Postgame Quotes - Rutgers vs. Washington

RUTGERS HEAD COACH CHRIS ASH
COACH ASH: Really disappointed. Happy about the fight and the toughness and the improvement that a lot of guys made. A number of players played their first college football game tonight on national television.

Did a lot of good things. Made some mistakes ask and some critical errors, or in critical situations that cost us but we'll keep moving forward. Keep getting better.

But I like the direction that we're going. You know, if we can keep this team healthy, keep getting better, there will be a lot of fun football games to watch on Saturday nights here, or Saturday afternoons here at this stadium with our football team.

With that, I'll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. You said a couple times in the off-season, that the team has much improved, the overall competitiveness compared to last year. What do you think that says --
COACH ASH: You tell me. What did you see?

Q. Saw a more competitive football game.
COACH ASH: That's it.

Q. You spend a lot of time on special teams, fielding punts, disappointing from your standpoint --
COACH ASH: From fielding punts?

Q. Yeah, covering punts.
COACH ASH: Fielding punts we were fine. Covering punts, we wanted the punt to go out of bounds. Didn't go out of bounds. Simple as that. We didn't execute what we wanted to get done.

Q. Did Anderson outkick the coverage?
COACH ASH: We don't want it to go 60 yards. That's not what we want on our punt team but we also wanted the ball to go out of bounds. So two negatives and one play, went too far and didn't go out of bounds. It was his first game. He'll get better. He's a very mature kid and cares a lot.

But his first game on a stage like this; he understands what we want. Just on that particular play, you know, went too far, and didn't go where we wanted to go but still got to get the guy down. We didn't get that done.

Q. What did you think of Kyle's performance tonight?
COACH ASH: Did some good things -- until we watch the film. He had some pretty good poise back there. Probably put the ball in harm's way twice for the two interceptions that were costly turnovers. I thought our ball security offensively with the running backs was outstanding but we made two costly mistakes with the ball. We threw it with two interceptions.

I thought he managed the game well. There were some times when we weren't in the right formations and he got the formations right. There's a couple times he checked plays against different looks that they were giving us. He got us in and out of the right plays. I thought he had pretty good poise.

You know, he executed the game plan. Other than the two plays where he made a poor decision, but he executed to the game plan. He worked the clock to shorten the game the way we wanted to tonight. Didn't panic as the time was going down. A lot of good things to build off of, but you know, when you're playing a team like this, you can't make those mistakes and put the ball in harm's way because they will make you play.

Q. The decision on fourth and one in the third quarter, from the Washington 44?
COACH ASH: In terms of --

Q. Why punt there?
COACH ASH: Field position. As simple as that. If we go for it on fourth down, we don't make it, you guys are asking me: Why the hell did you go for it. We punt it. We played the field position, which we wanted to try to do. Didn't quite get the punt that we wanted to flip the field quite like we wanted but that was the theory behind that decision, was try to play field position in a tight ballgame.

Q. You said you guys wanted to shorten the game obviously. Should you have gone a little faster on offense late in the first half?
COACH ASH: No, not at all.

Q. Seems like you were --
COACH ASH: No, we were good. Yeah, exactly what we wanted to do.

Q. Your decision for Kemoko Turay, he didn't come in until second quarter. What was the reasoning behind that?
COACH ASH: He missed most of training camp. The kid, he missed several weeks of practice, you know, in training camp. He wasn't ready to go out and start the game.

You know, Elorm had done a great job in training camp. Got all the reps. Did a great job. He played exceptionally well, too, tonight.

Q. Defensive line overall, how did you feel that they performed -- obviously before you've seen the film.
COACH ASH: We wore out in the second half. Hurt our pass rush. I thought we were doing a great job earlier in the game. We were stopping a hundred, ten or 15 yards rushing at half-time and I thought we were putting good pressure on the quarterback in the first half but we wore out in the second half. That's a concern. You know, we really knew we were going to struggle at times with some pass rush, and we got tired and that showed up.

Q. Overall, this was a 48-3 game in the third quarter last year against the same team. Is there a feeling that you're looking at a team that's much-improved? Do you feel that way?
COACH ASH: Yeah, I've got to watch the film. I mean, again, we were in a really good ballgame. Last year, you watch that game, and you would have said, there was a lot of physical mismatches across the board. I don't feel that way right now.

I feel like we just didn't execute in some critical situations on some key plays that cost us that football game. Until we learn how not to do that, you know, we won't come out on the winning end.

I feel like we're bigger, we're stronger, we're more athletic and we've got the ability to go toe-to-toe with good football teams but again, to beat them, we're going to have to play better football.

Q. The passes -- maintaining your offensive --
COACH ASH: Yeah, I thought Gus played an outstanding football game tonight. I thought he and Ron Martin both did. I thought we ran the ball pretty well at times. A couple times we had some negative yardage plays but it wasn't them. We kind of shorted some things up on the offensive line in some critical situations but I thought in terms of rushing the football it tonight, Gus and Rob both ran hard. They protected the football exceptionally well. I thought they blocked well, so very pleased with what the running backs did tonight.

Blackshear got in and got a few reps. Really nice to see a freshman get a first down opportunity to play in a big-time game like this and he had a couple productive plays. I feel really good about our running back position overall. You know, they will keep getting better.

Q. That first drive kind of set the tone for the first half. How much of that 11 plays is scripted beforehand and Kyle's touchdown pass there, kind of threading the needle there, those two things? How much of that is scripted and what did you think of Kyle's touchdown pass there?
COACH ASH: You know, most teams always script their opening plays, their opening drives. We're no different.

You know, situations come up within a drive that may cause you to get off-script or think twice about what you had scripted. But I thought Jerry called a great game. You know, put ourselves in position to, again, shorten the game, move the sticks. We scored some points. If we take care of a couple other things here and there, we're in a tight ballgame with a chance to potentially tie or win the game. It is what it is right now, but you know, to answer your question, yeah, a lot of the opening drive is scripted.

Rutgers Player Quotes
Rutgers Wide Receiver Damon Mitchell
On the momentum the first offensive drive provided for the rest of the half: "We were doing everything we thought we could do. We made plays we needed to make. We just executed cleanly and everything we called was going our way. The momentum and the crowd showed that. I think that definitely got us off to a good start."
 
On the offense's performance against Washington's defense: "It's definitely a good feeling to be out there, but definitely a bad feeling to lose. I felt like competing against a top-10 ranked opponent in the country for the first week to kick off the year does a lot for us as an offense and a football team. We have some work to do and we made some mistakes and didn't have a perfect game, but we definitely will get back to the drawing board so that the mistakes won't happen again."
 
On Washington's punt return for a touchdown: "We have a good punter and he booted it pretty far, so that was a long kick to cover. We tried what we were told to do and what our responsibilities were, but we didn't stay in our coverage lanes and it resulted in a touchdown."

Rutgers Quarterback Kyle Bolin
On the play of the offense: "I'm very pleased with how the offense played. Washington is a great team. They have a great defense, but we were able to move the ball the majority of the night. We just have to watch film and correct the mental errors and mistakes that we make. I'm really excited to see where this team can go in the upcoming weeks."

On what went right during the first drive: "I think everyone was cool, calm and collected. Going out there, we knew we were on a big stage and a lot of people didn't believe we could beat the team or hang with them, at least. Us just being able to go out there, do what we were coached to do and execute at a high level really showed how we drove down the football field and put it in the end zone."

On his touchdown pass to Janarion Grant: "It's a tough pass. Sometimes playing quarterback, you have to make those passes, and luckily, you were able to beat the defender with the ball. Janarion ran a great rout and made a great catch to put points on the board."

Rutgers Running Back Gus Edwards
On how he complemented Robert Martin in the run game: "We try to keep each other going out there. We make it about the team. When we're tired, one of us will come out for the other one to do a better job."

Rutgers Defensive End Darnell Davis
On his sack: "My teammate, Kevin Wilkins, came off the edge. He went in, the tackle slipped down and it gave me a free rush. Kevin was a part of that and I had a free rush. I had to go lay the wood on him. I tried to hit him as hard as I can. We didn't come up with the fumble, but it was a good play for third down.

"It's tunnel vision. When you see that key, you have to go get it. There was an opportunity and I took it. I had to."

On how the defense line performed: "We can keep up with any team in this country, we just can't beat ourselves. When we go out there, we put our pants on just like they do. I feel like we had a good game along the d-line. But there's team success, unit success and individual success. I think the d-line played well, but we just have to keep working and perfect our mistakes."

Rutgers Defensive Back Blessuan Austin
On how they matched up physically with Washington: "There were no physical mismatches at all. It was just great scheme. We just came up short."

On what the defense takes out of the game: "We can't beat ourselves. When a team adjusts to what you're doing, you have to be that much more disciplined and not make mistakes."

On the overall play of the defense: "I think we played outstanding until the later part of the game. But for the most part, I think we played outstanding. We had great effort and were disciplined playing our gaps and playing man coverage, I think we played great."

Washington Head Coach Chris Petersen
Opening Statement: "It was really good to go play because you could go see what you really need to sure up. We need to sure up, certainly on offense, our run game. I thought Rutgers did a nice job. They played more physical than we did, was my initial impression. I have to put the tape on to really see what happened. They held the ball from us. I think they had it 38 minutes, we had it 22, so you better make your possessions count. I'm proudest of our new guys. I'm proud of (punter) Joel Whitford for pinning guys back deep. He's dangerous. He does that in practice all the time. I'm proud of Tristan (Vizcaino), making those field goals his first time, when it really mattered. Obviously, Dante (Pettis), our special teams and those guys. It was good." 

On Dante Pettis Opening The Season With a Punt Return Touchdown: "He's got new tricks. He tries to fumble and then he picks it up and goes. We didn't know much about the punter because we haven't seen, but heard he's got a big leg. We watched him in warmups and he had a big leg. Sometimes those guys can outkick their coverage. We like that. You give Dante (Pettis) space and let jammers do a good job of slowing those gunners down. He's usually going to make something happen.

On The Opening Game: "It just seem like the guys were playing too tight. There will be a lot of improvement from game one to game two. There are just enough new guys out there who haven't been in primetime. They care a lot and sometimes you can care too much."

On Special Teams: "We made those field goals and Dante (Pettis) got us back in the game. We needed a spark somehow. Even Joel (Whitford),that field position was big. It's hard to drive the ball that far. They got themselves out a hole a couple of times." 

On Punter Joel Whitford and Byron Murphy: "We worked some different gunners in there and they are all pretty good. Joel, give him a chance, he's got a pretty unique kick where he can place the ball. It will usually check up and not roll into the endzone. He's really, really good. We actually prefer a little different style when kicking into redzone than what he does, but it just proves he's so consistent with that. If it's not broke, then don't fix it."

On Dante Pettis Being a Spark:  "He's a good player. We've got to keep finding ways to give him the ball and give him space. He's deceiving. He's deceivingly faster than people think he is. He's super acrobatic. He's got really good hands."

On What He Was Pleased With: "I was pleased with the special teams. I was happy just getting the guys out there that haven't played a whole lot. I think they'll calm way down. Bryon Murphy did a nice job. I thought Jordan Miller did a nice job on the other side. He really hasn't been in there in primetime as well. There's a lot of little things. Our headsets were buzzing the whole time with this little thing and that little thing. I thought our tackling was average. We just haven't tackled a whole bunch live."

On the run game: "I thought we had some tempo going when we had the chance. It was average at best. We expected more than that."

On What The Team Needs to Work On: "We won. That's what we're here for. We got that done. But I do think that it's a little bit of a wake-up call. It's not last year's team. It's a whole new team. A couple of new guys can change everything. We'll get better."   

On Byron Murphy: "He's got great ball skills. The guy can catch. He's an instinctual player. He kind of came of nowhere and undercut guys. I'm anxious to put the tape on. It's not surprising when he snags that ball like he does. He has a knack for that."

On the Feeling After First Few Series: "I think they were fine. I don't think they were panicked. We talked about 'just keep playing the game'. Sometimes these first games don't go like you think. You've got a plan and at the end of the game the plan is to win the game. I didn't feel like anyone panicked or anything like that. But I could sense toward the end of the game that they know we've got a ways to go."

Washington Players

#8 WR Dennis Pettis
On the game:  "We knew it would be a hard fight. They aren't the same team as last year and we knew that."

On his third straight opening game with a punt return score for a touchdown and the emotions of the opener:  "Coach (Petersen) always says there are three things that always show up on opening day and its tackling, turnovers, and special teams. I just like to take advantage of that."

On his punt return for a score: "He kicked it like 60 yards or something and I took a step back and misjudged it a little. I didn't panic much, picked it up and looked straight and the guys did a great job clearing everyone out."

On the importance of that score at the time of the game: "I think it gave a little swing to the game and gave us some momentum."

#3 QB Jake Browning
On Rutgers: "They brought a couple more overload pressures then we originally expected but you don't know what to expect with day one in the season. You have a whole year to try out different things."

On how the matchups played out: "I think the matchups played out well. My guys were able to get open and I was able to find them well. Myles (Gaskin) had great hands with the play in the corner of the end zone."

#7 LB Keishawn Bierria
On how the game overall: "I think we came out here and did well. The goal is always to come out and get a win and for our first game we definitely got the job done."

On Rutgers early lead and the team's resulting mentality: "As a team we wanted some adversity early in the game and by them scoring in the first half that just shows us who we are. We never look at each other like our back is against the wall and start panicking. Instead, everybody got together and realized it was time to focus up and start making plays. And that's exactly what we did as a team."

On the importance of special teams: "With special teams we have to be dominant. I feel like we went out there and set the tone with our special teams."

On rotating a ton on defense between positions: "Well, it keeps a lot of us fresh. Especially on the defensive line. That is something we have been doing every year, to build up guys so they can rotate well. Same with the linebackers, it's a long season and if I'm taking 80-90 snaps, I'm going to get worn down by game five. Having the ability to interchange and have different guys come in is great, a plus for our team and an advantage we have."

On Bryron Murphy's night: "It was phenomenal. Two picks? He's the MVP. That's we want from him. We know he's a guy who can go out there and make plays like that and he did exactly that."

On noticing a change of tempo between the team entering halftime after Rutgers kept the game close: "Absolutely, after halftime we calmed down and got our footing. We have a lot of gears. I have seen our guys go faster and play harder even myself but being away for the first road game is a lot mentally and to go to a new stadium is a lot but I think we turned it on after we became comfortable after halftime."

#22 RB Lavon Coleman
On sharing snaps with Myles Gaskin: "I think it went well with the play calling. We have really good play calling and at different moments with different defenses, we know who to play."

On how did the tempo helped in the second half: "Yeah, it was good. Rhythm is a big thing for offense and especially for the running game. It is a good thing to go fast so the defense is on their heels and you can control the tempo. So I think tempo is a really good thing for us."

On the feelings on the sideline after the first few drives: "It was really to settle down and understand we are a good team and we can execute by playing at our own standard. Understanding it's the first game and mistakes will happen."