Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Troy Post-Game Quotes
September 28, 2008 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 27, 2008
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
On the game
“It was a good game for us. We played well on both sides of the ball. I was excited about no turnovers and forcing turnovers on the other side of the ball. We challenged our team to be physical this week and to play hard and fast. I was proud of them. I thought offensively we were very physical. I thought we blocked extremely well. Defensively, when we gave up some plays we made big hits.”
On the record-setting crowd
“It was nice to get out there in front of that crowd. It's great that it was a record. I really appreciate the students. I noticed there were a lot of them over there. Students are the key for us so we need to get students to come to every home game and we'll have 60,000. I'm excited about that. I thought it was very loud and that the fan support was tremendous. I know our players talked about it in the locker room after the game. They thought it was loud and orange and a great environment. The challenge now, to the students and the fans, is to break the record next week.”
On the play of quarterback Zac Robinson
“Zac operated well. He had pretty good statistics. He got lucky on one pass. He was fatigued and threw a poor ball, and Dez (Bryant) came back and made him look good. He did a nice job of handling the offense. He needs to run the football better. We knew this team had speed on defense, and we needed to wear them down. His running game gives us another dimension.”
On Dez Bryant
“He was pretty good. He made some big catches on third downs and made some big plays. Dez is continuing to play better even when the ball isn't in his hands. He had a nice block on Toston's score in the west end zone. He continues to play well, and he's a lot of fun to work with. He really enjoys playing football.”
OSU offensive lineman Brady Bond
On the game
“I think as a team we played pretty well, but individually I could have played better. There's always next week to get better.”
On the crowd
“I think every week it gets louder and louder. Obviously, we set a record tonight. You can tell people are coming out to see us. You can tell on a couple third downs there for the defense, they got pretty loud. It's really fun.”
OSU linebacker Andre Sexton
On the game
“The offense did a good job running the ball and showing that they are physical. Still, I think toward the end of the second half, we need to step up and make more plays. We have to make those stops because we are still trying to get our defense going the right direction to become a top 25 defense. We still have some things we need to work on.”
On possibly entering the national rankings
“That was one of our goals, and if you don't talk about it, it can't happen. We talked about being in the Top 25, and hopefully tomorrow they will vote right for us. It should happen. Everyone's excited about it.”
On OSU's offense
“Coach talked about
On the defense not giving up big plays
“In our coverage, we want to keep everything in front of us. If they do make a long play, we want to break up the ball or make a nice tackle. You saw that today. When they had the long catches, they were getting drilled. We were flying with a vengeance and just out there trying to have fun.”
On the crowd
“It was really nice. I thought it was Homecoming at The Walk because there were so many people out there. Coach was telling us that if we keep winning, they will keep coming out more. It was real nice to have that fan support. I think it motivated us to play better and get the big win.”
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney
On Oklahoma State compared to Ohio State
“I think these guys can compete with
On the game:
“Well, it was pretty obvious that we got a pretty good wood shedding tonight; one of the best offenses we've faced - period. They still, I think, are trying to rebuild a little bit on defense. They're a very good, very prolific offensive football team. They can do about anything. The quarterback really is the catalyst, but they've got a great talent running the zone play and the other runs that they have. They've got a great player at wideout, at least one, in Bryant. The offensive line – they're pretty good, obviously. They blocked us all night long, and we never did get anything consistent going defensively. It was a tough loss for us. Any loss is a tough loss. We came out to play and to play better than we played, and we didn't get it done, so it's back to
On the turnover difference:
”We gave them three - a fumble and two bad interceptions. The last one was attributable to the quarterback going to the wrong side of the formation with his read. We're no different than anybody else. If they'd given us three, the game might have been a little different. Maybe our defense would have got juiced, and we'd have gotten a stop or two and maybe we'd have gotten a few more possessions. Possessions are what really kill you.”
On the comparison of this game with last year's game:
“I don't know that we ran through them quite like they did us. It certainly was a different winner last year and a different set of circumstances. I'm sure they had some negative thoughts on their mind and heart when they left
On Dez Bryant:
“I think he's really good. He's a Sunday guy, I believe. I don't know what round and all that kind of stuff, but he runs fast and catches the ball. That's two things that will get you down the road.”
Troy running back DuJuan Harris
On
“We shot ourselves in the foot. They showed they were a better team than us.”
On
“Home plays a good role, but a game is a game. We just didn't come here and execute.”
Troy quarterback Jamie Hampton
On the game
“We came in thinking it was going to be a shootout. We knew their offense was really good, and their offense is really good. Their defense is pretty good too.”
On
“We just didn't make enough big plays to stay in the game early, and we just had to battle the whole game and couldn't get the job done. We just have to practice hard and get back on schedule and bounce back from this loss.”
Troy defensive back Jorrick Calvin
On covering Dez Bryant
“It wasn't too bad. He got me on the touchdown he scored on the little post route, but other than that he wasn't too difficult to guard. He didn't really do too much.”
