Louisville-Wake Forest Football Postgame Quotes
November 13, 2016 | Football
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Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
(Opening statement) "It was a good win for us. Very happy with our team. A little different style than we've been winning. We've been getting ahead early and having success early in the first half, but today it took the second half to go win the game. We turned the ball over in the first half, we're certainly not happy with that. I thought the defense held in there and forced them to kick field goals, but when we came out in the second half I thought we dominated the game. Defensively, I don't know how many yards we gave up, but there was a lot of sacks, turnover for a touchdown, and then offensively I thought we cranked it up too and did a great job winning the game. A total team effort. Again we made a play on special team with the blocked punt. We covered well and I thought our guys were really excited about having to come from behind and win a game and dominate the second half."
(On how big the first touchdown by Brandon Radcliff was) "Yeah, it was a great job of blocking the front and he hit the whole and we got a great block down field from Seth Dawkins. Brandon looked real fast and decisive. It's really good to be able to come back after an error and a fumble in the first half and compete and have things happen for you. He looked fast. He looked very decisive and did a great job running the football."
(On what was said at half to lead to the turnaround in the game) "Really what I talked about at halftime to the team was we can't turn the ball over, we have to protect the quarterback on offense better, and defensively we can't let their quarterback take off and run. We have to be able to push the pocket and not give any escape lanes and our defense certainly did that in the second half and it was really just those three things and make sure that we competed hard."
(On if the time of the game effects the psyche of the team) "No. We like playing at night at home. It's a lot of fun. I thought our crowd was great and certainly helped us win the game."
(On if this was the best Devonte Fields has played) "He had a big game. He had a big game. I thought the entire defense did. Obviously he had the sacks and he had a bunch of tackles. One of the things that really helps your defensive end get sacks is when you're pushing the pocket and there was nowhere for him to escape. I thought defensively we pretty much dominated the second half."
(On getting off to a slow start) “Yeah, you just got to keep working and keep believing in each other you know. That fumble in the opening play, you know, is something that we don't want to have happen. You know they did a good job of stripping the ball. Then I thought we might get a touchdown on the next series and we dropped a pass. It wasn't an easy catch but we need to make that catch. We're very capable of making them, and we came back and made those plays in the second half. You know, you got to wear people out. That's how you win games. You're physical, fast, and you wear them down. You beat the body, and then you win games.”
(On Wake's 38 minutes of possession time) “I wasn't worried about getting worn out because I think we're in very, very good condition. In the first half, we didn't have the ball because we kept turning it over. In the second half, we didn't have the ball because we kept scoring quickly. So, I'll take that.”
(On how did Lamar react to that tough opening half) “I think you saw his competitive spirit. You know, he was going to make sure he found a way for us to win the game. One play that sticks out in my mind is when we ran the naked bootleg. They had both guys covered and he took off and ran. He easily could have stepped out of bounds, but he cut back and you know almost made it a touchdown out of it. But just his teammates seeing that and how great a competitor he is. He fires everybody else up.”
(On Wake's defensive front getting in the back field a lot) “Yeah, they're good at it. They've been doing it all year to everybody. They're very active, they're very quick, that is really why they have six wins, and you know, even when you put the Florida State game on, they were in their backfield all day too so they're a very good defensive front.”
(On what he said to Lamar on the sideline or do you just let him just do his thing) “Oh no, we're talking to him all the time. You know, talking about reading, and going through your progressions, and being accurate with the football and you know, one of the greatest things about Lamar is he's very, very coachable. He listens on the sideline, he goes out and does what you ask him to do. And, it's good for him to have a game like this, where it wasn't just so easy. He had to go work and make the plays and play really well in the second half, and you know, it's only the fourth time this year he's got to finish the entire game, so I think it's good.”
(Was the touchdown in the last minute was something you had to do for the committee) “No. It was just running the ball, running the ball. Handed the ball off. Did you want us to take a knee? We're not going to take a knee in that situation. There's two minutes left, you hand the ball off, and run the clock out. It's what you do.”
(At any point does anyone tell you that the teams ahead of you were losing) “No, I found out after the game. That Clemson got beat, and that Washington was behind. That's the only two things that I was told after the game.”
Lamar Jackson, So., QB
(Talk about struggles in the first half) “We are so used to starting off fast and scoring on our first drives. We weren't really used to messing up so many times, with turnovers; I even had a turnover. Missed assignments, we weren't playing our game at first and then the second half came and we started executing and just regained focus, so it all played out.”
(Halftime player speech?) “Well we never had our head down. We were in the game at 10-3 and we knew we were down by a touchdown, 12-3 or something like that. We just stay with it, and stay together and just stay poised and try to go out there and win the game.”
(Did the Radcliff touchdown change things) “Oh because once we knew we were in the end zone, it was go time. The defense stopped them fast, and we were just getting on the field fast, and we just executed from there.”
(Defense on the field 38 min, how did they perform) “I was mad because I felt like I put them in that predicament. Me being the leader of the offense, we should have scored points, and not relying on the defense stopping them for a field goal, so we don't have to score as much. I took it as though we have to step up.”
(Did weather play a factor) “Man we practice in the cold, so that doesn't have anything to do with it. That's just us.”
(When you see top teams lose, what goes through your mind) “We just need to win our games. We can't think about that right now; we just have to play Houston. Houston is coming up, and we were really focused on Wake Forest tonight. We weren't really trying to worry about who is going to win, and who is going to lose, we just had to play our game. You know it was a close game with us, and anything can happen.”
(How hard does Brandon Radcliff works) “You know last week - he was mad at himself. He was saying 'man I'm messing up. I'm not doing this and that.' I was like, bro, we have three weeks left in the regular season, I got you next week. He just showed it. He is always working hard in practice. We have a cone, that we run to in practice, and he runs all the way to the end zone. He runs past the cones, so he just shows it in practice that he never half steps anything.”
(Playoff talks, feeling pressure) “No, I just go out there each week, and try to play my game. Win games for my team. I can't really worry about that right now.”
(Read option, do you have a clock when to pull it out) “Well I have to read the defensive end, or whoever I'm supposed to read on certain plays. It was just a miscommunication. It wasn't something wild or anything, it was just bad communication between me and the running back. That's all.”
(Did you sense in your mind you would eventually start clicking) “Yeah. Our team, always shows up at the right time. We started off slow with turnovers and things like that, like I said before. We just talk to each other like 'come on', and motivate each other, like 'this isn't our game.' We have to turn up, and that's what we did.”
(What kinds of looks were Wake Forest giving you) “To me they weren't really rushing up the field and just the ends coming up the field, and trying to close the holes, trying to make me have no room, to try to get the ball out of my hands. That's what they were doing, but we got it right.”
(What kinds of adjustments did coach make) “Whatever the defense showed, we would just check out of things.”
(Is Radcliff different than last year) “You know he lost weight. He was heavier last year, and we see it now. Lately he's been hitting the hole hard, and you can see it.”
(What do you think about what the Heisman means to the O-line) “It really is a total team award. I can't do all of that out there by myself. I don't block. They do that, and I owe it all to them. They got my name in here, and I just have to help them out and do my part.”
(How much does extra attention change your week) “It doesn't change my week. I just stay focused in practice and meetings, and try to learn what the other defenses are doing, and try to go out there and execute for Saturdays.”
(Is a quick week hard to prepare for) “I think with our time, and schedule, and practices and things, we don't really have a break. We have to get straight to it, and play Thursday. That is a pretty good team they have, so we just have to be ready.”
(First thing that pops into head about Houston) “Another opponent. We just have to go down there and fight hard, that's a good team.”
(What made Traveon Samuel so effective) “He's small, so they can't cover him. He's fast, he's quick, and he has nice hands. He's great, Traveon, I love Traveon.”
Brandon Radcliff, Sr., RB
(On his first touchdown) “I feel like everyone on the sideline was ready for someone to get a play to put the momentum on our side. That was the biggest thing for us, just changing the momentum. They were up the whole time. We were making errors on offense. We just needed to make some big plays on offense so we could change the momentum from their side to ours.”
(On why he was so effective tonight) “I definitely give everything to my offensive line. They came up and pushed everything. I had holes that anything could go through, so I give credit to the offensive line.”
(On his 55-yard run that he broke) “I feel it was a great call by Coach Petrino. He saw what was going on the field. He called it, it was an audible call. He called it right then, he knew the safety was going to bell out and that's the best thing I can say, Coach Petrino called the play.”
(On how weight loss has helped his speed) “My weight loss has helped me tremendously. I feel it helps me with my explosiveness and I feel it does help my speed. I was a lot heavier last year and I feel that helped me a lot, just being lighter on my feet now.”
(On the sideline was like in the first half) “It was tough for us. We were trying to get our momentum. We know we're a great offensive team and it takes just one play for us to get back into rhythm. That's what we were trying to do the whole time.”
(On how key the defense was by holding Wake Forest to field goals) “Our motto is to hold the rope and the defense definitely held the rope for us. We made some big turnovers and gave them a short field. I know they were tired out there. We were telling them to keep holding the rope for us and we're going to get back on the road, just keep holding the rope. This captain [Keith Kelsey] right here give him all the credit. He kept those boys level headed even though I know they were tired. We would go out there three plays and we would give it right back to the defense, they held the rope.”
(On how to know when to take the ball in the read option) “We run that play so much in practice it's like second nature to us. We know how to roll with it, we know how to feel for each other. Sometimes it's just football and you're going to make some errors out there. That's what practice is for, we just have to get back in the lab and clean everything up.”
(On having a quieter month compared to consecutive 100 yard games) “It's football, you're going to have some ups and downs. I had obstacles because I injured myself in the North Carolina State game. Battling through that and having a great staff in the medical room. I feel it was a way for me to get back on that wave. With football you have to keep going, never get discouraged with how everything is going. For me, I was happy because we're winning. I'm always happy when we're winning.”
(On if his 40-yard dash time is better) “I would hope so. We don't do our 40s because Coach Petrino says we have a fast team.”
Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
(Opening Statement) “So really it was a game of two halves. In the first half, I thought our guys came out ready to go. We were up 12-0 and then we gave up 44 consecutive points. So, disappointed. If you look at the score it looks like we got blown out. You know, we had the lead going into the fourth quarter. And you know first half, we moved the ball up and down the field, and in second half we couldn't get anything going offensively. Defensively, we just gave up too many big points, big plays in the second half. We got a little nicked up. We got guys in there that aren't ready to go. We got thin on both sides. We really did. We were playing with some young guys that aren't ready to play in a game like this against a team like that. It caught up with us.”
(About frustration about turnovers leading to field goals) “Yeah, it's really frustrating. You know, we moved the balls between the 20s, couldn't get the ball inside the 20s. You know, you've got to be able to win the one-on-one matchups on the outside. We have not done that consistently all year. Tonight was another example of that.”
(About the officiating) “I've got no comment.”
(About Lamar Jackson) “Yeah he's the real deal, but we played great football against him for three quarters. We really held him down, tackled him, sacked him, and pressured him. You know, its 12-10 after three quarters and it's incredibly disappointing to give up 44. The kids played their hearts out for three quarters. You know it's 12-10, we are getting thin, and we don't have depth. Our depth got exposed tonight in a big way.”
(About being the most physical game this year) “It's hard to say, I mean last week was a physical game. Florida State was a physical game; NC State was a physical game. There's a lot of physical games but these guys are really physical. When we had to throw the ball, we just got completely overwhelmed up front.”
(Louisville shutting down the run in the second) “Yeah, they started loading the box and we took a couple of shots down field and got a couple of penalties but, I mean, what's our long pass? Eighteen yards to Alex Bachman and Cortez' 17 yards. We just don't make explosive plays in the passing game and that has been our Achilles all year. We are just not getting behind people and whether it's the protection, the throw or getting open to make the play we don't do that consistently against good football teams. Because of that, we are one dimensional and it worked last week, but this week it didn't work.”
(About injuries depleting ranks) “We've been in really good shape but in the last two weeks we've just gotten decimated. It happens in waves and we are playing all freshman and sophomores on the O-line again and our secondary and linebacker core got really thin and this isn't a group that you want your second or third level of your defense to be thin.”
(About the lesson learned from this game?) “We came to play and against the No. 6 team in the country, we had a lead on going into the fourth quarter but we've got to learn to finish. We have to be able to execute our schemes for four quarters and do what we're coached to do. We didn't finish and it's been that way all three years against these guys. Every year against these guys we get into the fourth quarter with the lead or a chance to win and we don't finish and you have to put good teams away. They're a good football team and we don't put them away. Whether it's not making touchdowns in the first half or what we failed to do in the second half. You win the time of possession 39 to 21. That was the plan to play keep away, but you have got to score red zone touchdowns and we didn't.”
(About the recipe for the Wake opportunity to win, control time of possession and get some turnovers) “We did all that, but you know, you've got to score some touchdowns. If you're not going to score touchdowns you're not going to win games. So you're kicking field goals so you know, 12 points. If those 12 points are 28 points it's a different game.”
#18 Mike Weaver | Jr. | Kicker
(About it being a Wake Forest record for kicks in a game and feeling the pressure) Not really. I knew it was my job and I had to score points so we could get this win.
(About doing things differently this game) “Well, after the last couple games I've made one, missed one, made one, and I don't know what happened. I had to go back to the basics. So, in practice, I worked on, focused on, my steps and take my steps over and making sure I keep my head down when I kick the ball because I don't want to keep that tradition going because I've been out the last two games.
(About senior year) “I'm a senior. I have another year though. I just put my faith in God. I just focus on each day and try to get better each day.”
(About the sideline like when holding on to the lead at the half) “We were pretty hyped. We did the best we could, but unfortunately. didn't get it done.”
(About faltering in the fourth quarter) There was still positivity on the sidelines. We tried to stay positive and keep striving toward the victory. Sometimes a game doesn't go your way.
#3 Jessie Bates III | R-Fr. | Safety #3
(About the fourth quarter) “It's frustrating because we had them against the ropes. We had them where we wanted them. We just didn't finish as a team, whether that's the offense not moving the ball at all on third down or just our defense not standing up. I mean if they don't score in the fourth quarter we win that game. The three quarters that we did play, we played very well.”
(About playing against a Heisman trophy candidate) “I mean it is exciting because it's a challenge and it sees where you are as a team. I mean it's an opportunity but you just have to continue to get better and you know make plays. “
(About making plays and forcing turn overs and doing some exciting things for the team) “That's game changing plays and turn over are what are defense is known for and that's exciting for us and I mean our momentum definitely helped out with all our turn overs, but our offense, we couldn't get anything going.”
(About regrouping for Clemson) “We go in tomorrow, I mean we have 24 hours to get this one off of our shoulders but go in tomorrow and watch film and see what we can do against Clemson.”
(About the momentum going into the second half and leading) “It's exciting because you are beating a team that you're supposed to lose to by 37 points so I mean it's exciting. But we knew that coming out that they were going to play the second half and they weren't just going to give up.”
