Opening statements
I thought it was a well-played college football game. We did a nice job against a good football team. I am proud of our guys for coming back like that in the second half.
They fought hard. It’s a game of destiny and it came down to a play or two. We had a couple of three and outs in the second half, and then we had that last drive that wasn’t good for us. Other than that, they [Oregon] did a great job of running the ball, and we couldn’t get off blocks. They were converting those third downs, and punching it in at crunch time. Our kids played hard, like they always do, and we will keep grinding. There is a lot of football left to play.
What made you call the wildcat play on the late third down play toward the end of the game?
It has been really successful throughout the entire year. We play to our percentages and that is why we called it. What did the refs tell you after the play where Aaron Fuller was laying down in the end zone? We got about four different explanations from the refs. They said, ‘you can’t do that’, ‘you can’t fall down before they kick it’, ‘you can’t lay down if you have to same color jersey as the end zone’. It is what it is. Last year the rules were that you can’t lay down before they kick it. He laid down after the ball was kicked. We practiced that. That is what we were told last year.
Did that look like pass interference to you on the last play with the throw to Puka Nacua?
What did it look like to you guys? You guys have a better vantage point than me. I think we know.
What did you see out of Terrell Bynum today?
He did a nice job and made some tough catches. He has strong hands. He is a tough kid. We are going to keep rolling with him.
What did you think of Jacob Eason’s game today?
I thought he played efficient and clean. There is always one or two plays that you would like to have back. We don’t want to turn the ball over and do those certain things. It was good defense that we played. I think he played pretty solid.
What have been your issues defending the run?
We need to get off blocks better, it really comes down to that. A lot of times we can sing about ‘that is a good offensive line play’ when we are doing a nice job of staying low when they are double teaming us high. We have to defeat blocks and tackle a little bit better. That is always going to be an issue, we are always going to be talking about that.
Where you happy with Salvon Ahmed’s play today?
I thought he stepped up. Those other guys were down and getting him all the carries. He did a nice job. We were pleased with him.
What was Arron Fuller’s situation today? He got a little banged up after last game. It was a game-time decision whether he could play. Other guys were rolling pretty good. He wasn’t 100%. He couldn’t play how we needed him. We are getting close to needing him.
Any update on Chico McClatcher? I actually don’t have an update. You saw what I saw. He got bent over. I hope he is okay.
What is the message to Puka Nacua after that final play? He has to keep playing. He is doing some great things. Just keep playing and keep grinding and he will be fine.
What is it about Nacua that has made you want to involve him more?
He really has great ball skills. He is a great target with great ball skills. What made Herbert so difficult to sack today? Their offensive line is good. They have been good all season. That was another frustration. We could just not get there. We were mixing up blitz’s and all these types of things. They bought time and did a great job. You can only cover so long sometimes and I thought our guys did a great job of covering, for the most part. In terms of how long he was standing back there, that is a long time to cover.
Did the offense make an adjustment in the fourth quarter?
No. We will look at the tape. Sometimes, it comes down to will power. I have to look at the tape to see exactly what was going on.
After this loss, do you worry about being able to win the conference championship this season? I don’t. We just keep playing. I don’t worry if we win, I don’t worry if we lose in terms of what it means for the end of the season. There is a lot of football left to play. I think we have a lot more to us. We can just keep rolling, and get these guys better. There is a lot of football left. We are going to see things that are weird. We just try to control what we can control and that is focusing on getting a win against Utah. Will you practice much this next week? We will practice twice. We will lift a little bit. They also have played for eight weeks straight. So these guys need some time off. We have a lot of guys that are banged up that need a break.
