MIKE GUNDY, OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH
On discipline and penalties…
"We missed on a defensive lineman and (Shane Richards) grabbed him. And we had a holding call. I think the one interference was on (Kenneth Ellison-McGruder), he's right in position and he can't grab a guy. You were there, we gotta keep stressing it to them from that standpoint. The first one, down at the goal line, it was a terrible call. I mean, so I don't know what to tell them. We got a guy that is releasing up the field and pressing, he is in press coverage, where he pushes us right into their guy. So I can't say anything on that, he's working hard trying to do what he can. I really don't think that the penalties were undisciplined, more so that, like I said we just got pushed around quite a bit of times."
On getting pushed around in the second half…
"I don't think it was effort. You know, that's the world they live in where they block down and pull, and when they get into that routine you have to fit up there and you have to be more firm. We may have been protecting a little bit more versus the throw, which we needed to do some of that based on the last three weeks. The only thing I can say is that in the second half they may have worn us down a little bit up front."
On the decision to punt with eight minutes left…
"It was tough. You try to stop them, you try to score, the chances on 4th-and-9 or 4th-and-10 are really low. So, I didn't really feel like that was a tough time. Basically, if you miss there, the percentages kind of climb down there. And holding them back in time and trying to score again."
On preparing for games and what to work on…
"This is a week-to-week deal. We will practice again, get more coverage, get some rest. You can't panic. You can't do that, you know? We have to look and see what we are doing, where we are at, and what can we do to correct it. We are certainly aware of the situation and I mean, you don't have to worry about that. We know what's going on, we are trying to do what we can as soon as possible to fix them. The approach really hasn't changed for years, for me. It's pretty much all the same, I guess you can't take them out there six times and beat them to death. As I said, I think the effort is good. They are giving us effort, so, we look and see what we should work on and change. Not only players, but coaches also.
"I thought we had good schemes. Defensively, when they start pushing us around a little bit late in the third quarter, and offensively we stood with the ball very good. So as a coach, you look at it and say, you know, was there times that we had good protection and had guys open, we didn't throw it or hit them? You can't count that down as a bad play or a bad rep, you gotta say hey we gotta be able to execute that. Then you go to, are we doing something so much that we aren't getting quality reps? That's kind of what I am talking about. There's a lot of different ways to look at it, you gotta come up with the best plan, put it all together and from that point move forward."
JUSTIN PHILLIPS, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On moving forward as a team…
"I have no idea, I can't even comment. I'd have to go back and look at film to see what happened, if we got tired or we were just undisciplined in the second half, I don't know."
On the feelings after the game...
"I'm tired of losing. We've got to find something to do. Of course we've got the bye week ahead of us so guys will be able to get rest, take care of their bodies and get back to work."
On what needs to be done to be ready again in two weeks...
"Just take care of our bodies, get healthy and make sure guys are ready to roll for the next game."
On being on the same page about today's game...
"I think guys came out fired up, everybody had the same energy, everybody was on the same task, just doing what we had to do to get the win. Coming out in the second half, things just went the other way."
TAYLOR CORNELIUS, SENIOR QUARTERBACK
On taking some hits these last couple of weeks…
"I am fine, I am 100 percent."
On the team performance heading into the open week…
"We would like to be better. But it is what it is, we have to move on we cannot dwell on the losses. We have to put some wins on the board."
On keeping motivated…
"We have a lot of football games left. Anything can happen. We have a lot of games to win."
On lopsided time of possession…
"It kind of sucks not being out there a lot. They did a nice job taking care of the ball. I don't think that they had any turnovers. They chewed the clock. Their time of possession was a lot more than us."
On how he can improve...
"Taking care of the ball. Two turns in a game. It is what it is and I have to move on."
JORDAN BRAILFORD, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On moving forward as a team…
"We just have to let them know that this is unacceptable. This isn't our cultural. We have to make sure that we stay locked in. We definitely just have to challenge each other. We can't really just go back home and keep doing the same thing. We have to get each other riled up, get each other to look at ourselves in the mirror and find out what's going on, play on another level."
On mistakes…
"You have to stay positive when people mess up, it's just the name of the game. People are going to mess up, but at the same time you have to let them know what's right and what's not right. We have to make sure they react the right way. We need to get better. Keep getting better. We cannot just stay stagnant because when you do that you lose. We just have to get better. We have to keep pushing.
On discipline and penalties…
"We missed on a defensive lineman and (Shane Richards) grabbed him. And we had a holding call. I think the one interference was on (Kenneth Ellison-McGruder), he's right in position and he can't grab a guy. You were there, we gotta keep stressing it to them from that standpoint. The first one, down at the goal line, it was a terrible call. I mean, so I don't know what to tell them. We got a guy that is releasing up the field and pressing, he is in press coverage, where he pushes us right into their guy. So I can't say anything on that, he's working hard trying to do what he can. I really don't think that the penalties were undisciplined, more so that, like I said we just got pushed around quite a bit of times."
On getting pushed around in the second half…
"I don't think it was effort. You know, that's the world they live in where they block down and pull, and when they get into that routine you have to fit up there and you have to be more firm. We may have been protecting a little bit more versus the throw, which we needed to do some of that based on the last three weeks. The only thing I can say is that in the second half they may have worn us down a little bit up front."
On the decision to punt with eight minutes left…
"It was tough. You try to stop them, you try to score, the chances on 4th-and-9 or 4th-and-10 are really low. So, I didn't really feel like that was a tough time. Basically, if you miss there, the percentages kind of climb down there. And holding them back in time and trying to score again."
On preparing for games and what to work on…
"This is a week-to-week deal. We will practice again, get more coverage, get some rest. You can't panic. You can't do that, you know? We have to look and see what we are doing, where we are at, and what can we do to correct it. We are certainly aware of the situation and I mean, you don't have to worry about that. We know what's going on, we are trying to do what we can as soon as possible to fix them. The approach really hasn't changed for years, for me. It's pretty much all the same, I guess you can't take them out there six times and beat them to death. As I said, I think the effort is good. They are giving us effort, so, we look and see what we should work on and change. Not only players, but coaches also.
"I thought we had good schemes. Defensively, when they start pushing us around a little bit late in the third quarter, and offensively we stood with the ball very good. So as a coach, you look at it and say, you know, was there times that we had good protection and had guys open, we didn't throw it or hit them? You can't count that down as a bad play or a bad rep, you gotta say hey we gotta be able to execute that. Then you go to, are we doing something so much that we aren't getting quality reps? That's kind of what I am talking about. There's a lot of different ways to look at it, you gotta come up with the best plan, put it all together and from that point move forward."
JUSTIN PHILLIPS, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On moving forward as a team…
"I have no idea, I can't even comment. I'd have to go back and look at film to see what happened, if we got tired or we were just undisciplined in the second half, I don't know."
On the feelings after the game...
"I'm tired of losing. We've got to find something to do. Of course we've got the bye week ahead of us so guys will be able to get rest, take care of their bodies and get back to work."
On what needs to be done to be ready again in two weeks...
"Just take care of our bodies, get healthy and make sure guys are ready to roll for the next game."
On being on the same page about today's game...
"I think guys came out fired up, everybody had the same energy, everybody was on the same task, just doing what we had to do to get the win. Coming out in the second half, things just went the other way."
TAYLOR CORNELIUS, SENIOR QUARTERBACK
On taking some hits these last couple of weeks…
"I am fine, I am 100 percent."
On the team performance heading into the open week…
"We would like to be better. But it is what it is, we have to move on we cannot dwell on the losses. We have to put some wins on the board."
On keeping motivated…
"We have a lot of football games left. Anything can happen. We have a lot of games to win."
On lopsided time of possession…
"It kind of sucks not being out there a lot. They did a nice job taking care of the ball. I don't think that they had any turnovers. They chewed the clock. Their time of possession was a lot more than us."
On how he can improve...
"Taking care of the ball. Two turns in a game. It is what it is and I have to move on."
JORDAN BRAILFORD, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On moving forward as a team…
"We just have to let them know that this is unacceptable. This isn't our cultural. We have to make sure that we stay locked in. We definitely just have to challenge each other. We can't really just go back home and keep doing the same thing. We have to get each other riled up, get each other to look at ourselves in the mirror and find out what's going on, play on another level."
On mistakes…
"You have to stay positive when people mess up, it's just the name of the game. People are going to mess up, but at the same time you have to let them know what's right and what's not right. We have to make sure they react the right way. We need to get better. Keep getting better. We cannot just stay stagnant because when you do that you lose. We just have to get better. We have to keep pushing.
