TCU vs. Utah Postgame Quotes
9/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
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TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
On his team's play:
"We got the ball in the hands of some of our other players today. The emergence of Aaron Brown was key. The offense stepped up and had some really big plays.I really commend the defense. They kept Utah out of the endzone a couple of times and then we fought back."
On Utah's play:
"They are a good football team and I can't take anything away from them. Before this, they won 18 straight games and they are going to win a lot more."
On the last play:
"We found a way to make a play. I knew we had a chance.It seemed like the longer the game was going to go, the Texas humidity was going to help us. We got a couple of good plays and we got the ball down first and goal. Michael DePriest made a great play."
On the rest of the season:
"The thing we gotta do this year is have a couple more points than anyone else. That's how close the Mountain West Conference is I think. Next week we gotta go in and take the ballgame if you want to win in Provo. Two losses might win this conference so we have to go play every ballgame. We have to make sure we don't make mistakes."
On Aaron Brown:
"Our whole philosophy is rotate because the guy going in is a good player. We wanted to make sure we had a fresh back. The thing about Aaron is I knew he could run on the outside, but I never knew how strong he was on the inside. That's a pretty good job for a freshman back."
TCU Senior QB Tye Gunn
On the win:
"It's a huge deal for me. When I'm confident, I play well; when I think too much, I don't. Some guys hate losing, but they don't hate it as much as me. It makes me sick. I can't sleep. I spend the night walking around my apartment, watching TV or watching film. Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight."
On Utah:
"They are a strong team. I think as the game went on, the humidity bugged them."
TCU Junior WR Michael DePriest
On his game-winning touchdown catch in overtime:
"I was fortunate enough to be open. It was my time to make a play and I made a play. I just wanted to focus on the ball, make sure I caught it first and foremost and not fall down."
On his playing mentality:
"We all have to have focus and a purpose when we come out there. We have to go out there and do what it takes to win. That's our initial goal."
TCU Freshman RB Aaron Brown
On his feelings during the game:
"I was playing a little nervous - a big time college game. I went in there and did what I was supposed to do. After a couple of those runs, it kind of helped with the nerves.I don't care who gets the touchdowns or who gets the credit. At the end, if it's a TCU win, I'm happy with that."
On his performance:
"It's Amazing. It matters to me how the game played out, but what doesn't matter is who gets the credit."
On preparing for BYU:
"We just have to get better. We can take this win and celebrate it, but we can't let it get to where we don't practice and prepare for next week. We didn't prepare well for SMU so we know now that we have to go out and prepare every time."
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On the end of the team's 18-game winning streak:
"Nothing lasts forever. It was a heck of a run but we had our chances tonight."
His reactions to the game:
"We had a 17-7 lead in the third quarter. They put together a couple of drives and got to 17-all. We had the ball at midfield to go in for the winning drive and we couldn't get it done. Give TCU credit for playing a great football game. Their defense played well and their offense did just enough to get the victory."
On his expectations for the rest of the season:
"What we talked about in the locker room is how we'll handle this loss. We'll see where we head from here. How we handle this and how we rebound will be a big factor in how the rest of our season goes. It's going to be crucial because I don't believe anybody in this conference is going to make it through this league undefeated. If we take care of our business and obviously we'll still have a chance to win the conference. Our backs our against the wall but we'll be ready to play next Thursday night."
Utah Sophomore QB Brian Johnson
On the play of TCU:
"They've got a good team. They beat Oklahoma and it wasn't a fluke. They were a good cover team. They have one of the best defenses in the nation. They showed it tonight."
On TCU's pass defense:
"When you get into third-and-long situations, you have to throw the ball. It gets tough to do that when they start rushing three and dropping eight. They did a nice job defensively.Early on they were playing a lot of cover zero's and a lot of man pressures. A couple of times we made big plays but they made some nice adjustments and kept the play in front of them."
On their 18-game winning streak coming to an end:
"It had to end sometime. It's a temporary setback but we have to come back. Now it's time to start another one. We have to bounce back from tough games like these."
On the conference season:
"This is a much more level playing field this year. There are some tough teams and it's going to be a dogfight the rest of the season. It's going to be hard for anyone to go undefeated. We just have to keep preparing each and every week."
Utah Junior DB Eric Weddle
On the loss:
"It was disappointing the way our defense played in the third quarter. Overall we didn't play very good and TCU played well enough to win."
On the team's reaction to the loss:
"We will see what this team is all about. I've been on a team where we lost at New Mexico and we came back the next week to beat Air Force 45-3. I have total confidence in this team. We're going to watch film, correct our mistakes and come out next week with a vengeance."
