Washington knocks off rust in Apple Cup win
Jedd Fisch and Demond Williams Jr. react to Washington's season-opening win over Washington State in the Apple Cup.
Video Transcript
Coach, this one had a lot of layers to it, right?
First game of the season, also a storied rivalry.
Anytime you can keep that Apple Cup here in Seattle, what does it mean to your group?
Yeah, most important thing is that we have that trophy.
That's the most important part of this whole rivalry.
We wanna keep it right here in Seattle.
We keep it in the locker room for our players.
But, we gotta play better football.
You know, it's week one, but the rivalry's the most important part in walking away 1 and 0.
You talk about playing better football, you challenged this guy right here and your entire offense at halftime.
How did they respond?
Yeah, I thought we had a really good second half.
I thought we came out, even in the third quarter, not doing everything we wanna do.
Okay, you know, we gotta wipe some, We, it's been a while, you know?
It's been a while, so we had to, do better than we've been doing.
But, the bottom line is he came out in that fourth quarter and was elite, and that was the key part of it.
And before I let you go, Coach, we have to talk about the defense.
What did they show you today?
Yeah, defense took the ball away three times, I think, today.
Two interceptions, a fumble.
They, they played great ball for most part.
We gotta clean up the penalties.
I think if we didn't have the penalties we had, they would've, been off the field very quick.
So our defense is an elite, elite unit.
We just gotta continue to clean things up.
Appreciate it, Coach.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Damona, I now bring you in.
What are your takeaways from this one?
Yeah, I mean, definitely just coming in a little rusty.
You know, not having the first half we wanted to.
Leaving some opportunities out there definitely.
But, you know, I think it just shows our resiliency again, just, you know, what we're capable of as a team.
Not being in a great spot in the fourth quarter and understanding, how to respond to the challenge.
And, we just try to go into each game knowing it's its own challenge.
You know, it's a completely new team that Wazzu had, and they were a great bunch, and, they came out here ready to play.
So, we, we know we gotta go back to the drawing board and have a, a faster start, but, we finished well, so I know there's specific play calls, but how do you balance using your legs and then taking it to the air?
Yeah, definitely.
I just feel like, you know, it just ends up if somebody's not open or And if I don't feel comfortable, I feel like it's, in our best interest to go get it if I have to, and, and, find ways to help the team win.
And that's all that matters to me is the win, so, just going into every game with that mindset.
I know you've been focused on your energy and your leadership.
How much did you execute that part of yourself today?
Yeah, I feel like in the second half especially, is, it kinda came out of me, just being a lot more vocal to the team, getting everybody on their feet on the sideline, telling them our defense needs us.
We, they need our juice, they need our energy, every single play really.
So, just trying to get all the guys on board so that we don't have any rough starts anymore.
Appreciate the time.
Congrats.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
