Pasadena, Calif – It was an 18-13 game, with Florida State driving down the field on the opening possession of the second half, when linebacker Derrick Malone made a play. He latched onto Seminoles ball carrier Dalvin Cook and swiped the football from him before he hit the ground. Turnover.
Oregon would force four more turnovers on the night and coast to a 59-20 victory over the reigning national champion Seminoles.
Outside linebacker Tyson Coleman caught up with the Emerald in the locker room to talk about the game.
Your defense forced five consecutive turnovers against Florida State: What does that say about your unit?
I think it just says that we’re relentless. Once we started getting going, we knew we had to finish them because they play the whole game. They came back on a bunch of teams so we didn’t want that to happen to us. We made it clear we had to finish.
Knowing that you didn’t want Florida State to come back, how did you do it differently than other teams?
I just think we play a different type of football than other teams. I don’t think there are too many teams as close of a family as we are – especially on the defensive side of the ball. We all joke around. It’s pretty much just like a family and we’re all brothers. There aren’t too many people that don’t get a long and I think that plays a major factor. When you have guys that come together and you all have one common goal, you don’t care who’s the guy (to make a play) you just got to get the pick, or the sack, or the fumble or whatever it is.
So you walk out and there is majority fans and then they’re playing “shout,” did it feel like home a little bit?
Yeah it really did. It was a great feeling because you’re hearing them out there, doing all there chants and seeing all those people out there making our state proud and making the fans proud. They travel all this way, so we have to do something for them.
Your shirts say “Won, but not done”: How long do you enjoy this victory and do you think it’s necessary to get that kind of mindset instilled early?
We enjoy it tonight, but when we get back to Eugene, it’s all business.
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt