Oregon vs. Nevada Postgame Quotes
09/11/11 | Football
Oregon vs. Nevada
69-20 Oregon
Eugene, Ore.
September 10, 2011
Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly
Opening Comments
“I made a big emphasis on cleaning up penalties and turnovers. I am happy how they came out at practice and I am happy how they came out today. “
“Darron did good things for us and a 7-0 lead put us in a good start.”
“I thought Darron played outstanding today. He got the ball to the right guys.”
“...We want to be a balanced football team and take what the defense gives us. Our offensive line cleaned up penalties and did big things for us. They were always moving forward.”
On team's togetherness:
“It's about going back to fundamentals. When we break in new linemen we think 'when will they start to gel?' Communication played a big part in today's game.”
On De'Anthony Thomas, Freshman RB:
“He is a young freshman and still learning. He is explosive when you put the ball in his hands, and a fierce competitor. With Kenjon out today we needed him to compliment LaMichael.”
“He was fundamentally sound when he carried the ball today. Now he has two games under his belt.”
On rotating new players in the game:
“To play that many young guys early in the season will benefit us.”
On Cliff Harris and Kiko Alonso's behavioral/academic conduct:
“They had ladders to climb and they climbed them this week. But just because you are back does not mean we are going to hand you keys to the castle. You got to earn everything in this football program.”
On coming back to practice Monday after LSU game:
“I don't know how they responded so well on Monday. What I like about our team is how they practiced Monday.”
On numbers this season:
“We never talk about numbers. If we lead the country on one thing we will lead in effort.”
TE Colt Lyerla
On scoring first TD:
“I felt really good, especially since it was at home in front of our fans. It made it extra special.”
On Darron Thomas' Day:
“He was on point, reads were perfect and he was seeing the whole field and making the right choices on options to throw to. He worked extra hard this week and today was his showcasing of that.”
S John Boyett
On practices this past week:
“There were no changes, we went out and did the same thing in practice we just went into this game and worked well as a unit.”
On being at Autzen:
“It felt good to come home after the LSU game and play like we did for our fans, they are the best fans and it is always rewarding coming here and playing like we know we are capable of playing like.”
QB Darron Thomas
On preparation for this game:
“This week the offense worked really hard on making sure that we establish the running game and that the receivers ran good routes and focused on catching all passes.”
On De'Anthony Thomas' day:
“We expect this from him; we have high hopes for him. We are extremely happy with the way that he played today, but that is exactly what we expect from him.”
On playing this level of opponents:
“We have to come out with a fire and play hard regardless of who we are playing. Whether it is LSU or Nevada we need to always come out 100% and play well.”
WR Lavasier Tuinei
On difference between week one and two:
“We all fixed our mental mistakes from last game and went out and played hard.”
On preparation and practice:
“Our goal is to always go out there and execute the running game, when we get that going the passing game will come on its own—as was evident today.”
RB De'Anthony Thomas
On protecting the football:
“I worked hard protecting the ball in practice and staying focused. I know I have to work hard every time I get the ball and be positive.”
On practicing with LaMichael James:
“It's huge to be able to practice with LaMichael in practice every day. He's getting better, so that makes me work harder and get better. He's like a big brother to me now. I never thought I'd be working behind a Heisman Candidate. It's unreal.”
On the difference in last week's game versus this week's game:
“Last week I focused on scoring, and now it's just about getting what I can get.”
OL Carson York
On his health:
“I feel really happy because I'm feeling good. It's nice to finally go out there and feel healthy again.”
On how the team played:
“We scored lots of points, but the offensive line could get better on the ground.”
On what the O Line still has to improve on:
“We need to get better communicating at practice. Our game communication is ok, but we need to get better in practice.”
RB LaMichael James
On playing special teams:
“Whatever the team wants me to do; I'm going to do it. When Cliff (Harris) is out, I will be pick up the slack.”
On helping the younger runningbacks:
“I'm there for them on the sidelines, coaching them up and helping them out.”
On how the team played:
“I'm happy with the outcome of the team. I think the O Line did a great job and we had success on offense.”
On his return for a touchdown:
“The kicker kept kicking it away from me, and finally he kicked it right to me. I just knew that I would get it [a touchdown].”
On next week's game:
“We'll be ready to play next Saturday against Missouri State, preparing just like we did for LSU.”
WR Rahsaan Vaughn
On starting his first game:
“When Josh went down, they chose me to step up. I just went out and had a good game, but I will do better next week. I just went out and played the role the team needed me to.”
On the receivers and runningbacks making plays:
“We got a lot of fast dudes who can make plays with the ball. We just use our abilities the best we can.”
On his first touchdown at Autzen stadium:
“It was loud and crazy. I enjoyed my first TD; I hope to get many more.”
On the crowd at Autzen:
“I wasn't paying much attention to the crowd, I just played my game. But when I scored, I heard them and was excited.”
Nevada Quotes
Nevada Head Coach Chris Ault
Opening Comments
“We're embarrassed, I'm embarrassed.... to play that way on that stage... you've got to really look at what you are doing and... we've got to crate other avenues to go down.“
On if the team gave everything they had:
“There were times. In adverse situations, how do you respond? Defensively, we didn't. Offensively, we moved the ball. Our special teams were average.”
On the Oregon team:
“There wasn't anything they did that we have not seen. But, you can't give up big plays like that. You just can't. It's demoralizing.”
“Our offense moved the ball but we were shut down defensively. The offense did respond to keep the defense off of them.”
“They [Oregon] are a fine football team. There's no question about it but to make it that easy for them... that's unacceptable.”
On the blocked field goal in the first quarter:
“First of all, it affected me. I could have blocked that thing. There was no penetration at all. It was low enough for me to stand up and block it.”
“Those are really tough circumstances to come back from, they really bust your morale.”
On the future:
“We're going to come back and be better next week. Can't get much worse than we were today.”
LB James-Michael Johnson
On the game:
“We didn't perform the way we wanted to. We had a good plan but we got caught off guard.”
“We played hard, we fought. We just have to get better.”
On playing Oregon:
“They are a good team. They do what they do really well and we had no answer to it.”
On the penalties called during the game:
“It was just first game jitters, its small stuff that we can fix.”
On what he could have done better personally:
“I missed a few tackles, and I could have made more plays defensively.”
On how the noise at Autzen Stadium affected the team:
“It doesn't phase us. It was a really good atmosphere.”
