Oregon-Arizona Postgame Quotes
11/15/08 | Football
Oregon 55, Arizona 45
November 15, 2008
Oregon HC Mike Bellotti
Opening thought:
“There was a lot of different momentum shifts in this game. I thought our team demonstrated great explosiveness, character and grit.”
On quarterback Jeremiah Masoli:
“He did a great job of getting the ball around to different people on our offense. He had confidence throwing the ball with it not being wet. He cut it loose and we caught it.”
On stumbling in the second half:
“We weren't able to get in a rhythm in the second half. We had bad turnovers and certain plays went Arizona's way. We caught some breaks in the first half, and in the second half they just didn't go our way.”
On Blount's touchdown in the 4th quarter:
“We blocked it perfectly and then it just became a footrace, and he won. He's developing a knack for those types of plays, and I kind of like it.”
On the new uniforms and senior day:
“I told the coaches and players that with all those things going on we needed to use that excitement as a positive and I think we did.”
On Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski:
“I give a lot of credit to Rob Gronkowski. We tried man-to-man, match-up zones, zones - and to no avail. They still found him. He's an exceptional player. We weren't able to cover him.”
Oregon S T.J. Ward
On adapting to Arizona's offense:
“We didn't have to do many different things. We just stuck with our game plan and the same things we usually do.”
On the second half:
“They just executed a little bit better. We weren't as aggressive. They didn't do anything new but it worked better for them.”
On his thoughts on the entire game"
“It was an up and down game. We had a big first half and they started to close down in the second half. It was a flutter of emotions, but we got the Win, so I'm happy right now.”
Oregon ROV Patrick Chung
On having the right mindset to begin the game:
“That's what defense is. We are running the field and making plays the whole game. It's all about your mentality.”
His thoughts on the win on Senior Day:
“I feel good. I'm glad we won this game. There's nothing else I could have asked for.”
On Oregon State:
“They have some legit playmakers on their team. I'm glad we have a bye week so we can get healthy and get ready for that game.”
Oregon WR Terence Scott
On playing in dry conditions as opposed to the rain:
“The last couple of games we have played in the rain, so no rain really opened things up. The dry weather gave us the opportunity to have a little fun out there.”
On offensive coordinator Chip Kelly:
“He is always thinking. He is on his toes and ahead of everybody else.”
Oregon DE Nick Reed
On the final touchdown:
“Our offense bailed us out, gave us some space and breathing room. I think they really carried us today.”
On the energy of the first half:
“We had a lot of reasons to have energy. The offense was playing really well and putting points on the board. They rallied for us.”
Arizona HC Mike Stoops
Opening thoughts:
“This is a tough loss, because we had a really good second half and the score was so close. The difference at some point was by 25 points. I am pleased with the growth and maturity of our team. They really stepped up today. We made some fundamental mistakes, which is so disappointing, but it's something we have to work on to be able to defeat teams like Oregon. Today, 45 points wasn't enough to win. But this is football and life.”
On the second half comeback and improved play:
“We made better plays in the second half. I thought that we moved the ball decently, but the execution was not good enough. In the halftime, I told the players to take one play at the time and to challenge their pride. Oregon put a lot of pressure on us. I appreciate the effort our players made. We got an opportunity to score late in a game, and it simply didn't happen. We didn't play good enough to win.”
On Jeremiah Masoli:
“Masoli throws the ball incredibly well. He's better than a lot of people think. Today he executed very well.”
Arizona TE Rob Gronkowski
On what went wrong:
“We played poorly when we could have made plays. We can't play one half, we have to play the whole game. The first half was not good. No one was awake. The offensive was alright but overall the team was horrendous. This was a huge game, there are no excuses.”
On possibly winning and the comeback:
“Once we scored and it was 48-45, I thought we definitely have this.”
On one lesson to take from this game:
“Come out ready. If we don't, it'll be hard to win.”
On preparation for next week's game:
“Against Oregon State, we need to come out like we did in the second half.”
Arizona FB Chris Gronkowski
On playing hard after going down early:
“We came out hard and that's something to say. We came out fired up, but came up short.”
On Arizona's ability in the future:
“We have new talent, good coaches and we are ready to step up.”
On playing in front of the Oregon crowd:
“This is by far one of the loudest crowds of the year. Everyone's excited here.”
