Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Media Luncheon Quotes
September 10, 2001 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 10, 2001
Head Coach Les Miles
On getting his first win
"If we are going to be the team that we need to be in the future, we have to start the way we did against Louisiana Tech. I would have liked to have had that start in the first game, but it was not meant to be. We had to have victory in the second game. I was obviously very pleased that we won."
On what they need to work on
"If we do not eliminate the turnovers, we will have a difficult time beating Northern Arizona."
On committing so many turnovers
"There has to be some awareness that the ball is not their's, but it belongs to the football team. They have to understand that it is an opportunity for them to score. I think Aso Pogi will change his behavior with the football. He was a little loose with the ball, and I believe that he will not continue to be."
On his thoughts about Northern Arizona
"They have a strong rushing attack. They have a very unusual defensive scheme. They are tough to get ready to play in a week. They are 2-0 because they rush the football and play defense. Northern Arizona is a good football team. They are good no matter who they are playing. We are going to have to prepare to win, and are fortunate to be playing at home."
On the offensive line
"I think the line played well. Their were some advantages in the running game that we wanted to use. Tatum's (Bell) speed was something we looked forward to on Saturday. I would have liked to have put 250 rushing yards on that defense, and had we not turned the ball over we might have had an opportunity to do that. I would have liked to have seen us throw the ball with protection and put some more yards up through the air. When you limit your opportunities by turnovers than you are never going to be the offensive team that you want to be."
On Mike Denard
"Michael is really a solid performer for us. He has good instincts and understands what he needs to do to help the team win. He carries the ball well and receives the ball well. He is a guy we need to keep involved with the offense."
On the special teams play
"Joe DeForrest does a great job of coaching. For us to be a good football team, we have to have good performances on special teams. We do not win the Louisiana Tech game without good special teams play. We would have won the first game with special teams had we not turned the ball over. This is what I expected and DeForrest has done a good job coaching."
On Luke Phillips
"Luke Phillips has a strong leg. We will put him out there for a fifty-yarder or a little bit more. He has been real solid, and we will look for opportunities to use him."
Starting Fullback Mike Denard
On the Cowboy's turnovers
"That's what we have to work on in practices. We worked really hard despite the mistakes and still pulled off the win and that is what really counts right now."
On the first win
"The first win was wonderful. I think everybody forgot what they did in the game and focused on the win after the game. We were really having fun after that. It was wonderful to get Coach Miles his first win. We work so hard for him because this is our team, so we tried to do the best we could for him. "
On Northern Arizona
"They are a very good team. We are not trying to look ahead to the Big 12 schedule, we are trying to focus on Northern Arizona and Northern Arizona only. We want to go play heads up football."
On Cowboy offense
"This offense is starting to click. It will start clicking even more as we get further into the season. After the first two touchdowns, we got too excited and forgot our fundamentals in the game. We kept our poise and got the win. We have to hold onto the football though."
Senior Robbie Gillem
On the fumble recovery
"I didn't do anything. All the effort was done by Cooper (Michael) and Chris Gray and Paul Jones. I was just the lucky one to get to fall on the ball. They did all the work. We had been pressuring the punter and quarterback all night long. We mixed it up."
On the defense
"I think people forgot last year that our defense had a lot of kids that really hadn't played a lot. Those kids were really wide eyed and just happy to be there. This year we have people that are not just happy to be there, they are ready to make plays and ready to make things happen. I think it has been proven over the last two weeks because the defense has really played well.
On upcoming game
"Every game is a tough game. Everything should be one at a time. In my opinion, this team's focus is that we won one game and we have five more until we're bowl eligible. That is our goal, to be in a bowl."
