Post-game interviews

[PonyPride]

Because it would be showing off to have a camera that actually connects to the computer, here are some of the highlights:

REGGIE ROBERSON
• Thought it was a good team win, and specifically didn't want a repeat of last year's season-opening loss at North Texas.
• Said that when the team started fall camp and then started preparing for Arkansas State, the players discussed last year's disappointing opener. Once camp started, he said, focus was to come in (to Jonesboro) and make plays to create a different result.
• (On Keke Burns injury): Burns and Roberson roomed together during preseason camp, and Roberson said he feels Burns looks up to him, and asks a lot of questions ... said to see him go down — never want to see that for any player. It was sad seeing (Burns') family come down, and Roberson is happy that Burns was moving when removed from the field and "he's OK." We're praying that he's OK.
• (On how to regroup after seeing a teammate get hurt): No matter what, I've got to clear (and move to next play), whether I make a big play. I have a mission to go out and win the game, and at the end of the game I can focus on (Burns) and make sure he's OK.
• (On whether Mustangs addressed Arkansas State emotion surrounding recent death of ASU head coach Blake Anderson's wife, Wendy): Yeah. Coach Dykes and some of the coaches went to the funeral, and they were telling us how (the Red Wolves) would come out with intensity and we're just going to have to match that, going to have to step up to the plate and play.
• Said red zone struggles were first-game struggles, that the first game is not going to be great. Said the Mustangs will look at the red zone on film and make some adjustments.
• On significance of winning in Jonesboro: It's "just one W — we still have some more games. We just put it behind us — we got the 'dub' and clear."
• (On impact of James Proché dealing with what Sonny Dykes called "a little cramping" in the second half) It doesn't change my role. Coach (Rhett) Lashlee calls the plays and I just go out there and execute them. (Proché) went down and someone had to step up, and they called my number, so I just went out there and did my job.

SHANE BUECHELE
• (First performance with Mustangs) was a little up and down. Started rough, got that ball tipped and threw the interception. But the defense, they played their butt(s) off, and the offense, we were able to go finish some. We played with great tempo, ran a lot of plays and I'm just glad we came out with a win. You never want that (interception) to happen — it was kind of a freak thing. The defensive line tipped it and it went straight to the guy. It's tough, but you (have to) bounce back.
• (On Keke Burns' injury): That's tough. Obviously, our prayers are with Keke. We don't know exactly what happened, but he was down on the ground for a little bit, so we know it's serious. So we're praying for him. It's important to our team to at least rally around each other and help fight, and go finish the game.
• (Regrouping after Burns' injury) was just "keep doing what we're doing." We were just stopping ourselves, so just continue the tempo and keep on executing.
• (Reggie Roberson's big game) was just what they (Arkansas State) were doing. He had a great game. We've gameplanned for it, and it was good for us to distribute the ball to him, and he did great things when the ball was in his hands.
• (On no-huddle offense) That's what we should do. You could tell we wanted to get the all on the edges, with the (run-pass options) and just try and tire their d-line out, because they were they're good players — they have some good players on the defense. So it was good for us to go with tempo.
• Yeah, you get a little nervous before any game, especially me.I get a little nervous, but once that first play goes, it's fine. Once you get a little adrenaline, it's just playing football.
• We've just got to finish drives, I've got to give guys chances in the red zone. I missed a couple throws. Just punch it in when we need to punch it in.
• I feel alright — a little beat up, but nothing serious. Just icing my shoulder because we threw a lot, and just trying to get my body right.

SONNY DYKES
• We haven't heard anything (about Burns' injury) for sure. I think it's more of a precautionary thing, it's really getting him checked out right now, but I haven't had an update. I think what happens, when you have a head injury like that, you want to make sure you go through the protocol and everything the right way. He was moving around, and we expect the best, but you know how it is: you always assume the worst.
• (On regrouping) Guys have been playing football. They see that kind of thing. It's [deleted] them, it really is, but they've got to be able to put it past them and focus on just doing their job and just going out and playing. I thought our guys seemed to recover pretty well after that, and just gathered ourselves a little bit. Everybody is concerned about Keke and thinking about him, but at the same time, we've got a game we're trying to figure out how to win.
• That's why I'm glad we played a good, quality opponent on the road. (Arkansas State) is a team that, year in, year out, goes to bowl games and competes for a conference championship, so for us to come here and play on the road is a hard thing to do, and it's a good test for us. We knew this wasn't going to be easy, under any set of circumstances, even when we had a 14-point lead and had all the momentum, you just knew that it was going to come down to the stretch. I thought our guys handled things really well. I think that was the biggest thing — there was no sign of panic, ever. We get off to a terrible start, (and) guys just kept their head down and kept playing and didn't let it concern them ... Defensively, we played so well in the first half, and then Arkansas State made some adjustments in the second half and really got moving, started to move the ball at the end, and our guys had to answer back, so it was a back-and-forth ballgame and we kind of pulled away down the stretch.
• We felt like the strength of this (Arkansas State) football team was their defensive front. They have two really good d-tackles, and we wanted to equalize that as best as we could, and the way you do that is you go fast and try to wear those guys down. I felt like once we took the edge off, a little bit, we should be able to step and throw the ball and also be able to run the football. Those guys are very good players, and when they're fresh, they're handfuls. When they wear down, they get a little tired. They're not the same.
• (On impact of switch at safety from Trevor Denbow to true freshman Chace Cromartie) Well, it can't too much. I talked to (defensive coordinator) Kevin (Kane) a little bit about it. He simplified some things, just because a freshman playing safety back there — that's probably the most complex position to play in football, you've got to do so many things, make so many checks and adjustments. I thought (Cromartie) did some good things. I didn't think he busted (coverage) much, he tackled in the open field, and he ran around with played with some confidence. He's going to have a chance to be a good player. You know how it is: sometimes you get thrown into action a little bit before you think you're going to, and I thought he responded well.
• Certainly, it's a step — any time you win on the road, it's a step. It's a hard thing to do, especially as an underdog. I think it's a step, and I think we've got to keep taking steps, keep moving forward. Any time you're 1-0, it certainly beats being 0-1. It's a good way to star the season. We're going to have our hands full next week against North Texas, we're going to have our hands full against Texas State, we're going to have our hands full against TCU. The thing we've got to do is get better. If we get cleaner next week, we'll have a chance to figure out a way to win again.
• (On confidence in kicking game) We didn't snap the ball particularly well. I thought Kevin kicked it well, (but) we had a couple of bad snaps tonight. That's something we obviously have got to get addressed. Beyond that, I thought, obviously, C.J.'s (Sanders) kick return, in the kicking game was a big part of the game. You know, Arkansas State's punter is really good. He's one of the best we'll see this year — I thought they did a good job flipping the field on us a couple of times. But I thought we covered kicks well, I thought we kicked the ball off better, but we obviously missed an extra point and a field goal on two bad snaps, (and) we've got to get that addressed.
• We were going to play several different guys in the kick-return role. C.J. just kind of got hot down the stretch, and (we) figured we'd roll with him. He proved us right.
• (On transfers other than cornerback Chevin Calloway, who played, and linebacker Armando Fitz, both of whom were granted their waivers for immediate eligibility): We haven't heard anything yet. We haven't gotten a "no," but we got those two cleared, so we'll wait and see.
• (On Buechele's SMU debut): You know, I thought he played well. He gave us a chance to win the ballgame, for sure. He took care of the ball — the first interception was tipped, you know, it was a ball that got tipped at the line of scrimmage and went right to (Arkansas State safety Darreon Jackson). I thought he threw a lot of catchable balls, and we dropped a couple more balls than we normally do today. Had a touchdown go through our hands, and had three or four drops today that we're not accustomed to having. He'll play better. You know, I thought we struggled a little bit in the red zone — I wasn't happy with the way we drove the ball and got down and needed to be able to finish drives, and we didn't do it. When you don't do that in the red zone, it's two reasons, really: No. 1, you didn't run the ball particularly well, or you didn't execute. I felt like our execution in our passing game was off, just a little bit. You've got to be more precise, the ball's got to be on time. I thought we were late, once or twice, with our throw, and I didn't think our routes were as good as they needed to be, and we didn't make some contested plays.
• (On Reggie Roberson's big day) I'm not surprised — Reggie had a good camp. I know Shane trusts him. He needed to — James was cramping a little bit and couldn't play quite as much as he wanted to, so Reggie had to pick up the slack, and I thought he did a good job.
• (On whether Trevor Denbow was put into concussion protocol): Yeah, they did. I'm not quite sure about an update on him. He wasn't going to finish the game, regardless, you know, he was suspended. So we'll know more on Monday.