Washington Head Coach Steve Sarkisian 16 th October 2010 Overall Thought s About The Win Again, I can t say it enough and I guess at some point it s probably going to get redundant, but I can t say it enough how proud I am of this football team and the heart they display. It s not easy to lose games that you want to win and you are trying to climb up that hill and sometimes you slide back down. To our team s credit, they dig their feet back in the ground, they come back to work every day and they fight, battle, scratch and claw to get another win like this. We are coming to the realization as a football program that winning is really hard. It takes a lot of effort in practice; it takes a lot of effort, heart and execution on game day, but at the end of it all, the reward is tremendous. We ve got a football team that is still learning its ways and they made me very proud tonight. On Oregon State Going For Two I had a feeling they would do it. I just wanted to make sure we had the best call on defense and so I was down far because if I didn t like their formation and our alignment we still had a timeout and I was going to use the timeout, but Nick (Holt) assured me that what they were in and what we were in was a good matchup and it was just a great play by Cort Dennison. It was an effort play but a high football IQ play to get over there and knock that ball out. On Jake Locker s Play Tonight He battled; he competed. We knew coming in that their (OSU s) front was going to cause us some issues. We did as much as we could to try to get him on the edge. They really widened out and tried to negate that and forced him to sit in the pocket and play straight ahead football when he ran and threw from the pocket. He just made some huge plays. That touchdown pass from 3 rd and two in overtime, I think that the nose tackle comes unblocked from the A-gap and he stands in there and delivers a strike to Jermaine (Kearse) and then the last touchdown pass, OSU is in zero cover and he buys time and retreats and sends the ball to Jermaine again. He is continuing to grow and mature every time we go out and that s what you want out of your players. You want to see them grow and get better and he is definitely doing that. On The End Of Regulation I just wanted to make sure the game ended with the ball in our possession. We took a couple of shots at things to see if we could get something to give us a chance to kick a field goal but I definitely was not going to give them the ball back, that was the whole idea.
UW Player Quotes 16 th October 2010 Junior DE Everrette Thompson Points of adversity to overcome in the game Honestly we just needed to execute throughout the game. We knew that we needed to start making plays. We have been in the right positions, but we haven t been able to make plays, and today I thought we did. Factor that created turnovers Our defensive ends did a great job containing the quarterback. Tali [Crichton] did a great job getting pressure, and [Alameda] Ta amu also played great tonight. What was said in the huddle before the two-point conversion We had to continue to do things right, and make a play. We knew that is what we needed to do to win. Senior Safety Nate Williams Points of Adversity to overcome I feel like we had to get a lot of turnovers, which we did, and I thought that the offense needed to come in and hold onto the ball, and they did. The defense played really well late into the game. The offense kept pushing too, and when it came down to it we just kept fighting. That is really what did it for us. We kept fighting the whole game and never quit. That is what the coaches want us to do and it worked out for us. Biggest difference with the defense tonight It was all about the pressure. Our D-line did a great job getting pressure on the quarterback tonight, and when you re able to get pressure the quarterback has to run around and ends up just tossing it up there. Nate [Fellner] had a great catch, and our coaches say that once you get one, they just keep coming. What did Coach Nick Holt say on the sideline before the two point conversion Coach Holt just told us that we really needed to man up and get a stop. If they convert that play then the game is over, and they win, but if we get the stop then we get the win. Coach just said to man up, get a stop, and win the game. Everyone did their job and it worked out for us. OL Greg Christine On the win: It s just another Pac-10 win, which is helping us get to our goal, which is a Pac-10 championship. It means a lot to our program, and it pays off how hard we worked.
On the move to center: It was a little different, obviously. But coaches had confidence in me, so I took that confidence and went with it. It really shows how much they believe in me. On what it took to get this victory: I think it just took everybody believing. Our defense stopped them as well. Our defense gave up three touchdowns, and then they stopped them to help us get to overtime, so I think it s all on our defense. Some of the stops they had were huge and its plays like those that win games. LB Cort Dennison On bouncing back: It just took a total team effort, everyone to just believe in one another. We were emphasizing it the whole game but it s going to come down to the fourth quarter regardless, no matter what the score was in the previous three quarters. We just believed in each other and it was a total team effort. I couldn t be happier and more proud of my teammates, it was a job well done. On the win: It was a huge win, Oregon State has had our number the last couple years, so to come out and show how much heart we have and never give up is just a great feeling. It s big and these are the kind of momentum wins that can really be meaningful towards a strong finish I m really proud of the guys. We ll go out and celebrate this win and get ready for next week. On the atmosphere: It was really crazy out there, the stadium was rocking and we just fed off that. Everyone was pumped up and it really paid off. Now it s time to just enjoy this win and then prepare for a big game next week.
October 16, 2010 Oregon State Coach Mike Riley Quotes On what his thinking was going for a two-point conversion to end the game We actually knew we had the time out so I sent the kicking team out there and I knew I d have a little bit of time to think about it. I decided to call them off and called the time out and decided to go for it. I just thought we had the right play, we re on the road, and I thought that they were pretty hot. I thought we were having a hard time with them and so we thought we could win the game right there. That s what really told the story. On quarterback Ryan Katz and their offense He hung in there and made some throws and made a couple big time throws at the end. He hit (Jordan) Bishop down there inside the ten and then he hit (Markus) Wheaton at the two. We were too sporadic. We had some good moments offensively. Both offenses were kind of the same. It seems like there was some great offensive momentum for a bit and then the defenses had the momentum for awhile and it was a strange game that way. On what he was thinking when UW led 21-0 in the first half Well, not much good. There wasn t much good to think about except, if it s that early in the game and you get one score, then we got two pretty quickly, then all of a sudden you re right back in it. It s just a matter of we weren t playing well, they were hot, and you just had to ride the wave a little bit and then make some plays. On how the play action with Jake gave the OSU defense trouble early on Early on, I thought our team learned within the game pretty well. We played pretty well against that stuff in the second half, but they had it going pretty well in the first half. Like I said, they were very hot, executing very well. I thought Jake was outstanding tonight. Their team played a really good competitive game, as ours did. It was just a hard-fought, good football game.
October 16, 2010 Oregon State Player Quotes QB Ryan Katz On the game It was a hard fought game. We did a good job of fighting back and getting back in it. On the team huddle before deciding to go for two We said we wanted to go. Coach asked us if we wanted to go for it, and we said yeah. On the slow start I think we just came out flat at first. We weren t executing our offense, we weren t converting on third downs, and (we had) turnovers. On his play I just have to take care of the football. When you give them three interceptions, they have a good chance to win the game, especially with the quarterback they have. On playing without James Rodgers He s a big part of our offense. Guys just need to step up. CB James Dockery On the huddle before the last play We just came together. Coach Riley told us the decision he was going to make, we backed him, and we just fell on the wrong end of that. On the first half They just came out with a lot of emotion. We knew that was going to be a factor coming in. They were hyping this up as a must-win for them. We knew that, but we didn t come with enough energy, obviously, to match their intensity, and that s why they went up 21-0. On if they changed anything in the second half We didn t change anything, we just picked up our intensity and tried to execute a little better. RB Jacquizz Rodgers On the improved running game We did a good job up front getting the running game going in the beginning once we got rolling. We just have to finish that game off because the defense played their butts off. On the decision to go for two I m all for it. It was going back and forth. If we make it we re a hero, if we miss it we re a zero. We had a chance to win that game, and we should have everybody was willing to go for it. I m down for it. On the attitude of the players in the locker room We re a little down right now because you re supposed to win games like that, go 3-0 in Pac 10 on a bye week. That s big for us, but we didn t. We just got to build on this, practice in the bye week, and get ready.