Sept. 20, 2008
Check out photo gallery from SPMSportpage.com (Sept. 20, 2008/ASU vs. Georgia)
ASU Head Coach Dennis Erickson
On the game:
"We had some opportunities in that football game early, but when you get a punt blocked and you have two fumbles there early, you can't just beat a team like that. I thought we played hard and stayed in that football game the first half, even though those things happened. Then we went down and scored there at the beginning of the second half and had some opportunities, but they are so explosive offensively. We had them on the 7-yard line and they went down and were able to score."
On the offense:
"We felt our best match-up was to throw the ball against them and we threw it pretty well. We just couldn't finish. You can't finish drives unless you can run the ball. We've got a bye week and we need to figure out how to balance things and run the ball."
On Georgia's speed:
"I knew they had speed. Their receivers are fast. Their linebackers and down guys can run. That's what defense is about. You have to have guys that can run and move around. They had them and we just couldn't do anything consistent against them. We didn't get any turnovers. We gave the ball up and any time the ball went on the ground, they seemed to get it. We just couldn't finish."
On the next three weeks:
"I told the team in the locker room: We've got eight games left in conference. We're 2-2 and we've got eight games left in the league. We've got a bye next week, but we'll practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday like it's spring ball. We've got to put some positions up for grabs. We've got to get better. We've got to look at some guys on the offensive front and some other guys on both sides of the football. We're going to go in full pads on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We're not going to worry about California until next week."
On their running game:
"We can't get the big play and that hurts us. I think Keegan [Herring] will be back for the California game. We need to get Ryan Bass the ball more and Jarell [Woods] too, because he can run. We need to find some way to get some explosion in the running game, and obviously we didn't have that tonight."
ASU QB Rudy Carpenter
On the offense:
"I don't know. I have to watch the tapes. I don't know. It just felt like we were throwing it a lot. We were doing well in the early part of the game. We didn't execute, we didn't convert and we didn't have any big plays really go all the way."
On the inability to run the ball:
"Our game plan coming in was to throw the ball. We expected to throw it and try to throw it a lot. We are going to get played that way all year if we don't run it better, because UNLV played cover two the whole game. Georgia played cover two almost every single snap dropping eight and then they got pressure. We have to do better, and besides all that we have to do a better job making bigger plays."
On what the team needs to do to improve:
"We've got to find a way to just make big plays on special teams, on offense, on defense, and until we can do that we are not going to be able to beat these teams. As you see, Georgia came out on offense and had some huge plays and, for us on offense, we couldn't match those big plays. We have to find a way and that's really on the players to do that."
ASU WR Mike Jones
On which kind of losses are harder to take: UNLV or Georgia:
"I'd probably say Georgia, because this is the game everybody talks about. We all circle it. Everybody wants to step up in the big games like this. Like Rudy [Carpenter] said, if we can't run the ball there is no way we can win the game. Even if we have ten receivers, we still have to protect. It's hard to talk about. I've always wanted to come out here and play good against Georgia."
ASU S Troy Nolan
On what hurt the most:
"Missed opportunities. We missed a couple of big plays we could have made on defense just in the secondary. We were in the position to make the play, and we obviously didn't make it."
On Georgia's passing game:
"No it didn't really surprise me. We knew that they were a passing team. It was just opportunities that we didn't make, but I knew they were going to throw. I thought they were going to run more when they first started, but they came out passing."
On Knowshon Moreno:
"He's an acrobat. You know he runs hard, he's energized out there, he's pretty shifty and he's a good player."
On what has been missing the last two games:
"We've got to find ourselves. We have no identity right now. I think we just need to find ourselves."
On the bye week coming at a good time:
"We are going to sit back and take it in and put it all behind us. Just get out there and work harder, practice, and just find ourselves. We have the Pac-10 coming up and that's really what counts."
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt
On the win:
"I'm very thankful for the victory. I'm proud of our team and proud of our coaches. I thought they did a fantastic job tonight. Arizona State is an outstanding football team that is very well-coached. They have a great quarterback, who knows what he's doing, a great kicker; they are just a great all-around football team. We came a long way from home tonight and we played a very good game against a very good team and we came out with a victory. We're just thankful for that."
On A.J. Green:
"A.J. had a very nice game. He benefited from some of the coverages that they were playing. They tend to play a soft form of coverage to the wide side of the field. It's just something that they've done for years. A.J. was able to take advantage of it. Our line blocked well enough for Matthew [Stafford] to have the time to get him the ball most of the game. I thought the line improved, but I still didn't see as pretty of a pocket as often as I would like to see, but I thought they did well overall. We definitely wanted to make sure we kept it coming his way. In the second half, they rolled their coverage toward him a little more. They put a guy on him and locked him man-to-man with a safety over the top. We didn't try to beat a dead horse, but he basically changed the game for us. I was very proud of what he did."
On the defense:
"I was very proud of our defense. Coach Martinez had a very good plan. I don't know how many times we sacked him, but we pressured him pretty good and disrupted him quite a few times. We did get him on the ground more times than we've been getting guys on the ground this year. We improved in that area. We missed a couple open field tackles, which is concerning, but we held an outstanding offensive football team to 10 points. I think that's a pretty good day."
On their backfield:
"Stafford played pretty darn good football. Knowshon [Moreno] did some special things, no doubt, but I think that he had a little bit of a rough time with the field. It seemed like it was a little bit slippery for him. I don't know if that is what we would call Winter Rye Grass where we're from. The field was a little bit slick and you could see that when he tried to make some of the cuts that he likes to make. Overall, he played a very good team."
Georgia QB Matthew Stafford
On what his team still needs to work on:
"We weren't happy about the penalties. We have to go back and look at them, see what we really did wrong on them. We played physical today and I don't fault too many of our guys for doing the stuff we did. I felt like we came out and played our game, and this is what happens."
On the UGA fans:
"It was awesome. It was great to see our fans out there cheering, making it hard for Arizona State on third down. Guys getting loud was fun to see. I was glad we got a win for them."
On the passing game:
"I was able to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers and guys made big plays behind me. The line gave me plenty of time to throw the ball, which helped a lot."
On the heat:
"It felt a whole lot cooler here tonight [than South Carolina last week]."
On A.J. Green:
"He's a good player. He's got a lot of body control and, for his frame, he's a lot stronger than you would think."
Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno
On the win:
"We were focused on this team today and we came out with the victory. That's all that matters. The offensive line looked really good today. They opened up holes for both backs and protected very well today. But there were still mistakes, so we still need to work on that out there."
On WR A.J. Green:
"All the receivers have the ability to create room [for me in the running game]. Tonight, A.J. particularly was making the big plays, which really opened up the run for us. It's always good to have both elements of the game. That's why they recruited him. He's a top player. It definitely helps to have that kind of receiver in the game, but there are a lot of guys on this team that can do the same thing. We're going to keep on working and keep on getting better."
On the heat:
"It was hot. It was a different kind of heat [than Athens]. I felt like I could really breathe better in this, but it was hot and it didn't bother us; we still played the game."
On the national stage:
"I'm not sure. That's for other people to talk about and other people to think about it. We're just happy with this win and were going to look back at the tape, see what we need to correct and come out next week."
Georgia WR A.J. Green
On his game:
"I just go out there and try to make big plays for my team when my name is called. It comes from playing everyday. The older guys have really been helping me out. They help me with my routes and my coach is teaching me to run routes better. I'm just going out there and having fun. I'm just not thinking about it too much, and I'm acting like I'm in high school having fun."
On the last drive in first half:
"I was just open. I got open and I wanted them to get the ball to me, and they did."
On the confidence he gained from this game:
"I really like having a good game. That's what I live for. I'm just playing and taking it game by game, day by day."
On their upcoming game against Alabama:
"We're just happy with this win. It's going to get easier from this game on. It's going to be another tough game. We're on fire right now and we're really going to stay focused and prepare for this game."