Oklahoma State University Athletics
Press Luncheon Quotes Following the Nebraska Game
September 01, 2003 | General
OSU Media Luncheon Monday, September 1, 2003
Coach Miles
On if the loss still hurts: 'It was a game that was important to us and important to our players. We went there with ever anticipation of winning. They saw what would be a natural window of national reputation. The opportunity is closed in the short term, but they realize they can regain that position quickly.'
On getting ready for Wyoming: 'They will come out ready to play and prepare for Wyoming, who in my opinion is a very worthy opponent. They throw the ball, are efficient and have a good defense. We are looking forward to not only playing an opponent, but a good ball game.'
On the offense against Nebraska: 'I think the calls were solid. The execution needed to be better. We had a solid effort in assignments all the way through. If we had the execution that we would have anticipated, the running game would have been very effective.'
On Rashaun Woods' day: 'They were playing high side on him most of the day with a high safety and a low corner. There were some throws to Rashaun that we could have gotten the ball to him anyway, but there were some breakdowns that prohibited Josh (Fields) from getting him the ball.'
On the defense: 'The defense played hard. If you would have told me that they would score 17 and they would get three, we would give them seven and they would have a short field for the other seven. i would have thought that we would win by a good number. The defense played hard and played inspired. They made plays and had great speed on the field. I thought our defense did what they needed to do to win the game.'
On Wyoming: 'I know that they are very sound. They play mostly zone coverage. They have an opportunity to make a number of calls and adjustments in their defense. Offensively they throw the ball a ton. Their talent looks good so I expect it to be a very competitive game.'
Senior Defensive End Greg Richmond
On Saturday's loss to Nebraska. 'It was a missed opportunity for us. We were in a hostile environment playing one of the best teams in the Big 12 and it was a game we just let slip away from us. When we have the opportunity to make plays we've got to make them. As a defense we've got to make plays and get off the field.
On Nebraska's opening scoring drive. 'It was something where we just had to calm down and relax and when we're in the position to make a play we've got to make it.'
On Nebraska quarterback Jamaal Lord. 'Jamaal Lord is a great athlete. He's the type of guy you can't get a big kill shot on. You have to break down and be a fundamental tackler and get your whole team gathered around to bring him down.'
On playing with the new members of the defensive line. 'It's wonderful. It's something I've been talking about all summer and all fall. We've got some good guys that can play up front and get the job done.'
What is the mindset going into the Wyoming game. 'It's the same mindset that we had going into the game against Nebraska. We just have to come out tomorrow in our first day of practice and be well focused, listen to what our coaches tell us and just run around and have fun.'
On the defense's performance against Nebraska. 'I feel good about it but there were a whole lot of things we could have done better as far as our playing techniques and just getting of blocks and making plays when they were presented to us.'
On the offensive performance against Nebraska. 'We've just got to take care of our side of the ball. We have a great offense and we know they're going to come around. Everybody has a bad day sometimes but we still have great confidence in our offense and we know they're going to get the job done.'
On the importance of creating turnovers. 'It just comes down to getting off the field and shortening drives when teams are trying to move the ball on us and making plays so our offense can get a chance to put us on the board.'
On the future. 'We're still a good football team. One game is not going to determine our season and where we're going to be at the end of our year. We just need to keep focusing on our future and our goals that we had set for us at the beginning of the year.'
On adjusting the defense. 'We have a great coaching staff and great leaders on our team. We need to focus on the things we did wrong in the Nebraska game and just build on them so we won't make the same mistakes against Wyoming.'
On the home opener against Wyoming. 'It's going to be a great one. It's Orange Peel weekend and we'll probably have a lot of fans out. There's going to be a big concert for the student body and we're just looking forward to opening up our 2003 season at home against Wyoming.'
Senior Gabe Wide Receiver Lindsay
On the offenses performance against Nebraska. 'At times in the game we had some pretty good plays and at times we didn't. We didn't have big plays. At the end of last season it seemed like we had two or three big plays every game that sparked us. We didn't have that spark. We all needed to be as one.'
On the Nebraska's defensive pressure. 'They brought a lot of safety blitzes off the end and it got to us at first and that's the game. They came out and had a good game plan and we didn't really know what they were going to run. We've just got to come out and play even harder.'
On the game's momentum. 'After that first touchdown when Rashaun caught the ball I was geeked. I was ready to go and I was like ‘we going to do this.' The next series we drove down again and had a good drive and I was even more hyped up but after that the offense kind of got out of sync.'
On failing to give the defense a lead. 'I give hats off to the defense. They came out and played their butts off. I felt like if we could have gotten them even a field goal or a touchdown or something it could have changed the whole game. They were backed up on the goal line two or three times and got turnovers. I'm hurt right now because we didn't produce some more points for them but you win as a team and lose as a team. They had our back. We just have to come out and work even harder to get this offense to where it once was.'
On the Wyoming game. 'To be a championship caliber team we can't play to the other team's potential. We have to come out and beat the teams we are supposed to beat and beat them bad. This week we've got to come out and work hard and we've really got to have a good game - especially on offense to get that confidence back. Our pride is hurt and we've got a chip on our shoulder. We've got to come back and do it this week.'
