University of Louisville Football Post-Game Quotes
October 18, 2008 | Football
Oct. 18, 2008
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Louisville Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe
(Opening statement) "It was a good win. We found a way to get it done. I was proud of the way our team continued to battle through the course of the game after getting down 14-0. We found a way to rally the troops and get it going. I thought Hunter did a good job after a little bit of a rocky start. He really settled in and threw some excellent balls. The ball in the third quarter to Scott (Long) was really a good from a momentum standpoint. He did a good job of putting air under it and letting him run down and get it. We knew we'd have to stay patient in the running game. They have a good defense. They do a lot of different things to try and knock down your runs in terms of angling, slanting and blitzing, but out guys continued to stay patient throughout the course of the game. At no point in time were we ever in a panic situation, even though we were down. We knew we could continue to do the things we do to be successful."
(On what he said to Cantwell after the two interceptions) "I can't repeat what I said (laughing). I challenged him and I told him you've got to settle in and lead these guys. He did it and did a nice job, but I did jump him a little bit. I told you can't do that. Throw it in the stands because we have plenty of fans who want to catch footballs."
(On the defense) "Excellent, especially in the second half. I think they had five straight three-and-outs in the second half before that last drive, which we had a lot of our subs were in there. I thought we did an excellent job on defense of creating pressure and knocking down the runs. That got them in some long down and distance situations. We kept them backed up and got great field position for our offense to drive the ball. And certainly our special teams stepped up again with the blocked punt. But the big key was we were getting them down in third and long, which allowed our defensive line to pin their ears back and go after the quarterback a little bit."
(On the 1-2 punch of Anderson and Bolen) "Vic had a big run and I thought that was a big momentum play in the game to get it back to where we needed it to be. It was a well-blocked play at the line of scrimmage and once Vic got pas the line of scrimmage he did a nice job of finishing the play. I thought Brock did a nice job of pounding the ball between the tackles. Coming into the game we knew we'd have to stay patient with the running game and continue to pound Brock. We also knew there'd be some one's and two's, but we also knew there'd be some big runs."
(On where his team is right now) "I think the special teams have improved. I think our defense did an excellent job again today, especially in the second half once we got in step offensively. Certainly, you want to start out a little bit faster than we did offensively, but I'm proud of our team. You don't want to get in that situation and be down 14-0, but I was really pleased with the way our guys responded to it today. That's going to happen on occasion. You don't want it to happen on occasions, but I'll take this one because our guys responded well. It's all BIG EAST from here on out. We've got to do a great job of preparing this week because we play a very good South Florida team. We'll look no further than one game at a time."
(On the BIG EAST right now) "I think it's wide-smoking-open. It's wide open now and everybody has a chance at it. Now, you race to the finish line to see who can win the thing."
(On adjusting to MTSU playing two QBs) "We weren't surprised by that because they had done quite a bit of it last week. They both do an excellent job of running with the football. We knew they'd play both guys in the game and both could run it. We knew they were going to do that, but you have to be able to adjust as the game continues to wear on. I thought we did a much better job of containing the quarterback on the runs."
(On Brock Bolen) "He's so versatile for us. He can play tailback, fullback and do a lot of good things. He does a great job of staying behind his pads. He's a very unselfish guy. He really does a good job of pounding it inside, pounding it inside and pounding it inside and allowing the defense to get set and then he'll go outside for a nice run."
Louisville QB Hunter Cantwell
"Two interceptions in the first quarter is not a good thing. They did a good job. The first one they played cover two on a one-man route. I should have thrown it out of bounds or in the stands. I made a mistake trying to come inside with it. The second one I left a little bit too inside and I tried to get the ball to Victor. Stuff happens and it's part of the game. I'm going to try to eliminate those in the future and try to learn from that, cut down on turnovers on my end and just keep playing. The guys never lost faith in me on the sidelines - keeping my spirits good and believing in me. We've got a great team for doing that for me."
(His reaction after the two turnovers) "It was just a bad day. It's one of those things, you don't want it to happen but it's football. It definitely, definitely cannot happen in this upcoming game. South Florida is a very good team. It's not the way you want to start, but I know we had a ton of time left and we had to finish strong."
Louisville DT Earl Heyman
(On the overall defense in the game) "We had that one miscommunication and I'm pretty sure Coach English will adjust that on Monday. It was that wide open throw. But I think we played well. In the second half, the offense speaks for itself. Coach English told us everybody always says actions speak louder than words. We kind of had to play with a chip on our shoulders and put up 555 yards of offense. And that's just unheard of... I mostly attribute it to the acquisition of Coach English and his staff. They do a great job of coaching you hard, but you know they love you and they're not just coaching you because they have to, they're coaching you because they care about you. Coach K's pretty much the same way. He tells you something for your own good, he did that thing with Grady today because it was for his own good. He cares about you, not just in football, but off the field as well."
Louisville RB Victor Anderson
(On the 88 yard run) "The offensive line got a great push and Joe Tronzo got a great push. I cut back slightly. And then I saw nothing but green grass in front of me. I had to get my lungs, together because I knew it was going to be a long ride. I started running and thank God for that jumbotron. If I didn't see that jumbotron, that guy would have caught me. I had to zig zag a little bit."
(After the play) "I was really tired. I've got asthma, so I had to get a little breathing treatment. I haven't run that far since high school and that was a long time ago."
(On the call) "We were backed up, it was basically to get us out of the hole a little bit. I didn't really expect it to break that long. Bilal Powell had similar run off that play two weeks ago. It can happen at any time. And when it happens you've just got to turn on the boosters and go."
(On being down 14-0) "It's a football game thing can happen at any time. We came out with firepower in the second have. And like Earl said, we came together as a team in the lockerroom at halftime and came out and put together a good win."
Middle Tennessee State Head Coach-Rick Stockstill
(On Performance) "I thought we did a nice job in the passing today, we just got hung up and then that third quarter. When you turn the ball over you put pressure on your defense. They turned the ball over and made it hard on their defense and that gave us a chance. They've have some legitimate corners."
(On Placing Blame) "No, nobody is playing well enough on either side of the ball to place any blame. Their defensive line dominated our offensive line and their offensive line dominated our defensive line. That really hurt us and we got behind the chains."
(On Jeremy Kellem) "I said it couple weeks ago. Jeremy is a very distinctive player and he is a very smart player. He practices hard. He's got a nose for the football because of his instincts."
Middle Tennessee RB Phillip Tanner
(On starting in place of Desmond Gee) "I felt really confident, with me and Desmond. It's not about starting. I missed him out there, not knowing that I had number 2 on the sidelines. But I still feel I played to the best of my ability."
(On the rest of the season) "I feel like each week we get better at something. All we can do is just bring all that together and play four quarters. We played two strong quarters in the first half. We could have done better than that. If we play all four and everybody plays together, offense and defense and special teams, we can go from there."
Middle Tennessee QB Joe Craddock
(On how to change momentum in the next game) "We just have to get back to work. We have to work hard and be better in our positions. We should be putting 40 on the board every game. We've just got to get back to work and keep working. We have to win a lot of games to get bowl eligible. That's what we're going to try to do."
(On how the offense was affected by not having Desmond Gee) "It affects us a little bit because Desmond is the playmaker. He's able to play multiple formations and different positions - he being out kind of hurt us a little bit. Phillip Tanner still did a good job running the football. We missed Des out in space more than we did between the tackles."
