Louisville Postgame Quotes
September 15, 2013 | Football
Sept. 14, 2013
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Louisville Head Coach Charlie Strong
Opening statement ...
"It was a great team victory today, and I knew coming on the road we had to play our best and we were coming into a situation where we were going to get their best. You have to give (Kentucky) a lot of credit. The first half, it was a tale of two defenses; their defense played well and our defense played well. We were able to mount a drive there right before the half to get it at 10-3. Then in the second half, we made some halftime adjustments with our offensive coaches and we were able to take the ball for three-straight drives and go score. Overall, very pleased, we could have played better, but you get a victory like this, you're on the road, you're very happy, it's a rivalry game."
On what made it hard for them to score in the first half ...
"Well, in the first half any time you haven't seen a defense before and they change it up, they did a great job of changing it up and mixing it up."
On their defense...
"Early in the game our offense wasn't playing well and defensively we were able to go out and get some stops. They were 0-for-13 on third down but I think they were able to convert three fourth downs with the quarterback using his legs. But, our defense, we were able to pressure and we were able to go stop the run. We wanted to make them one dimensional. They hit a big run there in the second half down the boundary but just very pleased with how we played on defense."
On how the run game helped them get going ...
"You want balance and any time you can get balance with your run and pass game it is so critical. We were able to go run the football, you look at Dominique (Brown), who made some big runs and then Senorise (Perry) was able to break the long one down the boundary. Even with (Michael) Dyer, he made some big runs. Our offensive line just grinded it out. The first half we weren't staying locked up on the blockers but also it's a combination of the linemen and the running backs. The running backs have to run through a defender, sometimes he may not get blocked but just run through him but it was good to see that happen."
On adjustments or execution being the difference in the second half ...
"A combination of both because in order to execute you have to make the adjustments so we were able to make the adjustments and then we were able to execute."
On wanting to be known as a strong defensive team rather than just offensive ...
"Well what happens when you have a Heisman quarterback you're going to get the notoriety there on offense but defensively we have some players on defense. This team on offense, has an outstanding quarterback, you have some receivers, a running back and then on defense you have some good players. I don't know what we're known as but I'd just like to be known as a team that plays together in all three phases."
On how big of a win it is ...
"Well, it's big but when you look at this game, it's a big game because it's a rival game and there's so much put into it. That's what I told our players, all games are big games but this game is a little different and that's why we had to go out and go prepare the way we did. Just make sure we had the focus and we had the confidence to believe that we could come in here and beat them."
On the momentum swing going into the half ...
"It was because they were driving the football. They actually had it down within field goal range. They could have walked out of there with three points and then you never know what could have happened at the start of the second half. But just to get that stop knowing that we were going to get the ball at the start of the second half (was big)."
Louisville Student-Athletes
#2 Preston Brown, LB
On the fumble return he recovered in the first half...
"I think it was great to get a little momentum going into halftime. It really got the guys hyped up and ready to go back in there."
On winning three in a row...
"It's good to get three in a row in a rivalry. They played their hardest. They did outstanding today. My hat goes off to them but it is great to keep the momentum going."
On if defense felt they needed to carry the load in the beginning of the game...
"Well we always go out there and try to play our hardest. We know that Teddy (Bridgewater) will get the guys right. We weren't really focused on them not getting touchdowns in the beginning. We know that Teddy will get them started eventually."
#10 Dominique Brown, RB
On adjustments to the line in the second half...
"Our run game coordinator did a great job on scheming things. We ran different runs than we did the first half. They came out with different fronts that we weren't prepared for. The second half we made adjustments and the offensive line came off of the ball. Our lead blocker did a great job and the tight end did a great job coming off the ball as well."
On being surprised by the Wildcats...
"Yes, we were pretty much surprised. They had five down linemen the whole game and we weren't expecting that. We were expecting three or something like that. So second half adjustments we came out and made. We just wanted to get physical and run and pass."
#5 Teddy Bridgewater, QB
On what changes were made at halftime to establish the running game...
“We just told the offensive line we're going to line up and run it at them. Once you're able to win the line of scrimmage, you're pretty much unstoppable.”
On what he learned about himself today in this kind of game in this type of atmosphere...
“We learned that you have to respect your opponent. Coming into the game, we felt that we didn't get any respect, so we pretty much learned something from UK. We 're not as good as we think we are so we learned to stay humble and respect opponents.”
On his accuracy in today's game...
“I just wasn't as accurate as always. I'll come back tomorrow and try to improve on every aspect of the game, but I'll just need to look at the film and I'll be able to critique myself.”
#9 DeVante Parker, WR
On his thoughts of Teddy Bridgewater's performance...
“We started off kind of slow, but our running game picked it up in the second half enabling Teddy to throw the ball down field.”
On the impact of his touchdown catch in the first half...
“The DB played soft so I went up and got it. It gave us momentum going into the half.”
