Stanford Football: Coach Taylor Weekly Press Conference | Oregon State

good boy welcome everyone to today's press conference we'll start with head coach Troy Taylor and we'll jump right into questions using the raised hand feature on Zoom guys Ben you're up first man I thought you were G to beat me too it Troy uh talking to Clarity uh no just just kind of uh kind of quickly kind of reflecting on the on the Washington State Victory just kind of having watch the F watch the tape what were you most kind of pleased with after kind of reviewing the film from the game yeah just uh you know overall just the the gritty grittiness of our team and you know playing through it and our defense just continuing to come up with big stops and and given us a chance obviously we struggled um in the first half didn't score any points um but they just continue to to keep us in it and then we were able to to make some plays you know and really in all three phases Troy yeah coach wins are obviously always appreciated by coaches but but winning ugly and and winning in a way that might not necessarily be expected uh by most folks going into the game um do do do coaches appreciate wins like that maybe even a little bit more than normal yeah I mean yeah I think there's there's different ways to win right so I mean obviously the best way to to win is get out to an early lead and just kind of stay on top of your opponent and you know we we have not had that obviously hopefully we'll have those in the in the future um and then obviously the close ones and then you know kind of winning you know the gritty wins uh that like we had on Saturday night so I think you appreciate them all especially when you're you know early in a program and and building it and um just having like I said tangible results um there's been Improvement um and it hasn't always resulted you know we had some games that could have could have been wins but weren't and to be able to figure out a way and find a way to win especially when you're trailing you know 55 minutes of the game um to find a way to to win it is is pretty uh pretty pleasing for for for guys John coach if I'm remembering correctly on both the scoring drives and then with in the final two minutes of the game you you went for it on fourth and one and you don't strike me as a guy who kind of comes into a game with a rigid philosophy I'm guessing it's situational but but tell us about the fourth and one calls I guess confidence in in Justin or or or what you saw in the Washington State Defense just talk about the the boldness there yeah I think uh yeah you're right there's no it's just kind of a feel thing um and you know even the one was came off a timeout so I just kind of asked the guys what they thought I go hey you think we can get it should we go for it and they were they were yes let's do it and I even checked with Coach April and he's like yeah do it you gotta play Go For It win the game and so everybody's kind of on board and I did feel good about Justin and how how we were doing up front and uh it just seemed like you know kind of weighing the odds and giving them the ball back and and all that it just it seemed like the you know the right decision um and earlier we went for it on fourth down when we were in field goal range I thought just gave us an opportunity to put the ball gate away and we were moving it on the ground um with Justin so um but yeah I mean I with cardi you know you're you you always feel really good about your chances of him making anything around 50 in so um I'm always a little reluctant to to go for it on fourth down because I'm just so confident that he's going to give us three points and and if you go for it and you don't get it and you're like man I had a pretty much a guaranteed three point so uh but yeah you're right it's it is a feel thing and how the game's going and um luckily we weren't we didn't have to put our defense back out on the on the field when were able to kind of wind the clock down and um yeah that was a great great feeling Gary coach your uh your defense had gone into that game uh I think having given up uh 40 points you know several games in a row uh and you're playing a team that's pretty high scoring team I think they scored 38 against Oregon State when they beat them and now you you hold them to seven points scoreless in the second half four yards rushing um were there some adjustments made you guys change the pregame meal or something or what it's a it's a great question yeah I mean I think um one I I like I said I think are both our coaches and our players or defensive staff and they were just really consistent in their preparation how they treated their players and um their preparation and then our guys just continuing to uh to work and believe and um yeah you know same same defensive overall philosophy and structure um there were definitely adjustments made going against um you know Washington State and how to play them and all those type of things so I think it was a really good plan um and then our players players executed it and you know we talked a lot about just cutting it loose and playing with great Freedom um not second guessing yourself and I think our defense did a tremendous job of of that Ben yeah I just kind of a question from one of my subscribers was Waring about about this um just kind of looking back at the play byplay for the Box SC you guys had the ball with 151 left to go in first down and wazu had no timeouts um looks like you guys could have kneeled a bit sooner but you ran a couple times any reason why you guys didn't kneel certain or or did you guys just kind of not realize no you're you're absolutely right we could have kneel at a play early or um yeah just didn't um get that didn't didn't have that information early enough um but that was a an oversight for sure on our part um and so we could have done it a play Early you're absolutely right Harold oh hey coach uh my understanding is the team's now two and0 when you play the piano at the team Hotel I was just wondering uh how that started is that something you've done in the past and do you think it'll continue on Saturday Sous but I'm as Michael Scott said I'm a little stitious so we might have to find a way to get to piano you know you don't want to overthink streaks or whatever it is right so um yeah I can I can hack it up with the best of them on the piano John um coach Sam Sam rash had seven seven catches seems to be growing as a player um kind of talk about his growth and maybe his connection with with Ashton maybe you uses on a field that's different from ellic and tiger and kind of how he's worked his way into the the target mix yeah he's he has he's you know he's a young you know he didn't play much or any tight end in high school he's really more of a defensive lineman and so his growth has been tremendous um I mean the ball skills he showed on that the pass from from Lambo I mean it was a it was a really good throw and an unbelievable adjustment he came up with late hands um and adjusted ball opened up his hips um so we've seen that in practice where he's just gotten better and better and more comfortable he's such an e good kid he wants to be good in all aspects of playing a tight end and the Run game and pass protection he just wants it so bad and sometimes you can press when you're you know you're you want to be good in everything and so I think he's as you get more experience and he's playing more um you know he's I think he's become more comfortable more confident and so he's uhu you know being therefore being a little bit more consistent and uh he's become a real real factor in Advantage for us at that position Troy a couple of personnel things didn't see a lot of alakai e Gilman um especially I believe maybe from late first quarter potentially on um what's his status at this point Jimmy wrick made the trip is he closer and how's John humph looking yeah so you know John is is not close right now um you know AK we're g to see we're gonna find that out here in the next few days um and then Jimmy is is has not changed it's it's week to week you know it's um one of those injuries that you know sometimes they they they get a little bit stalemate in terms of their Improvement um he's working really hard to try and get back I know he wants to play um badly um but we'll see John coach um just back to the the the play that you referred to the throw from Justin Lamson to Sam Rous to get you to to the one yard line just kind of give us a window into you as a play caller a little bit I mean Justin I think teams think he's going to run he's going to run so you got you want to keep teams honest do you are you of kind of that card to play and maybe future games and and and what you put on tape as far as mixing it up a little bit yeah great question yeah he um you know he's such a versatile player obviously he's a great Runner we know he can throw the ball so trying to utilize him in different packages uh as both a runner and a passer um because he's so versatile and so um on that particular call I knew I wanted to get to it I thought we'd have a really good shot um this had to be on the right place on the the field and um protection was really good everybody did a great job in fact Ash was in on the protection and tiger bachmeier was in on the protection and then um you know it was actually was pretty good coverage too just took took a great throw and an unbelievable catch by Sam so I would love to take credit for a guy being completely wide open after all the things that went into that play but actually covered it well just was two guys making great plays Ben just kind of thoughts on the Beavers obviously they're having a really strong season just kind of the challenges that they pose and what you guys are going to have to do to be successful against them yeah really strong culture that they've created up there uh those guys believe in what they're doing um they do a great job developing those players um I think they're uh especially tough at home um watching them play they play with uh they're they're good on the road too but they're just something special at home for them they I think it's a it's a great crowd it's a great environment they've really built that up um they're a explosive team on offense uh they got really fast wide receivers they're quick hard to get a hold of they you know have a belief in running the football um and then defensively they're very sound very aggressive and um you know they're not gonna they're typically not a team that's going to beat themselves um and so you're gonna have to do it for four quarters you're gonna have to play really well um and our guys are up for the task but it's a it's a great challenge this is a is a a really really good football team Troy uh real quick my my memory might be uh my my before I get to my real question my me my memory might be fading me here a little bit uh Eastern Washington I remember came to Oregon State and beat them with Cooper cup were you on that staff that year when they went down I wasn't on that staff but yeah Cooper cup was he I was there when we we beat him uh when we played we played Washington State I was there with and Cooper cup had another okay yeah game he was he had uh three unbelievable performances against Pack 12 teams um I was there for one of them but no I was not a part of the the Oregon State game okay uh no matter what happens this weekend Stanford has clinched a winning record on the road this season what what does that say about the squad and what do you make of that yeah I think uh just grittiness toughness um believing in each other um and kind of you know going on the road is always of those things where you know there's going to be you know a lot against you um in terms of the crowd and the environment being a little bit more um uncomfortable in terms of your preparation and all those things so we try to keep everybody the same but I do think it's a it's a it displays kind of your mental toughness as a as players and as a as a team to go in and know that it's going to be kind of everything's going to be kind of against you and you're going to have to focus in show great resolve um and our guys have done a done a great job of that so very proud of that um as you guys know this level of football very difficult to win conference games on the road um so I'm really proud of our guys John coach I was I was asked on a radio show from Oregon yesterday um you know what what accounts for the the defense and I found myself saying words your saying grittiness but I also found myself saying well it's practi and and and the Reps that you you talk about um can you give us an example of or or or maybe just do you agree with the statement that what you're seeing in practice or what you saw maybe last week in practice translated into the performance that we saw I think I think you're right you know I mean we're a you know we're a new program in terms we we all got here in you know most of us in December and early January and um young and experienced team and growing and learning the system and learning the details of the system um and the adjustments you make within the system and so I think there's there's always an adjustment process with your team um from no matter how much you practice in Spring and fall Camp once you get into game you really games you really see um you know what you're good at maybe what your liabilities are a little bit uh and then being able to adjust and then also for the players uh really understanding the system and how it works collectively we have really smart guys but still a lot of it you know experience you got to get out there and and feel what it feels like and how to play the defense because this is different than what they're used to so I do I think uh I think the credit and that now we have a huge challenge this week against Oregon State um but I think the credit goes to our our our defensive staff and then our defensive players who just continue to work really hard and uh we work at tackling circuit you know every day and just continue to to hone in on the those skills um not losing sight of of the fundamentals so I think our coaching staff and our players have just done done a great job and then they've they've had the growth mindset you know of um we can get better we will get better um as opposed to hey we had a t cou tough couple of games um no one you know has has given in at all the the the willingness to come out and grow and improve and accountability all those things that go into it are exceptionally strong on this team and that's why one of the reason I'm so excited about the future is we we have the tough stuff that you need the resiliency the character uh the culture that we're establishing um we just continue to do a good job in in recruiting and and um we're going to be an incredible program Troy Oregon State very effective in running the ball as you mentioned they have that commitment to it and they certainly have the Personnel to do it both with Martinez and the offensive line as well what sort of things go into um Oregon State and the effectiveness of its running game uh really good coaches Jim mahich is our offensive line coach I watched him at Cal for a really long time when I was uh doing radio and just following the program um they they're really good up front technically um they bring in guys that are not always the highly most highly recruited guys and they develop them um and then they're committed to to their system and their scheme in terms of running the football um and they stick with it and I think you know they've gotten better and better each year and now um they're playing really good defense so they can be um a little bit more patient and stubborn with the Run game um because they're not playing from behind and so I think it's all of those things but uh it's really a c culture that they've created there it was something that they wanted to do they wanted to be able to run the football and um they've they've built their program around that Ben just kind of going back to Lamson and you guys' ability to kind of convert in those fourth Downs uh just what is the key to executing obviously just execution is the answer to my question but what is the key to successfully Time After Time converted on Fourth Downs when it seems like the defense knows what what what's coming yeah I no I think I think part of it's execution but I think part of it is um is just Justin Lamson being a competitor I mean some of the plays are blocked up really well and some of them aren't and he just kind of finds a way and I do believe that there are certain people that have competitive greatness and just U won't be stopped and he's one of those guys that doesn't mean he's going to get it every time but it certainly gives you a chance and then also he's a very physical Runner um he runs through tackles he finishes it um and he's got really good vision and so um you know he's not 100% but he gives you a chance uh that if you had a little a little bit of daylight I think he he wants it so badly that he's going to find a way to to make it happen Gary yes coach uh they're uh the Beavers are more well known for their running game but uh they've actually got a pretty good passing attack Now with uh two quarterbacks the the guy from uh Clemson DJ I won't try to pronounce his last name and uh they've got a freshman named Charles who's who's really impressive what do you think that their passing game and their quarterbacks no I agree with you um you know I've watched the other side of the ball mostly but um you're right and I I think it it does start up front with ability to run the ball it helps for you to protect and take shots they're very good shot team um they're wide receivers are extremely explosive kind of smaller guys that are they're hard to to to to get a hold of and and stay on um and then the quarterbacks have done a done a good job I've known DJ and recruiting him when I was at Utah um really talented and great kid and then the other quarterbacks is is good as well so they got everything they they need to be an explosive offense and again they're they're they're they're good on defense where they can be patient uh they don't have to press at all because they have so much confidence in their defense John coach I I I'm impressed by Young quarterbacks including the ones you have seem to kind of know when to you know get out of the pocket and throw throw the ball away um and and Ashton has done that um the pass that was intercepted can you give us a window into the teaching that went into that did just trying to force it maybe you said did you teach him on the sideline after the play or was it something that waited until we all got back yeah yeah he um yeah it was a bad decision you know and I don't think he saw the defender um and you know he's trying to make a play and you're absolutely right he has been tremendous in taking care of the football and uh thrown away at the appropriate time not taking sacks um yeah I believe we've had five games um that we have not turn the ball over and so um that's pretty exceptional and so um it gives you a chance so and he has been a huge part of that so um you're absolutely right he's done a great job that was a mistake um and U you know luckily our defense came through and on a short field and I think they forced a field goal that was missed U but yeah that was a that was something that he has not done um in a while you know there was a there's been a couple picks but they were totally different scenarios one was you know don't have to go through both of them but that you're right it was a it was a poor decision and we did talk about it off the sidelines he he knew that he had made a mistake he should have checked it down um but you know he'll learn from it Ben just want to get your thoughts on Scotty Edwards and kind of his development with course of the season and just kind of what he's been able to bring to your secondary Scotty is a tough kid kid uh love him um just his preparation and uh tackling and um he's just always engaged uh and he's gotten better and better with each week so really excited about him um he personifies a lot of what our guys have you know that toughness resiliency and focus and then uh making that interception was huge you know and and trying to do something with it afterwards and getting some more yards so Scotty's uh been a been really good player for us and will continue to be a big part of this program any other questions for Coach Taylor thank you so much awesome thanks guys go card I don't think he needs any introduction but we're here with kicker Joshua cardi we'll take questions in the same way we took them for Coach Taylor John you're up first uh Joshua how do you react you you react when you get like a player of the week citation from the conference like do you get it by email do the coaches call you up and just kind of how do you you've had a lot of them so it's you kind of become old hat but to share with us if you would yeah thanks for having me today first off but um uh yeah I kind of find out the way you guys all find out I see a post on like Instagram or something or I get tagged in a post like I get out of a lift um get back to my locker and I just get a couple notifications like that um honestly it's not a huge deal uh within the team um I would say but um they're personally you know they're always really nice to to get the accolades like that um to see the people um you know first off you it takes your coaches I think uh nominating you for um those player of the week Awards and so it means a lot for them to choose me out of all the great players that we have teams this week um you know uh Flint coming in making making some some stellard punts uh as well as Cass making a really good tackle on on that kickoff return uh for them um but so yeah I know it starts with that and then uh it it it means a lot uh to be chosen from the conference as well um it's a testament to you know a lot of the work that I've put in Ben just kind of what is the key to your ability to make you know kicks Under Pressure I know the one you made on on Saturday was a chip shot distance-wise but still there a lot of college kickers that would miss a kick under a pressure like that just kind of what is the key to being calm and consistent and just being able to reliably knock those down yeah I think uh you know it starts with a lot of trust have a lot of trust in the protection uh all the N guys up front uh they've been doing a great job I have a lot of trust in my Long Snapper Bailey who's been doing this for a really long time um he's he's really good at what he does and then a lot of trust for for my holder Connor um so that's where it starts uh when you're in a high press high pressure situation um just having uh faith in the guys around you um to know that you know it helps to be perfect but even if you're not quite perfect um they can save your ass uh sometimes but uh that's where it starts and then I'd say it just becomes kind of like any other kick um I would say really you know there's there's a lot of pressure in every kick um just because of you know trying to get points on the board for your team um if it's in crunch time there there could be more pressure but there's a lot of pressure for every kick and so I think it just blows down to um having that routine that you practice all the time um so you don't really have to think about it as much when it comes to the the moments that count Troy yeah Josh as I'm looking at it right now weather might not necessarily be a factor uh in Coralis might be cloudy might be over B chilly with highs in the in the mid-50s so it should be okay but whether a little bit of a factor in pman last week uh what sort of variables did you have to take into account last week uh up in pman yeah you know first real quick uh to shout out coach Dietrick our our strength coach you know before the game he said it's going to be partly partly cloudy with uh 100% chance of I don't give a crap um so you know going along those lines a little bit um going into the games I never really never really prepare too much for you know is it GNA be raining is it gonna be super windy um you know ice maybe I don't know but uh I do incorporate some into my like mental V visualizations beforehand um just playing out a couple of different types of scenarios um I've played uh at Washington State States fi two years ago and the wind was very similar to how it was back then um so that was you know a little bit helpful um as far as the rain um it wasn't too bad actually when it's a little bit drizzly like that um I'm from the East Coast so when it when it rains in North Carolina it comes down really hard for a really short amount of time um but up in the Northwest you know it comes down uh you know kind of sprinkly for a really long time um so the rain wasn't too bad like when it was coming down but um it actually helps a little bit because you can see the little the raindrops um moving in the wind so you can tell like kind of exactly where the wind's blowing at all different layers in the stadium um but honestly um for me I try to you know keep my mentality pretty much the same as possible um it makes much more of a difference for I would say the the Snapper and the holder having to dry off the footballs uh as well as possible um and hoping that the footballs are kind of drying the games too and then just getting some extra work during the week with kind of wet ball drills John Josh talk about your adjustment to a new holder I I watched Ryan sanbor punt for Texas this week and I just occurred to me oh yeah he was he was he was your holder so you had a you have a new holder this year is there a kind of breaking in process I mean how how obviously you're still successful but talk about how it adjusting to it what what it's like to adjust a new holder definitely yeah and I would say the the breaking in process kind of started in last December so um I mean we only started officially working together uh what September 1st of this past year in Hawaii but we've been working with each other every week uh for the entire calendar year and um so that's been really uh important to to me to get the the time with Connor uh he's been a great uh holder uh so far um he's really putting a lot of uh time and mental energy into that part of his game um it's not everyone's favorite thing to do um you know even going back to high school it's kind of hard to find someone who wants to hold a football or stay out say five 10 minutes after practice um get practice some holds um but um he does put the work in and I I really thank him for that um and then you did mention Ryan uh he got the I mean he held a game-winning field goal this past weekend against Kansas State so super happy for him as well then is there any um weather that you kind of weather challenge you would like to experience you see guys you know kicking in like completely blizzards of snow or is there any kind of weather challenge you haven't had that you would like to experience as a kicker like man that'd be kind of fun to maybe try that yeah good question i' I've never kicked in snow um that's pretty much I mean except for like you know tornadoes or hurricanes that's pretty much the only realistic weather condition that I haven't gotten the chance to to play in and so I think it would be fun to have like you know a game that's kind of like a white out where you know you might have to change a couple of things in your your Technique to uh to account for you know walking on ice so that'll be pretty fun um I remember Tyler bass last year and the NFL you know doing a big like slide after hitting a game winner and some like cloudy snow um in one of the games last year uh so that that would be pretty fun to to get to play in a Snow Game John Josh I I know the Temptation will be to ask the following to answer the following question I'm just thinking about what we're doing now and you know what I'm doing helping the team and whatnot but everybody at Stanford wants to progress move on to you know a career or something that they're naturally talented in and you obviously have gifted as a place kicker you what do you think about the the next level what do you think when you watch Harrison buter or Justin Tucker people that in my mind you have comparable leg leg strength to and thinking that there's a lot of other good kickers around the country and and how hard it is to advance to the next level kind of where you are right now at this point in your life what do you think of when you think of the NFL and your possibility of working working there yeah you know it's definitely the dream um still is it always has been uh that's kind of why I got into kicking in the first place but yeah I mean when I watch those guys I when I watch NFL games in general I I usually root for stops on Fourth downs and in the Red Zone unlike everybody else um so I like to I root for when I field goal happens and and all my friends around me make fun of me for that um but you know when I see the guys play like Harrison bucker a two-stepper who has similar uh you know some some similar aspects in his form to me um and then similarly Justin Tucker like I watch them and I like to see uh kind of just like you know analyze their film in real time just see what they do and then um see you know I'm also a fan and a spectator so I I you know watch it and and react and I have fun with it too but uh you know when I think of the next level um well F first and foremost the focus is on the the last three games of this season uh the regular season right here um before any of that thought comes up but um you know it's it's my dream and I'm G to continue chasing it uh for as long as possible Troy yeah take us inside the Specialists uh room uh and that position unit uh the guy's characters you know what the mood of the room generally is like just kind of take us inside uh that that that side of it yeah um you know coming off a game like this past game where it's 10 to seven and special teams plays you know just as big of a role as you know offense and defense um every single point matters even though it's just you know a couple opportunities for for the the guys in our room um the mood is really good uh we have um one of the best uh rooms in the country and we we've always believed that uh since before the season uh and we still believe that now um there's been you know there's been some uh rotation for the punters uh for most of the Season uh with Connor and flint and they're both handling it very well um rooting for each other um because you know at the end of the day uh it's not about personal success it's more about team success and so we've been you know working through uh the nitty-gritty with that and just rooting each other on like we should um and then you know as well as just getting the work in um you know in practice uh to prepare ourselves for the games John Josh Josh you mentioned the punters and then the two of them and they both get work um you you you have a backup in em and Kenny and and he sustained one of the freakiest injuries ever a couple years ago at Arizona State can you kind of walk us through how you may have helped him or supported him because it for a kicker to have an injury like that especially I I think it was his first time on the field if I if I'm not mistaken you know what do you remember of that and kind of how you helped your teammate and through that if you know if you did yeah um yeah I was watching that game from home um and I was really kind of heartbroken for him when that in happen but uh you know it's it's more of uh he learned from the incident himself a lot more than I could really help him with anything it came from a lot of over king um you know in Fall camp and a little bit in the offseason just just a lot of wear and tear on the same uh few muscles um so someone in our position uh similar to like I don't know maybe a professional weightlifter um you don't hit bench press like seven days a week you don't hit you know 100 reps of bench press in one day you kind of limit your reps to very specific targets each and every day um especially in Fall Camp when you have the most amount of practices um as you will in the entire year um so I think that was really the learning uh curve for him um and he's been doing great ever since with this body um and I was I was really you know it's a lot of a lot of competition even in offseason when when you might think as an outsider that uh you know the kicking job is all said and done um there's still a lot of competition between uh me and him every day and he makes me a lot better Kicker than I would be without him last question goes to Ben yeah just kind of talk about your talk about your soccer background a bit how much you kind of grew up playing the game and how much that kind of how much do you feel that playing soccer helps with fle kicking and maybe vice versa kind of the relationship there and and the differences between uh the two kind kind of kicking Styles and all that yeah I say you know the biggest difference in general between playing soccer and being a kicker and football is as a soccer player I I played 90 minutes a game um I was a mostly a Defender sometimes a midfielder but you know you get the ball 50 times a game and if you mess up once or twice that's all right because you have a chance right then to to win it back um from from the other team or you have a chance to do something with it the next time you get the ball which is probably not too long uh afterwards and whereas kicking you know you spend most of the game on the sideline uh observing your teammates you know supporting them um and then you get very specific moments to go in the game and execute and you don't really have a lot of opportunities usually um to make up for uh mistakes uh like you do in soccer so I think that's the the biggest difference is you know the amount of time spent on the field as a soccer player versus a football player um as far as like the technique um it's you know a lot different actually it takes um soccer players generally a couple of years to really feel comfortable being like a full-time play kicker in football um in the beginning you can be you can have success uh but your Technique will always be like like changing slowly um every week because you're still getting acclimated to know kicking a football instead of a a round soccer ball all right thank you thank you so much Josh thank you guys all right we will finish things with Tristan Sinclair any questions we will uh use the race hand function Ben you're up first yeah hi Tristan just kind of react just kind of after kind of watching some of the film just kind of thoughts on the Washington State whenn and um just kind of what you guys did well most well defensively uh to hold them to uh single digits yeah um I think it was obviously a great defensive effort um guys were playing hard rallying to the ball and uh I think the first half though we we struggled tackling um but then we got a lot better in the second half with that and uh I think the pursuit was really good I think the effort and violence was really good in the Box um and then obviously our back end held up pretty well against a really good quarterback Troy yeah Tristan good to see you I I I think back to that sequence after Ashton throws the interception in Washington state I believe gets a first down then they're facing second and one inside the Stanford Red Zone then those back-to-back sacks by Franklin and then Liber leading to the mfield goal taking through that sequence as you remember it and how it kind of set the table for what happened the rest of the way especially defensively yeah sure I think anytime that we get in Sudden Change um it's obviously like a great opportunity it's exciting uh I think that you know some teams take the field and go shoot our offense cough up the ball and you know we we're on a short field and all this but I think that our mindset is always like every time we get out there to take the field it's exciting and we want to be out there and we want to be put in a tough situation U so I think that's just our mindset as a defense and that's kind of how how our guys are um so I think that was kind of the mindset but um I mean obviously two huge plays by our guys up front and then Mitch off the edge and stuff so that was really exciting and you know great stop and knock down that field goal so John trist what do you think when you go into a game like the one last week where Cam W is is a bigger quarterback he can he can run he can he can get out of there um are there certain principles about okay he's bigger principles about tackling because he's bigger or quicker like what what give us a window into your mind when you're playing going into a game playing a quarterback like that yeah that's that's definitely something we talked about in the week um I think that you know he's like an advertised guy but he's very elusive is like what we had spent a lot of time on um so a lot of the defenses where we're droing eight we always kind of had a spy and that was something that I was doing a lot of and um just kind of once we get the opportunity to trigger and go and and get after him and obviously in the first half we we struggled a lot to bring him down and and he broke a ton of tackles and was Elusive and made plays and we kind of knew that heading into the game that he was going to be that guy and definitely one of the the most elusive quarterbacks we faced um but it is something that we prepare for in the week of and and try to emphasize in the practice practice week Ben yeah I just kind of want to get your thoughts on guyan bernardel and just kind of what he's kind of brought to to the linebacker room this season yeah sure I mean obviously GB is my brother I love that guy so uh I mean gb's been a great addition I think that the thing that I love about him most is just like he loves football he's a football guy through and through um he shows up every day with the same energy same intensity and same passion and that's something that I've I've really appreciated from him you know since the day he showed up here and he's got great juice and he's a great leader on our defense and I love playing next next one troy yeah Tristan statistics are what they are numbers are what they are in the game and you can make whatever you want out of those numbers and interpret them in any way uh that that you want to and FKS made a lot of how you know Stanford allowed 40 plus points and four straight games coming into last week things like that uh what what numbers matter most besides the score obviously what numbers matter most uh to the defense when you're breaking things down statistically like yeah I mean obviously first comes first is the win right that's like what what matters most and everyone knows that um but I think defensively I think we look at like yards per carry um yards per game and uh I mean especially like the enti linebacker room like we we get paid to stop the run so that's like our first that's our first thing we look at is yards per Rush um and they they'll bring up some statistics like you know yards per game and stuff like that um third down is another huge one something that we've been emphasizing a lot because we struggled on third down um so we're trying to you know mix up our looks and bring some different pressures um but yeah I would say probably third down and yards per Rush are like the big ones we talk about John Tristan um you know those of us that fans or those of us that broadcast the game you know we've seen the weeks and there've been a lot of rough games right lot as Troy mentioned a lot of points scored can you give us a window into what it feels like to put put put together a 60 Minutes like that where you go into Washington State they they tend to score a lot generally but especially at home and you hold them to seven points just maybe share a conversation to after the game or what your coach has said to you you know when you gathered for film uh to start this week just kind of the step you took or the achievement that the game was for the defense yeah I think um I mean obviously everyone was very like pleased with our performance overall um you know we held them to basically nothing in the Run game and you know they weren't the the offense that they had been putting up all year long so I mean obviously there was like a lot of success that we had um and you know our coaches celebrated and we enjoyed it and uh they're very positive after the game because you know we put on a good performance but um there's always stuff to learn from and uh I think that after the game there was some stuff to correct and we went through and talked about um but I think it's always on to like the next game and you know we celebrate that night and you know talk about the positives and then we get right back to what we could do better what we can fix and how we can improve then cam Ward had one really amazing run where it looked like you guys I think three or four guys grabbed a sh almost and he makes an amazing throw for 39 yards that leads to a touchdown for them uh just kind of talk what is the key to balancing back defensively from a play like that and just kind of maintaining the belief that more times not you could still bring him down just kind of talk about how as a defense you didn't allow a play like that to flight you for the rest of the game yeah um I mean obviously I think every game that you play there's there's going to be explosives there's going to be Sudden Change you know the offense turns the ball over you're on a short field or they make a big play and um especially once we get down to the Red Zone something our our coaches talk about a ton is just playing one play at a time and winning One play at a time and that's kind of our one of our big philosophies on defense is just play One play at a time and just win that one play um so whenever there's like a big play or a sudden change you know it's just one play at a time like let's let's win this this play and then we'll win the next one um and that's like a huge something that's really important in the Red Zone um and something we talk about a ton so just winning One play at a time and you know you win one you win the next one and then all of a sudden it's third down and you put yourself in a position to get off the field or hold him to a field goal Troy what changes when you go from facing a team that's that's onedimensional either by Design or by by necessity to a team that's much more balanced and a bit more physical than the one you faced the week before like you were facing going from Washington State to Oregon State yeah I think um I mean every every week you have to adapt and uh you know even this morning our coach you know Army was talking about like you gotta adapt and uh get ready for who you're playing with this week and obviously we went from uh we're we're we're facing a big running back you know in a big- Time Run game um and that's just like part of the job like every team's different every player's different so uh you got to get ready for the next opponent and uh I mean obviously like inside linebacker like we're excited to play this team you know it's it's fun when teams run the balls it gets kind of boring when it's all spread out and we're just running to the perimeter always and you know chasing down receivers so we're we're do stuff for this one John Tristan you're an upper class M you've been to all these stadiums what's the what's the distinctive of Oregon State either the maybe the turf or the noise or the what you see you know the ambient the ambient vision from the sidelines what what's what's unique about Oregon State yeah I think uh every game I play there it's just it's cold it's rainy it's dark you know their fans are are Juiced up they're yelling things at you that I shouldn't say on here so uh it's it's a gritty environment for sure and um I actually love playing there I've always kind of liked it out there so I'm excited for it but it's it's definitely a you know it's a environment but that's how we like it Ben just kind of talk about what it takes I mean obviously you're used to this is your this is kind of your your job if you will to do this play football but what is kind of the key to just mentally being able to play such a physical position in such a violent game being able to get yourself amped up to take to deliver physical hits against really big guys and just how does that become second nature how do you kind of mentally get yourself in State of Mind where I'm going to go out I'm going to do this really violent thing for like three hours you know um that's a great question I think uh it's it's kind of funny our coach always talks about like you gotta get yourself in a bad mood and it's easy you know like he's a guy that he played football he played Penn State and you know we're looking at the film today and he's like oh this is what I played against lead ISO like all all day every day rep play and he's like if you're going to if you're going to play against that you got to get yourself in a bad mood um so that's something I I definitely try to do get myself in a bad mood uh before we go out there and play and even before we go out there and practice uh so something I've trained myself to do I would say but uh I don't know I've I've always loved like the contact and uh like the famous quote what is it I think Jim Harbaugh said uh the human body craves contact so uh I love that and um you know I've always wanted to play defense so that's that's what we do John Tristan the game against organ State last year was very painful I know for all of you with with the last second play and I guess my my question is broader coach Taylor talks a lot about resilience the resilience of the team my question to you is resilience as a player you know when you miss a when you miss a tackle or when there's an ending like that I mean part of this whole big time college sports thing is you guys learning lessons and having sort of having to find something when you're feeling awful when you BL you know Miss a play or or the game ends poorly can you take share us how you have learned to deal with that or built a scab to that or how you gotten stronger dealing with kind of you individual setbacks or team setbacks yeah um I think obviously in the course of a game you know people you're going to miss a tackle you're going to miss a big play and you know you're going to mess up so I think it's always like one play a time and next play best play and that's something that like all these sayings I have are really just something that you know our coach will say like every day in practice every day in meetings you know every day on the field and uh and it's always like next play best play so you know if you mess up you got to go on to the next one and and make that the next one and then what comes also with that is like you know if your teammate makes a good play it's like oh like I I want to make a good play too so it's always like next play best play and we're always you know trying to outdo each other and and get better and be competitive in that way Troy yeah ask coach Taylor this I want to get your thoughts on this um as well no matter what happens this week Stanford will finish this season with a winning road record what does that say about this squad uh I mean obviously that's that's awesome and um wins are great I you know I want to have a winning home record too though so I guess we gotta work on our wins at home um but I mean I think that just speaks to how we travel and how we're focused even on the road and no matter where we're flying to or where we're going like we're bringing it so I think that that's says a lot about the character of of our players and the guys in the locker room any other questions for Tristan Ben yeah I guess maybe I'll take us home with this one uh just I was just kind of get your thoughts on just you know Bobby April his defensive schemes and just kind of what you think he's done well schematically uh to put you guys in the positions to be successful yeah um I think something that's crazy about Coach ail is just like his play calling and talk about a guy that studies the film and and knows the opponent um they have every week they have something dialed up and I think that his play calling really speaks to um how smart he is in in his knowledge of football just because you know whenever they're in the shot Zone he's calling the right defenses or or bringing the pressure off the edge when we're getting a boot or whatever it is um I think his play calling is something that's really awesome about him and um just believing in his calls and trusting in his calls um it's something that we we do because he always puts us in a good position all right thank you so much Tristan thanks