No. 5 Sooners rolled past Texas A&M Saturday in Norman.
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OKLAHOMA
HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS |
On the game:
“It was a good game. I felt really good and positive
in the way we executed and played. Our offense and
defense were both very productive. Offensively, we
kept being persistent with the running game. Even in
the first half, we ran the ball well. We had something
like 75-80 yards in the first half, and it just sets
up a lot of other opportunities. I guess when we rush
for 186 yards it was a good day rushing. Sam Bradford
was excellent again today. He had a huge night -- five
TDs and 21 of 30 -- that is playing really well. I’m
just proud of how we took care of the football, which
was a big factor. We were fortunate in the first half
and got a few turnovers, and played really well defensively.
We have been able to get turnovers, and that has helped
us a lot. I thought our defensive discipline was really
good. We really handled the run schemes well, which
is what they want to do all night.”
On the offensive line:
“They played well, and we rushed the ball well.
I thought Sam did a great job when he got pressure
to avoid it and move out of the pocket. All the receivers
did a great job catching the ball, and Jermaine Gresham
had another great day catching the ball.”
On the early defensive adjustments, and the defense
as a whole:
“We settled in. Early on a time or two, we didn’t
adjust properly and they got some yards. Then we settled
in and protected against the run pretty well. I think
we executed well against the option early, and that
might have led to them getting away from it.”
On things he was displeased with:
“I was displeased with some of the penalties,
and some of the things that happened after the play.
I don’t like that and I hope we can grow up and
get away from those types of things. I didn’t
like the kick coverage. We have some guys that just
aren’t making plays. We are going to flop around
personnel and see if we can’t find some guys
that will get out there and get after it.”
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OKLAHOMA
WR MALCOLM KELLY
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On the personal foul call:
"I was down on myself and it was just all in the
heat of the moment more than anything. It was a blocking
play and we got a little over aggressive on our blocking
and it turned into him pulling on Juaquin’s face
mask. It was one of those things where if you see one
of your teammates get chased around, you’re not
just going to sit there. We played it cool because
we didn’t want it to be a big deal and turn into
a team fight."
On winning pretty:
"Before the game, it wasn’t really something
we were focusing on. We just wanted to make sure won.
Everybody talks about the BCS pitch, but if we don’t
win the rest of our games, none of that really matters.
We just wanted to come out and have a win. After the
game, we talked a little bit about how winning pretty
helps."
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OKLAHOMA
RB DEMARCO MURRAY
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On the play of Jermaine Gresham:
"He has great hands all the time and we knew he
was going to be open. He’s a big target so you
can’t miss him."
On the benefits of rotating the running backs:
"I think we’re always fresh. Each running
back is always fresh. No one is ever banged up, no
one is ever tired even after they break a long run.
We are all in shape. In practice, we run every snap
so we’re always fresh. We root for each other
110%. We are best friends and we know whoever we have
in there is going to get the job done."
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OKLAHOMA
QB SAM BRADFORD
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On Jermaine Gresham:
"He is a great receiver. He is so big that he
plays tight end, but he could play receiver. Tonight
he did a great job of getting behind the secondary
and making catches when he had the opportunity."
On whether winning pretty was important:
"It is always nice to come out and play well and
win like we did tonight. But I think the bottom line
is that we have to win. To win like this helps out,
but a win is a win."
On his game and the stats he put up:
"I think that is a credit to the 10 other guys
that were out there. I don’t know if you saw
but they played really hard tonight. We had guys flying
around out there. We have so many weapons out there
that it really makes it easy."
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OKLAHOMA
DB NIC HARRIS
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On how the defense played:
"The one thing that I can look back on the game
and say that we did extremely well was we got great
pressure with our defensive line. We kept the quarterback
honest and when we got to him we took him down. We
had great plays, we knocked the ball out and we were
extremely aggressive."
On defending Jorvorskie Lane:
"I had a run in with him when I was coming off
a blitz. He got a couple of steps in front of me and
I was hanging on, but I got him down. He is a great
guy, great athlete, big guy. He is a monster in the
back field to tackle. It is like tacking a defensive
or offensive lineman, but it something you have to
do."
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OKLAHOMA
LB CURTIS LOFTON
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On stopping the running game:
"As a defense we pride ourselves in not letting
anyone run the ball on us. Coach Venables had a great
game plan for us. We practiced during the bye week
and this week so going into the game we were confident
in shutting it down."
On if he was surprised that they quit running the
option:
"Not really. Once you start shutting someone’s
run game down you make them one dimensional and that
is what we did. They started throwing the ball, so
I wasn’t too surprised about that.
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TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE |
On trouble with the Aggies' offense:
"Well, we did struggle. We didn't have very many yards in the first half and that's a good defensive ball club, they've done that to a lot of people. We've played two very good defensive teams the last two weeks and we certainly had our struggles with both of them."
On looking ahead:
"Well we're 6-4, we've still got the Missouri game and we've still got Texas ahead. And if those two things don't motivate you I don't know what else to say. I know that will motivate them. They need to feel the pain of this loss. They've had two back to back here and I feel like these guys can win these next two games and that's the key part of it."
On Oklahoma's tight ends:
"Well they have three good ones and they do a lot of things with two or three tight end sets. I'd say that Gary Darnell might say that he was worried about them. The wide receivers were very good too, but I wouldn't say that they had their best game tonight either. Their tailbacks are very good, and overall I wouldn't say there are a lot of weaknesses with that group there."
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TEXAS A&M OL KIRK ELDER |
On battling back from OU taking an early lead from turnovers:
"You summed it up right there. You can't turn the ball over against a Top 5 team, especially a team like Oklahoma in their house."
On trouble getting the offense going:
"We'll watch film tomorrow but I'm sure it was just a mixture of them being really good and us not performing. We just didn't finish plays and didn't perform well."
On trying to rally after a loss like this:
"It's going to be tough but we're going to come in and watch film tomorrow and after that I'm going to put all my focus ahead to Missouri. That's the next game on the schedule and you can't let things snowball."
On being tired as a result of not having an off week:
"Yes, I would say so. I'm not going to use that as an excuse at all. That's just part of playing."
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TEXAS A&M DB DEVIN GREGG |
On not forcing turnovers:
"We were going to try to get some turnovers to get an edge and we weren't able to do that. We weren't able to get it going in our favor but that's part of the game."
On defending tight ends:
"It is difficult because of their ability to block and run pass routes so well. They run good routes and catch the ball well. That makes them tougher to defend."