Louisville-Duke Postgame Quotes
October 15, 2016 | Football
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Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino
(Opening Statement)
"That was a day of work right there and the first thing you need to do is take your hat off to Duke and their game plan. They did a great job of keeping the football and shortening the game, working the clock. We had some execution issues at times and we weren't able to get the lead in the third quarter that we needed. I think if you go down and score a touchdown there, make the field goal, then you put pressure on them to have to throw the ball, but we weren't able to do that and they made it a close game. I am proud of our team sticking together, fighting, working hard and grinding out a win. Sometimes you've got just to grind them out."
(On when the team uses all of the play clock)
"It's a little frustrating. There's no question about it and they got themselves into third and shorts and then converted and that's one area I think they were 50 percent conversions on third down and we're not used to that. We're used to getting off the field on defense and getting our offense the ball back, but like I said, we held in there and found a way to win."
(Was there a common thread in Duke's third down conversions)
"It's third and short, third and medium... And then they got us the first time on the third and long where they hit the screen. They did a good job of not putting their quarterback in a position where we could pass rush him. I think that was one of the things they really worked hard at and you saw the last drive when they had to through the ball we were able to get pressure on him."
(When you know you have limited possessions in a game or will have limited possessions because of what they were doing, was there any sense of pressing from Lamar or some of the other guys knowing you might not have as many plays?)
“I think there probably was at times and it's one of those things where, maybe we weren't as aggressive because of it too. We didn't take as many shots down the field, although we started the second half out doing that and Jamari (Staples) made a great catch and then the run by (Jeremy) Smith was really good. Jeremy did a great job on the touchdown run, but we just didn't execute our third downs as well as we normally do either and we didn't get into the type of third down situations we like to.”
(Do you feel there was possibly any hangover from having such a big game? Did that have anything to do with it at all?) “I don't think so. I don't feel that way because I didn't see it in practice. I thought our guys did a good job in practice and got well prepared for the game. I like the way we went about our business Friday or yesterday at the hotel and today in the walk through and I feel like we were ready to play. We didn't blow them out, but we did win the game.”
(What was your reaction to the roughing the kicker call? Do you think that was a fair call?)
“I didn't even see it, so I have no idea but I'll take it.”
(How do you come away from it? Like you said we didn't blow them out but we won the game?) “Yeah, I think every season that you win games and you have a good season, there's going to be one or two games that are very close and difficult and hard. I know that from over the years there's been games you go in and you think okay this is going to be a high scoring game, and it's a low scoring game. Or this one's going to be a defensive thing and it ends up being both offenses score a lot of points. You never know what's going to happen until you go out and play and that's why you play the game.”
(On being concerned how the win will be perceived)
“I think that's the reality of where we're at right now. We've got to understand that, but again our objective is to go win, keep ourselves in it and I think we did that. I think we'll be alright, we've just got to go play better.”
(On if both play calls after the roughing the kicker penalty were called runs for Lamar Jackson)
“They weren't necessarily called runs, they were reads. He could either hand the ball to Jeremy (Smith) or keep the ball and go. The looks that they gave him he kept the ball. I thought that we had two really good blocks by Cole Hikutini and he was able to run the ball in the end zone.”
(On if the type of game changed the play calling philosophy)
“I think it changed me a little bit, yeah. We weren't as aggressive in taking all of the shots that you normally get to take. We did make some mistakes. Certainly the turnover really hurt us when we were going in to score and we felt like we really had the momentum and the offense was clicking. Then we bogged down a couple times when we were driving the ball, particularly right before half in the two-minute drive. That was disappointing to me because we've been really good in our two-minute drives before half.”
(On how tough it was to see Jaire Alexander's punt return called back)
“Yeah that's a hard one. I didn't see that play either. I don't know what happened on that either.”
(On Drew Bailey leading the team with tackles)
“I've been really proud of Drew. I think he's really improved as an overall football player. Last year he was very productive rushing the passer and being disruptive. Now he understands the run game, how to defend the run and use his hands. I think he'll continue to get better as the year goes on, but he had a great game.”
Stacy Thomas, Jr., LB
(On Duke's offense)
“We want the offense to get out on the field and we want to do our job to stop it.”
(On the team's hype)
“We don't pay attention to all that. Our job is to play. We just have to go out there and play and go out and win.”
(On Duke slowing the game down)
“You just have to pay attention to the game plan. They were running the ball a lot on first and second down, so we knew what was coming; we just had to stop it.
(On Dukes offensive play calling)
“We figured it out once we were out there for a while. We realized what they were going to do and we are out here to stop them so that's what we tried to do.”
(On Duke's success on third down)
“We have to look at the film and improve everyday and improve every week.”
(On Duke's first series score)
“One drive doesn't define the game and we just have to go back out there and play.”
(On Drew Bailey)
“He's a big powerful, D lineman. He's smart. He recognizes a lot of plays and he was able to get off tackles and make plays in the backfield.”
(On the roughing the kicker call)
“It was exciting. We were excited but we knew that we were going to have to go back out there and play regardless.
(On the possibility of making playoffs)
“At the end of the day, a win is a win. We have to win regardless. It doesn't matter if we score a lot of points and lose or score a lot of points and win. At the end of the day, as long as we win, that's what we want to do. Doesn't matter the pace of the game, the score, it doesn't matter as long as we win, we are happy.”
Lamar Jackson, So., QB
(On the roughing the kicker call)
“We were overjoyed. We were happy to get the ball back, and in our minds we were already ready to punch it in. That's what we were going for.”
(You were up by three what happened?)
“Losing focus… We weren't focused. At first we went out there and were like 'alright, we have to make a statement, and go score. We went out there and were driving the ball fast, and we hit a hump. You know we lost our focus and we have to watch film and get everything fixed.”
(Fresh set of downs?)
“I wasn't in doubt that we were going to score. It wasn't about me running, it was just, we are going to get in this end zone because we've been down there numerous times, and we got stopped. We weren't used to that and we have to get that right.”
(In take over mode?)
“Score. I wasn't going to let my team down. I was going out there ready.”
(In a low scoring game is it hard to not do too much?)
“Yeah, people try to go out there and before with last year, we were so young, we would have probably gone out there and been like, 'oh we have to blow you boys out,' and they'd end up beating us. So this year we were just going to keep the pace up and get in the end zone really fast, and we did.”
(Was it frustrating to play keep away?)
“Yeah that was crazy, we weren't used to that. We weren't expecting that at all, but when we noticed that we were like, 'we just have to score because they are going to keep the ball in their hands a long time.' It was like, they would take seven minutes off the clock every drive.”
(Take you out of rhythm?)
“No. it made me want to go out there and grind harder.”
(View on Jeremy Smith run)
“I was happy. I'm not going to lie that was crazy. I wasn't expecting a big run like that. That was probably an 80 yard run out there I don't even know. I was happy for him.”
(What led to it?)
“Great blocking. Down the field, he broke a lot of tackles, like probably three tackles, and he was running.”
(Do you guys worry about style points?)
“We just feel, you go out there, and you win the game. All of that points and stuff like that. We don't really care about that. We just go out there and we are going to win.”
(Excited to get back out there?)
“Some of us were saying they felt like it was their first game again. It felt so long, and we went out there the first drive and we were doing good. Probably some of us, in their minds, were thinking, 'oh this is going to be an easy game like that, and it wasn't. They were a disciplined team and they were doing good.”
(On not being as sharp on third down?)
“Losing focus. We weren't focused like that, like we usually are. We just have to get it fixed. Watch film and practice hard.”
(What do you see when making big play?)
“I see the defenders and my job is to get the first down and score. That's how I feel whenever I'm running the ball, score and get the first down. When I'm throwing the ball, I let my dynamic wide receiver get it and try to go for six.”
(Talk about meeting with the young cancer patient this week)
“It was a treat for me because my grandmother a long time ago, she died from cancer. When I heard the story that she had stage-4 cancer, I wanted to meet her. My grandma was my heart, she was the one with cancer, and I hate cancer. I mean I really wanted to meet her and I'm glad I did…It was cool because she was smiling. She was smiling pretty hard, and I'm just happy we could make her day.”
DeAngelo Brown, Sr., DL
(Have you ever spent so much time on the field?)
“I mean the offense has really been lighting it up so we really haven't spent that much time on the field this year, so that was really the first time I've been out there a lot. I feel like we responded well, we came out and fought every drive and did what we had to do to get the victory. That's all you can ask for.”
(Tobijah Hughley said that he thought this was your first win that was good for you, you got challenged but still you were able to grind one out. Do you agree with that?)
“Yeah, playing in the ACC, you're always going to play a tough opponent and looking further down the road we're going to have some big games come up. So it's going to be good for us to handle adversity and see how we respond. I think we responded well. We came out with a win and you can't ask for much more.”
(What are they doing to be so effective on third down?)
“Just little stuff, like little screens and stuff. We have to respond better to that and we will work on that in practice next week.”
(Pressure on the passer has been so great this year, not a lot this game. Were they doing some schematically?)
“They were doing a lot of rollout screens. A lot of things that we really couldn't get a rush, they have great coaches over there so they knew coming into this game that we were going to have our ears pinned back and they did a lot of stuff that didn't allow us to rush the way we wanted.”
(You see the roughing the kicker call, the offense gets a fresh set of downs, what was that like on the sideline?)
“It was a sigh of relief man, but it was great to get that play and have the offense come out there and execute and explode we got the win.”
(Was there any doubt at that point that they were going to score?)
“No, not at all, I knew they were going to score that drive and I was just happy to see them do it.”
(What has it been like the last two weeks getting ready after a huge game down at Clemson to come back have that long two week stretch before you guys finally got to play. What has that been like?)
“We were just ready to get back on the field. It feels like forever since we played, so we were ready to get back out there and start grinding and start playing games and start winning.”
(What made Drew Bailey so effective tonight?)
“Drew is a great player. He loves the game of football, and he just came to play tonight. I was just so happy for him and was just so happy to see him execute those plays that he made. It made me proud.”
(Have you seen him grow as a football player since he's been here?)
“He's gotten a lot better mentally and physically he has learned so much within the year he has been here. He really tries to be the best player he can be and I love that about him.”
Drew Bailey, Jr., DL
(Drew you've had some good games but nothing like this. What made you so effective tonight?)
“Just that we had to bounce back. We didn't do so well last week, so we came in Sunday and had all these shirts in our lockers that said 'bounce back', so, you know, that was the goal for this week.”
(That Duke offense. I mean what's it like going against a team that uses every single second?)
“You just got to do the dirty work. Just grind it out and do the dirty work.”
(It's been awhile since you played at home, what was it like to play with your fans behind you again?)
“It was fun. It made us more comfortable. You know last week we played on the road, and we hadn't played at home in so long, and this week we had to turn it up.”
(Did you see anything on film that made you feel like you were going to have a great game?)
“No sir, not at all. I saw the play that we were running an, inside run. I told Deangelo I knew the play was an inside run before it happened and I made the play. Yes sir.”
(What were your thoughts when you saw the spreadsheet and saw 11 tackles?)
“I found out from Jody (Demling). I was like, 'Wow, 11 tackles!' I didn't know it was going to be like that. I was just going out there and playing my role.”
(When you guys see that it's a lower scoring game and it's a bit of a fight does the defense kind of say that hey guys we got to hold the line?)
“We have to hold the rope. We have to hold it down for the offense. Yes sir, we say that all the time.”
(Is it annoying when they're taking that long?)
“It's not annoying. You just have to get them off the field. Three and out. Three and out. Three and out. The annoying part is penalties because you think you're about to get off the field, then it's a penalty I have to go back out. It's a mind thing.”
(What did Coach Grantham say when they scored that opening drive?)
“Just tighten up.”
(Do you think you've come along is your confidence/comfort level higher now a year and a half into it?)
“I feel like I'm getting a lot smarter because last year I just would've been running up the field not paying attention to the back field, just going straight. Now I feel like I can read more and block better and things like that.”
(It's been said that you've had a reputation at a really good pass rusher, but tonight you were stopping the runs. What have you gained as far as being a run stopper.)
“Just be smarter. They were throwing quickly. When they ran the ball, I had more time to read.”
(How tough is it to refocus after they get that third down conversion?)
“Like with the penalty that Keith [Kelsey] had, we were like 'nah man get it together'. It's just a mind thing.”
Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe
(Opening statement) “First, congratulations to Louisville. I said before the ball game that I thought they were a very complete team. What I mean by that I'll say again, there is talent throughout the club. They're physical on both lines of scrimmage, intermediate guys, linebackers, tight ends, and all the way down to the skill. They're extremely talented. They're also extremely well coached in every facet of football, I mean that sincerely. This Louisville team would be difficult for anyone to beat. I'm proud our guys fought them, unfortunately, we had a shot what was it six something to go and we're down three and they don't have great field position and all we could ask for was an opportunity. We just could not contain them at that point. They won it and are going to move on, they've got a task in front of them. We have an open date and we're going to need some healing physically. We've got a few things to figure out in that regard and then we've got to focus on becoming a better football team.”
(On the roughing the kicker call) “Yeah, I'm going to just explain this to everyone. I'm not complaining about the officiating at all, we hit the guy and that's what you do you call it. I think the rule makers have to look at when a guy leaves a protected area. I thought Bryon's angle was perfection. Down in front of the spot where the kicker is. I think the guy was able to take a step and get in harm's way. I would like the rule makers to take a look at that or we're all going to have to stop trying to block an extra point because I had a perfect angle and Bryon did exactly what he was coached to do. He couldn't have done it any better. He altered the kick on the other end and he altered that one, but unfortunately the rules are what they are. It's the same as forward progress, that's happened to me before. That's a legitimate call, when they see or they call forward progress then that play is dead and I explained that to our squad after the game because I wanted them to understand. It's fair for them to understand it. Things like that do happen in football. We played a clean game a hard fought game, very few penalties in that ball game and you hate it to come down to those things at the end but it is what it is and hats off to Louisville they won the ball game.”
(On holding them to their fewest points all year)Â “I don't think people really know who we are. We may be a little new to some people. And we have a great deal of confidence and we've got some talent. We've got outstanding coaches that prepare our young people well. I told our team, 'be proud of your efforts'. I wasn't talking about Friday night. I think our team prepares very well. My hat is off to our guys and all they have to do to prepare and get themselves ready to play. They are pretty busy young people. That's my answer as to why. We had people in the right places and we are very deliberate. I saw Coach Petrino's remarks that we are a smart football team. Our players are a hell of a lot smarter than I am. I can promise you that. You know that comes back to preparation and commitment to everybody playing as a team. We are beat up. We are a little bit young. This team is going to get better and better as we go.”
(On time of possession) “Well we are always trying to do that. We are always going to try to keep our offense on the field and make first downs. When you have a freshman quarterback and the best defense against Lamar Jackson and the rest of that offensive talent, is for them to watch us make first downs. Our coaches and players did a good job of doing that.”
(Earlier in the third quarter, you had the three play swing with Humphrey's fumble, the punt return and the 80-yard run, what was the swing of emotions kind of like on the sidelines?) “Well you know, we struggled a bit with the turnover being reversed because there was a boat load of celebrating. The energy was firing everywhere and then you have to go gather your guys back up to get them back out there. That's always a challenge but we prepared for that. We talked a lot about that. There were going to be big things that happened in this ball game and we would have to weather. I think we did okay with it but that's always a challenge. The punt return didn't get to me because I saw it was a legitimate block in the back. I saw it, saw it was called. But I still didn't like it. You know we don't need to be giving up punt returns. So I'll deal with that Sunday. We are giving them tomorrow off. I'm not too pleased we gave up that kind of punt return. That's kind of how you win and lose. You need to go and correct things. That's one of them we better correct.”
(On Lamar Jackson) “You know, when I think you see him in person, you probably realize just how- he's big. You see his size and he's just explosively fast. He is a great football player. He is a great football player.”
(On the confidence of his players) “I think it is preparation. You can't give a player confidence. As a coach you can't give it to your players – you help them earn it. One of the things we teach, you earn confidence. Whatever work you put into something, there's a common level involved. And I believe our guys believe that and buy into it.”
(On preparation) “We felt like that if we were deliberate and were smart about what we were doing that we would have some success. And, I'm telling you, this week in practice it was a thing of beauty to watch our guys prepare themselves. So, I don't think it surprised anybody, but it certainly helped us score early and match a team of that magnitude.”
(On Daniel Jones) “I thought he was outstanding. I thought he understood what we wanted him to do. We put him in a good circumstance to be successful. We talked a lot about just executing the play. It's all you have to do, just one play at a time and I told them you've been to Notre Dame. You've been to Northwestern. You've played in a hurricane. You've been put in some tough circumstances. You've been at Virginia. It's just one play at a time. He's pretty battle tested already as a young redshirt freshman. Very proud of his focus and efforts tonight.”
(On running the ball) “Well, you're trying to create a chain that's friendly. What you can't with Louisville's defense is put yourself where you have one pass. Sometimes you run it and they think you're going to throw it. And sometimes you throw it when they think you're going to run it. I have great respect for their talent level on defense. And I have great respect for them. They are extremely well coached. So, it's different than any potential chess match. You better be careful with your moves. I don't ever care about statistics. I wanted to win this football game.”
Johnathan Lloyd, Wide Receiver, #5, So.
(About Duke controlling the ball and putting long drives together?) “No, I wouldn't say that. We were just trying to put ourselves in the best position as possible. They held the ball a lot too, more than usual. Didn't make as many big plays, quick score and drive. But that wasn't the game plan, we just wanted to make every play count and that's what we tried to do.”
(About the big play in the fourth quarter building confidence) “We were confident the whole way through. We knew we could play with these guys and until their last touchdown at the end, everything was in reach. We made a few mistakes and we kind of hurt ourselves to not capitalize on opportunities that we did have. But our confidence never wavered. Even going into it the line on the game was huge. Nobody even expected us to compete, really just come out and get run over but we knew ourselves that we could play and that's what we tried to show tonight.”
(About execution) “We did it alright, if we would have won I would have said we did it good. Like I said, we just have to capitalize on the opportunities we have and we can't keep hurting ourselves. That's taking away.”
Daniel Jones, #17, Quarterback, Fr.
(About having a tight end in front of a wide receiver) “That's part of our offense, we hadn't done it as much coming into the game, but you know we have the ability to line up in a bunch of different formations. That's something we can look at on film and decide whether or not that's something we will go forward with, you know it worked hard a few times so yeah, we'll definitely take a look at that.”
(About success on the third downs today and controlling time of possession)”We just came in wanting to execute what we do, and they're a great defense and played well and we just wanted to do what we do throughout the game and remain consistent with that and at times we executed well and there's a lot to learn from the good things but we also have a number of things to correct going forward.”
(About speed of offense)Â “You know, that's just part of our offense, you know, we have speed all over the field, and you know that's definitely strength of ours. That's certainly a big part of our offense and it was working tonight so we were just executing our stuff tonight.
(About fourth-quarter touchdown leading to a possible game-winning drive) Â “I mean we were pumped. It was an opportunity to take the ball and win the game, but it didn't work out that way. We were ready and ready to execute.”
(About field goal going wide, and then the flag on the field for roughing the kicker) “I mean obviously it was disappointing to see that we weren't going to get the ball, but you know that's how it goes. I thought Breon took a good angle but you know you can't really see that, you gotta look at it on tape, we gotta, uh can't really put that on a single play really when it comes down to a whole game of execution, so, yeah.”
(About trying to contain the ball, longer drives, keeping the ball away from Louisville) “We just wanted to execute our stuff really. I mean we knew they were a good defense and we certainly had certain plays and certain ideas against it, but you know at the end of the day it was just our stuff, you know, what we do. We practiced all week with the specific plays and stuff according to what they were giving us, so it was just executing our offense.
(About being on the brink of pulling the upset off) “I mean absolutely. We came up here to win the game. We're disappointed we didn't. We weren't ever thinking about losing the game. We're all very competitive, you know regardless of whatever everyone else is thinking, you know, whatever they're telling us, we always think we're going to win the game. That was the mindset we had.”
(About avoiding turnovers being game plan going up against an offense like Louisville) “I mean avoiding turnovers is always a big emphasis of our offense, and you know taking care of the ball throughout the game. You know, we uh, that's important when you play any team, especially a top team, you know, allowing yourself to hold the ball and keep the ball so you can score, and preventing their offense from getting the ball in short field position, that's just football, that's just the way, you know, the game works, so you know turnovers is always a focus of our offense.”
Ben Humphreys #34, So. LB
(About the play that looked like a fumble hearing a whistle) “I mean I was just playing. That's what I do every play; try to make a play. The ref called what he called. He didn't call forward progress. If you think you saw it, he saw it. We have to play the next play and we ended on an explosive play on that drive so, I mean you have to make plays one every play and that's what I tried to do. He made a call.
(About going back out when Duke thought it had the ball) “You know that is just the game of football. Stuff happens. We needed to rebound and I think we did. We did very well.”
(About the defense) “I mean, I don't know how many points they are averaging, but we held them -- one of the top teams in the nation to 24 points. I am very proud of the way we played as a team. Our offense played as a team, our defense and even our special teams and you can't be more proud of a team that came up here in a hostile environment and play the way we did. Obviously, I'm very disappointed, but I'm very proud on the play we played and we can build on this and look forward to our bye week and get ready for Georgia Tech. But I'm very proud of the way we played as a whole.”
(About defending Lamar Jackson) “Yeah, he is one of the best players in the nation. Hats off to him, he is a great player. Their offense line and receivers blocked for him very well. Overall one of the things I noticed about him was he was a humble guy and I respect that out of him and I hope he continues to do so because he is a great player.
(About Lamar Jackson being humble) “I mean, just guys talking to him on the field. You can tell he just likes football, just like me. He just loves the game and I'm happy for him and I hope he does well for the rest of the season.
(About seeing Lamar Jackson in person)  “He is faster than he looks on tape and stuff like that, but I think we did a great job of holding them I check as much as we could. I know some of the games he had this year, he has gone for billions of touchdowns and stuff like that. I'm just proud of the way we played as a defense of whole, our defense of line played their butts off.” Â
(About Louisville not scoring a lot of points and their frustration, or depression on the field)  “When you are used to scoring 70 points on people and you have 14 going into the fourth -- yeah I think they were depressed and that was our goal. I mean we had them right there. We had them at the end. That just proves what kind of team we are, when all three phases show up and play as a team. When all three phases play at a high level, that's what we are capable of doing.”
(About confidence throughout the game) “We believed from…fifteen minutes left in the first quarter. When we got off the plane and we boarded, if you didn't believe, we weren't getting on the plane and we looked at the film and we saw some things we could exploit and things like that. We were right in the game from the start and I believed when practice started and we showed that we could play with a team like that. I'm disappointed that we lost, but I am very proud on the way we played.
(About dominating the time of possession and keep Jackson off the field) That's just our offense doing what they do. They pound the ball and pound the ball. Our defense was getting stops and that was nothing planned. Nothing like that, but that was the team effort.”
(About UofL scoring on the first possession and the next four possessions having three punts and a field goal) “I think we settled down. We saw what we have been seeing on film and we just played our game. When you come into a hostile environment, Notre Dame scored on their first possession too, but we settled down, we got comfortable on what we were doing and he (Lamar) is a great player, but we can stop him. As a team we can stop anybody. So think we settled in very nicely and again I'm very proud on the way we played and I hope build on this.”
(About seeing Jackson's game against Florida State or the leap against Syracuse) “Yes, he's a great athlete and you expect things like that from a guy like that. But I think we did a great job holding him in check. I don't know how many rushing yards, passing yards he had but it's probably a whole lot less than what he's averaged throughout the season. That's just because we prepare well. Our coaches put us in great positions to make plays and we were executing and when that happens we can play with any team in the nation and we showed that.”
(About Louisville getting the ball down and come out with a touch down, field goal, missed field goal, turn over) “That's our philosophy I mean they may be able to drive end to end but when they get to the red zone it's a stone wall and that's when the real players show up. I mean they can drive from the 25 to the 25 but once they get to the 25 it doesn't really matter. You got a stone wall and I think we did a good job of that tonight”
(About Brandon Radcliff) “Yes, obviously the first thing Coach (Jim) Knowles said this week was 'alright it's the X factor but that offense is as good as a whole. He's a machine that makes a run but they have weapons everywhere.' Offensive line was good and they have weapons on the outside. So he is the machine that makes it run but they definitely do have guys -- game breakers -- like he is everywhere. That's why they are so tough to stop and I'm so proud of the way we played.”
