Postgame Quotes

Washington State at Arizona
Nov. 19, 2022
Postgame Quotes

Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch
Opening Statement: 
 
"Disappointed in the outcome of the game today. Washington State is a very good team, as I've been saying all week. Very good defense. You can't turn the ball over four times against a good defense. I thought our defense played with great passion and effort, energy today. I thought offensively we get a lot of good things and then got stopped in different spots a little bit of Murphy's Law today, what could go wrong did go wrong. Had an opportunity to throw a pass back to Jayden (Jayden de Laura) on fourth and two on the endzone for touchdown and wind up having a little bit of pressure on the left side and Mike had to keep it on the fourth and two and got stopped the quarter yard short, where Jayden was standing in the endzone by himself. Had a chance counting the first third down in the second half and the snap doesn't come back. So, snaps on the ground. Had a couple of chances to complete some balls in the endzone, didn't finish some of the routes and then had some opportunities to play great football and we just didn't on offense. Some plays stopped us, we stopped ourselves more than anything. Hats off to them. But our focus is at this point is on the cup." 
 
About quarterback Jayden de Laura performance…
 
"No, I don't think anything that had to do with the press around that. There were some plays that could be made that weren't made for a lot of reasons, but I think that I did not see any pressing going on. I thought those were just plays that were made by their defense that caused some turnovers." 
 
Regarding the situation of De Laura and Dorian:
 
"There was a play that we were hoping to make, and we didn't so there was just two competitive guys, just disappointed in each other, but they are fine."
 
What were they doing to make things hard for you on offense? 
 
"Well, they are the number one scoring defense, I think in the PAC-12, and I think they are very good defense. They give you just enough to be aware of their pressures at all times. They play a good coverage scheme. And, you know, we just didn't execute our offense is really what happened more than anything."
 
On the upcoming Territorial Cup:
 
To me the territorial cup is its own game in the season. That's an 11-game season plus one. It's our job to figure out a way not to let that plus one affect any outcome of any other game. Today was not good enough. On offense. It was not good enough, really in the end on defense as we let up too many points and we didn't score enough. So as a team. We didn't play well enough, and we need to be better. We know that we can put the ball on the ground. We can't throw interceptions. I'm sure it's very hurtful. The locker room is very hurt right now backroom also understands and knows that we are onto the team up north and that's where our focus is starting now. Normally we have a 24-hour rule to move on. We have a 24-minute rule it's time to move on and get ready for the cup."
 
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WSU Coach Quotes
 
Containing the offense and four picks, what was the key?
 
"What a defensive performance, besides last couple drives. I just give credit to our players and this is a players game. Our defense has been doing this all season and wanted to go out there and prove it against a very good offense."
 
What was it like being focused with all the emotions surrounding a former teammate?
 
"We talked about being focused on this game and it's about us. They didn't factor in many emotions and went and beat a very good Arizona team on the road."
 
What got that defense going early in the game to put out this performance?
 
"It's not just sacks, tackles for loss, it's not letting them step up. It's affecting the QB and I think we were effective and stopping the run, and making them one dimensional."
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AZ Player Quotes
 
Michael Wiley
"[Washington State] is a very disciplined team. They did their job, they were where they were supposed to be at."
 
"[The fourth down in the first half] got kind of screwed up. Everybody was miscommunicating out there, so I just tried to get the first down as much as I could."
 
"[Jayden's] headspace was where it was supposed to be. Sometimes you have a game where things just don't go your way. It's part of the game of football; sometimes you just have that day. But I know for a fact that Jayden is going to watch this film and get better for ASU."
 
"ASU, as you know, is a big game. It's rivalry week. I know for a fact that I'm going to come ready to play on Friday. As a team, we're going to be ready for that game."
 
Jacob Manu
"As coach Nansen says, as long as we go up on 11, we'll be fine. It's not the play calling, it's us. We just have to execute the game plan."
 
"Shoutout to their quarterback, he's a great player. We knew he was elusive, so we tried to get to him, but shoutout to him."
 
 
"I feel like we did a good job, but there's always room for improvement to get ready for next week."
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WSU Player Quotes
 
Sam Lockett
 
What would you say was kind of the key to your guys's defensive performance and holding them down? 
They're a big play offense coming in with a bunch of big numbers and you know not really doing anything until late, what do you think was kind of the primary key there for you guys?
 
"We knew what they were going to do coming in and we knew that they're a big play offense. I give a lot of credit to our D line. They were moving out the pocket a lot, you know, it's tough to throw on the run so it kind of gave us the opportunity to go and get the ball."
 
Derrick Langford
 
So, first things first, they come in with a bunch of big numbers, big passing offense and everything. What do you think was the key for you guys as a defense in kind of containing those explosives today?
 
"I feel like it started with our practice habits. We had a good week of practice, with a lot of turnovers, and it translated to the game, as you can see. So that was a big part of what we accomplished today."
 
Cameron Ward
 
Riding a streak now going into the Apple Cup, how satisfying is it for you guys to be where you are right now and then growing the way you are right now and kind of hitting your stride late?
 
"It's good, you know, to be able to get these games in a row. It gives us a little confidence going into an Apple Cup. Well, it's been good but you know, we try to just focus on one day at a time. You know, we had a great week of preparation this week, defense and offense, but you know, we still had times in the game where we didn't execute on both sides. We got to get better at that but just trying to get another great week going into the Apple Cup and go get a win."