Mike Riley post-Washington State: 'You don't forget how hard it is to win'

We've just hung up with Oregon State coach Mike Riley, who was clearly still in a good mood after his guys won another game Saturday, this time against Washington State. (It was 19-6, Beavers, in case you've been out of cell service for the past 24 hours.) Riley's thoughts about the win, and more, are below:

On being ranked in the top 10, a first for OSU since 2001: "Well, obviously it's good, because it's means we're still winning. We've just got to keep going. The main rankings are at the end of the year. (The players) obviously should be proud of it; it's an indication of how you're doing and you want to do well. You don't want to avoid that feeling but you also have to understand that it disappears with a loss. You've gotta keep your nose to the grindstone and get better, because that's what the good teams are doing.

On injuries from Saturday: "D.J. Welch has a good, old-fashioned sprained ankle, which obviously isn't good. He won't be practicing Monday, and neither with Markus Wheaton, who has a joint on his foot that's bothering him. They'll both be day-to-day."

Early thoughts on BYU: "They're really physical. They are one of the best defenses around, they fly to the football and just play really sound defense. I think (they're good) because of their execution and the personnel within their scheme. They have perfectly placed their personnel for what they do, which is play a 3-4 with really good outside linebackers. They're very disruptive, and they blitz well out of it. We're gonna have to be physical and real sharp ...

"If Riley Nelson is back we're gonna see a guy who's very competitive, very versatile and runs their team very well. He's been a very productive player. they've got a good receiving corps and a big, physical line. It's going to be a real change of approach from this last weekend (vs. Washington State)."

On if penalties are starting to concern him: "Oh yeah, they are. Some of them are totally unnecessary. We're our own worst enemy on that deal, the false starts and celebrations, that's a mess. The subjective ones, whether it's holding or pass interference, we just try to correct the technique."

On if he thinks this team has responded well to criticism so far this season: "I think they do respond. It's the one constant since the beginning of the offseason: They're good listeners. They're anxious to get better and be detailed. It's just played out during the season that you give them something to improve on, and then it shows up. That's always really rewarding to see. This group has been level-headed ... and I really don't see that changing.

"You don't forget how hard it is to win. You have to have a good reaction from a loss and it's very simple to get everybody's attention after a loss ... but you need to have the same kind of reaction after a win. Whatever you see that needs to improve, you have to go after it, hard."

-- Lindsay Schnell (I came, I saw, I tweeted)

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2012/10/mike_riley_post-washington_sta.html

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