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Postgame Quotes vs. Washington State
12/19/2020 4:59 PM | Football
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On today's win –
"By the looks of the first half, you would have thought we had opted out of that half of today's game as well as the bowl game. But the second half we made play after play after play. We started making stops and getting takeaways. The offense got going and it just snowballed. We had seven points and three turnovers in the first half. We didn't do a lot of things well in the first half. Even on defense, we gave up a big gain on a draw play. We didn't do enough things in the throw game. We showed resolve in the second half. It was a strange game and a fitting way to end a very strange season."
On Drew Lisk coming in at quarterback to rally the team -
"Drew Lisk is one of my favorite players on this team. He is selfless and has a great attitude. He's all about the team. We were elated when he decided to come back in the offseason because we knew he was considering leaving and going somewhere else. Drew Lisk is just a pleasure to have on your team. He helps everyone around him and he's like a coach on the field. The legend of Drew Lisk was born in the second half today and he'll have a story to tell the rest of his life."
On what he told the team at halftime -
"I told them we had two options. We could either tell the other team that we were done and just throw in the white towel, or we could come out and be the team we are capable of being. That's two strong second halves the last two weeks."
On the defense forcing a series of three-and-outs in third quarter -
"It was critical because we didn't have much margin for error. We couldn't give up more points and really have any chance for a comeback. The roughing the punter penalty was critical as well because that gave us the chance to go up 10 with the field goal. We had to make plays in the second half, and we made pretty every play we had to make."
On what this season did for his young team -
"These five games gave our redshirt freshmen and true freshmen exposure to the speed of the game at the power five level. They needed to go through that. I'm so proud of this team, especially all the new guys on defense. We were second in defense in the Pac-12 entering this game. And I don't want to leave the offense out. Three of our five starting linemen are freshmen. Running back Ty Jordan is a freshman. We made a lot of improvement."
"So proud of these guys for turning it around after the way we started by not playing the first two games. It really looked like we took a step forward each game. We played two division champions the first two weeks we played in USC and Washington. We couldn't hang on against Washington. But even in the first half today, you could see progress."
Running Back Ty Jordan
On what the coaches said at halftime -
"We practice so hard, working on finishing and being stronger in the second half. This is what we work for. We just had to be ourselves. In the first half, we weren't where we needed to be. [Coach Whittingham] told us we don't want to go out and end our season like this."
On comparisons to former running back Zack Moss
"It means a lot to be mentioned in the same breath with Zak Moss. I have some big shoes to feel and I'm not there yet. But I'm just trying to work hard, trying to make my mom proud."
On winning the last three games –
"Man, it's amazing. Before fall camp started, it was like you might play or you might not play. We didn't know, then we missed our first two games. We fought to get get better from the two games we lost and we got better. It shows the fight we have."
On the team's decision to not play in a bowl game -
"It was very difficult. It had to do with the crazy year we've had and not wanting to risk injuries with a bowl game. But we have a young team and the players are ready for the next season."
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Linebacker Devin Lloyd
On the comeback and halftime adjustments -
"Not too much at halftime. We just needed to play more assignment-sound football. The game plan was sound. We just had to play with more energy in the second half and we did that. Just had to keep the momentum in the second half."
On the defense playing so well in the third quarter and the four turnovers on Washington State's last four drives -
"The third quarter was huge. We needed to stop the run, limit the pass game and keep them out of the end zone to give us a chance. And that's what we did."
"Our energy was the biggest thing. On the sidelines, it makes such a huge difference, especially without any fans here. The defense was pulling for the offense to finish drives. The offense was rooting for us to get off the field. The energy we brought in the second half was huge."
On Drew Lisk rallying the team at quarterback -
"I'm so happy for him. He comes in every day and puts his head down and goes to work. He never complained. Some guys like him would leave but he stayed. He waited his time to get his chance. I'm just so happy for him."
On possibly leaving for the NFL -
"I've given it a little thought but not too much. I will make a decision in the coming weeks."
Safety Vonte Davis
On the ebbs and flows of the game -
"The first half, I knew I could have done better. My main focus for the second half was just getting back to being myself. I know the team felt the same way. That's what we did."
On how much fun it was in the second half -
"My teammates, when they make plays, it turns me up more than me making plays. Seeing guys like Clark Phillips do what he did, that gets me pumped up and excited."
Quarterback Drew Lisk
On considering leaving the program and then playing so well today -
"It was a real possibly. I weighed my options and decided during the offseason that I wasn't ready to give it up. I decided to come back and go to work. Today was the result of five years of work. It was the result of the culture of this program. It was fun to come back and get the win. I feel so blessed. The guys on this team, I know they trust me and I trust them. You just have to go out and execute."
On how he played so well -
"Confidence is something that everyone in this building has worked for, for months and for years. It builds and builds and builds. And then when your moment comes you just go out and play. It was fun."
"It's not easy. But when you work as hard as you do and you put in the hours that you do every day, in my mind you play confident because you are committed to those guys. We have a great situation in this program to build players. It's not ideal to not play right away, but today it was worth it. The five years was worth it."
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On today's win –
"By the looks of the first half, you would have thought we had opted out of that half of today's game as well as the bowl game. But the second half we made play after play after play. We started making stops and getting takeaways. The offense got going and it just snowballed. We had seven points and three turnovers in the first half. We didn't do a lot of things well in the first half. Even on defense, we gave up a big gain on a draw play. We didn't do enough things in the throw game. We showed resolve in the second half. It was a strange game and a fitting way to end a very strange season."
On Drew Lisk coming in at quarterback to rally the team -
"Drew Lisk is one of my favorite players on this team. He is selfless and has a great attitude. He's all about the team. We were elated when he decided to come back in the offseason because we knew he was considering leaving and going somewhere else. Drew Lisk is just a pleasure to have on your team. He helps everyone around him and he's like a coach on the field. The legend of Drew Lisk was born in the second half today and he'll have a story to tell the rest of his life."
On what he told the team at halftime -
"I told them we had two options. We could either tell the other team that we were done and just throw in the white towel, or we could come out and be the team we are capable of being. That's two strong second halves the last two weeks."
On the defense forcing a series of three-and-outs in third quarter -
"It was critical because we didn't have much margin for error. We couldn't give up more points and really have any chance for a comeback. The roughing the punter penalty was critical as well because that gave us the chance to go up 10 with the field goal. We had to make plays in the second half, and we made pretty every play we had to make."
On what this season did for his young team -
"These five games gave our redshirt freshmen and true freshmen exposure to the speed of the game at the power five level. They needed to go through that. I'm so proud of this team, especially all the new guys on defense. We were second in defense in the Pac-12 entering this game. And I don't want to leave the offense out. Three of our five starting linemen are freshmen. Running back Ty Jordan is a freshman. We made a lot of improvement."
"So proud of these guys for turning it around after the way we started by not playing the first two games. It really looked like we took a step forward each game. We played two division champions the first two weeks we played in USC and Washington. We couldn't hang on against Washington. But even in the first half today, you could see progress."
Running Back Ty Jordan
On what the coaches said at halftime -
"We practice so hard, working on finishing and being stronger in the second half. This is what we work for. We just had to be ourselves. In the first half, we weren't where we needed to be. [Coach Whittingham] told us we don't want to go out and end our season like this."
On comparisons to former running back Zack Moss
"It means a lot to be mentioned in the same breath with Zak Moss. I have some big shoes to feel and I'm not there yet. But I'm just trying to work hard, trying to make my mom proud."
On winning the last three games –
"Man, it's amazing. Before fall camp started, it was like you might play or you might not play. We didn't know, then we missed our first two games. We fought to get get better from the two games we lost and we got better. It shows the fight we have."
On the team's decision to not play in a bowl game -
"It was very difficult. It had to do with the crazy year we've had and not wanting to risk injuries with a bowl game. But we have a young team and the players are ready for the next season."
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Linebacker Devin Lloyd
On the comeback and halftime adjustments -
"Not too much at halftime. We just needed to play more assignment-sound football. The game plan was sound. We just had to play with more energy in the second half and we did that. Just had to keep the momentum in the second half."
On the defense playing so well in the third quarter and the four turnovers on Washington State's last four drives -
"The third quarter was huge. We needed to stop the run, limit the pass game and keep them out of the end zone to give us a chance. And that's what we did."
"Our energy was the biggest thing. On the sidelines, it makes such a huge difference, especially without any fans here. The defense was pulling for the offense to finish drives. The offense was rooting for us to get off the field. The energy we brought in the second half was huge."
On Drew Lisk rallying the team at quarterback -
"I'm so happy for him. He comes in every day and puts his head down and goes to work. He never complained. Some guys like him would leave but he stayed. He waited his time to get his chance. I'm just so happy for him."
On possibly leaving for the NFL -
"I've given it a little thought but not too much. I will make a decision in the coming weeks."
Safety Vonte Davis
On the ebbs and flows of the game -
"The first half, I knew I could have done better. My main focus for the second half was just getting back to being myself. I know the team felt the same way. That's what we did."
On how much fun it was in the second half -
"My teammates, when they make plays, it turns me up more than me making plays. Seeing guys like Clark Phillips do what he did, that gets me pumped up and excited."
Quarterback Drew Lisk
On considering leaving the program and then playing so well today -
"It was a real possibly. I weighed my options and decided during the offseason that I wasn't ready to give it up. I decided to come back and go to work. Today was the result of five years of work. It was the result of the culture of this program. It was fun to come back and get the win. I feel so blessed. The guys on this team, I know they trust me and I trust them. You just have to go out and execute."
On how he played so well -
"Confidence is something that everyone in this building has worked for, for months and for years. It builds and builds and builds. And then when your moment comes you just go out and play. It was fun."
"It's not easy. But when you work as hard as you do and you put in the hours that you do every day, in my mind you play confident because you are committed to those guys. We have a great situation in this program to build players. It's not ideal to not play right away, but today it was worth it. The five years was worth it."
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Players Mentioned
S
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LB
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