TCU vs. Oklahoma Postgame Quotes
10/20/2018 4:02:00 PM | Football
TCU QUOTES
TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
On the loss Oklahoma:
"You have to give Oklahoma all the credit. They are a good enough offense so you can't give them points. This is the second time in three years when they came here they had two weeks to prepare. They did some things in their first three drives that they have never done — ever, ever."
On the special teams and offense:
"I thought special teams played really well – perfect phase. At times we looked really good on offense. It's back to the drawing board."
On Michael Collins' performance:
I don't know what it was, but we obviously scored points when he came in, and that's what their job is. I'm not going to make it a quarterback controversy. I thought he came in managed the ball game pretty good for a guy who hadn't been in very much, and that's a high-level team he played against. I would probably tell you he did well. I'd probably take back that last interception."
On the status of the team:
"The kids are fighting and they fought back once we got going. We have five games left to play. The bottom line is we got beat 52-27. We are 3-4 and we've got to battle. We've got quite a road to get through to get to four. We go to Kansas and we haven't played overly well when we've gone there."
On KaVontae Turpin:
"Awesome. He can light up a stadium. Turpin is awesome. And you have to give credit to the group blocking in front of him on punts and kickoffs."
TCU Quarterback Michael Collins
On being brought into the game:
"Coach (Sonny) Cumbie always has us prepared. He tells us to stay ready for your moment because you never know when your number will be called. Just go in and do your job. Unfortunately, we came up short. We just have to keep our head up and keep going."
On his emotions:
"Coach told me and it was kind of quick. I just felt ready to go, and wanted to try and execute and help the team win."
On the touchdown to Turpin and his confidence:
"(The touchdown) helped. The guys that I have around me helps boost my confidence. Any time they have the ball they can take it and be gone."
On his early success at the Power Five level:
"I wouldn't call it that much success because we still lost. I'm just focused on what the team is doing. We are 3-4 right now and that is not where we want to be. We still have five games to go, though. We have to focus on getting five more wins and take it one game at a time starting next week at Kansas."
On the differences in defense from FCS to FBS:
"Definitely speed and size. I've been here for a while and guys like Ben Banogu and Ty Summers, they're freaks, athletic freaks, so you get used to it."
On the relationship with Shawn Robinson:
"Shawn is my guy and the quarterback room is really tight. It's a tough position and he is a great teammate. He's encouraging the offense the entire time and helping me out with looks. College football is tough and the margin of error is really small. I've learned it. There's ups and downs to everything and Shawn is a really good guy and a good quarterback. I'm with him, he's with me and we've got each other's back."
On his receiving corps athleticism:
"Looking back on when that ball was coming down, that was a hope and a prayer. He made a heck of a catch. We have really talented receivers across the board. I'm confident in their ability to go up and get it."
TCU Linebacker Ty Summers
On the mood at halftime:
"We felt good going in at halftime having a little momentum going our way. Always good having that going into the half, but you can't let it stop at halftime. You have to carry it through to the third and fourth quarters."
On the adjustments made during the game:
"I think we did make adjustments but we didn't execute them the way that we should have. Coach Patterson is smart, so they were there, but we just have to go out there and execute."
On defending Kyler Murray:
"It's tough because you always have to have a guy that is watching him. That takes things away from coverage and that makes things more open. He's definitely a threat and that's why Oklahoma has a good offense."
On Oklahoma's running backs:
"They have some physical running backs; Oklahoma always does. They're not guys that we can't tackle; we can, and we can do better at it, but they ran hard and gave us their best."
On Oklahoma's offense:
"They just have a bunch of difference makers on their team at pretty much every position; quarterback, running back, receiver and they have some physical o-lineman. That's why they're always one of the top [offenses] in the nation. You have got to meet that level with that kind of intensity."
On missed tackles:
"That's just breaking it down to football fundamentals and things that we learned growing up and executing them. We try to go in there and make a big hit, but we forget to wrap up and little things like that. There are things that we need to work on in practice even in days where we don't have pads on, just practice on thudding the guy up. That's something I've been making more emphasis of and I was better with my tackling than I was in previous weeks. We need to start working on that."
On defensive injuries and shuffling players:
"I think comfortability can be a factor when it comes to tackling because you are thinking about so many different things. But that's when we have to get used to communicating. Even the guys in different positions. If we're able to communicate, like we did after giving up 28 points, and be like 'this is not what we want. Let's go out there and communicate. Let's fly around and have fun,' then that's when we start getting stops at the end of the half. If we had carried that over to the second half, then this game would have been totally different."
"Next man up. It's frustrating and I feel bad for those guys because I would hate to be in that position, especially the fact that I'm a senior. But at the same time, it's next man up so you can never just settle and say "Ok. We messed up here because we have a new person in here.' No. Everyone practices the same, everyone puts in the same amount of work, watches the same film and so when it's your turn you have to go out there and make plays."
On looking ahead to Kansas and the rest of the season:
"We have to keep our heads up because the season is not over. At this point we're really fighting to make sure we can find a way to get six wins. That's the first bar that we are trying to reach so that starts with Kansas next week. Obviously we are bummed at the result this week but starting now our focus is now on Kansas. We can't keep our heads down. We have to get ready to work and lock in. That means spending extra time in film, treatment and anything that we can to give ourselves the best opportunity to be 4-4."
On the energy Michael Collins gave the offense:
"Momentum is a crazy thing. All it takes is one play. Whether it was Shawn (Robinson) or Mike (Collins) or the fact that (KaVontae) Turpin was out there making crazy plays, it's a shift in energy. I respect Mike going in there without having much opportunity this year and he is a great player. Both of these guys are great players, but it only takes one guys to step up and make the play and that happened to be Mike today."
OKLAHOMA QUOTES
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley
Opening Statement:
"Emotional win for this team and for a lot of reasons. Some of them more obvious than have been discussed in the last couple weeks. Tre Brown, him being back with us after such a tough loss in his family made it even more emotional. Way more emotional than it would have been before that. That combined just with what this team has been through. I thought it was just perfect how the game unfolded. We came out, played like we were capable of and carried out some of the momentum we had throughout the week. We played really well on all three sides, but had some disappointing penalties that we've got to do a better job with. We really gave them some momentum. Obviously the celebration penalty and now we've got to kick to one of the best return guys in the country from way back there. It ends up being like a punt, which almost outkicks your coverage. Austin hit it so good and you almost hope you don't kick it that far unless you kick it out. We gave him too much room and then some penalties offensively and on special teams gave them momentum. This team had tremendous fight and had a great attitude in the locker room at half time, were great mentality coming out and really just dominated the second half. I'm as proud as I've ever been of our coaches and players and the way they responded and all the challenges this week. We made out a plan, they took to it, believed in it and we came and got a tough road win against a really good football team."
On penalties:
"It was better that we didn't make as many mistakes. We weren't as explosive, but we just didn't get ourselves behind in the second half and that was key. We had to try to eliminate (KaVontae) Turpin from the game and that was tough. They do a good job offensively of getting them involved and they present some challenges obviously on special teams. They are creative about how they get it to him and set him up. So those guys are good coaches and they know what they're doing. So once we were able to eliminate him and some of the penalties, we settled in and play a really good ball game."
On adjustments:
"I thought defensively we played really well all day. We gave up the return, we had a couple times of bad field position, we gave up the screen and then the fade ball, but really other than that we made things tough on them. I thought our players responded, I thought we tackled better, made some plays in coverage and got some key pressure. It's not perfect, we've still got room to grow there, but it's a hell of a good start."
On running the ball:
"It was critical. It was one of the things we've gone back to and that we have to continue to do better. We felt like we were close in the run game. Kind of tough first half of the season and I mean we've ran it well and we haven't ran it terrible, but we knew we weren't hitting it as well as we could. We have got to be aware of our capabilities. I thought we ran it well in the Texas game, we built on it I think. Trey (Sermon) ran well and our backs altogether did a great job. I was really proud of Kenny Brooks. He continues to grow and mature and you see some of the explosion he has when he's on the field. It seems like every other touch with him is a big play and that's kind of how he is in practice too. We're growing and we're getting more in sync with our O-line. You see that group starting to gel together as a whole."
On guys in the backfield:
"We'll come back from watching them a little bit. We played Ronnie Perkins a little bit more. Quite a bit more. It looked like he was pretty active back there. We got Jalen Redmond on the field for a few snaps and we're just going to have to go back and watch and see. I subbed Delarrin (Turner-Yell) in on a few tackles since we finally got him back off an injury. We got him out there and we think he's got a chance to be a really good player for us. I thought some of them did well and we'll go back and watch it, but just the best thing I can tell you right now is the groups effort as a whole was really good."
On tackling improvement:
"The staff have done a great job. You've got to lay out a plan when you have such a major change like that. There's things schematically, there's things mentality-wise, there's things fundamentally and it's not just plugging one link. Like I've said before, it certainly wasn't all on one person. Our staff did a great job of laying out a plan, saying 'Hey, we've got two weeks, these are our goals.' We're not trying to do too much and we can't change everything in two weeks so here's the things we can change. We really focused on fundamentals and we really focused obviously on tackling. We did some things schematically that we thought helped us to tackle a little bit better. The guys responded and we played perfect. We played much closer to what we are capable of."
On Trey Sermon's injury:
"We'll see when we get back to Norman and evaluate. He's got a lower leg injury. It looks promising, but we'll see how he responds."
On potential for game to go south at half:
"Yeah, no doubt. They had a big surge there and there were some penalties and probably the worst series of play calls I've ever had. That series just killed us. I've got to give them credit because they made some really good plays. Our guys kind of believed at halftime and they have all year. These guys know how to win on the road. We embrace it, we love it and we've said it for a long time. Rarely on the road, especially with a team like this, are you just going to blow someone out. That just doesn't happen very often. So we knew it was going to be four quarters and our guys were settled in for the long haul and ready to play."
On the celebration penalty:
"The emphasis has been celebrating with teammates, which obviously we did, because they threw it on two players. One of those things that different crews interpret differently. Our guys have been doing that all season and we haven't even been warned about it. I've got to coach them better."
On how he got through the last two weeks:
"It's not about me and it's not about my stamp because I've never been that guy. It was a tough two weeks and I've told you guys that, but I relied on the people in that locker room right now. The staff I knew could get it done and the players I knew were ready to respond. I've been in tough situations before and that's part of this game that I love the most, not that you want to have adversity, but you almost have to enjoy the fight back and I certainly do."
Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill
On his team as a whole:
"I'm really proud of the staff. A lot of staffs don't react well during a transition. I'm even prouder of the boys. I'm just a spokesperson for them. I though the effort was very close to what we talked about and expected of them. We talked about fundamentals with them, making plays. We had opportunities out there, facing a very talented TCU team, one of the fastest teams in the country skill wise. Whatever call we make, they're the call and they take ownership.
On how coach Riley has handled the staff changes:
"It's like a big brother watching a little brother. We had a tough loss two weeks ago, and immediately after the game, he had a great command and influence among the players and all staff personnel. I am proud of him when he leads like that. The past two weeks have been tough. I've been there, in the head chair, and the way he's been able to handle it, from staff, to media, to the players has been great."
On his players poise when the lead started to shrink:
"I was proud of how the players reacted to that transition. It was very physical, and very different for them. They handled it with grace, honor and pride. To see them keep their poise when things get tight was great. We talked about that this week, we call it FIDO; forget it and drive on. If something good happens, great. If something bad happens, forget it, fix it and drive on."
Oklahoma Tight End Carson Meier
On the offense:
"It kind of felt like in the middle of the game, we had a lot of opportunities and we were just kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a bunch of penalties that took us back. Coming into halftime, Coach (Lincoln) Riley emphasized being smarter offensively with less penalties and that you can't coast. We had a big lead towards the beginning, but we almost took out foot off the gas a little bit. We need to just go out there and play as hard as we can every play."
On Kyler Murray's performance:
"He makes it (look routine). It's crazy seeing that we had Baker (Mayfield) last year, Heisman winner, and this year we have a Heisman contender. It's incredible. As a tight end, it's what you want to play for."
On his touchdown catch, and whether he was the first option on the play:
"It's just kind of how it played out. The fullbacks came out of the backfield. It became, 'Who's going to cover who?' I really tried to sell the run hard, since we had done it the previous two plays. I turned around and Kyler wasn't looking at me so I threw my hand up and yelled his name and sure enough his head turned right over."
Oklahoma Linebacker Kenneth Murray
On defense's performance following TCU's seventeen unanswered points in the second quarter:
"It was good to face some adversity and see what kind of fight we have. I am proud of the way we continued to fight and were able to come out with a win."
On Tre Brown playing following the loss of his mother and the team rallying around him:
"He's definitely my brother. He gave me the honor to carry his mom's casket at the funeral on Thursday. Going out there and playing for him was definitely something that was on my mind. Every time I made a play, I gave a quick gesture up to the sky, because I knew he was going through a lot with his mom and that is something that is tough. I wanted to go out there and just play for him. I feel like everyone out there for him and played for our brother."
On being a pallbearer at Tre Brown's mother's funeral:
"It was kind of a last minute thing. They need some guys who could help carry the casket. Teammates came out there to support him obviously, with him going through a lot losing his mom. It was an honor to just be there, help carry his mom and put her to peace."
On how many teammates made the trip to his funeral:
"About 15."
On how the defense played overall in Ruffin McNeil's first game as defensive coordinator:
"We came out there with effort. I think we played pretty well as far as tackling. We tackled pretty well today. We put together a great fundamental day with great effort. They got a couple of big plays, but I feel like it is something we can build on. We just have to go out there and keep working."
On the team's focus and resilience following a loss:
"We understand that everything is still in front of us. Everything we want to achieve is still in front of us. We just have to stay focused and keep going week to week and get better every week. We just went out there and knew that everything we want to do is out there in front of us. All we have to do is focus on getting a win and getting better every week."
On the offense's explosiveness:
"I don't really marvel at it because I have to face them in practice every week. Our coaching staff is great. We have great players on that side of the ball, so it doesn't surprise me at all."
On Jalen Redmond and Delarrin Turner-Yell's debuts:
"It was definitely good to see those young guys out there. They can go out there and hunt too. Having them out there hunting with us is great and it's another brother out there with us. It is good seeing the young guys out there contributing and they definitely have a lot to prove."
Oklahoma Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb
On running backs:
"The game comes a lot easier when they're playing well. It takes the stress off us."
On penalties:
"I honestly don't know what happened. We had so many illegal formations, it was ridiculous. They weren't normal penalties, so it was just different for us."
On offensive line:
"Our O-line is one of, if not, the best in the country. They are blocking and opening up holes for Trey (Semon) and Kennedy (Brooks) that are so wide you could drive a truck through it. And it doesn't surprise me at all because they consistently work hard and do it in practice."
Oklahoma nose guard Neville Gallimore
On moving forward from this game:
"Just look at the positives and what happens when you play on all four sides of the ball. Just knowing that energy is contagious. I feel like we played fast and we played for each other and that panned out in this game."
On facing adversity:
"Like I said, the kind of team we play for, we're built for stuff like this. Last week, you don't like to do a lot of pass, but you've just got to learn how to build, come back fighting, come back stronger and come back hungry. I feel like we did that today."
On confidence:
"That's what this game is about. The momentum can shift on both sides and the thing is you've just got to stay poised and keep momentum and keep living the trust with your brothers and I feel like that is what we did today. They made some plays too and they're a great football team and a great block team offensively, but I feel like we made some plays where we improved on not getting caught up in the moment and just going back to what we do."
On Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill's message this week:
"Solid. Coach Ruffin (McNeill) always has a special spot, especially being on the d-line, and everything that he says it is true. Having him there, it was solid, and just trusting his coaching and just seeing the confidence and trust he had in us to do our job just gave us that willpower to go out and execute."
On anxiety, the past week:
"We've been extremely anxious. From the moment that situation happened we were ready to get back on the field and get to work. We were waiting for this one and it was just another opportunity. I feel like this is another opportunity to get back out on the field and play for each other and play fast and have fun. You miss that even though it's only been two weeks."
On missed turnovers:
"Obviously, confidence is a big part of this game, but it's just trusting our ability. I feel like we've got a lot of great players on defense and now it's just a matter of guys trusting their ability to make plays and not being afraid of the moment. I feel like we took some steps today. We've still got some things we need to clean up, but the thing I love about our guys, especially defensively is that we keep fighting and we're all locked in. We play for each other, we love each other and we just kept fighting. We took advantage of most of our opportunities, but now we've got to continue to execute and work on the little things."
TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
On the loss Oklahoma:
"You have to give Oklahoma all the credit. They are a good enough offense so you can't give them points. This is the second time in three years when they came here they had two weeks to prepare. They did some things in their first three drives that they have never done — ever, ever."
On the special teams and offense:
"I thought special teams played really well – perfect phase. At times we looked really good on offense. It's back to the drawing board."
On Michael Collins' performance:
I don't know what it was, but we obviously scored points when he came in, and that's what their job is. I'm not going to make it a quarterback controversy. I thought he came in managed the ball game pretty good for a guy who hadn't been in very much, and that's a high-level team he played against. I would probably tell you he did well. I'd probably take back that last interception."
On the status of the team:
"The kids are fighting and they fought back once we got going. We have five games left to play. The bottom line is we got beat 52-27. We are 3-4 and we've got to battle. We've got quite a road to get through to get to four. We go to Kansas and we haven't played overly well when we've gone there."
On KaVontae Turpin:
"Awesome. He can light up a stadium. Turpin is awesome. And you have to give credit to the group blocking in front of him on punts and kickoffs."
TCU Quarterback Michael Collins
On being brought into the game:
"Coach (Sonny) Cumbie always has us prepared. He tells us to stay ready for your moment because you never know when your number will be called. Just go in and do your job. Unfortunately, we came up short. We just have to keep our head up and keep going."
On his emotions:
"Coach told me and it was kind of quick. I just felt ready to go, and wanted to try and execute and help the team win."
On the touchdown to Turpin and his confidence:
"(The touchdown) helped. The guys that I have around me helps boost my confidence. Any time they have the ball they can take it and be gone."
On his early success at the Power Five level:
"I wouldn't call it that much success because we still lost. I'm just focused on what the team is doing. We are 3-4 right now and that is not where we want to be. We still have five games to go, though. We have to focus on getting five more wins and take it one game at a time starting next week at Kansas."
On the differences in defense from FCS to FBS:
"Definitely speed and size. I've been here for a while and guys like Ben Banogu and Ty Summers, they're freaks, athletic freaks, so you get used to it."
On the relationship with Shawn Robinson:
"Shawn is my guy and the quarterback room is really tight. It's a tough position and he is a great teammate. He's encouraging the offense the entire time and helping me out with looks. College football is tough and the margin of error is really small. I've learned it. There's ups and downs to everything and Shawn is a really good guy and a good quarterback. I'm with him, he's with me and we've got each other's back."
On his receiving corps athleticism:
"Looking back on when that ball was coming down, that was a hope and a prayer. He made a heck of a catch. We have really talented receivers across the board. I'm confident in their ability to go up and get it."
TCU Linebacker Ty Summers
On the mood at halftime:
"We felt good going in at halftime having a little momentum going our way. Always good having that going into the half, but you can't let it stop at halftime. You have to carry it through to the third and fourth quarters."
On the adjustments made during the game:
"I think we did make adjustments but we didn't execute them the way that we should have. Coach Patterson is smart, so they were there, but we just have to go out there and execute."
On defending Kyler Murray:
"It's tough because you always have to have a guy that is watching him. That takes things away from coverage and that makes things more open. He's definitely a threat and that's why Oklahoma has a good offense."
On Oklahoma's running backs:
"They have some physical running backs; Oklahoma always does. They're not guys that we can't tackle; we can, and we can do better at it, but they ran hard and gave us their best."
On Oklahoma's offense:
"They just have a bunch of difference makers on their team at pretty much every position; quarterback, running back, receiver and they have some physical o-lineman. That's why they're always one of the top [offenses] in the nation. You have got to meet that level with that kind of intensity."
On missed tackles:
"That's just breaking it down to football fundamentals and things that we learned growing up and executing them. We try to go in there and make a big hit, but we forget to wrap up and little things like that. There are things that we need to work on in practice even in days where we don't have pads on, just practice on thudding the guy up. That's something I've been making more emphasis of and I was better with my tackling than I was in previous weeks. We need to start working on that."
On defensive injuries and shuffling players:
"I think comfortability can be a factor when it comes to tackling because you are thinking about so many different things. But that's when we have to get used to communicating. Even the guys in different positions. If we're able to communicate, like we did after giving up 28 points, and be like 'this is not what we want. Let's go out there and communicate. Let's fly around and have fun,' then that's when we start getting stops at the end of the half. If we had carried that over to the second half, then this game would have been totally different."
"Next man up. It's frustrating and I feel bad for those guys because I would hate to be in that position, especially the fact that I'm a senior. But at the same time, it's next man up so you can never just settle and say "Ok. We messed up here because we have a new person in here.' No. Everyone practices the same, everyone puts in the same amount of work, watches the same film and so when it's your turn you have to go out there and make plays."
On looking ahead to Kansas and the rest of the season:
"We have to keep our heads up because the season is not over. At this point we're really fighting to make sure we can find a way to get six wins. That's the first bar that we are trying to reach so that starts with Kansas next week. Obviously we are bummed at the result this week but starting now our focus is now on Kansas. We can't keep our heads down. We have to get ready to work and lock in. That means spending extra time in film, treatment and anything that we can to give ourselves the best opportunity to be 4-4."
On the energy Michael Collins gave the offense:
"Momentum is a crazy thing. All it takes is one play. Whether it was Shawn (Robinson) or Mike (Collins) or the fact that (KaVontae) Turpin was out there making crazy plays, it's a shift in energy. I respect Mike going in there without having much opportunity this year and he is a great player. Both of these guys are great players, but it only takes one guys to step up and make the play and that happened to be Mike today."
OKLAHOMA QUOTES
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley
Opening Statement:
"Emotional win for this team and for a lot of reasons. Some of them more obvious than have been discussed in the last couple weeks. Tre Brown, him being back with us after such a tough loss in his family made it even more emotional. Way more emotional than it would have been before that. That combined just with what this team has been through. I thought it was just perfect how the game unfolded. We came out, played like we were capable of and carried out some of the momentum we had throughout the week. We played really well on all three sides, but had some disappointing penalties that we've got to do a better job with. We really gave them some momentum. Obviously the celebration penalty and now we've got to kick to one of the best return guys in the country from way back there. It ends up being like a punt, which almost outkicks your coverage. Austin hit it so good and you almost hope you don't kick it that far unless you kick it out. We gave him too much room and then some penalties offensively and on special teams gave them momentum. This team had tremendous fight and had a great attitude in the locker room at half time, were great mentality coming out and really just dominated the second half. I'm as proud as I've ever been of our coaches and players and the way they responded and all the challenges this week. We made out a plan, they took to it, believed in it and we came and got a tough road win against a really good football team."
On penalties:
"It was better that we didn't make as many mistakes. We weren't as explosive, but we just didn't get ourselves behind in the second half and that was key. We had to try to eliminate (KaVontae) Turpin from the game and that was tough. They do a good job offensively of getting them involved and they present some challenges obviously on special teams. They are creative about how they get it to him and set him up. So those guys are good coaches and they know what they're doing. So once we were able to eliminate him and some of the penalties, we settled in and play a really good ball game."
On adjustments:
"I thought defensively we played really well all day. We gave up the return, we had a couple times of bad field position, we gave up the screen and then the fade ball, but really other than that we made things tough on them. I thought our players responded, I thought we tackled better, made some plays in coverage and got some key pressure. It's not perfect, we've still got room to grow there, but it's a hell of a good start."
On running the ball:
"It was critical. It was one of the things we've gone back to and that we have to continue to do better. We felt like we were close in the run game. Kind of tough first half of the season and I mean we've ran it well and we haven't ran it terrible, but we knew we weren't hitting it as well as we could. We have got to be aware of our capabilities. I thought we ran it well in the Texas game, we built on it I think. Trey (Sermon) ran well and our backs altogether did a great job. I was really proud of Kenny Brooks. He continues to grow and mature and you see some of the explosion he has when he's on the field. It seems like every other touch with him is a big play and that's kind of how he is in practice too. We're growing and we're getting more in sync with our O-line. You see that group starting to gel together as a whole."
On guys in the backfield:
"We'll come back from watching them a little bit. We played Ronnie Perkins a little bit more. Quite a bit more. It looked like he was pretty active back there. We got Jalen Redmond on the field for a few snaps and we're just going to have to go back and watch and see. I subbed Delarrin (Turner-Yell) in on a few tackles since we finally got him back off an injury. We got him out there and we think he's got a chance to be a really good player for us. I thought some of them did well and we'll go back and watch it, but just the best thing I can tell you right now is the groups effort as a whole was really good."
On tackling improvement:
"The staff have done a great job. You've got to lay out a plan when you have such a major change like that. There's things schematically, there's things mentality-wise, there's things fundamentally and it's not just plugging one link. Like I've said before, it certainly wasn't all on one person. Our staff did a great job of laying out a plan, saying 'Hey, we've got two weeks, these are our goals.' We're not trying to do too much and we can't change everything in two weeks so here's the things we can change. We really focused on fundamentals and we really focused obviously on tackling. We did some things schematically that we thought helped us to tackle a little bit better. The guys responded and we played perfect. We played much closer to what we are capable of."
On Trey Sermon's injury:
"We'll see when we get back to Norman and evaluate. He's got a lower leg injury. It looks promising, but we'll see how he responds."
On potential for game to go south at half:
"Yeah, no doubt. They had a big surge there and there were some penalties and probably the worst series of play calls I've ever had. That series just killed us. I've got to give them credit because they made some really good plays. Our guys kind of believed at halftime and they have all year. These guys know how to win on the road. We embrace it, we love it and we've said it for a long time. Rarely on the road, especially with a team like this, are you just going to blow someone out. That just doesn't happen very often. So we knew it was going to be four quarters and our guys were settled in for the long haul and ready to play."
On the celebration penalty:
"The emphasis has been celebrating with teammates, which obviously we did, because they threw it on two players. One of those things that different crews interpret differently. Our guys have been doing that all season and we haven't even been warned about it. I've got to coach them better."
On how he got through the last two weeks:
"It's not about me and it's not about my stamp because I've never been that guy. It was a tough two weeks and I've told you guys that, but I relied on the people in that locker room right now. The staff I knew could get it done and the players I knew were ready to respond. I've been in tough situations before and that's part of this game that I love the most, not that you want to have adversity, but you almost have to enjoy the fight back and I certainly do."
Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill
On his team as a whole:
"I'm really proud of the staff. A lot of staffs don't react well during a transition. I'm even prouder of the boys. I'm just a spokesperson for them. I though the effort was very close to what we talked about and expected of them. We talked about fundamentals with them, making plays. We had opportunities out there, facing a very talented TCU team, one of the fastest teams in the country skill wise. Whatever call we make, they're the call and they take ownership.
On how coach Riley has handled the staff changes:
"It's like a big brother watching a little brother. We had a tough loss two weeks ago, and immediately after the game, he had a great command and influence among the players and all staff personnel. I am proud of him when he leads like that. The past two weeks have been tough. I've been there, in the head chair, and the way he's been able to handle it, from staff, to media, to the players has been great."
On his players poise when the lead started to shrink:
"I was proud of how the players reacted to that transition. It was very physical, and very different for them. They handled it with grace, honor and pride. To see them keep their poise when things get tight was great. We talked about that this week, we call it FIDO; forget it and drive on. If something good happens, great. If something bad happens, forget it, fix it and drive on."
Oklahoma Tight End Carson Meier
On the offense:
"It kind of felt like in the middle of the game, we had a lot of opportunities and we were just kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a bunch of penalties that took us back. Coming into halftime, Coach (Lincoln) Riley emphasized being smarter offensively with less penalties and that you can't coast. We had a big lead towards the beginning, but we almost took out foot off the gas a little bit. We need to just go out there and play as hard as we can every play."
On Kyler Murray's performance:
"He makes it (look routine). It's crazy seeing that we had Baker (Mayfield) last year, Heisman winner, and this year we have a Heisman contender. It's incredible. As a tight end, it's what you want to play for."
On his touchdown catch, and whether he was the first option on the play:
"It's just kind of how it played out. The fullbacks came out of the backfield. It became, 'Who's going to cover who?' I really tried to sell the run hard, since we had done it the previous two plays. I turned around and Kyler wasn't looking at me so I threw my hand up and yelled his name and sure enough his head turned right over."
Oklahoma Linebacker Kenneth Murray
On defense's performance following TCU's seventeen unanswered points in the second quarter:
"It was good to face some adversity and see what kind of fight we have. I am proud of the way we continued to fight and were able to come out with a win."
On Tre Brown playing following the loss of his mother and the team rallying around him:
"He's definitely my brother. He gave me the honor to carry his mom's casket at the funeral on Thursday. Going out there and playing for him was definitely something that was on my mind. Every time I made a play, I gave a quick gesture up to the sky, because I knew he was going through a lot with his mom and that is something that is tough. I wanted to go out there and just play for him. I feel like everyone out there for him and played for our brother."
On being a pallbearer at Tre Brown's mother's funeral:
"It was kind of a last minute thing. They need some guys who could help carry the casket. Teammates came out there to support him obviously, with him going through a lot losing his mom. It was an honor to just be there, help carry his mom and put her to peace."
On how many teammates made the trip to his funeral:
"About 15."
On how the defense played overall in Ruffin McNeil's first game as defensive coordinator:
"We came out there with effort. I think we played pretty well as far as tackling. We tackled pretty well today. We put together a great fundamental day with great effort. They got a couple of big plays, but I feel like it is something we can build on. We just have to go out there and keep working."
On the team's focus and resilience following a loss:
"We understand that everything is still in front of us. Everything we want to achieve is still in front of us. We just have to stay focused and keep going week to week and get better every week. We just went out there and knew that everything we want to do is out there in front of us. All we have to do is focus on getting a win and getting better every week."
On the offense's explosiveness:
"I don't really marvel at it because I have to face them in practice every week. Our coaching staff is great. We have great players on that side of the ball, so it doesn't surprise me at all."
On Jalen Redmond and Delarrin Turner-Yell's debuts:
"It was definitely good to see those young guys out there. They can go out there and hunt too. Having them out there hunting with us is great and it's another brother out there with us. It is good seeing the young guys out there contributing and they definitely have a lot to prove."
Oklahoma Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb
On running backs:
"The game comes a lot easier when they're playing well. It takes the stress off us."
On penalties:
"I honestly don't know what happened. We had so many illegal formations, it was ridiculous. They weren't normal penalties, so it was just different for us."
On offensive line:
"Our O-line is one of, if not, the best in the country. They are blocking and opening up holes for Trey (Semon) and Kennedy (Brooks) that are so wide you could drive a truck through it. And it doesn't surprise me at all because they consistently work hard and do it in practice."
Oklahoma nose guard Neville Gallimore
On moving forward from this game:
"Just look at the positives and what happens when you play on all four sides of the ball. Just knowing that energy is contagious. I feel like we played fast and we played for each other and that panned out in this game."
On facing adversity:
"Like I said, the kind of team we play for, we're built for stuff like this. Last week, you don't like to do a lot of pass, but you've just got to learn how to build, come back fighting, come back stronger and come back hungry. I feel like we did that today."
On confidence:
"That's what this game is about. The momentum can shift on both sides and the thing is you've just got to stay poised and keep momentum and keep living the trust with your brothers and I feel like that is what we did today. They made some plays too and they're a great football team and a great block team offensively, but I feel like we made some plays where we improved on not getting caught up in the moment and just going back to what we do."
On Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeill's message this week:
"Solid. Coach Ruffin (McNeill) always has a special spot, especially being on the d-line, and everything that he says it is true. Having him there, it was solid, and just trusting his coaching and just seeing the confidence and trust he had in us to do our job just gave us that willpower to go out and execute."
On anxiety, the past week:
"We've been extremely anxious. From the moment that situation happened we were ready to get back on the field and get to work. We were waiting for this one and it was just another opportunity. I feel like this is another opportunity to get back out on the field and play for each other and play fast and have fun. You miss that even though it's only been two weeks."
On missed turnovers:
"Obviously, confidence is a big part of this game, but it's just trusting our ability. I feel like we've got a lot of great players on defense and now it's just a matter of guys trusting their ability to make plays and not being afraid of the moment. I feel like we took some steps today. We've still got some things we need to clean up, but the thing I love about our guys, especially defensively is that we keep fighting and we're all locked in. We play for each other, we love each other and we just kept fighting. We took advantage of most of our opportunities, but now we've got to continue to execute and work on the little things."
Players Mentioned
TCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Weekly Press Conference (at BYU)
Tuesday, November 11
TCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Post-game Press Conference (Iowa State)
Sunday, November 09
TCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Weekly Press Conference (Iowa State)
Wednesday, November 05
TCU Football | Frogs Take Care of Business at West Virginia (WVU Postgame Press Conference)
Sunday, October 26
