Postgame Quotes
November 22, 2003 | Football
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Texas Tech Quotes
Wide receiver Wes Welker
On the game tonight:
"We just shot ourselves in the foot, and that's the way it happens sometimes, but you just have to keep on playing."
On the team being tense in the first half:
"I don't think so, not much. I felt like we came out and we were moving the ball, but we just kind of went down hill and didn't finish our drives."
On the defense putting the offense in good field position:
"We had great field position, and anytime you have that, you have to capitalize and score points, and we didn't, but the defense did a great job."
On wanting to redeem themselves in a bowl game:
"We are upset about the way we played today, and yes, we want to redeem ourselves and that's something we need to work on and improve on going into a bowl game."
On what OU does to stop the offense:
"They have very fast guys and a very sound defense. I don't think that we're the first team they've stopped, but we need to go out and play a sound game."
Defensive back Josh Rangel
On the game in general:
"We felt like we could play with these guys. They're a good team, a very sound team, but we didn't take the advantages that were given to us."
On the defense against the run:
The defensive line did a great job and they did stop the run, that's a good sign. I have nothing but great things to say for that team."
Linebacker Jeremy Woods
On whether OU is that good:
"They're a good team, but we made some mistakes that we should not have made. That's part of the game and we're young. They're a good team with a good offense and defense."
On the defense being young and whether they will be better next year:
"One year with this system under our belt and we will have major improvements next year. All our coaches are good ball coaches, and are helping us. Next year will definitely be better."
Quarterback B.J. Symons
On the interceptions:
"The two main ones, I felt disappointed because I could have done better. They showed up coverage on the first one. I just didn't do a good job reading the back side guy on the first, and the safety on the second."
On OU and the zone:
"Not everyone can run the zone as effectively as Oklahoma, they run the zone to perfection. If everyone could run zone against us like OU, they probably would."
On his injury and whether he thought he might not finish the season:
"I can't comment on that until I know myself. I hope over the next few weeks to get some rest. Obviously there were some doubts, because after some games, on the next Sunday or Monday, I felt bad, but we have some great trainers who did a great job each week getting me rehabbed and ready for the game that week. I felt good every Saturday, which was key. Even today, I would say I did a good job of moving around a bit. It really doesn't go through my mind. I can't worry about things I can't control. I have to play with the hand I'm dealt."
On whether the offense got a little greedy at times tonight:
"I wouldn't disagree. We probably did get a little greedy at times. You can always second guess. But that's what I'm talking about, being consistent. You could see the flashes of what we were able to do, but we just weren't consistent."
Coach Lyle Setenchich
On Oklahoma's reserve players:
"I think they played fairly well. Defensively we were able to get them out of their favorite formation. They had to quit running it and move to something else but I thought they played well."
On the progress of the defense this season:
"We are better. We are on the verge of being a decent group. It is going to take more work but there will be improvement. It may take longer than people want it to."
On Mark Clayton:
"He is the best receiver I've seen this year. I know that from what I have seen on film and so forth that he works hard when the ball is away and works hard when the ball is near him. I don't know how good in terms of NFL he is but he really works hard all the time."
Head Coach Mike Leach:
On an upset:
"Oklahoma is a great football team, and I hope they win the national championship. This game was different from the Texas game. The Texas game was the closest we have come to playing our best game. Against Texas I really think that we did a good job of having 12 people doing their job and we failed to do that today. I think we spend way too much time working about what is written, what is in the newspaper, and what is on the internet rather than worrying about what we talked about and we discussed in practice. What you do everyday in practice and what you teach, and I'm talking about myself, the coaches, and players, that's where they emphasis is. You are in the best position to win when you do your job and make routine plays, and do it to the best of your ability. Today we didn't do that."
On our defense:
"I thought they played significantly better than our offense. Every time you talk about this play or that play I think nine times out of 10 the answer is going to be failure to make routine plays. That is the key. Our offense didn't see anything new today and certainly their players deserve a significant amount of credit for their talent."
On B.J. Symons
"He, along with 12 other people failed to make routine plays. Apparently he wasn't coached well enough to do that, at least not this week. I am the guy that coaches him. If you do like the results and then you change them and I'm the guy to do that."
Oklahoma Post Game Quotes
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops
Opening Statment
"I really appreciate the way that this team prepares and gets ready for an opponent. They have a remarkable chance this year and I am very proud of them. This was another exciting game."
On the mentality of the Sooners:
"This is a special group; they have a good attitude in the locker room. They know that even though we are a perfect 12-0 in the regular season we have not achieved our goal of winning the Big 12 Championship and that they have a chance to achieve even higher goals."
On the defense rising to the challenge of the Tech Offense:
"They had times where they moved the ball well, especially in the second half, but what I liked about it is that they were not able to get anything big on us and they had to work and use a lot of time to get what they did."
Oklahoma Linebacker Teddy Lehman On the play of the Tech Offense:
"They have a very good offense. They have good offensive linemen and great receivers who came out and made some plays but we found ways to hang in there and win."