What Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said after Oregon State's 39-31 double-overtime win: 'It's hard to hear out there'

CORVALLIS – Here's what Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said after Oregon State beat the Rams 39-31 Saturday night at Reser Stadium:

The courage it took to make the comeback in the fourth quarter:

Norvell: “I really challenged our kids to play hard and play physically for each other. I thought our focus and execution were pretty good in a difficult environment. It's hard to listen out there. Lots of different things happen to the watch and so on. I thought our kids were focused and did a really good job in a difficult environment. I'm really proud that we came back in the end. I thought Brayden (Fowler-Nicolosi) did a great job today, just leading the team, doing his job, executing and giving the guys a chance to make plays. Tory (Horton) was fantastic. Avery (Morrow) had another big day. Our offense did a lot of great things. We did a good job defensively in the first half and lost a few possessions. We didn't succeed. We didn't turn it over.

We just have to finish. This is the end result. I have to give them credit. They are a good, hard-nosed team that is not easy to play against. But we have to finish. I mean, at the end we had a chance to put them away and they came back and scored and then scored again in overtime. That was the difference in the game.”

In the first half, CSU was down 5-0 in the third. Then 4 of 4 in the fourth quarter when they decided to play with urgency. Should you play with more urgency at the beginning?

Norvell: “Yes, we have to. We definitely have to convert. Third downs were not good. We knew we would only have limited opportunities for possession in this game. The penalties don't help. That hurt us in the game and we just have to find ways to overcome it.”

The disappointment of not being able to finish the game:

Norvell: “Obviously disappointed. No question, we are disappointed. All you can do is try to do everything you can to win. And we had a lot of people doing that. I have to watch the film and see where we need to improve. But it’s frustrating to be so close and not come out with a win.”

Go through the final sequence where Colorado State receives the ball on the OSU 2 after pass interference and then cannot reach it in the end zone:

Norvell: “Obviously we did a good job with our offensive line. Disappointed, we couldn't install it there. It was frustrating that we couldn’t do it in the end.”

How do you teach the team to overcome certain things, like penalties, that cost CSU?

Norvell: “The bottom line is that you have to execute it. You have to develop a high level of concentration and execution so that mistakes like this don't happen. It's that simple. And so we had to keep working to get better along the way. We basically have to play better. I mean, that's just the bottom line, and we can't impose penalties, so I don't have many answers for you. I was allowed to watch the film. I know we had some penalties. There were some questionable calls that I thought were extremely questionable, but we have to overcome that. That’s what you do when you’re on the road.”

–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel.

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