Sept. 9, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Listen to ASU vs. Nevada Student-Athletes Post-Game Press Conference
Listen to Coach Koetter's Post-Game Press Conference
Arizona State Head Coach Dirk Koetter
On the game:
"What pleased us the most was that we showed some explosiveness. We were able to make some explosive plays and throw the ball vertically down the field a little bit, which we thought we'd be able to do, but we thought it would come off of a more productive running game. The running game part didn't materialize like we thought it would. But I'm pleased that we made some big plays in the passing game."
"Other than maybe two drives, I'm real happy about the defense. The drive that ended the first half was not our best and one drive in the second half. Of the points that scored, really our offense gave up two touchdowns, the pick by Rudy (Carpenter) and the fumbled snap by Danny (Sullivan)."
On the second half:
"I think we relaxed a little in the second half and didn't finish as well as would have liked to, but we made some explosive plays on defense, too. Ryan Torain came up with two big plays. Coach Bill Miller wanted to get Robert James back in the mix because we've got to have his speed on the field. Even though Derron Ware was neutralized a little tonight, it was Robert James and Ryan McFoy who stepped up tonight. We rotated nine D-linemen with the return of Tranell Morant. Grady Stretz, our D-line coach, was sending in fresh troops as often as he possibly could. We played seven or eight linebackers. Every football game takes on a different shape. This game didn't go exactly how I would have thought it would have been scripted, but we did what we had to do."
On Rudy Carpenter:
"I thought Rudy (Carpenter) started strong. I thought he went through a little stretch there in the second quarter where his eyes wandered a little bit and he didn't trust his reads like I would like to see him. Rudy and coach () Wittke made some really nice adjustments at halftime. We talked about some things we wanted to do and we wanted to hit some more corner routes. He came right out there in the third quarter and hit Brent Miller on a corner route, hit (Chris) McGaha on a corner route and hit Terry Richardson on a corner route."
On the depth at wide receiver:
"Chris McGaha, Nate Kimbrough and Brandon Smith have really stepped up their play. Mike Jones made a beautiful catch (for a touchdown). McGaha and Kimbrough have been working so hard in practice . Our depth at wide receiver is really coming along."
Sophomore Quarterback Rudy Carpenter
On the play of the offense:
"I'm just happy we came out and played well. I think we played better than we did last week. We had some missed opportunities and I think we are going to get better. The coaches always have a great plan for us. I think if we learn to execute that plan a little better we can get better each week."
On the interception:
"I think we always need 80-yard drives. It gives you a bad taste [in your mouth] when you throw a pick. I threw a pick to Ezra Butler, who I played with in high school for four years and he's never done that before."
On throwing to eight different receivers:
"The best thing to happen for us tonight was having guys like Michael Jones, Chris McGaha and Nate Kimbrough, who really came through, play well tonight. It is really going to help us when the season goes on and guys wear down, start to get hurt or tired. We need those guys to come through and start playing for us. Nate Kimbrough had a long touchdown for us, Mike Jones had a long touchdown for us. Chris McGaha played well. If we can get Dane Guthrie and Brandon Smith going, we are going to have a much deeper offense and it's going to help our team."
On the interception:
"The defense was a lot different [than expected]. Teams know we can throw the ball and know our coaches are going to have a good plan for us. This week we expected to take some shots and throw some deep balls, not some of the thing we were throwing tonight. They played a lot different coverage than we thought we were going to get. That's the good thing about what our coaches do. They always have answers for us, regardless of what our plays are. Tonight I missed some reads and tried to run a bit. Sometimes that's the way it goes."
Junior Safety Josh Barrett
On facing :
"It's definitely a little sweet, knowing a lot of guys from the team. Going out how we did and executing the way we did on defense it feels good. It's a little special for me I think."
On McFoy's INT:
"I was glad Ryan got that pick. I came clean and when you come clean like that you have to make something happen. I was able to go to the quarterback and make him throw quicker than he wanted to. There were a few times he got out to the pocket but that was a good play for us."
Junior Tight End Zach Miller
On his rhythm with Rudy Carpenter:
"We had a real good feel for each other early on in the game. We just connected and he had a couple of scrambles where he found me and we practiced that all the time. It was nothing new for us. We do it all the time."
On breaking the ASU tight end TD record:
"I didn't even know about it until I read the program right before the game. When it happened I was all jacked up. I don't really think about records during the game. I'm just trying to get as many catches as I can. I want to help the team win. After the game it's a nice deal we get that."
On the defense:
"We had a nice game plan with our two tight end set. All the time I was out running routes as a check down receiver. Rudy did a good job of finding me, and a lot of the time on third down he was looking for me. It's good to be that guy on third down."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Nate Kimbrough
On nine different receivers catching passes:"Coach [Darryl] told us we were all going to get into the game. We need to do what we can do. I was just happy to be out there and catch the ball and show everyone what I can do."
On his touchdown catch:"Coach Koetter told us all that they were going to keep biting [on the fake], so stay on your route. So, as soon as Rudy [Carpenter] faked them out, I was open."
Head Coach Chris Ault
On 's Performance:
"Offensively speaking, we were really ineffective. Our quarterback play was sub par; it put us in a tough position. I thought had a nice game plan defensively, we did not respond offensively the way we should have. I thought our defense played well in the first half, the offense was what gave them great field position and they capitalized on it. In the second half, I thought our offense was really inconsistent. Didn't do a great job picking up the blitz and the quarterback [Jeff Rowe] didn't do a good job of audibling and getting us out of the play. Our defense broke down on two major pass plays, which made it easy for them."
On ASU's Performance:
"I thought did a great job, [Rudy] Carpenter looked great, he had all the time in the world and no pressure on him. I'm very disappointed. We got beat every which-way you want to get beat offensively and defensively."
On ASU's offense:
"There were no surprises. When you have a busted coverage and a guy's open by 20 yards, that has nothing to do with speed, that's poor defense. I thought we did well against the run but our pass rush was non-existent. But in the first half it was the offense that cost us in field position and points because of poor decision-making."
On the impact of the turnovers:
"The two fumbles were huge, it created a 10-point turn around. I thought we had some momentum going, no question about it. And when you're playing a good offensive team like they are, you can't afford to give them the ball with a short field. You cannot afford to give up big plays, which we did."
On 's inability to execute their game plan:
"We didn't get into good plays when we should have. Jeff [Rowe] didn't see what he should have been seeing, and it was very costly. We prepared to do certain things and we didn't execute."
Senior Quarterback Jeff Rowe
On the game:
"We gave them the ball and we played bad football. As a team we didn't play good at all. At half we thought we had a chance to come back but we broke down in the third quarter. They blitzed a lot and we had trouble picking it up."
Senior Cornerback Joe Garcia
"We made huge mental errors. We came out with a lot of passion at the beginning. We picked up the run really well. Our defense beat ourselves on a lot of plays. We were strong and played the run well. We gave them 14 points and if we didn't make the big coverage errors it would have been a totally different game."