	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2019

David Shaw

Stanford, California

Cal - 24, Stanford - 20

COACH SHAW: This was Chase Garber's game. Injured out. Got hurt last week after coming back and came back and just played his heart out. I commend him. We couldn't stop him. The athletic quarterbacks have been a difficult thing for us all year. We missed about three more sacks today. Let them escape on quarterback runs multiple times. And then that last play we just let them out. And can't win games if you let your quarterback, let the quarterback get out like that.

On the offensive side, we had had our opportunities, had opportunities and it's a game of inches. Took a shot second down, knowing we're going to run it on third down, get some clock. And Colby Parkinson one-on-one against possibly the best linebacker in America, best tight end against the best linebacker. It's a game of inches.

Six inches one way we probably make it, six inches the other way, defensive knocks it out. But I'll take that matchup again over and over again to win the game. Didn't make the play today.

Ryan Sanborn came back in, made a heck of a play. Came off an injury, difficult week for him last week, came back, big-time field goal for a guy who started this season only doing punts and not doing field goals, big-time deal there.

Special teams-ise, we played well. We played hard. Blocked a field goal at the end of the first half, it was an outstanding play. Six inches away from blocking two other, one other field goal and the other PAT. So close. But once again, game of inches and the inches have to end up on your side.

Commend our guys for how hard they played, but that's the minimum for us. The minimum was playing hard. We need better execution.

Now we lost Connor Wedington in the course of the game. Osiris St. Brown stepped up, came out and played like we know he's capable of playing. Elijah Higgins had to play more and he went in there played well also.

We keep churning. We'll find a way to get back and come back seven days from now and try to end the season on a high note.

Q. What did you tell your team in the locker room after the game?
COACH SHAW: That I'm hurting. I'm hurting for our seniors. I feel bad for our seniors. I feel like the rest of us let our seniors down, didn't allow them to finish their careers here with the Axe.

Told them that there should be some pain involved. If you care, you hurt. All that you put into it to try to find a way to come out on top on Saturday, when it doesn't happen it's got to be painful to you, particularly against your rival, cross-town rival. That's something we'll have to live with for 364 days.

Q. Connor Wedington gets hurt on the opening kickoff. What sort of effect did that have on the game?
COACH SHAW: Oh, a lot. Changed a lot. Connor's been playing probably about 80 percent of the snaps, 75, 80 percent of the snaps playing well. I think he was leading the conference in all-purpose yards and leading the conference in kickoff returns at some point, back and forth with a couple of other guys.

You saw last week he's a big play guy as well as being a good screen receiver as well as being a good return man.

So, as I said, Osiris St. Brown had to step up. Made some nice catches. Had a chance to get a first down there at the end. Went backwards instead of going forward, which he'll learn from.

Elijah Higgins had to play a lot more snaps also, and he came in and did a good job. Guy gets hurt, our guys go back in there and go back and play.

Q. Were you expecting Garbers to play, and what difference did he make?
COACH SHAW: After watching most of their season and how hard this young man plays, I knew if there was a chance, he was going to play. If he had an opportunity, if they let him play. Once I heard the other day that he was able to get back into practice, they hadn't cleared him yet, I figured he was going to play.

That's one of the things we talked about is he makes a difference in games he plays in with his legs. That's the reason why they've only lost one game when he plays.

When everybody's covered -- we had some great coverage downs, and he took off and ran and made us hurt. We had him, like I said, we had him dead to rights three times. Got him down once, maybe twice. But those three times that he got out, we got a hand on him. Got him in a grasp. We're right next to him, and he made us miss and got away.

We anticipate once he's practicing he's going to play, and that his legs were going to be a major factor and they were.

Q. I don't know how much you can comment, Mills scrambled and looked like they grabbed his mask right in front of you. Did you see that, A? And there was another pass interference call on No. 17, I think it was on their sideline that was borderline, which was kind of -- they called that on, I think, the winning drive.
COACH SHAW: I couldn't see the pass interference call. There may have been body contact. I know Kyu put his hands up. He had his hands up. But there can still be pass interference with your body. But I couldn't see that.

And, yes, they grabbed his face mask. They dismissed it. It was just obvious. Grabbed his face mask. But officials aren't going to be perfect; we're not going to be perfect.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297