Postgame Quotes: Utah
November 02, 2019 | Football
SEATTLE – Washington football head coach Chris Petersen and select players met with the media following the Huskies' game against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 2. Read some of what they had to say:
HEAD COACH CHRIS PETERSEN
(Opening statement) "Well, it was a frustrating game. We played against a really good Utah team. We just couldn't get the plays in the second half. Our defense did a really good job against the run. There are some things to clean up tackling wise. Zack Moss is a heck of a back. In the fourth quarter we couldn't get off the field. When you turn it over three times and they get nine points off those turnovers, you have a very small chance of beating a team like this. The last two times we have played those guys, we got six turnovers to their two, we controlled the game with the clock, we knew that going in. They flipped the script on us. They controlled the clock, that is their game, and they did it better than us. Those turnovers really hurt us bad. We have to go back to work in the short week.
(On why the Huskies have struggled in the fourth quarter in recent games) "I don't know. We have to play better in the fourth quarter for sure. These teams are good teams for a reason, they pour it on when it matters. They are playing better than us in the fourth quarter. I think in the third and the fourth we had two, three and outs, because we had two false start penalties, and then we got an intentional grounding. As soon as you do that against a defense like that, good luck. It was self-inflicted wounds. I don't know what to tell you. That is day one stuff."
(On whether he anticipated the season playing out like it has to this point) "I know that every team on the schedule could beat us. I believe that every year. I also believe that we could beat every team on the schedule. It depends on how we develop and how we progress and how we are health-wise. I believe that anything is possible. We are going to keep working. We aren't going to feel sorry for ourselves. It is what it is. Back-to-back we played some really good teams. We didn't make enough plays that is really obvious. All we can do is analyze and try to re-create those mistakes in practice. Try to develop and build skill and keep progressing. We can't back off or feel sorry for ourselves or anything like that. We all know losing sucks. We all pour a lot into this business we are in, when we don't get it done, it is painful. We will go back to work and keep getting better."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JIMMY LAKE
(On what changed with the pass rush in the second half after having four sacks in the first half) "It's going to be interesting to go back and watch the tape. I agree with you, I feel like we got some really good pass rush in that first half. For whatever reason we didn't feel as much there in the second half. You have to give them credit. They finished harder than we did."
(On whether there has there been a common thread between the losses suffered this season) "It has come down to the last possession on all of these games. That makes it even tougher to deal with. But also, I'm very proud of the guys for fighting and scratching and clawing until the end. We're going to learn a lot of hard lessons from these losses that we're taking right now, from these tight losses at the end of games. We know we're right there."
QUARTERBACK JACOB EASON
(On why he thinks the offense has had trouble finishing games) "We've just got to play four quarters. I don't know. I don't know what the problem is, but we've got to fix it. Part of that's on me being smart with the ball in some situations. I'll take the blame there, move on and learn from it."
(On whether there was anything Utah did differently in the second half) "No, they kept the same game plan and they made some big plays. They did some things that we're going to have to watch on tape and see what happened. But, we'll look at it and learn from it."
LINEBACKER JOE TRYON
(On what the game plan was coming in to this game) "Just get on the edges with a relentless pass rush. Have a motor every play, just don't give up. There's not really much to it. Just effort."
(On what changed in the second half) "I feel like a big part of it was we just weren't getting off the field on third down. They were doing a good job of converting and making tough catches. It is what it is."
DEFENSIVE BACK ELIJAH MOLDEN
(On whether it felt like the team just could not get over the last hump) "Yeah. That is the theme of all of our losses. Effort is never a problem. I believe in the guys on my team. Everyone on the team is trying hard but, we've got to do more. We've got to work smarter and work harder."
(On the importance of learning from this and moving forward) "It's the most important thing. It starts tomorrow too. I mean, it can start tonight watching film and tomorrow coming in and doing extra work. We've got to do extra stuff to get back in a rhythm."
LINEBACKER RYAN BOWMAN
(On what he thought went well in the first half) "We were just feeling it out. You know, we were comfortable. We were in our zone and just playing football the way we know how to play it. We were making a lot of good stops on third down in the first half and that's just something that we really had to do in the second half that we didn't execute on. So, we'll work on that."
(On why the team was so successful stopping the run in the first half) "I think it was just our energy. I mean, we had energy in the second half too, but we were just feeding off each other. We were having a lot of fun and I think that is what had to do with it."
HEAD COACH CHRIS PETERSEN
(Opening statement) "Well, it was a frustrating game. We played against a really good Utah team. We just couldn't get the plays in the second half. Our defense did a really good job against the run. There are some things to clean up tackling wise. Zack Moss is a heck of a back. In the fourth quarter we couldn't get off the field. When you turn it over three times and they get nine points off those turnovers, you have a very small chance of beating a team like this. The last two times we have played those guys, we got six turnovers to their two, we controlled the game with the clock, we knew that going in. They flipped the script on us. They controlled the clock, that is their game, and they did it better than us. Those turnovers really hurt us bad. We have to go back to work in the short week.
(On why the Huskies have struggled in the fourth quarter in recent games) "I don't know. We have to play better in the fourth quarter for sure. These teams are good teams for a reason, they pour it on when it matters. They are playing better than us in the fourth quarter. I think in the third and the fourth we had two, three and outs, because we had two false start penalties, and then we got an intentional grounding. As soon as you do that against a defense like that, good luck. It was self-inflicted wounds. I don't know what to tell you. That is day one stuff."
(On whether he anticipated the season playing out like it has to this point) "I know that every team on the schedule could beat us. I believe that every year. I also believe that we could beat every team on the schedule. It depends on how we develop and how we progress and how we are health-wise. I believe that anything is possible. We are going to keep working. We aren't going to feel sorry for ourselves. It is what it is. Back-to-back we played some really good teams. We didn't make enough plays that is really obvious. All we can do is analyze and try to re-create those mistakes in practice. Try to develop and build skill and keep progressing. We can't back off or feel sorry for ourselves or anything like that. We all know losing sucks. We all pour a lot into this business we are in, when we don't get it done, it is painful. We will go back to work and keep getting better."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JIMMY LAKE
(On what changed with the pass rush in the second half after having four sacks in the first half) "It's going to be interesting to go back and watch the tape. I agree with you, I feel like we got some really good pass rush in that first half. For whatever reason we didn't feel as much there in the second half. You have to give them credit. They finished harder than we did."
(On whether there has there been a common thread between the losses suffered this season) "It has come down to the last possession on all of these games. That makes it even tougher to deal with. But also, I'm very proud of the guys for fighting and scratching and clawing until the end. We're going to learn a lot of hard lessons from these losses that we're taking right now, from these tight losses at the end of games. We know we're right there."
QUARTERBACK JACOB EASON
(On why he thinks the offense has had trouble finishing games) "We've just got to play four quarters. I don't know. I don't know what the problem is, but we've got to fix it. Part of that's on me being smart with the ball in some situations. I'll take the blame there, move on and learn from it."
(On whether there was anything Utah did differently in the second half) "No, they kept the same game plan and they made some big plays. They did some things that we're going to have to watch on tape and see what happened. But, we'll look at it and learn from it."
LINEBACKER JOE TRYON
(On what the game plan was coming in to this game) "Just get on the edges with a relentless pass rush. Have a motor every play, just don't give up. There's not really much to it. Just effort."
(On what changed in the second half) "I feel like a big part of it was we just weren't getting off the field on third down. They were doing a good job of converting and making tough catches. It is what it is."
DEFENSIVE BACK ELIJAH MOLDEN
(On whether it felt like the team just could not get over the last hump) "Yeah. That is the theme of all of our losses. Effort is never a problem. I believe in the guys on my team. Everyone on the team is trying hard but, we've got to do more. We've got to work smarter and work harder."
(On the importance of learning from this and moving forward) "It's the most important thing. It starts tomorrow too. I mean, it can start tonight watching film and tomorrow coming in and doing extra work. We've got to do extra stuff to get back in a rhythm."
LINEBACKER RYAN BOWMAN
(On what he thought went well in the first half) "We were just feeling it out. You know, we were comfortable. We were in our zone and just playing football the way we know how to play it. We were making a lot of good stops on third down in the first half and that's just something that we really had to do in the second half that we didn't execute on. So, we'll work on that."
(On why the team was so successful stopping the run in the first half) "I think it was just our energy. I mean, we had energy in the second half too, but we were just feeding off each other. We were having a lot of fun and I think that is what had to do with it."
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