University of Louisville Football Post-Game Quotes
October 25, 2008 | Football
Oct. 25, 2008
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Louisville Coach Steve Kragthorpe
"I'm really proud of our football team, the way they played today, the way they started and continued to fight, battle and persevere today in a seesaw battle against a very good, top 20 football team. I'm really proud of the way our guys responded. There were a couple of situations in the game where it looked like they had a chance to recapture the momentum. We had it a couple of times and gave it back to them a little bit, but our guys found a way and that's what it's all about. You walk into our locker room and our equipment room and there's a big sign that says `find a way' and that's we did today, we found a way. They deserve the credit, give the players the credit, because they are the ones who deserve it. They did a great job today and I'm proud of them."
(On the defense) "We wanted to keep it mixed up defensively. Matt Grothe is very good player and he brings a dangerous part of his game to the table because he can run the ball so well. I thought the key in our pass rush today was our defensive tackles. They really did a great job inside. He's only about 5-10, so we were able to get some footing inside and pull the ball down a couple of times and got some sacks with our inside guys. With the inside pressure, he couldn't spin out and make some plays outside. He did a good job though. There were a couple of times it looked like we had him on the ground and he scrambles out and finds a way to make the play. Matt's a very good player. They have a good scheme on offense. We wanted to pick and choose our spots to pressure him and put blitzes in that could get to the quarterback. And yet you had to be careful because they have a good screen game and there's not much of a second line of defense if he takes off and runs it."
(On how it feels to win the game) "It's great. Give the credit to the players. The players are the guys that worked their butts off all week long. We had a great week of practice everybody was focused and very intent on coming out and playing well today and getting the win. Give those guys the credit, they're the ones that went out and won the football game and I got to watch."
"I'm happy for our players and coaches. Anytime you win games you love winning games and that's great. I thought our fans were great today and they were into the game. They had a no huddle offense, so we wanted to make it tough on them communicating. Again give the credit to the players."
(On the last two plays) "They were huge. We wanted to keep the football there and hold onto and not put our defense back on the field. But we that and our defense stepped up again and continued to make plays. They just over and over found a way to do it. Obviously we got a couple of penalties. And the fake punt - we called that thing, had a good look and they call a holding penalty on us. Again they committed a holding penalty, there's no doubt 27 pulled up. We've seen it in film and we knew they'd try to do it again."
(On pressuring the quarterback) "We pressured a little bit. We picked and chose in that situation, trying to put some pressure on them and also trying to back off and played a little zone, faking some pressure, playing a little cover two behind it. I thought our guys did an excellent job at that - forcing him into maybe passing the ball a couple of times and still being able to get to him. We wanted to mix it up. He's a very good quarterback. He's started about 30 football games now, he's a savvy guy. They do a good job to try to get you to jump and determine what you're going to do on defense and audible accordingly. We wanted to disguise things a little bit, give them a couple of different looks throughout the game. I thought our guys did a really good job of that."
Louisville DL Earl Heyman
(Limiting USF Rushing Yardage) "Containing (Matt) Grothe, he's a heck of a player. He's a competitor and he's got a lot of heart. He's a tough kid I hit him one time and he just got back up and smiled at me. When you're out there playing against a player with that type of caliber and with that type of skill you just have to keep going after him. He's there leading rusher too so I think we did a great job going after him and Ford, he's a great player too."
(Louisville mindset at the end of game) "Win the game, our wall says find a way, that's something Coach K is real big on just find a way. Ugly, bad, just find a way. The best statistic the only statistic that really matters is the win loss column."
(On Defensive Pressure) "We just got in the mindset that we had to stop them. We knew Grothe can make great plays, he'd been showing us all night, spreading us out throwing underneath routes. He was doing a great job staying poised and in the pocket. Coach English said let's go get him. When he pressures you, you have to come and that's what we did."
(On USF's Frustration) "Yes, they displayed some evidence of frustration. That's one of the things about this team (Louisville) we play a lot of football around here and this team above any other when things go bad we always have a smile on our face. We don't quit we won't quit. Coach K has done an excellent job of preaching that to us."
Louisville QB Hunter Cantwell
(On the Win) "It was a big win, a big win for the program, a big win for the city. It's good to go out and get a win for the city, for each other, and the coaches. I think everything comes with the job. If you're the head football coach for the University of Louisville people expect a certain style of play and a certain number of wins. That's everybody outside our family. We just got to stay together and keep playing hard."
(On Scott Long) "It's very nice everyone's been telling everybody how good he was. He was a game breaker. He got to go out there and show that today. It's good to have him back. There are a million things that make him a good player, one is his work ethic off the field, the way he practices. Also he's a big physical wide receiver who's very fast and that combination you don't find everywhere. He's got great hands. He's a team guy not a look-at-me kind of guy. I think he provided a spark today that we needed."
Louisville WR Scott Long
(On the Win) "It was great to come out there and make some plays for my team. And that was such a big game on a big stage like this. It was a good feeling."
(On Waiting for this opportunity) "I put a lot of work in, in the offseason and the whole team has. Especially with me and Hunter, the time we spend in the offseason. We kind of got that put on hold a little bit with the injury, but it's good to get back out there and get my feet wet and start from here."
(On the Defensive Coverage) "I saw a lot of coverage especially from the boundary . They tried to roll the safety over there a few times. On cover three, the corner would start pressing and bail out of at there and they were kind of messing with me a little bit at the line. They tried to confuse me with the coverages and disguises."
Louisville C Eric Wood
(On the Win) "Yes, definitely we had a couple of tough loses early on and we kept in our minds that we need to finish this season out strong and great things can still happen this season. This is a big win, but we have another game next weekend. The tough thing about playing all your nonconference games early is that down the stretch these all count big time. You can't ride your high horse too long because someone is there ready for you the following week."
(On Coach K) "He had a tough time early on and he took a lot of criticism. The players have stood behind him the whole time. I'll talk highly of him until the day I die. I can't say enough good things about him and what he's doing for this program. Hopefully this shows he's a great coach and you just have to stick with him."
USF Coach Jim Leavitt
"We just didn't protect enough, that's what I thought was a big problem. I thought Matt Grothe did some great things, I thought he was courageous, I thought he played extremely well, when he threw the interception he was just trying so hard to make something happen, I almost can't fault him, I know you can't throw the interception, but that poor guy was just, vowing for life, he didn't want to take a sack, I am just so proud of Matt Grothe, that guy I would go with him any day of the week. I love the guy, he's just the perfect stud, I think he battled well today."
(On the position switch Quenton Mitchell, will you stick with him?) "I don't know, we had to make a move somewhere, Tyler Robinson is a great football player and he really helps us in a lot of ways, and he did some real good things today. He was definitely struggling with the deep ball over there."
(On all the timeouts used before the half) "I was so worried that the clock was going to run out on second and one and I did not want to go to second and six, so I burned a timeout, that's why I used one."
USF QB Matt Grothe
"Going down and scoring the touchdown and having them come back and score, they did a good job on offense of going down and putting points on the board. They just came out and beat us tonight."
(On the pressure from the Cards' defense) "We have some guys knocked out and had some new guys in there that haven't always been in there."
USF WR Taurus Johnson
"The first half we moved the ball, but in the second half, coach wanted us to come out like a two-minute offense. From time-to-time, they seemed to get a little bit tired and we were getting in a rhythm, but we still made a couple of mistakes. We can't have that. This was an important game for us. It's a tough loss, but we have to get back on the road and get ready for Cincinnati."
"Everything we saw on tape with them in recent games was there. We just had a lot of mistakes that set us back. We tried our hardest to come back at the end, but we had the flag on the field goal and there's nothing we can do about it except move on to the next game."
USF DE George Selvie
(On how they played against the run) "I think we did pretty well, but they got us about three times on the draw. Most everything they got on the draw came after they got our defensive line up the field and hit us in the middle. They did that pretty well, but overall, I think we played well against the run."
