Oklahoma State University Athletics
Head Coach Mike Gundy and Players Talk at Monday's Press Luncheon
October 23, 2006 | Cowboy Football
Head coach Mike Gundy
On Texas A&M Game
“It was a very good college football game last week for everybody who watched, although I wished the outcome would have been a little different. Defensively, it was a roller coaster ride for us. We had some good times and we had some nice stops on the goal line. I felt like we played well and then gave up big plays and obviously the big drive at the end of the game.”
On the offense
“Offensively, our offensive line blocked better than they have all year. Obviously, our running backs played pretty well. Zac Robinson did a nice job coming in for the first time in his career in a game that really mattered. The wideouts played pretty well.”
On the special teams
“Special teams, obviously we had the fumbled snap on the PAT and then the one at the end of the game. Ricks just missed the ball and kicked it extremely low. Nobody feels worse about it than he does but Jason Ricks is one of the hardest working players in our football program. He trains harder in the offseason than anyone we have, works hard during the season on his own and we believe in him.”
On Nebraska's blitzing defense
“They are very aggressive and, in my opinion, the reason they do it is because they have two good ends that can put pressure on quarterbacks and I think they get as good of linebacker play as anyone in this league.”
On play of freshmen quarterback Zac Robinson
“We have a lot of confidence in Zac. Our staff had talked throughout the season about how he continued to get better in practice with a limited number of reps. You never know how a young man is going to react when it is on the line. It is different when you come in and it is 45-7 and you go out there and just play and have fun. He handled himself very well, he was confident, poised, converted some third-and-long's, ran the ball and took care of it. He did some things in that game that I can't remember doing myself until I was about a junior.”
On emergence of junior running back Dantrell Savage
“He gave us(the big play threat) last Saturday. I think that Mike (Hamilton) has played better this year than last year. He's been more elusive and he's made more plays in space. Obviously when (Keith) Toston is taking care of the football and running he has made plays. Dantrell the other night was very shifty and did some good things out there in the open field.”
On bouncing back for Nebraska
“It is a dog fight every week. When you play in this league you better be ready to play every week and so we get our guys ready to play. They are excited about playing. The locker room after the (last week's) game was the way it should be. You had guys that were crying and upset over a close loss. If it is not that way then I think you have got a problem. You've got to go forward from this point on.”
Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Zac Robinson
On coming off the bench to replace starting quarterback Bobby Reid
“Coming off the bench, I was cold. It took me a couple of plays for me to get my feet wet. In that first play you have those nervous jitters, but after it you are fine. At half time was when I really warmed up because I was able to get my legs loose and I was fine after that.”
On learning from starting quarterback Bobby Reid
“All week, the second team did not get as much reps in practice, but that is why it is so important to watch what the first team guys do on the field. I always watch Bobby (Reid) to see what he does in a certain situation. Throughout each week, he really helps me out.”
On preparing himself for future games as a backup quarterback
“In previous weeks, I have prepared myself like I was going to get to play. Since it has not really happened, the game against Texas A&M showed why it is important to prepare like you are going to be the starter. This week I
will prepare myself even more.”
Senior Defensive End Darnell Smith
On the loss to Texas A&M
“A loss is a loss, and they are all going to be tough. We really wanted to get the victory so we could get rolling. It means a lot because we wanted to build our confidence, but it was tough to lose that game.”
On Texas A&M's final scoring drive at the end of regulation
“We thought Texas A&M would try to establish the run because that was what they were doing all game. We were looking for any trick plays. The main thing was to get to the quarterback and pressure him as much as possible. We tried to do as much as we could, but they ended up tying the game.”
On the overall play of the defense heading into the game against Nebraska
“We are going to continue what we have been doing and that is all we can do. As a senior, I think what we are doing is good, but if we stick to our game plan we need to learn how to finish. We need our players to know their assignments, shoot through our right gaps to get to the quarterback and make big plays.”
Junior Safety Donavon Woods
On the overall play of the defense this season
“We have to be ready. I think the seniors have helped bring the younger guys
along. We have to keep on playing and keep moving forward, but we need to
learn how to close out a game and pick up a victory.”
On the play of quarterback Zac Robinson
“I think Zac (Robinson) did a great job because it is tough coming off the bench. He did a great job by giving us a chance to win the game. He showed a lot of poise. I was proud of him and I am sure the other players on the team were too because he did what he was asked to do.”
Redshirt Freshman Safety Andre Sexton
On the loss to Texas A&M
“It still hurts, but like what the coaches have said you have to put it away because we have to play Nebraska now and they are a good team. It is time to get focused and we have to motivate ourselves to play harder this week.”
On not being able to defend two fourth quarter comebacks against conference opponents
“I think we have to carry over into the fourth quarter and finish hard. It is one of our goals as a team to win the fourth quarter. In the two conference losses we have not shown we can finish. We had Texas A&M backed up to fourth and 13 and we could not get their offense off the field. If we stopped them, we would have won.”
On Texas A&M Game
“It was a very good college football game last week for everybody who watched, although I wished the outcome would have been a little different. Defensively, it was a roller coaster ride for us. We had some good times and we had some nice stops on the goal line. I felt like we played well and then gave up big plays and obviously the big drive at the end of the game.”
On the offense
“Offensively, our offensive line blocked better than they have all year. Obviously, our running backs played pretty well. Zac Robinson did a nice job coming in for the first time in his career in a game that really mattered. The wideouts played pretty well.”
On the special teams
“Special teams, obviously we had the fumbled snap on the PAT and then the one at the end of the game. Ricks just missed the ball and kicked it extremely low. Nobody feels worse about it than he does but Jason Ricks is one of the hardest working players in our football program. He trains harder in the offseason than anyone we have, works hard during the season on his own and we believe in him.”
On Nebraska's blitzing defense
“They are very aggressive and, in my opinion, the reason they do it is because they have two good ends that can put pressure on quarterbacks and I think they get as good of linebacker play as anyone in this league.”
On play of freshmen quarterback Zac Robinson
“We have a lot of confidence in Zac. Our staff had talked throughout the season about how he continued to get better in practice with a limited number of reps. You never know how a young man is going to react when it is on the line. It is different when you come in and it is 45-7 and you go out there and just play and have fun. He handled himself very well, he was confident, poised, converted some third-and-long's, ran the ball and took care of it. He did some things in that game that I can't remember doing myself until I was about a junior.”
On emergence of junior running back Dantrell Savage
“He gave us(the big play threat) last Saturday. I think that Mike (Hamilton) has played better this year than last year. He's been more elusive and he's made more plays in space. Obviously when (Keith) Toston is taking care of the football and running he has made plays. Dantrell the other night was very shifty and did some good things out there in the open field.”
On bouncing back for Nebraska
“It is a dog fight every week. When you play in this league you better be ready to play every week and so we get our guys ready to play. They are excited about playing. The locker room after the (last week's) game was the way it should be. You had guys that were crying and upset over a close loss. If it is not that way then I think you have got a problem. You've got to go forward from this point on.”
Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Zac Robinson
On coming off the bench to replace starting quarterback Bobby Reid
“Coming off the bench, I was cold. It took me a couple of plays for me to get my feet wet. In that first play you have those nervous jitters, but after it you are fine. At half time was when I really warmed up because I was able to get my legs loose and I was fine after that.”
On learning from starting quarterback Bobby Reid
“All week, the second team did not get as much reps in practice, but that is why it is so important to watch what the first team guys do on the field. I always watch Bobby (Reid) to see what he does in a certain situation. Throughout each week, he really helps me out.”
On preparing himself for future games as a backup quarterback
“In previous weeks, I have prepared myself like I was going to get to play. Since it has not really happened, the game against Texas A&M showed why it is important to prepare like you are going to be the starter. This week I
will prepare myself even more.”
Senior Defensive End Darnell Smith
On the loss to Texas A&M
“A loss is a loss, and they are all going to be tough. We really wanted to get the victory so we could get rolling. It means a lot because we wanted to build our confidence, but it was tough to lose that game.”
On Texas A&M's final scoring drive at the end of regulation
“We thought Texas A&M would try to establish the run because that was what they were doing all game. We were looking for any trick plays. The main thing was to get to the quarterback and pressure him as much as possible. We tried to do as much as we could, but they ended up tying the game.”
On the overall play of the defense heading into the game against Nebraska
“We are going to continue what we have been doing and that is all we can do. As a senior, I think what we are doing is good, but if we stick to our game plan we need to learn how to finish. We need our players to know their assignments, shoot through our right gaps to get to the quarterback and make big plays.”
Junior Safety Donavon Woods
On the overall play of the defense this season
“We have to be ready. I think the seniors have helped bring the younger guys
along. We have to keep on playing and keep moving forward, but we need to
learn how to close out a game and pick up a victory.”
On the play of quarterback Zac Robinson
“I think Zac (Robinson) did a great job because it is tough coming off the bench. He did a great job by giving us a chance to win the game. He showed a lot of poise. I was proud of him and I am sure the other players on the team were too because he did what he was asked to do.”
Redshirt Freshman Safety Andre Sexton
On the loss to Texas A&M
“It still hurts, but like what the coaches have said you have to put it away because we have to play Nebraska now and they are a good team. It is time to get focused and we have to motivate ourselves to play harder this week.”
On not being able to defend two fourth quarter comebacks against conference opponents
“I think we have to carry over into the fourth quarter and finish hard. It is one of our goals as a team to win the fourth quarter. In the two conference losses we have not shown we can finish. We had Texas A&M backed up to fourth and 13 and we could not get their offense off the field. If we stopped them, we would have won.”
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