Louisville vs. UTEP Quotes
September 20, 2003 | Football
Sept. 20, 2003
Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes
Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
"It was a good win. Those are tough games to coach. I think it was a good start by our offense. I would like to see our defense start the game out faster and get ball back for us. They were commiting nine guys to stop the run and you can't do anything about that. It's great to start 3-0 and be back home."
(On getting Michael Bush into the game more) "I anticipated doing that in the Kentucky game You can see he's a tremendous athlete. Mike can do a lot of things. They were aware when 19 was in the game."
(On Justin Rascati's TD run and performance) "(QB coach) Jeff Brohm's been after him to run. He likes to sit in the pocket, but has good speed. He took off and made a nice run. I thought he did well. He was real calm in there, ran the pass patterns he was supposed to and made some nice throws."
"Since we started the season, we've been geating everything to going on the road to play our conference opener at South Florida. Other teams have to prepare not only for our personnel, but for our formations as well."
UTEP Head Coach Gary Nord
"I think they did an outstanding job getting themselves ready. They've become a two-dimensional team now and are hard to stop. The last couple of years they were a one dimensional team and you knew what was coming. It was good to see a lot of the old faces and realize friendships and relationships I made here have remained. We've got a football team that is young but will grow."
(on U of L RB Eric Shelton) "Their first couple of games, he was the dominating factor for them (U of L). He's the best running back we have seen in a while. We put in some blitzes to try to stop the running game. We wanted to try to get him stopped before he got started."
Louisville Quarterback Stefan LeFors
"Anytime you can get a win like that in your backyard is good no matter how many plays you get. We did what we had to do in the first half and put points on the board. We've got a lot of playmakers on this team. This team (UTEP) played a lot of man coverage and stacked them in the box (against the run)."
(On Rascati's 31-yard TD run) "He looked kind of fast. That was impressive. He was just trying to get the first down and just saw an opening and took off. It was a good play. I was really happy for him."
(on Kurt Quarterman's touchdown) "Oh man, he was excited. He's a person that doesn't talk much, but after we called that play, he had a big smile. He was geting in (the end zone). He was not going to be denied."
Louisville Offensive Lineman Kurt Quarterman
(on scoring his first career touchdown) "It felt great. I didn't know I was really going to get the ball (before the game) but I was hoping to get it at the goal line. I am glad I got the ball and scored."
(on bringing up the idea of using him as a fullback) "At first I thought it was a joke because the offensive line coach told me that he had a surprise for me. During practice, when they put me at fullback I said 'oh, man,' and they gave me the ball and it was fun."
Louisville Quarterback Justin Rascati
(on scoring on a 31-yard TD run) "A lot of people didn't think I could do that but I did that a lot in high school. I really haven't had my chance and this is my first game playing. In practice, they (the defense) blow it up as soon as I get out of the pocket. I really was just trying to get a first down since no one was open. Then I saw the end zone and I just went for it. I was pretty sure I got in because I dove for the pylon. I know I knocked it over so I was sure I got in."
(on if he is fast) "I am all right for a quarterback. I don't have lightning speed but I could get faster. I am faster than people think."
(on playing his first collegiate game) "I knew before the game started, I knew I was probably going to get out there because UTEP wasn't the greatest team. I was a little nervous at first but once I threw my first pass, I looked at it like a high school game."
