On his thoughts about the game…
“I’m very proud of the players because they did stick together, there was no back-biting. I take my hat off to them because they showed up every day, they wanted to work and I couldn’t ask for more. It’s been a pleasure and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Hats off to Oregon winning the Civil War, the 121st, they deserved it. I feel very positive about the future of [Oregon State football] because they’ve learned a lot and I know they’ll be in good hands. It’s been real, it’s been fun.”
On his thoughts about Oregon State’s progression throughout the season…
“The progress is in the body of work and the know how to push through, to fight through, the mental toughness. When I look at those things, watching this team over the past 12 weeks, not just six, and seeing where they’ve come from to where they are and what they care about in conversations, it’s definitely different. For the young guys that are here, the future is bright. That was the last bit of advice I left with them, is that starting in January, some of them said as soon as they get home over break, but to continue to build on the things they have learned over the last six weeks. Just by facing adversity, that’s a life-long lesson, something that very few of us are able to experience. Despite the performances, you have to look beyond that.”
On speaking as if it may be his last game…
“I’m just talking about how this is the end of the season. 2017 is dead, over and done away with. So now you push forward into a new birth. 2018 will not be anything like 2017, and that I can guarantee you.”
On if he expected the 69-10 result…
“Did I see this coming? Absolutely not, but I’ve been around football for so long, you can begin to see other things in pivotal important times. Sometimes we try to walk around or talk around the obvious and maintain focus. You watch it throughout the week and you have to rise above and coach around to make sure the players are mentally and physically prepared. To say that I saw this coming. Absolutely not, but as you get into the flow of the game you need to see where things are going. It’s up to us to be able to reset and refocus. There is not a player in there that wanted this outcome. Just how frustrated they were tells you. Again, I’ve said it and I’ll continue to say it; I’m all about the players and they deserve better.”
On Oregon’s performance tonight…
“I want to applaud the effort of Oregon and the fight in our players, why it got out of hand, your guess is as good as mine… It was Oregon, you know Oregon did what Oregon came to do and they were successful at it. I’m not going to sit here and take away from them and say it was anything that they didn’t do or anything that we didn’t do and take away from them. They are a good football team.”
