Quotes: #18 Arizona State 38, Washington State 34
Arizona State Head Coach Herm EdwardsOn the win today:
“I think when you look at the whole team and the way they reacted and responded from being down early in this football game they never really panicked. Just kind of finding our way and getting our feet underneath us. I thought the defense, at times, they gave up some big plays and that’s what hurts you against a team like this. Going into this I said all week, this is not going to be a 17-14 games. We knew offensively we were going to have to score in the 30s to win a game like this, and low and behold. The last time we possessed the ball I went over and talked to Jayden (Daniels) and I said ‘This is it, go win the game. Let’s go win the game and close it out.’ The offensive line agreed and to their credit they found a way to do it.”
On QB Jayden Daniels’ performance:
“In big moments it doesn’t get him flustered, he just continues to play. He’ll probably tell you he made some throws he’d like to take back. Three touchdowns is pretty good and he ran for about 41 yards and the big one was for the score.”
On RB Eno Benjamin and WR Brandon Aiyuk’s performances:
“Eno ran for 137 yards on 19 carries and had a couple of big runs for us. Aiyuk was fabulous. He caught the ball on the slant and just kind of ran away with it. When you throw a slant you’re not expecting an 86-yard touchdown, you’re expecting maybe 10 or 12 yards. He was good enough to score.”
On the defensive changes after the first quarter:
“What we did first and how they scored, it was credit to them. We played a lot of zone in the first quarter and then after that I told Danny (Gonzalez) ‘We’re done with that. Go play man-to-man and let’s try to bring five and put pressure on him.” When you do that they’re going to complete some balls, obviously. They had a nice day with a lot of yards and they scored points. We were fortunate that when we flipped the script and got it to where we took the lead and they tied us. The big stand defensively was when we held them when we had not real good of a punt and they had a short field and kicked a field goal and then we were able to go the length of it and score.”
On his mentality during end of the game situations:
“I think that the players know who I am. They know that no matter how bad it may look, if we have time on the clock there’s hope. I’m going to give them hope and I’m going to say what I have to say to make sure they understand that we can still win this football game.”
Arizona State Running Back Eno Benjamin
On his 32-yard run touchdown run in the second half:
“The first thing I was thinking about was first down. Everything that came after that was a bonus. I think they ran a stunt that we picked up well in which the middle linebacker tried to move around (OL) Cohl (Cabral) and he just overran it, and Cohl got a good wash and I was able to cut back off of Cohl and score.”
On if he’s surprised by Jayden Daniels’ performance and composure:
“No, I’ve been saying that since day one. We stepped in here, we knew what the situation was going to be, and no one panicked about it. We knew we were going to have a freshman at quarterback. I say it all the time, the way he goes through practice, you would never be able to tell he’s a freshman, so that’s really just a testament to him.”
On if they draw from last year’s experience playing in one-score games:
“Yes, for sure. I think I even said in our team meeting last night that we once had this opportunity last year and we let it slip away, so just kind of reminding guys that we had an off week, but we have to come back out with the right mindset and go out there and get this win. Things happen, we play the whole game and we knew it was going to be a dog fight. Even just before that last possession, me, Jayden (Daniels) and Brandon Aiyuk were talking and we were saying this is Michigan State all over again and so everyone was calm. I think we do a good job with our coaches as far as them making a game plan, and I think the players do a good job trusting them.”
Arizona State Quarterback Jayden Daniels
On if anything felt different about his third game-winning drive this season:
“No. We want to refrain from the game-winning drive, but it just felt like the other two, nothing different. Just stay composed as you go down the field (and) score.”
On the emotions he felt after his rushing touchdown:
“I can’t really explain it. It was a great feeling because we won the game off of it, but going back to look at it, really just having the big game that we had as an offense today. (WR Brandon Aiyuk), (RB) Eno (Benjamin and) O-line played really well for us today. It was just a good team win.”
On if he anticipated the middle opening on his touchdown run:
“Not at all. The play was really supposed to go to (WR Brandon Aiyuk). We had a little check between me and him and I gave him a post, and I (saw) the middle of the field open, I saw (WSU’s linebacker) drop back and try to take it away and then it just opened up, (so) I just took off a run and scored.”
On what WR Frank Darby means to the team:
“He’s an energy provider. You can never get tired of Frank. He’s just a funny person, he’s a great dude.
On if he had difficulty running early in the game and if it changed down the stretch:
“It takes pressure off of (Eno Benjamin), it takes pressure off the receivers, knowing that I’m able to use my legs and (the opposing defense) is going to have to account for me, so it just opened up a lot of other things. Eno had some big runs today, the receivers made some big plays today. It was just part of the game plan and if I can’t use my legs then I’m just going to sit back there and run the ball or I’m going to hand the ball to (Benjamin) and let him do what he has to do.”
On if passing to Eno Benjamin was part of the game plan:
“It was just something I saw live. When things break down, there’s nothing wrong with just chucking it down to the running back. You guys see what he can do, he’s a very special player.”
Arizona State Defensive Back Jack Jones
On what he saw on the play at the end of the game where he knocked the ball away:
“I kind of just knew they were going to go deep because (of) the situation of the game, so I just stayed back and trusted the process and the ball came my way, and I made a play.”
On how hard is it to prepare for a team that throws 60 passes per game:
“I was once told don’t fix something that isn’t (broken), so we just went in with the same mindset. The defensive backs went in with the same game plan, and we trust the coaches and we trust what they are doing in the film room. We just went out there and practiced and then played hard. We can’t fix anything if it isn’t broken.”
Arizona State Linebacker Darien Butler
On seeing Eno Benjamin and Brandon Aiyuk do their thing from the sideline:
“There’s no pressure. Our defense, we really aren’t surprised. They do that stuff to us in practice so we aren’t surprised at all, and they make those plays all the time. There’s no surprise, we just get up (on defense)and they are bettering us out and we have to show up. That’s the only thing going on in our minds, they do this stuff all the time so we just say it’s our turn to step up.”
Arizona State Wide Reciever Brandon Aiyuk
On if they draw from last year’s experience playing in one-score games:
“I’ve been on the other side of those games and I think that’s just a credit to what we have now. Like Eno was saying last night, we have to be better on both sides of the ball. Last year it was the offense or defense making a statement and this year, these two guys sitting right here (Darien Butler and Jack Jones) are my brothers just as much as the guys on the other side (Jayden Daniels and Eno Benjamin) and I think that shows in this type of games.”
On being the go to guy and making plays that energize the team:
“I just try to play my game. After we kind of came out a little bit slow, those type of plays are what Jayden (Daniels) looks at me for (as well as the) offense, the team and the other receivers. The receiver in me just kind of said that we want to have those big plays and take pressure off Eno (Benjamin) and take pressure off Jayden as well.”
Washington State Head Coach Mike Leach
On the loss:
“I thought we played extremely hard. As a team, we played extremely hard and I thought we let it slip through our fingers too many times. I think that we are still searching for that identity and I also think that we need to trust one another to do our jobs. I thought on all sides of the ball we did a better job this week. I thought we played harder but too many guys are thinking they have to compensate for somebody and that doesn’t lead to very good play. That’s what happened in key situations, but like I said I thought we played very hard.”
On Arizona State’s game-winning drive:
“Well we had them on the ropes and we should have got them off the field on fourth down and then we let the quarterback loose. We just need to do our job. Everybody has a job on the field and we just have to do it. We let them get too many explosive plays on us.”
On if he felt the offense failed to capitalize on opportunities:
“I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought we moved the ball but in key situations we weren’t as strong as we could have been. I thought as we got the upper hand there needed to be a real focus in determination to get another score to keep the upper hand. We hoped that we could get a stop then it was tied up again. If you’re up two scores or three scores, it’s a different game. We had the chance to make it that type of game except we didn’t.”
Washington State Defensive Lineman Dallas Hobbs
On if the team took a step forward this week:
“I definitely feel like we put in more effort today. We definitely prepared well. We’re just missing a few pieces still that we’ve got to fix and it’ll all fall in line.”
On Head Coach Mike Leach’s message after the game:
“Just putting a few things together. We let a couple of things slip and that’s what cost us the game.”
Washington State Wide Receiver Easop Washington Jr.
On the morale of the team after the game:
“We win some, we lose some, but we’ve got to move forward. Get better and we’ve got Colorado next week.”
On their successful offensive drives:
“We moved the ball pretty well today offensively. Our mindset every time we step onto the field is to score. That’s how we want to do and we’ve got to keep grinding. Practice and keep doing what we have to do.”
Washington State Quarterback Anthony Gordon
On failing to execute on a few key drives:
“We definitely left a few more scores out there. What it came down to was one play on offense and one stop on defense. We just have to come together and keep going through this adversity and get it done next week.”
On the morale of the team after three-straight losses:
“I definitely haven’t experienced that in quite some time. It’s a little bit different, but as a team, we’re coming together and start a new week and take on Colorado.”