Louisville vs. Wake Forest Postgame Quotes

Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
(Opening Statement) "That's a tough one, tough loss. Defensively, we just couldn't stop them. They ran the ball, they threw it, their quarterback did a good job of moving it around. The thing that really hurt us defensively was the big plays that we gave up – the long touchdown runs and the passes. I thought offensively, we did some really good things. I thought we ran the ball at times better. We couldn't finish running the ball, because we got so far behind, but it was good to see some of our receivers have big games - Jaylen Smith and Tutu (Atwell). I thought Puma (Jawon Pass) did a good job at times, was inconsistent at times. Again, when you have to throw it that much you've got issues with the protections and pressure on him, that hurt.

If I had looked at the stats before the game and said we were going to have this time of possession and this type of yards and third-down success, I would have thought we had won the game, but it really was because we couldn't stop them on defense. And then on offense, when you get in shootouts, you have to be consistent and take it and drive it every time you get the ball. And we continue to hurt ourselves, at times, with not being able to do that. We've got a lot of work to do, we'll just keep grinding away. Our guys have got to just keep a good attitude and keep grinding away."

(You averaged five yards a carry on the ground and had issues with that, what's your analysis of that?) "They blocked our front. Our front guys were having a hard time getting off blocks and making tackles at the line. And then our linebackers are still working hard at trying to get the right fits. I think our safeties, a couple of times, really hurt us. And then a couple of times, they came in and blocked our safety. And then our corner has to replace him. So, you've got to give them credit for blocking us. They did a good job of blocking us, and we've got a lot of work to do to get off blocks and tackle."

(How frustrating is it to play call and not have them come through?) "I thought we had some plays too, where we had opportunities. And, I think that's what I'm talking about as far as being consistent, and being able to be in a shootout, you've got to go score every time you get the ball. And you've got to have big plays. Even at halftime, when you looked at the yards that we had, and the completion percentage. I think we had one play with only 20 yards, was our biggest play. That's why you end up hurting yourselves, because you need chunk plays. You need bigger runs, longer passes. We did get a few of those in the second half. I was happy with the way those guys kept competing, and the receivers kept running their routes full-speed. And Puma (Jawon Pass) stood in there and made some good throws at times. And at times, we missed a few."

(With the way it went today, and the last four games you're looking ahead to, do you have a hard time showing your players how to move forward to the next one?)
"What you have to do is just keep sticking together. We've had a couple of players talk about that right before we break. Staying together, working hard, and trying to improve and also making sure that when you lose games, it doesn't affect other parts of your life. That we don't do anything outside of football that's not right, or we don't go to class. Those are the things that you've got to make sure you do. Our guys are coming here to get their degree and get ready for life after football. This is not what we want, this is not the season we want, not the success that we want. Not even close. But you've got to stick to it and fight through it."

(Is it a bit of a surprise coming off a bye week, having two weeks to get ready to have this kind of performance?) "Yes, it was surprising to me. I thought we were ready to go and I thought our defense – with all the extra things we did in practice – that we would perform better. But we didn't get it done."

(Before the game, one of the players was complaining about the turnout of the CardMarch on Twitter. Do you think people have an obligation to show up for that?)
"I don't know what player or what you're talking about, but we've got to bring them here, that's our job. We've got to put the product together where we come out on the field and people come and support us, because they like what they see out on the field. I'm sure that it is frustrating to some of our players. The CardMarch is something that usually gives you a lot of energy, a lot of excitement and a good way to get here to the stadium and get ready to go. I'm sure there was frustration there, but he has to be smarter than that if he said something. He has to understand that it's up to us to bring the crowd out here."

(What's your message to those fans who did come out today?) "I appreciate them coming out and cheering for us, and the people that stayed there and cheered us on. We've always had good fans here. We've always had great support, but it is up to us to keep them coming."

"They keep working hard and they keep competing hard. There are things that are called tough seasons, hard seasons and you don't win the games that you want. But I was impressed with the way they stuck together - the way the offensive players kept competing and kept talking on the sideline and the energy when they took the field. But it gets hard, losing is not fun, but you have to find ways to learn lessons from it."

(On Louisville's defensive performance) "One thing you always talk about in sports and on our team for sure is if one loses, we all lose. That's how it goes. It is a game of football, it's a team game. It's probably the most ultimate team game out there and you have to win defense, offense, and special teams. It doesn't matter how much you win by, whether it's a 7-6 game or a 51-50 game, we have to do it together. It's something that we always preach about is that one loses, we all lose. I think our guys understand that. But you also have to be honest, you have to be honest about it and they have to be able to face it that, 'Hey, we didn't perform the way we needed to on defense today.' Offensively, we did some good things, but we weren't consistent enough to be able to win a shootout. And that's what you have to do to win games. So, you have to understand we're a team, but be very honest on what our issues are."

(On Wake Forest senior running back Matt Colburn's success during today's game) "I'm glad he had a good career. It was just one of those things where you got caught up in numbers and you had to ask somebody to redshirt. I'm happy for him that he's had a great career there."

(Did they do anything different in the run game that you guys weren't ready for?) "No, their running game is unique in the fact that the back kind of sits in there and shuffles around for a while before he hits the holes. So they're a little different style – that's kind of hard to practice and our scout team really worked hard at it. When we went 1s on 1s you couldn't do that, because we're trying to get our offensive guys better too. We just didn't execute the way we needed to."

(You've had problems with the no-huddle today and against Boston College… do you see a need for bigger changes on defense?) "I really felt like it really wasn't the tempo of the no-huddle, because we were getting the calls in, our guys were getting lined up, we just didn't execute them and we hesitated at times. And they blocked us at times and ran through some tackles. We definitely need to tackle better."

(On Wake Forest's running game) "The one thing we worked on was trying not to get our ends up the field so they'd give a seam in there. It's a little bit different for how you fit it with your linebackers and then you need to be able to get penetration inside and we weren't able to get the penetration inside. So they did a good job with blocking our inside guys. And there were a couple of times our ends went up the field and we didn't get fit it together – it's something you have to do together. It's kind of a physical thing, being able to utilize your hands and power, so it was something that gave us some problems."

(Was it concerning, what you saw today, looking ahead to your next game up at Clemson?) "It's concerning what we saw today, that's for sure and we've got to get ready to go play one of the best teams in our conference."

Jawon Pass Redshirt Sophomore QB
(On the difficulty of the season) "It's been very difficult. It's going to be difficult when you're losing. But we just have to keep going."

(On how the team is making sure everyone stays together) "Just make sure that everyone stays positive. And don't let this affect what you do off the field."

(On protecting the offense and defensive from blaming each other for the loss) "We just don't blame each other. We just have to be there for them, for the defense and they just have to be there for us. We won't leave each other short even if we come out with the loss."

(On whether he felt like they needed to score every time they had the ball) "They were scoring a lot, and they were scoring fast, so we had to score every time to keep up."

(On Tutu Atwell's play) "He played hard out there. He's fast, he's smart, and he knows how to get open."

(On what is happening with the team) "We are building and we are just young. We got a lot of freshman on the field. This is my first year of actually playing. I just think we are young."

Jaylen Smith Senior WR
(On what was the locker room like)"It's rough losing, even with a winning record, but it is what it is. You have to overcome that and sit there and dwell in it. You're doing that for what? The game is over. There's not much more you can do to change it so there's no point of sitting and basking in it. We have to score on every possession. That is our goal. Every time we touch the ball, we want to score a touchdown. We knew it was a shootout early on, but the few possessions we had where we didn't score really hurt us. When you are in a shoot-out, you can't settle for something or take one off. "

(On thinking twice about returning for his senior year) "I haven't. That was a decision I made and once I made a decision, you leave it all where it's at. That was a January decision. I had many months to think about that prior to making that decision. Once I made that decision, it's something you live with. I haven't really thought too much about it since."

(On believing in team) "Absolutely, I believe. There is no point in me giving a rah-rah speech about what is going to happen next week wondering what practice is going to be like. There is no point in me doing that. But saying we lost belief, we would never do that. We are going to keep competing. We competed today. A lot of things didn't go our way."

(On getting over a loss) "I personally, whether it is a win or a loss, have a 24-hour rule. Once you leave this stadium, do what you do to cope with a loss. Fall asleep and wake up and it is a new day. No point in sitting around and dwelling what could have happened. Me thinking about this play or that play and dang I wish this would have happened and that woudn't have happened because it didn't and it is not going to happen at this point. We move on and prepare all week for the game next week.

Tutu Atwell Freshman WR
(On his performance today) "We played good as a team. Puma (Jawon Pass) gave me some passes, made plays. We stayed together and just fell short. We have to stay positive."

(On not being able to help the team when you're on the sideline) "It gets a little difficult. Like I said, you've got to stay positive and hope the defense gets the stops so we can get back on the field and make some plays.

(On his freshman season) "I think my freshman year is going very well. I've got plenty of catches, trying to get some more yards in. I think it's going very well for me. "

Dorian Etheridge Sophomore LB
(On stopping the running game) "Definitely get more inside penetration, just penetration in general. And tackle better."

(On Wake Forest's unique running game) "I think our scout team did a good job, the plays that we are stopping it'll be a gain of one but then if they break it, it'll be like 20 yards, so it's just about staying consistent."

(On Wake's Tempo) "When you are down you want to make big plays. You start shooting gaps, you have to do something to get tackles for a loss. You have to have a good first and second down. If you get a stop early, it messes up their rhythm.

(On staying positive) "It is always positive. He lets us know we have to move on but we have to get it fixed whatever it is. He might be on you for something that you are supposed to do. But as a coach he is always about getting it fixed.

(On Colburn's rushing) "He's a good player. Two of his big plays accounted for more than half of his total yards."

(On defending the rush) "We are young on the defensive line. That is where it all starts in defending the run and penetration. The other thing is as time goes by you know better. A missed tackle might not show up but every missed tackle hurts. So what could have been a TFL (tackle for a loss) turns into a gain. All those go into account."

(On fixing the defensive) "It is a process. We have a new defensive coordinator and this is his first times with us against these teams just like it is ours with him. Everything is a process."

CJ Avery Sophomore LB
(On adjusting during the game) "We need to do better things with the plays that we see. We did a pretty good job with that but overally, I feel like we have to make a better adjustment with tempo. People should know that we have a really young defense. I think we will be okay eventually."

(On rebounding from loss) "You just got to let it go. Use it as a lesson not just a loss. Go out and practice and keep working. We have Clemson next week. We can't dwell."

(On what made the rushing attack difficult to stop) "As backers, we want to play fast and shoot gaps and they wait for you to shoot gaps and over block you to get you to overrun and they cut it back, so that's what they did."

(On a theme in the losses) "I think it is the big plays. The big plays are where they hurt you. You can't give up a bunch of big plays and be good on defense. You know you just have to move on. The thing that prevents big plays is tackles and leverage. We didn't do a good job on that today.

(On Wake Forest's rushing attack) "They hold our backers and our secondary, and when they do get their seams, they make big plays. They take advantage of it, when they do get it, and try to shoot gaps. We just had to limit the big plays and we didn't do a good job of that."

Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
(Opening Statement) "Really good win for our team. Just really proud of them. Proud of the way we practiced. Proud of the way our kids just kept the faith. We had a great week of practice, a great week of preparation. I'm just really proud of them. We've had one of those years, and we've had games that were ugly. We've gotten blown out. I think the challenge is just to keep going and keep them coming back every week and keep coaching them and trying to get them better. And, I thought today was a game that I felt our season hung in the balance. This was one—I hate to use the term, 'must-win,' but it was going to be really hard to accomplish any of our goals this year if we didn't find a way to get this one. So, I'm really proud of how the team responded and how we performed. Still gave up a lot of points and a lot of yards, but we played the game with a big lead and we did what we had to do. Any way that we can find a way this year, we'll take it. It's been a year where things haven't come—hasn't been easy because of injuries and other adversities. We showed up and played hard today. Again, I'm really, really proud of them."

(I know you don't want to make this an individual thing with [senior running back] Matt [Colburn], so I'll just ask about the running game, as a whole. I think it was close to 400 yards or somewhere around there.) "It was 368. We ran the ball well. We made big plays. We talk all the time at the press conference, and this week and the bye week, we talked about how the offense this year was more productive than last year, but it took 124 more plays. This year, at a certain point, I think we had 330 or 340 yards of offense on 33 plays. And we had a lot of big plays, whether it was (redshirt junior tight end) Jack Freudenthal or (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Greg Dortch and Colburn had how many runs over 20 yards. We moved the chains. At times, I got worried we scored too fast. You had that sequence there that the defense was on the field a lot, and then, Matt Colburn scored on a really long run on the first play, and they fumbled it and we recovered it for a touchdown. I think our defense was on the field, I don't know how many minutes straight, minus Matt Colburn's run. I looked at the snap count. We played 49 snaps at the half and I was getting really nervous because we don't have depth. And so, we slowed the ball down a little bit in the second quarter, so if we could just make a first down and take three or four minutes off the clock and give our guys a breather, I thought that was really important. But, at the end of the game, our guys did not have a lot of gas left in the tank."

(Did you see some of the benefits of that in the second half with the defense?) "Not really. They still played a lot of snaps, and a lot of it in the second half was our fault. We gave up how many third-and-longs, so we had so many opportunities to get off the field and we didn't. We didn't play as many snaps in the second half, I think. We ended up playing 41—90 snaps is a lot of football. In the first half, it was because we were scoring so quickly. In the second half, it was because we couldn't get off the field."

(You mentioned the scoop-and-score in the first half. What was your team seeing on that double-reverse, trick play, and what did they key in on correctly to capitalize on it?) "That's one, Les, I'll use the cliché, 'I watched the film.' I'm not really exactly sure what happened. To me, it looked like we missed a tackle on that, and it bounced, and we had a good hit, and (redshirt sophomore defensive end Carlos) Boogie (Basham, Jr.) scooped it up. That was a big play. Those two plays, to me, were the only difference in the first half. I really thought in the first half, we played equal. Same amount of offense, but Matt had the big run, Boogie had the scoop-and-score, and that was the 14-point difference."

(When you talk about being a clean or dirty fumble, that was the epitome of a clean one, right?) "Nobody from Louisville was around. The end zone was in front. Finally. (senior safety) Chuck Wade had one against Rice in that. But, that was a huge play. We finally had a game where we won the turnover margin. I mean, we have not done a good job with that this year. We've been minus turnover margin for almost all of our ACC games, and we finally had an ACC game where we won the turnover margin, and it was a big one."

(Along those lines, if I remember correctly, I think [freshman quarterback] Sam (Hartman) had five interceptions in his first three games, I think only two since. Do you feel, as the season moves on, that there's been a maturation process?) "Absolutely. The best thing about Sam is he's the same person every day. He goes out there and practices and values reps and he is the same person every day and that allows him to get better. He doesn't get too high with the highs, or low with the lows. He's a competitor. He has the respect of his teammates because of his toughness. In the Notre Dame game and Clemson game, he's taken some hits and he never complains or points fingers and just plays. So again, proud of him."

(With Matt, obviously given the history between him and this school, did you ever have to talk to him about…) "I'm not privy to their program, so I can't talk about what happened internally with them. All I can tell you is I'm really glad that Matt Colburn came to Wake Forest and I'm really glad that he's a Deacon, and he's a good, young man that footballs important to and he's a standup kid and we love him. So, I don't know what happened, but I'm just really glad that we have him." (Did you notice anything in preparation for this game?) "Again, he's a good football player and I don't want to go there."

(Along the lines of Sam maturing, on the first touchdown to Jack, he stepped up in the pocket, but a play a couple weeks ago he wasn't making.) "Yeah, well, I don't know about a couple weeks ago, but I just think sometimes when you're a young quarterback and you get hit it has an effect on you. And really, the recovery during the week for him is getting his confidence back to step in the pocket, to trust the rush and to trust the pocket and develop those habits. It's really easy to say, it's hard to do, when you got 280 and 300-pound defensive linemen hitting you hard full speed and you're getting off the ground. But, if you don't do that, you don't have a chance.

Just really blessed and lucky and fortunate and thank God for this all the time that we have the caliber of kids we have at Wake Forest. I've seen so many times when the team has adversity, that they don't do what our kids do. This team has stuck together and to come off the mat after Clemson, and Florida State, they just come back, and they practice hard and they care and I'm just really proud of them. And, we've got a lot of games left and who knows what's going to happen, but I think today is an example of the type of kids that we have. Not because we won, but we played hard and we played really hard last week. So, our kids respond to the challenge and we've got great kids. So, I'm very fortunate that I get to coach kids like this."

(Do you see things like that in a game like this where they score on a long fourth-and-one play? You guys haven't been that great on fourth down lately and that was the first touchdown in the first two minutes. Do you see a collective response?) "What was really important then is what did the offense do the next drive? The fact that the offense responded and it's 7-7 and it doesn't become 14-0—when those things happen, you have to have response. For us to have that response, as often as we did today, was really impressive. Again, with a freshman quarterback. Having a healthy Greg Dortch is a big difference too. When we're healthy, when Matt and (junior running back) Cade (Carney) are healthy, and Greg's healthy, (redshirt junior wide receiver) Scotty (Washington) is healthy and (senior wide receiver) Alex (Bachman) is healthy, we're still a really good offense. This is the healthiest we've been all season and why does it happen week eight? I don't know, but I'm glad we're finally there."

Wake Forest Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Greg Dortch
(What was the key to today's game?) "I thought we came out focused overall today. I thought we had a great week of practice, we knew this was a must win. We needed to get back on the winning road, and just gain our momentum back for the next four or five games we have left. I thought everyone was locked in and focused. The whole week of practice was really good, and I just thought everybody's confidence coming into the game was high."

(Last week a couple of guys said this was not a must win and that you guys approach every game the same way, but now Sam(Hartman) just said, 'We can say it was a must win after the fact because it makes you look good.' Was this a must win?) "Every game, you go in wanting to win. Losing two in a row would not be good for our program. In my mind, it was a must win for me. I can't speak for the rest of my teammates or anybody else, but I knew we needed to win. I just tried to everything I could to help us win."

(On his early one-handed catch) "All week in practice we knew what type of defense they would be in. They lined up in that exact defense, and Coach R (Ruggiero) called the perfect play. I beat my defender, made eye contact with Sam (Hartman) - I knew he was going to throw it. He threw it and trusted me. I saw it was a little out of reach, so I just reached my one hand out there and it stuck. It was a great play."

Wake Forest Freshman Quarterback Sam Hartman
(On the first two drives of the game) "I think we just knew coming into this game, like you said, it's a big game and no matter what they did that first drive, we just had to come out with composure and execute our drives. That's what we did all game."

(On if they saw anything particular in preparing for Louisville's defense) "No, I think we just came out and executed. I think that was the biggest thing coming into this game we had to do. I think everyone did our jobs - O-line, wide receivers and running backs. I just gave the ball to the guys that needed it and that's perfect. That's how it works."

(Coach was calling this a possible turning point game. Do you kind of see it that way as well?) "Oh yeah definitely. Especially to get our first big road win, first ACC win. It gives us a lot of confidence going into these next couple weeks when we have a lot of tough games."

(Your first touchdown pass to Jack, it looked like you were able to step up in the pocket. Is that something you've been really working on? You said you needed to do more of it last week.)
"Yeah definitely. I think that was a big emphasis on my play this game - just to come in and do my job. That was part of my job, to stay in the pocket stepping up, and Jack made a great play on the ball and he got in the end zone."

Wake Forest Senior Running Back Matt Coburn II
(On his strong performance against Louisville, who recruited him in high school) "It was just amazing. Where we are at in the season, it has just been a culmination of everything. We were kind of in a rut, in a lull for the first six games. Last week at Florida State, we had a few good drives and we just couldn't sustain it. We made this game important. This was going to be the game where we turned things around for the season. Seniors just grabbed this thing by the reigns, and we took control and told each other that we're going to do our job and execute, every time we get on the field we're going to do our best job to score. We did that today, and it paid off."

(Your coach was giving the indication that this game was a season saver. Is that the way you guys approached it as well? Not with desperation, but with the idea that if something is going to happen, it's got to happen now.) "Definitely, our backs were definitely against the wall. If you look at it statistically, teams that make bowl games from 3-5, compared to 4-4, it's definitely more likely for 4- 4 teams to make a bowl. We really were just like, 'This is the game that's going to have to change our season around.' Like I said, backs against the wall. We just had to go, we just had to freaking go, and guys had to trust the plan, play on the plan and be dependable. I think we were very dependable today."

(On the drama of playing against Louisville) "Naturally it is. Naturally it's obviously going to heighten things for me and my situation. I think after my freshman year, I wanted to get rid of the whole 'revenge' narrative because if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be at Wake. I'm just so blessed, thank God, praise God for everything. It definitely is personal. It's really just the icing on the cake to go out like this and to get our season rolling again."

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dorian Etheridge

Jawon Pass

Jaylen Smith

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