Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU-Baylor Post-Game Quotes
October 29, 2011 | Cowboy Football
Oct. 29, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Oklahoma State-Baylor Post-Game Quotes - Oct. 29, 2011
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
On the game:
"I was really proud of the way our defense played today. I think that they showed a lot of heart. They were really good in the red zone. They didn't want to give anything up, and we talk to them all the time about fighting to the end. Stopping them on the goal line at the first of the game and then the interception in the end zone by Gilbert and then the turnover they forced down at the one-yard line.They were sound out there for the most part. They gave up some yards, but they rally. They did a nice job with turnovers again; they had five total so we were plus-four there.
"Offensively our guys were rolling pretty good. We didn't get very many plays, we only had 63 plays, but we were able to run the ball effectively with over 300 yards rushing, and the way they were set up on defense it allowed us to run the ball a lot more than what we had anticipated. I thought our guys did a nice job of taking what they gave us."
On the 99-yard drive on OSU's first possession
"It's really a big momentum swing when they're this far from scoring on a couple plays and you stop them and offense comes out and goes 99 yards."
On the defense
"If you look across the country, everybody is giving up yards. The only thing I would say about our defense is we would like more three-and-outs, but I think in all fairness, Baylor has been pretty good on offense up to this point. They've moved the ball pretty well and scored a lot of points and put up a lot of yards. We knew going into the game that they would make some plays. You're not all of a sudden going to shut (Robert) Griffin down. They're going to make some plays because they're very skilled on offense. We would like to get more three-and-outs, but in today's style of offenses there's more yards and there's more points being scored. You just have to stay in there and win some of your own battles and try to keep it to a minimum."
On Herschel Sims
"It was good to see Herschel get in there and make a play. Jeremy (Smith) had 25 yards a carry. He had a couple runs there and then he dropped a ball so we made a change. Our offense has to continue to play unselfish because there's not enough to go around. If you look at our running backs, Joseph (Randle) had 14 carries, Herschel had eight and Jeremy had three. In most cases that's one player so there's not enough carries to go around, but it's nice to see them make some plays. They did a good job on the inside draw of hitting there and making cuts and running to the green grass and getting the ball down the field so we're fortunate that we have those guys."
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young
On five turnovers
"I love it. We gave up a bunch of yards, but at the same time we won and those five turnovers are a big statistic."
On the efficiency of the defense
"If you look when the game is on the line and you see how every drive went, we had some stops and we had some fumbles and interceptions and forced them to punt. But when the game was on the line, we only gave up a field goal."
On goal-line stands
"It was a big play down there. They had two or three shots inside the one and we stopped them, and we were really excited down there."
Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin
On his play and the defense
"I think how everything was played out the safeties were able to play up close. I think the defense fed off the fire I brought, and I was just glad to be in the right position at the right time."
On national media's negative opinion of the defense
"It motivates us a lot, especially this week. Shaun Lewis and I just happened to be working out and looked up and saw it on TV. Then we brought it up to the defense. We wanted to go out and prove that we are a good defense. I think that fire was lit today, we all shined and everyone had fun."
On stops in the red zone
"We just believe in each other. I think at that point you have to dig deep and find something inside you to not make it easy on them. So just continuing to believe in each other and fight for one another."
Oklahoma State linebacker Shaun Lewis
On the performances of OSU's running backs
"They did well. That showed we were able to move the ball really well, and that's a real good thing. It's good for our offense to be able to dictate the tempo of the game with our running game."
On national media's negative opinion of the defense:
"It's just a lack of respect. Anytime someone downplays another person or unit like that it just shows the lack of respect we have across the country. It really fueled us up and made us kind of mad. We do rank nationally in turnovers so it made us pretty angry."
On what was said to teammates about media's negative opinion:
"We just let them know what they said. They don't really need a pep talk after that. We just let them know what the media said."
Oklahoma State offensive Coordinator Todd Monken
On the offense
"Whether we ended up today with however many yards we had, our line has done a great job all year. Our backs have run hard. Sometimes things just kind of happen and holes just open up. I'm not diminishing what we did. But sometimes things just work out like that. It works all together. When you have a good quarterback and good skill guys outside and you're able to run the ball then I think you've got a pretty good combination."
On the higher rushing yard total
"We got long runs. That's what has happened. We haven't gotten 10-yard runs so the drives end with a long run. You end up with more yards based on the long run. We've had a pretty good stretch since Kansas of having at least one explosive run. I think that adds to it. Coach Wickline has done a great job every week of putting a good run game plan together. And basically we just take that and go with it. It's a combination of Coach Wick and coming up with a great plan and players playing well.
On having several young running backs:
"I think it's pretty bright. I think it's good for competition. They might not see it that way. They'd probably like to be the only guy. But it's good from our end of it. Sometimes you don't really know until they go in to play. And they all still have a long way to go. None of them are the finished product yet, but they will continue to get better."
Quarterback Brandon Weeden:
On Kye Staley
"Playing fullback is tough and you don't get many catches. You just butt heads with people all game while you're blocking. But for him to actually catch a touchdown to score, well I'll never forget it that's for sure."
On the opening sequence
"Just getting the stop was a huge momentum switch, and the crowd gets into it. That's tough on Baylor. For us to get off the goal line and go 99 and a half yards, that was pretty impressive. It's not easy to do. As an offense, the first thing you want to do is just get a first down. But we took it down 99 yards and scored. That was huge."
On the defensive performance:
"They gave us the ball on short field again. They created turnovers. I thought they played great. They tackled well. Baylor has a good offense. They do some good things offensively, but our guys stepped up to the task. They had a great week of practice. I was really pleased with the way they played."
Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon
On the offensive performance
"I'd rate it pretty high. I don't know where I would put it, but it'd be up there for sure. We got up fast. Our defense set us up with a couple of turnovers on our side of the field. It made it easier on our part to set up a couple of plays."
"With the defense making stops it kind of swings the momentum to our side, and we feed off all that energy. That was the main changing point of the game was that first defensive stop."
On the fade throw touchdowns:
"It's just a matter of executing. We run that play every day. Brandon throws that ball in the right spot every time. He does a great job with that."
Baylor head coach Art Briles
On the turnovers:
"Honestly, you can count the fourth down non-conversions as turnovers, potentially, if you want to look at it that way, because you're certainly not carrying the drive on. You can't (turn it over) at home, you can't do it on the road and you sure can't do it against a really good football at (their) home that's playing really well."
On if the team's confidence is shaken:
"It shouldn't be. We understand that we're playing really good football teams, and we're a good football team and to beat them - the other teams that are really good - you have to have things go your way and you have to make things go your way, which we certainly didn't. We created momentum, it just wasn't for us."
On if it is difficult to stop OSU:
"It's been proven the last couple of years, I mean this wasn't the first day they've come out and really played well. They had a good home crowd - the second-largest ever in the stadium - and a lot of energy."
On how frustrating the first drive was when Baylor was stopped on the goalline:
"Very, very. Sickening comes to mind because you just know how important it is to punch it in in that situation. It's not like you're going to pitch a shutout game against them, but you ceratinly better match scores when you have the opportunities, and we didn't"
On struggles in the red zone:
"It was a combination (of what OSU did and what Baylor did). We had a fumble, a fourth down non-conversion, an interception down there on third down and got backed up and missed a field goal and made a field goal on the other one. I think it's a combination. We're certainly working on that phase of our game like everybody, but when you get down in the redzone, the field gets smaller and everything happens at a faster pace and yards are tougher."
Baylor running back Terrance Ganaway
On turnovers
"Turnovers kill any team when you have enough of them. Definitely when you play a good team like Oklahoma State, you can't have them, especially in the red zone. Penalties and turnovers kill drives and can kill a team."
On Oklahoma State stopping the run
"I think there were a lot of people in the box. When we started spreading them out, we found some running lanes."
On bouncing back from the loss
"The score is crazy. It looks lopsided but turnovers and penalties. If we don't have any turnovers and finish in the redzone, it's a whole new ballgame. That's what we have to work on. We have to make sure we're taking care of the ball and playing smart."
Baylor cornerback Chance Casey
On mistakes made defensively
"We had a bunch of mistakes that led to a couple big plays. You can't do that against an offense like this. You can't help them. We need to work on eliminating mistakes and giving our offense a chance to play."
On Justin Blackmon
"He's a good receiver. He made a few big plays for them. We had a game plan for him, and we didn't execute it in the way we needed to."
On OSU's BCS ranking
"They're legit. They're definitely a good team."
Baylor linebacker Elliot Coffey
On OSU's offense
"You saw today and you've seen all year that they're a very explosive offense, very mature in what they do. They're consistent with their run and their pass, and it's just a difficult team to have."
On the team's confidence
"I don't think the team's confidence is wavered by any means. I think that everybody's attitude is a little upset, but I think that you should be in this situation. You just take situations and times like this and that's when you get closer and that's when you grow and you move on."
On if OSU is better this year than last year
"I've seen some good teams, but that right there is a very solid team, so hats off to them. They played well."
