OSU-Cincinnati Postgame Quotes

Doug Meacham, OSU Interim Head Coach…

Opening Statement:
"Some positives there, felt good at times. There was a feeling, at times, that they were about to turn the corner, and then things just didn't work out. That's (Cincinnati) a top 25 team and they gave up 120 rush yards. So our guys had a good plan. We ran the football really well and set up some other things, and Sam Jackson made some plays with his legs while improvising a few. You know, there were times in there that were pretty exciting. I'm proud of our defense for coming out of the third quarter."

… On Kevin John's debut as offensive play-caller:
"Kevin did a great job, real calm. They're very organized, and they did a great job communicating. It was just a really solid performance from him. His play calling was good. They put together a really good run plan. Some trips, nub stuff, and then some unbalanced and it gets that extra safety out of the box a little bit, and creates some random lanes up in there. That's the primary run stoppers, that extra safety, some of the formation stuff and motions and shifts, they did kind of neutralize that guy a little bit, and that created some running lanes. So, it was pretty good. It's a good job by him."

… On tonight's crowd:
" Just unbelievable, what a great atmosphere. You'd have thought we were up by 21. Whatever you call the shirtless people -- that's pretty awesome. Again, it got a little nippy out there, and I'm looking up there knowing I'd probably put my shirt on or go sit down somewhere, but they did a phenomenal job."

… On quarterback Sam Jackson V's growing confidence:
"Yeah, he's a little bit more confident. He's had a whole 'nother week of playing the position, and he will just get better and better and better as it goes. I think you saw a little bit more of a confident player out there, because he did a good job with the comms. I think the game is slowing down a little bit, as to what we are doing. Anytime you can run the football like that, it takes a lot of pressure off of the guys taking all of the snaps. When you gotta make a play with your arms and your legs every single time the ball snaps, that's a lot of pressure. So, I think he's getting some confidence because we're able to run the football a bit better and it just helps him"

… On wideout Terrill Davis:
"You look at what he did prior to getting here. He had 116 catches for John Norris and about five miles worth of receiving, where he came from. For whatever reason, the ball just hadn't found him as much. He's such a good kid, and you want him to have one of those eight-catch, 120-yard games at some point, and hopefully he will have it."

Clint Bowen, OSU Defensive Coordinator…

... On the OSU offense's first-half performance:
What the offense did in the first half gave us a chance, because what'd (Cincinnati) do? Four possessions and four touchdowns. That's as bad a defense as you can play, right there. But the offense controlling the ball, limiting those possessions until we could get ourselves figured out a little bit, kind of kept us in there.

... On where things went wrong defensively in the first half:
"We have a young team. Our guys haven't played a lot of football. All those things in the first half were self-inflicted wounds. Just a guy making a mistake in a gap or being out of coverage. All those things in the first half were really on us. I'm not taking anything away from Cincinnati, because their quarterback played an unbelievable game. They were very efficient on offense, but in reality, the first half, we made way too many mistakes on our own.

... On keys to the second-half defensive improvement:
We go to halftime and our kids, they're bought in. They've seen themselves improve. They're a great group of guys. And they go into halftime and it's not a panic — there's no one yelling at each other, there's not any of that stuff going on. The beauty of college football now, you get to watch video in the locker room. We showed them the plays; we talked about maybe changing a couple things here and there to get shored up on some stuff. And the kids took the plan out there and executed it. I'm not one of those guys that believe in a silver lining, but I am very happy with the way our kids responded and stuck together throughout that game, and I think that says a lot about them."

... On what he thinks motivates the members of the team who have stayed on throughout the transfer portal:
"I think they're competitive kids, I think they have a competitive nature about them — that they want to improve. I think everyone wants to have a purpose and I think a lot of these kids have found a purpose — whether it's getting themselves individually better, a purpose of sticking together as a team... I think the biggest one is that they're competitive kids that want to be as good a football player as they possibly can, and when you show them that you can help them do that, then it starts to get a little bit of momentum and starts to steamroll with the kids believing in the coaching and believing what's happening."

... On what this OSU defense must do in order to take the next step:
"We have to learn how to play hard. There's playing hard, and then there's that unbelievable strain to get your job done. We haven't learned that next step yet -- what it truly takes to strain beyond what you believe is even possible yourself. We have to get there... and I think we have some guys who can do that. The margin for error in college football is so small, and our guys have to understand that. The perfect stance, the perfect step, the perfect eye placement -- everything has to be perfect. And that just gives you a chance to win. The other guy across from you is already doing that, probably. And so that true strain and focus, to play this game at such an efficient level is where we've got to go."

DeSean Brown, OSU defensive end…

… On his sack to end the third quarter:
"That was an awesome moment, to be able to celebrate with my teammates. And then we had that quarter and the media time out. So it was really great... It wasn't just me out there, though. I got credited with it, but Michael Diatta and Iman Oates in the back end did their jobs, which (allowed) me to have that sack.

… On the energy level on the sideline today:
"Yes, for sure. Even though the game wasn't going (our way) every time... we kept together and stayed strong together... Just knowing that the person next you has your back makes you want to play harder."

Cam Smith, OSU defensive back…

… On the next step for the team:
"Just going back and watching film as a team, just trying to play a complete game as a team. Like, if the offense is scoring, the defense has to go out there and get a stop. So, I'd just say trying to play a complete game as a team."

… On staying in Stillwater:
"I still have a lot of faith in this team and the coaches. We're working with what we have, and we can't really dwell on the people who have entered the portal. We just have to focus on what we have here and try to be better."

… On Oklahoma State fans:
"They stayed throughout the whole game; it means a lot. 'Loyal and True' is our saying, so the fans who stay, even when we're not playing our best, definitely mean a lot. Just looking up and seeing our fans are energized and still trying to hype up the team."

… On what motivates him:
"Really, just my teammates that stayed and the coaches that stayed motivate me because I'm playing for more than myself. I'm playing for those guys who stayed and are sticking it out."

Bob Schick, OSU offensive lineman…

… On Rodney Fields Jr.'s performance:
"He looked great. He had 160 yards, or something like that, which is super fun to watch. It's fun watching him make guys miss, hit the holes and just run. I thought we had a great game plan and everything for him, too."

… On his level of confidence in the run game heading into the contest:
"I feel like our game plan was to run the ball. Once you run the football well, everything else is a little bit easier. That kind of showed tonight, as we had more explosive passes. Sam (Jackson V) was able to make stuff happen with the wide receivers, then Rodney (Fields Jr.) running the ball, Sesi (Vailahi) running the ball and running hard really shows that."

… On the offensive line's adaptability:
"It's been really cool to see the guys step up, like Jakobe (Sanders) stepping up and playing right guard the whole game. It was great to see him fill that role in practice and really step up. That's kind of the mentality that we have as an offensive line unit. You don't know when you're going to play, and you have to be ready to play. He was ready to play today, for sure."

Rodney Fields Jr., OSU running back…

… On gaining confidence as the game went along:
"Yeah, I feel like I had a lot of momentum and had a great feeling about the game. I was getting used to and seeing where the runs would be, then they started hitting."

… On seeing Sesi Vailahi play well alongside him:
"It's a great feeling. Once I go out there, I can do my thing. Then, knowing that we have another running back out there that can do the same thing, that's a good feeling."

… On his cousin, LanSainian Fields' first career start:
"I told him to be patient throughout the whole season, and he'll get to that spot, and he did good out there."

Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati Head Coach…

… On the Bearcats' performance:
"First of all, just really proud of our guys. Again, coming on the road in the Big 12, we know it's challenging to come out and try to get a win on the road. Homecoming, great atmosphere here. I thought the crowd was really into it, and I thought Oklahoma State played hard today."

… On OSU quarterback Sam Jackson V:
"They came out with a quarterback who made his second start of the season, and I thought he played really well today. He caused some problems for us when he scrambled and throwing the ball down the field, making some really accurate throws."

… On the dynamic nature of the Cincinnati offense:
"Proud of our offense. Our offense came out and we had the ball four times in the first half and scored touchdowns all four times. So I felt like we grabbed that momentum, particularly right before half. That was a huge drive for us. Backed up on our minus-5 or minus-6 yard-line, to go all the way down to score was big for us. We came out in the third quarter and it was a lull for us. But then we came back in the fourth quarter. I thought the play of the fourth quarter was (Brendan) Soresby to (Jeff) Caldwell on a fourth and maybe 18. It was an incredible throw and catch and we'd go on to score."

… On the Bearcat's first interception of the season and the momentum it brings:
"Defensively, picking up those two turnovers, including the longest interception return in Cincinnati Football history with (Matthew) McDoom. What a heck of a way to finally score on a defensive touchdown. But I just think, overall, proud of our guys. 1-0 this week and excited to get back to Nippert (Stadium) next week."

Matthew McDoom, Cincinnati cornerback…

… On his interception:
"I knew the play was coming to me, and I had to make a play. It's been past due. We've been talking about it for weeks. I'm just glad that I was able to make a play and put up points for the defense."

… On getting Cincinnati's first interception of the season:
"It was amazing. You always look to get turnovers, get takeaways for the defense. So just getting this one, it means a lot. Time to just stack 'em up."

… On facing an unconventional QB in OSU's Sam Jackson V:
"We had a good week. We were really prepared. We were really locked in this whole week. We know that they had a lot of people that were throwing the balls. They had a lot of trick plays that they already ran, so it's really just good eye discipline. Just make sure you're doing your one-eleven, so that's what we did, and came out with a dub."

Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati quarterback…

… On his evaluation of the game:
"It was a fun one. I think we did a good job of putting it on them quick and then whenever they were responding, we did a good job responding back. We've still got to find a way to come out of the half faster, because at the end of the (first half), we were moving it at will. We're just shooting ourselves in the foot. So we've got to find a way to clean up the mistakes, and we'll be good moving forward."

… On a key third-down conversion:
"It wasn't necessarily a part of the read, not what the read told me to do, but I saw a little bit of grass. Saw Jeff (Caldwell), said screw it, we'll see what happens. Jeff made a really good play, we ended up moving the chains of a long third down."

… On how he keeps the offense going:
"We get into a rhythm, and we just stay there and we got to keep building off of it. Like I said earlier in the week, we've gotta get that first first down and we really get the ball moving and we can use our tempo. Everything seems to fall into place whenever we get that way. We've just got to keep doing it. It's really hard on defenses to defend and whenever we do move the chains…that's what leads to points for us."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

DeSean Brown

Terrill Davis

Michael Diatta

Rodney Fields Jr.

Sam Jackson V

Iman Oates

Bob Schick

Cam Smith

Sesi Vailahi

Related Videos