Quotes from the UH-Oregon State game 9/13/08

HA = Honolulu Advertiser
HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
UH = University of Hawaii Athletics Site
AP = Associated Press
CGT = Corvallis Gazette-Times
--------------------------

HA Note: "The Reser Stadium crowd was announced at 45,059, which OSU officials said was the largest for a non-conference game in the facility's history."
.
---------------- Quotes from the UH coaches -------------------

Giving credit to Oregon State and talking about how special teams played poorly, Mack said:
“First of all I would like to give Mike Riley, his staff, and his players full credit. I thought they played an excellent ballgame. I felt we were in the game through the first half, I thought we would come out with our kickers and our special teams. But our special teams got us in a hole; we had bad field position. We were down by 14 and I really thought we didn’t need to panic. In the first half we took it in and scored and held them. In the second half they controlled all three phases of the ballgame. We have to learn from this. As far as our future goes I still believe in my players and my staff. We are a little nicked up right now. We lost some running backs and offensive linemen. But we have a week to heal up and then we begin in the WAC. Our goals are still the same as they have been. We want to win the WAC and win the bowl game. We need to learn from this ballgame, because like I said, we got beat in all three phases of the game and I give Oregon State full credit for doing that." (UH)

"We need to learn from this ballgame, we have a lot to learm from it because we got beat in all three phases of the game and I give full credit to Oregon State for doing that." (HSB)

Asked about their injuries, Mack said:
“You play with injuries and the next guy has to step up; they aren’t an excuse. Oregon State beat us because they played better than us. It didn’t have anything to do with any injuries.” (UH)

About losing AhSoon and LWJ in their first drive and Tyler in the 3rd quarter, Mack said:
"That's not an excuse, the next guy steps up. Oregon State beat us because they just played better than us. It had nothing to do with injuries." (HSB)

Asked about their QB situation, Mack said:
“The good thing is that we have a bye week to heal up a little bit, so we have two weeks to get ready for San Jose State, which is going to be a big ballgame. I really want to tell the people of Hawai’i that we didn’t play well today and I take full responsibility for that, and I promise them that we will play well the next time we get on the football field.” (UH)

About how they were only down 21-7 at halftime (UH has been behind at halftime in every game this season), Mack said:
"There's no reason to panic. We're down by 14. We've been there before a lot of times. We get the ball, take it down and score, and we're right back in the ball game." (HA)

Mack added:
"It didn't happen that way." (HA)

About how their team wore down in the second half, Mack said:
“I thought we did wear down, and it was really surprising. We worked really hard to get ready for the Florida game, and we are in great condition. I have conditioned this team more than any team I have ever coached, but we played tired. In the second half we were a tired football team. We have to look into what that reason is. Most of it is that Oregon State outplayed us.” (UH)

"I felt we did wear down and it's really surprising. I've conditioned this team more than any team I've ever coached, but we played tired. In the second half we were a tired football team. We have to look into the reason, most of it is Oregon State outplayed us." (HSB)

Asked what Southern Oregon means to him, Mack said:
“I feel like we not only let down the Hawai’i people, but I have a lot of friends in Oregon and I am sorry we didn’t play better. I think the world of those guys and ever since I got this job a lot of Oregon people have been contacting me and I wish we would have played better for them.” (UH, HA)

"That's the shame of it. I feel like we not only let down the Hawaii people, but I have a lot of friends in Oregon and I just feel bad we didn't play better." (HSB)

Pledging to the people of Hawaii that they will play well against SJSU, Mack said:
"I really want to tell the people of Hawai'i that we didn't play well today and I take full responsibility for that and I promise them that we will play well the next time we get on the football field." (HA)

"We didn't play well today and I take full responsibility for that and I promise (the Hawaii fans) that we will play well the next time we get on the football field." (HSB)

"I want to say to the people, 'Don't lose faith. We still have all of our goals ahead of us.' I take full responsibility. And we're going to get things fixed." (HA)

About how he still believes in his team, Mack said:
"In the first half we took it in and scored and held them. In the second half, they controlled all three phases of the ballgame. We have to learn from this. As far as our future goes, I still believe in my players and staff." (HA)

Mack said that he thought that his team:
"did wear down, and it was really surprising. I have conditioned this team more than any team I have ever coached, but we played tired. Most of it is that Oregon State outplayed us." (HA)

About how Tyler was hurt a few plays before he came out of the game in the third quarter, Mack said:
"He couldn't grab the ball." (AP, HA)

About how they lost the field position battle, Mack said:
"We really helped beat ourselves. The field position was absolutely not good. You've got to give Oregon State credit for that. ... It was pretty much the field position that got us in trouble." (HA)

About their problems with punt coverage, Mack said:
"There were some guys who broke down within the coverage. So we've got to look at our personnel." (HA)

HA Note: "Special teams yielded three returns of 33 yards or more as OSU enjoyed an average of 34 yards per kickoff return and 23.7 yards per punt return."

HA Note: "Largely because of the inability to contain the Beavers on returns (see previous) and the offense's stagnation, OSU had three scoring drives of 40 yards or less. Not once, in seven drives, did it have to go 60 yards or more."

Hoping that their health improves after the bye week, Mack said:
"The good thing is that we have a bye week to heal up a bit ... go get ready for San Jose State, which is going to be a big ball game." (HA)

"The good thing is that we have an (open) week to heal up a little bit so we have two weeks to get ready for San Jose State, which is going to be a ball game." (HA)
.

About how they lost AhSoon and LWJ early in the game, Ron Lee said:
"We lost a back, we lost a lineman." (HA)
.

About AhSoon's knee injury, Brian Smith said:
"Keith's been so solid and so stable. We just had to mid-stream adjust and Kia had to go in and we have to get him prepared for San Jose (State)." (HSB)

About how they were happy when Oregon State went from their standard 4-3 D to a 30 alignment after UH's first TD, OL coach Brian Smith said:
"We like our matchup against that. We thought we could move the ball on them (by) running it." (HA)

HA Note: "After the Warriors took a 7-0 lead, the Beavers, as predicted, switched from a standard 4-3 defensive front to a 30 alignment. In this scheme, which features two defensive ends and a defensive tackle who becomes a nose tackle, middle linebacker Bryant Cornell moves to the line. In most defenses, the linebacker who moves up is positioned as a rush end. Cornell became a stand-up lineman playing between the nose tackle and defensive end."
.

Rolo said that to score on their first drive and:
"not get anything going the rest of the game is not UH football. ... We won't win any ball games playing like that." (HA)

About how they have to look at everything about their team, Rolo said:
"We need to overcome this adversity. Today we came out firing and it fizzled out on us. We have to look at ourselves and look at everything." (HSB)
.

HA Note: "When it was over yesterday and the Warriors were preparing to board their buses for the ride to the airport, an assistant coach asked the media, "anybody know what San Jose (State) did?" Then, he caught himself and noted, "it doesn't matter. Right now we just have to worry about ourselves.""

.
---------------- Quotes from the UH players --------------------

About the loss, Tyler said:
"This was pretty embarrassing and harsh. They outplayed us today and we still got a lot ahead of us. We've got to keep our heads up." (HA, UH, HSB)

"It's just embarrassing, pretty much. They outplayed us today, but we've still got a long season ahead of us, so we have to keep our heads up." (HSB)

About his injury to his right thumb and right wrist, Tyler said:
"I can't move my thumb, or put any pressure on it, like to shake a hand. I can't grip a ball." (HA)

"I just couldn't grip anything, I couldn't even shake somebody's hand." (HSB)

"It sucks; nothing I can do about it. We'll see what the X-rays say and hopefully I can practice before the bye week's over. I don't know what's wrong." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Graunke said he first hurt his wrist in the first half, then hit it on a helmet in the second, which ended his day after completing 12 of 27 passes for 118 yards and two interceptions, both of which led to Oregon State touchdowns."

About how he went through all four reads on the pass he had intercepted on their first drive of the second half, Tyler said:
"I went through my reads, and Malcolm was my last read. He kind of hesitated on the route, and turned it out. It was an in-or-out (route). I kind of tried to go back to my third read, but I already had been through my fourth read. It was a bad read on my part. I should have tucked it (and run) and get what I could." (HA)

About how a hit by Norris caused his thumb injury (Tyler's wrist injury occurred in the first half) on their second drive of the 2nd half (his last drive of the game), Tyler said:
"I probably should have gotten the ball out earlier. I wouldn't have put myself in the situations to get hit like that." (HA)
.

About his INT when tried to force the ball to Salas, Inoke said:
"I stayed with that read so long the defender zeroed in on my eyes. I should have moved on with my progressions. That was bad. I have to take care of the ball." (HA)

About how they lost the momentum and couldn't get it back, Inoke said:
"We started well but couldn't keep the momentum. After that things started rolling (for Oregon State) and we had a hard time getting things rolling." (HSB)
.

About aggravating his right ankle injury, Daniel Libre said:
"I got hit (and) my cleat didn't turn with me. It's a tough break." (HA)
.

About the loss, Mike Washington said:
“It was a poor effort to tell you the truth. We are not happy. We are 1-2 and I do not remember losing like this since my freshman year. It really hurts.” (UH)

"It was a poor effort, to tell you the truth. We are not happy. We are 1-2 and I do not remember losing like this since my freshman year (5-7 in 2005). It really hurts." (HA)

Feeling that they were prepared well but just didn't execute after their first drive, Washington said:
"They played exactly what we saw on film. We had a game plan against that and we executed (early), but we just had too many mental breakdowns and shot ourselves in the foot." (HSB)

About how all of the QB changes hurts their team, Washington said:
"Timing and rhythm, that's very important, especially in the run-and-shoot offense. When you have different quarterbacks coming in it's very hard to get that rhythm back. It gets frustrating at times when plays break down, but you have to stay mentally focused and catch the ball." (HSB)
.

About his potential ACL injury, Keith AhSoon said:
"I was just blocking and somebody fell on me. That's the worst feeling, watching your teammates. You practice all week and then you're on the side." (HSB)
.

About how their morale on D dropped during their game and they moved slower on D after that, Sol said:
"We didn't finish at all. Our morale went down, our defensive speed went down as the game went on. At the same time, that's our job as a defensive unit, to stop them no matter what." (HA)

About the loss, Sol said:
"I don’t remember losing like this since my freshman year so it really hurts." (HSB)
.

Worried about his family back in Texas, Ryan Mouton (who is from Houston) said:
"I checked on them before the game, try to find out what was going on. But when it's time to play the game, I have to play a game." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Mouton's parents, Suzanne and Ronald, made the trip to Corvallis and informed him that the rest of the family was safe. Mouton finished with seven tackles and averaged 21.3 yards on three kickoff returns."
.

Unhappy that they have a bye week after this game, David Veikune (who had a career-high 10 tackles) said:
"It sucks that we have to think about this for the next two weeks. But it's good that we can prepare and get ready to hopefully win another WAC championship." (HSB)
.

About missing his 3rd FG in a row, Dan Kelly said:
"I'm just going through a slump. I have to kick and kick and kick until I get out of this slump. ... I feel I'm kicking the exact same way, but it's not coming off my foot the same. It's one of those things where I have to get a camera on me and figure out what I'm doing wrong, and then look at old film and see what I was doing right in camp. It was the best camp I ever had, and this is the worst start I've had in my career here. I need to fix it, and move on. I need to do my job." (HA)

.
---------------- Quotes from the Oregon State coaches ----------------

Happy with how their offense played, Mike Riley said:
“I think it’s great. We have a vision of how we want to be, which is balanced. If we have that kind of balance every game that would be good. We had a better picture of who we want to be offensively.” (CGT)

"Hawai'i has a good defense, and I know they can get after a football team. It was about how we matched up with that." (HA)

CGT Note: "The offense showed what it could do when it eliminated turnovers. There were 485 total yards with an average of 5.6 yards a play."

About UH taking the 7-0 lead, Riley said:
"They were pretty fired up and we were on our heels. It was crucial that we respond in some way. Our response was really good." (HSB)

Proud of how his team responded when UH took the lead, Riley said:
“We needed to come out and play a good game. I thought the beautiful thing today was how our team responded after Hawai’i scored the first touchdown and we just kept going. I was proud of that and hopefully those are good lessons we built into the identity of this team, and they continue to do things like this.” (UH)

"I thought the beautiful thing today was how our team responded after Hawaii scored the first touchdown and we just kept going. I was proud of that and hopefully those are good lessons we built into the identity of this team." (HSB)

About how it is hard to prepare a defense for the speed of UH's offense, Riley said:
"The hardest thing with a run-and-shoot or spread offense is simulating it in practice to get a feel of how fast they are and the speed in which they play. A lot of times in a game, you know the play and you know what you are supposed to do but their speed is different from the scout team speed. But we adjusted to it, and played really good football." (HA)

"run-and-shoot offenses or spread teams, whatever you'd call Hawaii's offense, the hardest thing is simulating them in practice and getting a feel for how fast they are and the speed with which they play. The coaches adjusted well, the players tightened it down and got a better feel for how Hawaii did it after that first drive." (HSB)

About how their first TD (tying the score at 7-7) was critical, Riley said:
"When they scored early, it was crucial we responded right away.They were fired up and we were on our heels. Our response was really good." (HA)

HA Note: "Oregon State received a short field that started on Hawai'i's 31-yard line thanks to a 43-yard punt return by Stroughter. Rodgers capped the short scoring drive with a 3-yard run."

About their D, Riley said:
“All of our defensive coaches did a great job after Hawai’i’s opening drive. They adjusted, they played the nickel a little bit earlier and the guys went in with the adjustments and played well.” (UH)

About how their offense was balanced, but still not fully clicking yet, Riley said:
“I don’t think we were in total rhythm, but we were in good balance. If we can get 200 yards rushing and 250-300 yards passing then it’s pretty good. Our identity is about breaking their will by the end of the game, running the ball as we want to and then make some passing plays when we want to. I don’t think we were perfect in execution, we can do better, but I think there was a better picture of who we want to be.” (UH)

Proud of their OL, Riley said:
“I am really proud of our offensive line. We have been through a number of changes and had to adapt and new guys had to step in, but the other guys provided stability and brought them along. It was a mixed bag out there, and it has been mixed up, and I am proud of them because they continue to get better.” (UH)

About how they were able to run the ball well in the game, Riley said:
“It was good to see Jacquizz Rogers get that production. I thought he ran the ball hard in not a very good football game a week ago against Penn State. Today he kept running and did the things he could do and I was excited to see Ryan McCants because people were able to see what he can do. They are a couple of great backs.” (UH)

Happy with the way his team played, Riley said:
"I was pleased with how we played in a lot of ways. We had a little vision of who we'd like to be (offensively), what we want to do, how we'd like to see our team be, which is balance with running and throwing. Defensively I was really excited." (HSB)

About how getting their first win will help their confidence, Riley said:
"The hard thing about losing is that doubt creeps in and you don't have that confidence you need to play another game. Without that success and confidence, it's hard to play well, especially as the season progresses. That's the hardest thing about coming out of a hole, you have no real confidence yet, because there's been no proof. It was nice to get a win because these guys know we can win, this 2008 team knows we can win games, this is what we have to do to do it." (HSB)
.

About facing UH, OL coach Mike Cavanaugh said:
"It's hard playing Hawaii just with all the ties, it's not a fun deal for me." (HSB)
.
--------------- Quotes from the Oregon State players ------------------

About Sammie Stroughter's 43-yard punt return that set up their first TD, QB Lyle Moevao said:
"It was huge. That's the type of spark he brings to the team." (HSB)

Happy that they got their first win of the season, Moevao said:
“It definitely felt good to get our first win under our belt, especially in front of our home crowd.” (UH)

“It was a great confidence booster, and a great win to get us back on track. And it reminds us how we felt last year. That’s always tough, being able to reflect on how you felt a year ago since it’s so long ago.” (CGT)

About how they planned to establish the pass first and then run the ball, Moevao said:
"We were able to get behind their linebackers. The running game (itself) did a great job of establishing the run later on. It wasn't hard for me to go play-action and throw behind them, and then our running game had a big effect on them later on." (HA)

Happy with how their offense played, Moevao said:
"We had a lot of good plays out there, even though there were a few we missed. Our offense did a really good job. That defense is very disruptive. The offensive line, running backs and receivers were able to handle that, and it makes my job a lot easier." (HA)

"We had a lot of good plays out there even though there were quite a few we might have missed." (HSB)

About how they played a great team game, Moevao said:
"It was a great game overall as a team — offensively, defensively. Everybody did their job. It showed what we're capable of as a whole team." (HA)

Praising the Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran for 110 yards and 2 TDs, Moevao said:
“Quizz had an awesome day. You had the feeling it was going to happen, especially when he got 99 (yards) on Penn State. This shows what he’s capable of as a true freshman. That’s always tough, to come in as a true freshman and play. I guess that’s how you know he’s related to James. His brother did it last year.” (CGT)

About how they prepared differently this week as opposed to previous weeks, Moevao said:
“I think everyone was a lot more focused this week when it came to the details. We did better on third down conversions as opposed to last week.” (UH)

Asked about preparing for USC, Moevao said:
“We just have to have great practices and not reflect too much on this film and try to get ready. We have to get ready physically and mentally.” (UH)
.

About his first win as a Beaver and his first 100 yard game, true freshman RB Jacquizz Rodgers said:
“It was great. All of the credit goes to the guys up front. We’ve worked hard to get to the point we are at. We had to get the running game on track and that is what we did.” (UH)

About the importance of the win and what got their offense going, Jacquizz said:
“It’s just the whole offensive chemistry. It’s the way we have gelled. Anybody can make a big play at any time. That is how powerful we are. We gain a lot of confidence with this win. We had our backs against the wall. If we would have lost we would have gone down 0-3. So it was great to pick up a win in front of the home crowd and do in convincingly.” (UH)

Crediting the OL and the passing game for his success, Jacquizz said:
"All the credit goes to all the guys up front. And the passing game started up early, so they had to respect the passing game, which opened the run game." (HA)
.

About how they aren't satisfied with how they played, DE Slade Norris said:
“You are never satisfied with how you play the game. We’ll get back to the film room and get better.” (CGT)

About how their D felt they turned the game around when they stopped UH on their second drive (Norris stopped Libre for a 5-yard loss on 3rd-and-1), Norris said:
“All week long we talked about getting a momentum going and celebrating after big plays. Last year, the defense somewhat carried the momentum of the entire team. After that first third down we kind of got together and rolled from there.” (CGT)

CGT Note: "OSU scored on the next possession to tie the game and began to seize control."
.

About how they can't say that their D has turned their season around, LB Bryant Cornell said:
“We held up really well on defense. This wasn’t a prototypical offense, so there are some questions about our defense, still. We stopped a spread team from running, but we know we can stop a pro-type offense, but we haven’t yet.” (CGT)

“I always feel like it’s just a beginning. You can never be satisfied. You can be happy that you won but there’s always things you can do better.” (CGT)

About how their D had some questions that are still there, Cornell said:
“I thought it was what we needed to do. There was no doubt about it, there were some questions on defense and there still are. But it was a step in the right direction. Everyone contributed. I loved playing today, it was fun.” (CGT)

"It's what we needed to do. There's no doubt about it, there are questions about our defense, and there still are, but this was a step in the right direction." (HSB)

About the INT he dropped on a shovel pass that he possibly could have returned for a TD, Cornell said:
“That was too early in the game to make a big play so I let that one go." (CGT)

About how they adjusted to UH's running game, Cornell said:
“We thought they would pass a lot, and they did. But in the first quarter they tried running the ball and got some yardage. But we rallied back and we adjusted and shut them down.” (CGT)

“This is exactly what we needed, and we did exactly what we needed to do. It’s a big boost of confidence. We knew we could do it, and we finally proved that today which is nice. We thought they would pass a lot, and they did, but in the first quarter they tried running the ball and got some yardage. But we rallied back and we adjusted to shut it down.” (UH)

About how they needed to blow out UH with USC up next on their schedule, Cornell said:
"There couldn't be a doubt in this game. We had to win big." (HSB)
.


CGT Note: "The only setback was Justin Kahut missing three field goals. He hurt his hip on the first miss when he kicked the ground."
.

Happy with how they played, safety Al Afalava said:
“We did an awesome job. The Penn State game (last week) was a wake-up call, and we can’t let that happen anymore.” (CGT)

“We did an awesome job today, Penn State was a wake up call and that can’t happen any more. The seniors got everyone pumped up and Hawai’i was a must win.” (UH)

“Both sides of the ball, we were executing. We got a bye week to rest up and get ready for USC. It’s a good win for us, and we’ll have good confidence going into USC.” (CGT)

About how they reacted to UH scoring on their first drive, Afalava said:
“They (the coaches) just calmed us down. They said just play our game and that’s what we ended up doing.” (UH)

“After that drive we just started playing, everybody started running for the ball and everybody started executing. From then on, things started going our way.” (UH)

"We just came out slow. The coaches sat us down and calmed us down, and we just started executing. After that drive we started playing. Everybody ran to the ball, and executed. And then everything started to go our way." (HA)

"The coaches sat us and said 'calm down.' We calmed down and started executing. After that (first Hawaii) drive we just started playing. From then on, things started going our way." (HSB)

Asked about UH's offense, Afalava said:
“They have a very good offense, very explosive. They run a lot of choice routes. And we had to adjust. In the second half, we had to adjust more and we just executed.” (UH)

"They have a really good offense, very explosive. They run a lot of choice routes. We had to adjust in the second half, and then executed." (HA)

About how this win was important to their players from Hawaii like him, Afalava said:
"It was beautiful. I get to go home with a big smile. When we beat them two years ago there, I was able to go home with a big smile. It's bragging rights." (HA)
.


--------------- Other Quotes from the game ------------------------

After doing the ceremonial coin flip, Rockne Freitas said that he was in favor of the UH-OSU series being extended and hoped to see UH:
"get in the Pac-10." (HA)

HA Note: "Freitas, who serves as Hawai'i Community College chancellor in Hilo, played on the Beavers' 1965 Rose Bowl team and is a member of OSU's Hall of Fame."

About how he brought up the idea of UH joining the Pac-10 in meetings with OSU athletic and administrative officials, Freitas said:
"I told them I thought it would not only be good for Hawai'i but the schools here, too." (HA)

HA Note: "When Freitas was an associate athletic director at UH in the late 1980s, he said then-athletic director Stan Sheriff had asked him to put together a plan to help the school campaign for Pac-10 membership."

About how possible Pac-10 admission for UH, Freitas said:
"I think it is something still worth working for." (HA)

HA Note: "Center John Estes, a grand nephew of Freitas, is one of the UH captains and joined Freitas for the coin toss yesterday."