Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. South Alabama Postgame Quotes
September 08, 2018 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State vs. South Alabama Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement
"We played pretty good at times. I think defensively we had nine three-and-outs, maybe something like that, I counted, which was good. We gave up an easy throw for a touchdown after a muffed punt. But overall, in the second half we tackled much better, the first half we did not tackle very well, so once we cleaned up our tackling and we were in the right spot, we covered pretty good. I thought we played pretty good defensively. Offensively, we were ok. We're not run blocking very well. Run blocking was below average, didn't give our guys a chance really. They played a lot of low safeties, they were way down in there. We managed to throw for a lot of yards, but we still don't run the ball well enough in my opinion to be successful in the long run. So we have a lot of improvement in that area. And I was disappointed in special teams, obviously had a muffed punt, we let two balls hit the ground in our punt return unit that shouldn't have hit the ground. We got to go and make that play, it's not easy but I feel we're athletic enough to do that. And then we gave up one 25- or 30- yard return on the kick off, so not very pleased with special teams. And not excited about our lack of discipline with 15-yard penalties. So overall, it's a good win. You win by 40 points that's a heck of a deal but we need to be a more disciplined team and so that starts with me, and I'll get that through to the coaches and we'll get that passed along. And we'll need to play better, as I said a couple weeks ago, each week they get better, the next team we're playing is a really good football team so we'll need to play a lot better in all those areas that I just mentioned."
On the importance of running the ball
"There are times we're going to have to run the ball when they say you can't run it. You have got to be able to run the football, and we couldn't do that tonight. We have done that in the past, things that we do. The way their safeties and linebackers were playing, you're limited in some of the things you can do, but you have to be better at it than what we did. There's nobody covering the middle of the field, so you can throw the ball in the middle of the field pretty much any time you want. We're going to play some teams that might be good enough to play that way and then minimize what we get on the perimeter, so there's times you got to be able to rush the football four yards-per-carry."
On the play of Taylor Cornelius
"He was better. He had a poor throw, if I was him I would not scramble on every throw to the right in the end zone again, the rest of his career, I would just run it. Two of his worst throws in his career have been that play. But he was a lot better tonight. He threw the ball well."
On the chemistry built with Cornelius, Tylan Wallace and Tyron Johnson
"They get so much work in practice. Now again, that doesn't mean it's a game, but it made a difference for us. They're guys that we can count on. They'll need to play that way and even play better as we progress into next week."
On the play calling throughout the game
"The difference was last week they had really high safeties, so there was a lot more opportunities to rush the football, this week they had really low safeties, and more of an opportunity to throw the ball. Offenses have to base what we do on what the defense does to a certain extent. And we have to be versatile enough that if they're going to let us run it we got to run it and throw it. It's always been that way. It's never perfect, but there weren't as many opportunities as there was tonight."
Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles
On overall improvements from Week 1 to Week 2
"I thought we adjusted well evidenced by the numbers we put up in the second half. They threw some things at us that were new and different, but that's going to happen every game. Defense is a lot about how you make adjustments. I was pleased with the way we moved forward."
On young players stepping up
"We have been wanting to play some younger players more often. The (Kenneth Edison-) McGruder situation forced us into that and I liked what I saw. I think (Kolby) Peel is going to be a good player. We have to do a better job of teaching guys to not duck their heads. It's got to be rugby tackling. You've got to keep your head up and wrap up. You might miss some more tackles, but that's life. I get why they're calling that."
On secondary depth
"I like the guys who have been getting playing experience. That's going to help us in the Big 12. I've never had a lot of defensive backs that I thought could step up and play well, That's just the way it is. In this system, you're always just kind of getting by. The more depth the better."
Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On the importance of Tyron Johnson and Tylan Wallace's play tonight
"Those guys got to win. You see it every game, there's always a play that's one-on-one and they've got to win that matchup. We're glad that we have a lot athleticism as a whole that we can win those battles. We've got to continue to improve at that position."
On offensive line play
"I think it's a work in progress. Viewing it from the box, there are things we could've done better. The defense dictates a lot of what you do and if they're going to let you throw the ball over their heads, do it, but you've also got to be able to run the ball and impose your will. We're going to continue to make strides improving in the run game."
On what he's looking for before the Boise State game
"Steady progression with no mistakes. Anytime you play a good team, those mistakes get maximized. You can't get behind the chains, no penalties, no negative yardage plays. You want to stay on schedule. You want to play with tempo. All of those things that make good offenses good. We want to work on making sure we're executing the base fundamentals of this offense."
Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening statement
"We played pretty good at times. I think defensively we had nine three-and-outs, maybe something like that, I counted, which was good. We gave up an easy throw for a touchdown after a muffed punt. But overall, in the second half we tackled much better, the first half we did not tackle very well, so once we cleaned up our tackling and we were in the right spot, we covered pretty good. I thought we played pretty good defensively. Offensively, we were ok. We're not run blocking very well. Run blocking was below average, didn't give our guys a chance really. They played a lot of low safeties, they were way down in there. We managed to throw for a lot of yards, but we still don't run the ball well enough in my opinion to be successful in the long run. So we have a lot of improvement in that area. And I was disappointed in special teams, obviously had a muffed punt, we let two balls hit the ground in our punt return unit that shouldn't have hit the ground. We got to go and make that play, it's not easy but I feel we're athletic enough to do that. And then we gave up one 25- or 30- yard return on the kick off, so not very pleased with special teams. And not excited about our lack of discipline with 15-yard penalties. So overall, it's a good win. You win by 40 points that's a heck of a deal but we need to be a more disciplined team and so that starts with me, and I'll get that through to the coaches and we'll get that passed along. And we'll need to play better, as I said a couple weeks ago, each week they get better, the next team we're playing is a really good football team so we'll need to play a lot better in all those areas that I just mentioned."
On the importance of running the ball
"There are times we're going to have to run the ball when they say you can't run it. You have got to be able to run the football, and we couldn't do that tonight. We have done that in the past, things that we do. The way their safeties and linebackers were playing, you're limited in some of the things you can do, but you have to be better at it than what we did. There's nobody covering the middle of the field, so you can throw the ball in the middle of the field pretty much any time you want. We're going to play some teams that might be good enough to play that way and then minimize what we get on the perimeter, so there's times you got to be able to rush the football four yards-per-carry."
On the play of Taylor Cornelius
"He was better. He had a poor throw, if I was him I would not scramble on every throw to the right in the end zone again, the rest of his career, I would just run it. Two of his worst throws in his career have been that play. But he was a lot better tonight. He threw the ball well."
On the chemistry built with Cornelius, Tylan Wallace and Tyron Johnson
"They get so much work in practice. Now again, that doesn't mean it's a game, but it made a difference for us. They're guys that we can count on. They'll need to play that way and even play better as we progress into next week."
On the play calling throughout the game
"The difference was last week they had really high safeties, so there was a lot more opportunities to rush the football, this week they had really low safeties, and more of an opportunity to throw the ball. Offenses have to base what we do on what the defense does to a certain extent. And we have to be versatile enough that if they're going to let us run it we got to run it and throw it. It's always been that way. It's never perfect, but there weren't as many opportunities as there was tonight."
Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles
On overall improvements from Week 1 to Week 2
"I thought we adjusted well evidenced by the numbers we put up in the second half. They threw some things at us that were new and different, but that's going to happen every game. Defense is a lot about how you make adjustments. I was pleased with the way we moved forward."
On young players stepping up
"We have been wanting to play some younger players more often. The (Kenneth Edison-) McGruder situation forced us into that and I liked what I saw. I think (Kolby) Peel is going to be a good player. We have to do a better job of teaching guys to not duck their heads. It's got to be rugby tackling. You've got to keep your head up and wrap up. You might miss some more tackles, but that's life. I get why they're calling that."
On secondary depth
"I like the guys who have been getting playing experience. That's going to help us in the Big 12. I've never had a lot of defensive backs that I thought could step up and play well, That's just the way it is. In this system, you're always just kind of getting by. The more depth the better."
Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich
On the importance of Tyron Johnson and Tylan Wallace's play tonight
"Those guys got to win. You see it every game, there's always a play that's one-on-one and they've got to win that matchup. We're glad that we have a lot athleticism as a whole that we can win those battles. We've got to continue to improve at that position."
On offensive line play
"I think it's a work in progress. Viewing it from the box, there are things we could've done better. The defense dictates a lot of what you do and if they're going to let you throw the ball over their heads, do it, but you've also got to be able to run the ball and impose your will. We're going to continue to make strides improving in the run game."
On what he's looking for before the Boise State game
"Steady progression with no mistakes. Anytime you play a good team, those mistakes get maximized. You can't get behind the chains, no penalties, no negative yardage plays. You want to stay on schedule. You want to play with tempo. All of those things that make good offenses good. We want to work on making sure we're executing the base fundamentals of this offense."
Quarterback Taylor Cornelius
On the offense vs. South Alabama
"The receivers went out and made plays, our offensive line did a great job and our running backs did a great job out of the backfield all night long."
On playing more loose this week
"I definitely felt more comfortable this week. It's still not exactly what we wanted with two interceptions, but I felt more comfortable out there and feel good after two weeks."
On what they need to improve heading into next week's game vs. Boise State
"We just need to clean up our turnovers and limit the number of penalties we have."
Wide Receiver Tylan Wallace
On playing with Taylor Cornelius as his quarterback
"Oh it's great and it's really fun. He throws a great ball to all of the wide receivers and I couldn't ask for a better quarterback to play with."
On the wide receivers starring against South Alabama after the running backs did a week ago
"Yeah it all just depends on the defense that teams run against us. Last week, they let us run the ball and this week they were letting us throw it, so everybody just has to be ready to step up when it's their time."
On his breakout game
"It's just a blessing, honestly. The defense that South Alabama was running just gave us some opportunities to throw the ball deep. Last week, Missouri State didn't really let us throw it around that much, so we just went out there and made the plays that we knew we could make."
Linebacker Devin Harper
On his pick-six
"The play Coach (Jim) Knowles called was perfect for what they were running, so it was just a good call from Coach and we just executed it right."
On Coach Knowles' system through two games
"We all like it a lot. It's very energetic and he likes to blitz and see us run around. He likes for all of us to be athletes a lot of the time."
On what the defense needs to do moving forward
"We just have to stay focused on the next game and continue to go out there and play hard and put the metal to them."
Defensive Lineman Trey Carter
On the defense vs. South Alabama
"We felt great. We came out here and did what we had to do. We made a lot of plays and were able to stop the play action. I'm excited about what we did and seeing our offense put up 55 points on a team is great too. That means we did exactly what we needed to do and we were all able to make plays."
On creating pressure as a defense
"It's very important for us to create pressure. We make the job a lot harder for quarterbacks when we can do that. When we do our job, it helps release our cornerbacks and when the cornerbacks do our job, it helps us to make the plays that we need to make. I'm really excited about the way that we came out and did what we did by putting pressure on them and everything else."
On Coach Knowles' system:
"It's exciting being freed up to go out there and do what we need to do. We have a lot more one-on-ones out there. I feel like South Alabama kind of brought more double teams to the three-technique and the nose tackle, but at the same time, Coach Knowles switched it up after he saw what they were trying to do. We switched up our scheme a bit and we went out there and continued to do what we needed to do."
South Alabama Head Coach Steve Campbell
On tonight's game
"The way the game turned out, I don't think we did a great job coaching. We had opportunities to make a few plays that we definitely left out there. Today was very disappointing."
On the first half
"I thought we had a chance to make it interesting early. But we didn't and it got away from us. Congratulations to them, they did a bunch of great stuff. They're a great football team and they did a lot of good stuff. Hats off to them."
On looking forward to next week
"We will get better from this. We will learn from this and we will get better. This is a feeling that we are not going to get used to."
On conference play starting
"It starts with having a great day on Sunday and then a great day on Tuesday. If you waste a day, you're going to wind up playing somebody that didn't waste that day. We cannot have a day where we don't make great strides. We're looking forward to getting into Sun Belt play."
Quarterback Evan Orth
On upcoming conference play
"I'm one to forget about these games. Just got to move on because at the end of the day every game matters, but this weekend really matters. We haven't played Texas State in a couple of years. I know they're good. We just have to come out ready to play."
On the positives of playing a Power 5 opponent
"I think it's good experience. We have some young guys. We have some people that haven't played that much. They were fast, big and strong just like we expected. At the end of the day, we were playing well. We scored touchdowns and were moving the ball. I think we can take the experience into conference play. Don't get me wrong Texas State is going to be good, but Oklahoma State is going to have a good season."
Safety Tobias Moss
On the mindset of the team after game
"Our emotions are down right now, but coach already said that we are going to get back to the drawing board starting tomorrow. He wants to see how we respond to it."
On Oklahoma State
"They have a pretty explosive offense. They do a lot of things where they try to get their receivers some space to try to get the ball to them. Overall, we made a lot of mistakes. They made some plays that capitalized off them. They made more big plays than us."
On the offense vs. South Alabama
"The receivers went out and made plays, our offensive line did a great job and our running backs did a great job out of the backfield all night long."
On playing more loose this week
"I definitely felt more comfortable this week. It's still not exactly what we wanted with two interceptions, but I felt more comfortable out there and feel good after two weeks."
On what they need to improve heading into next week's game vs. Boise State
"We just need to clean up our turnovers and limit the number of penalties we have."
Wide Receiver Tylan Wallace
On playing with Taylor Cornelius as his quarterback
"Oh it's great and it's really fun. He throws a great ball to all of the wide receivers and I couldn't ask for a better quarterback to play with."
On the wide receivers starring against South Alabama after the running backs did a week ago
"Yeah it all just depends on the defense that teams run against us. Last week, they let us run the ball and this week they were letting us throw it, so everybody just has to be ready to step up when it's their time."
On his breakout game
"It's just a blessing, honestly. The defense that South Alabama was running just gave us some opportunities to throw the ball deep. Last week, Missouri State didn't really let us throw it around that much, so we just went out there and made the plays that we knew we could make."
Linebacker Devin Harper
On his pick-six
"The play Coach (Jim) Knowles called was perfect for what they were running, so it was just a good call from Coach and we just executed it right."
On Coach Knowles' system through two games
"We all like it a lot. It's very energetic and he likes to blitz and see us run around. He likes for all of us to be athletes a lot of the time."
On what the defense needs to do moving forward
"We just have to stay focused on the next game and continue to go out there and play hard and put the metal to them."
Defensive Lineman Trey Carter
On the defense vs. South Alabama
"We felt great. We came out here and did what we had to do. We made a lot of plays and were able to stop the play action. I'm excited about what we did and seeing our offense put up 55 points on a team is great too. That means we did exactly what we needed to do and we were all able to make plays."
On creating pressure as a defense
"It's very important for us to create pressure. We make the job a lot harder for quarterbacks when we can do that. When we do our job, it helps release our cornerbacks and when the cornerbacks do our job, it helps us to make the plays that we need to make. I'm really excited about the way that we came out and did what we did by putting pressure on them and everything else."
On Coach Knowles' system:
"It's exciting being freed up to go out there and do what we need to do. We have a lot more one-on-ones out there. I feel like South Alabama kind of brought more double teams to the three-technique and the nose tackle, but at the same time, Coach Knowles switched it up after he saw what they were trying to do. We switched up our scheme a bit and we went out there and continued to do what we needed to do."
South Alabama Head Coach Steve Campbell
On tonight's game
"The way the game turned out, I don't think we did a great job coaching. We had opportunities to make a few plays that we definitely left out there. Today was very disappointing."
On the first half
"I thought we had a chance to make it interesting early. But we didn't and it got away from us. Congratulations to them, they did a bunch of great stuff. They're a great football team and they did a lot of good stuff. Hats off to them."
On looking forward to next week
"We will get better from this. We will learn from this and we will get better. This is a feeling that we are not going to get used to."
On conference play starting
"It starts with having a great day on Sunday and then a great day on Tuesday. If you waste a day, you're going to wind up playing somebody that didn't waste that day. We cannot have a day where we don't make great strides. We're looking forward to getting into Sun Belt play."
Quarterback Evan Orth
On upcoming conference play
"I'm one to forget about these games. Just got to move on because at the end of the day every game matters, but this weekend really matters. We haven't played Texas State in a couple of years. I know they're good. We just have to come out ready to play."
On the positives of playing a Power 5 opponent
"I think it's good experience. We have some young guys. We have some people that haven't played that much. They were fast, big and strong just like we expected. At the end of the day, we were playing well. We scored touchdowns and were moving the ball. I think we can take the experience into conference play. Don't get me wrong Texas State is going to be good, but Oklahoma State is going to have a good season."
Safety Tobias Moss
On the mindset of the team after game
"Our emotions are down right now, but coach already said that we are going to get back to the drawing board starting tomorrow. He wants to see how we respond to it."
On Oklahoma State
"They have a pretty explosive offense. They do a lot of things where they try to get their receivers some space to try to get the ball to them. Overall, we made a lot of mistakes. They made some plays that capitalized off them. They made more big plays than us."
Players Mentioned
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