TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: PENN STATE v TEXAS

January 1, 1997

James Brown

Tyson King

John Mackovic

Dan Neil

COACH MACKOVIC: Well, first of all let me say how much we appreciate the hospitality from the Fiesta Bowl people. I tell everybody who was here and related to our state that we loved it very much, had a great time, sorry to disappoint, we didn't play better and win the game. We came to win the game and we worked hard to get ready to play the game, but I really want to salute Joe Paterno and Penn State. I thought they played a terrific game. It was a close game well into the third quarter. The field position through the kicking game, just being able to get control of the game was something they were very good at. When they were able to get control, they dominated it from there on out. We were not able to regain any momentum from them even though we were close, we just were not able to do that. That's a tribute to them. Their defense gave us a lot tonight. They did more things against us than any defense all year. They did a great job. John Sandusky had a great defense. Threw a lot of things at us in the first half, came back at us with new things in the second half. We didn't gain very many yards in the second half. They harassed the quarterback, stopped many of our key runs, did not give us an opportunity to put the ball down the field. Offensively Wally Richardson did all the things he needed to do. Didn't get into any real trouble. Looking and waiting for their opportunities to get control. When they did, they took advantage of it. We were pressing, trying to get into it. Whole fourth quarter, we switched to an entirely different type of game plan where we knew we were going to have to score some points quickly, in our drives, our ability to hold onto the ball really diminished because that. We're better when we can run it, pass it, mix it up. When we switch to a pass only offense, doesn't work to our advantage as well as we'd like. Again, congratulations. Told our team we did a lot of great things, our seniors have meant so much to us. We have a couple up here already. They've been great players for us. Accomplished so many things. We haven't accomplished everything, but we've accomplished many, many things. Very proud what they've been to our team. Very proud of our team, very proud of the things we were able to do this year and how we were able to rebound, fight our way back and get to a game like this. Our players will learn a lot from that. It will stay with them for years to come.

COACH MACKOVIC: I don't know if can I put it in a nutshell. I would say it was very well -- Penn State took great advantage of the opportunities that were presented to it and they gained the momentum quickly when they gained it. It didn't look like either team had it at first, but when they gained the momentum very quickly, they kept it, pressure kept the pressure on. We had to switch because we were two touchdowns down, had to switch game plan.

I thought they had good control of the game at that point, other than we were trying to get in. Had we gone down and scored right away, I think a lot of things would have been up in the air, who knows what might have happened, but we were not able to do it.

COACH MACKOVIC: We gave them the short field on two or three of those touchdowns. It really hurts your defense because when they have to go out, 25 yards or so, that's very difficult for them. The kickoff return at the start of the second half was definitely a big play. We gave them a boost. We're leading, the next thing you know they're back in the game and we're fighting.

COACH MACKOVIC: Anytime you're in a game like this, they're going to wear the team down, get the upper hand. They are a strong powerful running football team when they get the upper hand, that's the way they play. If they have the lead and the other team is not able to hang in there with them, they will wear them down. That's football.

COACH MACKOVIC: A little bit, but we still knew it was a real tight game. I thought it would be a tight game like that. We wanted to make sure we got points there. We always like to score touchdowns more than field goals, but we weren't able to do it there.

COACH MACKOVIC: I think the biggest thing you have to do is look at the control that Penn State was able to get of the game, and the fact that they were able to run their plays, do the things and the setups that they had with a real short field and real advantage of momentum. That's not unlike other games where perhaps we've had the advantage over somebody as well.

COACH MACKOVIC: They did not do very many new things. They built their game plan around finding the things that will work for them during the night, and they stuck with that. They were very good. They used a lot of formations and things. They're looking for set ups, do a real good job adjusting their game plan during the game. I think that's one of the strong points to their entire team, they're able to change and maneuver their game plan within the game. Thank you.

TYSON KING: I've said all along, if you want to be considered one of the best teams in the country, you have to consistently beat the best teams in the country. You know, we had a good game against Nebraska, but if you don't put that consistent wins together against top ten teams, you really can't consider yourself in the top teams. We didn't play very well tonight. My hat is off to Penn State, they did a great job. You know, a lot of young guys coming back. They're going to have to work a little harder to become one of the best teams in the country.

BRYANT WESTBROOK: They just played better than us. I mean, they came ready to play. Coach Paterno had a great game plan. Usually they run the ball up inside. They came on the side of us. We just wasn't really ready for that. It was a pretty close game till the fourth quarter. They played excellent football, they came and executed and did the things they had to do in order to pound us down. They wore us down, I guess you could say that. We played tough three-quarters, but that fourth quarter, Curtis Enis played a great game.

BRYANT WESTBROOK: He's a great runningback, they have a great scheme. They give him the ball in many different sets. He has the opportunity to run the ball different ways. He's a great runningback, but I think we have a great defense. We just didn't show up in the fourth quarter.

BRYANT WESTBROOK: This hurt -- this is my senior year. I kind of like -- we were the leaders in the series, supposed to carry the team to victory, the seniors. We just didn't come through. They're a great team, my hat is off to their team, played an excellent football game. I know Texas is going to be ready. Our coach is a great coach and we'll be ready for next year.

DAN NEIL: We just -- they threw everything at us. I think they had the first half, as far as line stunts and blitzes, a lot of things we hadn't seen before. We did a good job handling it on the run. We came in, I thought we made some good adjustments, but we just didn't do a good job blocking the second half. Obviously our pass protection wasn't near what it needed to be. James was getting pressure all day. Couldn't get the running game going, couldn't get anything going really.

DAN NEIL: It's going to be tough, losing this game. We lost the one last year, losing this one this year is a tough loss. You know, we accomplished a lot with the two wins, especially the Nebraska win. We were the Big 12 champions. I think we wish we represented the Big 12 better today, but no one can ever take that away from us. This team has a lot of character, it's going to build to come back and be better next year.

DAN NEIL: One more time?

DAN NEIL: I think coming out early was a good idea. I enjoyed it. I'm glad we did. I don't know. I wish I had the answers on how to prepare for a bowl game. It's difficult to do. I think it ultimately lies on the older guys, the seniors, how they go about the weeks preparing for the game, what kind of example they set. As much credit as the seniors would like to take credit for the Nebraska game and other games, we should take some blame for this loss. We didn't go about it in the right manner to help this team win the game. They're both hard losses. I don't know. Hopefully next year this team will figure it out and know how to win a bowl game.

JAMES BROWN: We felt the same. We felt comfortable going into both games. The outcome wasn't the same, though. We felt confident.

TYSON KING: I think we felt great coming into this game. We got out here early. You know, we worked harder for this bowl game than any other bowl games I've been to. We worked hard. Like James said, we were confident. You could tell the way we came out. It's just things happen. I mean, the confidence level is the same.

JAMES BROWN: They did the same thing they did all the game. Secondary, Kim Herring, probably the best athlete, but they play well as a group. Linebackers, they charge deep, so it's hard for us to throw a lot of balls. I throw a lot of balls to the runningback because they're so open, linebackers drop deep. Great pass defense. Didn't do anything differently the second half. Ran the same plays, did the same thing. We made plays passing, unfortunately it was on the run or whatever.