 
Oklahoma State quotes
Nov. 14, 2010
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Photo Gallery TEXAS COACHES We gave up some big plays on defense. We still couldn't force the amount of turnovers we wanted. I thought the defense really hung in there and fought, especially in the second half. I thought [defensive coordinator] Will [Muschamp] made some really good adjustments. We gave up a couple of big plays, but they fought hard to hang in there. We really struggled offensively in the second half to get it started. I thought in the fourth quarter Garrett [Gilbert] made some good throws, and receivers caught it a little bit better. Fozzy [Whittaker] got hurt at halftime. He didn't come back in the second half. He got his stinger again. We tried to get him back out there once or twice, but he couldn't play. [Running backs coach] Major [Applewhite] was down to - in the passing game - Chris Whaley at tailback, because we had to move him back [to running back] and Cody [Johnson]. I thought the young offensive linemen hung in there and did as good of a job as we could expect out of them in a first ballgame. The kicking game was better. The punting game was really good. We can't seem to get field position, because our punt returns aren't getting what we need. We're not blocking punts. Kickoff return was still average. Field position was bad throughout the day. On where the team goes from here: You can't be out of answers. You just have to keep fighting and changing. I told the kids that they've got 12 days left of this season. That's all we've got guaranteed. If they will continue to fight like they did tonight and practice next week like they did this week, then we've got a chance to win on Saturday. If we do that, we get [win] number five. Then we come back and have a great game with the Aggies. They're playing really well. On Thanksgiving we try to get our sixth win and then to try to get to a bowl and get seven. We don't want them to quit. I want them to keep working, keep fighting, [and] keep growing. It's obviously not where we want to be. You just don't lay down and quit. You keep working. On the importance of getting to a bowl game: I think it's really important. It's important for the kids to know they came back and fought and accomplished something at the end. It's important to get the 13 days [of practice], because next year's team will still be really young. Hopefully Kyle Hix and some of those guys may be back next week. Not everybody will be back. It's always important. We've felt like around here, our depth and the fact that we go to a bowl every year and can get the extra practices has really given us some advantages over people over the last 12 years. On if he's stressed the importance of getting to a bowl game: We said the seniors have two more times they'll run out of that tunnel. They've got Saturday night and a short week for senior day. That will be the last time they ever walk out into this stadium with a uniform on. That's really special for them. I've challenged the other kids to help these seniors finish with two wins and let them go to an extra bowl and let them finish right, so for the rest of their lives they won't have to look back at a non-winning season at Texas, which you should never have [nor] not going to a bowl game. On if he's ever seen anything like their struggles early in the game in the red zone: No, I really haven't. I'm glad we scored some touchdowns in the second half. We came in and we were going to go four downs on [the first drive], but you can't go for fourth down and eight. On the injuries to the running backs: They haven't been able to stay healthy. Poor Fozzy [Whittaker] has had that problem since he's been here. He's been hurt in some parts of most games he's played in. I thought he started really well tonight. I thought he was running hard and tough and breaking tackles. He just can't get rid of that stinger in his shoulder. Then Cody [Johnson] came in and fought in the second half. Cody could have come back after the goal line play. They did say that he could come back in. I think he just got hit on the thigh. It shouldn't be something that should keep him from playing next week. On the team's goals: The goal is winning next Saturday. We've got to get a win. You can't keep looking at the end. We told them that tonight. We wanted to play better tonight. We wanted to put ourselves in a chance to win in the fourth quarter, and we wanted to win. We had to get some help from Oklahoma State. We didn't. I thought they played great. It's like I said, I think all the credit should go to them. That's a really good football team. [Brandon Weeden] is just amazing. He came from nowhere. A 27-year-old that stands back there and he doesn't miss, and he doesn't throw it to us. I think we had our hands on one ball. Kenny Vaccaro had his hands on one ball with a chance to intercept it. That was about it. The rest of them he didn't miss. They dropped two or three. He could have been 100 percent. On the team's attitude tonight: They're trying so hard. It sure didn't look like it, and it makes you sound like a fool but I thought they tried at Kansas State. Absolutely nothing worked. After Kansas State got started on the right foot, and we got started on the wrong foot, we didn't play with a confidence. We played hard but we didn't play with a spirit and a confidence you have to have. I thought they kept doing that tonight. I thought they kept trying regardless of what happened. There were chances that they could have quit. On if the team is figuring things out too late in games: I think that they're really trying, and we've played some good teams this year. It's funny - Iowa State beat us. They could have beaten Nebraska last week, and they lose to Colorado without a coach. It's a crazy year. It's hard to figure out what's going on. On if this loss hurts: If you ever get used to quitting you'll quit for the rest of your life. They're really down. I'm the one trying to pick them up. On the opening kickoff: On the opening kickoff we were trying to sky kick it, and he just kicked it out of bounds. On the last time the team has played confidently: Nebraska. That's the one that is really a strange week. I told them all week, if you can beat Nebraska - Nebraska beat this team by 10 points at their place - if you can beat Nebraska you can beat this team. I believed that coming into the game. We have to play the perfect game. We're not doing that at this point. On the importance of starting quickly: That's why we said let's go four downs. Let's not kick any field goals. Let's make sure that we at least attack it and stay there, because after they relax in the second half - even last weekend - they play better. I don't know why they come out so tight. I don't know what that is. Probably when I jumped them after Iowa State, I probably jumped them too hard. They've been uptight since. Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis
On if he will try other ways to attack defenses: We’ll just continue to look. Each team presents different problems and sets of circumstances about how you try to play - whether you play 10 personnel, 11 personnel, or whatever you are trying to do. On the team’s frustration with settling for field goals in the red zone: It’s been frustrating. We had a second-and-nine and we called a draw with a key to the “x” receiver. They outnumbered the box and Garrett [Gilbert] had to throw to the key, which threw us behind the chains. Third down, we took a shot at James [Kirkendoll] in the end zone, and we had to kick a field goal. Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp
On OSU WR Justin Blackmon’s touchdown in the first half: That was some catch. They’re good. Good coverage. I’d do it again. There are times you’ve got to outnumber the box to stop the run, which we did. That play on the third down in the first half, that’s what killed us. That’s what really hurt us in the first half. In the second half, we came back. We played a little better in the screen. Flooding the coverage to Blackmon, they knew they had a man on his backside, and they were able to tackle him on the screen. Other than that, they [Oklahoma State} do a good job. They’re very balanced in what they do. They have playmakers that are able to take shots, and we’ve got to be able to stop the runs.
TEXAS PLAYERS On whether this loss hurts more than the others: You never get used to losing. It never becomes something you just do. We’re going to turn it around. You can learn from winning, you can learn from losing, but nobody is ever going to get used to losing at Texas. S Blake Gideon On if getting to a bowl game is a motivator: All you can do is worry about this week. Florida Atlantic is going to come in here with a lot of athletes from Florida, like they did a couple years ago. We are going to need to rise to the challenge. It’s still an opportunity for them to play a bigger school, so they will be ready to play. We need to step up and man up and rise to the challenge. On what hurt the team the most tonight: For the most part, I felt like we executed our plan, and they had a better plan. They were making adjustments on the fly that we need to be able to adjust to as an older defense and older secondary. It was just too little, too late. They hit us for a few big plays on third downs, and that really killed us. We talked about that at halftime, but we weren’t able to carry over our adjustments onto the field in the second half. QB Garrett Gilbert On if his confidence is shaken: I think you’ve got to have a short memory no matter what. I feel confident. I have confidence in my teammates. Everyday we practice, and I’m feeling better. We just have to keep focusing on improving everyday. WR James Kirkendoll On the frustration level of the team: Any time you’re losing like this - I don’t care if you’re Texas or [anybody else] - you lose this many games in a row it’s tough. The main thing is getting back to where we were, just [doing] whatever we can do to win. We have to go back and evaluate and pull out two wins in the next couple of games. On the team becoming bowl eligible: There’s definitely an urgency right now. It’s a little different because we’re not used to losing like that around here, so we have to pick it up and come back to work. That’s all we can do. LB Keenan Robinson On the remainder of the season: We are still playing for a bowl game, so we have to win two games to at least get bowl eligible and then once we do that we’ll go from there. CB Aaron Williams On the mindset of the team: Oklahoma State is a great team. We fought hard. Things went their way. A few things went our way, and you just have to keep playing. On Justin Blackmon: He’s a great receiver. On the Texas defensive backs’ coverage throughout the game: I thought it was really good. Their quarterback just threw perfect balls. He didn’t miss any. With a quarterback like that, you just have to keep playing no matter what the situation is. WR Malcolm Williams On the team losing confidence: We haven’t lost confidence. We just have to put it all together and try to find a way to bring a victory back home. That’s all we really have to do right now.
OKLAHOMA STATE COACHES On the defensive game plan: We didn’t want to give up any big plays down the field. We knew if we tackled well, which we did, we would do well. The quarterback (Garrett Gilbert) has been dangerous at times on draws and scrambling, which he did make a few plays tonight, but we wanted to limit the big plays. We didn’t want to let them throw it over the top and just rally to the ball and tackle in space.
OKLAHOMA STATE PLAYERS On maintaining focus: We are buying into what coach is telling us. We had goals as a team when we started this season, and we are sticking to those. We are focused because we want to win. RB Kendall Hunter On the win: It is always good to get the win. We plan on celebrating this win, but we have plenty of work to get to this week. On the workmanship of the team: We have strong workmanship. I believe no one is working harder than us. IR Josh Cooper On the possibility of a Big 12 Championship: We are trying not focus on that right now. We are just taking it day by day. We will focus on the next win, and that is enough for us.
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