Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley
On the season and possible Rose Bowl - "I’m really proud of how these
guys have battled back to this point, whatever happens with (the Rose Bowl),
we’ll still have, I think, one of the great matchups for the Civil War ever.
It’s pretty exciting stuff and I’m really proud of them."
On the pressure of the postseason - "We just got done with this game
and we needed to win it. It was hard just like we thought it might be, but we’ll
see what that all means as we go through the next week, and how that all stacks
up with how guys feel about it."
On the close first half - "I didn’t get upset because I didn’t think
that would do any good. I thought that they made some plays and we had some poor
choices, I think, and had some penalties. I thought the main thing was for our
guys to do what we say every time at halftime ‘Hey go out and play like it’s
zero-to-zero.’ That’s what we needed to do again, so I thought that was going to
be our best approach, to go out there and not be tight because the game is
tight. Go out there and have fun."
On the offense - "We got it going and it’s too bad Sean threw that
interception. The safety surprised him in the coverage, and up to that point it
was spectacular."
On both teams being “on their game” - "I thought we were, and I
thought they played better than they’ve played. Until the end they never turned
the ball over today. I thought (Kevin) Lopina made some plays and the receivers
made some plays, and they caused us some problems. It’s never quite like you
want it to be, but I’m glad we won and I think they should be proud of their
team for how they played, and I’m proud of ours for winning the game. I think
we’ll look at it and there’s a lot of things we would have liked to have done
better but that’s life."
Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield
On the first half - "Our first two drives were money. We were firing on all
cylinders, then the last two or three were obviously not productive. They
had the ball for quite some time, so it was kind of a closer game than it should
have been at halftime. In the second half we got it going."
On the Civil War - "It will be a tough test at Autzen, very loud. I've
never started against Oregon, or played against Oregon for that matter. It will
be fun. It will be crazy. Talking to Lyle (Moevao), and he said when he started
there two years ago it was just insane there on third down, and even on all the
other downs really. Obviously a very hostile environment. It will be a big stage
for us, a great football environment. I think our team, in those situations,
rises to the occasion. Obviously with the rivalry, it will be a big maybe
redemption for some of us. Maybe more for the in-state guys, obviously knowing
how it was growing up with that big rivalry. We just want to get a win like
every other week."
On possibly playing for a Rose Bowl berth - "I haven't had any
conversations with anyone about playing in the Rose Bowl. My family mentions it
a little bit, just what could be at stake, considering what's on the line
tonight in Arizona. Obviously everyone knows what's out there, but we keep our
focus on the week, and that was WSU."