Louisville-Connecticut Postgame Quotes
November 24, 2012 | Football
Nov. 24, 2012
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Head coach Charlie Strong
(Opening Statement)
“The goal is to finish out the season the right way. You are here and you have a group of seniors and you want to go out and finish the season right for them. We have to play better. We didn't play very well today. When you look at us on offense, we were not able to protect the quarterback. We were unable to run the ball early in the game. We were able to get it going there in the overtime. But then defensively we played very well in the second half, I don't even know if they had a first down. We had a lot of three and outs. But you know we are still alive. Rutgers ended up getting beat today. So we are still alive. This football team is still alive. We still have to go to Rutgers and win the game to get to the Orange Bowl or get to the BCS Bowl. But what is critical for this football team is one of our better players got hurt today. He showed his toughness out there today. Teddy Bridgewater, the way he came back out after halftime and competed and played so well in the overtime. This football team is hurt. This will hurt because they had a chance at home and finish out the season with a winning record and plus send this group of seniors out the right way.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater injury)
“The leg injury is fine. I would say he either fractured or broke his wrist. He ended up coming back in the second and we were able to cast his wrist. The injury happened on his non-throwing hand.”
(On calling a timeout on the game-winning field goal)
“I told the guy that I wanted a timeout and I thought I had it, but he hit the field goal anyway.”
(On Bridgewater's status against the Rutgers)
“Yes, he will be able to play. He was able to come back in the second half and even with the leg injury he was able to bounce back.”
(On the injury to Bridgewater's wrist)
“Well it's (in a) cast right now, so there shouldn't be any pain as long as we keep it protected and he doesn't take a hit on it.”
(Did Bridgewater's injury affect the running game)
“No, because if you looked at the beginning of the game we weren't running the ball all that well anyway. When we got into overtime Jeremy Wright had two big runs, and Bridgewater also has his right hand to hand the ball off.”
(On the problem with the running game)
“UConn won it at the line of scrimmage, they 2-gapped us and was able to push us back. We weren't able to get to the second level because their backers were able to get across our face.”
(On starting the game slow)
“I don't think we started the game flat. When we kicked the ball off, our defense was able to go out there and make a stop. If you look at our defense I think we dropped four or five interceptions including one in overtime that would have given us the game. So we had our chances and our opportunities and just didn't take advantage of them. Good football teams in situations like that take advantage of chances like that.”
(On the quarterbacks throwing a lot of deep balls)
“We were seeing those matchups and taking them. We weren't winning outside early because we were getting pinned on the sideline. In overtime we were able to break away and get away from them. We have to win. We weren't winning outside and we weren't winning in the slot position.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater returning after injury)
“Well, we had to get his hand casted. Once we got his hand casted he came back out. We were just trying to get him back into the flow and get him back out there. I think we were waiting for the cast to dry a little bit. I'm not really sure what the medical reason was. When he was ready to go we put him back in there.”
(On the offense clicking on the last series)
“Well we were able to get the two big throws that Teddy made. Then we threw the check down and Jeremy Wright was able to make a guy miss. As the game went on, we were able to get the offense functioning and get them looking like the offense we have.”
(On Senorise Perry possibly making a difference)
“The way we were blocking no running back would have been a difference maker. If you look they had a lot of tackles behind the line of scrimmage so no, I don't think he would have made a difference.”
Daniel Brown - Linebacker
(On the mood of the locker room after the game)
“Unpleasant, but we were informed that Rutgers lost so we have an important game coming and we have to keep our heads up. Everybody can't hang their heads.”
(On the feeling of still being able to go to the Orange Bowl)
“It has set in a little. When the guys were leaving we knew that we still have a shot, so you can't hang your heads right now. We still have Louisville on our back.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater's performance)
“Teddy's a tough guy. I was just speaking with him and he was saying he's dinged up a little. I told him 'I'm a senior and I lost my senior game, but I like the way you came in here and stood up like a true champion.' We need to get ready for next week so be ready.”
(On the defense's performance)
“We gave up little plays here and there and didn't capitalize on some of the opportunities that we had. I think that we knew the opponent very well. I told the team to just bring the same studying to next week and we'll be ready to play.”
(On how big the game versus Rutgers has become)
“It's a huge game. It has kind of turned into a natural Big East championship game.”
(On the second half defense)
“We told everybody to get going. We may have started off slow but we needed to go out and show the real football team and how we know how to play.”
(On his feeling during senior day)
“It was very special to me to be able to come out one last time and run out on the field. It was very special to me.”
Damian Copeland - Wide Receiver
(On the feeling of winning the game going into overtime)
“I have a lot of confidence in our team. The first thing I thought about was the Cincinnati game but unfortunately we didn't finish.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater's performance)
“He showed me where his heart is at. That's all we can ask from him. He earned a lot of respect from me. I didn't talk to him after the game but I know he's a tough soldier and he'll be there for this last game.”
(On still having a chance to make the Orange Bowl)
“After the game we were wrapping everything up and coach gave us a little light by saying they (Rutgers) lost. We are going to come out and practice hard this week. It's going to come down to us.”
(On the emotions of the upcoming week and preparation for Rutgers)
“We just have to get back to the drawing board... studying Rutgers on film. It's a short week and we want to execute in practice and carry it over to the game.”
Lorenzo Mauldin - Defensive End
(On how he felt coming back today)
“I felt refreshed. The pain wasn't there. There weren't too many worries. I just went out and played. The first thing the trainers told me was to go out and play fast and do what I do. And that's what I did.”
(On the team morale)
“We are just trying to get to where we need to be and that's the Big East championship. Rutgers just got beat by Pittsburgh so all we have to do is go out and beat Rutgers.”
(On if the defense came out flat to start the game)
“I wouldn't say flat. We came out to play. Some things don't go your way and some things will. Passes were dropped, sacks were missed, and tackles were missed. We just weren't up to par.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater's performance)
“Teddy's a tough kid. He knows what the team needs and we need him of course. Stein can play too. But Teddy overcame and injury and felt the team needs him to be out there.”
Mario Benavides - Center
(On playing last game at home as a senior)
“Yeah, obviously this leaves a sour taste in my mouth now, but it doesn't change the fact that I love this school, love my team, and love these fans. It is just kind of surreal right now.”
(On the offense stalling at times, was it us not showing up or something UConn was doing defensively) “They just played really well. We hurt ourselves a lot though. Typical game when things aren't going your way, you stop yourself.”
Preston Brown - Linebacker
(On how defense performed, and holding UConn to zero points in the second half)
“Yeah, we played good in the second half. We still need to work harder and carry that over to overtime.”
(On what can the team do to get ready for Rutgers)
“We need to go out and play hard every second to get the win.”
Head Coach Paul Pasqualoni
(Opening Statement)
“Needless to say, we are proud of our kids, proud of the team - come down here and show what kind of character they have, how hard they've been working, determined to stay with it and make something out of their season. We're just proud of them. Obviously, Louisville is a top-20 team, it's their Senior Day, they're 9-2, they have a great quarterback, who is a very tough individual, got knocked down quite a few times today but got back up and kept coming back in the game. Give to credit to Louisville, they fought hard, they came back, they got the game tied. But I'm proud of the way our guys fought and hung in there. We needed to score some points in the second half; we've talked about that for the past few weeks. I just wished we could've scored in the third or fourth quarter instead of overtime, but we got the points. I'm happy for Johnny McEntee, Johnny came in and really ran the show. I thought he showed great poise in winding the clock down, using the time on the clock and then coming back and hit the touchdown pass, which was one heck of a throw and one heck of a read; that was a big-time play. I'm happy for Chad Christen. It hasn't been easy for him. He's worked his tail off since that Temple game and he came back and made some really big kicks. It looks easy, but I promise you, it's not easy. We're proud of the kids and again hats off to Louisville for how hard they fought.”
(On the defense's performance during the game)
“Well, we knew Teddy (Bridgewater) was going to throw the ball. That's a no brainer, but at least we felt like if you could stop the run and really show that we could stop the run, then at least we could know he had to throw the ball and he maybe wouldn't get us with as much play-action stuff which is a big, big part of what they do on first and second down. I don't know the final statistics on the run, but I know we did a good job against the run here today. He got the check back down going the second half and that bothered us a little bit because we were kind of staying back and he got the ball to the back and made some plays in the back. They hit the corner route, the double move, to DeVante Parker there for the touchdown, which was a tough play on us. We didn't get much pressure in a 'double move' corner and they got it, when Teddy (Bridgewater) makes those throws. But the notion was, if we were going to be able to stop the run and we had to defend the play action and the drop back, it was going to be a long day for us.”
(On the defensive pressure from Trevardo Williams)
“It was very important to try to make him (Teddy Bridgewater) a little uncomfortable back there. I don't know if we did that as much as we would have liked to, but we did it a little bit. We got to him a little bit. I thought the guys in the coverage held up a couple times that made him hold the ball. The other idea was just to try to gain one more fraction of a second by trying to keep the coverage fairly tight, and that was the reason they got the ball to the back because we were back so far, trying to keep the deep ball, keep everything in front of us. They got the ball to the back going, so that was kind of what we were tried to do, but he still brought them back and still tied the game. Will (Stein) came in and did a good job, a lot of credit to that guy, He came in and moved the ball around. He's a confident guy. He looked pretty good. So, Louisville's got a pretty confident team.”
Chad Christen - Kicker
(On redeeming himself after his performance against Temple)
“Since that game, it's been a good lesson learned. I came off that game with a different mindset and I think hard work pays off. We worked hard all week in practice. I'm proud of our guys and I'm proud of this team. I'm glad they put me in this situation and I'm glad I responded well.”
(On what he was thinking before the game winning kick)
“I was pacing back and forth, but I was confident. After I made that one to force another overtime, I just thought I couldn't miss today. I just worked hard and it feels great.”
(On banking the first kick off of the uprights)
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was either going in or it was going to bank in because of the way the ball went at the post so I was confident there. There were a couple of technical things that went wrong there, but I'll look at the film and correct it. I'm just glad that it put us in a position to ultimately win the game.”
Chandler Whitmer - Quarterback
(On how he feels after taking the hit that forced him to leave the game)
“I'm still a little dizzy, but I'm alright. That's just football. I'll be ready for next week. I'm just going to rest up and they're going to take care of me, so I'll be alright.”
(On Jonny McEntee stepping up after he left the game)
“It was a great job on that touchdown. It was a good job of getting to the back side and Shakim (Williams) ran a great route and executed it perfectly, so it was nice. The defense did a great job and came up with a big play, so overall, it was a great team win.”
(On Lyle McCombs performance)
“He ran real well and really tough. He's a tough back and he wills to win and that's what he did today.”
Trevardo Williams - Defensive End
(On the team's great defensive effort)
“Our defense we always rely on playing tough and consistent and just being optimistic. That's our defense. We play with optimism and regardless of how our season looks, we go out there and say we're not being tested on how many games we win or lose, but we're tested on character and how we get up after we fall.”
(On whether or not this game was redemption for all of the close losses they have had this season) “Every game is a redemption. Like coach said, this is the most important game, which is something he says every game. The reason why he said that was because we were faced with another chance. This was another chance we had to approach and take advantage of. This game wasn't really a redemption, it was just taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Johnny McEntee - Quarterback
(On his performance)
“I came in a little rusty. It took me a while to finally get a completion. [Shakim Williams] just ran a great route and the line protected well and did well all day. We ran a play action and put a lot of pressure on the defense and kind of opened up things for Shak in the corner.”
(On coming in as a substitute on the road)
“You don't have time to think about it. You got to get in there and do what you've been prepared to do and [the coaching staff] does a good job getting everybody reps and we're all ready to go.”
(On his team's comeback performance on the road)
“All year we've come out pretty dominant in the first half and in the second half we struggled. It went into overtime, unfortunately, but we were able to pull it out.”
(On beating a ranked team on the road)
“I don't know if I've beat a ranked team since I've been here. I'm not positive, but it was a good win and it was pretty exciting.”
(On the touchdown pass in overtime)
“We ran a play action and we were looking to hit Mike Smith over the middle, but there were two guys there so I looked to [Shakim Williams]. He was one-on-one and he ran a great route and made a good catch.”
(On leading his team to a victory after losing the starting position)
“It feels great. I'm just wondering all year if I'm contributing anything to this team. I really didn't have to do much. My O-line did a great job today, so it was just nice to contribute for once.”
Yawin Smallwood - Linebacker
(On the team's defensive performance)
“We were just out there trying to make a play for each other. [Defense Coordinator Don Brown] was getting us fired up. Like I said, he's the best defensive coordinator in the country and guys just feed off of him buying into his system and we were just ready for this team.”
(On getting injured during the game)
“I just messed up my shoulder. I'm perfectly fine.”
(On setting up a game plan against Teddy Bridgewater) “He's a great, young quarterback. Our job on the defense was just to make him uncomfortable all night. I feel like guys like Sio [Moore], Trevardo [Williams], myself, the whole defensive line, the corners, they all did a good job of that. He was uncomfortable every single time he was in the pocket. We got to him a lot of times, hit him a few times, and we got him off his game.”
(On Bridgewater getting injured and coming back) “He's definitely a tough quarterback. He wanted to keep fighting and that's the same thing as our defense. He's going to come back in the game and we're going to hit him as many times as we could.”
