Nov. 19, 2011
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Arizona State Quotes
Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson
On the loss overall:
"It doesn't get any more disappointing than losing that football game. With the crowd that we had and all the things going for us, to give up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and get down there twice and not get anything is just devastating. We didn't tackle very well - we turned it over a couple three or four times. Everything that goes wrong with a game that you lose is what happened."
On the penalties and what went wrong:
"The penalties were huge. We had some holding ones on offense that really cost us. We weren't moving the football. On defense we had some big penalties that kept drives going. Really the ones on defense, fortunately we were able to get out of the drive on the one in the first half. They kicked a field goal in the other one. The bottom line is we had opportunities to score on offense and put it away and we didn't do it. Defensively it was one of the poorest tackling exhibitions I've ever seen."
On the problems with the offense:
"We would move it but we could never get it in the end zone. We would go a couple of series moving it really well then all of a sudden we would stall and not get it in the end zone. That's kind of been our problem offensively all year. When we have a chance to put somebody away we just can't do it."
On what they were doing to stop the offense and the run game:
"I think it's a combination of what they were doing to us and our offense putting people in the box and then everything we do in the running game depends on the quarterback reading it a lot of the time. We don't have a lot of called runs in our offense. At times we ran it pretty well and we should probably do that a little more but again the offense itself is kind of dictated to what we see and what we call."
On the decision to start Adam Tello:
"Trying to get a bigger push. He played pretty well I think. Last week we didn't get much push at left guard so Coach Smith decided to make that change."
On the play of Alden Darby:
"We were in nickel a lot so he was in there quite a bit at corner but it was more in our nickel package than anything."
On if he's worried about his job security:
"People are going to speculate a lot of different things but the bottom line is when we are done with that game next Friday, Lisa Love and I will sit down and go from there."
Arizona State Player Quotes
Bo Moos, defensive line
On practice that week:
"We had a really productive week of practice, probably one of our most productive weeks of practice. That's why I don't understand it."
On common theme in the last three weeks:
"I think we just hit a point in the season where we just kind of thought we had arrived maybe and we lost hunger...at least for four quarters."
On Coach Erickson being a players coach and its effect on players:
"He wants the leadership to come from the players; which is where it should come from. We have a group of 30 seniors you should expect it to be there but something within the chemistry hasn't been right for the past month and I really cannot put my finger on what that is."
On the mood in the locker room:
"It's not good. I mean we are still together, we are still a team, we are still a family but obviously we are very disappointed."
On picking themselves up:
"You just have to find a way to regroup. Us seniors, especially this is our last home game. It's on our shoulders right now and we have to take charge this week at practice."
Brock Osweiler, quarterback
On how to react to the loss:
"Our fans came out and supported us better than I have ever seen here at Sun Devil Stadium. Devil-walk was unbelievable and the energy the fans brought was great. Our defense fought so hard and our offense played so well, but what it really comes down to at the end of the day is, as a quarterback it is my job to find a way to get our offense into the end zone and I just didn't do that. We had plenty of opportunities but we just did not capitalize on them and that is just the difference in the game. Our defense kept us in a pretty good position all night; special teams did a tremendous job, as well as our fans. This just comes down to not scoring when you have the opportunity to and that is my job as the quarterback."
On the difference in the team in the last three weeks:
"I do not know. It is something we have been working extremely hard to find, to find the team that was playing at the beginning of the year, to find the team that had so much confidence during summer workouts and for whatever reason we cannot grab on to that. That does not mean we are going to quit, we are going to figure this thing out. We are going to come back and give it our all against Cal. This football team has no quit and we will figure it out."
On what it will take to turn the team around next week:
"It just comes down to game planning and preparation. We just stalled when it came down to the red zone tonight and that comes down to me needing to find a way to get us in the end zone. This week I am really going to study Cal and the red zone so I can figure a way to get us in there because this offense and the rest of the team are just playing too well to right now to be losing a football game like this. "
Arizona Quotes
Arizona head coach Tim Kish
On getting the win:
"I'm so proud of this football team as you can well expect, the senior group especially. We ask the team to play a sixty-minute game and I don't know if it gets any better than that, when it goes down to the last play. The mantra has been to run the marathon and not the 5K and even though we had some setbacks here earlier in the last couple of weeks, these kids persevered and stayed the course. They did everything we asked of them and prepared themselves - and they should, it's a rivalry game and means a lot. I couldn't be happier for the seniors, the university and city of Tucson."
On Bryson Beirne, secondary quarterback:
"He has that composure all the time, but you just don't see him. He's Nick (Foles)'s coach on the sideline. Bryson's a phenomenal young man and stepped up like many others did and helped us win this football game tonight."
On making changes that helped UA win:
"We've had our moments and not many of them from a positive standpoint. We tweaked a couple of things, just trying to change some things up. We played a guy all night (Mohammed Usman) I think we made (Brock) Osweiler a little uncomfortable in the pocket. I know they got some plays on us, but the team that won tonight was the team that played the hardest in my opinion."
On Kadeem Carey, running back:
"Kadeem Carrey is a special running back, as I don't need to mention. He's got some of the intangibles that are hard to find. He has a tremendous knack for finding a hole. He's got a great change of speed and can change direction on a dime. He's got that vision. I can't be more proud of the performance he had tonight."
Arizona Player Quotes
Jourdan Grandon, cornerback
On getting the Territorial Cup win:
"It's crazy. This is surreal right now. We prepared and knew we had to go out and take back what we lost last year. There's nothing better."
On the interception:
"It was so crazy that it popped into my hands. I just started running. A close game against your rival with that atmosphere, there's nothing like it."
Shaquille Richardson, cornerback
On the game as a whole:
"This is how you're supposed to do it. This is how it's done and we did it. And it feels great. It feels so good. Everybody on defense played so well. We had some times where we got beat, but forget that. We come back and ball out. Everybody played well. It was amazing. We should have been playing like this all year. I wish we would have. But I enjoyed this so much. I appreciate this one."
Gino Crump, wide receiver
On the game in general:
"Me personally, all I can do is pray. Every game I come out before the game starts I go out and I pray. I had one of the best runs of my life. I've played this sport since I was a child, and I've never played like this. Having experienced it, there's nothing better than to come into your rival's house and take a victory like that. I couldn't ask for anything else, being a senior and this being my last chance to get up here."
Bryson Beirne, secondary quarterback
On the team:
"These guys are a special group of guys. They're all very smart and they all have experience. That just shows the players we have on offense."
On being able to play and work ethic:
"I don't really look for validation. I work hard no matter if I play or don't play. I'm really grateful that I did go out there, but I'm not seeking for any type of validation because I kept my head down and kept working, and that's what I'm expected to do, and that's what I did."