Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State vs. SMS Postgame Notes And Quotes
September 14, 2003 | General
OSU Football
vs. SMS
Sept. 13, 2003
Postgame Notes
• Tatum Bell set a new single game career high with four touchdown runs. It is one short of the school record of five set previously by Barry Sanders (vs. Tulsa and Kansas in 1988) and Terry Miller (vs. Kansas State in 1976).
• Bell went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the second straight game and for the ninth time in his career and the fifth time in his last six contests. He has scored seven TDs in the last two games.
• Seymore Shaw's 53-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter was the longest scoring run of his career. It also put him at 107 yards in the game, a new single game career high.
• Bell and Shaw are the first duo to both rush for over 100 yards in a single game since Nathan Simmons and Tony Lindsay did it vs. Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 14, 1998.
• Rashaun Woods' 38-yard TD reception in the first quarter was the 29th scoring grab of his career which tied him with Hart Lee Dykes for the school record. He has now caught two or more passes in 34 straight games.
• With 153 yards passing tonight, Josh Fields became the fourth quarterback in school history to throw for over 4,000 yards (4,061). He moved passed Tony Lindsay (4,002 yards) into third place on the all-time list.
• With the win, Les Miles is now 14-13 in his coaching career at OSU, marking the first time his ledger has been over the .500 mark in his three seasons in Stillwater.
• The three points scored by SMS was the least amount scored by an opponent since blanking Northwestern State 24-0 on Sept. 29, 2001.
• OSU moved to 4-0 all-time vs. SMS.
• Safety Jamar Ransom recorded his first career sack.
• Players seeing the first action of their careers were tight end Tremayne Standberry and defensive back Grant Jones.
Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma State Head Coach Les Miles
On the game
'I thought it was the kind of contest I would have expected. They had more talent than people would have thought. Their tailback ran well, and was a good test for our defense. We came out and threw it deep to get it started on the offensive side of the ball. We had two backs over 100 (yards). '
I would rather always expect a hard physical game rather than a mismatch. I anticipated that they would come to play hard, they traveled down here to win the football game. I saw, as did our coaching staff, some talent on their team. I think they are going to have a better team than they have in the past. Their coach does a good job. They prepared well against us. I think when you get great effort from you players its going to be a good contest, and it was for a good while.
On SMS's defense
They were really playing the deep ball, and trying to take away Rashaun as best they could and that gives you the opportunity to open up the running game.
On the interceptions
I think it was a poor throw. The first interception was a poor judgment, he should have thrown the ball out of bounds. He got out of the pocket and it looked like he was looking to throw out of bounds and he went back to his old softball days and gave them a pick. He should have thrown the ball out of bounds. The second one was an errant throw. He just threw it a little deep.
On quarterback Josh Fields
He has been much sharper, he threw some sharp balls tonight. He is still talented. He was 14 of 26 passing and that's still a pretty decent percentage.
On running back Tatum Bell
Tatum Bell had 148 yards, he had a nice day. He worked hard and it appeared that he had some hard runs. On his last touchdown he would not be denied. The way he spun into the end zone, I don't think that is in any textbook. It was kind of an unusual move to get into the end zone."
On our secondary
I think our speed in our secondary is pretty good. I think we have four corners and a safety that will play the pass pretty well. After you limit the opponent on the ground and force them to the air, it makes it easier for the secondary to play the pass, and the secondary played well.
On Seymore Shaw's touchdown run
He got a step on a couple of people and he just kept extending it. He was going into the end zone, there was no doubt about it.
On the next game
I think we have improved in certain areas. It's an evolution. We have another good football team to play next week. We play at their place and its another challenge. They are going to be sore about the score from a year ago, so we are going to go in there and play hard.
On the fake punt
I'm glad they faked the punt on us. I wanted our team to see that and I think it will be good to coach off of.
On the personal fouls
I think our team played well over all, but we made some mistakes. As much as I cannot stand personal fouls, there are probably two of which I have to take. The guys didn't hear the whistle and they were blocking and playing hard. Then there are probably two that guys will run for a long time because of. It was a good game, we tested a lot of parts of this football team."
OSU Players
Darrent Williams
On pass defense
'Any confident corner expects a pick every game. We knew they were going to throw the ball a little bit tonight. We knew if we could shut down the running game they would try the pass.'
On defensive improvement
'It showed that we are getting better every week. All we are trying to do is get better every week before conference play. We did some good things but we still have some things to work on.'
On defensive effort
'The effort was there. Everybody was flying around the ball. We knew they would try to come out and run the ball more than they passed.'
Tatum Bell
On offensive line play
'They're getting better each week. I stay on them and they stay on me. It is a team effort. we finally got in a rhythm and got the rushing going. I think everything is starting to gel.'
Ben Buie
On offense's slow start
'On the o-line we try to take it upon ourselves to get things going, to get everyone hyped up, to move the ball down the field and put the game away.'
On offensive line play
'Tonight was good for us. We did not get the second team in at all and we would have liked to do that. It was good for us to get a bunch of yards and to work on our technique.'
On running back play
'It is great to get two backs over a hundred yards. It gives us a sense of pride. You don't care how you get the yards as long as the offense is producing and moving down the field.'
Seymore Shaw
On running style
'I always tell my teammates to not let only one guy bring you down. I just try not to let one guy bring me down. The game of football is hard, you have just got to go out there and play hard.'
OSU Locker Room
Safety Jamie Thompson
On the game
'First, I would like to thank God because I got my first start. I think the defense played a great game. They weren't a push over. They are a good football team. Their running back was a hard-nosed runner. We controlled the line of scrimmage and we won.'
On Southwest Missouri State's athleticism
'I wasn't surprised of their athleticism at all. I have played with their running back and everybody on the team knows he is a hard-nosed runner. Their fullback is very physical and tough as well.'
Fullback Shawn Willis
On the game
'I thought it was a good game, but I also thought we could have executed a little better. I think I got better because I worked on my technique, but as an offensive unit we need to do a little better.'
On SMS
'They really surprised me. They came out playing really hard and they were really fast. We couldn't take them lightly. We had to come out and play our best game. Whether it is I-A or I-AA, it doesn't matter when you have talent like that on the field.'
SMS Head Coach Randy Ball
On what he took from the game
'That we can play physical. They had to blitz us to stop us, that shows that we can run the football, we've just got to work on picking up the blitz. Secondly, we played before a big crowd, it was good for our guys to experience that. We play in front of 25,000 when we go to Youngstown, that's a league game, so it's a good experience for our kids.'
On Rashaun Woods
'They're not using him as much as I would think. If I had him I'd be getting the ball in his hands about 50 different ways. He's an awful good football player, and you've got to find some way to get the ball in his hands more often than what they did in our game.'
On Oklahoma State's running game
'Tatum Bell is a good player, but the guy I was really impressed with was Shaw. That guy is quick, he adds another dimension to the running game.'
On what he expected of the game
'What we saw. We knew they were a great team. They've got all the weapons, they've got a great tailback, a great quarterback, wide receiver, and that's just what we saw.'
On when the momentum swung
'When it was 21-3, and we had a pass intercepted in the end zone. If you make it 21-10 it's a different ball game.'
Opposing Players
Offensive Lineman Brad Durham
On red zone efficiency.
'You have just got to capitalize on those chances when you get them. If you don't, then look what happens. We will have to go back to practice and work on red zone efficiency.'
On the feelings after the loss.
'It is always hard after a loss like this. I think we played a lot harder than the score showed.'
Safety Kailan Williams
On Oklahoma State's offense.
'Oklahoma State has a great offense and we knew that coming into the game. They have weapons at every position and you just can't focus on one player, which we didn't. We made mistakes and blew coverages in the first drive and that put us down, but they have a great offense. They are physical and they play hard.'
On defending OSU
'Aside from that first touchdown pass, I think we did pretty good containing Rashaun Woods. He is a great receiver and all you can do is try to contain him, which I think we did fairly well. In their running game, they are very physical. We had some blown assignments and people not lined up on key downs. They were in third down a lot and we just made key mistakes.'
On using the game as preparation
'We played to the last whistle. We all played hard. We will look at the tapes and correct the mistakes that we made. I feel like this game really prepared us well for our upcoming schedule, particularly in the Gateway Conference. It was a good experience playing against a physical team and a great offense.'
On Oklahoma State's talent level
'Oklahoma State has great talent with Bell at tailback. Their offense is great and from what the score shows, their defense is really good too. Their offense obviously has weapons that you won't find on the I-AA level.'
