Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening comments:
"I'm proud of our players for the way they played throughout the game and came away with the win against Texas A&M. Coach Sherman and his staff have really done a good job and have a good football team. I talked about it all week. I knew it coming in, when you look at the one-point loss to Oklahoma State and the four-point loss to Arkansas. Both games, they're in the second half and in that fourth quarter winning or with a chance to win, and then losing an overtime game last week. Obviously, their record doesn't tell the story. We knew they had a lot of good players and played well.

"I'm just proud of our guys and the way we played overall. In the second half, we really got it going great in the third quarter, had the advantage of the wind. It's a good win and gets us to the off week. We will practice this week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"Sad to report Ryan Broyles tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He will be out for the year. We are all disappointed for Ryan. He is a special, special player that everyone has talked about all year, and for that to happen, it's just deflating for him and for all of us.

"Other guys have stepped up and have to play. We get the off week to prepare for that. The other guys, they are all going to be fine. All of them could have played in this game. A lot of other guys stepped up and did well. I thought Jaz [Reynolds] had a huge game. I thought Roy Finch was special. Defensively, a bunch of guys stepped up. Fleming, again, was outstanding. Javon Harris, Ronnell Lewis, big Frank Alexander, I thought they all did a really good job."

On the number of carries by Roy Finch:
"Roy is tough. That guy is put together. He did a really good job. I'm not surprised though. I wasn't far off on my number [20 carries a game]."

On Blake Bell:
He did a great job with the different ways we are using him in that formation. It's really helped us in goal line and short-yardage. He's big. He's 6-6, 255. They guys have done a good job blocking for him. He doing a nice job of patience, finding seams. If he just falls forward, he normally gets three yards. It's been positive for us."

On Ryan Broyles:
"He had a smile on his face. He's upbeat. He knows he has a challenge in front of him, and he'll face it. We will have another guy in that position. The offense will continue just as it has been. Obviously, he is a big piece that is not there, but there are other guys that will have to step up and make those plays."

On halftime adjustments:
"The coaches settled in and talked about some of the plays they wanted to get to in the second half, and how they have been playing us, what we can take advantage of. They communicate that with the team. Defensively, I thought we played a really good half. We had that one play at the end of the play that was a scrambled play. Their guy made a heck of a play by doing that. But, there wasn't a ton of adjustments we thought we needed to do defensively. We just came out better in the second half and played better. Offensively, we're just executing. People use that word, but it's true, the precision of spacing in the routes, getting the ball out in time, executing blocks to run the ball. We just executed better."

On Landry Jones:
"He did a great job and made his plays. That's the thing, sometimes you have to wait for it to come to you. Everything isn't always smooth when you are playing good football teams. They are going to have their plays. You have to be tough minded and keep working it to make yours."

On Jaz Reynolds:
"It's been a huge plus, a huge factor. We felt he was capable of these kind of games and plays. I think he will keep growing from it and producing big plays."

Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel

On Ryan Broyles:
"First of all I feel for Ryan. All he has put in and the effort and everything he has done since he has been here. The man he is. We will need him to bring those characteristics to us even with the injury. At the same time when someone steps down or someone goes down the next guy steps up and can play at a high level. They can't take someone's role, but they can become a play maker, take advantage of the opportunity."

On OU's other receivers:
"You just go to work. Football is a team sport. It is the greatest team sport because of the number individuals that are needed to contribute in the sport not just in the ball game, but throughout the entire year. You just keep coming in to work and when the opportunity arises you take advantage of it. We need to be better than we were today. We need to be more efficient. Landry needs to be more accurate. We have got to be better on man-to-man coverage That's why you come out and you go to practice."

On the offense after Broyles' injury:
"The third quarter I am happy with the way we competed and responded. They played with a sense of urgency and energy. On our first drive we fumble the football, we were not as efficient as we should be. There is not a magic formula. You just find a way to make some plays."

On the run game:
"Roy Finch did hold up pretty well. I thought we were efficient at times. When we got some of our tempo going it was good for us. At the same time we can throw a little more out there and make more cuts on the backside. To see Roy handle and play the way he did is a positive sign. The way he has been playing and practicing has been smart. That's why he has been starting the way he has."

Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables

On Tony Jefferson:
"I think Tony Jefferson is doing great. Probably wished he would have played more. We just felt that they were a strong, physical running team and with the set that they gave us and the personnel that a bigger bodied guy would be better suited."

On the defense versus the running game:
"For 48 minutes that was everything. Our focus of the week. They have a terrific running game. They are probably the best running team we have seen this year. We had great respect for their backs and their line. We felt that the game would be won at the line of scrimmage and it was."

On how much they emphasized turnovers in practice:
"Run game and the turnovers were all we talked about all week. We knew that it would come down to that, and at the end of the day it did."

On how the defense played more aggressive:
"We have come up empty handed the last few weeks, but I think our guys were really zoned in. They anticipated what was coming. They had different mind sets on different calls. I thought that they were really on edge and played aggressively and were just really sure of themselves this game.

On Tom Wort:
"Tom will be okay. He wanted to go back in. I think it was just an ankle."

Sophomore DB Aaron Colvin

On Broyles injury and how it affect the defense:
"That's heartbreaking. Ryan is a rock to our team and that's a big loss, but the defense just has to show up every week and continue playing to the best of our abilities as a team."

On key to playing well defensively:
"I feel like we prepared very well this week. Myself, I didn't play as well as I should've. We were very physical up front and I feel like it worked out well for us."

Sophomore RB Roy Finch

On his play today:
"I felt pretty confident. All of their blitzes that they were throwing at us, trying to heat us up, I saw it and picked it up. I just felt very comfortable with the reads and everything that we were trying to do today. So, I felt very good."

On his 26 carries and handling the load:
"I did not even know how many carries I had today. I just wanted to go out there and do the best that I could. If the coaches called my number five times, 10 times or 30 times, I just wanted to go out there and prove to my teammates that I could do it for them. I played well."

On being able to carry the ball as many times as they want:
"I am not really worried about it. If the coaches want to give me the ball 30 times then I have to be prepared for it and I have to take that beating. I feel like I need to be mentally prepared to take that many carries. I did not know how many I had today. He [reporter] said 26. My body feels a little sore but not too bad. It was a good night."

Junior QB Landry Jones

On Ryan Broyles and his injury:
"It is a bad deal. We need to see more about it and see what is really going on in there. You hate for something like that happen to such a good guy. It is just a bad deal."

On what a QB has to do when a player like Ryan Broyles goes down:
"Someone else has to come in and step up. Trey [Franks] came in and played good. We are going to have to have him step up in a big way."

On his initial reaction to Ryan Broyles being out rest of season:
"It is just a bad deal. There is nothing we can do about it. It is just one of those things that happens. Just praise God that Ryan is not defined on who he is on the football field. Ryan is a man of God first. He will definitely have that to lean on and have that peace about him. Obviously, it is just not something you want for someone like that."

Junior DB Javon Harris

On injury of Ryan Broyles:
"First thing I can do is just pray for him. Knowing he's an impact player on our team, that just means everyone else has to step up."

On defense's performance and his interception:
"I feel we played pretty well today, but we let a few things slip during the game. On that play, I just happend to be in the right place at the right time."

Junior DE Ronnell Lewis

On losing captain Ryan Broyles:
"We came out today and knew we had our edge. For these next few games we have to set the tone, come out swinging and play hard. He is our impact player. I can't put it into words how it is going to affect the team, but we are going to bounce back. There are going to be shoes to fill but we have guys that are playmakers who can step up and fill those shoes."

On concerns for future injuries:
"I can't even think like that because we have a lot of great guys on our team. That is why they are here. They are just waiting for their opportunity to show what they can do. We have a lot of guys that can make plays as well."

On his thoughts on how frustrating injuries are:
"Yeah, but we just have to keep building. That is what a team is about. We just keep building off of that and continue to make the plays."

Sophomore WR Jaz Reynolds

On Ryan Broyles' injury:
"Losing a team captain always hurts, but this just means that we have to step up our game as receivers and show everyone what we're made of. Having the rest of us step up and continue playing is just an early showing of what's coming next year.

"Personally, my game performance went down a little bit. I just tried to focus and get back in the game mentally. I can't speak for anyone else, but that's how I felt after he went out."

Head Coach Mike Sherman

On slow start to the second half:
"Well I didn't think it was just the second half. I think it was a slow start to the entire game. We never really established a run offense. We made some yardage there at the end, but we never really got the run game going. So there was never a blend of run and pass and then we got to a point where it was more pass there in the fourth quarter. I don't think we ran the ball very well and in this offense you have to be able to run the football.

On the wind:
"The wind hurt us on a short punt in the third quarter that gave us 14 points in turnovers. We knew we were facing a very good defense, but the bottom line is you just can't turn the ball over like we did today and expect to win a football game. I don't care who we are playing, certainly not Oklahoma. Until we figure that part out and that part is my responsibility to make sure that we do not do that anymore. It has been a direct result of the losses that we have had. Take no credit away from Oklahoma, but we gave them 14 points there in the third quarter and then we had a short punt and you can't play football that way. You can't play football without the football and we were playing without the football. You take the possession away from the offense and you give it to them. So we have to fix that up and that is on me to make sure that it does get fixed because it should be fixed by now."

On continued drops:
"It's not something we do, but we have done it in the past and it has not been a part of us. It certainly is right now and we have to get that fixed, there is no question about that, among other things too. I think overall, if we don't put our defense in such precarious positions, I think our defense against that offense played a spirited defense with great effort. And I think they made strides as a defense believe it or not. We gave up 41 points and they still made strides tonight against a very explosive offense. I think we tackled better, played with more passion; I think our corners held up very well and did some very good things. So I am somewhat pleased with our defense and think they made some progress. Oklahoma is a great offensive football team and our offense, because of turnovers in the third quarter, we certainly gave them short field on turnovers and gave them short field on a punt. So our defense was not given the full field to defend, and giving Oklahoma credit, they took advantage of those opportunities and they scored. When we came in at halftime everyone was fired up and we thought we would be in great shape and when offense had the ball we didn't do anything with it. That's just where we are."

On the momentum slowing down:
"That's just a part of football; you have to overcome certain things. They did a great job offensively and took advantage of sudden change; I can tip my hat to them for that."

Senior QB Ryan Tannehill

On his passes being tipped:
"(There's) No explanation. A couple of times (OU) got their hands on our cut blocks and were able to stay up so that's a couple of them. But the other ones, (we) just have to find a way to get a block."

On the wind:
"It effected the deep balls a little bit but mostly underneath throws. As long as it wasn't a gust going in, it wasn't much of a factor. If a gust came through, it could really pull up a ball and kill a ball. But for the most part, it was just being able to play through."

On OU's third quarter performance:
"We didn't come out and run the ball very well. Turnovers. You can't throw interceptions; it'll kill your drive. I looked up at one point in the fourth quarter and we had more yards than them. That just goes to show what turnovers will do to you."

Senior DL Tony Jerod-Eddie

On not allowing Landry Jones as many yards:
"I think for the most part our defensive back's just covered well. We tried to help out at the front at the linebacker position, putting some pressure up the middle and not letting them move up, but I think for the most part our defensive back's just really did well."

On OU's third quarter performance:
"That was the difference in the game. Like coach (Sherman) said, in the first half we responded. We went out and made plays. In the second half, we didn't. If we would have responded how we responded in the first half the outcome would have probably been different."

On keeping the team motivated:
"We just have to know that we're so close. It's frustrating because we are so close but we just got to know that we are still a team that we say we are. That we don't let outside people determine who we are. We have to let our play determine that."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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