Sept. 22, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
ASU Head Coach Todd Graham
On the team's performance rising to this week's challenges...
"I didn't do anything, I just watched. I'm really proud of our players. They came out ready to play. I challenged to physically get after [Utah]. Everybody talks so much about defense; let's let them talk about our defense. Our guys did this. They [Utah] have a really good football team, but we really dominated them. They came after it all the way around. I'm proud of our staff, proud of our players. Too many penalties though."
On the offensive line...
"I thought our OL did a good job, we just have to eliminate the procedure penalties. I don't know when or where that came from or why that's happening, but I'm seeing some things that we have to make sure we don't abandon about who we are. Those little things, in a close game, are going to beat you. Never should we have eight penalties. But I'll take it with a great win like that. I'm really proud of our players and I'm proud of how these guys are buying into what we're doing. Good players win games and that's what happened tonight."
On the offense seeing nine different receivers with catches...
"That's the way the offense works. We had a lot of teachable moments from Taylor [Kelly] and Mike [Eubank]. You have to take what the defense gives you. They were a good defense and they would take away some things, so we would go to other people. We have a lot of really quality players. The bottom line is winning. I don't care about anything else but winning and that's what we have to do to win."
On Will Sutton...
"The best D Lineman in the country in my opinion. A guy that has really started to buy in to the things we're talking about. He is so talented and explosive. I have not coached a guy better than him physically. He's a smart guy and we're starting to tap into that. These guys are communicating to me and I tell them they can call things better than we can. He's smart, poised, dynamic, explosive and he's got a chance to be the best in the country, I really believe that."
On the crowd and the band...
"I really appreciate our fans. I thought our fans were great. I love coming out here. Our student section is the best in the country. Our band, I tell them they're the spark that lights the furnace in this place and they do a tremendous job. I would have liked to have them with us in Missouri and we might have had a better outcome. I wish we could take them everywhere with us. I'm really proud of our fans and hope they're pleased with the effort we're giving and I hope we make them proud."
On reflecting about being a part of Arizona State...
"I love the history. I'm thinking about how lucky I am to be the head football coach here at a place that has been to the places this place has been and done the things this place has done. I'm walking out of the tunnel and see Bob Breunig and I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and that was my hero. I'm just very blessed and lucky to be doing what I'm doing."
On next week's matchup at Cal...
"We're already thinking about Cal. We have nine steps and we have step one behind us, so now we go to step two. We don't worry about anything else but that. It's Pac-12 and you have to bring it every single week. We have a lot of things we can do better than we did tonight. I like this team and we have to find a way to go 2-0."
ASU PLAYER QUOTES
QB Taylor Kelly
On the offensive start to the game...
"We came out to a great start. The defense did a great job stopping them and then once we got the ball, we just decided to come out strong. We got in a good rhythm. We were up really quick, so we just came after them."
On expectations of the Utah defense...
"They did a great job. We had a great game plan coming in and we had a great week of practice. We just came out strong. They're a great defense and they're going to be a great defense throughout the rest of the year."
On what he learned from last week's performance...
"We need to be a lot more focused at practice. We need to have a better week of practice. Earlier in the week we didn't have a great practice. We changed that this week and came out strong. It showed in game time."
On preparing for Cal...
"I haven't watched much film on them yet, but tomorrow we will. They're a great football team and I can't wait to get started on them."
DT Will Sutton
On his performance during the game...
"It started out really well. It felt like I kind of went down after the first half. I guess they game planned for me. I'm starting to become known out there. I go out there and work hard every day. I love playing on the outside. It's really fun."
On his motivation during the game...
"I just love this game. We're trying to get this Pac-12 championship. It started today. It's a whole new season for us. We have to go out there and keep everybody up. When you're winning by a lot, you have to keep everybody up because they start to lose focus and start to think about other things. I had to stay on the sideline and keep everybody up."
On the defensive effort tonight...
"We watched film, we studied and everybody did their assignments. I'm surprised we gave up that touchdown, but that happens when you play good teams. We felt like we should shut them out and that's what happened."
On what Chris Young means to the defense...
"He means a whole lot. He plays SPUR. That's one of the most important positions on the defense. We blitz him all the time. He's always on the field making plays. He's a ball hog. He means a lot to this team. If he keeps doing what he's doing, we're going to be just fine."
On the difference between playing at home and playing at another stadium...
"It's just focus. We have another tough game against Cal this week. We're going to prepare for it just like we do for the home games. We're going to go out there and show them what we can do. We just have to bring it home and away. Especially in the Pac-12, we have to bring it every game. I honestly don't think it's a big difference between home and away. We will be just fine."
On transferring from a junior college...
"I think the biggest thing for me was similarities. How my last junior college ran a defense, what I was doing over there is similar to what I'm doing now. So I really felt good coming in with the adjustments."
WR Rashad Ross
On getting better at practice at wide receiver....
"I'll say we took it as a challenge. I would say we had a bad practice, our focus really wasn't there and this week we came in as a group. We were focused more and practiced harder. So I'll say that would make the difference of why we played better this week than last week as a receiver unit."
On getting the first catch...
"Oh, it mean a lot, because that's all I was focusing on, catching the ball. That's what coach was telling us to do. You have to catch the ball, see the ball, look it in."
Opening statement... "They're a better football team than we are. Got out-coached, got out-played. They had control of the game from start to finish. We really didn't do much in the way of positives. We turned the ball over three times, didn't get a takeaway without defense. Zero takeaways. Didn't defend the run, didn't defend the pass, didn't run the ball well, didn't throw the ball well. Special teams were a non-factor. They had no bearing on the game. It's a very good football team; I give all the credit to Arizona State. They have a bunch of athletes, they're fast, the front four on defense is physical, the back seven can run. The scheme offensively was very, very difficult to defend. Coach Graham has done a great job with those guys and they are playing very well right now."
On if the team anticipated ASU's scheme... "Didn't see that coming. The speed yes, we knew they were fast, but I didn't see the lopsidedness of the whole affair coming. On tape, they manhandled the first two ball games, NAU and Illinois, and really should have beat Missouri at their place. But did I see that coming? No. We knew we were up against a very good football team but we were never really in the game."
On what the ASU offense did to make things difficult... "It's just their scheme. They have an excellent scheme, a lot of misdirection, bootleg play action. Both quarterbacks were over 72 percent completion percentage. They're good players, but their scheme is outstanding as far as the crossing routes, the flat routes. They run the ball and suck the defense and linebackers up, they run the secondary off then hit those intermediate layered crossing routes and the flat routes. I don't know what their competition percentage was tonight but probably 75 percent."
UTAH PLAYER QUOTES
QB John Hayes
On what Utah must do to improve...
"We have to come back, watch the film and just rededicate ourselves to the season. We had a similar loss last year to Cal, it's kind of the feeling in the locker room. We just have to bounce back and definitely rededicate ourselves and start working on the small things because that's what beat us tonight."
On ASU's speed and how it may have effected the game... "It's hard to tell right now. They had some good speed, 90 was a good player on defense but I got to make some more plays, get out of the pocket more. Again, I have to watch the tape."
On the team's overall performance...
"I thought we had some stuff. But we took some hits and missed some throws and I got to watch the tape and see what happened. I'm kind of dumbfounded right now as to why that happened to us."
DT Dave Kruger
On what happened to the Utah defense tonight...
"We couldn't stop the outside run or outside passes. That was the bottom line as far as I saw. There's no one to blame or point fingers at one person or the other. As a defense, we couldn't stop the outside and that obviously hurt us really bad. As soon as we figured that out, as you could see in the second half, we held them down well. We just didn't make our corrections fast enough."
RB John White
On Utah's problem running the ball...
"It started off with me. I didn't take care of the ball. I gave up two turnovers. I think that's a real detriment to the offense. I'm not sparking the offense like I should be. I'm the captain and I'm supposed to lead the team and I feel like I didn't do that today with those turnovers."
FB Karl Williams
On his first touchdown...
"To be honest with you, I didn't even realize I was in the end zone. I was just running the play. When I caught the ball I was in the end zone and I saw it, but we lost and that's all that matters to me right now."