Postgame Quotes vs. West Virginia

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement
"I told the team I was really proud of the way they finished. It was kind of ironic, after Wednesday's practice, I mentioned to the players that if you're a backup, the way some of this has gone this year, make sure you understand what's going on, make sure you know the game plan. We've had so many players that have had to come in and play. One of the most difficult things for young players to do is to prepare like they're going to be the starter when they're in the backup role. Unfortunately, that held true today. I think some of those guys came in and played pretty well that I mentioned you better be ready in case some guys get dinged up.

"Without watching the tape, it looked like guys competed, played hard. Obviously, defensively we gave up two big runs. We actually rushed the ball better on offense. In fact, that was probably the best rushing game we had all year or in a long time, but we gave up two big runs in the third quarter which everybody knows. That was an issue, and we're going to have to look and see what happened, we'd obviously like to get that cleaned up.

"Turnovers were about the same. Jason Taylor obviously continues to be in the right spot and make plays. Field goal kicker was good again in the conditions, he did a good job with that. Ollie (Gordon) was able to come in and make some runs, he did a nice job of rushing the ball. We lost Jaden (Nixon) and so Deandre (Jackson) came in and got some carries. He averaged over 4.5 a carry, Ollie (Gordon) averaged over eight yards a carry so that was encouraging for us. I thought (Garret) Rangel competed, obviously it wasn't a great day to throw passes, but you know he competed and made some plays. There were times he missed the throws and stuff, but overall it was a tough one for us. They made a few more plays than we did, and they called a few more successful plays than we did. I did tell the team that they get a week off, they need the week off, we need the week off. We need to recover a little bit, try to get a few guys back maybe that have not played in a while.

"Looking forward to starting back up. They get to play one more game together, and I want them to practice well, be enthusiastic and try to play the best game they've played in a few months. We might be able to get a few more guys back which would be good if we can get some guys healthy over the next couple of weeks. We have a chance to go out to compete and go out and play the best game they've played in a few months if we could get some guys back. Told them I appreciated their effort, which I did."

On his takeaway from the year
"We just have to stay healthy. We don't have enough guys to practice. It's difficult to mix and match. Somebody told me we had 22 first-game starters this year when all season we had six or seven. I would say that is the biggest issue."

On if the injuries are bad luck or something else
"I don't know. I've never had a season like this. I wish I knew what it was, I'm hoping it's just bad luck."

On why the running game was the best so late in the season
"Well, we've been working on it we just haven't seen any results. We rushed the ball better today, we covered guys up. You guys are up higher than I am, it looked like there were some creases in there for some guys to get in there and run a little bit. We haven't had that many creases in about six weeks. It looked like there were some creases for the running backs to get up there and run a little bit."

Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Derek Mason
On allowing three long touchdown runs
"Those are tough because they're explosive touchdowns. For us, I'll just echo what coach said, I think our guys played hard. Those three explosive plays led to 21 points. That becomes hard. We're talking about a game that's in the elements where we have to be able to do other things offensively and be able to manufacture points, too. Got creased a couple times. You see a guy get turned in the gap, see a guy not make a trip. What it comes down to is 11-man football. I tell guys all the time that it takes 11. We just didn't get it done the way we needed to in the run game. I thought for the most part, other than those three runs, we shut it down. But you can't shut down the run when you allow three explosive touchdowns."

On what he's learned at the end of his first regular season as defensive coordinator
"Get better. The 'get better' isn't just in the playing, it's in the coaching, too. When you get a chance to self-scout, I'll get a chance to do that with the staff, we'll look at where we're at. I'm proud of these players considering the loss of Trace Ford and Tyler Lacy. Guys having to come in and play pivotal roles this year up front, and everything we thought would be extremely strong got extremely thin pretty fast late in the season. For us, what you do, you don't make excuses. You are what you are. We are where we sit right now. Lucky thing is, we got a bowl game. That gives us an opportunity to get a couple guys healthy and see what the self-scout tells us. I think after the self-scout situations, I think we're pretty good at seeing exactly where we're at. We'll take these two weeks of bowl practices when we come back, and let's push it toward what we need to do. Let's go get a bowl win because that's where it's at."

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn
On freshman Ollie Gordon playing well
"He's been good, solid. It's just time when a young guy comes around. You put a freshman quarterback out there, you're going to have weird things happen. Freshman wideout, weird things happen. Anytime you play young guys, and they're freshman, especially true freshman, weird things happen. You shake your head like, 'What in the world just happened?' He's had a few of those moments during the course of the season, and it was good to see him come out today and play like he did."

On struggling down the stretch of the season
"It's been difficult. We started out and it was so promising, and we were moving the ball and scoring 44, 45 points a game after the first seven games. So to see it just collapse like it did, it's hard. It's been difficult. You walk in after the game, and you just don't know what to say to the offensive unit anymore, to the players or coaches. Things just kind of spiraled, and I don't have great answers as for why. Obviously if I did, we would move the ball better and score more points. But yeah, it's been a hard run, especially with the way it started."

Oklahoma State safety Jason Taylor II
On if the last few weeks have been frustrating
"I'm practicing hard. Everybody's practicing hard. Everybody goes in there and fights and honestly, when you come up short it doesn't feel good. And with multiple losses, it definitely adds up, and you get frustrated."

On why they came up short today
"It's a lot of factors. You can't really pick what exactly or one reason. It was multiple factors, and it happened that way so you lose."

Oklahoma State wide receiver Brennan Presley
On if he looks back on what could have been this season
"We still have another game to go so you don't necessarily look at that until after the season. You've just got to really stay clear headed right now because you don't want to start thinking about the season when the season is not even over yet. We'll just think about all that stuff after the season."

On freshman quarterback Garrett Rangel
"Just how composed he is. He's a student of the game. His first two games, at Kansas and then this one, a wet, not-ideal game for someone as young as he is to get out there and play, I think anybody else would have folded under those conditions. Just the maturity and composure that he showed just to go out there. He's going to make mistakes, we're all going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we've got his back. So, his composure and the way he studies and the way he has prepared, I think that's the best thing about him."

Oklahoma State linebacker Mason Cobb
On the defensive performance
"There was a lot of good stuff. That's the game of football, anything can happen. It sucks. I feel like that was our best complete game. Three plays was the difference. We lost three of those plays, which sucks. We wanted to come out victorious for the seniors. I think everyone gave their all on defense."

On dealing with injuries to the defense through the season
"Football is a next-man-up sport. I don't think having people hurt should be an issue. The next guy should be able to come in and do what the guy who was there before did. We've been practicing all spring, all summer and fall. It is frustrating when we get these close games."

Oklahoma State wide receiver Braydon Johnson
On falling short in close games
"It's definitely frustrating and difficult. We don't point fingers, we're a team. We just come together even closer, collectively, and know that we have to go back to work and fix the little things that maybe made us fall short."

On playing on Senior Day:
"You only get one Senior Day. Regardless of circumstances, you just come out and play to the best of your ability and potential. It's my last time in Boone Pickens. Regardless of the elements or any of the circumstances, I just wanted to go out and play as hard as I could for my team and my guys and my brothers. That's what I did, and I feel like everybody on the team, including the coaches, did that as well."

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown
Opening Statement
"Streak busters today, that was the motivation this week… We talked about two, things finishing and finishing well… It says a lot about who you are collectively, but more importantly it speaks to who you are as a man… Every time you have an opportunity to suit up and play, it's part of your resume… You should never waste one of those, and our guys definitely didn't today… I thought we played extremely hard and physical in about as bad of conditions as you can play in."

On the rushing attack
"We were beat up coming in, and I know they were too and then we lost several good players during the game. We ran the ball for 250 yards rushing. Jaylen Anderson, who we really like, he's come on, and he's got a bright future. He's got to continue to mature, but I think he showed some real signs. He's got a patient running style but was able to break two big ones."

On quarterback Nicco Marchiol
"We planned to play him. He got in there and he was a little anxious, but he comes in the third drive of the game after (Garrett Greene) got knocked out of the game and he manages the game. He ran the ball okay, he made a huge throw on third down against a zero blitz that showed his talent, but he managed the game. It was pouring down rain, we're playing on national television on the road in his first extensive action, and he showed up."

On the defensive effort
"Our defense was just gritty. In our secondary, we had guys down and they've been maligned all year, but they made some nice plays on deep balls on that last drive. Three really nice plays on the ball and to get out of that game defending the pass. I thought we played the run really well. They hit a few, but we had a lot of no-gains and TFLs and I thought our D-Line showed up today."

West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol
On how prepared he was to get his first game reps of his career
"Being a young guy, coming into college football, things are moving 1,000 times faster than high school football so I think the more the season went on, the more weeks I could process the game from the sidelines and see the speed of the game. Situations, third down, second down, the good and the bad, all helped me for this moment."

On if he felt more comfortable with certain play calls
"The designed quarterback runs I'm getting pretty comfortable with. The strength staff here definitely got my body ready to be able to take those hits so I'm definitely a fan of those designed quarterback runs. Any time I'm able to sit in the pocket and move the ball downfield is also my strong suit so just really a fan of this offense."

On his thoughts when Garrett Greene got injured
"Just getting the job done, whatever the conditions are. Obviously not the ideal conditions for a quarterback out there, but whenever it matters, it matters. Just had to come in and get the job done and get it to my receivers."

West Virginia running back Jaylen Anderson
On what worked well in the inside run game for him and the Mountaineers
"We schemed all week. Their interior is very good so we knew it was going to be a battle, but I just found a little hole and popped through and took it to the house."

On if he is seeing things open up easier the past few games
"Yeah, I think I was a little sped up earlier in the year, but the guys did a great job of telling me to stay ready. Everything just felt slower."

On how his preparation has improved and what that has led to on the field
"It just made me more confident on the field because I knew what to do and I felt like the game slowed down, and it finally paid off."

West Virginia linebacker Lee Kpogba
On Spencer Sanders not playing
"Honestly, it didn't make a difference to me because the goal doesn't change regardless of who is starting. We wanted to come out here and compete and get a win and end the season on a good note so honestly, it wouldn't have made a difference."

On competing without being bowl eligible
"I feel like it really shouldn't be that difficult, especially if you love the game of football like these guys do. This whole week I just wanted to send the seniors out on a good note, you know, because we already didn't make a bowl game so the least we could do is send them out with some sense of accomplishment."

On playing with Dante Stills
"It's an honor honestly because Dante is a guy who is known well around college football. Before I even came to West Virginia, I knew who Dante Stills was. To get the opportunity to play behind him and watch him make plays, it's a great opportunity for me."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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