Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State-Oklahoma Post-Game Quotes
November 28, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 28, 2010
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Oklahoma State-Oklahoma Post-Game Quotes - Nov. 27, 2010
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement...
"Well that was a tough loss for us. It was quite a game. We didn't play well in the last three minutes and gave up big plays. I was proud of the team and how we fought back to go down by two scores and then return the kick and put ourselves right back in the game. We need to play better in those crucial situations. At the very end they made plays, and we didn't. Really that's what it comes down to. I told the team that, as difficult as it is, this needs to be a learning experience for them. In those situations, we have to be able to think and make sure they're in the right spot and in the right coverage and covering everything up and try to learn from our mistakes. Again, I was very proud of our team and the way that they competed. I just hate that they came up a little bit short."
On why the offense started slow...
"They played faster than we did. I thought they had a good plan. We never really got in a rhythm. They did a nice job of slowing us down. They ran the screens down and didn't give up big plays until the big one that (Justin) Blackmon got. They defended us very well, and I thought they had a good plan."
On Oklahoma's thir- down conversions...
"I saw that: 16 of 27. We have to be much better. We have to get pressure on the quarterback, and we have to defend. In that area, it looked like the first four games of the year where we didn't do a good job on third down. They threw the ball and obviously converted. That was a big part of the game. When I looked at the statistics I knew that they were successful on third down, but I didn't realize we gave up 16 third-down conversions. That's way too many."
On the pressure put on Brandon Weeden...
"In the first half, they got pressure on him and made him move around a little bit. We had to shuffle a couple linemen around. I thought, in the third quarter, we did a better job of protecting for him, but certainly in the first quarter they put some pressure on him which disrupted the rhythm of our offense."
On Justin Blackmon...
"Justin didn't practice all week. Justin didn't take one snap all week. We kept him in a cast for five days, and we put him in a boot the last day. I would suspect he'll be pretty sore tomorrow. He has a very high tolerance of pain, and he wanted to play. If there would have been any chance of injuring him further then we wouldn't have played him. It wasn't that type of injury, and he wanted to play with the pain so we really couldn't keep him out of there. That's not an excuse. That's not the reason that we lost the game, but he didn't practice and he was 60 or 70 percent, something like that."
On if they blew an opportunity...
"We wouldn't say we blew an opportunity. We played a football game. I told the team that the reason we had that opportunity is because they won 10 games prior to this so they put themselves in a situation where they had a chance to play for the conference championship. We certainly would have liked to have taken advantage of the opportunity we had to play next week, but with the way these guys have played this year and improved and come together, I wouldn't say that they've blown an opportunity. We just didn't take advantage of one."
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young
On the last two touchdowns for OU...
"Well we had a bust on coverage on the second one, and we jumped a little bit on the out route. And on the first one it was a situation where they ran a post route on us, and we were barely getting back and we were worn out and the guy ran by us. Most of our corners were cramping up all night long, and we need to get a little depth in that area."
On the defense being on the field so much...
"We had a lot of guys cramping, but we haven't had that all year long. I am not sure what it was. Maybe it was a little warmer than we expected or we weren't hydrated enough, but that was the first time that has happened."
On OU converting third downs...
"We had trouble. They were throwing the seam routes, and we were mixing up our coverages. They just did a great job executing. They had some tremendous speed and athleticism at the wide receiver position, and they were throwing it right over our heads. We were almost there, but not quite."
Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen
On OU's defense...
"They are pretty good defensively. Coach Stoops and Coach Venables have been doing the same thing there for about 12 or 13 years now. Consistencey with where they are defensively is a little bit ahead of where we are offensively."
On Justin Blackmon...
"You can't keep him out. We didn't totally know we were going to have him this week. He is a great player, and you can't keep him off the field. Regardless of if you practiced or didn't practice, we schemed things up for him or without him, you are still are going to put him out there on the field."
On the pressure they put on Brandon Weeden...
"That is a good defensive line, and they schemed a few things up that got to us. They are pretty good players, not to make any excuses, but they got to us a little bit."
Oklahoma State offensive lineman Levy Adcock
On the offense coming out cold...
"We had a lot of high emotions running, and we let them get the best of us. We should have come out and just started executing faster and moving the ball, but we didn't."
On the emotion during the fourth quarter...
"It was an emotional roller coaster for the last five mintues of the game. When we scored that touchdown, everyone was feeling pretty good about it, but then we had a couple of misfortunes and here we are."
On the pressure they put on Weeden...
"They were always sending an extra guy on the blitz, but we were picking it up pretty well. Sometimes we wouldn't, but I felt like we picked it up pretty good."
Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter
On the game...
"It was a hard fought game, and they had more plays than we did."
On his last home game...
"Any loss is tough for any game and for any person."
On preparing for the bowl game after a hard loss...
"We have got to end on a good note. We went and fought our hearts out, and they made more plays than us."
Oklahoma State linebacker Orie Lemon
On the play of the defense...
"We made some mistakes that we wouldn't normally make. But everybody played with all the effort they could and gave it their all."
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops
Opening Statement...
"I will start by complimenting Oklahoma State for a great, well-played and hard-fought game. What a game through the fourth quarter. Coach Gundy and his staff and his team have had an excellent year and played well all year. My compliments to them. We knew coming in here we'd have to play well to have an opportunity to win. I'm excited about our team and how we did that. I was so pleased at how we performed offensively and made big plays in the fourth quarter when we had to have them. Landry (Jones) put the ball on the money and had a few tough spots, but we loved his resilience and he came back and put the ball where he had to have it. We ran the ball well. We had a lot of offense out there. Defensively, I thought the first half we were sensational to hold them down like we did and come up with turnovers. We forced three interceptions and limited their running game the way we did. We got a little soft at the end when we were trying to eat up some clock. But I thought they did an excellent job."
On kicker Jimmy Stevens...
"Jimmy Stevens got the first game ball when we got in there. I told him he was the biggest difference in the game making all his kicks the way he did. I'm really proud of Jimmy to have hung in through the year the way he has. He has really had a good year, and he's really gained confidence and is feeling really good right now the way he's hitting the ball. I was just proud to see him finish here the way he did. It was an exciting game."
On throwing to different players...
"They had the opportunities. Cameron Kenney had an excellent day. And let's face it, James (Hanna) has had a really good year. He catches the ball well and you saw what great speed he has to get behind everybody. I thought Kevin (Wilson) did a great job. They were expecting us to run and try to eat up clock, and we were in our power formation. Instead of blocking down and running it, those guys pop out and James has great speed to get past people. Cameron did an excellent job of just crossing the middle and outrunning everybody. And Landry put the ball right on him otherwise that's not a touchdown. Good execution on the players' part."
On time of possession...
"I think it is team effort. Offense stayed on the field and picked up and moved the chains, picked up first downs, running and throwing and picked up some tough third downs. The execution was excellent. And the defense made a lot of good plays. They forced turnovers and a bunch of three-and-outs. Working together is how that happens."
On OU's defense...
"We got in a little bit of an odd front, more than we ever have. It worked out well for us. I thought the kids really executed well. And Brent ( Venables) did a nice job of mixing that in."
Oklahoma tight end James Hanna
On the game
"It was really exciting. There was a lot of pressure. Everything was in front of us: going to the Big 12 Championship. It felt really good to come in here and play pretty good, especially towards the end there."
On his touchdown reception
"Coach (Kevin) Wilson did a good job of setting that play up the play before, and the safeties thought we were going to run the ball. Landry (Jones) threw a great pass to me, and I just ran hard."
Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis
On the game going back and forth...
"I've never felt like that; I was having an anxiety attack. I was just so pumped up and was like 'Oh my goodness, who's gonna make the play? Who's gonna make the play?' We made enough plays to win tonight."
On if he's ever surprised by the offense
"No, no, no. Hopefully we've silenced all the doubters. We just beat two great teams on the road so that just goes out to all our players. We're mentally tough, we came here, we did what we needed to do and we got the win."
Oklahoma defensive end Jeremy Beal
On not giving up the lead
"We knew coming into the game that they're a great offense, they're gonna make their plays and they did. We didn't let that get us down. We knew that going into the game so we just got to stay in our even wave."
On if he was surprised about the all the points scored in the fourth quarter
"Surprised, a little bit, yeah. I'm just surprised the way it happened. I'm not surprised it was a high scoring game, but it's just the way it happened, back and forth. It was kind of emotional; Bedlam."
