Chris Petersen
Opening Statement
Hard to win games in this league, proud of the way the guys fought. The defense did a really nice job again. Arizona State had a different plan than we thought, running the ball and trying to keep those third and short situations and they did a nice job converting third downs. Our defense did a great job on N’Keal (Harry) and those wide receivers, and Ben Burr-Kirven is something special, he is a heck of a player. Thought our O-line did a real nice job. The second to last drive we had an assignment error, and when the game is on the line it would be nice to not have that, but Jake (Browning) was able to set his feet and we didn’t have a sack. With that awkward defense those guys did a nice job of covering guys up and allowing our backs to find some creases. Overall, good to get a win in this league.
What did Jake do well tonight?
He threw the ball well and found guys, and when guys weren’t open he was able to scramble out of the pocket a bit more. He placed the ball nicely. He and Andre (Baccellia) made a clutch play at the end of the game there, that was a hard play to make on the sideline with a guy in his face and Andre did a nice job getting his foot down. We’ll put the tape on but I think our O-line did a nice job of allowing him to see some things, and when that happens it always feels good.
How confident were you in your secondary going against N’Keal Harry?
We’ve got good players, and he’s a real good player too, so I thought the job our secondary did was pretty good. We thought they would throw it more than they did, he threw it 27 times but it didn’t feel like that because they did a real nice job of eating clock. It was a different game than we thought how it would go. I thought our secondary played hard and played well.
What about your receivers and the catches they were making tonight?
They came up big. Those guys have been making plays all year long and every game it’s the same thing. I’m proud of those guys, we’ve been saying we have good players there. Every game we learn more about ourselves and certain guys get more confident, and those guys will only get better.
What was different about the red zone tonight?
Hard to say. I’m proud of Peyton for making those field goals when we didn’t capitalize. He’s done a nice job. Jake made some plays with his feet and Ty Jones makes a big time play. That’s how it goes in the red zone, you either have to run it in for tough yards, or someone’s going to have to make a real good play because the situation is always so tight.
Player Quotes
LB Ben Burr-Kirven
On Arizona State running more than passing…
We knew they wanted to run the ball. Looking at their tape, they were going to try to run a little bit. We knew coming out of the gate they were going to try to set the tone on the ground. Throughout the game they started to lean on Wilkins and Harry a little bit more. I think they just felt like they wanted to get their back going, he’s a really good player.
On N’Keal Harry’s performance…
You think he was going to get the ball more, when he gets the ball he makes incredible plays like that punt return. I don’t think there are a lot of guys in the country making that return from that position. That was about as good of a kick as you can make by Joel (Whitford), putting him right in the corner. He’s a real special guy.
On the physicality of the game…
I think these games are the best for you in the long run. At the end of the season, every game in the Pac-12 Championship or a bowl game will be like this. This kind of a game you have to expect. Throughout the rest of the Pac-12 we will have these kind of games. Especially for the young guys, it’s good to get a feel for a game like this.
DB Jordan Miller
On Arizona State running the ball…
That must have been their game plan. We heard they wanted to run the ball more. You have to adjust, and play football.
On limiting QB Manny Wilkins…
We like to compete in our room. We can only control what we can control. We could of came out with some more turnovers but I thought we played pretty well as a unit.
WR Ty Jones
How did it feel to make that touchdown catch?
It felt great. I’m gonna get chewed out in film this week cause I was supposed to get farther towards the back pylon but at least I caught the ball so it’s not as bad.
How was it to see Jake step up in this game despite heavy criticism he has faced?
It was awesome to see him so locked in. Even last night I knew he was locked in for this game and it’s always great to see him play the way he did.
What is something you try to focus on when you are catching a ball while falling like you did?
Well an easy one is watching the ball all the way in. It seems simple but it is easy to forget in big moments like that play.
CB Byron Murphy
Did ASU come out how you had expected tonight?
Not really, I thought they’d take more deep shots to N’Keal and let Wilkins loose a bit more. They were running the ball well though so it made sense.
How was it to get the win over your home town team?
It was amazing. I was hurt last year along with the loss so that really hurt.
Arizona State Head Coach Herm Edwards
Opening Statement:
Well tough loss obviously coming on the road and we’ve got to find a way to get that corrected. We’ve got two losses now on the road. One score games. We’ve got to find a way to play better on the road obviously. I thought going into this game we wanted to get it into the fourth quarter and we got it into the fourth quarter, but then we kind of self-destructed. We got some fouls that caused us harm, we turned the ball over, all those things kind of added up to us. You can’t do that against a good football team like this on the road. I thought our run game kind of improved. We’ve got to continue to do that. That always helps you when you can run the ball on the road like this. So, I think there’s some building things we can take from this, but losing is not a lot of fun. It’s no fun for anyone. There’s a pit in your stomach when you lose a football game. It’s two in a row now so we’ve got to figure out how to win another game because this not a lot of fun when you lose football games.
Did the way unfold in the way that you wanted it to?
It did. We talked about it all week, getting it into the fourth quarter. We wanted to get it into the fourth quarter. We felt if we got it into the fourth quarter we could make a play or two to win it. You always feel like if you get in the fourth quarter and you go on the road more pressure is on the home team than it is the visiting team. So, we got it there, but we just couldn’t finish it off. They wouldn’t allow us to. They made the plays they needed to make. We couldn’t get off the field. There was a couple plays where we had them in some third and long situations on defense, and we missed a tackle or whatever happened and they got out. And that’s where the maturity has to develop as a football team. You know, knowing the situation, you’ve got to get off the field, you’ve got to make a play on offense. And putting yourself in these situations, I think you grow from them, you learn from them, but eventually we’ve got to make those plays so we can continue drives or stop them and make them punt.
Did you feel the fumble slowed momentum or was a lost opportunity?
Well yeah, and there was one before that when they scored the last touchdown. We had them in a third and nine, quarterback scrambled out to our left and we had him dead to rights and we missed the tackle. Make them punt there and you kill that drive they don’t score. So, some things happened and we’ve got to do a better job, but effort was there. We had good effort. But effort, unless you win it’s just, you can say effort, but it’s still a loss. You know, we’ve lost two in a row now. We’ve played against some pretty good defenses too, the last three weeks have been defensive oriented teams that can play defense. We’ve got to improve, too many big passes against these guys. We let them out and you can’t let them out. Just can’t let good teams out. Just can’t do it. We’re not good enough to do that and that occurred a couple times. I love their fight, I mean they fought. You know that’s one thing these kids will do, they’ll fight. They’ll fight until the bitter end. You can build on that.
Player Quotes
QB Manny Wilkins
What was the strategy coming in?
The game plan was to establish the run, we knew that we could run the ball well. We just knew that they weren’t going to let us throw it over their heads, the safety’s play 25- 30 yards back sometimes. We just tried to be methodical and take our shots when we could. We just had to find the holes in their defense, and take what they gave us.
How did the passing game go?
We didn’t throw it a lot, but that was part of the game plan. I thought that we did some good things, I missed a couple of throws early on that their guys just made really good plays on. Those guys played really sound defensive football. Turning the ball over on the first drive shot us in the foot. There are no fingers to be pointed, we just have to do better and score more points.
Any thought to be more aggressive right at the end of the first half?
I was just doing what I am coached to do. The play calls came in and I ran the plays and it is what it is. We knew we were getting the ball back at half.
You have had some tough games but you guys don’t quit, where does that attitude come from?
We understand how this division goes, week in week out, any team can beat any team. The Pac-12 championship isn’t out of our reach, that is our goal. We have lost these last two games but now we just have to flip the switch. We have to fix the little mistakes, and that will open up the game for us.
DB Chase Lucas
How challenging was it going up against Jake Browning?
He is a great ball player. He will throw the ball away before we get a chance to sack him. He did a really good job extending plays, but we could have done way better than we did.
What happened on those plays where you guys had coverage breakdowns?
Washington had a good game plan against us. They did a lot of shifting and moving of the coverages. I think we have a lot of young guys and some of them got confused. We are going to watch the game film and see where our critical errors were and we are going to fix it. We have to fix it now. We have lost two games on the road and we just have to keep pressing. We have to get better.
