Louisville-Ohio Postgame Quotes
September 01, 2013 | Football
Sep 1, 2013
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Postgame Notes
Louisville Head Coach Charlie Strong
(Opening statement)
“It was an outstanding win. It's always good to get that first win behind you. When you look at improvements we can make, it's just the penalties. We got three procedure penalties on the offense and a couple on the kicking game. But when you look at our offense, Teddy (Bridgewater) had five touchdowns, (Damian) Copeland had some good catches; (Kai) De La Cruz had a good game. Kai has had an outstanding camp. I told him during fall camp that he'd made the biggest improvement of any wide receiver on this football team and he'd get a chance to play and a lot of balls thrown his way. Then you look at the catch by DeVante Parker. Our running backs ran hard. Our offensive line did a great job of blocking and protecting the quarterback and opening up holes for our running game. Then defensively we had a shutout going there until we put our second team in and they were able to take the ball down and go score. It was great how we were able to maintain our gaps and go stop the run and making their offense one dimensional. Overall I'm very happy. We've got a short week coming up. I'm going to give them the day off tomorrow and then we'll start getting ready for Eastern Kentucky.”
(On whether he was pleased with the effort today)
“Very pleased - but if you look at us, we had some procedural calls that stopped some of those drives and that's what we've got to do a better job of, but very happy with the way our offense played.”
(On the difference in Kai De La Cruz this year)
“I think just his maturity level. I think with Kai - he just grew up. He just started realizing that he's going to do things our way. He always had the ability. If you've ever watched his skill ... The guys always (telling me), 'Coach just go watch him on the basketball court, just how well he can play. It was just fun to watch.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater)
“The thing Teddy does is he studies the game. He does a great job of taking what the defense gives him. It was just fun to watch him. The one good throw that he made that seven (Copeland) missed - he was perfect until then and I told Cope that he can't drop the ball. The one interception he threw, the receiver should have gone underneath the guy and he went over the top. It was just fun to watch Teddy. It's amazing how continues to develop and just gets better and better.
(On the moment he felt that the team had the right mindset)
“I felt like that last night when we were in the hotel and guys were just sitting around watching everyone else play. Last season they would've gotten really into the games watching teams like Clemson and Georgia play or LSU and TCU. But this year our guys kind of just watched and when it was time to go meet we met and then they went to bed. Last year they would've been like oooh and ahhh. They have that mindset now that we have a good football team too.”
(On James Burgess)
“The thing about Burgess is he's very athletic. He can run and has the skill to go get the ball. Preston also played well. Both of our backers played outstanding.”
(On the first unit defense)
“It was really great. You look at the run Beau (Blankenship) had with 1600 yards rushing last year and the quarterback just running the zone read play could hurt you outside. We knew we had to in our gaps and we just wanted to try and give them different looks. We wanted to make sure we got penetration and get in the backfield. It was fun watching Brandon Dunn controlling the inside and (Marcus) Smith and (Lorenzo) Mauldin on the outside. We were able to stop the run and then make them throw the ball.”
(On when he knew Lorenzo Mauldin would play)
“Probably the day of the accident. Our medical staff did a great job of getting him back for us. He kept saying, even when we were in the emergency room he was like 'Coach, I'm going to play in the game.' I told him we'll just wait and see.”
(On Michael Dyer)
“You're looking at a back that rushed for 2000 yards in the SEC, a conference that can stop the run. Just to watch him have an explosive play was good for him. It's good for his confidence and it's also good for our team. You saw how they all ran up when he scored that run. It's a good feeling when you've been out of football for that long and been battling what he's been battling and then go have a good run.”
Junior WR Kai De La Cruz
(On the mohawk)
“Me and him talked about it, coming to college with a mohawk. And I was like, 'You know what, let me dye it too and see what happens.'”
(On changing last name)
“De La Cruz is my dad's last name. I was living with my dad. I just always wanted to change it and I decided to change it.”
(On maturing as a player)
“It just took me a while to get the mental aspect of the game, to understand the playbook. I feel like a quarterback out there. I know everything that's going on, what the safeties are doing, what the linemen are doing. I know every position so it helps me to play faster and understand the game better.”
Junior QB Teddy Bridgewater
(On being wide open)
“We always talked about making the routes look like the drawings in the playbook. Today those guys did exactly what they were assigned.”
(On staying in the game)
“I understand what we're trying to accomplish. It's all about execution at that point, but unfortunately I took the sack. We're going to get back and find ways to prevent that from happening in the next game.”
(On De La Cruz's growth in maturity)
“He's shown character. His first two years he had a bunch of other guys like DeVante Parker, Eli Rogers, he just told himself that he was going to come back this year and make himself better and make this team better. He had a change of attitude and everything just took off from there.”
Senior WR Damian Copeland
(On the great start)
“Yes. We started off great, and that is what we said going into the game. We needed to get off to a fast start.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater and his five touchdowns)
“Yeah, and he sat out a quarter. He does that day in and day out. Teddy (Bridgewater) is like a pro. When he puts the ball there, he expects us to go get it and catch it.”
(After a great offensive performance, how can the offense improve)
“We need to keep up the intensity in practice and carry on. We had a great game on the offensive side as a whole, but we need to keep that up for next week.”
(Was it your goal as a senior to come out and set the tone)
“Yes. I wanted to capitalize on this opportunity. Last year was a great season, but I want to be better this season. I have bigger and better goals for this year.”
Senior LB Preston Brown
(Key to defensive performance in the first half)
“The key was just to play hard, to play physical, staying in our gaps and we maintained that really well throughout the whole game.”
(On improvements for the defense)
“Just the big plays in the passing, that's what we need to improve. When we get a little better in the rushing, help the guys out in the backfield.”
Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich
(Recapping the game)
“I believe they are a great football team. I think they were hitting on all cylinders today. I believe Teddy Bridgewater was perfect on a lot of his throws. At times we made it a little easier for them than it should've been. Receivers were wide open, so obviously their passing attack was very good it's a great passing attack. The running backs got going and when you generally have both phases of the game going it's generally not a ball game. They were very efficient.”
(Is Louisville a top 10 team)
“I don't think there is any question that they are a Top 10 team. The way they played and the way they executed, the quality of athlete, there's no doubt about it they're a Top 10 team. I think it's the best team we've played since I've been at Ohio and that includes Ohio State when they were ranked. So this is just an outstanding football team.”
(Are you disappointed or angry about the game)
“I'm both because it was clear to me it wasn't just on one side of the ball. We all need to accept blame for this one. We need to move on from this one. Obviously we can't be pleased. We have to understand that we played a poor football game. There is no reason we should be a poor football team. You can't let one loss be devastating. In this business you have to be prepared for anything. One loss can lead to two and two losses can lead to three and the season can kind of cave in on you. You've got to understand as tough as that is we have to move forward and we don't have a choice in the matter. It's how we operate and so we will build ourselves back up.”
(On Teddy Bridgewater)
“He has great poise. He's got excellent height. He moves well and never gets frustrated, and has a great arm. He seems to know the offense extremely well, so he really has the whole package.”
(Do you think Louisville can be an elite team)
“There are some really good teams out there and I don't know that they're not. From what I saw today, they showed that they are capable of being an outstanding offensive team, defensive team, and special teams. They are able to put it all together. They have a run that is spectacular that goes along with their passing attack. Obviously if they are to get through their schedule, the way they showed tonight they would be an outstanding candidate for anything.”
Senior QB Tyler Tettleton
(Did Louisville do anything that surprised you defensively)
“I give a lot of credit to Louisville because they have a great defense, and we just weren't clicking today. They did everything that we were expecting. We just didn't execute today.”
(How do you bounce back for next week's game?)
“It's just another game, another week. Another shot to be 1-0, and that's how we look at it going into every week. We're just trying to be 1-0. Obviously, this one hurts getting beat this badly, but I think the guys realize there is so much more football left to be played.”
(Is it easy to put this game behind you?)
“Yes it is. Nothing like last year where they were actually counting for the conference. But everyone understands how good of a team Louisville is, one of the best teams I've played since I've been here. I give them a lot of credit for what they did today.”
(Does this justify the Top 10 ranking)
“Yes there a Top 10 team, maybe even a Top five team. I've been here for five years now and a team they remind me of is the 2011 Ohio State team when they went to the Sugar Bowl. They are very talented top to bottom.”
Senior CB Travis Carrie
(How difficult was it to get a lock on that offense?)
“It was a combination of a lot of things. We didn't execute on defense as a whole. If you don't do that I think there's a break down as individual groups. So I think that was a challenge for us making sure everyone was on the same page to show that we were playing together.”
(Is Teddy Bridgewater as good as a quarterback as you have seen?)
“From what I've seen I really couldn't judge that. I think you would have to scout him through the year to really tell how good he is. You would have to have statistics to do that and I don't have that. I would say he is on the same level as (Johnny) Manziel.”
