Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State vs. Baylor
October 18, 2008 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State Football vs. Baylor
October 18, 2008
Head Coach Mike Gundy Quotes
Opening Statement:
“Great win for us. Once you get this far along, they're all great wins. I was proud of the team today. They played very well as a group. We struggled offensively the first couple of series. The defense played well even though they gave up a long drive and a touchdown, but from that point on they were able to slow them down. Offensively we got on a roll and got the game out of reach. After that we just wanted to run the ball effectively and run our style of play. Special teams was good with the exception of the penalty. We talk to our team all the time about staying away from pushing the backs and clips. We had a lot of confidence in our return guys and their ability to make people miss. We've been playing better the last few weeks on special teams so we'll have to work hard to avoid getting better about penalties. Dez Bryant had a very good game. A defense set up to stop the run like that is going to give him an opportunity to make a lot of big plays, which he does. Zac (Robinson) played well. He had a couple of errant throws. One was a miscommunication and the other was just a poor throw. But overall he executed very well. It was nice to get Brandon Pettigrew back. But the real story is how well our defense played. They've continued to get better each week. I'm very proud of them and Coach Beckman and his staff. The players have bought in and they play hard. We're very excited to be 7-0 and look forward to getting back to work tomorrow morning.”
On worrying about team overlooking Baylor:
“If I told you now, I'd feel bad about it tonight, for about 10 seconds. Yes as a coach it's normal. We have a lot of maturity on this team. We have a lot of chemistry among the group. When we were in team meeting Monday and Tuesday I could tell by looking in their eyes they were serious. There are a lot of good things going on right now but the guys have done a good job about staying focused.”
On Derek Burton's blocked kick:
“It was a big momentum swing. They go down and score and you block the PAT, it kind of lets the wind out of their sails. Now our guys were running of the field excited instead of them normally jogging because they gave up points after a long drive.”
On Derek Burton:
“He's growing up and he's played now for eight to 10 games if you add up all his snaps. He's finally understanding how to play football at this level. He had to play as a freshman. He's a great person and a fine product from the state of Oklahoma. He comes from a great family and he's got values and morals instilled in him and that why he plays well. He's an example of what we stand for in our football program.”
On getting Brandon Pettigrew back on the field:
“Brandon is a leader for our team. I don't use this term very often but he's a warrior. He likes to play the game for the right reasons. He doesn't care if he ever catches a pass. He takes it personally when he blocks. His foot is sore. But he demands that he play. The medical people thought it was okay. He's on me all the time about playing. It's kind of like when you're wife tells you to do something around the house and she's on you and on you so you do it so she'll quit telling you. That's Brandon. He was on me every day. It was nice to have him back.”
Oklahoma State Players
Defensive End Derek Burton
On increased intensity for the defensive line in the last couple weeks:
“I couldn't tell you. We are just playing hard. It's not that we are doing something different. We are just playing hard, and we are doing that well. I'm really enjoying it.”
On defense carrying the offense:
“It is different. It is something we haven't really done since I have been here. It is definitely a good feeling knowing that we are producing for our team.”
On possible upset:
“I didn't worry about it. You know that you have to play week in and week out, or you will be beat by somebody that people say you shouldn't be beat by. We definitely knew we had to bring our “A” game to beat these guys.”
Quarterback Zac Robinson
On tight end Brandon Pettigrew's return:
“He made some big plays today. He means so much for our offense, and it is great to have him back. He is a great leader for us as well.”
On atmosphere:
“It was a good atmosphere. Sometimes people get a little more rowdy during night games and they are a little bit more fun, but I thought it was a good atmosphere with a great crowd.”
On Dez Bryant:
“Some of the stuff that he does is great. He just makes plays. He is a great receiver, and I wouldn't trade him for anybody.”
On setting team records this season:
“I think our team is too young to even think about stuff like that. We just go out and play. We are the same team. Guys are acting the same way they did at the beginning of the season. People are still picking on us, and we know it is going to be tough next week. We have been the same guys, and we are just going to continue to do that.”
Linebacker Andre Sexton
On the game:
“I'm just glad we went out there and took care of business on defense. I think we had our best effort so far this year allowing the lowest points and total yards all season. I think it was a great effort. You know our offense is going to put up points.”
On how the win feels for him:
“It feels really good. We practice really hard every week. We have great coaches that continue to keep our heads focused, but we still are not getting any credit on ESPN before the game. They were bashing us again saying they didn't think the defense was good enough to take them to the Big 12 Championship. It still hurts when you watch it, but when you go out there it is extra motivation. I think we made a statement today.”
On improvement as a defense:
“I think it has a lot to do with just being comfortable in Coach Beckman's defense. He's calling the same calls that he's been calling. We are just executing better. We are having more fun and making hits. We are just playing as a whole defense.”
Tight End Brandon Pettigrew
On being back after missing several games:
“It feels good being back, and it was nice to get a little catch in. I got a little rhythm back today. It was hard sitting out for that amount of time, but I had to get healthy. It felt good getting in the groove of things. ”
On begging Gundy to get back on the field:
“I'd been asking him all week trying to get back into the game. He just told me to wait and make sure I was healthy before we tried anything.”
On how his injured foot felt today:
“It felt pretty good, better than I thought it would. I'm almost there. I'm in pretty good shape, and I'm not too worried about it.”
Baylor Head Coach Art Briles
On Baylor's missed opportunities:
"I think we had good opportunities early and we just didn't execute. A lot of that's my fault. When we have opportunities to create momentum early in the game on the road, you've got to do it, because what you've got to try to do is take the crowd out of it and neutralize the environment. We had chances to do that and just didn't capitalize.”
On the encouraging aspect of Baylor's play:
"The encouraging thing, I guess, is that, in the second half, it was a 6-0 ballgame. We get down to first and goal from the six and we don't get it in. Basically it was a pretty even match (in the second half) but by that time the suspense had kind of left it. We've got to do a better job playing early. That's what we have to do. We've got to regroup, we've got to get healthy and we've got to go fight next week at Nebraska."
On Baylor losing the early momentum:
"You've got to sustain. You've got to keep going and we didn't. That came back and hurt us. We had two good opportunities when it was 14-6 and weren't able to get any points out of either one of them."
On Oklahoma State's team:
"They're a good football team - just exactly what I thought. There's a reason that they haven't been beaten this year. They play hard, they've got good people and they're well coached."
On Oklahoma State's defensive play:
"They play good on defense. Confidence is a great booster and right now and they've got a lot of confidence. That helps them play well on both sides."
On Baylor only allowing six second half points:
"I was very proud of our defense. They scored six points the second half and it wasn't like they weren't trying to score. That, to me, says a lot about the character and the fight of our players."
Visiting Player Quotes
Offensive Tackle Jason Smith
On the struggle most of the day on offense:
“As an offense we have to understand how to come out and make plays faster early. We just have to a better job executing those calls, the things we can correct. The good thing about it is we all came out healthy. Things didn't go like we wanted it to go, but the game is over. “
On the good start:
“That was a well executed drive. We had momentum, and we didn't do a good job at keeping it.”
Free Safety Jordan Lake
On the outcome:
“We wanted to come in here and we envisioned things happening totally different. We didn't execute on offense or defense. We gave away too many points in the first half and let them get momentum and they just kind of ran away with it.“
Safety Jeremy Williams
On taking a step back today:
“No, because we need to make plays. We let our defense down I believe. Overall, you just have to make plays when it comes down to it. We will get it corrected and come back for Nebraska next week.”
On OSU doing more than Baylor:
“What they were doing we were prepared for. Of course you're going to see some new things, but I think the coaches did a great job of seeing that in the press box and relaying that down to the sidelines, we were able to make some changes from there. It just came down to the plays and we didn't do too much of that today. We will need to do that in the future in order to win some games.”
On correcting mistakes:
“Most definitely, small things are very hurtful to a team. Small none the less are things we need to correct in order to win some games.”
Quarterback Robert Griffin
On OSU being as good as Baylor expected:
“I guess you could say that. I think we made them look a whole lot better than they are.“
On more missed execution or OSU making plays:
“It wasn't anything they were doing. Players make plays and we all have to do that. I didn't play a perfect game, no one ever does. “
On OSU doing anything differently today:
“Not really, they rolled their safties down a lot to take away the quarterback runs. Other than that, I think because we got behind we had to throw the ball so we didn't run as much. I still don't think it was anything they did that stopped us.”
October 18, 2008
Head Coach Mike Gundy Quotes
Opening Statement:
“Great win for us. Once you get this far along, they're all great wins. I was proud of the team today. They played very well as a group. We struggled offensively the first couple of series. The defense played well even though they gave up a long drive and a touchdown, but from that point on they were able to slow them down. Offensively we got on a roll and got the game out of reach. After that we just wanted to run the ball effectively and run our style of play. Special teams was good with the exception of the penalty. We talk to our team all the time about staying away from pushing the backs and clips. We had a lot of confidence in our return guys and their ability to make people miss. We've been playing better the last few weeks on special teams so we'll have to work hard to avoid getting better about penalties. Dez Bryant had a very good game. A defense set up to stop the run like that is going to give him an opportunity to make a lot of big plays, which he does. Zac (Robinson) played well. He had a couple of errant throws. One was a miscommunication and the other was just a poor throw. But overall he executed very well. It was nice to get Brandon Pettigrew back. But the real story is how well our defense played. They've continued to get better each week. I'm very proud of them and Coach Beckman and his staff. The players have bought in and they play hard. We're very excited to be 7-0 and look forward to getting back to work tomorrow morning.”
On worrying about team overlooking Baylor:
“If I told you now, I'd feel bad about it tonight, for about 10 seconds. Yes as a coach it's normal. We have a lot of maturity on this team. We have a lot of chemistry among the group. When we were in team meeting Monday and Tuesday I could tell by looking in their eyes they were serious. There are a lot of good things going on right now but the guys have done a good job about staying focused.”
On Derek Burton's blocked kick:
“It was a big momentum swing. They go down and score and you block the PAT, it kind of lets the wind out of their sails. Now our guys were running of the field excited instead of them normally jogging because they gave up points after a long drive.”
On Derek Burton:
“He's growing up and he's played now for eight to 10 games if you add up all his snaps. He's finally understanding how to play football at this level. He had to play as a freshman. He's a great person and a fine product from the state of Oklahoma. He comes from a great family and he's got values and morals instilled in him and that why he plays well. He's an example of what we stand for in our football program.”
On getting Brandon Pettigrew back on the field:
“Brandon is a leader for our team. I don't use this term very often but he's a warrior. He likes to play the game for the right reasons. He doesn't care if he ever catches a pass. He takes it personally when he blocks. His foot is sore. But he demands that he play. The medical people thought it was okay. He's on me all the time about playing. It's kind of like when you're wife tells you to do something around the house and she's on you and on you so you do it so she'll quit telling you. That's Brandon. He was on me every day. It was nice to have him back.”
Oklahoma State Players
Defensive End Derek Burton
On increased intensity for the defensive line in the last couple weeks:
“I couldn't tell you. We are just playing hard. It's not that we are doing something different. We are just playing hard, and we are doing that well. I'm really enjoying it.”
On defense carrying the offense:
“It is different. It is something we haven't really done since I have been here. It is definitely a good feeling knowing that we are producing for our team.”
On possible upset:
“I didn't worry about it. You know that you have to play week in and week out, or you will be beat by somebody that people say you shouldn't be beat by. We definitely knew we had to bring our “A” game to beat these guys.”
Quarterback Zac Robinson
On tight end Brandon Pettigrew's return:
“He made some big plays today. He means so much for our offense, and it is great to have him back. He is a great leader for us as well.”
On atmosphere:
“It was a good atmosphere. Sometimes people get a little more rowdy during night games and they are a little bit more fun, but I thought it was a good atmosphere with a great crowd.”
On Dez Bryant:
“Some of the stuff that he does is great. He just makes plays. He is a great receiver, and I wouldn't trade him for anybody.”
On setting team records this season:
“I think our team is too young to even think about stuff like that. We just go out and play. We are the same team. Guys are acting the same way they did at the beginning of the season. People are still picking on us, and we know it is going to be tough next week. We have been the same guys, and we are just going to continue to do that.”
Linebacker Andre Sexton
On the game:
“I'm just glad we went out there and took care of business on defense. I think we had our best effort so far this year allowing the lowest points and total yards all season. I think it was a great effort. You know our offense is going to put up points.”
On how the win feels for him:
“It feels really good. We practice really hard every week. We have great coaches that continue to keep our heads focused, but we still are not getting any credit on ESPN before the game. They were bashing us again saying they didn't think the defense was good enough to take them to the Big 12 Championship. It still hurts when you watch it, but when you go out there it is extra motivation. I think we made a statement today.”
On improvement as a defense:
“I think it has a lot to do with just being comfortable in Coach Beckman's defense. He's calling the same calls that he's been calling. We are just executing better. We are having more fun and making hits. We are just playing as a whole defense.”
Tight End Brandon Pettigrew
On being back after missing several games:
“It feels good being back, and it was nice to get a little catch in. I got a little rhythm back today. It was hard sitting out for that amount of time, but I had to get healthy. It felt good getting in the groove of things. ”
On begging Gundy to get back on the field:
“I'd been asking him all week trying to get back into the game. He just told me to wait and make sure I was healthy before we tried anything.”
On how his injured foot felt today:
“It felt pretty good, better than I thought it would. I'm almost there. I'm in pretty good shape, and I'm not too worried about it.”
Baylor Head Coach Art Briles
On Baylor's missed opportunities:
"I think we had good opportunities early and we just didn't execute. A lot of that's my fault. When we have opportunities to create momentum early in the game on the road, you've got to do it, because what you've got to try to do is take the crowd out of it and neutralize the environment. We had chances to do that and just didn't capitalize.”
On the encouraging aspect of Baylor's play:
"The encouraging thing, I guess, is that, in the second half, it was a 6-0 ballgame. We get down to first and goal from the six and we don't get it in. Basically it was a pretty even match (in the second half) but by that time the suspense had kind of left it. We've got to do a better job playing early. That's what we have to do. We've got to regroup, we've got to get healthy and we've got to go fight next week at Nebraska."
On Baylor losing the early momentum:
"You've got to sustain. You've got to keep going and we didn't. That came back and hurt us. We had two good opportunities when it was 14-6 and weren't able to get any points out of either one of them."
On Oklahoma State's team:
"They're a good football team - just exactly what I thought. There's a reason that they haven't been beaten this year. They play hard, they've got good people and they're well coached."
On Oklahoma State's defensive play:
"They play good on defense. Confidence is a great booster and right now and they've got a lot of confidence. That helps them play well on both sides."
On Baylor only allowing six second half points:
"I was very proud of our defense. They scored six points the second half and it wasn't like they weren't trying to score. That, to me, says a lot about the character and the fight of our players."
Visiting Player Quotes
Offensive Tackle Jason Smith
On the struggle most of the day on offense:
“As an offense we have to understand how to come out and make plays faster early. We just have to a better job executing those calls, the things we can correct. The good thing about it is we all came out healthy. Things didn't go like we wanted it to go, but the game is over. “
On the good start:
“That was a well executed drive. We had momentum, and we didn't do a good job at keeping it.”
Free Safety Jordan Lake
On the outcome:
“We wanted to come in here and we envisioned things happening totally different. We didn't execute on offense or defense. We gave away too many points in the first half and let them get momentum and they just kind of ran away with it.“
Safety Jeremy Williams
On taking a step back today:
“No, because we need to make plays. We let our defense down I believe. Overall, you just have to make plays when it comes down to it. We will get it corrected and come back for Nebraska next week.”
On OSU doing more than Baylor:
“What they were doing we were prepared for. Of course you're going to see some new things, but I think the coaches did a great job of seeing that in the press box and relaying that down to the sidelines, we were able to make some changes from there. It just came down to the plays and we didn't do too much of that today. We will need to do that in the future in order to win some games.”
On correcting mistakes:
“Most definitely, small things are very hurtful to a team. Small none the less are things we need to correct in order to win some games.”
Quarterback Robert Griffin
On OSU being as good as Baylor expected:
“I guess you could say that. I think we made them look a whole lot better than they are.“
On more missed execution or OSU making plays:
“It wasn't anything they were doing. Players make plays and we all have to do that. I didn't play a perfect game, no one ever does. “
On OSU doing anything differently today:
“Not really, they rolled their safties down a lot to take away the quarterback runs. Other than that, I think because we got behind we had to throw the ball so we didn't run as much. I still don't think it was anything they did that stopped us.”
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