University of Louisville Football Post-Game Quotes
October 14, 2006 | Football
Oct. 14, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
"You've got to have games like that every year. You can look at teams all around the country and see those types of games. I know we'll have a heck of a battle next week at Syracuse because they're much better than they were last year. As for our team, we're not consistent enough. We must improve our consistency. In the first half, we some great defensive stands, but we must convert those into touchdowns instead of field goals. We also must be on the plus side for the turnover battle and for the first time this season, we didn't win the third down conversions today. Anytime you don't put somebody away, you start worrying. It was very worrisome looking at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter and knowing that two touchdowns will beat you. But we're going to take it. I told our guys to enjoy the win. We're right where we wanted to be at 6-0, and next week, we'll practice hard and get ready for Syracuse."
"We haven't been running the ball very well. I felt better today giving it to Anthony Allen and Kolby Smith. I also like the way Brock Bolen is running it right now. We're going to keep giving all of our running backs chances. I believe in giving guys chances in practice to prove themselves. We're going to need Kolby and George (Stripling) to make plays for us. They're both very capable and we need them to do it on a more consistent basis."
(On Brian Brohm) "You're talking about the greatest competitor and one of the toughest guys I've ever coached or been around. In John Wooden's Pyramid of Success, at the top is competitive greatness and that's what Brian Brohm has. He practiced really well all week long and I made the decision to play him. He definitely wanted to play and he certainly did a nice job out there today. I'm proud of the way he played and I think his effort will carry over to our team. I thought he looked pretty good. He let a couple of passes in the second half get away from him, and I'm sure he wasn't as clean and precise as he wanted to be."
(On the final play of the game) "We thought they'd have four verticals, but they kept a tight end in and had max protection. We ended up in three-deep coverage and Gavin (Smart) did a nice job on the play. That's scary. Anytime they're throwing into the end zone on the last play and an extra point beats you, that's scary. We had our chances to end it before that and we didn't do it."
(On the injury to Zach Anderson) "It's a knee sprain and I think it's much like what Abe Brown had last year. He'll certainly be out for a while, maybe four weeks, and that's not good. He's a leadership and effort guy for our team."
(On finishing late in a game) "It took us to the last play to finish, but we got it done. You have to give Cincinnati credit. They came in and played a great game. It wasn't the first time this season they've played well. They played well against Ohio State and Virginia Tech earlier this season. I'm not upset about the victory. I've learned that they're all going to be battles the rest of the way."
Louisville QB Brian Brohm
"We got the win and that's all that matters. Maybe I wasn't quite as accurate, but I don't want to put that on the thumb. I made those throws all week in practice and should have been able to (today). The interception I threw was a dumb decision by me and I shouldn't have done it. I'm not used to doing that. When the offense isn't clicking, you look at the quarterback. There are some things I need work to get better."
(on how his thumb felt) "With the brace on there, it feels pretty much normal. It's getting stronger every day. The one thing I needed to do was to keep my grip warm. It never got hit. I took some hits, but not to my thumb."
(on Cincinnati's last drive) "It was nerve-racking, but our defense did a great job. Our defense put out a lot of fires today."
"We need to get our edge back and I think we will."
(on TE Gary Barnidge) "Gary is a great pass-catching tight end. We try to get the ball to him every game."
(on how the decision for him to play was made) "I tried to get out there, perform on the practice field and show what I could do. It (the decision on playing) was up to him (Petrino). He knew I wanted to play and I felt I was ready to go."
(on Cincinnati's defense) "We saw on film that they were a tough defense. Our goal was to get out there and get on them early and we didn't accomplish that. They held us on fourth down on our first drive and it took a lot to get things going."
Louisville CB Gavin Smart
"These are the type of games that you want a chance to make a play. I am a short guy and I practice against tall receivers like Mario and others every day. It was a big play (knocking down Cincinnati's final pass attempt in the end zone)."
"The last drive was a little tense on our defense. This will help us down the road when we get into another close game like this down the road it will help us."
(On the defense's strategy) "Give the offense back the ball. Let's get it. Let's get the offense back on the field and that gives them confidence."
(On the closeness of the game) "We haven't been in this situation so this will help us down the road. Now we can look back on this and keep going if it happens again."
(on the last drive) "It was tense at first but when the defense came through it was a big release. It was a win. The score could be 1-0 but, it's a win, now we are 6-0 and that is what we wanted to be."
Louisville DT Amobi Okoye
"The whole game they showed us some things we hadn't seen. The crowd was really loud on that last drive and communication was tough. We played our hearts out and got the win. Their running game showed us stuff we hadn't seen. They did a good job on their offense. We just have to go back to fundamentals and stop the run. We are practicing, practicing and practicing. Every game is a championship and everyone will come out and give you their best shot."
(On injury to Anderson) "I almost cried on the sideline. That is my buddy ( Zach Anderson) and roommate. I will be in his ear about rehab. "I've got to play for him, play for our fallen soldier."
(On the final drive) "I was real, real tired on that last drive. I knew my teammates were looking to me. That weight training and conditioning paid off. We got it done. I think it was the best offense we played. I'm not taking shots at any other team. I don't know why they were better but I think it was because they played their hearts out."
Louisville RB Anthony Allen
"If you give me the ball, I am going to run. We (the running backs) are learning a lot about pass protection. I thought they would redshirt me when I got here, but I am getting to play."
"That was a great block by Brock Bolen on my TD. I just tried to get between the tackles and go, go, go. I was nervous to get the ball on the first play of the game. We have been working on establishing the running game in practice all week."
(On his running style) "I am a big guy. The more I run, the more tired I get, so I want to run a straight line."
Cincinnati Head Coach Mark Dantonio
"I appreciate our players' effort. We were going up against a good football team. We came down here ready to play, we said it all week. I felt our players came down with conviction. We came up short again. There are no moral victories. We look forward to South Florida coming here next week. We're getting better as a football team.
"I like to see that we ran the ball for 212 yeards and were 11-of-22 on third downs. I thought Grutza made a lot of plays with his feet out there. Defensively we played pretty well. We gave up a couple of big plays. They've got players too. I think we all understand that. It's disappointing, but at the same time, I'm very proud of our players. All I can ask is that they give great effort and great heart and they do that. They have faith in themselves and faith in each other. We try to play the game one play at a time and I thought we did that.
"We needed to be plus two turnovers and we did it. We needed to be able to run the ball and stop the run. For the most part that's what happened. We needed to believe in ourselves and we did that. We needed to be able to have two big special teams plays. We got one fumble and we got one big kick off returns. It came down to the end of the game when we had a chance to make a play and if we make it, we win."
Cincinnati QB Dustin Grutza
"Last play, it was a call. We hadn't run the play in a while. It was trying to create a seam up the middle, but we had just run it earlier and they were covering that. "I was trying to give Ernie a chance in the back of the end zone. I wanted him to come back and get it and he didn't see it as early as I would have liked for him to have seen it. I was trying to give him a chance and things didn't come up. He wasn't really opening out and going to where the corner was sitting, but my other options were covered up over the middle, so I felt like he had the best chance one-on-one with the guy. He was the last resort on that play. The first two guys were not open. I knew he had one-on-one and the guys over the middle would have been one-on-three. I figured I would give him the shot. You have to tell your o-line to give you some time and everybody has to make plays."
(On the fumble) "I came out and it was going to be a bootleg. I stuck the ball out and it felt like it got hit by somebody. I'm not sure why I made the fake and it came out. I tried to get on top of it. I thought it got hit by the tailback, but I'm not sure."
"It would have been a lot bigger motivation for us to have been up at the half. We knew there was going to be a burst in the game and that was it there. I thought we bounced back pretty well. We worked hard. The defense did a great job the whole game."
"I knew Louisville was going to try to hold the clock and grind out two and a half minutes. Our defense did a great job of giving us the ball back."
"We are out here fighting and clawing every day. Games like this we are playing against a great team, a ranked opponent, today we fought hard. We were right there. One play and we would have won the game."
"I just look at this as another game. It's a rivalry game, it's a big game in my mind."
