KLIFF KINGSBURY
Q. Coach, looking back on it now, couple days removed, what do you feel are the two biggest things that separated you guys from Oklahoma State?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think just the fourth and a foot there that we fumbled the snap going in, and then the other interception in the red zone there. Just kind of going back and forth at that point, we stumbled, and they didn't.
Q. Do you think that having the lead going into halftime gave your players some sort of sense of security and they came out differently?
COACH KINGSBURY: I don't think so. I think you've got to give credit to Oklahoma State. That's a team that's come back from some deficits. They've won a bunch of games and that wasn't a new situation to them, and they came back and adjusted and played at a higher level.
Q. The second half it seemed Ian Sadler came on strong. What do you think about where he's at and you kind of developed into a go-to guy on third down and things like that?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think so. Him and Pat have a great rapport, and he seems to get open when Pat starts moving around. But Ian I thought in the Oklahoma game was a little slower, little hampered still. But I think he was full-speed this last week and has a chance to be a very good player for us.
Q. How do you view the top -- you mentioned Oklahoma State making more plays in the second half than you all did. Is there a way to coach to get that started to get over the top?
COACH KINGSBURY: You just have to do it until they get than sensation I guess. It's nothing you can coach out of them, I don't think. We just have to do it. We had a couple opportunities this year to win games late and haven't done it against highly-ranked teams. So it's something we've got to keep working on and find ways to do it at the end.
Q. Your guys on the outside didn't have very many catches last week. Do you think that's more of Oklahoma State's coverage trying to take that away or do you think it's a combination of what we kind of think that was?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, we've got to get better outside, really. They have good secondary. They have good corners. But we took some shots and didn't make plays on footballs, and we have to improve at the outside receiver. It's kind of come back to bite us again.
So that's the only -- over the last three weeks, we're going to see a lot of pressed man coverage on our face and challenge those guys, and those guys got to step up and make plays.
Q. Is Devin okay physically?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yes, sir.
Q. What do you attribute to his lack of skill relative to the second half?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think he's got to grow up. He's got to practice better, be more consistent, same things continue to show up on game day, and he's got to get better. We're depending on him to be a better player, and I think he's got to mature on and off the field.
Q. What did you tell him about those unsportsmanlike kind of things? Did you talk to him about that?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, that's a private conversation and that's been handled.
Q. It's been a couple years now, but what is it that makes Jakeem the player that he is?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think this year is by far the most mature he's been on and off the field, the way he practices and handles himself in the classroom, he's just grown up each year we've been here. He's thee most difficult to tackle in space that I've ever been around. The first guy's never going to make him miss. He's so quick. He's add added the physicality to his game when it comes to blocking the run game.
He's a special talent. Works hard, good kid. I'm really proud of him.
Q. Is there a never-ending chip on his shoulder? Is that consistent?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think so. I think he's always, if you asked him, he's ten-feet tall and that's the way he carries himself and the way he acts around the locker room. He's just a special young man.
Q. The 90-yard plays is that kind of how you drew up?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, exactly. Just threw it out there and let him cut back five times and let him go. He can do that any time he touches the ball, and that's what we try to do is find ways to get him the ball in space.
Q. Do you see him playing on Sundays?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think he'll get an opportunity. There have been some guys before him of similar stature. So I think he's that dynamic; if he continues to work at his craft that he'll definitely have an opportunity.
Q. This week you go up against a West Virginia team that obviously standings struggled, but on the field has been pretty good. What do you attribute that to?
COACH KINGSBURY: They've played very good teams in this stretch. I think the same losses we have are the ones they have against highly-ranked teams. They're a good football team. Very good defensively, senior-laden group there at linebackers. Then offensively I think Dana's doing a good job of adjusting to his personnel, running the ball more. They have a great running back, a quarterback that can run around. It's a very good football team. They just ran up against very good competition as well.
Q. Do you think part of (indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's a game-changer. There is no doubt. They're still very good defensively, but he's a guy you really can't replace because of his talent and he'll be playing on Sundays.
Q. You guys have the second and third highest scoring totals, but you're still losing in games this year. Do you feel like it's the way the defense is playing? I know the turnovers have played a role, but do you feel like you have to coach almost 60 points a game?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, really more than anything I think it's how the league is set up. You look over the history of the last three, four, five years all those elite teams have had those games where you shootout and just get outscored. The offense is very good in how it's set up. So I don't think there is a certain number. I always look at it from the offensive side, should have scored here, should have scored there. The defense on Saturday in the third quarter gave us, I think, three times in a row the ball back to go up 17 and we didn't go do it. So I look at that more than anything else.
Q. The touchdown you guys got, you wanted 0 for 2, but you kind of take the timeout. It looked like you had some numbers coming on. Can you go through that sequence and format?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, there are two schools of thought on it. We thought about kicking it. The amount of time was right on that fringe where you're chasing it or not chasing it, and decided not to. Ended up going for it and getting it.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, yeah, we had kind of changed our mind and decided the way things were going that was our best bet.
Q. Was there any thought about an on-side kick after that?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, not with that much time left. We felt like we could get it back in plenty of time, and as fast as we can go, and we don't need much.
Q. West Virginia's third in the conference in rushing offense. What makes them so prolific on the ground?
COACH KINGSBURY: A great back, very physical offensive line. They've really taken the approach that they're going to run it. They've forced some runs in there. They run the ball on 3rd and 7, 3rd and 8. You can tell that's the mentality this year. It's a physical team that's going to run the ball no matter how many guys you have in the box. They've gotten good at it.
Q. Coach Gibbs said that if he was an offensive coordinator on the other sideline, he'd just line it up and run it against the defense. Is that what you expect from them?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think that's what they've shown this year. We've had struggles against the run. I thought last week our run defense was pretty good. But throughout the year we've definitely struggled in that area.
Q. You guys got off to a quick start last week. Was something changing maybe intangibly that you noticed, or were there things that you took advantage of?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, I think guys just came out and played well from the beginning with the exception of those two games in a row, Kansas and Oklahoma, I think we started fast in all of them. So we just got back to what we do, and came out and executed at a high level early on and didn't wait around.
Q. What kind of challenge is it when you have a first quarter like you did, and try to press upon those guys there are still three quarters of the ballgame left to play?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, it shouldn't be hard. I think more than anything, like we talked about earlier is just getting over that hump of now let's finish. But our guys were into it. They were locked in. In the second half thought they had good energy, we just didn't make the plays we needed to make.
Q. Any special preparations this week because of the extra long trip to West Virginia?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, we'll leave a little earlier, but other than that, that's about it.
Q. Aside from the disappointment of losing those games, are these situations going to pay off down the road? Are you glad to see some of the things from your team?
COACH KINGSBURY: I hate to lose, but I think you have a young quarterback that's seeing a lot of different things and been through a lot. Knowing from experience, that's definitely going to pay off down the road.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: He went to see his father who is not doing well.
Q. What's his status?
COACH KINGSBURY: Obviously a couple times in that game we had miscues on the punt team. But for the most part I think Barnes handled himself well. I think Taylor hopefully will be back this week.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Just continually nagged with him, different parts of that kicking leg.
Q. What are your expectations of him this week?
COACH KINGSBURY: We're going to get him out there today to see. He won't practice the first couple of days this week. But we're going to run him and see how he holds up, and if not this week, I would say definitely for Kansas State.
Q. What's your message to your quarterback? It seems like in games he starts to press a little bit as the defense struggles. What is your message to make sure he doesn't do too much here late in games?
COACH KINGSBURY: You stay within yourself. He's a competitor, and he wants to win it. That comes with growing up in that position. He still hasn't started that many games. He'll grow out of that where he's trying to do it all all the time. But I've been proud of the way he's battled. He's fought in every game until the end, and that's all you can ask.
DAVID GIBBS
Q. (Indiscernible) on your defensive blocker?
COACH GIBBS: I think so. I think so. These kids are resilient, and I say it every week. They played hard. They did it again. I say it every week. For whatever reason they go crazy and didn't finish the game obviously with all those big plays at the end of it, which is embarrassing. It's not acceptable.
It comes back to me. Coach Kingsbury gives me free reign the of the defense, and I can call whatever I want and run whatever I want. Therefore, the product out there on the field is a direct reflection of me, which is not acceptable.
So go back to work this afternoon. We've got three games left to get better. I say it every week. Hopefully at some point we'll learn how to play a complete game. To start that fast offensively and get a turnover early and then not finish it, it makes no sense. But it is what it is. It happened, and we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Q. You only gave up 45 rushing yards in the first half, and 200 in the second half. What was the biggest difference? Was it bringing in them permanently or what was it?
COACH GIBBS: Probably my halftime adjustments that were so great early in the year. No, really, we had a game planned for him. We had a game planned for whoever was playing quarterback, and they did a good job. He hit a couple passes. But that didn't change our -- we had two guys unblocked on his long run. But at the same time you've got to put kids in position to make plays they can make, and obviously they can't make that play, so I can't make that call.
I don't know. The reverses, they called them pass yards, but they were reverses. So made some bad decisions and we've just got to get some guys to keep proper leverage on the football and learn how to finish.
But we did get better up front against normal run games. Obviously, when you play a good football team, they have multiple ways to attack you, and we've got to learn to adjust and fit up those runs also.
Q. If your offense can score 50 points against one of the best defenses in the country, does that have to end in a win?
COACH GIBBS: The truth is I say it every week, and I know you're not here every week, but if we could have stopped them with four minutes to go in the game and given our offense the ball back, I wouldn't feel as bad as I do right now. We're not very good on defense, and we're playing teams that are better than us. But you'd like to think if they score that many points we can win the game.
Q. Going into this week, West Virginia has the third best rushing offense. How do you explain that offense? Do you use the tape of the first half on Saturday or the second half?
COACH GIBBS: That's a good question. Coach Holgorsen is a hard-headed, old-school guy. He will hand that ball off which most of these spread guys will not do. He'll hand the football off on 3rd and 10 which creates a lot of problems for you. We've just got to get better. We've got to improve.
I'm not so sure you even worry about at this point who you're playing against. You better make sure that your guys are aligned properly, playing with the proper footwork, proper technique, doing their job and understanding where they fit within the scheme. So first half, second half, it's 60 minutes of football.
Q. Did you see any progress from this last week?
COACH GIBBS: I did, but you can't say that. I mean, that's not good enough. We've got to get better.
Q. What were the challenges in terms of the two quarterbacks and preparing for different offenses, I guess, when they're running it?
COACH GIBBS: It's a problem, but everybody can do it. We go against Pat every day in practice, and even though you don't see a lot of the quarterback run game in the games, we've been prepared for it just going against spring ball and two-a-days. And I think the kids understand by the call you make and what you're trying to get done. Just didn't execute it.
Obviously made some bad calls at the wrong time, and I continue to say it's my job to make them understand the differences of who is at quarterback and what schemes are coming, and we've got to do a better job.
Q. Is college football getting it right?
COACH GIBBS: I still haven't seen it up close on TV. I've just seen the video. The rules say you can't go to the head. So if the face mask is part of the head, then it's bang-bang play, it's tough. The rule is correct in the sense it's trying to keep everybody healthy. It's a health issue. So he's got to learn to go low. It's hard for a defensive player to make those split-second decisions. But he's got to make a better decision until they change the rule.
Q. Is it harder for the defensive coordinator to now air on the side of going low?
COACH GIBBS: I'm just trying to get him tackling somebody. Hey, if he gets thrown out of the game for tackling a guy, we're just going to have to do it because it's about the only time we can tackle anybody.
Q. How much of a difference was it for you guys defensively once he went out of the game? Was it a big impact?
COACH GIBBS: Not really. I mean, Jah’Shawn Johnson's a good player for us. He's a young guy, getting better every week. He needs every rep he can get. So but it's like everybody tells you, the next guy's got to go. It doesn't matter. They're not going to slow down. They're going to go faster than they did before, and the next guy's got to go out there and play good football. That's why you have to recruit good depth. You have to be two deep everywhere. If you're not, you're going to play defense like we do.
Q. Was fatigue at all a factor?
COACH GIBBS: I don't think so. In some games I felt like it was this season, but against them I didn't feel it was. I just, I don't see the mental toughness when the game's on the line. No matter what happens throughout the course of the game you've got a chance to go stop them and give your offense the ball back to win the game and we give up an 80-yard bomb which is not acceptable. So, no excuses.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH GIBBS: I don't know. You got any ideas? Come help me. It's an everyday process. This defense does not get built overnight, and I would love to do nothing more than to go out there and play great defense. Just right now, it's not happening.
Q. Would you like to see the young guy make the big play?
COACH GIBBS: Yeah, good for him. He about blew his knee out when he stumbled. Nobody tackled the guy. I told him to act like an athlete, please. He's getting better every week. It's just not showing on Saturdays.
Q. How do you keep your guys from feeling defeated from a performance on Saturday?
COACH GIBBS: You go back to work. You have three games left with a chance to go to a Bowl game, a chance to win eight football games, which, you know, you've got to go to work. If we don't go to Morgantown and play better defense, we can get embarrassed again.
So we've got another challenge. I think our kids will respond. I don't see them quitting, which is a good thing. I'd like to see them play better and not quit, but we'll get back to work this afternoon.
Q. That long touchdown pass to end the game, was Tevin supposed to have safety help over the top?
COACH GIBBS: No, he's by himself. He's by himself.
Q. You've only had a year of going against them in practice. But from what you've seen, what makes Jakeem the player he is?
COACH GIBBS: His start-stop ability, which you always hear Kliff talk about is phenomenal. He's amazing. Just if he was six-feet tall he'd be a first-round draft pick.
Q. Earlier this season you said that the biggest improvements what you see from Game 1 to Game 2. Can you look forward to next season and say the biggest improvement in the squad overall is going to be from season one to season two?
COACH GIBBS: That would be the chicken thing to say, yeah. We better go play good this Saturday. If we don't, there might not be a game friggin' 10. Now on a positive note, my son got a pick six last night in his Pee Wee football game. And they won on a Hail Mary. You have a good day.
ERIC MORRIS
Q. What did you think about you guys scored almost 40 in the first half and then 15 in the second half. What was the biggest difference for you in the second half?
COACH MORRIS: The biggest thing was the two turnovers. You're not going to score in this league. That's a good defense. You're not going to score every time you touch the ball. So we had a couple bad drives there in a row when the defense stopped them, which we're remarkably bad about playing together on this team.
We had a couple opportunities. I think it was 31-14, and we had a chance to get it back. Then when they gave it to us, we could have gone up a couple scores there to start the half and didn't execute and didn't complete the balls or get the run game going like we needed to. But I was proud that we responded there in the fourth quarter. Put together some good drives and responded.
The two biggest plays is the fourth down fumble and the interception in the red zone offensively speaking.
Q. What have you thought about Ian last week? Has he developed into a go-to guy for you guys do you think?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, no doubt. He was a lot faster this week. You could tell on film he's finally getting back to himself and playing fast. And Pat's looking for him and hit him on some seam balls and ran some great out routes and some options underneath. But he's a kid if he stays healthy. It hurt us when he went down there for three games, but got to keep him healthy. I'll probably watch how much I play him to limit the number of hits that he's getting. He played every play of that game until he got nicked up a little bit there at the end.
But he's a guy we've got to get the ball to. Got to find ways to get him the ball, and 11 the ball and 21 the ball.
Q. Do you think you made adjustments at halftime that caused them to be a little less efficient?
COACH MORRIS: Not at all. They played the same defense. They caught us in a blitz one time on a run play early in the second half, but they ran that same blitz and we ran the run play the other way in the first half, and it was a big game. So, no, they didn't come out and change what they were doing schematically.
Q. Coach, what are the inconsistencies as you've put it a couple times aside, what makes Jakeem such a special player?
COACH MORRIS: I wouldn't say he has many inconsistencies right now. I mean, he's really stepped up. He's playing a lot tougher. I think he had five knockdowns in that game which nobody sees. He's cutting people down the field and getting people on the ground. It's hard for a guy of his stature to take those hits on kickoff, take the hits carrying the football, and then to get up every play and block his butt off for his teammates.
So he's being a great teammate. He's leading us. He's really dynamic. He might be the hardest player in the country to tackle in open field. He's fun to watch, and we need some guys to keep feeding off him and find ways to get him the ball.
Q. (Indiscernible) Saturday had 12 catches against Oklahoma State last year. Is that a coincidence, or is there something about the defense?
COACH MORRIS: No, they pressed our outside guys and tried to take them away. Tried to take a few shots and didn't like it. So they play them with linebackers, so they keep their linebackers in the game. Some of these teams put extra DB in and play some different coverages against him. But when you get him matched up on linebackers, that's something we'll try to attack that part of the field.
Q. Speaking of, where are things with your outside receivers right now thinking about reps going forward?
COACH MORRIS: Someone's got to step up and make plays. We'll move Giles out on certain formations to see he's got great ball skills and jumping ability to go track the football. You'll see him a little bit on the outside this week, not full-time moving, just kind of move some guys around a little bit.
We need some length. We're missing Dylan with that 6'4" body. When you do get that coverage, that you can throw it up and they have the ability to jump up and go get it. So we've got some shorter guys out there right now. So we've got to start winning on these posts and vertical balls.
Q. You've had the second or third highest point totals on offense this season all resulting in a loss. You guys have to get close to 60 points to be able to pull out a win.
COACH MORRIS: No, we expect, we're pretty dynamic on offense, and we play fast, and we've done some really good things at times this year. So, but you know, easily we could have scored 70 points that game. We don't worry about what the other side of the ball is doing. We try to control our job every single play and that is to be efficient and to play fast and get first downs and turn them into touchdowns. So just like any other team in the nation, you're not going to score every time you touch it. You're going to punt every once in a while. So that to me is even going back and watching it wasn't that big of a deal. The big deal were the turnovers in key situations when we had chances to do it.
Then again, proud of the kids. The first time I thought that they fought back. We cut it to three there at the end and kept clawing back and didn't give up. So it was good to see some of those kids staying there and fighting.
Q. You guys played against TCU and Oklahoma State offensively. Is that encouraging to these guys that they know when they're relatively mistake free, they can play with anybody in the conference?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, no doubt. Those are two really good teams. But we've got to start pulling some of these out in the end. It doesn't make it any much better or easier to come in here on Sundays and look at it when you're not winning those games. You still have a terrible feeling in your gut when you walk in here. It doesn't matter because you say, yeah, he scored 53, that doesn't matter. We should have scored 73. We had the opportunities to do it.
So we've got to keep growing, eliminating mistakes. I think Pat's getting better and better each week. He's learning from some of these things. He's in his tenth or 12th game right now. So, yeah, I think once we've got to do it one time. We've got to pull it out and be victorious at the end of it. And then we can get things rolling, I think.
Q. What is your reaction on the sideline when you see him go down for a cut block on that? Not cut block, but knockdown on that Jakeem run?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, that's who he is as a player. You're not going to take that competitiveness out of him. Same thing against Arkansas. You tell him not to do it. But he's just being a football player and that's one of his friends. We do everything together around here. So he's trying to help his buddy out. You don't obviously draw it up that way where he's going to do that. Jakeem made about five people miss and cut it across field. So he saw it, and he reacted like any other good football team or good football player and teammate would.
Q. With the injury at safety, what is now the strength of this West Virginia defense? What are you concerned about?
COACH MORRIS: I think they're the most physical team I've seen on tape up to date. They run and hit. Their linebackers are incredible. They trigger. They're fast. They make good hits. They make plays in space. Their defensive line, they've got a nose guard that's played a ton of football for them. That's going to be tough to block in there.
Castro has his hands full. I think they do a good job on the outside at corner too. They make a lot of plays out there. So we'll have our hands cut out for us. They're a tough football team. They're well-coached and they like to hit people.
So we've got to be prepared to step in there at their house. They play really well at home, and we've got to fight with them.
Q. How do you think their secondary as carried on with the loss of Karl?
COACH MORRIS: He's an irreplaceable player. He was probably the best defensive back in our league. He brings so much to the table. He's all over the place. He's a ball hawk. He'll hit you and he'll intercept it. Great coverage skills. He's one of those guys that's really special and the guys that get paid a lot of money for doing it on Sundays. He has that kind of ability. But their next guy is a good football player. Karl Joseph, is that his name? Joseph, yeah, he's irreplaceable.
Q. What happened with the zone reception? What has Oklahoma State changed?
COACH MORRIS: Nothing. That's a play that's in our day-one install. He made a bad read and didn't see the corner fall off on it, so, nothing at all.
Q. Did he expect the corner to do more?
COACH MORRIS: I guess he didn't see him. He was pressed and then he fell off of him. So I guess presnap he thought he was going to run with the crosser. But just, I mean, that's a mistake that he's got to fix and get to his next read, and his next read is wide open in the middle of the field. So that stuff's going to happen, but there was nothing that was a bad sequence or anything.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH MORRIS: Zach Austin, yeah, Zach Austin.
Q. Given the familiarity between Coach Holgorsen and Kliff and you and the guys on staff (Indiscernible)? Is this a week offensively where you're more cognizant of trying to play away from tendencies and if so, would you tell us that?
COACH MORRIS: I don't think so. Dana's done a great job wherever he's been, and he's kind of molded different every stop he's been. He's a little different at Houston than here, and a little different at Oklahoma State than Houston. He's continued to evolve. He likes to run the ball a little bit more up there.
If you watch it on tape, he'll know what we're trying to accomplish, and I'm sure he'll watch film with the defense and trying to tell them what we're trying to get to and what spaces we're trying to hit.
But, no, I mean, we're going to play fast. It's hard for people to communicate specific things against us based on formation and wide receiver splits because we get to them so fast and the ball is snapped. So they're a great defense that flies around. They play three down, so that helps them a little bit being able to coverage and drop eight and bring zero blitzes and put some pressure on you.
So, I'm sure he'll talk to them about different stuff we want to do. But, no, they've changed a little bit, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal.
Q. As Pat continues to grow and the defense has struggled late in games, what is your best way to make sure he doesn't try on do too much?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, I don't think you say anything to him. You can point to about 15 -- I mean, he made one or two bad reads, but you can point to 15 plays that if we don't have him back there, we're in some deep bad situations.
He's a gamer. He makes great plays with his legs. He still sees the field when he's moving around. So, I think you continue to let it be him and let him watch the film and learn from these mistakes that he's making.
He's done a great job all year of correcting stuff. His pocket presence was a lot better. He was square in the pocket this week which Coach Kingsbury I know harped on big last week and has dropped some things. So I think he made some big-time NFL throws.
The third down comeback he throws to Reginald Davis is remarkable. So he's doing some great things, continues to get better. So just let him continue to get better each week but not take away from the good things that he does do.
DEANDRE WASHINGTON
Q. DeAndre, are you seeing different things from your teammates as far as the response to adversity from a year ago?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah, teams night and day, just the whole overall morale of the team. But it's different from last year.
Q. Is there part of you that looks at this last month that says you want to leave this in a better place here before your playing days here are done?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Definitely. With it being the last year, you definitely would like to go out on a high note. We definitely got the opportunity to do that in these next two games.
Q. When you see a guy like Jakeem making the plays that he does, does it take a burden off your back knowing that you don't have to try to carry the team?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: He's been making those plays since he's been here. It's not really surprising to me. I've seen him make those type of plays on a year-in and day-in basis. I wouldn't say it's taking the burden off me, but it's good to see him making those plays.
Q. The chip on his shoulder that he plays with, has that been contagious the last four years?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Jakeem? Yeah, he's a smart guy. He hears it a lot about what he can't do and what he's not supposed to be able to do. He continues to turn heads. Me being a smaller guy myself, it's kind of motivating and also exciting to see him go out there and making those plays. It definitely goes down to the rest of our team.
Q. What's tough?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's a rowdy environment. They're going to let you hear it all. They won't hold back. But it's a fun place to be. It's a good away venue, but it's a tough environment.
Q. Have you come out with the same, what Coach Kingsbury said, after you lose (Indiscernible) or lack there of? It's technically 12, but 11 our time. How do you keep your team in that as well?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I think we did a good job of starting fast this week. Just didn't finish how we'd like to finish. But definitely got to start fast with it being the early game and on the road.
Q. Does it help that you guys have been there and had success and you came out victorious?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's definitely something to keep in your back pocket. But it's a totally different year, totally different team. So, not really.
Q. You guys have played elite teams in the Big 12. You're all done with them now. What's it going to take to get over the hump and win those games in the future?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: In the future? Oh, Coach Kingsbury, he has a great plan. But really it's a week-in, week-out basis. You can't look so much at looking at the whole season. You have to take it a day at a time and play the process. Everything else will take care of itself.
Q. What is the mood of the team now after you led the number 12 team in the country at 10 points at halftime and then didn't pull it through in the second half? How does the team feel?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It was tough. Going into that locker room after the game was over. But like I said, we have an opportunity this week to make amends and finish the season off on a high note.
Q. Are these the most physical linebackers that you've played against all year?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: West Virginia?
Q. Yes.
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: They definitely have some good linebackers. I think it would be tough to say they're the most physical.
Q. Is there a Big 12 linebacker you meet in the hallway and say this guy's not that big? Does that ever happen?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: No.
Q. Most of them are lifting weights, I guess?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah.
Q. (Indiscernible) Oklahoma-Oklahoma State kind of separate themselves and just the top 5. Which of those teams do you feel like is the best?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I mean, they're all pretty good. They all bring a little something different. So it will be interesting to see how it winds up in the end.
Q. On the verge of becoming the first running back to have back-to-back thousand yard seasons in almost 20 years. What are your thoughts on the impact you've left on this program, and particularly coming back from the injury you've had?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's been fun. Man, it's definitely been a journey from freshman year coming in here, getting hurt. Coming back from the injury. So at this point now just trying to set the bar as high as I can for the young guys so they can definitely come in and try to break my record. I mean, some day. It's been fun. I've enjoyed it. I look forward to going out on a high note.
Q. Coming into it, I'm sure you probably expected a lot of yardage in the air and on the ground. Did you ever envision a chance for a thousand-yard rushing exclusive season?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I did.
Q. You were recruited by different guys. Is that something they mentioned to you?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Definitely. Coming in with Tubbs being here and Coach Skye was our running back coach at the time. It was a strong recruiting tactic he used. Just to see it happen five years later is a blessing.
MICAH AWE
Q. What's the mood of the defense at this point?
MICAH AWE: Get back to work. They say every week you can't think about last week because it's going to affect you this week. We've got West Virginia this week and that's it.
Q. What do you take from the first half performance? Is that something you build on or hang on until the second half?
MICAH AWE: You always have things to build on after watching tape. I think we did get better at some things last game. Just the dice didn't roll our way, but doesn't mean it can't roll our way this week against West Virginia?
Q. Did you feel there was a change of momentum when Jah’Shawn Johnson was ejected from that game?
MICAH AWE: I mean, Jah’Shawn Johnson, I don't think that was a good call. But doesn't matter what I think. Next guy up, because once he went down, we can't make that excuse and say Jah’Shawn Johnson wasn't in there. No, it had nothing to do with that. We've just got to continue to be consistent.
Q. How much does Coach Harbaugh trying to avoid the penalties when talking tackle at this day and age, is that something that's a weekly or daily conversation?
MICAH AWE: Not really. You look at that film, and Jah’Shawn Johnson had a pretty form tackle. The guy was just the same height as him. That's not a big part of the game. That was just unfortunate. We've just got to improve and learn how to move on and not think about those things.
Q. Was it something that emotionally affected the defensive side too much do you think? How did they handle emotionally that loss on your side?
MICAH AWE: I don't think it was a huge loss. I mean, it was a shock at first, but we've still got the number 12 team out there on the field, so you've just got to move on.
Q. Obviously, you've got a few regular season games left in your career. What do you tell your teammates to help them?
MICAH AWE: The main thing is we want to talk about Xs and Os so much and what the coaches tell us to do. But I'm like we've got to play with passion. These last three games we work literally two-thirds of the year to play not even a third of the year. So these last three games we're going to listen to coach.
We're going to watch our film. But once it gets on the field, we've got to play with passion. Football is not an easy sport. You're going to get banged up and there are a lot of bad things that can happen. So we're going to go out there and be stagnant. You've got to play with passion, and know that this next play might be my last. These next three games might be my last ever playing football. So I'm going to try to bring my passion to the game and hopefully everyone else will.
Q. What kind of challenges does West Virginia pose?
MICAH AWE: The same challenges every other Big 12 team poses to you. They're a good offense. That's why they're in the Big 12 and stuff like that. They're tough too. They're not a bad team. They're a really good team. We can't go out there and lollygag. We have to play team defense and build up on what we've been doing.
Q. Couple weeks ago you said the rush defense was on you. Does it feel like that Oklahoma State game was a good response just in that aspect?
MICAH AWE: I think we did improve in some things like I said, and there are some things that we still have to improve on. Offenses in this Big 12 are always going to make plays on you. It's all about being consistent. That last game told us we have to be more consistent. Just like this next game, we've got to be as consistent as we can be and get the ball back to the offense.
Q. Nine game under your belt. What has Coach Gibbs brought in a positive sense that wasn't here last year?
MICAH AWE: Improvement. No one wants to believe that in the media, I know that. But you watch the film. I've been watching the film. Everyone's been improving. There's been some building blocks that have been laid this year, these first nine games that eventually people will look back this year and be like, okay, I see what he was talking about. But like I said, we've got to go out there on Saturday and play West Virginia, because they're going to be a tough game and we can have fun and show some passion.
Q. He keeps his sense of humor while talking to us. What's he like, Gibbs in the meetings after games like these?
MICAH AWE: Same thing. I mean, when you lose a game the way we did with so many roller coasters, you've got to think, you know, someone's not living right or something like that. Because things just don't go our way sometimes and you're just wondering how did that happen? So that's how he keeps the humor.
Because, you know, this defense between the difference between this defense and last year's defense is there are a whole bunch of guys who want to be good who are getting better every week. I mean, practices are harder than games to me these past couple weeks because I've been really trying to improve myself.
That's all up to Coach Gibbs because he has that business, that next level mindset, if you don't get better, someone else will get better than you. And that's what I'm trying to do.
Q. Over your career, how many times has Jakeem made you look silly and made Oklahoma State look good in practice?
MICAH AWE: He'll probably admit every time we've had a one-on-one, but I've only had like five with him and I think I've tapped him three out of five. So I'm still winning.
But Jakeem is, I'm surprised that NFL scouts aren't going crazy over him. I heard if he goes to the NFL, he'd be like the shortest player to go. Him being short is like the best thing that could ever happen to him. So I don't know what small or short means to people anymore, because for him, that means making plays, and he's been doing this forever. I mean, you can't knock on that dude at all. He's one of the toughest guys ever.
He's a little man, and he has little man syndrome, but it's very, very bad. So he has to go to the doctor or something for that.
Q. Coach, looking back on it now, couple days removed, what do you feel are the two biggest things that separated you guys from Oklahoma State?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think just the fourth and a foot there that we fumbled the snap going in, and then the other interception in the red zone there. Just kind of going back and forth at that point, we stumbled, and they didn't.
Q. Do you think that having the lead going into halftime gave your players some sort of sense of security and they came out differently?
COACH KINGSBURY: I don't think so. I think you've got to give credit to Oklahoma State. That's a team that's come back from some deficits. They've won a bunch of games and that wasn't a new situation to them, and they came back and adjusted and played at a higher level.
Q. The second half it seemed Ian Sadler came on strong. What do you think about where he's at and you kind of developed into a go-to guy on third down and things like that?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think so. Him and Pat have a great rapport, and he seems to get open when Pat starts moving around. But Ian I thought in the Oklahoma game was a little slower, little hampered still. But I think he was full-speed this last week and has a chance to be a very good player for us.
Q. How do you view the top -- you mentioned Oklahoma State making more plays in the second half than you all did. Is there a way to coach to get that started to get over the top?
COACH KINGSBURY: You just have to do it until they get than sensation I guess. It's nothing you can coach out of them, I don't think. We just have to do it. We had a couple opportunities this year to win games late and haven't done it against highly-ranked teams. So it's something we've got to keep working on and find ways to do it at the end.
Q. Your guys on the outside didn't have very many catches last week. Do you think that's more of Oklahoma State's coverage trying to take that away or do you think it's a combination of what we kind of think that was?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, we've got to get better outside, really. They have good secondary. They have good corners. But we took some shots and didn't make plays on footballs, and we have to improve at the outside receiver. It's kind of come back to bite us again.
So that's the only -- over the last three weeks, we're going to see a lot of pressed man coverage on our face and challenge those guys, and those guys got to step up and make plays.
Q. Is Devin okay physically?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yes, sir.
Q. What do you attribute to his lack of skill relative to the second half?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think he's got to grow up. He's got to practice better, be more consistent, same things continue to show up on game day, and he's got to get better. We're depending on him to be a better player, and I think he's got to mature on and off the field.
Q. What did you tell him about those unsportsmanlike kind of things? Did you talk to him about that?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, that's a private conversation and that's been handled.
Q. It's been a couple years now, but what is it that makes Jakeem the player that he is?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think this year is by far the most mature he's been on and off the field, the way he practices and handles himself in the classroom, he's just grown up each year we've been here. He's thee most difficult to tackle in space that I've ever been around. The first guy's never going to make him miss. He's so quick. He's add added the physicality to his game when it comes to blocking the run game.
He's a special talent. Works hard, good kid. I'm really proud of him.
Q. Is there a never-ending chip on his shoulder? Is that consistent?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think so. I think he's always, if you asked him, he's ten-feet tall and that's the way he carries himself and the way he acts around the locker room. He's just a special young man.
Q. The 90-yard plays is that kind of how you drew up?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, exactly. Just threw it out there and let him cut back five times and let him go. He can do that any time he touches the ball, and that's what we try to do is find ways to get him the ball in space.
Q. Do you see him playing on Sundays?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think he'll get an opportunity. There have been some guys before him of similar stature. So I think he's that dynamic; if he continues to work at his craft that he'll definitely have an opportunity.
Q. This week you go up against a West Virginia team that obviously standings struggled, but on the field has been pretty good. What do you attribute that to?
COACH KINGSBURY: They've played very good teams in this stretch. I think the same losses we have are the ones they have against highly-ranked teams. They're a good football team. Very good defensively, senior-laden group there at linebackers. Then offensively I think Dana's doing a good job of adjusting to his personnel, running the ball more. They have a great running back, a quarterback that can run around. It's a very good football team. They just ran up against very good competition as well.
Q. Do you think part of (indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's a game-changer. There is no doubt. They're still very good defensively, but he's a guy you really can't replace because of his talent and he'll be playing on Sundays.
Q. You guys have the second and third highest scoring totals, but you're still losing in games this year. Do you feel like it's the way the defense is playing? I know the turnovers have played a role, but do you feel like you have to coach almost 60 points a game?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, really more than anything I think it's how the league is set up. You look over the history of the last three, four, five years all those elite teams have had those games where you shootout and just get outscored. The offense is very good in how it's set up. So I don't think there is a certain number. I always look at it from the offensive side, should have scored here, should have scored there. The defense on Saturday in the third quarter gave us, I think, three times in a row the ball back to go up 17 and we didn't go do it. So I look at that more than anything else.
Q. The touchdown you guys got, you wanted 0 for 2, but you kind of take the timeout. It looked like you had some numbers coming on. Can you go through that sequence and format?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, there are two schools of thought on it. We thought about kicking it. The amount of time was right on that fringe where you're chasing it or not chasing it, and decided not to. Ended up going for it and getting it.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, yeah, we had kind of changed our mind and decided the way things were going that was our best bet.
Q. Was there any thought about an on-side kick after that?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, not with that much time left. We felt like we could get it back in plenty of time, and as fast as we can go, and we don't need much.
Q. West Virginia's third in the conference in rushing offense. What makes them so prolific on the ground?
COACH KINGSBURY: A great back, very physical offensive line. They've really taken the approach that they're going to run it. They've forced some runs in there. They run the ball on 3rd and 7, 3rd and 8. You can tell that's the mentality this year. It's a physical team that's going to run the ball no matter how many guys you have in the box. They've gotten good at it.
Q. Coach Gibbs said that if he was an offensive coordinator on the other sideline, he'd just line it up and run it against the defense. Is that what you expect from them?
COACH KINGSBURY: I think that's what they've shown this year. We've had struggles against the run. I thought last week our run defense was pretty good. But throughout the year we've definitely struggled in that area.
Q. You guys got off to a quick start last week. Was something changing maybe intangibly that you noticed, or were there things that you took advantage of?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, I think guys just came out and played well from the beginning with the exception of those two games in a row, Kansas and Oklahoma, I think we started fast in all of them. So we just got back to what we do, and came out and executed at a high level early on and didn't wait around.
Q. What kind of challenge is it when you have a first quarter like you did, and try to press upon those guys there are still three quarters of the ballgame left to play?
COACH KINGSBURY: Yeah, it shouldn't be hard. I think more than anything, like we talked about earlier is just getting over that hump of now let's finish. But our guys were into it. They were locked in. In the second half thought they had good energy, we just didn't make the plays we needed to make.
Q. Any special preparations this week because of the extra long trip to West Virginia?
COACH KINGSBURY: No, we'll leave a little earlier, but other than that, that's about it.
Q. Aside from the disappointment of losing those games, are these situations going to pay off down the road? Are you glad to see some of the things from your team?
COACH KINGSBURY: I hate to lose, but I think you have a young quarterback that's seeing a lot of different things and been through a lot. Knowing from experience, that's definitely going to pay off down the road.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: He went to see his father who is not doing well.
Q. What's his status?
COACH KINGSBURY: Obviously a couple times in that game we had miscues on the punt team. But for the most part I think Barnes handled himself well. I think Taylor hopefully will be back this week.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH KINGSBURY: Just continually nagged with him, different parts of that kicking leg.
Q. What are your expectations of him this week?
COACH KINGSBURY: We're going to get him out there today to see. He won't practice the first couple of days this week. But we're going to run him and see how he holds up, and if not this week, I would say definitely for Kansas State.
Q. What's your message to your quarterback? It seems like in games he starts to press a little bit as the defense struggles. What is your message to make sure he doesn't do too much here late in games?
COACH KINGSBURY: You stay within yourself. He's a competitor, and he wants to win it. That comes with growing up in that position. He still hasn't started that many games. He'll grow out of that where he's trying to do it all all the time. But I've been proud of the way he's battled. He's fought in every game until the end, and that's all you can ask.
DAVID GIBBS
Q. (Indiscernible) on your defensive blocker?
COACH GIBBS: I think so. I think so. These kids are resilient, and I say it every week. They played hard. They did it again. I say it every week. For whatever reason they go crazy and didn't finish the game obviously with all those big plays at the end of it, which is embarrassing. It's not acceptable.
It comes back to me. Coach Kingsbury gives me free reign the of the defense, and I can call whatever I want and run whatever I want. Therefore, the product out there on the field is a direct reflection of me, which is not acceptable.
So go back to work this afternoon. We've got three games left to get better. I say it every week. Hopefully at some point we'll learn how to play a complete game. To start that fast offensively and get a turnover early and then not finish it, it makes no sense. But it is what it is. It happened, and we've got to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Q. You only gave up 45 rushing yards in the first half, and 200 in the second half. What was the biggest difference? Was it bringing in them permanently or what was it?
COACH GIBBS: Probably my halftime adjustments that were so great early in the year. No, really, we had a game planned for him. We had a game planned for whoever was playing quarterback, and they did a good job. He hit a couple passes. But that didn't change our -- we had two guys unblocked on his long run. But at the same time you've got to put kids in position to make plays they can make, and obviously they can't make that play, so I can't make that call.
I don't know. The reverses, they called them pass yards, but they were reverses. So made some bad decisions and we've just got to get some guys to keep proper leverage on the football and learn how to finish.
But we did get better up front against normal run games. Obviously, when you play a good football team, they have multiple ways to attack you, and we've got to learn to adjust and fit up those runs also.
Q. If your offense can score 50 points against one of the best defenses in the country, does that have to end in a win?
COACH GIBBS: The truth is I say it every week, and I know you're not here every week, but if we could have stopped them with four minutes to go in the game and given our offense the ball back, I wouldn't feel as bad as I do right now. We're not very good on defense, and we're playing teams that are better than us. But you'd like to think if they score that many points we can win the game.
Q. Going into this week, West Virginia has the third best rushing offense. How do you explain that offense? Do you use the tape of the first half on Saturday or the second half?
COACH GIBBS: That's a good question. Coach Holgorsen is a hard-headed, old-school guy. He will hand that ball off which most of these spread guys will not do. He'll hand the football off on 3rd and 10 which creates a lot of problems for you. We've just got to get better. We've got to improve.
I'm not so sure you even worry about at this point who you're playing against. You better make sure that your guys are aligned properly, playing with the proper footwork, proper technique, doing their job and understanding where they fit within the scheme. So first half, second half, it's 60 minutes of football.
Q. Did you see any progress from this last week?
COACH GIBBS: I did, but you can't say that. I mean, that's not good enough. We've got to get better.
Q. What were the challenges in terms of the two quarterbacks and preparing for different offenses, I guess, when they're running it?
COACH GIBBS: It's a problem, but everybody can do it. We go against Pat every day in practice, and even though you don't see a lot of the quarterback run game in the games, we've been prepared for it just going against spring ball and two-a-days. And I think the kids understand by the call you make and what you're trying to get done. Just didn't execute it.
Obviously made some bad calls at the wrong time, and I continue to say it's my job to make them understand the differences of who is at quarterback and what schemes are coming, and we've got to do a better job.
Q. Is college football getting it right?
COACH GIBBS: I still haven't seen it up close on TV. I've just seen the video. The rules say you can't go to the head. So if the face mask is part of the head, then it's bang-bang play, it's tough. The rule is correct in the sense it's trying to keep everybody healthy. It's a health issue. So he's got to learn to go low. It's hard for a defensive player to make those split-second decisions. But he's got to make a better decision until they change the rule.
Q. Is it harder for the defensive coordinator to now air on the side of going low?
COACH GIBBS: I'm just trying to get him tackling somebody. Hey, if he gets thrown out of the game for tackling a guy, we're just going to have to do it because it's about the only time we can tackle anybody.
Q. How much of a difference was it for you guys defensively once he went out of the game? Was it a big impact?
COACH GIBBS: Not really. I mean, Jah’Shawn Johnson's a good player for us. He's a young guy, getting better every week. He needs every rep he can get. So but it's like everybody tells you, the next guy's got to go. It doesn't matter. They're not going to slow down. They're going to go faster than they did before, and the next guy's got to go out there and play good football. That's why you have to recruit good depth. You have to be two deep everywhere. If you're not, you're going to play defense like we do.
Q. Was fatigue at all a factor?
COACH GIBBS: I don't think so. In some games I felt like it was this season, but against them I didn't feel it was. I just, I don't see the mental toughness when the game's on the line. No matter what happens throughout the course of the game you've got a chance to go stop them and give your offense the ball back to win the game and we give up an 80-yard bomb which is not acceptable. So, no excuses.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH GIBBS: I don't know. You got any ideas? Come help me. It's an everyday process. This defense does not get built overnight, and I would love to do nothing more than to go out there and play great defense. Just right now, it's not happening.
Q. Would you like to see the young guy make the big play?
COACH GIBBS: Yeah, good for him. He about blew his knee out when he stumbled. Nobody tackled the guy. I told him to act like an athlete, please. He's getting better every week. It's just not showing on Saturdays.
Q. How do you keep your guys from feeling defeated from a performance on Saturday?
COACH GIBBS: You go back to work. You have three games left with a chance to go to a Bowl game, a chance to win eight football games, which, you know, you've got to go to work. If we don't go to Morgantown and play better defense, we can get embarrassed again.
So we've got another challenge. I think our kids will respond. I don't see them quitting, which is a good thing. I'd like to see them play better and not quit, but we'll get back to work this afternoon.
Q. That long touchdown pass to end the game, was Tevin supposed to have safety help over the top?
COACH GIBBS: No, he's by himself. He's by himself.
Q. You've only had a year of going against them in practice. But from what you've seen, what makes Jakeem the player he is?
COACH GIBBS: His start-stop ability, which you always hear Kliff talk about is phenomenal. He's amazing. Just if he was six-feet tall he'd be a first-round draft pick.
Q. Earlier this season you said that the biggest improvements what you see from Game 1 to Game 2. Can you look forward to next season and say the biggest improvement in the squad overall is going to be from season one to season two?
COACH GIBBS: That would be the chicken thing to say, yeah. We better go play good this Saturday. If we don't, there might not be a game friggin' 10. Now on a positive note, my son got a pick six last night in his Pee Wee football game. And they won on a Hail Mary. You have a good day.
ERIC MORRIS
Q. What did you think about you guys scored almost 40 in the first half and then 15 in the second half. What was the biggest difference for you in the second half?
COACH MORRIS: The biggest thing was the two turnovers. You're not going to score in this league. That's a good defense. You're not going to score every time you touch the ball. So we had a couple bad drives there in a row when the defense stopped them, which we're remarkably bad about playing together on this team.
We had a couple opportunities. I think it was 31-14, and we had a chance to get it back. Then when they gave it to us, we could have gone up a couple scores there to start the half and didn't execute and didn't complete the balls or get the run game going like we needed to. But I was proud that we responded there in the fourth quarter. Put together some good drives and responded.
The two biggest plays is the fourth down fumble and the interception in the red zone offensively speaking.
Q. What have you thought about Ian last week? Has he developed into a go-to guy for you guys do you think?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, no doubt. He was a lot faster this week. You could tell on film he's finally getting back to himself and playing fast. And Pat's looking for him and hit him on some seam balls and ran some great out routes and some options underneath. But he's a kid if he stays healthy. It hurt us when he went down there for three games, but got to keep him healthy. I'll probably watch how much I play him to limit the number of hits that he's getting. He played every play of that game until he got nicked up a little bit there at the end.
But he's a guy we've got to get the ball to. Got to find ways to get him the ball, and 11 the ball and 21 the ball.
Q. Do you think you made adjustments at halftime that caused them to be a little less efficient?
COACH MORRIS: Not at all. They played the same defense. They caught us in a blitz one time on a run play early in the second half, but they ran that same blitz and we ran the run play the other way in the first half, and it was a big game. So, no, they didn't come out and change what they were doing schematically.
Q. Coach, what are the inconsistencies as you've put it a couple times aside, what makes Jakeem such a special player?
COACH MORRIS: I wouldn't say he has many inconsistencies right now. I mean, he's really stepped up. He's playing a lot tougher. I think he had five knockdowns in that game which nobody sees. He's cutting people down the field and getting people on the ground. It's hard for a guy of his stature to take those hits on kickoff, take the hits carrying the football, and then to get up every play and block his butt off for his teammates.
So he's being a great teammate. He's leading us. He's really dynamic. He might be the hardest player in the country to tackle in open field. He's fun to watch, and we need some guys to keep feeding off him and find ways to get him the ball.
Q. (Indiscernible) Saturday had 12 catches against Oklahoma State last year. Is that a coincidence, or is there something about the defense?
COACH MORRIS: No, they pressed our outside guys and tried to take them away. Tried to take a few shots and didn't like it. So they play them with linebackers, so they keep their linebackers in the game. Some of these teams put extra DB in and play some different coverages against him. But when you get him matched up on linebackers, that's something we'll try to attack that part of the field.
Q. Speaking of, where are things with your outside receivers right now thinking about reps going forward?
COACH MORRIS: Someone's got to step up and make plays. We'll move Giles out on certain formations to see he's got great ball skills and jumping ability to go track the football. You'll see him a little bit on the outside this week, not full-time moving, just kind of move some guys around a little bit.
We need some length. We're missing Dylan with that 6'4" body. When you do get that coverage, that you can throw it up and they have the ability to jump up and go get it. So we've got some shorter guys out there right now. So we've got to start winning on these posts and vertical balls.
Q. You've had the second or third highest point totals on offense this season all resulting in a loss. You guys have to get close to 60 points to be able to pull out a win.
COACH MORRIS: No, we expect, we're pretty dynamic on offense, and we play fast, and we've done some really good things at times this year. So, but you know, easily we could have scored 70 points that game. We don't worry about what the other side of the ball is doing. We try to control our job every single play and that is to be efficient and to play fast and get first downs and turn them into touchdowns. So just like any other team in the nation, you're not going to score every time you touch it. You're going to punt every once in a while. So that to me is even going back and watching it wasn't that big of a deal. The big deal were the turnovers in key situations when we had chances to do it.
Then again, proud of the kids. The first time I thought that they fought back. We cut it to three there at the end and kept clawing back and didn't give up. So it was good to see some of those kids staying there and fighting.
Q. You guys played against TCU and Oklahoma State offensively. Is that encouraging to these guys that they know when they're relatively mistake free, they can play with anybody in the conference?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, no doubt. Those are two really good teams. But we've got to start pulling some of these out in the end. It doesn't make it any much better or easier to come in here on Sundays and look at it when you're not winning those games. You still have a terrible feeling in your gut when you walk in here. It doesn't matter because you say, yeah, he scored 53, that doesn't matter. We should have scored 73. We had the opportunities to do it.
So we've got to keep growing, eliminating mistakes. I think Pat's getting better and better each week. He's learning from some of these things. He's in his tenth or 12th game right now. So, yeah, I think once we've got to do it one time. We've got to pull it out and be victorious at the end of it. And then we can get things rolling, I think.
Q. What is your reaction on the sideline when you see him go down for a cut block on that? Not cut block, but knockdown on that Jakeem run?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, that's who he is as a player. You're not going to take that competitiveness out of him. Same thing against Arkansas. You tell him not to do it. But he's just being a football player and that's one of his friends. We do everything together around here. So he's trying to help his buddy out. You don't obviously draw it up that way where he's going to do that. Jakeem made about five people miss and cut it across field. So he saw it, and he reacted like any other good football team or good football player and teammate would.
Q. With the injury at safety, what is now the strength of this West Virginia defense? What are you concerned about?
COACH MORRIS: I think they're the most physical team I've seen on tape up to date. They run and hit. Their linebackers are incredible. They trigger. They're fast. They make good hits. They make plays in space. Their defensive line, they've got a nose guard that's played a ton of football for them. That's going to be tough to block in there.
Castro has his hands full. I think they do a good job on the outside at corner too. They make a lot of plays out there. So we'll have our hands cut out for us. They're a tough football team. They're well-coached and they like to hit people.
So we've got to be prepared to step in there at their house. They play really well at home, and we've got to fight with them.
Q. How do you think their secondary as carried on with the loss of Karl?
COACH MORRIS: He's an irreplaceable player. He was probably the best defensive back in our league. He brings so much to the table. He's all over the place. He's a ball hawk. He'll hit you and he'll intercept it. Great coverage skills. He's one of those guys that's really special and the guys that get paid a lot of money for doing it on Sundays. He has that kind of ability. But their next guy is a good football player. Karl Joseph, is that his name? Joseph, yeah, he's irreplaceable.
Q. What happened with the zone reception? What has Oklahoma State changed?
COACH MORRIS: Nothing. That's a play that's in our day-one install. He made a bad read and didn't see the corner fall off on it, so, nothing at all.
Q. Did he expect the corner to do more?
COACH MORRIS: I guess he didn't see him. He was pressed and then he fell off of him. So I guess presnap he thought he was going to run with the crosser. But just, I mean, that's a mistake that he's got to fix and get to his next read, and his next read is wide open in the middle of the field. So that stuff's going to happen, but there was nothing that was a bad sequence or anything.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH MORRIS: Zach Austin, yeah, Zach Austin.
Q. Given the familiarity between Coach Holgorsen and Kliff and you and the guys on staff (Indiscernible)? Is this a week offensively where you're more cognizant of trying to play away from tendencies and if so, would you tell us that?
COACH MORRIS: I don't think so. Dana's done a great job wherever he's been, and he's kind of molded different every stop he's been. He's a little different at Houston than here, and a little different at Oklahoma State than Houston. He's continued to evolve. He likes to run the ball a little bit more up there.
If you watch it on tape, he'll know what we're trying to accomplish, and I'm sure he'll watch film with the defense and trying to tell them what we're trying to get to and what spaces we're trying to hit.
But, no, I mean, we're going to play fast. It's hard for people to communicate specific things against us based on formation and wide receiver splits because we get to them so fast and the ball is snapped. So they're a great defense that flies around. They play three down, so that helps them a little bit being able to coverage and drop eight and bring zero blitzes and put some pressure on you.
So, I'm sure he'll talk to them about different stuff we want to do. But, no, they've changed a little bit, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal.
Q. As Pat continues to grow and the defense has struggled late in games, what is your best way to make sure he doesn't try on do too much?
COACH MORRIS: Yeah, I don't think you say anything to him. You can point to about 15 -- I mean, he made one or two bad reads, but you can point to 15 plays that if we don't have him back there, we're in some deep bad situations.
He's a gamer. He makes great plays with his legs. He still sees the field when he's moving around. So, I think you continue to let it be him and let him watch the film and learn from these mistakes that he's making.
He's done a great job all year of correcting stuff. His pocket presence was a lot better. He was square in the pocket this week which Coach Kingsbury I know harped on big last week and has dropped some things. So I think he made some big-time NFL throws.
The third down comeback he throws to Reginald Davis is remarkable. So he's doing some great things, continues to get better. So just let him continue to get better each week but not take away from the good things that he does do.
DEANDRE WASHINGTON
Q. DeAndre, are you seeing different things from your teammates as far as the response to adversity from a year ago?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah, teams night and day, just the whole overall morale of the team. But it's different from last year.
Q. Is there part of you that looks at this last month that says you want to leave this in a better place here before your playing days here are done?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Definitely. With it being the last year, you definitely would like to go out on a high note. We definitely got the opportunity to do that in these next two games.
Q. When you see a guy like Jakeem making the plays that he does, does it take a burden off your back knowing that you don't have to try to carry the team?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: He's been making those plays since he's been here. It's not really surprising to me. I've seen him make those type of plays on a year-in and day-in basis. I wouldn't say it's taking the burden off me, but it's good to see him making those plays.
Q. The chip on his shoulder that he plays with, has that been contagious the last four years?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Jakeem? Yeah, he's a smart guy. He hears it a lot about what he can't do and what he's not supposed to be able to do. He continues to turn heads. Me being a smaller guy myself, it's kind of motivating and also exciting to see him go out there and making those plays. It definitely goes down to the rest of our team.
Q. What's tough?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's a rowdy environment. They're going to let you hear it all. They won't hold back. But it's a fun place to be. It's a good away venue, but it's a tough environment.
Q. Have you come out with the same, what Coach Kingsbury said, after you lose (Indiscernible) or lack there of? It's technically 12, but 11 our time. How do you keep your team in that as well?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I think we did a good job of starting fast this week. Just didn't finish how we'd like to finish. But definitely got to start fast with it being the early game and on the road.
Q. Does it help that you guys have been there and had success and you came out victorious?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's definitely something to keep in your back pocket. But it's a totally different year, totally different team. So, not really.
Q. You guys have played elite teams in the Big 12. You're all done with them now. What's it going to take to get over the hump and win those games in the future?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: In the future? Oh, Coach Kingsbury, he has a great plan. But really it's a week-in, week-out basis. You can't look so much at looking at the whole season. You have to take it a day at a time and play the process. Everything else will take care of itself.
Q. What is the mood of the team now after you led the number 12 team in the country at 10 points at halftime and then didn't pull it through in the second half? How does the team feel?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It was tough. Going into that locker room after the game was over. But like I said, we have an opportunity this week to make amends and finish the season off on a high note.
Q. Are these the most physical linebackers that you've played against all year?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: West Virginia?
Q. Yes.
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: They definitely have some good linebackers. I think it would be tough to say they're the most physical.
Q. Is there a Big 12 linebacker you meet in the hallway and say this guy's not that big? Does that ever happen?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: No.
Q. Most of them are lifting weights, I guess?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah.
Q. (Indiscernible) Oklahoma-Oklahoma State kind of separate themselves and just the top 5. Which of those teams do you feel like is the best?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I mean, they're all pretty good. They all bring a little something different. So it will be interesting to see how it winds up in the end.
Q. On the verge of becoming the first running back to have back-to-back thousand yard seasons in almost 20 years. What are your thoughts on the impact you've left on this program, and particularly coming back from the injury you've had?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It's been fun. Man, it's definitely been a journey from freshman year coming in here, getting hurt. Coming back from the injury. So at this point now just trying to set the bar as high as I can for the young guys so they can definitely come in and try to break my record. I mean, some day. It's been fun. I've enjoyed it. I look forward to going out on a high note.
Q. Coming into it, I'm sure you probably expected a lot of yardage in the air and on the ground. Did you ever envision a chance for a thousand-yard rushing exclusive season?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I did.
Q. You were recruited by different guys. Is that something they mentioned to you?
DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Definitely. Coming in with Tubbs being here and Coach Skye was our running back coach at the time. It was a strong recruiting tactic he used. Just to see it happen five years later is a blessing.
MICAH AWE
Q. What's the mood of the defense at this point?
MICAH AWE: Get back to work. They say every week you can't think about last week because it's going to affect you this week. We've got West Virginia this week and that's it.
Q. What do you take from the first half performance? Is that something you build on or hang on until the second half?
MICAH AWE: You always have things to build on after watching tape. I think we did get better at some things last game. Just the dice didn't roll our way, but doesn't mean it can't roll our way this week against West Virginia?
Q. Did you feel there was a change of momentum when Jah’Shawn Johnson was ejected from that game?
MICAH AWE: I mean, Jah’Shawn Johnson, I don't think that was a good call. But doesn't matter what I think. Next guy up, because once he went down, we can't make that excuse and say Jah’Shawn Johnson wasn't in there. No, it had nothing to do with that. We've just got to continue to be consistent.
Q. How much does Coach Harbaugh trying to avoid the penalties when talking tackle at this day and age, is that something that's a weekly or daily conversation?
MICAH AWE: Not really. You look at that film, and Jah’Shawn Johnson had a pretty form tackle. The guy was just the same height as him. That's not a big part of the game. That was just unfortunate. We've just got to improve and learn how to move on and not think about those things.
Q. Was it something that emotionally affected the defensive side too much do you think? How did they handle emotionally that loss on your side?
MICAH AWE: I don't think it was a huge loss. I mean, it was a shock at first, but we've still got the number 12 team out there on the field, so you've just got to move on.
Q. Obviously, you've got a few regular season games left in your career. What do you tell your teammates to help them?
MICAH AWE: The main thing is we want to talk about Xs and Os so much and what the coaches tell us to do. But I'm like we've got to play with passion. These last three games we work literally two-thirds of the year to play not even a third of the year. So these last three games we're going to listen to coach.
We're going to watch our film. But once it gets on the field, we've got to play with passion. Football is not an easy sport. You're going to get banged up and there are a lot of bad things that can happen. So we're going to go out there and be stagnant. You've got to play with passion, and know that this next play might be my last. These next three games might be my last ever playing football. So I'm going to try to bring my passion to the game and hopefully everyone else will.
Q. What kind of challenges does West Virginia pose?
MICAH AWE: The same challenges every other Big 12 team poses to you. They're a good offense. That's why they're in the Big 12 and stuff like that. They're tough too. They're not a bad team. They're a really good team. We can't go out there and lollygag. We have to play team defense and build up on what we've been doing.
Q. Couple weeks ago you said the rush defense was on you. Does it feel like that Oklahoma State game was a good response just in that aspect?
MICAH AWE: I think we did improve in some things like I said, and there are some things that we still have to improve on. Offenses in this Big 12 are always going to make plays on you. It's all about being consistent. That last game told us we have to be more consistent. Just like this next game, we've got to be as consistent as we can be and get the ball back to the offense.
Q. Nine game under your belt. What has Coach Gibbs brought in a positive sense that wasn't here last year?
MICAH AWE: Improvement. No one wants to believe that in the media, I know that. But you watch the film. I've been watching the film. Everyone's been improving. There's been some building blocks that have been laid this year, these first nine games that eventually people will look back this year and be like, okay, I see what he was talking about. But like I said, we've got to go out there on Saturday and play West Virginia, because they're going to be a tough game and we can have fun and show some passion.
Q. He keeps his sense of humor while talking to us. What's he like, Gibbs in the meetings after games like these?
MICAH AWE: Same thing. I mean, when you lose a game the way we did with so many roller coasters, you've got to think, you know, someone's not living right or something like that. Because things just don't go our way sometimes and you're just wondering how did that happen? So that's how he keeps the humor.
Because, you know, this defense between the difference between this defense and last year's defense is there are a whole bunch of guys who want to be good who are getting better every week. I mean, practices are harder than games to me these past couple weeks because I've been really trying to improve myself.
That's all up to Coach Gibbs because he has that business, that next level mindset, if you don't get better, someone else will get better than you. And that's what I'm trying to do.
Q. Over your career, how many times has Jakeem made you look silly and made Oklahoma State look good in practice?
MICAH AWE: He'll probably admit every time we've had a one-on-one, but I've only had like five with him and I think I've tapped him three out of five. So I'm still winning.
But Jakeem is, I'm surprised that NFL scouts aren't going crazy over him. I heard if he goes to the NFL, he'd be like the shortest player to go. Him being short is like the best thing that could ever happen to him. So I don't know what small or short means to people anymore, because for him, that means making plays, and he's been doing this forever. I mean, you can't knock on that dude at all. He's one of the toughest guys ever.
He's a little man, and he has little man syndrome, but it's very, very bad. So he has to go to the doctor or something for that.
