OU-Kansas - Postgame Quotes - University of Oklahoma

Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening Statement

“Starting off, I would still like to compliment Clint Bowen and his staff. Obviously, today was a tough day but they have done an excellent job of bringing their attitude back and playing hard. Like I said, they just beat Iowa State two weeks ago and played a great game against TCU. I really think a lot of Clint (Bowen) and the way he has handled that team. I'm really proud of our guys and the way we managed today.

“First, I would like to say thank you to all of the fans out there that braved it and stuck around. It's understandable if you had to cut out early a little bit. It was a tough day. It is one of the worst that I remember playing in out here. We appreciate them and the energy they brought, especially early in the first half, and the way they stuck with us. I would also like to compliment Jeff Salmon (head groundskeeper) and our field maintenance people. That field was incredible. You would think it was an Astroturf field out there. There isn't a puddle, there isn't any bit of mud, there isn't chunks pulled up and it rained constantly all day so they did a great job.

“Players, I have to start with Samaje Perine. Perine was just sensational. The guy is just so exceptional in everything he does. It just got to that point where we were thinking about resting him and then someone said he only needs 38 more yards. That's too close not to do it and there is still way too much time left in the game. Samaje overheard somebody say that and he told Coach Gundy: 'Coach that doesn't matter to me'. That's how special he is. He went in there and ripped off another long run and fortunately we were able to get him out. He is really just a special guy. His timing, his pace, his strength, and then when he breaks it he runs away from everybody. With his size, he is just exceptional in that way and every way and he is so strong at taking care of the football. He's pretty special. Give the line and Aaron Ripkowski credit, those guys up front really created seams and holes for him. They did an excellent job and I'm really proud of them.

“I'm really proud of Cody (Thomas) and the way he handled the day all day. Obviously both sides of the ball, I don't want to say it was impossible to throw the ball, but it was hard. In fact, even some of the good balls he put out there we dropped. It was so slick, so wet, and raining hard off and on. It was tough to execute that part of the game. I thought Cody handled the game really well. I'm proud of the defense. They played great. When you can control the run game on a day like today, or really any day, you're usually going to be in great shape. They did a great job of controlling the line and not allowing the run. They got pressure. Ahmad (Thomas) had a good pick. They were solid.

“I'm really excited, overall, with the kicking game too on a day like today. Michael Hunnicutt was perfect on the day, with G-Bo (Grant Bothun) and Connor Knight snapping it. All of that you don't take for granted as hard as it was raining. Zach Sanchez fielded the ball really well all night. It was really clean that way overall.”

On the team's reaction to Samaje's record:

“Yeah, no question. He is such a humble guy in everything that he does. It's fun to get it with a guy like that, but they all know that all of those guys out there with him have a hand in it. They all take pride in it.”

On when he first looked at Samaje and thought he might be special:

“The first week we were working out here and training, and watching him lifting and running. When you see that strength and then that ability to train and run the way he does. The power, and you see the weights he is lifting and pushing around, he's a powerful guy.”

On how much Samaje has changed the offense:

“You have to keep going to it, but today was a little bit different in the way it all happened with the weather. We still wanted to throw the ball for more than 30 yards. When you can run it like that it changes things. Again, we still have to keep developing other parts of it to go with it. Those guys are playing great.”

On if this is one of the more special days he has been a part of at OU:

“You know, we have had a lot of them, but to see the young guy, a true freshman, do what he did it is. It's really special. Yeah, it is. Especially a true freshman and a guy that's as humble as he is and so mature in everything that he does off the field is really special.”

On what point in the game they realized he could break the record:

“The middle of the third quarter. Again, when you know you're within 30 you can't not allow him with that much time left in the game. You're always managing too and you want to protect him as well. You certainly don't want to risk injury either. I think it was just too close to not go for it. We did kind of talk that this may be the last series. It was a the first series of the fourth quarter and we thought, again, that you just don't want to take a chance at him getting hurt.”

On if today takes some of the edge off of this season:

“Well, any time you are winning it's a positive. Winning today is a great thing and I'm excited for Samaje and the o-line with the way they handled that. We are just going to try to get better.”

On if he was aware of when Samaje broke the school record:

“I wasn't aware of that. I didn't hear any talk of Greg Pruitt's. I did hear talk, I couldn't remember how many yards, of the Big 12 record. Then the NCAA record wasn't too far out either.”

On Samaje's ball security:

“It's pretty special. He's strong with the football and, again, as strong as he is, if he has a good hold on it, he is hard to get it from. He has done a great job that way.”

On him finding big holes and running away from people as opposed to running over people:

“Don't take for granted those nights when you watch it on TV, I'm sure if you guys do, we see our coach's copy, the nice, subtle cuts. It's like a week ago, the first one he broke that kind of energized us he just kind of slides sideways and gets skinny in the hole, if that's possible for him, and just busts it. He just has a great sense of space and timing of hitting things.”

On the type of guys that say they don't care about the record:

“It's true with him for sure. He is the ultimate teammate, and a humble, gracious guy. He is everything you want in a guy to coach every day.”

On if he has improved on sliding through the running lanes since week one:

“I don't know if he improved or if he has just had more opportunities. In some games, there is more space than in other games. He sure has in the last couple of games, found it and paced his way through it really well.”

On WR Sterling Shepard's status:

“He doesn't feel he hurt it any worse. He just knew when he had the punt return he could tell it wasn't going to hold up. It's frustrating for him. I didn't want him in for punt return. He replaced Zach (Sanchez) himself down there and said he wanted to go do it. I'm sure as soon as he would have tried to run a route the same thing would have happened, but that part was frustrating not having him.”

On the performance of the safeties today:

“They played really well. Listen, they are young guys, but they are good players. They are getting better. Off and on through the year, they had a good day today, they're good players, and they did play really well today in the way they communicated. Ahmad (Thomas) got a nice interception. JT (Jordan Thomas) looked great out there as a true freshman, he and Steven Parker both played the whole game out there and played well.”

On the status of TE Blake Bell and SS Quentin Hayes:

“Quentin has an ankle injury. It's not broken so we will just see. Blake should be ready to practice by game week of Oklahoma State.”

On if Justice Hansen was the backup quarterback today:

“He had to be today, yes.”

On the depth at fullback and tight end:

“Rip (Aaron Ripkowski) is the leader of that group, but Dimitri Flowers, from what I saw, had a good day. Taylor McNamara helped a little bit in there so all of those guys contributed differently. They had to have played well.”

On the ability of Samaje and physical OU running backs in the past to get better as the game goes along:

“Yeah, I think it's that they are physically gifted and avoid the big hits just by anticipating, sliding, moving, and absorbing. Samaje is great at feeling it and almost giving with it. He accepts it and there he goes turning again. Quentin (Griffin), you could hardly ever get a hit on him, a solid hit. Adrian (Peterson) had subtle ways to slip them and avoid big contact when he could.”

On if it was the case again where Samaje had over 30 carries and didn't seem fatigued:

“He is in there, the players gave him the game ball and made him dance a little bit so he is doing alright enough to dance. Knowing him, I'll see him in the office tomorrow walking through and I will say 'How are you doing' and he will say 'I feel good, Coach'. He is special in that way and just gifted with his strength and what he is able to do.”

On how much he has learned about weather delay situations since the Texas Tech game in 2011:

“I don't know if there is anything to learn other than being prepared to play your best. Fortunately, our guys were. It was a little bit different in this situation. Our players were able to stay at the hotel, and theirs, as opposed to sitting in here for three hours. They stayed at the hotel a little longer. Once they got here, it kind of got into game mode pretty much like we usually do.”

On how Samaje getting the record as a freshman will impact the rest of his career:

“Well, hopefully, he can break it himself as he goes. He is only going to keep getting better.”

Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Mike Stoops

On defense's games:

We played good. The guys prepared all week and they executed well holding the line of scrimmage. They struggled with our guys up front all day and we kind of overwhelmed them.”

On Steven Parker:

“Steven (Parker) continues to get better. Each day is a new day and he has gotten more comfortable. He should understand the defense in its entirety, but playing two positions is very difficult and Steven has moved around a decent amount, which is really hard to do for a young player. I thought he played really well; his position on the ball was good all day.”

On getting the ball back to the offense so quickly:

“We started to play better as a team and that is why it is so important that both sides play well and feed off each other. Getting the ball back quicker to the offense keeps their momentum and keeps them in a groove. When they get the ball and keep it for five it is hard, you lose a little bit of your rhythm. They were able to run the ball and gave (Samaje Perine) a lot of opportunities.

On the younger guys on the field:

“They played good. Like I said, we have talent. It is just a maturity thing that continues to evolve. (Jordan Thomas) played well again. I looked out there and we had two sophomores and two freshmen, true freshman, starting with JT (Jordan Thomas) and Steven (Parker) out there for Quentin Hayes. When you play really good offense as a team you can get overwhelmed. It is a maturity and confidence issue but these guys are growing as they go along. That is what is exciting about this group. They are a talented group; it is not talent (that is lacking). It is what is encouraging to me; it is not a lack of talent. That is when coaching becomes very important to make them see the field better, understand their positions and why they have to be in those positions. With that being said, I think there is a lot of room for improvement. I think this is a very talented group. We are better than what we have shown. I see it that way. I know the media doesn't see it that way, they look at statistics and we understand that. I know though that we are better than what they say we are. It is something that needs to corrected and addressed.

Co-Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel

On offense:

“It makes it easy when the big guys up front were blocking the way they were, including Aaron Ripkowski and Dimitri Flowers.”

On weather conditions:

“As soon as early in the week you find out the weather is going to be pretty bad, it became very important that we were going to be able to control the ball on our side. Our guys did a tremendous job.”

On Perine:

“He takes a lot of pride in it. He is as selfless a person as anyone we have had in our program. He is as mature a player as anyone in our program and that is a lot to say about a kid who is 18 years old.”

On the team's reaction:

“There are always things we can improve on, all of us. I told the guys in the locker room to enjoy it tonight, enjoy it tomorrow, but when we come back on Monday it is back to practice.”

On Cody Thomas:

“There are things (Thomas) has to do better, there are some things we need to do better around him to give him the chance to play at a higher level.”

Running Backs Coach Cale Gundy

On the significance of Samaje Perine's record-setting performance:

“I don't know if it's really sunk in yet. When we came back from the Texas Tech game we saw what the Wisconsin running back had rushed for. I remember telling someone on the bus that probably will never be broken again. Those were my exact words. It really, probably hasn't set in. It is a special day. Joe Castiglione said to me earlier, 'Just think about all the great running backs that played college football. What about all the great running backs at Oklahoma?' Obviously, when you set a record like that it's awfully special.”

On when he realized how humble Samaje Perine is:

“When he got to campus. You know how good of a kid he is when you're around somebody every single day and they go through the process that our kids go through; the classes, the tutors, the weight lifting, the practice and the grind. It's day in and day out. That's just who he is.”

On the relationship between Samaje Perine and his teammates:

“I think it's a reflection of how much they respect him, of the person that he is. The day after he rushed for 242 yards at West Virginia he was in here buying pizzas for the offensive linemen. I've never had anyone do that around here. I think it's more of the respect that they have for him, and the person that he is. He's humble. He's not worried that he's the starter or not. He's one of those kids that just wants to win.”

On the difficulty of a true freshman to gain the respect of their teammates:

“It's very hard because, most importantly, most freshmen don't get a chance to play like that. When you're somebody like Samaje, and you've been through some games like he has had, being as physical like that, just watching him in practice, I kind of watch him and how he carries himself. It is very special.”

On Samaje's ability to handle the pressure of being a successful freshman running back:

“He's handled it pretty well so far. It's a very unique moment. As Joe Castiglione said earlier, think about all the great running backs that have played this game; Billy Sims, and Marcus Dupree and Joe Washington. It was a very unique day to grind the ball out. We jumped on his back and let him do his thing.”

Freshman Running Back Samaje Perine

On his feelings after breaking the all-time FBS rushing record:

“I really can't [put my feelings into words] right now. It's still so real, and I still feel like we just played a great game and I just did whatever I had to do to help my team. I'm not really feeling special in any type of way. I just look at it as doing what I have to do under certain conditions to just help my team win.”

On when he learned he was close to the record:

“It never really mattered. I just went out there and played the next play, and it just so happened I came up with the record.”

On his offensive line's performance:

“They always do a phenomenal job up front. Those guys, and Rip [Aaron Ripkowski], and those guys on the perimeter did a great job today at blocking and holding their blocks until I could get past them. They always do a great job week in and week out at preparation. I just try to give those guys all the credit, because they deserve it.”

On the reception from teammates after the rush that broke the record:

“It was a great feeling. Being with those guys, the way they rallied around me just to motivate me enough. It was just a great feeling to feel all that love.”

On his play in the first half:

“It just—I took it as it went. My O-line did a fantastic job at opening up holes, and like you said, getting across the O-line untouched, you know a big play is going to happen. And then Rip [Aaron Ripkowski] getting on that linebacker or that safety, and all you see is green and pray you don't get tackled.”

On what was going through his mind during the record-breaking run:

“Try to score.”

“To be honest, I didn't realize it until I heard my teammates clapping and everything. Once I knew that, it was a great feeling, I guess. I really didn't think much of it. It was obviously a great thing for them. I'm going to try to embrace it as best I can and try to get ready for Oklahoma State.”

On whether he was ready to come out of the game before breaking the record:

“If they needed me in there, I was going to stay in there. But we have some more great backs that can get it done and Coach [Cale] Gundy wanted to put them in there to get some playing time, and I was all for that. I'm not the one to want the spotlight in any way. I try to give the spotlight to other people. That's just the type of guy that I am.”

On if he is going to pay attention to people's reactions across the country:

“No. Not me.”

On which RBs in Oklahoma's history he has had the chance to meet other than Joe Washington and Billy Sims:

“Those are the only two.”

On going from a guy that nobody talked about in the preseason to where he is today:

“Working hard every day and just keeping my head down and doing whatever the coaches ask me to do and doing it full speed and just giving it everything that I have.”

On if he knew he was better than a 'fourth-string guy' coming into the season:

“I really didn't know. I just came in open-minded and ready to give everything I had and I'm blessed to have come so far.”

On where he thinks this will take him going forward:

“I really don't know. I'm just the same Samaje Perine that plays his heart out every play and I'm ready to do that for three more years.”

On his favorite part of today:

“I think just the support that we have – the fans stuck it out through the bad weather and I really appreciate them for that. I know you wouldn't see many fans do that but that just goes to show the support that we have and we really love our fans and it's a great thing to have when it's bad weather outside but they stick it out because they love the game and they love OU football.”

On if he heard the 'Perine' chant:

“Yeah, I could. But I tried not to let it affect me too much.”

On playing in rain like this before:

“Not quite as hard rain but I have played in rain before and besides it being a little slippery at times it really didn't affect me at all, I just went out there and did what I knew how to do.”

On the running backs throughout college football history he has eclipsed:

“I'm still going to admire those guys just as much as I admired them before. Probably more now, just to see how they responded to all of their success. I'll try to take some pointers from them. Just go about my normal self and being my own self.”

On starting a game fast instead of grinding a team down:

“It was unusual, I'll say that. Being untouched isn't something that I'm used to. I'm still adjusting to it just because I think that I'm not the best runner in the open field. I have a little bit of speed, but not much. I would much rather find contact, but if I see a hole I'm going to try my best to get what I can out of it.”

On whether he paid attention to LaDanian Tomlinson while growing up in Texas:

“I did a little bit, but not as much. Growing up I didn't really watch much football. I played it, but I didn't really have the patience to watch it. I was kind of a jitterbug, so I had to be outside and playing all the time. The few times that I did see him, he obviously had fantastic games. Nowadays I will go on YouTube and look up some of his highlights and see how he became so successful and try to take some stuff from him. But I can't take too much because he's much faster than I am. I do what I can, and he's obviously a great back.”

On his post-game schedule after today's win:

“I did a radio interview, then I took a shower. I took a couple of pictures with some great kids, and now I'm in here.”

On how he'll handle his new success and notoriety:

“I honestly do not know. I'm just going to give credit where it's due, and that's obviously to my—the other 10 guys on the field with me. Just stay in my room and keep as quiet as possible. If someone says, 'Great game,' I say, 'Thank you,' and just keep walking.”

On the first person he'll call tonight:

“No one. My parents are already here. They're the only ones that I need.”

On whether he'll watch himself on ESPN tonight:

“No. I'm probably going to watch cartoons. I really like Tom & Jerry, but if Scooby Doo's on, I'll watch that, too.”

Sophomore Linebacker Dominique Alexander

On holding Kansas to 0 offensive scores:

“It was fun. You know, going out there and dominating is always fun.”

On the takeaway from the game:

“It shows us that our preparation is working and we just got to keep on doing what we're doing.”

On the rain:

“Yeah we did [enjoy the rain] because we knew they had to run the ball and for us that was real fun.”

On being a part of history:

“It was fun. Seeing somebody that good, a great player like that, and being on the same team as him, it was a great experience.”

On pitching a shutout:

“It feels great. You know we've had some ups and downs this year throughout on the defensive side of the ball. But to pitch a shutout today, it felt great.”

On the team's ability to play with speed:

“Just playing fast. We had a great week of preparation and we knew what was coming. And with the rain we knew they also had to run the ball, so we were just shooting our gaps and stopping the run.”

On it being a physical game

“Yeah, we knew it was going to be a grinder. We just knew that upfront we had to stop the run and that's what we did and came out with a shutout.”

matter of executing it out there on the field and I don't think we did a very good job of that today.”

Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Cody Thomas

On starting in rainy conditions:

“It's probably not the most ideal way to look at it but it was definitely a lot of fun. Playing at home is definitely a little bit different than on the road because when you go on the road, I was used to it when you do something good everything goes silent. Usually, in high school, you've got some of your home crowd there so you still get a little bit of cheers. It's definitely a good feeling coming home and playing and getting a 'W' for my first start here.”

On being tempted to walk into the end zone instead of giving it to Samaje Perine:

“At the end there, they were starting to sucker down on Samaje (Perine) and I kept one of them but at that point we were going to feed him the ball because with these conditions and how he was running it there was no point.”

On being worried about one quarterback down:

“I know how to protect myself and just take care of the football. I wasn't too worried about it. If I got the full read, I was going to pull it today, but again Samaje (Perine) did a good job running the football.”

On whether Samaje Perine breaking this record was a surprise:

“Not at all. With a guy like him, he's such a special kid—just humble in anything. You wouldn't expect anything more for him to do something like that and just act that way about it and just be very humble about it and not expect anything. I know he was probably 80 yards away. He just said, 'I don't care if you want to put me in or not. I don't care if I get the record. I just want to play the next play.' That just shows what kind of kid he is and what kind of character he has.”

On Cody Thomas' reaction with Samaje Perine throughout the game:

“I just congratulated him the whole way because he's doing a phenomenal job for us the entire day and once he broke the record the whole place went nuts. I told him after the game what a great job he did and then of course telling the o-line and the receivers blocking for him what a great job they did.”

Senior Fullback Aaron Ripkowski

On everyone's excitement for the record:

“I think it's a reflection of how close we are as a team. Everyone wants to see everyone do well. Nobody on the team is about (themselves). Everybody pushes for everyone to do their job. Everyone just gets excited when someone excels in their job.”

On feeling pride:
“We all feed off it and that's what we work for during the week. The offensive line and all these blockers have a sense of pride when we put those numbers up.”

On Samaje Perine:
“It's obviously really exciting to see a guy like (Perine) come through the hole and when people try to tackle him they just bounce off. It's incredible. It's like nothing I've ever seen.”

On if he likes to see Samaje run clean or run over someone:

“I like to see him run clean because it means we're doing our job. Any time he gets untouched it's a joy because you know you're doing your job, but I get a little fired up when I see him run over somebody.”

Junior Center Ty Darlington

On Samaje Perine:

“I'm so impressed with him as a person. Yeah, this is awesome and he goes down in the record books, but he's such a team player and what people don't see is that he's covering for kickoffs, he's blocking other guys. He plays so hard and he's such a humble guy. I've said it before, but a lot of guys coming in like him as a freshman and being a young guy and having the success he's had could get arrogant really quick, but it's opposite with him. Humility has been his calling card since he's been here. That and running people over.”

On if the line knew he was close to breaking the record:

“After he broke that first run we were saying, okay 120 yards. Then it was 68, then it was 35 then 30 and we were just counting down. We were definitely completely aware of what was going on.”

On what he did when Samaje broke the record:

“I was running as fast as I ever have down the field chasing him. We tried to lift him up but he's too heavy though.”

On Samaje's character:
“He told coach Gundy that (the record) wasn't important to him. He said that if he wants to put someone else in that would be okay but he said that if he puts him in he was going to play the next play. That speaks volume about him. But we said he's staying in. We wanted that thing about as much as he did. We wanted it for him.”

Senior Offensive Lineman Darryl Williams

On Samaje Perine:
“You can't say enough about him. He's a great player but an even better person.”

On having pride in the record:

“It's a lot of pride. We put our heart on the line and ended up with a good result.”

Senior Offensive Lineman Tyrus Thompson

On Samaje Perine:

“It's easy to block for someone like him. You know if you make the holes that he's going to finish it. He'll finish the job.”

On celebrating with Samaje:

“I was the one who picked him up after he got it. I got a little bit of muscle.”

On running the ball in the weather:

“It's really important to run the ball in weather like this. Throwing the ball, it's slippery out there and there's no telling what's going to happen, so it's really important to dominate the run.”

Junior Offensive Lineman Nila Kasitati

On Samaje Perine:

“Samaje (Perine) is the man. We love blocking for him and seeing him go as hard as he does. It makes us want to go hard and not worry about anything else but our job. He doesn't have to say anything. You see the work that he does and you see everybody else who talks about him.”

On Samaje's character:

“I think we're really excited compared to him; he's just so humble. He's just worried about the next play. He's not worried about a record. He's not worried about this or that or getting playing time. He's just about, if I get the ball I'm going to do everything to score.”

Junior Linebacker Eric Striker

On how it felt to play in the conditions:

“It felt good, it's been awhile since I played in the rain, so it felt good to just run, you know, with all that good mud, just like we were kids again, just out there having fun and doing my job.”

On how great it was to be a part of this game:

“It was fun playing a team like Kansas who just came off a battle with TCU. so that was big. They're not easy to beat, but we put it in our minds that we wanted to shut them out and play great defense and we just tried to not let up.”

On how this game sets the tone for the rest of the season:

“Yeah, we'll definitely pick up after this and this definitely gave us a boost, but we'll prepare the same.Today was a great, great win and we should use it positively moving forward.”

On Samaje Perine's performance:

“You know we witnessed history and I'm so grateful to be his teammate and be able to witness that. I mean that's what happens when you respect the game, work hard and he just came in here so far ahead of his time and everybody knows that. You just don't find guys like that. It's very rare. I'm just very proud of him and to be his teammate.”

On if he would want to try to tackle Samaje Perine:

“You know I would just to try and put a pop on him. You know that's how you get your name in the newspapers.”

Kansas Interim Head Coach Clint Bowen

On the team's performance:
“What we didn't do was stop him (Samaje Perine) in any way shape or form. They obviously had a good game plan. Their offensive line played very physically, came off the ball hard and got movement on us. He is a tough guy to bring down. It's an attack they started to go to in the second half of the Texas Tech game. They come downhill with their run game and with the size of their O-line they are very effective at it.”

On the trenches:
“Oklahoma played well today. They came out and played a physical football game. They dominated the game on both lines of scrimmage. With the conditions it made it more of a line of scrimmage game. Obviously there wasn't going to be a lot of passing with the wind and rain it was a line of scrimmage game and they won.

On having the record broken and Perine:
“There is not a positive to do with that record for us right now. He is 245 pounds and runs fast. He changes direction, had great strength and power and has great vision. I don't think there is anything bad about the kid. He is a special running back, one of the better ones in the conference going back to Ricky Williams and Adrian Peterson and those guys. He is going to have that kind of career in the Big 12.”

Kansas Tackle Keon Stowers

On where he ranks OU's offensive line in the Big 12:
“They're probably the top one. They're an experienced group. They're pretty big and physical. As far as the way the game looked; I don't think they dogged us the way it looked. Obviously you'll go back and look at the film, you'll see where things hit. I think, from a standpoint of a defensive lineman, I think they're a really good offensive line.”

On if he knew Samaje Perine was setting an NCAA record:
“No. We really don't care. We just worry about the next play, stopping him. He's a good (running) back. They have a good offensive scheme. Hats off to Oklahoma. They came ready to play. I'm not saying that we didn't come ready to play. They obviously were ready to bounce back.”

On how Perine's record effects the team:
“I've already forgotten it. That's one of the first things Coach Bowen said to us; put this game behind us already. If we keep thinking about it, that's going to carry over to next week. We got blown out by Baylor, and came back the next week to beat Iowa State. We just have to use that same resilience and same fight that we have had this whole season; just keep going.”

On how Perine was able to gain so many yards:
“Right now, I don't know. When we watch the film we will be able to see. They were just gashing us. They had our number in the run game. Hats off to him. He's a good guy, a good (running) back. They had the upper hand on us in the running game.”