Oregon State head coach Mike Riley quotes
Q: Could you talk about the consistency of your quarterback play?
A: I think Lyle (Moevao) made a lot of very good plays. I think they got us
in situations where we needed to convert and we didn't convert. We missed some
opportunities. They mixed up the coverages. They had a good rush. Pressure was
always applied; that's just Penn State's m.o. They did a good job with that
today. I just wish we could've converted some of those early third downs.
Q: How disappointed were you in the performance of your defense?
A: I think you have to give (Penn State) credit. They played very efficient
football and were very physical. I was disappointed in some missed plays we
had and some missed tackle opportunities.
Q: What is your general evaluation of your team's performance?
A: I am disappointed, but I know that our team has a lot of football left and
a lot of football in them. I think we will be fine.
Q: What did you think of Daryll Clark?
A: Physical. Really physical. I thought he made some very good throws. I thought
that that first corner route was a beautifully anticipated throw. Besides that,
he hit guys who were open. He had protection. He did what they needed him to
do. He looked impressive when he ran the ball on third down. I liked that.
Q: Do have any regrets on how you set your schedule up this season
with the first two games being on the road?
A: No, no, no. My regret is that we didn't give them a better game today. So,
when we do this game again, we will do better. Hopefully, we will learn from
it. I really think the season plays out according to the improvement of your
team. Win or lose today, we have to get better and, obviously, after today,
we have a lot of getting better to do. No regrets. We had an opportunity and
we didn't come through on it. I would do it again in the future.
Q: Did you get a sense that your team was overwhelmed by the atmosphere?
A: It is a great atmosphere. It is wonderful. It's a great picture of college
football. But, I never really felt that. The overwhelming part was just the
play on the field. We weren't making plays and they were.
Q: What did you think about the performances of Evan Royster and Jordan Norwood today?
A: Golly. I think they are very good. They are relentless; I will say that about
them. I think you give them a lot of credit because they are very good players
but I have to look at it in terms of what I saw from us and we have to tackle
better.
Q: Was it a nice experience to get a chance to talk to Coach Paterno
before the game?
A: It was awesome. I appreciated him spending that time with me.
Brandon Hughes, Cornerback
Q:How tough was it to face a mobile quarterback like that?
A: "All we had to do was hit him. He was a big back and all we had to do
was hit him. We've played a lot more mobile quarterbacks than that, not taking
anything away from the way he played, but if we would have come out and executed
our game plan and tackled it probably would have been a different outcome. Especially
when he was running the ball, all we had to do was hit him. We had him in the
backfield several times, we just have to wrap up and bring him down."
"We have to get better. We have a lot of things to shore up, especially
on the defensive side. To get a win would be a tremendous boost for our team's
confidence. Our focus should just be on getting better and being there for our
teammates that need a pick-me-up."
Q: Does that make next week a must win game?
A: "Every game is a must win game. Yeah, especially at home. We have the
home field advantage. We have to come out and dominate. We just can't win. We
have to have a great outing against Hawaii so we can have some momentum going
into USC, which I believe is two weeks later. If we go home and practice well
and play well, we'll be alright."
Q: How about Penn State's receivers?
A: "They were a good group of receivers, but we face similar guys like
that in the Pac 10 every week. The game, it just folded that way. We have things
to shore up in the running game and we have things to shore up in the passing
game."
Q: How frustrating was it stop them on the first two downs, but then
get to third down and give up the first down?
A: "It's demoralizing. You work so hard to get
them into a manageable third for yourself as a defense and then you get them
in a situation and they make a play. Then you do it again in the same series
and the make a play. That was the story today."
Jacquizz Rogers, Running Back
Q: Were you surprised to get so much work?
A: "I wasn't surprised. We had been working on it all week and I got my
chance and I took advantage of it."
"It was a hard loss. We got embarrassed really, but it is something you
just have to build off of and get better in the future."
"Guys might think, just because I'm small I go down without wrapping up,
but I just run hard."
"We have some things we can build off of. Coming in this stadium and establishing
a long drive like we did, that's pretty hard with the crowd and all."