Arizona State Head Coach Herm Edwards:
Opening Statement
“I thought we did some good things in the game as far as running the football, that was our emphasis. We tried to run the ball a little more and make some first downs because when you play Stanford, they’re a very methodical football team; they take a lot of time off the clock, they possess the ball for long periods of time. Their defense doesn’t generally give up a lot of plays in the passing game so going into this we didn’t want to turn the ball over and didn’t want to get into foul trouble, which showed up in the end. For the most part I thought we played a pretty good football game, we got on the board then they got on the board and from there I thought the second half was telling. Our defense only allowed three points, so when you can do that your chances of winning go way up. I thought there were a couple things we have to clean up, I’ll get that straight I promise you that, but it was a good win for us.”
On defensive trick plays, specifically Jack Jones’ backwards pass:
“That’s just instinctive, when a guy is able to, first of all intercept the ball, but before he goes down, (Deandre) Pierce goes behind him and Jack tosses it to him. That kind of stuff you just do on instinct and I’m glad it worked because if we would have fumbled it you’d see a mad head coach. It’s all pretty when it happens and it works, it’s just football. Guys are having fun and it was just a great play on both of them.”
On secondary’s performance:
“I thought they played pretty well, they gave up only one touchdown pass on a fade, he miss timed the jump. These are big receivers, we knew that going in, they are scary and they are gifted players. They can catch a lot of jump balls, we see it every week and for the most part we did a pretty good job of not allowing that to happen. They’re going to hit some, but I thought our ability to play man on man coverage really helped us. We started off the first half playing a little more zone and then in the second half we went to cat coverage, covering the cat, go rush the quarterback and see what happens.”
Senior running back Rachaad White
On his hurdle
“Honestly, the run, it was just a great design, it was a new play we put in just based on what the defense ran, and I can’t explain jumping over a guy. It’s just instinct and having fun.”
On evaluating tonight’s performance and how important it was for the win.
“We got the win, which for us is all that matters. I evaluated it as a good thing. We know we have got to do our job as we rotate. Everybody comes in and plays their part in the offense for the running backs to be successful.
Grad defensive back Jack Jones
On finding the right match-ups in the first half
“Yeah, the wide-receivers on Stanford are tall with 6’4 and ‘6’5 so we knew we had to match-up well in order to not let them get into a rhythm on offense.”
Junior quarterback Jayden Daniel
On what he saw to take advantage of a fast start
“It felt good to come out with a fast start, it’s something that the coaches preach to us in practice and before games. Starting out fast puts ourselves in a good position in the game. Defense got stops to help the offense out. Overall, it felt good to capitalize on what we have seen against Stanford using play-action passing and using our speed to run the ball well.”
On offense in the second half
“You are going to battle through some adversity, we came up big in our first three possessions and we wanted to keep scoring and we want to keep scoring. But that is just something, we should be finishing drives. The defense did a hell of a job holding them just putting us in a better position to go out there and score, and I give all props to them and the team’s will to want to finish.”
On the offensive line:
“We have to go back and watch the film obviously to see how they play but through these last couple weeks they have been doing a great job on pass protection, me not being touched, and that's something a quarterback wants. Those five guys are coming along together and you can see they are all on the same page, we are all on the same page in the backfield, the linemen, me, the running backs. So we all know the blitzes that they bring so I give all kudos to them.”
Grad defensive lineman Tyler Johnson
On overall performance dictating the line of scrimmage
“It was very good, we practiced all week and had a lot of big guys on the edge, we had to prepare for specific people so the entire week we prepared for them and knowing their run game and formations, which was important in the game. It all came down to preparation.”
Stanford Head Coach David Shaw:
Opening Statement:
“We had some guys get injured, yes, but it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game. I think what came down to the game was execution. Offensively, we started pretty fast, defensively we did not start fast. Our defense really came on strong towards the end there in the second half and got a lot of stops and got off of the field multiple times. The offense moved the ball but didn’t score points. Quarterback, offensive line, running backs, and a couple receivers had a really nice day. We’ve got some really good football players that did not play up to our capabilities today. All credit to Arizona State. This was a big game with a lot of conference implications and they rose to the challenge and we did not. So, we are going to take a couple days to get off our feet and get back at it on Monday and be ready for our next challenge.”
On the Emmet Kenny and other injuries:
“We’ll see. It wasn’t any pain at the end there, but we’ll see what he’s like next week. We’ll see who’s available in the kicking game next week. That’s going to be touch and go for us.”
On the offense:
“When plays don’t work, they’re bad play calls. I’ll put that on me, so when you have bad play calls and you lack execution that’s what happens. We got in position multiple times and then we just stalled, and it doesn’t matter if you can move the ball between the 20s. If you can't get in and score touchdowns, you are not going to win. Not in this league. Not on Friday night against a really good football team. So, defense gave the offense opportunities the entire second half. Offense did not take advantage of those, and we have to play much better.”
On the defense flipping the switch:
“I just saw a great effort. We didn’t call different defenses in the second half, but our defensive line, and our linebackers in particular in that second half gave the offense plenty of opportunities. We got off the field on third down, just didn't turn those things into points. We got a turnover that got no points for us, so we have to be opportunistic on the offensive side. We have been really the last three weeks, we just were not today. Defensively, Arizona State, they’re big up front. We had a couple of protection issues and then we hit some big passes but we missed some against a good football team. You can't do that.”
Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek
On what didn’t go right on offense, especially in the red zone:
“I don’t think it was one thing, all of us have to be held accountable for the offense. We weren’t able to finish our drives. Obviously we were able to get the ball moving, but finishing those jobs and getting points on the board is the most important thing. We have to get better.”
On how the team feels at this point of the season and views on players injured and people having to step up:
“I think this whole team has the mentality of 'next man up' and I think we are all ready whether it is my position or anyone else. We are going to step up and make plays for the team. We are all playing for each other. And as far as I am feeling at this part of the season, 3-3 obviously is not where we want to be, we want to be in a much better position. But right now we just got to regroup and finish out the season strong. You know we have a Pac-12 championship to win and that is our only goal right now.”
Stanford defensive end Thomas Booker
On the defense:
“It’s one of these deals where it's pretty simple. When people are locked into their keys, when linebackers are filling gaps, when defensive linemen are keeping their eyes in and on the block and on the backfield, we can do some pretty special things on defense. Even if we do bleed a little bit, give some yards up, once the ball passes the 50 we can really lock up. You saw that with the interception with the fourth down stop, with the fourth down where they missed the field goal, those are things for us where it's really simple. We have a great defensive game plan. We executed the way it should be. It's just as simple as that. It just comes down to execution. There's no kind of magic bullet, or solution that ends up having us get the stops, it's just about guys hitting the keys.”
On how he feels about the season overall:
‘You want to win every single game, but you also have to keep things in perspective, and look at the rest of the season and look at the goals we have. Pac 12 championship and all that sort of stuff. For us, that's still right ahead of us. We can still control our destiny with that. As a football player and as an athlete in general, you have to take your loss, pick the lessons you can from it, and look for the positives and what you can do potentially. I think for us as a team, we don't have to lock in, but it will be due this past week. We just need to take it to the rest of the season. Lock in, focus and do what we can to run the table for the rest of the year.”
Opening Statement
“I thought we did some good things in the game as far as running the football, that was our emphasis. We tried to run the ball a little more and make some first downs because when you play Stanford, they’re a very methodical football team; they take a lot of time off the clock, they possess the ball for long periods of time. Their defense doesn’t generally give up a lot of plays in the passing game so going into this we didn’t want to turn the ball over and didn’t want to get into foul trouble, which showed up in the end. For the most part I thought we played a pretty good football game, we got on the board then they got on the board and from there I thought the second half was telling. Our defense only allowed three points, so when you can do that your chances of winning go way up. I thought there were a couple things we have to clean up, I’ll get that straight I promise you that, but it was a good win for us.”
On defensive trick plays, specifically Jack Jones’ backwards pass:
“That’s just instinctive, when a guy is able to, first of all intercept the ball, but before he goes down, (Deandre) Pierce goes behind him and Jack tosses it to him. That kind of stuff you just do on instinct and I’m glad it worked because if we would have fumbled it you’d see a mad head coach. It’s all pretty when it happens and it works, it’s just football. Guys are having fun and it was just a great play on both of them.”
On secondary’s performance:
“I thought they played pretty well, they gave up only one touchdown pass on a fade, he miss timed the jump. These are big receivers, we knew that going in, they are scary and they are gifted players. They can catch a lot of jump balls, we see it every week and for the most part we did a pretty good job of not allowing that to happen. They’re going to hit some, but I thought our ability to play man on man coverage really helped us. We started off the first half playing a little more zone and then in the second half we went to cat coverage, covering the cat, go rush the quarterback and see what happens.”
Senior running back Rachaad White
On his hurdle
“Honestly, the run, it was just a great design, it was a new play we put in just based on what the defense ran, and I can’t explain jumping over a guy. It’s just instinct and having fun.”
On evaluating tonight’s performance and how important it was for the win.
“We got the win, which for us is all that matters. I evaluated it as a good thing. We know we have got to do our job as we rotate. Everybody comes in and plays their part in the offense for the running backs to be successful.
Grad defensive back Jack Jones
On finding the right match-ups in the first half
“Yeah, the wide-receivers on Stanford are tall with 6’4 and ‘6’5 so we knew we had to match-up well in order to not let them get into a rhythm on offense.”
Junior quarterback Jayden Daniel
On what he saw to take advantage of a fast start
“It felt good to come out with a fast start, it’s something that the coaches preach to us in practice and before games. Starting out fast puts ourselves in a good position in the game. Defense got stops to help the offense out. Overall, it felt good to capitalize on what we have seen against Stanford using play-action passing and using our speed to run the ball well.”
On offense in the second half
“You are going to battle through some adversity, we came up big in our first three possessions and we wanted to keep scoring and we want to keep scoring. But that is just something, we should be finishing drives. The defense did a hell of a job holding them just putting us in a better position to go out there and score, and I give all props to them and the team’s will to want to finish.”
On the offensive line:
“We have to go back and watch the film obviously to see how they play but through these last couple weeks they have been doing a great job on pass protection, me not being touched, and that's something a quarterback wants. Those five guys are coming along together and you can see they are all on the same page, we are all on the same page in the backfield, the linemen, me, the running backs. So we all know the blitzes that they bring so I give all kudos to them.”
Grad defensive lineman Tyler Johnson
On overall performance dictating the line of scrimmage
“It was very good, we practiced all week and had a lot of big guys on the edge, we had to prepare for specific people so the entire week we prepared for them and knowing their run game and formations, which was important in the game. It all came down to preparation.”
Stanford Head Coach David Shaw:
Opening Statement:
“We had some guys get injured, yes, but it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game. I think what came down to the game was execution. Offensively, we started pretty fast, defensively we did not start fast. Our defense really came on strong towards the end there in the second half and got a lot of stops and got off of the field multiple times. The offense moved the ball but didn’t score points. Quarterback, offensive line, running backs, and a couple receivers had a really nice day. We’ve got some really good football players that did not play up to our capabilities today. All credit to Arizona State. This was a big game with a lot of conference implications and they rose to the challenge and we did not. So, we are going to take a couple days to get off our feet and get back at it on Monday and be ready for our next challenge.”
On the Emmet Kenny and other injuries:
“We’ll see. It wasn’t any pain at the end there, but we’ll see what he’s like next week. We’ll see who’s available in the kicking game next week. That’s going to be touch and go for us.”
On the offense:
“When plays don’t work, they’re bad play calls. I’ll put that on me, so when you have bad play calls and you lack execution that’s what happens. We got in position multiple times and then we just stalled, and it doesn’t matter if you can move the ball between the 20s. If you can't get in and score touchdowns, you are not going to win. Not in this league. Not on Friday night against a really good football team. So, defense gave the offense opportunities the entire second half. Offense did not take advantage of those, and we have to play much better.”
On the defense flipping the switch:
“I just saw a great effort. We didn’t call different defenses in the second half, but our defensive line, and our linebackers in particular in that second half gave the offense plenty of opportunities. We got off the field on third down, just didn't turn those things into points. We got a turnover that got no points for us, so we have to be opportunistic on the offensive side. We have been really the last three weeks, we just were not today. Defensively, Arizona State, they’re big up front. We had a couple of protection issues and then we hit some big passes but we missed some against a good football team. You can't do that.”
Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek
On what didn’t go right on offense, especially in the red zone:
“I don’t think it was one thing, all of us have to be held accountable for the offense. We weren’t able to finish our drives. Obviously we were able to get the ball moving, but finishing those jobs and getting points on the board is the most important thing. We have to get better.”
On how the team feels at this point of the season and views on players injured and people having to step up:
“I think this whole team has the mentality of 'next man up' and I think we are all ready whether it is my position or anyone else. We are going to step up and make plays for the team. We are all playing for each other. And as far as I am feeling at this part of the season, 3-3 obviously is not where we want to be, we want to be in a much better position. But right now we just got to regroup and finish out the season strong. You know we have a Pac-12 championship to win and that is our only goal right now.”
Stanford defensive end Thomas Booker
On the defense:
“It’s one of these deals where it's pretty simple. When people are locked into their keys, when linebackers are filling gaps, when defensive linemen are keeping their eyes in and on the block and on the backfield, we can do some pretty special things on defense. Even if we do bleed a little bit, give some yards up, once the ball passes the 50 we can really lock up. You saw that with the interception with the fourth down stop, with the fourth down where they missed the field goal, those are things for us where it's really simple. We have a great defensive game plan. We executed the way it should be. It's just as simple as that. It just comes down to execution. There's no kind of magic bullet, or solution that ends up having us get the stops, it's just about guys hitting the keys.”
On how he feels about the season overall:
‘You want to win every single game, but you also have to keep things in perspective, and look at the rest of the season and look at the goals we have. Pac 12 championship and all that sort of stuff. For us, that's still right ahead of us. We can still control our destiny with that. As a football player and as an athlete in general, you have to take your loss, pick the lessons you can from it, and look for the positives and what you can do potentially. I think for us as a team, we don't have to lock in, but it will be due this past week. We just need to take it to the rest of the season. Lock in, focus and do what we can to run the table for the rest of the year.”