Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 35, to, 3
Final
Football
35
vs Illinois State
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Postgame Quotes
September 18, 2010 | Football
Return to Recap
Opening statement:
"We were getting worked. They were executing better than we were executing. It's as simple as that. I said coming into the game they are charging well over 50 to almost 60 different formations and if you're late getting lined up, all of a sudden they've got leverage on you and here you go, you're running for you life. Their execution in the second half was definitely better than ours on defense. In the end, you saw you don't have a bunch of defenses you're playing because you've got to get lined up so you're playing the same thing. We had a couple of mixes in there, but for the most part it was the same thing through the day. In the second half, we're late reading some things, they've got leverage on you and, like I said, you're running for the hills trying to save your life."
On the offense:
"Here's what it was for my general thoughts - everyone wants to pick on this or that, but this is a team in my eyes. In the first half, the defense really complemented the offense, they played great, and even though offensively we had great drive to start with, we kind of sputtered after that, but we still go into halftime winning 10-3. In the second half, we come out and the defense isn't' so sharp or their executing better than us, but the offense complements the defense in the second half by getting a couple of big drives. We had some nice kick returns, good field position, and then we run the ball out to finish the game the way we had to. So it's a team. In my eyes I'm really pleased that the team responded together like they did to win against a good football team. This bunch will win a ton of games this year, I don't have to convince any you of that, and I thought our kicking game was complemented both on offense and defense in a really positive way. So I'm proud of our group that we were positive in so many areas to win the game."
On Jimmy Stevens:
"Jimmy was awesome and I'm happy for him. Jimmy does work hard at it and he tries and he's hard on himself. I was really pleased, of course, to see Jimmy. He was the first guy to get the game ball in there. He hit it really well. All of those kicks were hit, looked to me like right on the numbers right where you want them to."
On Landry Jones:
"I thought he was inconsistent. There were times he played really well, and I'm sure there were some throws, like in most cases, you would like to have back. But I'm not going to ride the roller coaster there. He's going to do well and continue to improve and learn from it and keep gaining experience."
On DeMarco Murray and Ryan Broyles:
"DeMarco and Ryan are great players. They are special players in how they play and how consistent they play. It's great to see them come out once again and make the plays they do."
On Air Force:
"They are special young men. How can you not appreciate them? You have to look at what these guys sacrifice, their commitment. It's amazing. I talked to the team about it afterwards I said think about these guys. They are going to school at the academy, it's a tough place. And on top of it all they are going to school and then when they are finished playing they are going to serve our country and travel the world in defense of our country. You have to appreciate that. There are not a lot of people that can do that and have the mental make-up and all to do that. It's an honor to compete against them and I loved it, now that it's over. I enjoyed before the game getting around a bunch of them, seeing them, and visiting with their coaches. All of them. They are a really special group of people."
On going to Cincinnati next week:
"We have to critique this and then go through the process of getting ready for the week. We're excited. You have to go on the road throughout the year. It will be a challenge going to Cincinnati, but an exciting one. In the end, it's part of the process of going through a long year and we'll look forward to the challenge of it. But we'll go about our business through the week of ironing out some things we didn't feel we did so well and trying to improve them for next week."
On running the ball:
"We had a couple misses in the first half that went for some negative plays. I thought we started okay running and finished okay running. It needs to be better."
On experience gained in the last drive:
"We are a little more tested than we were a year ago. We are a little tougher. I do think we are lucky to have been tested and had to play some tough ball, but we have to be better."
On DeMarco Murray:
"I thought DeMarco was impressive in the second half. His body language was different, he was a different back. I appreciate him and complimented him. That was good running in the second half."
On Landry Jones:
"They had a couple blitzes that got us. He got hit and maybe got a little quick. He settled down in the second half. He took a shot in the second half and stood in there strong."
On the offense's rhythm:
"We started okay, but we had two drives in a row with missed blocks and the third drive we had a dropped pass. The key to getting in a rhythm is the first first down. We started the second half with rhythm and scored on all three drives."
On the advantages of playing in a close game:
"It was a close game, but there was no sense of panic. The guys stuck in there together as a team when they needed to and complemented each other. That's the biggest thing, finding a way to win. Our guys understand that you have to play four quarters. We got a little sloppy. We tried to do too much, but had enough poise as a football team to win a tight game."
On Air Force's rushing total:
"I don't care about the yards. I just don't like the sloppiness. Yards don't matter, winning does."
On the defense's tackling:
"The first half I thought the guys were pretty good. In the second half, it was sloppy. Tackling was good in the first half, tackling was bad in the second half."
On Tony Jefferson:
"He did a nice job. He stayed on his feet and made some good plays."
On Air Force's offense:
"It was very difficult. We don't see that type of offense very much. They put us in a difficult place with that no huddle offense. When you are reading it, you kind of have to be on your heels a little bit and it makes it a little more difficult to tackle."
On the defense's play overall:
"I don't know if we played inconsistent. That is just a difficult offense to face. We knew that coming in. The difficulty we had playing with them was expected. I think that we are playing good, we are playing like we want to and we are playing good."
Playing another offense like Air Force's:
"I am glad we probably don't have to face another offense like this. Hopefully we don't have to see this again."
On the game:
"It's positive. It's good. It's a win. You live to fight another day. There's always corrections to make and we are going to make those tomorrow and throughout the week. This game's behind us now and we are looking forward to Cincinnati."
On what he makes of this team after three games:
"I feel like we are progressing. We are seeing different styles of offenses and we are feeling comfortable defending them."
On what it says about the team making big plays when it was needed:
"It shows we have heart. We have the athletes to do it. We just have to make it happen."
On getting into a rhythm:
"With that kind of offense, you don't get many possessions, so every time you get it you need to score for your defense. You can't just go three and out because they are really good at moving the ball down the field, and they'll take three, four yards a wack."
On the last drive:
"I'm really proud of the offensive line. We could've just let off and let Tress (Way) come out there and punt the ball, but they really buckled down and started moving guys off the ball. We got a couple first downs there and at 3rd-and-4, Kenny (Stills) made a great play on it to pick up the first down. That really sealed it for us. I'm proud of them for doing that and they showed their toughness."
On the offensive line rotating a lot of guys:
"Just during camp, being able to rotate guys in like that, I think we built a rhythm with everybody. That whole unit is really tight and those guys work really good together. I'm proud of them. I don't think we have a weak link out there."
On the overall game:
"I am so glad that game is over. It's an offense where you can't necessarily use your speed and your strength, you have to think and you have people going in every direction. It was a tough team, and they have a lot of pride. They are a great team and I am just glad it's over."
On their defense:
"With a team like that and an offense like that we are never going to see anything like that again. It's not like other teams can watch that and say, 'oh we are going to put up 300 yards rushing on Oklahoma'. It doesn't happen like that. This is a team where players have never seen an offense like that, and you only have a week to prepare so its tough. We were scouting this team in the off week before the season, but then we had a totally different game plan this week when we looked at them again. It's tough when we can't really get a handle on things. We couldn't find our niche."
On their rushing yards:
"We played a unique offense today. I mean we will never see another offense like that here my time playing. We held them to 10 points in the first half. They gashed us a little in the second half. Our defense was hot in the first half, offense hot in the second half. But all in all we got the win."
On his performance:
"It was a good day for me. I prepared this week really hard. We got the running game going very early and that's what it takes sometimes when we have to be that physical. We knew they were coming in a great team and with a great defense. They are very disciplined and their offensive line did a great job blocking. I know we can continue to get better every week."
On there being a different running style at the end of the game when you have to put it away:
"Yeah it is. I'm not looking for the home run unless it's there. I'm just more worried about taking care of the ball and getting four or five yards, and trying to get the first down as opposed to the big run."
On it being hard to get into a flow:
"Yeah it was hard. We knew that coming into the game. We weren't going to get very many opportunities, but we have to capitalize and we did. We started off the game pretty good and after that we got a little rattled. We weren't getting the ball that much, but we came out second half and Coach Wilson talked to us and we had a great game plan. We came out on three straight drives and scored."
On being ready for Cincinnati:
"This was one of our goals. Winning the close games and tough games. We came out and played hard. We knew Air Force was a great team on both sides of the ball. We are definitely ready for Cincinnati and we have a lot of film to watch, but they are a good team as well."
On Air Force's offense:
"We don't see this offense very often. It was definitely a challenge for us to do, but it was a good learning experience for us. It was just a big challenge this week."
On Air Force's formations:
"It makes you play really smart. You have to be on your assignments and read their keys. It makes you be really disciplined. In the second half, we go from just three points in the first half and then letting them score a bunch in the second half and its just a little bit disappointing."
On feeling like you are facing third down on ever play:
"It almost seems like we were in four down territory the entire field. Those guys are good. They brought it to us, but I am glad we were able to come up with a win. We can play better, but that team is good at what they do, they had a great scheme. Their guys got their hands on us and make it a battle. They came out wand gave it their all, but we are happy with the win. I would not like to defend something like that for a while."
Opening statement:
"Hats off to Oklahoma; they played well. The have an excellent football team and because of it they came out on top today. To come in here and win a game like this, you have to be plus on the turnover margin and you have to come up with a couple more big plays."
On coming close to beating Oklahoma:
"Our guys are not interested in close. We have the makings to have a quality football team. As we go play over these next nine games, most important is to recover, rejuvenate and make Monday a good day for us."
On losing momentum in the third quarter:
"They [Oklahoma] made a couple of plays. They're good. There were parts, probably throughout the game a little bit too, in the open field, when they had some one-on-ones in the open field and they might have had a couple of wiggles and turned them into larger plays."
On playing with Oklahoma:
"You can go back and look, there are some areas all across the board where we have to play better football. The things we do have are pride and we have character, and that gives you a starting point to have that kind of make-up on a football team. We just have to work."
On team's reaction in the locker room:
"I don't want reaction guys; I want respond guys. That's us at the Academy. That's not just football, that's the way as a leader when you go serve that has to be your approach."
On playing the game with a hurt hand:
"There weren't any real problems for me. I didn't really notice it during the game. When you get the adrenaline running, it really wasn't a factor."
On if the team is happy with a moral victory:
"I mean, we came in thinking we're going to win. We don't come into any game thinking we just want to get close. Just because they were the No. 7 team we were not going to back down. We tried to get close, and we came in here to win, and it's disappointing not to."
On how this game reflects on the team:
"I think its just a typical Air Force team. Every year we think we have a good squad, and this year we have a good squad."
On how bad he wanted the ball back at the end of the game:
"When your young as a child, and you knew Christmas is coming up and you ask for the one toy that they say they will get you for Christmas, that's what it felt like. If there was one thing that I wanted, it was to get the ball back, just for the opportunity. But it is what it is."
On if he felt that they would have scored at the end of the ball game if they got the ball back:
"I would have loved to hope that. I would have loved to see that happen, but obviously it didn't."
On the fumble:
"There was a guy behind me, and somebody to the right-hand side of me where I had the ball. The ball just popped out, and that's ball security, something that we preach every single day. Turnovers kill our offense, and we were driving down the field, and it went away just like that. That's on nobody except me, just ball security."
On how he felt going into the game:
"I felt great going into the game. The trainers got me ready, and I felt that I was ready for the game."
 |
Head Coach Bob Stoops |
Opening statement:
"We were getting worked. They were executing better than we were executing. It's as simple as that. I said coming into the game they are charging well over 50 to almost 60 different formations and if you're late getting lined up, all of a sudden they've got leverage on you and here you go, you're running for you life. Their execution in the second half was definitely better than ours on defense. In the end, you saw you don't have a bunch of defenses you're playing because you've got to get lined up so you're playing the same thing. We had a couple of mixes in there, but for the most part it was the same thing through the day. In the second half, we're late reading some things, they've got leverage on you and, like I said, you're running for the hills trying to save your life."
On the offense:
"Here's what it was for my general thoughts - everyone wants to pick on this or that, but this is a team in my eyes. In the first half, the defense really complemented the offense, they played great, and even though offensively we had great drive to start with, we kind of sputtered after that, but we still go into halftime winning 10-3. In the second half, we come out and the defense isn't' so sharp or their executing better than us, but the offense complements the defense in the second half by getting a couple of big drives. We had some nice kick returns, good field position, and then we run the ball out to finish the game the way we had to. So it's a team. In my eyes I'm really pleased that the team responded together like they did to win against a good football team. This bunch will win a ton of games this year, I don't have to convince any you of that, and I thought our kicking game was complemented both on offense and defense in a really positive way. So I'm proud of our group that we were positive in so many areas to win the game."
On Jimmy Stevens:
"Jimmy was awesome and I'm happy for him. Jimmy does work hard at it and he tries and he's hard on himself. I was really pleased, of course, to see Jimmy. He was the first guy to get the game ball in there. He hit it really well. All of those kicks were hit, looked to me like right on the numbers right where you want them to."
On Landry Jones:
"I thought he was inconsistent. There were times he played really well, and I'm sure there were some throws, like in most cases, you would like to have back. But I'm not going to ride the roller coaster there. He's going to do well and continue to improve and learn from it and keep gaining experience."
On DeMarco Murray and Ryan Broyles:
"DeMarco and Ryan are great players. They are special players in how they play and how consistent they play. It's great to see them come out once again and make the plays they do."
On Air Force:
"They are special young men. How can you not appreciate them? You have to look at what these guys sacrifice, their commitment. It's amazing. I talked to the team about it afterwards I said think about these guys. They are going to school at the academy, it's a tough place. And on top of it all they are going to school and then when they are finished playing they are going to serve our country and travel the world in defense of our country. You have to appreciate that. There are not a lot of people that can do that and have the mental make-up and all to do that. It's an honor to compete against them and I loved it, now that it's over. I enjoyed before the game getting around a bunch of them, seeing them, and visiting with their coaches. All of them. They are a really special group of people."
On going to Cincinnati next week:
"We have to critique this and then go through the process of getting ready for the week. We're excited. You have to go on the road throughout the year. It will be a challenge going to Cincinnati, but an exciting one. In the end, it's part of the process of going through a long year and we'll look forward to the challenge of it. But we'll go about our business through the week of ironing out some things we didn't feel we did so well and trying to improve them for next week."
|
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson |
On running the ball:
"We had a couple misses in the first half that went for some negative plays. I thought we started okay running and finished okay running. It needs to be better."
On experience gained in the last drive:
"We are a little more tested than we were a year ago. We are a little tougher. I do think we are lucky to have been tested and had to play some tough ball, but we have to be better."
On DeMarco Murray:
"I thought DeMarco was impressive in the second half. His body language was different, he was a different back. I appreciate him and complimented him. That was good running in the second half."
On Landry Jones:
"They had a couple blitzes that got us. He got hit and maybe got a little quick. He settled down in the second half. He took a shot in the second half and stood in there strong."
On the offense's rhythm:
"We started okay, but we had two drives in a row with missed blocks and the third drive we had a dropped pass. The key to getting in a rhythm is the first first down. We started the second half with rhythm and scored on all three drives."
|
Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables |
On the advantages of playing in a close game:
"It was a close game, but there was no sense of panic. The guys stuck in there together as a team when they needed to and complemented each other. That's the biggest thing, finding a way to win. Our guys understand that you have to play four quarters. We got a little sloppy. We tried to do too much, but had enough poise as a football team to win a tight game."
On Air Force's rushing total:
"I don't care about the yards. I just don't like the sloppiness. Yards don't matter, winning does."
On the defense's tackling:
"The first half I thought the guys were pretty good. In the second half, it was sloppy. Tackling was good in the first half, tackling was bad in the second half."
On Tony Jefferson:
"He did a nice job. He stayed on his feet and made some good plays."
|
Senior DE Jeremy Beal |
On Air Force's offense:
"It was very difficult. We don't see that type of offense very much. They put us in a difficult place with that no huddle offense. When you are reading it, you kind of have to be on your heels a little bit and it makes it a little more difficult to tackle."
On the defense's play overall:
"I don't know if we played inconsistent. That is just a difficult offense to face. We knew that coming in. The difficulty we had playing with them was expected. I think that we are playing good, we are playing like we want to and we are playing good."
Playing another offense like Air Force's:
"I am glad we probably don't have to face another offense like this. Hopefully we don't have to see this again."
|
Junior WR Ryan Broyles |
On the game:
"It's positive. It's good. It's a win. You live to fight another day. There's always corrections to make and we are going to make those tomorrow and throughout the week. This game's behind us now and we are looking forward to Cincinnati."
On what he makes of this team after three games:
"I feel like we are progressing. We are seeing different styles of offenses and we are feeling comfortable defending them."
On what it says about the team making big plays when it was needed:
"It shows we have heart. We have the athletes to do it. We just have to make it happen."
|
Sophomore QB Landry Jones |
On getting into a rhythm:
"With that kind of offense, you don't get many possessions, so every time you get it you need to score for your defense. You can't just go three and out because they are really good at moving the ball down the field, and they'll take three, four yards a wack."
On the last drive:
"I'm really proud of the offensive line. We could've just let off and let Tress (Way) come out there and punt the ball, but they really buckled down and started moving guys off the ball. We got a couple first downs there and at 3rd-and-4, Kenny (Stills) made a great play on it to pick up the first down. That really sealed it for us. I'm proud of them for doing that and they showed their toughness."
On the offensive line rotating a lot of guys:
"Just during camp, being able to rotate guys in like that, I think we built a rhythm with everybody. That whole unit is really tight and those guys work really good together. I'm proud of them. I don't think we have a weak link out there."
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Junior LB Travis Lewis |
On the overall game:
"I am so glad that game is over. It's an offense where you can't necessarily use your speed and your strength, you have to think and you have people going in every direction. It was a tough team, and they have a lot of pride. They are a great team and I am just glad it's over."
On their defense:
"With a team like that and an offense like that we are never going to see anything like that again. It's not like other teams can watch that and say, 'oh we are going to put up 300 yards rushing on Oklahoma'. It doesn't happen like that. This is a team where players have never seen an offense like that, and you only have a week to prepare so its tough. We were scouting this team in the off week before the season, but then we had a totally different game plan this week when we looked at them again. It's tough when we can't really get a handle on things. We couldn't find our niche."
On their rushing yards:
"We played a unique offense today. I mean we will never see another offense like that here my time playing. We held them to 10 points in the first half. They gashed us a little in the second half. Our defense was hot in the first half, offense hot in the second half. But all in all we got the win."
|
Senior RB DeMarco Murray |
On his performance:
"It was a good day for me. I prepared this week really hard. We got the running game going very early and that's what it takes sometimes when we have to be that physical. We knew they were coming in a great team and with a great defense. They are very disciplined and their offensive line did a great job blocking. I know we can continue to get better every week."
On there being a different running style at the end of the game when you have to put it away:
"Yeah it is. I'm not looking for the home run unless it's there. I'm just more worried about taking care of the ball and getting four or five yards, and trying to get the first down as opposed to the big run."
On it being hard to get into a flow:
"Yeah it was hard. We knew that coming into the game. We weren't going to get very many opportunities, but we have to capitalize and we did. We started off the game pretty good and after that we got a little rattled. We weren't getting the ball that much, but we came out second half and Coach Wilson talked to us and we had a great game plan. We came out on three straight drives and scored."
On being ready for Cincinnati:
"This was one of our goals. Winning the close games and tough games. We came out and played hard. We knew Air Force was a great team on both sides of the ball. We are definitely ready for Cincinnati and we have a lot of film to watch, but they are a good team as well."
|
R-Freshman LB Tom Wort |
On Air Force's offense:
"We don't see this offense very often. It was definitely a challenge for us to do, but it was a good learning experience for us. It was just a big challenge this week."
On Air Force's formations:
"It makes you play really smart. You have to be on your assignments and read their keys. It makes you be really disciplined. In the second half, we go from just three points in the first half and then letting them score a bunch in the second half and its just a little bit disappointing."
On feeling like you are facing third down on ever play:
"It almost seems like we were in four down territory the entire field. Those guys are good. They brought it to us, but I am glad we were able to come up with a win. We can play better, but that team is good at what they do, they had a great scheme. Their guys got their hands on us and make it a battle. They came out wand gave it their all, but we are happy with the win. I would not like to defend something like that for a while."
 |
Head Coach Troy Calhoun |
Opening statement:
"Hats off to Oklahoma; they played well. The have an excellent football team and because of it they came out on top today. To come in here and win a game like this, you have to be plus on the turnover margin and you have to come up with a couple more big plays."
On coming close to beating Oklahoma:
"Our guys are not interested in close. We have the makings to have a quality football team. As we go play over these next nine games, most important is to recover, rejuvenate and make Monday a good day for us."
On losing momentum in the third quarter:
"They [Oklahoma] made a couple of plays. They're good. There were parts, probably throughout the game a little bit too, in the open field, when they had some one-on-ones in the open field and they might have had a couple of wiggles and turned them into larger plays."
On playing with Oklahoma:
"You can go back and look, there are some areas all across the board where we have to play better football. The things we do have are pride and we have character, and that gives you a starting point to have that kind of make-up on a football team. We just have to work."
On team's reaction in the locker room:
"I don't want reaction guys; I want respond guys. That's us at the Academy. That's not just football, that's the way as a leader when you go serve that has to be your approach."
|
Senior FB Jared Tew |
On playing the game with a hurt hand:
"There weren't any real problems for me. I didn't really notice it during the game. When you get the adrenaline running, it really wasn't a factor."
On if the team is happy with a moral victory:
"I mean, we came in thinking we're going to win. We don't come into any game thinking we just want to get close. Just because they were the No. 7 team we were not going to back down. We tried to get close, and we came in here to win, and it's disappointing not to."
On how this game reflects on the team:
"I think its just a typical Air Force team. Every year we think we have a good squad, and this year we have a good squad."
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Junior QB Tim Jefferson |
On how bad he wanted the ball back at the end of the game:
"When your young as a child, and you knew Christmas is coming up and you ask for the one toy that they say they will get you for Christmas, that's what it felt like. If there was one thing that I wanted, it was to get the ball back, just for the opportunity. But it is what it is."
On if he felt that they would have scored at the end of the ball game if they got the ball back:
"I would have loved to hope that. I would have loved to see that happen, but obviously it didn't."
On the fumble:
"There was a guy behind me, and somebody to the right-hand side of me where I had the ball. The ball just popped out, and that's ball security, something that we preach every single day. Turnovers kill our offense, and we were driving down the field, and it went away just like that. That's on nobody except me, just ball security."
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Junior RB Asher Clark |
On how he felt going into the game:
"I felt great going into the game. The trainers got me ready, and I felt that I was ready for the game."
Ben Arbuckle Postgame vs Michigan
Saturday, September 06
In the Booth: OU vs Michigan
Saturday, September 06
Scene Setter: Michigan
Saturday, September 06
Sooner Gameday - 9/5/25
Friday, September 05
