursue. We did a great job of blocking, and it was one cut and go. Happy to see both Terron and Storm get one. They have shared that posiition very effectively.”
On the first drive of second half …
“That was a major time in the game even though we didn't score we showed we can move the ball. We became pretty balanced in the second half. I thought that's what won the game for us, having that balance and being able to protect long enough to make some throws. How we came out in the second half, just going to work, was key.”
On the defense holding ASU to three points in the second half …
“Great, great job. We got more used to what they were doing as the game went on. You have to learn in the game. You get a better read on them our players got more and more confident as the game went on.”
Senior Linebacker DJ Alexander
On the last play of the game and getting that sack…
“We preached on the sideline that we have to finish and I saw an opportunity, played to the fullest of my capabilities, everyone kept their assignments and it all worked out for the best.”
On what brought the defense together to get this win…
“We got together as a D, as seniors, and said why not us, why not? We have too many seniors on this team to go out with another loss.”
On finishing the season out strong…
“We have to keep playing. Like I say every week, we show up every week and keep playing.”
Senior Running Back Terron Ward
On if he thought Storm Woods and himself set the tone for the team…
“We knew that Arizona State was going to blitz a lot and when they blitzed they would get out of position a lot of the time. Storm came out and set the tone with that long run and my long run also set the tone for us. Whenever we can get that running game early it gets the linemen hyped which carried on throughout the entire game.”
On what it means to him and what it does for the Beavers…
“It's only one game, one win and it doesn't count as two or three but it was a big boost. We are going to try and go up to Seattle and get a win up there.”
On the students rushing the field…
“It's exciting that is the No. 6 team in the nation. They are a good team and we beat them at home so we are going to celebrate. For the fans to even be there after what we have done the past couple of weeks and that just tells you the support from Beaver Nation. With them storming the field it was an exciting feeling.”
Senior Quarterback Sean Mannion
On the emotions of the team after the win…
"It feels great. It was a great team victory just the way we won it against a great opponent. ASU is as tough as anybody we have to tip our hats to them. iI think every aspect of the game came up, the run game was outstanding. The offensive line was rock solid and our two backs ran really well we had some really big runs and so other little ones there too. Our defensive played outstanding all game. Mike (Doctor) came up with the big pick six and DJ sacked them to seal the deal. It was just a great team victory all a crossed the board."
Arizona State
Head Coach Todd Graham
Opening Comment…
“I'll start off by congratulating Coach Riley. They did a tremendous job tonight. First, give them credit for outcoaching us and outplaying us. They did a tremendous job, and I want to give them and their team credit for that.”
On not matching Oregon State's energy early in the game…
“We weren't prepared to play them. We come out and give up a 78-yard touchdown, a 66-yard touchdown on plays that we practice all week long. You have to give them credit. They came out with the energy and the enthusiasm. That's our job to get them prepared. We did a poor job. I did a poor job of preparing them to play. So it's very frustrating for us because we've come a long way. I'm just as proud of our guys right now as I was last week. Like I say all the time, it's very fragile. It's very difficult in college football to bring it every week. I felt like we recovered from that at halftime. But more penalties than we've ever gotten in a football game. I mean the two pass interference penalties just broke our back. I can't explain it other than we didn't play very well.”
On not practicing in pads this past week…
“We practiced without pads because we came off one of the most physical games, and you have to be smart about where you're at this time of year. I don't think that had anything to do with it. They came out, they lost the last four games straight and obviously our guys didn't respect them the way we needed to, because they came out and they did things no one has done to us in five or six weeks. I think that has everything to do with us not being prepared to play. Down the stretch, we got down there and had missed opportunities to score. It's just a really disappointing night.”
On the big plays Oregon State had in the game…
“The first big play they had our linebackers are playing pass. I have no idea. That's our job to get them to play. We were doing stuff we've done a million times over and over and over again. They are running stretch and we are slanting the direction of the stretch. We've run that down and tackled it for a loss for weeks and weeks. We just weren't ready to play. We just did a really poor job. I know they did a great job of what they were doing. We got on our heels and didn't trust what we were supposed to be doing. I can sit up here and talk all day long, but we did not get our guys prepared. We did not play very well. I don't want to sit up here and be a coach that says 'Oh, we beat ourselves.' No, Coach Riley and OSU did a great job, they deserve the credit. When you're sixth in the country and go into a place, you're going to get everybody's best performance. We got Oregon State's best shot tonight and we weren't prepared for it. They deserve the credit.”
Senior defensive back Damarious Randall
On big plays by the Beavers…
“They just came out with more energy than we did. They executed whenever we weren't doing our right assignments and that just ends up with a lot of big plays.”
On early rushing TDs by OSU…
“We were in man-to-man coverage so our safeties were occupied with their men. So if the ball breaks we just have to look back and try to get at it. That's just what happened.”
On game energy…
“It just felt like they wanted it more than we did, overall, as a team.”
Senior Quarterback Taylor Kelly
On not being able to find a rhythm offensively…
“We were slow executing on third downs and we couldn't get our tempo going. Giving credit to them, they had a good scheme going today and were well coached. We didn't execute our plan.”
On what the Beavers did well…
“They have some great athletes and they made plays when we didn't. I had a few missed passes, and we just need to keep getting better. They had a great plan for us tonight.”
On the reasoning behind the loss to the Beavers…
“We didn't match their intensity and come out how we normally come out.”
