Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Kansas Postgame Quotes
November 09, 2013 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 9, 2013
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Oklahoma State vs. Kansas
Postgame Quotes
Saturday, November 9, 2013
OSU Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement
“It was a good win for our team. I thought our defense was consistent in our play. We didn't defend the load option very well. Kansas committed to running load option and using clock, and we weren't very good with it. Other than that, defensively, we were very good. The kicking game, with the exception of late here on our coverage, Obviously Justin Gilbert started the game off very well. I thought we were productive in the kicking game. I thought that our punt return changed a little bit obviously when Josh Stewart went out. Offensively, we were good at times and very sluggish at times. It was a good win for us, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm looking forward to next week.”
On Kansas
“It seemed like they played pretty well. I didn't watch the actual technique and the Xs and Os up close because I'm watching the bigger picture, but it seemed like they came in and made some plays.”
On the KU defense affecting the OSU running game
“After the first couple of series, they loaded the box on us pretty good and put us in an all-pass situation. To be honest with you, we should've have just gone to two wide receivers and maximum protectors and just threw the ball down the field earlier. We didn't, but they did a good job of loading the box up and slowing down the run.”
On the OSU defense
“I thought our defense was really consistent in the way they played. They ran load option and made some plays. There's an answer for it. As the field starts getting reduced and you get closer to the end zone, it's more difficult to run those type of plays unless you three-way go and the old triple option. Then we tackled, made some plays and would get them in a second and long, and it was difficult for them to overcome that.”
On Texas next week
“We've got our hands full with the next one. We have to really practice well, have a good game plan and get the guys fresh and ready to go. We just have to get ready for the next game.”
OSU Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On the offensive play calling being more "vanilla" in the second half
"I'd say to our basic fundamentals of the offense, we were pretty vanilla. There wasn't anything too exotic. We knew that we just had to secure the ball and do what we do; play pass, and run the ball, and we did that. To a certain extent, I think there are still a lot of improvements to be made too."
On receivers filling in for the loss of Josh Stewart
"I think our guys did a great job stepping in for him. If one guy goes down, one guy has got to step up, and that's college football. Injuries are going to happen, and it's about how you respond to that. Adversity brings some opportunity."
On the team's performance running the ball
"I haven't looked at any statistics or anything. I thought we did a nice job at the point of attack. We were able to hit a couple of runs that were really explosions for us, especially coming out of our own end zone early in the game. That was really critical. Clint (Chelf) kept the one zone read. I thought that was a really big play that sparked us. That was good."
OSU Defensive Coordinator Glenn Spencer
On turnovers
"We had one. That was disappointing. We need to get more. We know that, and kept talking about it. It just didn't happen. We'll have to look at the film and see if there were some more opportunities where we could have had more, and if we didn't capitalize on them, that's an issue. In our room, we consider fourth down stops turnovers too. I know of a couple of fourth down stops we had late in the game when they went for it. That's a big success for us."
On how his players are approaching the home stretch of the season
"It's fun and exciting that we are here this week. We're in the hunt. We know that we're in a playoff every week and that we still have that on the table for us. Hopefully, at this point, with their maturity and what we've been doing that it's a one game season. I think they'll feel that and practice like that. Just realize it's all in their mind when they go down to Austin. That's all they need to focus on and worry about. I have no doubt that our emotional intensity is going to be there."
On the team's response since the loss at West Virginia
"We didn't get it done that week. All I know is that tomorrow, I can say that we did what we had to do yesterday to win that game, and then it's over and all that matters is the reality of what you are next week. If they just keep that attitude and motivation, it doesn't guarantee them success, but it will get you closer to it."
OSU Players
Receiver Tracy Moore
On scoring two touchdowns
“It's been a long time since I've scored twice in one game, so it felt pretty good.”
On whether he saw something matchup-wise to make him think he would have a good day
“We practice a lot of things. The corner I went up against today was one of the biggest ones we've faced this season, so I feel like if we can do it against a guy who is six-foot-one, we can do it against anybody.”
On staying motivated throughout the week following the Texas Tech win
“Coming off the West Virginia loss, that was a game we were supposed to win. Coach Gundy was telling us all week to stay focused, ignore the record and realize Kansas is better than people give them credit for. Wins and losses can fool you, so we came out ready to play.”
Cornerback Justin Gilbert
On starting the game with a kick return touchdown
“There's no better way to start a game, especially with Barry Sanders in the building. It was good.”
On what he saw when he caught the ball
“When I first got the ball, I saw a big hole and I knew that's where I was going from the beginning, so I hit it. I saw the safety and the kicker on the back end, and made a move on the safety. He adjusted, so I went back the other way and just had to get past the kicker. When I passed them, I looked at the big screens to see how close they were. That helped me get into the end zone.”
On not allowing a touchdown
“That's one of your biggest goals as a defense going into every game. If they don't score, they can't win. We were able to accomplish that today.”
Running back Desmond Roland
On the offense's overall performance
“Well, it was a great team win. The defense was tremendous, as usual, and special teams got it all started. We knew we had to come out and set the tone as we have in the past couple weeks with quick scores, and that's what we did.”
On what was working in regards to the running game
“It was really our inside zone schemes and our offensive line did a great job blocking, as well as our receivers on the perimeter. At that point, you just have to run downhill, and we were able to do that.”
On adding two more touchdowns to his season total
“It feels great. Not only is it a great feeling for me, but we're winning at the same time, so it's a good feeling.”
Cornerback Kevin Peterson
On what he saw leading up to his interception
“I saw it was their best athlete out there on the perimeter and we were in man coverage. I saw him look at the quarterback and I knew what was coming. I saw him running a fade, so I tried to get over there and cut him off. I heard the crowd get loud and saw his eyes get wide, so I turned and looked for the ball and it was hanging there, so I went up and got it. I tried to take it to the house, but it didn't work out.”
On the key to shutting down Kansas' offense
“The biggest thing we wanted to do is stop the run, because we knew they run the ball well. Once we were able to do that, they had to throw it around, and that's what we wanted. We were able to take care of it from there.”
On the importance of this win regarding momentum going forward
“It was good. We could have easily come out here and taken this game lightly, not play well and lose morale a little bit, but we were able to play hard from the start and make plays early. To win the way we did was really good.”
Safety Lyndell Johnson
On his individual performance
“I feel like I did OK, but I could have done better. I knew I needed to pick up the slack with Shamiel [Gary] out, and play well to help us get the win. I know I could have played much better, though.”
On the team's overall defensive performance
“We wanted to keep them off the scoreboard, but when you make an offense settle for three instead of getting seven, that's much better. I feel like we did a good job of that. We didn't get the amount of turnovers we wanted, but overall, I feel like we did well.”
On building momentum late in the season
“When you're trying to win a conference championship, every game is a big game. We can't take any games or days off, so we have to approach it with the right mindset. Our goal was to get the win and we did that, but now it's time to prepare for Texas and correct our mistakes. We have to prepare extra hard this week.”
Kansas Head Coach Charlie Weis
On the game starting off with an OSU kick return for a touchdown
"It hurts a little bit. We've been a little slow in the offensive area with scoring points this year, so when you're playing the game you want to keep the score within a certain point range. When we started the game off like that, it was a little deflating. It's still just one play, but can you pick a worse way to start a game?"
On how OSU's defense changed when he decided to switch quarterbacks
"You could tell the entire mentality of their defense changed when [Montell] Cozart came in because all of those defensive backs who were playing so deep weren't playing that deep anymore. That's why we were throwing the ball over the top. Most of his throws were deeper throws. I know his completion percentage wasn't good, but that's one of the things that we're going to have to be able to do if we want to bring our points up."
On the offense not being able to capitalize on scoring chances
"Well Tony [Pierson] dropped the one touchdown, and Andrew [Turzilli] dropped the other, but the game was over when those drops happened. We figured they would come up on us, and we also had a couple of posts that we had a chance on, too. We just didn't hit on them. I could sit here and give you 15 excuses, but I'm not going to do that. I thought in the first half we were moving the ball fairly well, but at the end of the day, it's not about how you move the ball. It's about point production."
On Tony Pierson's offensive impact
"Well, you saw right off the bat there with the 50-yard reverse play that he was ready to play. Tony can't touch the ball as many times as James [Sims] is touching it, but when he touches it, we get him in space. That's like our passes. That's where we get our chunks. He had two long ones, and that's our form of throwing the ball down the field."
Kansas Players
Cornerback Jacorey Sheperd
On returning kicks
“Every time I get the chance to touch the ball I try to do something with it.”
On enjoying punt returns or kick returns more
“In high school, I was a punt returner and I never did kick return. I can say I probably like punt return a little better. Once you make that one guy miss it's pretty easy to take it to the house. I am starting to like kick returns better.”
Wide receiver Andrew Turzilli
On coming back post-injury
“It definitely felt better that I got the opportunity to try to help this offense but clearly we still have a ways to go. That's still frustrating.”
On what he likes about Montell Cozart
“He's definitely very confident for a freshman which is rare. I like his ability and I like that he has a strong arm. He's only going to continue to get better.”
On playing against his friend Tyler Patmon
“It was definitely weird, but I am happy for him. He's doing good here and making some plays.”
Nickel Back Cassius Sendish
On the opening kickoff return by OSU
“You can't let 23 seconds dictate the whole game, obviously. It's a 60-minute ball game. Plays are going to happen and the other team is going to make big plays. But our team has to take advantage and make key plays as well.”
On how to keep heads up and move on from the loss
“The key is, when you get knocked down you have to keep getting back up no matter how many times you get knocked down. Until you get knocked out, and I don't ever see us getting knocked out as a team, or a unit, or a defense, or even as a secondary. I don't see it happening, so we just have to keep getting up and keep fighting.”
Linebacker Jake Love
On OSU having so many scoring drives under two minutes
“Obviously, you don't like giving up big plays and seeing them score quickly. They did do a good job and they are a fast tempo team and they executed pretty well today.”
On how to learn from this game
“You just have to shake it off and move towards the next game. You have to learn from it. Personally I have a lot to learn from this game. Personally I didn't think I played very well so I have to go watch film and see what I did wrong and try and get better from it.
On Montell Cozart's game
“Montell (Cozart) did a really good job running the offense and it was just unfortunate that he couldn't get a touchdown tonight.”
