“It is Territorial Cup week which is always an exciting week for us and the most important week that we emphasize with our players. Our total focus is keeping that cup here in Tempe. To our guys and to our fans, we understand how important this game is and I am very excited to get prepared to compete this week.”
On college football rivalries…
“I have been a part of the backyard brawl with Pittsburg and West Virginia several times and I can tell you that there are not many fans more passionate than our fans about this game. It has a long, long history. One of the oldest trophies in the country and it goes back a long time, running deep. It is the most intense rivalry game that I have been a part of. I talk to guys who from the ’87 Rose Bowl that talk about how you like to win the Rose Bowl, but they talk about losing this game. Our program is always going to be about competing for championships, but this is one of those ‘must wins’ on our schedules. There is a lot of emotion in this game because of the vigorous battle.”
On the Washington game…
“I thought there were a lot of positives defensively. The big thing that just takes away from that are the cheap ones. They executed pretty well. Obviously you have to focus on Ross. He had a lot of catches and we were able to keep him in check. We gave up a cheap one to eight and to six so that was tough. We turned the ball over on our end and there were a lot of field goals. They drove the field and we held them to field goals quite a few times. I thought the guys battled and fought hard. It was as much positive you could have from losing.”
On team injuries…
“It is hard to keep up with some of it. We had Zach Robertson go down this week. We are hoping guys like George (Lea) and Stephon (McCray) are back as well as Christian (Hill). Cam Smith won’t be available. The guys were very high energy today and motivated. They want to be back. I am hoping Sam Jones will be back and Marcus Ball. I think Sam (Jones) is one of the most critical guys that we have had out so hopefully he will be able to play. We will know more when we practice tomorrow. We’re braking the days up with practices and walk through.”
In regards to the recent increase in penalties…
“I think we are second in the league in penalties. We definitely have had more issues than we did in the beginning of the season. We had a couple offside penalties on a PAT which wasn’t too big of an issue. I thought the critical penalty was the one that took seven points off the board.”
On the difference in style between Arizona’s two quarterbacks…
“They definitely have greatly skilled and capable players. There is a lot of speed at their receiver and running back positions. Dawkins is a really talented athlete, who is so fast. He is one of the top rushers in the Pac-12. He is a really dynamic runner with great arm strength, so he is a very athletic quarterback who can hurt you. He can take the ball to the house. He has tailback skills at the quarterback position. Anu is a great passer, but he has been hurt most of the year. He’s a guy that can extend plays, but is a really accurate passer which makes Arizona diverse in their skill set. I’m really impressed with Samajie Grant who has moved in from receiver and gives them speed at tailback. They have very capable receivers who stretch the field vertically, which makes it critical for us to do a great job tackling and keeping the ball in front of you.”
On the focus going into a rivalry game…
“The bottom line in a rivalry game is that you better get ready. When you’re a favorite, you have to understand you will get your opponent’s best game, so you have to show up with your best game. You are going to get everything thrown at you and you will get that team’s best. Teams are going to have their best game plans so you have to prepare for it."
On Salamo returning from injury…
“I don’t think he was 100 percent, but I thought he provided stability for us. He was solid in the game, but it has been tough for him this year dealing with injuries. He’s had a great career here and he is a fine young man. I’m grateful for him and the other seniors for how they have represented our school.”