|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
HOLIDAY BOWL: WISCONSIN VS USCDecember 30, 2015Paul ChrystSan Diego, California USC - 21, Wisconsin - 23 THE MODERATOR: We've got Coach Chryst on the left, Jack Cichy in the middle, Joel Stave on the left. COACH CHRYST: Certainly proud of this group and tonight it was fun to see how this team finished the year. I think they did it in a fashion that was together, you know, and put it out there. Number of guys made plays. I thought all three phases did a lot to help us win the game, but most importantly I loved how this team played tonight, and I think they did just that, they played the game and they played it together and it was actually a lot of fun. Q. Coach, I wanted to ask you guys see something there on the left-hand side because it felt like you guys were attacking the left side of the Trojan defense pretty steadily throughout the night. COACH CHRYST: Yeah, we did. That was part of our plan going in, and I think it was as much our personnel as it was theirs. I thought we were able to get enough things going in the run game, which was helpful, and I thought that we protected well, and I thought Joel threw the ball well and a number of guys made plays. It was good having Rob back, but I think it was just overall a lot of guys chipped in and that was fun about it. Q. Joel obviously chipped in with a heck of a game and Corey was having -- he actually said his career high unfortunately on the carry where he was injured. Were you guys aware that he had been putting in that load and how much of that was he in the initial game plan? COACH CHRYST: Trying to remember all that! (Laughter.) Q. Sorry about that? COACH CHRYST: That's all right. Corey was -- we were hoping that -- Corey practiced and we were hoping to get some out of him. I think you just gauge how guys are playing and didn't feel like he was overly taxed at the time, and I thought we had a number of guys give us -- I know Dare had a couple of big runs, Derrick had a couple of big runs, Corey certainly gave us that, and what I liked best about this game was a ton of guys chipped in and that was fun to see. Q. Coach, at any level whether it be practice or a game have you ever seen someone get three sacks in one game all in a row? (No microphone.) COACH CHRYST: Seen it in practice, more than we would like. But, no, it was pretty unique, you know, just for the circumstances. I thought it was big and it tilted the field. Cich played a heck of a game; that's why he's sitting next to us, here. It was big. I thought we had a lot of guys contribute but I don't think I have seen that. Q. Paul, was there any concern with Jack having to set out that first half that he might try to do too much? I guess it didn't turn out to be that way, and how would you summarize Joel's final game? COACH CHRYST: Hey, lock in, Joel. Joel just said he forgot about that! Q. How would you finalize his final game, Joel? COACH CHRYST: No, I wasn't worried about Cich doing too much, and I thought he increasingly kept getting better and better. Yet I appreciated, Chris Orr did some good things and Joel, I thought he played really well and gave us a chance to win. Had to come up with big plays and we did, and I think that we did a nice job of getting the ball out of his hands and didn't take the negative plays, but the thing I will remember most about Joel is his competitiveness. I thought that he played with all that tonight. Q. Coach, seemed tonight after the game there was a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, so what did it mean to you and I guess to the players and your program to win the Holiday Bowl? COACH CHRYST: Certainly means a lot to win your last game. For me personally, this team meant a lot, because it's made up of a great group of individuals that are unselfish, care a ton about each other, and so for us to finish this way means everything. What we do with this going forward, that's for next year's team to work on and to make reality, but told the kids going into this, this game was going to be about finishing this season. You know what, I thought we did. I loved the way they prepared throughout bowl prep and it wasn't always easy. We had final exams going on but they did everything we asked of them and they're a fun group to be around. They will work but they will enjoy it and they make every day being the coach a lot of fun. Q. Jack, you had to stay in the locker room for the first half, correct? JACK CICHY: Yes. Q. What was that like having to stay in there? COACH CHRYST: He's been grounded before; he is used to it. Q. Did that make you anxious? JACK CICHY: Yes and no. That obviously sucked being in there when my team was out there. I kinda felt like I let them down. I wanted to be out there with them, so it was awful, being in there. I was talking to myself, I was yelling at the TV. And I think mainly when I came out, I didn't want to -- I wanted to let the game come to me. I wanted to ease into it, kind of, but obviously with how my "D" line was playing and Coach Aranda's play calling, I didn't really ease into it. I was kind of thrown into it, but it worked out for the best and it was awesome. Q. Joel, what did you do to your nose, and was there any way you were not coming into that game? JOEL STAVE: I got kicked in the face pretty good, so I don't know if it's broken or not; it's bleeding a lot. I mean, I knew -- my head was fine and my vision was fine, so I didn't see any reason why I couldn't come back in. I mean, we could stuff my nose full of stuff to make sure it doesn't keep bleeding, and keep going. Q. Jack was there a particular sack out of those three that felt the best? JACK CICHY: I mean the third one probably felt the best and the worst. By that point I was out of breath and everyone swarmed me, so I couldn't breathe but that was obviously the best one. Kind of built up and then popped the top on that one, I guess. Q. What's it like to go out with a win against USC? JOEL STAVE: It was fun. For this group of guys, this group of seniors to be able to finish this way with a tremendous team win. I thought offense did a great job, defense played great like always and special teams did a great job. You know, it's fun to -- all the things that we've been through with this group to finish at beating a really good team like USC, feels good. Q. Coach, how much does momentum play a role? We like to talk a lot about momentum, either a bowl win or loss, how much does it really mean going into the next two or three weeks recruiting, all that good stuff, other than feeling really good or really bad about yourself for a couple of days? COACH CHRYST: Yeah, I don't think you ever know, because you don't have two examples, right? How was it this week and -- you know what, it feels great. We came out with the intent to enjoy this bowl, and I think our players did, and appreciate all that the Holiday Bowl did for us. We always felt like it was our job to then return it by playing well. I asked the team to play their best game of the year, and that's what we were shooting for and I think we might have. You know, what we -- how it carries forward, the momentum, I think it's up to us, and what we choose to do with it. Whether it's for next year's team or in recruiting, whatever that may be, I don't know, but it's -- I sure appreciate this group and it's up to us to make it be a positive where the momentum is in our favor. Q. Jack, you have had to wait your turn behind some pretty doesn't linebackers. What does tonight mean to you and does it feel realty point? JACK CICHY: Means a lot, but I think being behind Vince, Joe, and even my freshman year, Army and Chris Borland, I think it's only helped me. So you can look at like, I'm not playing, and this sucks, or you can kinda look at it as an opportunity to grow. I think I've taken the opportunity, I've grown a lot, and I've got a long way to go, but, yeah, I guess it feels real. Q. Paul, I don't want to look ahead to next year, but Vince Biegel announced he's coming back. I'm guessing you're excited about having him back. COACH CHRYST: Yeah, and people -- you know it, from watching us, he gives us a ton of -- he's a really good football player. He gives this team a ton of energy and has a great purpose and drive to him. I'm excited to get one more year, to be able to be with him. There is a lot of guys I wish I had more time with, and you don't, and yet I appreciate how they have allowed us to maximize the time that we did have. Q. Joel, what is your biggest take away from USC's defense? What did they show you? JOEL STAVE: They're a really athletic group, I think they move around really well. I don't think they're going to try and trick you, they're going to line up in what they want to play and they're going to and play it. I think because of that, we were able to do some things, just because we had a good feel for what they were going to do defensively, but I think the big take-away is they're a good group, they are a really good defense, they are really athletic, and we had to make sure we executed and stayed ahead of the chains because when we were able to do that we were able to sustain drives. Q. Jack, I've been covering USC for a long time and I've never seen someone sack the quarterback three straight times. What was the difference? What weren't they doing and what allowed you to do that? JACK CICHY: On film we saw that their A gaps were open a lot on pass pro, so Aranda schemed up a lot of blitzes that attacked that deficiency, I guess, and honestly, I mean, once would be great, but three times is kinda just luck of the draw. Q. Paul, Joel mentioned and you alluded to when you said everybody stepped in but special teams were outstanding tonight, not enough attention paid to them, kept Adoree out of the game, and really that last kick way back in the end zone, what can you say about that? COACH CHRYST: That was a big play. Again, it's kind of what Cich was talking about. I thought we had great plan, and guys went out and executed it and I thought the same thing with our special teams. We knew it was going to be -- you talk about a heck of a football player, and obviously early we were kicking away from him, and they kinda got us on the switch the play before and, you know, made the adjustment, but more importantly, Jack executed it, and it was a heck of a kick for him, and I thought the punt coverage unit, that was a big part. We went into this thing where the return game was -- it scared us, and we knew we had to rise up to that challenge and the kids did. Like I said, I thought it was a good plan but most importantly, players executed it. I do, I think that all three phases really had a big part in this victory and that's what I think makes it feel the best is that it took everyone and everyone pitched in and it was -- I think that's what makes it special. Q. Coach, we saw Derek Watt involved more in the offense in this game than we have seen all season. Was that something you were trying to give another look, or was there a specific thing you saw about USC's defense that would make them seem vulnerable that way? COACH CHRYST: A little bit of both. We wouldn't have done it if we didn't think if didn't have a chance to be successful. I think, again, guys on the runs, everyone -- doesn't just happen, right? I thought he did a nice job on the catch that he had, kind of had a big hit on one and then I think Derek is a heck of a football player and we've always gone in looking for ways we could use him, but I appreciate what he did to get ready for this game. He had surgery after the Minnesota game and got himself back and it was fun to see him finish it out the right way. Q. Joel, Wheelwright's catch there, in the red zone, top of your head, where does that rank? JOEL STAVE: That was impressive. You know, that was something -- he's been doing that more often than you would think in practice so sometimes it's kind of, come on Rob, get two hands out there. That was a tough catch, and I don't think he really would have been able to get two hands up there, so to see him got up with one hand and pull it down and set up a score for us, that was pretty sweet to see. COACH CHRYST: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|