Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. San Diego State – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2003
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Ohio State Post Game Quotes
Will Allen, senior strong safety
On his first-quarter interception
“I think the interception was definitely a big spark for our team. It really gave our team a lift early on.”
On San Diego State’s performance
“We knew they would be ready to play. They have a bunch of players who are very hungry and they wanted to show what they could do against the national champions.”
Brandon Mitchell, freshman free safety
On SDSU’s spread offense
“We knew we had to pick up the tempo early on. Their offense was very effective and I think they did a great job against us today. Our defense did a great job swarming to the ball.”
On the upcoming game vs. North Carolina State
“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us. N.C. State is a good team. They have a lot of players who can make big plays. We have to be ready for whatever they bring to the table.”
Bobby Carpenter, sophomore linebacker
On San Diego State’s speed
“They have a lot of speed. I think they surprised us at times. They really did a good job flying to the ball.”
San Diego State Post Game Quotes
Tom Craft, San Diego State head coach
On the Ohio State game
“We are obviously very proud of the way we played today. We had a chance to grow as a team and get a lot of new guys in on offense. It was a courageous performance on our part to take Ohio State to 16-13. We have come a long way in our second year.
“We thought we could play good defense. We felt that we were quicker than Washington when we watched them on film. We thought we could match up with Ohio State and commit more people to the line of scrimmage. But on offense today was (quarterback Matt) Dlugolecki’s first start and we were starting a freshman at running back. Ohio State’s defense makes things happen. They controlled the game.”
On Ohio State’s Chris Gamble’s deflection and Will Allen’s interception 100-yard return for a touchdown in the first quarter
“What a great athlete Chris Gamble is. When you go back to that play, that’s the game. I thought it was the critical play of the game.”
On SDSU’s strengths
“Not only our defense, but our special teams have enough depth to be very good. We rolled the dice sometimes with a three-man front, which we felt made it tough on (Ohio State quarterback Craig) Krenzel’s read progression. Our defense played outstanding and we felt if we were going to have a chance against Ohio State it was going to be because of our defense.”
On SDSU’s game plan
“We had the philosophy we were going to sell out and just keep coming. Basically, we committed more players to the line of scrimmage. A lot of Ohio State’s plays are slow developing and we thought we could beat them to the punch.
“One of the key things we wanted to do was take the crowd out of the game, and we wanted to do that with our defense. When they want to rev up and get behind them, it’s really tough. When you come into this environment, with their defense – their experience was the difference. They are an awfully good team. They had a few mismatches with their defense on our offense.”
Jeff Shoate, senior SDSU defensive back
On SDSU’s defensive game plan
“Something we talked about all week was that we had enough speed to lock up their receivers and that was our main goal in practice.”
On his strategy for stopping OSU’s split end Michael Jenkins
“Mostly just press (Ohio State split end Michael Jenkins) off the line. He is a big receiver and I felt I had enough quickness to get a hold on him. So, I just stayed in his face all day.”
Jeff Webb, sophomore wide receiver
On SDSU’s performance
“I wasn’t really happy about how I played, but I was happy about how we played as a team. I think we can do much better. Ohio State is the national champions and we played our hearts out, but I give it all to Ohio State.”
On what hurt San Diego State
“A couple of penalties hurt the team. Also, some of the decisions from the line hurt the team. The Ohio State fans are so overwhelming, they make it hard to play the game.”
On his near interception in the fourth quarter
“I was open a slight second and the (Ohio State) quarterback threw it at the wrong time and it got tipped. If he would have thrown it a second faster, then it would have been a touchdown. I give (Ohio State corner back Chris) Gamble all the credit. He is a great player.”
