Postgame Quotes - OSU-Colorado - Oklahoma State University Athletics

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris
On rallying after halftime
"We challenged them at halftime. I thought we were sloppy in a lot of areas in the first half and to come out in the second half and go 34-to-0. I'm super proud of them, and we've talked about how resilient this group is. I thought offensively, we were in rhythm the whole entire game, and I thought we were better in the red zone. We took a lot of points when we got down there, and Sam (Keltner)'s been awesome as everybody knows here and so we're just thinking about how close we are to being so much better right now."

On first Homecoming at OSU
"All-in-all, a great homecoming win. It's my first experience with what Loyal and True actually means here and it's something that I hear all the time and to see this weekend the festivities and this crowd. The crowd was phenomenal, especially there in the third quarter, causing them to get into really third-and-long situations just because of how loud we were."

On kicker Sam Keltner
"He's a professional in everything he does… The way he prepares, and he's one of the guys… Some teams I have been a part of, the specialists are their own little posse and they kind of hang to themselves, but that's not the case here. Sam's one of the guys just like all the rest of our guys are and practices his tail off and executes his job so I'm super proud of him and he's definitely been a weapon for us."

On rebounding from losses this season
"We have a bunch of tough kids that love one another and are willing to out there and sacrifice and play their tails off through good and bad. We don't let the last play affect us, whether it's good or bad, and we continue to fight and play. I think this group is battle-tested, and they've continued to show they're willing to fight for four quarters."

Oklahoma State running back Caleb Hawkins
On being effective in the pass game
"It's been great. When nobody blitzes, it's always a blessing to be able to go out there and showcase what I can also do in the passing game. Drew (Mestemaker) has full confidence in me that he can just dump it down and get a nice few yards."

On William Mason getting in the endzone
"It's amazing. I'm so proud of him, and I can't contain it. That's my guy. We're both around 220-230, and it's just exciting to see him out there."

OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker
On having Sam Keltner when you don't finish a drive
"It's huge. I'm glad we can even get points when we aren't playing as well as an offense that we'll still get points on the board. Two of those basically add up to a touchdown, and whenever we are rolling, we get down the field well and then to have someone that can end the drive in points, that's big."

On how dangerous the team can be if they can put four quarters together
"I do think we are a good team already. Obviously every team has some stuff to clean up, but I feel that ours is a little more glaring sometimes. I feel we can beat any team we play against if we put four quarters together."

On how his relationship with Justin Bowick is growing each week
"I've never had a receiver like him, and I don't think there are many receivers like him out there. When you think he is covered you still throw it, and he'll make a play on it. I'm figuring that out, and I'm learning. He's not the type of receiver that complains about it on the sidelines. I'm glad we got him, and I'm glad we got him involved more."

Oklahoma State kicker Sam Keltner
On breaking Dan Bailey's OSU record for consecutive field goals made to start a Cowboy career
"It's special. I grew up as a Cowboys, fan and watching them in Dallas, and I walk past his Lou Groza Award every day so I know a lot about that guy. Just to even be in the same conversation is pretty great."

On what drives his success
"I'm confident right now. I'd say a lot of that is due to my holder, snapper and the guys up front. They've been phenomenal all year, and it's been great."

On the importance of his scoring
"I just go out there and do my job. It's important to get points. Points on the board are always good and so coming away with three (points) instead of nothing is still important."

On if he feels pressure to make kicks in high-leverage situations
"Not really. Every kick feels pretty similar to me. Of course there's the ones that are game-tying or game-winning, and you feel those; those matter. But outside of that, they all really feel the same, and I hold myself to the same level every time."

Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Bowick
On his connection with quarterback Drew Mestemaker
"It comes from reps. From practice in the summer and all the way back to spring ball when I first got here. Actually, on my first day on campus, me and some of the receivers and Drew went and threw the ball so it goes to show the type of guy that he is."

On how his success validates his decision to transfer to OSU
"Everything that we've done and I've done so far in this offense is a big reason why I came here – to be with Coach Morris and be explosive and have big plays like I did today."

On how the team is able to rebound from losses
"It starts on Mondays when we come in; switching that mindset and having that mentality of grinding all week to have a great Saturday game."

Oklahoma State defensive lineman Jerry Lawson
On the defense's improvement in the second half
"We start slow some of the time, which isn't good. We need to start fast and get on pace and work together more and communicate more. There were some times in the first half where we had a lack of communication, and then in the second half we started clicking and communicating and executing plays."

On defensive lineman James Williams
"He's a big motivator, and he's a great pass rusher. He helps all the young defensive ends in practice with their pass reps and helps them bend; he's a good leader."

On the OSU secondary
"They definitely stepped their game up this week, all around. They helped us out a lot, and it takes all of us to win a game."

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders
On the environment at Oklahoma State
"First of all, it's a beautiful stadium. A lot of these schools I had never been to so I'm always enamored by the beauty. The scoreboard is unbelievable. I think it's a heck of a scoreboard, and the atmosphere was great. It was great. I think they put on the scoreboard some of the NBA teams at the game, and that's awesome to see them come and support the collegiate players. That is awesome. But it was a great atmosphere. Wish it would have turned out differently."

On what Colorado can take from this game
"The first half was phenomenal. It was one of our best halves that we've played this season. Going blow for blow with a team that can score, we knew that offensively and defensively they would give us opportunities to do some phenomenal things, as we did. Like I said, Isaac (Wilson) was 14-for-16 at halftime and playing a phenomenal half, just distributing the ball to the players that were his reads. He did a great job of making his reads, but coming out and fumbling in the second half, as a team, I don't feel like we ever recovered. I really don't."

On the penalties
"I just got done talking to the team about discipline. We are so disciplined in everything we do, but it seems like as soon as we get on the field, we are not disciplined, and I really don't understand it. We are disciplined in every area. When it comes to academics, when it comes to being somewhere on time, when it comes to wearing the proper uniform, when it comes to just your manners in the building, everything, but we get on the field in the most critical moments, we blow it."

On his message to the fans
"It is not like we are not trying; it's not like we are throwing in the towel. Our fan base is phenomenal. I have heard more from our fan base because I know how much they want to win. I want to win because I am here. We are trying to play a complete game for four quarters, and we have yet to do so."

Colorado linebacker Gideon Lampron
On what was different about the OSU offense that you had so much trouble with
"It's not anything that they did. We didn't play good enough, and it's kind of what it came down to. It's never been about what the other team is doing. It's about us going out and executing, which we didn't."

On how penalties have been a problem
"I wish I could tell you. I've been to three schools, and this is the most disciplined, it's just the way things are. Everything the coaches do, they're getting us ready for the real world and we're so disciplined in every aspect off the field even in practice. I don't know the disconnect, and I hope we figure that out."

On the emotion and mentality after five-straight losses
"It's rough, we had a great mentality this entire week. This was an incredible week of practice. They just have to keep that energy going, and it will eventually turn around for us."

Colorado wide receiver Joseph Williams
On offensive results
"You know, everybody wants to win. We aren't playing together right now so I don't know what to do right now. We're going to go back to the drawing board, figure out what the issues are and everything, and we'll come back next week and try to come out with a win."

On how he felt being up at halftime and how Colorado handled adversity coming back from the half
"I'll be honest, regardless, if I have 100 yards, two yards by halftime, I'm feeling good about my team winning. So you know, we died down in the second half. We've just got to finish, just little things and details. We had a lot of penalties in that second half as well and then right before halftime. So we've got to at least go back to the drawing board."

On how deflating the turnovers and penalties in the second half were
"I can say it's deflating because all week at practice that was the main message for us, not to turn the ball over, no penalties. We were doing really good with both, in both those aspects from the beginning of the game, and I don't know, just like that we ended up with three back-to-back penalties and a turnover."

On how the locker room stays together after the loss to Oklahoma State
"We've got a locker room full of winners. A lot of the guys were at other programs winning so they know what it takes. So they see we're on the right path, we're doing the right things. We've just got to all come together as one and put a full four quarters together and expect to play a team like we played tonight with a high-powered offense and expect to come out with a win. So we've got to help the defense, stuff like that, you know?"

On if he saw any changes from Oklahoma State in the second half
"I didn't see anything much different that they did the second half. They still came out and pressed us multiple times out there. You know, left us one-on-one, so I don't know, they didn't do anything different to get in our way."
"It was us, it was on us. We got in our own way. So yeah, it's nothing that they did that stopped us from doing what we were able to do."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Justin Bowick

Caleb Hawkins

Sam Keltner

Jerry Lawson

William Mason

Drew Mestemaker

James Williams

Related Videos