Nov. 28, 2003
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ASU Head Coach Dirk Koetter:
"It is a very proud moment because everyone associated with Arizona State football knows the importance of the Territorial Cup. We want to keep it in our possession. We've won two in a row and four of the last five. It's a great way to send our seniors out and a build our young guys for the future."
"This was one of those games where I felt like Arizona didn't do much to stop us. I thought that the only way we were going to get stopped in this game was if we stopped ourselves, either with penalties or turning the ball over in the second half. I felt like we were in control from the get go by taking that long drive for a score and then we had a huge 95-yard drive. I felt that we had a couple of chances to put them away but we just hurt ourselves."
"Andrew Walter was on today and the receivers were making the plays. Loren Wade and Randy Hill really showed that they could run the ball downhill and they both did that today."
"The game plan was pretty simple. We wanted to run the ball up front and then play action pass over their heads. When we got the run game going the deep ball opened up. Walter has really improved with throwing off of play action. "
"Our offensive line was solid all year. This has been an unusual season because we've had tremendous success at times and we've shot ourselves in the foot other times."
On defeating rival UA:
"Anytime you beat your archrival 28-7, I think that most Sun Devil fans would be very happy."
ASU's Andrew Walter
On whether or not the win takes the pain away from the season
"It's a breath of fresh air. I wouldn't say it takes the pain away but it's nice to end the season on a good note and send these seniors off right. We're about winning with class and we did that today."
On scoring twice before the end of the first half:
"It was big. It all came back to us, executing our offense and getting some plays going. To finish the first half the way we did was a good momentum swing for us."
On the balanced offense:
"It no question helped. It set up our play action. When we could run the ball the way we did it's tough for a defense not to bite on the play action. Actually, three touchdowns were that, so when you can do that it's great and it worked out for us today."
On passing for 3,000 yards two seasons in a row:
"It's nice. All the yards and touchdowns and everything, I'd give back if we could win a few more games. Three thousand is nice but, for me, it's better to be a part of a team that's winning. Having to go to work every day with a team that's a winner is much more important to me than individual stats."
ASU's Regis Crawford
On playing his last game:
"We beat the U of A, that's the main thing. It felt good to win how we won. It was nothing too emotional but I wanted to make sure that we did the fight song one last time and have a good time the last time on the Sun Devil football field."
ASU's Jamar Williams
On the victory:
"That was a great win. We wanted to leave the season with something to remember. It's a big game and we can always step up for this game. We just want to carry this over to Monday when we start our training and before you know it the next season is going to be right back around."
On the importance of getting the win:
"To end the season with a great win like that against your rival is a great feeling. It helps us a lot going into the off-season and gives us some momentum and a leap on next year because we can already start building on what we did in this game. I think it's a great win and I have to give a lot of credit to U of A because they came out and played hard.
On getting the win after all the hard work of the season:
"We have a banquet tomorrow and I can't imagine what the banquet would be like if we would have lost to U of A. No matter what our record is, a loss to U of A would be huge because it's a rival game and we want to win every time."
ASU's Loren Wade
On today's game:
"After the first run of the day, I knew it was going to be a great game for me. It was a lead play, and Mike Karney made a big block and I gained six (yards). Our linemen never stop wanting to win. We played a full four-quarter game and that's what we need to do every time to win games. This was a great win. For me, because I was a red shirt, I never played against this team, so I didn't get to experience the rivalry last year, but it is a great feeling to come out here and be a part of this win."
On being named the game's MVP:
"I owe it all to Mike Karney. It was our goal to become a better running team this season, and that is what we did. Mike Karney and the offensive line really opened up holes for me to run through. I owe the MVP to the offensive line, and Mike Karney."
On his rookie status:
"This year increased my confidence level a lot. Last year, red shirting made it hard to gain any confidence because I didn't play in any games. At the beginning of the season this year, I was nervous coming out for a game. The more games I played, the more my confidence grew, and now I am used to it. I know I can come out and run all over the field."
On his 40-yard TD run:
"I didn't think there was going to be room to run, because their defense was all right there. The guy had his arm on me, but my force carried me through him into the open. Their defense wasn't playing hard enough to stop me."
ASU's Derek Hagan:
On his speed:
"A lot of people this season have been saying Derek Hagan isn't fast enough, he can't get to the ball and things of that sort. But today I think I proved to everyone that I can run and my speed has improved from last season and the beginning of this one."
On getting 1,000 yards in only his sophomore season and the pursuit of Shaun McDonald's record:
"It feels great to know I got 1,000 yards this season, and yes Shaun is in my sights, I'm pretty sure I'll hear from him in the next couple of days and when he does call I will be sure to let him know his record is in jeopardy."
On the win:
"We had to win and we did, it was our bowl game, and more importantly it gives us a whole year of in-state bragging rights."
On replacing Shaun McDonald:
"We needed someone to step up to take his place and it turned out that Skyler Fulton and myself emerged as the go to guys in this offense."
UA Head Coach Mike Hankwitz
"This is obviously a disappointing loss, anytime you lose to your rival. I give credit to ASU. They made plays and we didn't. We gave up a lot of big plays, and on the other side we didn't convert our opportunities. The interception in the end zone was good example."
"We didn't make plays on defense. You cannot give up big plays on the defensive side of the ball and expect to win. But again, give credit to Arizona State. They made those big plays."
On giving up quick scores:
"It is certainly frustrating to give up those quick hits. But I think it is also demoralizing to a team to march down the field, use up a lot of time, and get no points out of it. We were our own worst enemy at times today. We had a lot of bad penalties, and made a lot of mistakes. We have to eliminate those mistakes if we want to win."
On the uncertainty of the coaching staff's future with Arizona:
"This was the longest week. I think that we coached hard; we did our best to teach the kids, and establish discipline. I certainly believe that we left it better than we found it. I really feel this coaching staff did some good things for Arizona."
UA's Kris Heavner
"During the game, we made plays that got us down the field, but they made that one big play and when we had the chance, we just couldn't punch it in. It hurt us. We had so many chances inside of the red zone and we just hurt ourselves every time, picks and fumbles. We executed well and got down the field, but it seemed like we just kept hurting ourselves.
On the play of Mike Jefferson:
"Mike Jefferson was awesome. We needed him to step up this game because we had some guys go down with injuries. He played well."
On the underclassmen getting playing time and the team's future prospects:
"It's great that the young guys got to get into the game and get some playing time going into next year. We showed that we can play and we have a lot of young guys. We're going to be a force. This off-season, I'm going to challenge the guys because we showed this year that we could play with the best teams in the nation. We're going to just work our butts off in the off-season and we're going to be a team to be reckoned with next year. We have to build off of what we've done here."
On the rivalry:
"It's pretty fun. A lot of people made a lot of hype about the rivalry, and that's all it was. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't come out on top so there was a downside to it."
UA's Darrell Brooks:
"We made some turnovers [by ASU], but we didn't capitalize on them at all. They didn't do anything that we weren't expecting them to do. They just executed at times where we had some faults and they made big plays. You can't downplay anything they did today because they came out victorious so there's nothing else you can really say about it."
On the rivalry:
"Definitely, this was a big game. This is your rival. As soon as you commit to whatever university you go to and decide to play, you cannot select your rival. It's something that is very strongly instilled here through all our coaches and, definitely, this is big because now ASU has the bragging rights. We have a lot of things though that we can take with us into the off-season and a lot of things that we can learn from."
On the season:
"We had a lot of ups and downs this season. We can't say it was all negative because there was a tremendous amount of positives that came along with those as well. We got to see a lot of young guys who are going to step up and fill some shoes that are going to be a necessity for the next season. And we got to see where we stand against some of the best teams in the nation, like USC and TCU, and we know what we need to do now. With all this adversity, it's going to make us stronger and we're going to learn from this season."
UA's Clay Hardt:
On the rivalry and the end of his college career:
"No, this is not the end for me. I have my whole life ahead of me and I'm not really worried about it. I feel for the young guys who have to deal with it for a whole year. I actually have to deal with it for the rest of my life that I lost to ASU in my last game; I'll always remember it.
On the similarities between this game and the U of A season:
"There were a lot of similarities. We had a lot of opportunities and really didn't take advantage of them. When we should have made plays we didn't make them. We let them make big plays at bad times and that'll kill you. That saps your momentum and gives it directly to them. It's hard to deal with."
UA's Mike Jefferson
On the game:
"We were our own worst enemies today. We shot ourselves in the foot. We made way too many mistakes. There was a lack of execution."
On the rivalry:
"This was my first time playing here. I think now I have a better feel for the rivalry."
On next season:
"Whoever our coach ends up being next year, we're going to play hard for them. We're going to work hard in the off-season and turn this thing round."