Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State - Texas A&M Post-Game Quotes
November 04, 2000 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 4, 2000
OSU Coach Bob Simmons
On the loss
"It didn't happen. There is no consolation for finishing. There aren't any
moral victories. I thought the kids played 'lights out.' I thought they
stayed in the game and gave us an opportunity to win it in the end, but it
wasn't supposed to be. You have to make those kinds of things happen.
On the team's performance
"I thought the first half was the best they have played against a good
opponent all year. I think a lot of that had to do with a lot more
combination type of coverages. During the second half, the adjustment to
one formation is what we had trouble with. I thought special teams and punt
return was a big - it was a chance for us to win the ballgame. It was a
better half. There was a period in the third quarter where we didn't mesh
well. But we came back and started feeding off of each other in the fourth
quarter.
On OSU's final play
"I've always felt that this team had a lot of character and a lot of
resolve. I think the thing that we did today is that we obviously stayed in
the game. We had some people step up and make some key plays for us. That
was what was missing. I'm proud of the way that they played. But this team
wanted to win. You could see it in their faces. You could see it in their
hearts. You could see it in their reactions to that call. I apologize for
that because that it is not us. That was frustration coming out in a lot of
our players. They are still winners. I hurt as much as they did. We have
to move on and continue to play this kind of football throughout the season
and to try to finish the season."
OSU Players
Gabe Lindsay
On the team's attitude
"We came out hyped up in the beginning like we should have been doing all
year. We came out with a lot of enthusiasm which helped us throughout the
game. We played a hard fought game. This team showed true character, but in
the end we didn't come out with a win."
On Texas A&M's defense
"Their defense was pretty good. We came out and did a couple of things that
weren't right. I put the blame on us, but we came out and fought hard."
On the Cowboys' last drive
"That last drive we told everybody in the huddle that we had to suck it up
because we had to score. We knew we were going to have a chance to score,
and we had that chance."
Aso Pogi
On the Cowboys' offense
"We had some mental breakdowns, but a lot of that will come. We didn't do
some things right, but just like in any ballgame, you're not going to do
everything perfectly. I'm so proud of the things that we did accomplish
tonight that probably nobody saw, but that's okay. We saw it, and that's
what needs to be seen. It's the heart of this football team. Maybe we didn't
do all of the things that we wanted to do offensively. We ran the ball
pretty decently. I was proud of Reggie (White) because these guys haven't
given up over 100 yards rushing. Reggie really pounded the ball and ran the
ball well. It's hard to take, but I know we'll come back, and we'll get
better."
On the Cowboys' last drive
"We basically wanted to give Marcellus (Rivers) a chance because he's our
play maker, and we all believe in him. We drove the ball up and down the
field. We got down there and were towards the red zone. We were a good ways
to throw the fade. We've just got to make plays."
Texas A&M Coach R.C. Slocum
Opening Statement
"We were very fortunate to win the game. Oklahoma State did a great job,
they were well prepared and their team played very hard. We made some
mistakes in the ballgame, particularly the kicking game in the second half,
but overall I give a lot of credit to them. They played very hard in the
ballgame. I was concerned before the game because I had seen them as an
improving team going into this game. The second half last week they played a
really good half of football."
On Looking Ahead
"I don't think so. We anticipated that it would be about like it was out
there today. Maybe not quite that close, but every time we play them up here
it has been about like this.
On His Defense
"Terrence Kiel didn't play and Roylin Bradley didn't play and we had some
errors that were obvious to me. I was pleased that the defense hung in there
and did what they had to do to win the ballgame."
On His Offense
"We came out feeling good and we took the first two drives down for scores.
We had a drive early in the game where we fumbled the ball on the goal line
and missed a score. We felt like we had some things we could do and I was
pleased we did come back, went down the field and could get control of the
game if we play the kicking game. We let them back in when we fielded the
punt at the three and turned around and let them run the punt back. It was
really bad on our part and great on their part"
Texas A&M Players
Greg Porter
On the game
"We really dodged a bullet. I never take any win for granted. We have to
start getting back to our system and looking forward to OU. It was a
nail-biter, it came down to the end, and the guy caught it, but it was out
of bounds. That is part of football -- you win some and you lose some."
On the possibility of losing momentum
"I would hope not, but it is going to happen. All good teams are going to
have their problems, and hopefully we will just move on past and not dwell
on them."
On Oklahoma
"The whole week we talked about not looking toward OU, but I think it was in
the back of some of the guys' minds. We just seemed to come out a little
flat, and hopefully, that won't happen next week. We will be ready. It will
probably be the biggest crowd we have played in front of. We need to start
getting ready for it tomorrow."
On scoring quick
"We got a little momentum going there, and they slowed us down a little bit.
It's something you just want to keep on playing. You have to give OSU
credit, they played their hearts out."
Mark Farris
On the game
"We knew all week it was going to be a tough game. They always play us good.
Their record is really misleading. They gave us all we wanted, and luckily,
we were able to hold on."
Early in the game
"I give a lot of credit to them. They are a good team and well coached. We
hurt ourselves, too. We had a first-and-goal and turned the ball over, we
had some big penalties, but we got the win, and I am happy."
Momentum for OU
"I think we accomplished the momentum into next week. It is a tough
conference -- any team can win on any given day. You saw it last week with
us beating K-State. Nobody thought we were going to win, but we pulled it
out."
On losing Ferguson
"He is a great player. I don't know many guys in college football that can
do what he can with his size. It is going to set anybody back. We still did
some good things moving the ball, but we couldn't get it into the end zone.
We got some first downs but couldn't string them together."
