Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU-Lamar: Post-Game Quotes
September 14, 2013 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 14, 2013
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Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement
“I thought our guys played okay. We were a little sluggish and maybe even sloppy at times. Offensively, we were pretty average. The defense got going after the first drive. It was tough for our players and getting them motivated at half time. I'll be honest with you. They did okay. I was proud of them. It was a good win for us. We weren't very sharp though. I thought we improved some in our return game. We worked considerably on our return game, and it benefitted us tonight…It's a good win for us anytime you win. We got the opportunity for new people to play. We have a number of guys who have walked on our team and worked extremely hard, give us great looks at practice, and their moms and dads got to see them on the field tonight and play. It's always pleasing for our coaching staff and players to get in and compete.”
On two bye weeks in the next four weeks
“I don't know anymore. If I was drawing it up, I would play four or five games, have a bye week and then play the rest of the season. That's the hand that we were dealt so we made due with what we had, and we programmed the young men to make them the best that we can be. Things that we don't have control over, we don't worry about. We'll take advantage of the bye week, get three good practices in, take three days off, bring them back and get them focused for the next week, get three more good practices, have a run-through and then travel to West Virginia.”
On what has impressed him about this team
“I think they've done a nice job of focusing, paying attention, learning and competing. I think they like each other, and they're starting to create an identity for the season. We have good leadership. How good we are, I'm not sure. We watch a few games, and I don't know how many teams in the country are good football teams. I like where we're at. I like that we're competing. I've said this before, their responsibility is to work hard and prepare Sunday through Thursday. They've done that. They've done everything we've asked them to do in that area. I think that's more important than anything else and that they give us everything they've got.”
On the opportunity for backups to play
“Fortunately, we're far enough along as a program that we take control of these games early, and it gives us a chance to work some other guys. If we had to punt again, we would've let Michael [Reichenstein] punt. I think as a coaching staff, it's important that we work through those situations. That's what we did tonight.”
OSU quarterback J.W. Walsh
On what specifically worked so well for the offense:
“We had good tempo going. The guys up front were blocking real hard, and the running backs were running really hard. We were able to wear them down up front. Early on we were in a rhythm and on the same page. That really got us going.”
On being able to let a lot of players get some playing time:
“It's a great feeling to have some young guys be able to get in there and compete so they can show off what they can do. Plus, we get to rest our bodies. There's a lot of positives associated with the situation we were in tonight.”
On the bye week before conference play:
“I think the bye week comes at a great time for us to really hone in on the little things and clean up some of the stuff that didn't look good today. The more we get to work on stuff and tune our skills, the better we can be for conference play.”
OSU wide receiver Josh Stewart
On his punt return touchdown:
“I was just trying to make plays. I knew my teammates would be able to hold their blocks so because of that, whenever I see a hole, I just go. It really turned out well for us tonight.”
On the offense's tempo:
“I think our tempo was great. We just need to focus on the little things. Things like looking the ball into our hands. We had a few drops, myself included. All we have to do is focus in practice. The tempo will always work to our advantage, so we just have to do what we do and be coachable, and the tempo will be great.”
On how the offense is progressing from week to week:
“The offense is getting better every week, regardless of the opponent. We're really excited about that. The key is just to keep working hard every week — getting better and better. That's what we've been doing. We're excited about what we can do as an offense and as a team this year.”
OSU linebacker Caleb Lavey
On whether the defense is performing to expectations through three games:
“We've done pretty well, Coach Spencer has kept us accountable and we're each doing our jobs pretty well, but we know we haven't arrived. Because we have experience, we're able to stay humble and keep the younger guys grounded. We'll continue to work to keep points off the board.”
On forcing a turnover in three consecutive games:
“Turnovers are always a huge emphasis, whether it's in games or practice. We didn't get the quota we wanted, but it's one of the most important things we can do as a defense.”
On the importance of the bye week coming up:
“It'll be big for us. We'll be able to stay fresh. It gives us extra time to work and prepare for West Virginia, who is a really tough team. It's an opportunity to fix mistakes we've made the past three weeks and help everyone get their legs underneath them.”
OSU safety Daytawion Lowe
On creating momentum going into conference play:
“It's always to come out and dominate before conference play because it gives us confidence. It lets a bunch of guys get some experience under their belt because we may need them in conference play. It's really a confidence booster.”
On getting stops on fourth down:
“As a unit, we kind of see it as disrespect when an offense goes for it on fourth down. We take pride in getting turnovers and stopping people so when it's fourth down, we just really want to get those stops.”
On the difference between this defensive unit and those of the past:
“We're just really close as a defense. We're all buying in to what Coach Spencer wants to do. We're all on the same page, and when you can do that as a unit, good things happen.”
Lamar head coach Ray Woodard
Opening statement:
"Well, this is not just a Big 12 team. It's a very good Big 12 team. It's as good of an offense as I've seen in the country this year. We're going to be a better team after coming in here to play. We were overmatched tonight. They were the better team. Hats off to them."
On the positives the team can take from the game:
"We got some exposure for our program. We got to come up here and see what it's like to play in front of a crowd like this. We got to play against some guys that were strong and fast. Luckily, we came out of it relatively healthy because we played hard. There are a lot of positives from tonight, but the scoreboard wasn't one of them."
On going for it on fourth down on the team's first offensive series:
"If we would have gotten it, things could have been different. I thought we got the first down, but I don't think you can say that we would have won the football game with just one extra first down. It would have been nice to come out and score early, though. I thought that was one of our keys to the game, if we could go down and move the ball early."
On what types of improvements are needed to compete the rest of the way:
"I've been pretty honest with our players. We went out and watched film on a Division II school and we knew we were better than them, but we watched OSU on film and figured they were bigger and faster than us. We did do a lot of things right tonight. We didn't have a whole lot of penalties, and we only had one turnover. We're doing some things right, but we were outmatched at times. That just goes to show the difference between their level and our level."
Lamar quarterback Caleb Berry
On the overall experience of playing at OSU:
“It was a great experience overall. We might not have executed like we wanted to on offense, but our guys played hard and with heart and I'm proud of them.”
On the difference between plays FCS and FBS teams:
“Their speed is much greater than some of the FCS teams. Not all of them, but some of them, the speed is much more difficult to deal with.”
On OSU's defense
“I don't think they were doing anything special. They were just executing and making plays. “
On their first drive of the game:
“We just didn't execute on fourth down and third down. If we make those throws and complete those throws, we might get down there and score or get a field goal.”
On what they learned from this game:
“Like any other game, don't make mistakes and execute, and you have a chance of winning. If you don't, you're probably going to lose.”
