OSU-Texas Post-Game Quotes

Sept. 30, 2012

Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery

OSU head coach Mike Gundy

Opening statement
“It's tough for us. I'm really proud of our football team. I mentioned to them in the locker room that at times the score for a team that loses doesn't always indicate what they put into it and the way they played. We made a couple of mistakes, and they made a couple of mistakes. We made a play at the end, and they just had to make the play when the clock ran out. I give (Texas) credit for converting on to third downs and fourth downs and making a play at the end of the game.

“I'm really proud of our football team. I'm proud of the way they competed, and I'm proud of their preparation for the last two weeks. We just came up short. We want to win every game. We want to compete. There are life lessons to be learned tonight with our team. I mentioned to them about six weeks ago that at some point they had to create their own identity. The team chemistry for this year, for 2012, and tonight they took a great step in accomplishing that. I thought J.W. played really well. Did he make some mistakes? Yes. Was he confused at times on some reads? Yes. That's a good defensive football team. I don't know that there are that many teams in the country that will be more athletic (than Texas). There may be some. My point is, they have good ends, they can get pressure on you, they can run, they can play man and (Walsh) handled himself well tonight. I was very proud of his play tonight.

“I thought that the offense played unselfish. There were guys like Tracy Moore and Isaiah (Anderson) that didn't get very many catches, and Tracy ended up with six catches. They blocked hard down the field. It was important to them, and the team was important to them. That says a lot about who they are and our organization. I'm very proud of that, just like the way they competed.

“Defensively, at the end, we would have liked to had a stop. The biggest mistake that we made in my opinion is third downs in the first half. We all know that, and we're aware of that. They got caught us in a two-deep zone man coverage on the fourth and seven, and again, they made a nice play. Our guy that was in coverage was a step behind. The quarterback made a nice play. He stepped out of the pocket wide out and made a nice catch. You have to give credit where credit is due. In special teams, I was disappointed that we allowed a kickoff return. We had two guys that hit him in the legs, and neither one of them wrapped up and got him down. We'll make that correction this week. They understand that. Those are big plays that when you get in a game with a team that's as talented and as good as Texas, you can't make those mistakes. You have to get them down. Now on the other side of that, I'm sure they thought they missed some tackles, too. Our skill guys made some plays.

“I would just reiterate that this was one heck of a football game. I'm sorry that we came up on the short end, but I'm very proud of our football team, and I'm very proud of our coaches. There could be a lot of second guessing on coaching calls on both sides of the ball, and there won't be any inside our organization. Somebody may say, 'Why did you run the ball at the end on third and six or seven?' It was because on the personnel that we had and the situation we were in and the score that we felt like it was the smartest thing to do. I wouldn't want anybody inside our organization second guessing that call. Just like at the end of the game, Bill Young is going to lay in bed tonight and wish he had made a different call on fourth and seven. It never goes away. I still lay in bed at night and am upset at myself for calls I made 10 years ago. We put it all to rest tonight. We've got another open week. We need to get our players three or four good practices, get them off their feet, get them rested mentally and physically, get our coaches out on the road for recruiting, come back next week and get ready for the next game.”

On the team's reaction to the loss
“They aren't happy. They've won a lot of games the last four years, two years and last year. They understand the concept of what's acceptable in our organization, and nobody hangs their head. Everybody comes in here and talks to the media. Everybody gets home tonight and gets some rest. We stay off the streets. We come back and go to work tomorrow. That's all we can do. We don't really give them an option in that area.”

On why OSU didn't run it on the final kickoff
"When you're seven or eight yards deep, the percentage — they get down the field so fast. It was talked about. As bad as I hate to admit that you guys are on target there, we did discuss that, bringing it out no matter what. It's the Tommy Lasorda theory. You steal bases when you think you have the best chance to steal the base. You play the percentages. With them being on the 35 and kicking that ball as high as he kicks it, he's different than other people we've played. Sometimes when they kick it seven deep or eight deep, it's a trajectory, and he kicks it high. It's just not smart because their cover team would be almost to the 20-yard line. So he's seven deep, and they're at the 20 running. The party is going to start at the 10-yard line. So, it's just not smart. We made that decision to play it like normal, and if you're that deep, just don't bring it out."

On the controversial fumble at the end of the game
"I only know what people told me. I'm not commenting on officiating. Our guy said (Texas) fumbled, and he got it. That's why I was running down the sidelines. I didn't see it because of the pile, but our guy said the ball was fumbled back here, flipped it into the end zone, and he said I got it. That's all I know. They said they reviewed it. So, somebody took a look at it and obviously didn't think it was a fumble.”

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken

On losing despite outgaining Texas on offense

"That's what you do as a team. You find a way to win. It's not really about the yards. We had a turnover that cost us a touchdown, too many field goals instead of touchdowns. We just have to find a way to win the game, not kick field goals."

On if anything surprised him

"Nothing really surprised me. Right now, the things that I remember are the things we didn't do well, but there were things we did well that were maybe better than I would've thought.”

On J.W. Walsh

"Short term, it's hard because I'm tied with him. I'd like to be tied with him when he does really good, but the reality is that you remember the things in the red zone that you just didn't do well enough. Some of the throws, some of the calls that didn't give yo a chance to score touchdowns."

OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young

On missed tackles

"I don't think it was fatigue. I just think we had some missed tackles that hurt us. We've got to give Texas credit. They have some great athletes. They're going to make you miss just like our athletes made them miss, and they've got good athletes on their defense too. But you get people in space and that happens."

On allowing third and fourth down conversions:

"It really does grind on you, particularly the fourth-down play. The offense played well enough to keep us in the game, and if we make that stop, we win."

On how he feels about the defense:

"We feel really good about our players. We are a solid, blue-collar group on defense. We've got some good, solid guys that hang together. They have tremendous chemistry and attitude, and it's fun to coach them."

OSU running back Joseph Randle

On how the team played

"I thought we did the things that we do at Oklahoma State, things that normally win the game. We gave it our all. We fought to the end. Even before that last play, everyone in the huddle thought we were still going to win the game. We just lost."

On if anything Texas did surprised them

"No, it didn't surprise us at all. We watched tape and have seen them three years straight now, and they still have the same type of players. But they are a great team, and they came up on top."

On the touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage

"I was already on the edge before the game, and I was waiting to find the opportunity to fall off the cliff. But in the end, it doesn't matter because we lost."

OSU quarterback J.W. Walsh

On how the offense played

"I think that we played well as a team. When the coaches draw plays up, we've got to execute them. When we do, we're successful, and when we don't, we're not. But I think as a whole, I think we played really well tonight."

On if the play calling was aggressive enough on the last drive

"I agree with Coach Gundy on the field goal call. We were down one, and all we needed was a field goal. When they call the plays, we have to execute it, so if that's what they call then we just have to execute it the best we can."

On being nervous before his first college start

"There were a bunch of nerves, but I think you have to have some nerves because it's a big stage to play on. At the same time, you need to get rid of them quickly, and I think we all did that."

OSU linebacker Shaun Lewis

On the defensive play in the second and third quarters

"I think we played very well, and we'd like to have a couple of those possessions back. But all you can do is make corrections and move on."

On the fourth-down play

"They made plays all night, and that fourth-and-seven was one of those plays that we'd like to have back, but we can't."

On Texas' offense

"They were just better with their execution. We could have done a better job just stopping up the basic runs. We've been seeing them for two weeks. We just didn't do a good job. That's something that we can fix."

OSU kicker Quinn Sharp

On the kick return touchdown:

"I think we'll be okay. We just had a couple of missed assignments. On the one that they returned, we just had a wrong gap and a couple of missed tackles. It was just one of those unfortunate things. I thought I kicked a good ball that had some good hang time. Our guys were running with great speed. I just think we hit the wrong gaps, and he saw the whole and made a great play."

On the missed field goal:

"I thought I hit it pretty good. I got a little tight and couldn't come through so I couldn't really hit it the way I wanted to. I think that's why it faded off right. I'll have to look at the film tomorrow."

Texas head coach Mack Brown

On the game

“It was a good win for the Texas Longhorns tonight. Winning on the road is something we haven't been able to do the last couple of years. Give a lot of credit to Oklahoma State and this crowd. It's the best crowd I've ever seen up here. They hung in there with their team, and their team fought their guts out. J.W. Walsh played a great football game. It's one of those games where we just had the ball last. If they would have had the ball much longer, they would have probably scored. I also really have to credit their fans. I think they gave their guys a standing ovation after they lost. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Mike [Gundy] has done a great job here, and they've come a long way.

“As far as our guys, the only thing that was important for us tonight was to win. We needed to go on the road, we needed to win against a team that had beaten us twice in a row, we needed to win against a team that had won more games than anybody else over the past two years and we needed to win at a place where they haven't lost for the past two years. Give Oklahoma State credit. We kept fighting it, and our last two drives made the difference in the game offensively. Also, David Ash played great. Johnathan Gray, give him credit. I hated that we had the one turnover, but we gained one. Our kicking game was not very good other than the one kickoff return for the touchdown. The good thing is we won, but there's a lot of things we can still fix in some areas.”

On Joseph Randle's performance

“He played great. He struggled with us last year and didn't do as well, but Jeremy Smith did. Smith had the seven carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Tonight, I think Randle played really well. I was really disappointed with us against the run because we knew we would have to stop the run and force them to throw it, but we didn't do a very good job of that.”

On what he told the offense before the game winning drive

“I told them that this was perfect. We told the defense that if they held them to a field goal, we would win the game. We told the offense the same thing. You're going to hold them to a field goal, and you're going to win the game. Usually, in those one-minute drills that we've been so good at, if you make the first first-down, you get it. The first one is the hardest one. The crowd's against you, everybody is pumped up and the players were jacked up.”

On his plan to stop Oklahoma State's high-powered offense

“Since the other young quarterback was hurt, we thought J.W. Walsh wouldn't quite run it as much. In fact, it got us in trouble on the quarterback draws because we didn't think they were going to run it. They did, and they caught us a couple of times."

On how difficult it is to stop OSU's high-pace tempo

“It's funny, they only had 38 plays to our 33 plays at half time, but it seemed like they had it every play. That was even with us having the kickoff return for the touchdown. Maybe they were just scoring so fast, and that's why they didn't have very many plays. I think their tempo does wear you out some, though. I think that's why we increased our tempo at the same time and tried to wear them out. Possession was the difference in the end. They couldn't score because they didn't have the ball. We weren't scoring as fast as they were, but we were pounding them and pounding them and our offensive line took over the last few drives.”

On UT quarterback David Ash and the fourth down play at the end of the game

“Give David credit. He will not be under any more pressure than this. He couldn't have done this at the same time last year. He has really grown up. He's the leader of this football team. The throw to D.J. Grant was unbelievable. I thought David played great throughout the night. He did a good job managing the crowd. I was really proud of the way he played.”

Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz

On the Texas defense

“They battled like champions. Lord knows we didn't do everything right, but what you can't fault those guys for was their effort. You've got to give a lot of credit to Oklahoma State. Obviously they're a great offensive football team and we knew that going in, and I thought our young guys gave us everything they had.”

On the stop in the fourth quarter that held OSU to a field goal

“We've said it all along, great offenses like theirs, you have to win in the red zone. They're too dynamic, they're too good and they're going to move the ball in between the twenties. There were a bunch of red zone stops, even the ones that we held them to field goals, that as the game was going on and keeping the score down that were vital in the football game. “

On the team's effort

“You just went into the defending Big 12 champion's house and won in an instant classic style game. We knew it was going to be hard. We talked about that. We talked about persevering throughout the game and when it comes out like that, these are the types of games that a young football team has to know that they can win. We had a couple similar type situations last year and now our players look around and know that they can win this type of game.”

Texas quarterback David Ash

On Mike Davis' catch

“He came to me after he barely missed that deep throw early in the first half and said 'Just give me another chance.' So said I'd give him another chance, and he was in line. He was ready to make the play, and that was on him. I didn't throw him a great ball so he made the play for it.”

On the fight that Texas has

“A righteous man falls down seven times and gets back up seven times. I think it showed that we have some resilience and that we've got some fight inside of us and we aren't going to lay down ever. That's probably what I'm most proud of. Guys giving everything they have. If we had lost that game, I'd still be proud of those guys because we battled and we battled hard against a great team.”

On the defense

“Oklahoma State's a great football team. Our defense played hard, and they came up big in some situations. If they hadn't done that then we wouldn't have won the game. The defense accomplished what it was supposed to do. We scored more points than they did. I'm happy, and I thought the defense played well and we won as a team.”

Texas defensive end Alex Okafor

On getting better for next week's game against West Virginia

“The whole team has to get a lot better. We just have to work, and the whole team has to get better up until next week. But honestly it's one game at a time and it was a sloppy game, but we still got the win. I'll play eight more sloppy games as long as we get the win.”

On the play of the defense

“I was a little surprised that we missed a couple of tackles because we were out of position on a couple of run plays. But like I said a win is a win, and if we can find a way to get a win then we'll take it. “

Texas wide receiver Mike Davis

On the victory

“It felt great. It was a great win, and they're a great team. We came out and did well and executed everything. David Ash did well with his composure and keeping his head in the game and showing he's a leader.”

On asking Ash to give him another chance on a deep ball

“I did my job and I beat my man and he threw a great ball and I made a play on the ball, but I dropped it. So I told him that it wasn't over and to put it behind us and give me another chance, and I'll make a play like I've been doing.”

On what David Ash proved to his teammates

“He can bounce back from a mistake and show that he can be a leader and make a play in clutch moments.”

Texas co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin

On the Texas run game

“It's a combination of them having a good D-line and linebackers, and they've worked the last two weeks to stop the run and they did. They were penetrating and being aggressive up front, and so were we. It's one of those things that over time, kind of like no huddle where it can wear a team down, over time a run game, if we can continue to run the ball over time and not get negative plays, by the fourth quarter we'd like the be in a situation where we can run it and be effective and get some yards because we kept pounding it. “

On David Ash maturing in this game

“That's an interesting question because it's just one game. If you say 'grow up' as saying if he's reached that level where he needs to be, I don't know what David's full potential level is. He's just getting better every week. That's all it is. It's all about getting better and improving on what happened the previous game and improving on what skills need to be corrected throughout the week of practice, and if he continues to do that then that's all we ask. ”