Sept. 30, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
- Listen to Press Conference: Coach Koetter
- Listen to Press Conference: J. Hill
- Listen to Press Conference: B. Manutai
- Listen to Press Conference: R. Torain
- Listen to Press Conference: Z. Catanese
- Listen to Press Conference: R. Carpenter
State Head Coach Dirk Koetter
On the game:
"When you get beat like that there isn't much you can say. I apologize to our fans for having to sit through that. Hats off to , they're a good football team."
On the bye week:
"We have to use this bye week coming up. We have a two-week time period until we play USC. We have to use this bye week and go back and start with the basic fundamentals in our passing game with throwing, catching and protecting. At times we didn't protect well and at times we didn't throw well and we've got to totally start over."
On Rudy Carpenter and the passing game:
"I don't think Rudy's issue today was mechanical. We just didn't make any plays. When we had guys open we didn't hit them and at other times we didn't protect him very well."
On going back to the drawing board:
"It's hard to imagine that Rudy (Carpenter) was playing at such a high level and over a two-game span it seems like we can't get out of our own way right now. It's hard to watch, but all we can do is go back to the drawing board and get back to work."
On the offense:
"We had chances to get in this game, but in the Pac-10 you've got to be able to score some points. We didn't give our defense a chance."
"I did think Ryan (Torain) did a decent job running the football, but you've got to be able call your passing game and have confidence that you're going to complete passes. We're just at such an unbelievable low point in our passing game right now that we're so one-dimensional we can't get out of our own way in the passing game right now."
"Passing game aside, it's frustrating when you're the head coach of a football team and you play like the way we played today. That's unbelievably frustrating."
On practice next week:
"The coaches will be recruiting three days next week. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday will be our additional practice days. We've got to use this opportunity to get better. We do have a lot of football left to be played. If we don't get better it's going to be a long, long season."
Sophomore Quarterback Rudy Carpenter
On the game:
"We got beat. We got beat bad. If I can put my finger on [the problem], it wouldn't happen. I do know that we aren't playing very well as a team right now. We need to start practicing better. There is no one to blame except us. You can't blame the coaches. You can't blame the fans. We can't blame anyone but ourselves. We put ourselves in this position and that is what we get. If we want to start changing it, we have to start changing in practice."
On his offensive disconnect:
"I'm just trying to complete a pass. I'm struggling right now. I'm going to continue to work hard and try to get out of this. I hope [I have the team behind me]. You will have to ask those guys. I just talked to them in the locker room right now and I think I do."
On fixing the problems:
"Football is a game that takes all 11 players on offense, all 11 players on defense and all 11 players on special teams. If you have one break down the whole play will be ruined, in most cases. In our situation, someone messes up. In some cases it's me, in other cases it is the offensive line. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We aren't going to point any fingers, we can't. What we can do is go back to practice tomorrow and get it fixed. And until we do that, this will be the result. We have a bye week to figure it out and that's what we are going to do."
State Junior Wide Receiver Rudy Burgess
On the team's struggles today:
"I think as a team we just came out flat. We had a little bit of momentum, but after they scored the first touchdown we really couldn't pick things up after that."
"I think a lot of the guys were carrying last week's loss with them, and that kind of got to us this week."
On what the team needs to do:"We need to rally, not point fingers, watch film and just get better."
On the offense's lack of production:"I think we have kind of lost our rhythm that we had the first two weeks. We need to get back on beat."
On Rudy Carpenter and the offensive line:"I think Rudy (Carpenter) is fine. We have some young guys on the o-line and we need to get them adjusted to playing at full speed, especially for big games like this, Pac-10 games. It's going to be different and something they will have to adjust too."
On the timing of the bye week:"I think it's good that we have the bye week, so some guys can just get away from football for a little bit and focus on the little things that we need to do. That's where I think we are messing up a bit, is with the little things."
Junior Tailback Ryan Torain
On the passing game difficulties:"It is all in the execution. We are doing great in other things, but that's just the area that we need to work on the most next week in practice. We need to practice hard, finish, and focus."
On the attitude in the locker room after the game:
"There's a lot of anger and aggression ready to get out. We just need to stay together as a team and work harder and get better; we just have to stay together."
On the frustrations of the team:
"The frustrations are just losing, nobody likes losing. We just have to turn this around and get some wins."
On the running game over the past two weeks:
"The running game has been good the last two games, but we have obviously lost the last two games. We just have to come together as a team and start completing some passes, just put the two together."
Senior Defensive Lineman Jordan Hill
On the game:"I don't even know if there are words to describe a game like that. It didn't click for us on both sides of the ball. We came out flat. came ready to play. We just didn't execute."
On the loss:
"It is always tough, especially when you lose a game. Now we have lost two in a row. We just haven't defended at all. You do a lot of soul searching, a lot of looking at yourselves and wondering why we aren't performing like we are capable of. We have a lot of talent and depth on this team. There is something missing to where we are all not on the same page. Going into the bye week we have to work on timing and staying on the same page so we can go out against USC and be ready to play."
On losing a three-game stretch last year:
"It is kind of bad looking back and seeing that we have gone through this before. Anytime you get into a situation like this you look back and look to the past. Just like last year we played tough against USC and still lost and then went on a three game losing streak. We were so hyped up for that game emotionally that you come out the next couple of games and play flat. We just have to get back to fundamentals and take care of some things. Right now it's about what the Sun Devils can do for ourselves."
Senior Linebacker Beau Manutai
On 's spread offense:"The spread offense is a really unique offense. There are a lot of trick plays. It really tries to keep you honest out there. They just made plays. They out-executed us. They did a good job."
On Dennis Dixon:
"He is a pretty good quarterback. They made some really good plays. They threw the ball out quick. Three step drop and the ball was out, so it was really tough for us to get pressure on him."
On the game:
"We don't feel good about how we played today. We came out flat. We really need to regroup this week. We have a bye week. We are going to take a lot of time to come together and find ways to make it happen. We will come back against USC."
Senior Safety Zach Catanese
On dealing with this loss:"We are definitely emotional about the whole loss. We definitely felt like we were going to come out and play a lot differently. It was and onslaught and we didn't really survive it. We are family and when bad stuff happens we get closer together. I think we are going to be all right. We just need to get over it as quick as we can."
On the loss influencing today's game:
"I don't believe in week-long hangovers. We didn't really come out and play the football we usually play. It's not because of the hangover, it comes down to an effort standpoint and giving it your all; being physically and morally ready the play. We just didn't do what we wanted to do."
On what could have been done:
"You can sit there and think about how to beat . I'd love to tell you the answer. This kind of stuff happens. I wish our effort and mental effort were there. Overall I think the effort of our team was lackluster."
On missed tackles:
"The missed tackles were a huge thing. We practice a lot. We are usually good tacklers. It was a number of things built up. When all that stuff happens you can't really expect a good outcome."
On the team's flaws:
"There is definitely not sometime wrong with this team. We should have come out a lot better the last two games. We did play two really talented teams. Things didn't really go our way. We didn't catch the right breaks. We have to come out fired up for the rest of the season."
Head Coach Mike Bellotti
On 's Performance:
"We played with great purpose. The heat was not a factor at all. I'm pleased with our conditioning, which is a credit to our players and staff."
On the Ducks' special teams miscues:
"The one nine-yard punt was not nice to look at, and our kickoff coverage still needs work. We loafed around and slowed down too much, and there are so many players in this conference who are great on returns, so we can't afford to let those things happen."
On the instant replay that overturned an turnover late in the first half:
"I did challenge the call, but the officials gave the challenge back to me in the second half. They told me that they gave it back because they should have been the ones to issue the challenge, not me. From what I saw, he (Dante Rosario) made the catch, hit the ground and then the ball came loose. Of course, the ground can't cause a fumble, which was the case."
On how Andrew Carnahan's injury helped :
"I believe his injury did have an effect. We got pressure in a lot of ways. We used four, five and six-man attacks, sometimes a linebacker and/or a safety. Sometimes we just played one-on-one pressure, and our defensive ends did a good job getting to the quarterback."
Senior Quarterback Dennis
On being up to the challenge today:
"We anticipated ASU coming full steam, and we knew we had to match their intensity and I believe we did that today."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Jaison Williams
On maintaining momentum:
"We kept capitalizing. Their guys got tired because of the weather, and our offense played well, which played a factor in that, too. We just had to keep their defense on the field and keep them tired. When it was time to bust a big one, we'd bust a big one."
On preparing for the heat:
"We were well prepared for the heat, Coach Bellotti kept us conditioned and made sure we were hydrated. Coach Bellotti told us that the heat would be a factor here, so he wanted us to make sure that we didn't let it be a factor."
On the Sun Devils:
"They're a really good team. They had some tough breaks and we had to capitalize on them. I just think that all facets of our offense are coming together right now."
Junior Defensive End Dexter Manley
On his team's performance:
"I'm never satisfied. I work hard in practice every day and today it paid off. As a team on defense we were able to dominate the line and really put some pressure on the quarter back. I just focused on beating my man and it helped the team."
On opportunities:
"I knew it was going to be my time to step up and make some plays because of our injured players and I stepped up to the plate and helped out the team. It's never exciting when you lose a player. As a team we played great and came out to win the ball."
On the heat:
"I wasn't tired and the team wasn't overheated, it was hotter when we played Stanford. Our coach told us about the heat ahead of time and how to hydrate."
Senior Wide Receiver Jordan Kent
On timing:
"The first plays we were a little out of sync but timing got better as we began to understand the defense. The numerous rushes kept us on our toes and when you miss big passes you have to forget the past stick with the present and keep working to build confidence."
On the offense:
"We have a good receiving corps that really wants to make a name for ourselves. There is no reason to be petty and get jealous when other receives make plays. has a lot of confidence and is poised in the backfield so we know eventually you are going to get some tight passes and we have to stay focused on what's at hand and support our team. In the second half ASU stepped up there defense a bit and there weren't as many open holes that is when we have to support each other."