Oregon-Stanford Postgame Quotes
10/03/10 | Football
University of Oregon vs. Stanford University
52-31 Oregon
Eugene, Ore.
October 2, 2010
Head Coach Chip Kelly
On defense:
“Our defense did a great job of making adjustments. That's a really good football team…They will be a force down the road.”
On second half:
“At halftime I told the team 'Get caught in the act of being themselves' and I didn't even have to yell. They came out and did it.”
“There is a great dynamic between coaches and players. They are on the same wave link and it's a lot of fun.”
On performance of offensive line:
“What they did tonight is a result of how they practiced this week.”
“It is a long long season. I don't think this team will get sidetracked. We got to finish football games and we got to finish the season.”
On pressure from media and rankings:
“We are challenged a lot of different ways and it's a test for us. So far we have not let outside sources influence us.”
On being 5-0:
“We are nothing more than 5-0. It's a one week season. Washington State will get our full attention.”
On QB Darron Thomas's performance of the night:
“He did a tremendous job. He doesn't get rattled. He can run the ball. We can put those rumors to bed that he can't run a football.”
LaMichael James, RB #21
Thoughts on the game:
“We played really hard tonight. We can't take anything away from how Stanford competed against us. That is a great team who put us down early. We did a great job overcoming adversity tonight.
On finish to the game:
“As a team, we stress to finish strong. That is what we focus on every day. We can't walk onto the field and expect to be great, we have to work day in and day out at it.”
On the early deficit:
“We knew we just had to find a way to overcome the deficit. We were down, but we always feel that something will eventually happen for us. We practice fast and feel confident with the tempo that we play and it eventually worked for us. We don't care how much we're down early. We feel that if we're in the game in the second quarter, we can win the game.”
On the leadership of Darron Thomas:
“He is a leader every week. He leads our team every day. When he throws a pick, he bounces back. Darron made great reads and keyed a lot of things for the offense with his running today. The thing about him is that he is happier when someone else scores a touchdown than when he does.”
About becoming an elite runningback:
“I don't worry a lot about the yards, I worry about the wins. My focus isn't on being the best runningback in the nation, it's on being the best team in the country. I don't care about winning a Heisman, I care about helping us stay undefeated.”
Thoughts on Stanford:
“They are a good, physical team. They were everything that I thought they would be. I love playing in big games like these.”
On the onside kick:
“That was a big play for us. We were down and needed a boost, that provided it. That was a great call and a great kick.”
On the play of the defense down the stretch:
“They played their hearts out and I can't say enough about them. Stanford is a difficult offense to stop and they were able to contain them in the second half.”
Thoughts on his performance:
“I felt that I hit on all cylinders tonight. I played with a lot more energy than I did the last couple games.“
About the importance of the win:
“Great teams overcome adversity and we did that tonight against a great team. However, we can't do what we did last year and come out flat after a big win. We have to forget about this game and start focusing on Washington State on Monday.”
Darron Thomas, QB #1
On running the ball:
“It was a natural read. We tried to take LaMichael out of the game and it made opportunities to run, but you never know when he'll run it to the house. He ran hard today.”
On preparation for Washington State:
“We will come in on Monday and get to work.”
On playing against Stanford QB Andrew Luck:
“I have been defeated by him twice, so I had a chip on my shoulder. They (the team) wanted me to come out on top.”
Cliff Harris, CB #13
On his second interception:
“It was just a desperation throw, he just threw it up and I got it.”
About the fumble in the first quarter:
“He just had a good hit on me and it came out. I couldn't dwell on it. Short term memory, I forgot it happened and just moved on.”
With rotating the defensive backs:
“It's good. Everybody's always fresh and ready to play.”
On what's next:
“It's just another win; we have today to celebrate and tomorrow to focus on next week.”
On improving in the second half:
“We settled down and figured out what they were doing against us.”
On playing time:
“The coaches choose who is going to give the most effort on every play, not on stats.”
Spencer Paysinger, LB #35
On second half:
“We made some adjustments. We practice 100 plays per practice and it is up tempo defense. Coach said to be caught being ourselves. We need to play up to our own capabilities.”
On onside kick:
“It was the turning point in the game. There was no panic for us, just let's get back to the basics.”
On next week's game against Washington State:
“It will be a bigger game than this game. We will take them just as seriously.”
Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich
Thoughts on the play of quarterback Darron Thomas:
“I thought he made great reads today and was really in command of the offense. He's made those reads all year and he did it again tonight. He is very resilient. At halftime, he talked about taking better care of the ball in the second half instead of hanging his head. He really came through for us.”
On LaMichael James' performance:
“He did a great job hitting the hole today. He focused on going up the field instead dancing and moving East and West.”
Thoughts on the game:
“We weren't very clean in the beginning, but I felt we were able to wear (Stanford) down in the second half. We got down 21-3 early, and were able to get back in it and finish the deal in the second half. That's a very good football team we beat today.”
Brandon Bair, DL #88
On the defense's play:
“We are always confident as a group that if we continue to do what we do, it will pay off for us. We moved fast to the ball today.”
Thoughts on Stanford:
“They are a tough team who works hard. We got in a situation against them where we had to dig deep and we responded well to it. When we got to halftime, the coach (Chip) Kelly just said to keep doing what we are doing and it will pay off.”
Thoughts on the Chris Owusu fumble:
“That was a big turning point for us. The way we play, we make our hits and big things eventually happen for us. That play was a good example of that.”
Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
On the fumble being a key play of the game:
“I think that was one of the big plays of the game, and there were others. We had opportunities. The team was moving the ball and they had chances. But, I'm proud of my guys. Forever proud. We need to keep our heads up and we'll come back next week. It wasn't our day today.”
On differences between the first and second halves:
“We didn't handle some situations that would have put points on the board.”
“The guys really left peripheral things out like the crowd and the big game hype and just focused on what they needed to do and going out and executing. I thought they did a good job of that and Oregon did a better job.”
“They [Oregon] did a good job of keeping us off the board in the second half.”
On onside kick in the first half:
“There was a lot of football left to be played at that point.”
“You realize there is going to be adversary in a football game and when it comes, you got to focus even more and play even harder.”
“It will be interested in looking at some of the film of plays that really changed the game like that onside kick and the play we were called for pass interference and a couple of other ones. We need to see what we can learn from that, what we can glean from that and go from there.”
On LaMichael James:
“He's a great back, no question about it. He is very Berry Sanders-like. Very impressive.”
On Oregon:
“Oregon's got a lot of weapons in the Running Back, Quarter Back and Receiver. All of them were going to get their number called. You have to be able to defend them all.”
Shayne Skov, ILB #11
On Oregon's Offense:
“Oregon is real tough; they are great at what they do.”
“Thomas's ability to run was a key part of their game play, and he did a good job of that.”
“They are probably the best team in the country at running the spread option. We didn't execute, and they had a great offense.”
On Stanford's Defense:
“Defensively, we just didn't play a good game. We didn't tackle well enough… Tackling LaMichael, is tough because he shifts behind his blockers.”
Andrew Luck, QB #12
On The Crowd:
“The crowd wasn't a big factor.”
On the Second Half:
“Oregon out played us in the second half, we made mistakes and they forced us to make mistakes and they capitalized on them.”
On the Loss:
“Very disappointed.”
