University of Louisville Football Post-Game Quotes
November 03, 2006 | Football
Nov. 2, 2006
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Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
"What a great win. I couldn't be happier for our coaches and our players. We had very good execution on offense and we wanted to be as aggressive as ever because we knew how explosive they were on offense. I thought our defense did a nice job in the first half and held on in the second half. The defensive touchdown and punt return touchdown were big for us. We've been talking about that. Mario, Harry and Brian did a great job today of executing our offense."
"The `Black Out' was a cool deal. The only time I looked at the stands was when I looked at the replay booth when they called that a catch and fumble. It's certainly the biggest win for our coaching staff since we've been here, but there have been some other big ones for the program. We have to make sure to keep everything in perspective. Now, our biggest game is next week at Rutgers."
"(West Virginia) is very explosive. They have two players that are as good as anybody in the country. That's why we had to stay aggressive on offense. We also put a lot of focus on the special teams and winning the kicking game, and that's what we did today."
"We keep track of our run-pass ratio. We wanted to stay aggressive and our players like to play that brand of football. Mario was really into the game today. He was mad at me at halftime because we hadn't thrown him any fades, so I made sure we did that in the second half."
(On Brian Brohm) "He was awesome. To execute like that, with more than 350 yards, and with his focus on not only dropping back and passing but also with his checks and reads at the line, really says a lot about him. You could see after the Syracuse game that he was very motivated and he practiced at a different level the last two weeks."
(On whether the team will celebrate tonight and tomorrow) "I told them they had to be in class tomorrow. They'll also be in the training room tomorrow and then Saturday, we'll do some work. Sunday is a big work day for us because it's like a Tuesday in our normal game week. We have no time to party because we have to get ready for Rutgers."
(On the field goal prior to halftime) "I did think it was important to get points, and we've should've scored seven. But with Art, you know you can get the points. West Virginia has some great linebackers who are very fast and physical, and they disrupted things for us on the goal line."
(On the offensive execution the last few weeks) "If we only score 28 points, we feel like we're struggling. Our guys are very motivated to be No. 1 in the nation in total offense. We have been a little out of sync the last few weeks and that can be attributed to the change in quarterbacks. Hunter Cantwell did a nice job while Brian was out, but we did miss some things. When Brian came back, he was a little rusty. It was a big decision for us on whether or not to play Brian against Cincinnati, but I wanted to get him in there to get the rust off. He played well tonight."
Louisville Sophomore Defensive Tackle Earl Heyman
"This was a heck of a win. I'm extremely proud of our players. We came out here with great effort. We did what we came to do. We're taking it one game at a time and now we are going to get ready for Rutgers. National championship sounds good, but right now we are going to worry about Rutgers."
Louisville Sophomore Center Eric Wood
"This is unbelievable. It's the best feeling ever, but we have to take this win and get ready for a big game against Rutgers next week. We were confident coming into the game that we would score some points. We did capitalize early on some good opportunities. In the second half, our defense and special teams really helped us out. I hope everyone is thinking that Louisville is for real this year and we are going to be a national contender for a while to come. "
Louisville Junior Kicker Art Carmody
"It's unbelievable. We came out, wanted to put points on the board, and we did. My job is to put points on the board and that's what I did tonight. We needed those points early and I was able to help the offense to put points on the scoreboard."
Louisville Sophomore Wide Receiver Mario Urrutia
(on his touchdown catch) "They were playing a zone coverage and the coaches saw that. Brian (Brohm) threw a great pass and I was able to catch it."
(on the locker room after the game) "It was loud and great. We heard coach Paul Petrino down the hallway screaming while we were celebrating, so you know he was loud. He has a lot of emotion."
(on the defense) "They stepped it up. They gave us a heck of push, and Malik (Jackson) picked it up and ran it in. I know he wanted that one (touchdown) really bad."
Louisville Junior Quarterback Brian Brohm
"It (scoring on fumble recovery) was a huge thing. Then the offense, defense, and special teams all got a boost and that really got the crowd going."
"We have a tough game next week. From now on, each week is the biggest game for us. If we win out, I think we deserve to (play for national championship) but it is out of our hands. We have to keep on going and play hard because it's out of our hands. We can't afford to have a hangover or get too emotional. We've got one day to celebrate and then get back to work to beat Rutgers. Everyone is going to love practice because we have something to work for."
(On penalties) "There was a lot of emotion out there, maybe too much emotion in the first half, but we settled down."
(On not scoring TD but kicking FGs) "We weren't getting frustrated because we knew we were moving the ball."
(On missing Michael Bush) "We counted on Michael for those third and shorts. Now the young guys are stepping in to get those tough yards for us."
Louisville Junior Linebacker Malik Jackson
"It feels really good to help Louisville make a statement. We have a game next week coming up, so we have to get ready for that."
(On making the team better in the 2nd half) "We have been working on that ever since last year. Working on that "Finish" attitude and it came through for us."
(On his fumble recovery for a TD) "The ball was just there. I just picked it up and ran. We knew we had to fight to win and there was still more to play."
West Virginia Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
"We are very disappointed in the loss. It's been a while since we've lost a game. We didn't play very good football. Special teams was not very good tonight. You do that against a good football team, you're going to get beat."
"They executed well and we didn't tackle particularly well. I didn't think the guys quit. I just think we obviously didn't play very well. Our offense made critical errors at times."
"I'd hoped the secondary would make good plays. Sometimes we missed a sack. Sometimes the underneath coverage wasn't what it was supposed to be."
(On the fumbles) "Against a team that's not as good, at their place, maybe you can overcome a couple of those critical errors. A team like Louisville at this place - it's hard to overcome that. Special teams really bothered me. We'd seen that look from them earlier, we just miss hit. I was disappointed in several phases of our special teams which we can solve. We've got a lot of work to do there."
"In this game, at key times, when we felt confident. Our guys played hard, the effort was good, but the execution was wasn't. It's a lesson learned. We've got a lot of young players."
(About Steve Slaton on the fumble) "We asked him what happened. We talked to the trainers, he couldn't get the strength in there (his hand). Steve's a tough guy. He tried to tough it out. The reason he didn't go back in there isn't because he fumbled, it was because of why he fumbled. He still is getting strength back in his hand. Eventually he got it back. He tried to tough it out, but he couldn't grip it. It was our fault too. Maybe we should have held him out until all his strength was back."
"Pat (White) was competing the whole time. He was running the ball, he was throwing the ball. He's a great competitor."
"It's a loss. The sun will come up eventually. There's a lot of football left. We can still compete for a BIG EAST championship. I'm proud they competed until the end, but disappointed they didn't finish. This team hadn't lost obviously in a long time. We've got to get back on the winning track."
"We're 7-1. Maybe that takes a goal or two away. Not very many can go through a season undefeated. I'm not worried about what Louisville or Rutgers does. I'm worried about West Virginia."
