Louisville vs. NC State Postgame Quotes

Louisville Interim Head Coach Lorenzo Ward

(On the team having more energy during the game) "I thought we started the game that way. I thought we played with a lot of energy the first half. I don't think we played with very much energy after halftime."

(On why the energy fell flat at halftime) "I don't know, that's what we've got to figure out. You can only play on emotion so long."

(On why the game got out of hand after having a chance in the second half) "Again, I think any time you have seven penalties against a really good team and you're not putting the ball in the end zone and not getting in the end zone and you're not getting off the field on third down because you've got 12 men on the field, those are the situations that kill you as an offense or a defense. So, now you put yourself behind the sticks or make the sticks shorter for a really good football team. You can't beat opponents having seven penalties in the first half."

(On if the effort was where it needed to be in the second half) "No. I think we came out and we got the ball and didn't score – actually we fumbled a kickoff – but we got it back and we didn't score, and then they scored. I think that's when I thought I saw morale go down."

(On why he didn't call timeout in the final seconds to score a touchdown) "Personally, I think with the score to get a touchdown doesn't make a difference. The game was over."

(On the positives of what the team did today) "I think it's positive the way we started. I think on both sides of the ball we started good, but we just shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and jumping off-sides or holding, stuff that kills you as an offense or defense."

(On managing the quarterback situation) "I think we were planning to play Jawon (Pass) in the second quarter, but I thought that Malik (Cunningham) was doing well, so we kept him in."

(On the 12 men on the field penalty) "Coach VanGorder signaled in the personnel and one of the defensive linemen saw third personnel, so he stayed out and we got caught with 12 men. It's stuff that can't happen."

(On the status of Malik Cunningham's wrist/arm)"I just saw him on the last drive, he was out cheering, but that doesn't mean that there's not something wrong, but I haven't had a report yet."

(On being in scoring position and then two false starts and a holding penalty, did you say something to the offensive line?) "Of course. We were doing well and moving the ball, but you can't beat a good football team continuing to shoot yourself in the foot. Holding, illegal motion, those things kill you."

(On the team's energy) "I thought from the Card March, I thought the fans did a great job. I thought they did their part. Obviously we've got to do our part as a football team. That's the thing I told the guys. We get on there, we tweet about we're not having fans at Card March and all that kind of stuff, we've got to do our part as a team. We challenge the fans, we've got to put up as a team as well."

(On the suspension of Michael Boykin) "I can share that Mike Boykin actually was suspended from the game, because he broke a new team rule that Coach Ward set."

(On giving up 50 points for the sixth time this season) "It has a lot to do with… sometimes personnel, sometimes it could be coaching. There are a lot of things involved. Going into the season, we'd lost nine starters from last year, so you're going to have a young defense. We haven't really developed the way we'd like for them to develop."

(About accountability) I can only address the time when I have been in charge. I gave the guys a set of rules and that is what we are going to follow. If they don't follow those rules then it will affect their play. The only thing I know as a coach of 27 years is the only thing that affects a young man is playing time. You can run him but it isn't effective, if you affect his playing time you get his attention.

(About the quarterbacks) "We had planned to start Jawon (Puma) Pass at the beginning of the second quarter, but we thought Malik Cunningham had started to move the team. But we had some crazy penalties that put us back behind the sticks. You go with the guy who has good thing going."

(On emotional players after the game) "I didn't see them. But I am sure there is frustration. Again it is probably frustration on his (Jonathan Greenard) part because he can't help this team being out. I think it is frustration that we aren't winning ball games."

(About Jaylen Smith signaling to call timeout to score in last seconds) "I didn't see Jaylen doing that. I told Coach (Lonnie) Galloway that we were going to run the football on that drive and try to get out of the game."

Louisville Player Quotes
(One of you guys want to give a quick summary of the game?)
C.J. Avery: "Yeah, I think we came out with a lot of energy. A lot of the guys was pumped up, just ready to play. And I think, kinda like the result, it was just weak. We weren't as disciplined as we should've been, and we just didn't execute some of the things right in the key moments."

(Coach said it was there in the first half, and not as much in the second half. Did you guys feel that as well? What do you think was the reason for that?)
Tabarius Peterson: "Yeah, we definitely felt that. We didn't come out with the same intensity as we did in the first half, and it really affected us bad. We noticed it, we just thought we had to keep trying to maintain momentum. It just didn't work out the way we wanted it to work."

(Was that a result of being down so much at the end of the first half?)
Tabarius Peterson: "I wouldn't say it was because we were down. We just didn't keep our heads and our minds right."

(Did you guys feel that there was a point in the game where that stuff started to happen?)
C.J. Avery: "I would say, yes. I'm obviously still trying to play ball, trying to do that. So, we weren't really worried about the score or any of that. We just kept trying to play ball as much as we could."

(You guys play a rival next week. They're 8-3 and had a really good season. What's the mindset as you try to finish it out?)
C.J. Avery: "I think a rivalry game is different. I think it's just something where you'll come out with a lot of energy and it's our last game so we will put everything we have into it and just see how that goes."
Tabarius Peterson: "We have to go out with a bang. It's a big rivalry game, everyone is looking at us to get the upset, so we got to come out and execute."

(On winning last year against UK vs chances of winning this year)
Tabarius Peterson: "We always keep each other accountable no matter what. This is my brother and will fight until the end."

(Energy this week compared to the rest of season. What was the difference?)
C.J. Avery: " I don't know, I just feel like we were looser. The entire week they talked about coming out and playing and having fun with it. Don't worry about an assignment, just go and have fun and I think that's what we did. We came out early and just played and had fun with the game (and each other)."

(Overall impressions, what was better, what wasn't what you expected it to be?)
Jaylen Smith: "We started out really well and we had a great drive, great defensive stop early on, great offensive drive to start the game. And the energy, like I said has been tremendous all week and it was tremendous to start out the game. I feel like we executed some things, a lot of things that we worked on especially in the first half."

(Can you tell what happened?)
Jaylen Smith: "We just lost it, a lack of energy, the division between, not division I'd say lack of effort, not effort, we lost a certain amount of energy coming from the first half to the second half. It was tremendously different and we let it affect us."

(How do you account for that Jaylen? Why would the energy change?)
Jaylen Smith: "There's a lot of factors that go into that. The only way you make up for that is playing four quarters. There's no way, no quick fix, there's no remedy to just make it happen. You've got to go out and play four quarters. You have to train your mind to play four quarters."

(How does game day feel different with Coach Ward?)
Jaylen Smith: "More energetic. We're used to 24 hours before the game everything is silent pretty much. It's like the utmost focus. Which is one method versus being more relaxed, being more loose, getting more prepared for the game, more geared toward the game with how you would normally get ready a the game. Not an unnatural way of being completely silent."

(Jaylen, the last series you looked like you were looking back toward the sidelines like you expected them to call a timeout. Was that frustrating? Did you want them to?)
Jaylen Smith: No I couldn't see Coach Fisher, I was looking for him the whole time so he was standing behind the, whoever else was signaling and I couldn't see him. That's why I was jumping around trying to find him. No I wasn't frustrated."

(There were some heated exchanges amongst players after the game. I know you mentioned the word division. I don't think you meant to use that word, but was there something going on at the end of the game or just some frustration boiling over?)
Jaylen Smith: "The only team I saw at the end of the game was NC State. I shook everybody's hand. I didn't really see anything going on between my team. If they did, it was before I got to it or somewhere where I wasn't involved in. So I don't know."

(Malik, how are you feeling after that? Was it your wrist?)
Malik Cunningham: "No, it was my fingers. I'm good though."

(Malik, when did you know that you were going to start and what was your week of prep like?)
Malik Cunningham: "I knew Thursday but it was the same. That was my first start but it was just different not being under Coach P (Petrino) but we enjoyed it. It was a little more loose than it normally is. We just have to come out and play better. That's it."

(Is it hard for you to, to rotate in and out? Does that make a difference?)
Malik Cunningham: "No, I'm a playmaker. It's good. It's good for both of us."

(What are you saying after your big rub and you get down there, you guys are knocking on the door and then a couple of penalties, couple of false starts and holding. How do you stay together as a team when you see those?)
Malik Cunningham: "Being a quarterback, you just got to ride those guys together and keep them and keep the main things the same. We're just trying to score a touchdown every time we get in the red zone, every time we take the field."

(Malik, what did you see when you rub in the offense and running, scoring on those keepers, what did you see that the offense can build on?)
Malik Cunningham: "This offense is really good once we all play together and come together. I want to give credit to o-line because they did great today. Sometimes they mess up a little bit, but overall they did a great job today."

North Carolina State head coach David Doeren
(Opening statement) "I am really proud of our guys. It was a really good win. Any time you can get a win on the road In the ACC. We talked about not beating us and making them beat them. Being able to weather the emotional storm they were going to have early, which they had. They have good players and good kids. I think our players really showed resiliency and toughness in this game. I thought our coaches did a much better job of adjusting as the game went. Ryan was able to pass into second, right behind Phillip Rivers, is that right? Right behind Phillip Rivers now for career passing yards and that's pretty awesome. If you talk about the quarterbacks that have played here, for him to do that. I really thought Kelvin (Harmon), Jakobi (Meyers), and Emeka (Emezie) all had big game at receiver, did some good things not only catching it, but after the catch. Kelvin with another 100-yard game. Who did he pass? That puts him over 1,000 yards for second year in a row, one of three in history (of NC State), is that right? Pretty awesome for those guys. It's great to get the win and get ready for what is next. Hopefully we came out healthy. We had a few guys nicked up in the first half, but I don't think it is anything major. I look forward to getting back on the bus and the plane and getting back to Raleigh."

(On finishing inside of the redzone after last week's struggles) "Well, we work on it every week in practice. We didn't execute last week. We dropped balls last week and that's the difference when we get down there. You have to catch the pass, make the pass if you are throwing, make the block and we did that, we executed. That's part of it. The other part, we had some good variety. I thought that the offensive scheme down there, obviously we had some drop backs, but we had some move the pocket type throws that helped us. When we did run the football, guys got their pads where they needed to be, got bodies on bodies and created run lanes for the backs. It's all about execution in the red zone and not beating yourself – drops or penalties when you get down there. The guys did a nice job today. On third down, we were 10-of-14. Defensively, they were 3-of-12. They were 2-of-4 in the red zone, we were 7-of-7. All the things that tell you you're going to win the game."
(On moving on after a loss) "As a program, I feel like right now when we have adversity, we respond really well. When people don't respect us, we respond really well. People talk bad about us, we respond really well. We still haven't learned how to deal with success. That's the next thing for our program. The two games we didn't play the way I thought we could, Clemson and Wake (Forest), those were the weeks we were getting the 'Attaboys' all week. That's something I have to get better at helping them with, obviously, as their head coach – getting them to block the noise. I knew we'd respond, our guys were awesome. When I met with you guys Tuesday, I said it was our best practice of the year and it showed. When you go out in pads and practice that way, it helps."

(On seniors being leaders and having big games) "I love when our seniors play like that. The sand is running out of the hour class for them. That urgency to play the right way and have fun playing is one thing. I thought our guys really just cut loose and relaxed, didn't make mistakes and had fun. They really did. Those guys had fun today and I'm glad we were able to create that environment and they went out there and did that."

(On what Ryan Lindsey has meant to the program)"The thing you start with Ryan is he's a great person. I think he knows who he is. We've got 40-year-old friends who don't know who they are, right? This guy is a senior in college, even though he's an old senior, he knows who he is. He's incredibility special that way. I think that's the best part about him. He's competitive, he wants to play better and he owns things he needs to get better at. He's great with his teammates. He's an inspirational guy, he really is. I'm proud to be his head coach."

NC State Player Quotes
James Smith Williams DE #39
(On forcing a fumble?)"You're always excited to do your job to the best of your abilities. Set up our offense. We feed off them and they feed off us, so I'm really excited I get that play in for our guys today and that we could go score some points."

(On their performance as a defense? What was the key for today?)"We needed to bounce back from what happened last week and don't let that define us. We came out here with a chip on our shoulders. They played us really well two years ago here. It's something we held a grudge against and we came out here and played our best ball. We were so excited about keeping the out of the end zone."

(On Coach Doeren's challenge to the team about bouncing back from last week?)"Just sticking to what we know and who we are. We're a team that prides ourselves on doing our job soundly and we did that today."

(On the team's mental toughness)"I think we all believe that we can be great. I think that's what kind of sets us apart from other teams. We are not going to turn on each other. We all love our brothers beside us. We're going to play for the man beside us. I think that's kind of one of the key differences."

Kelvin Harmon Wide Receiver #3
(On the challenge from coach Doeren about bouncing back from last week's game?)"At the time it was simply just execution. The coaches did a great job of putting us in the right position to win. I feel like the difference between this week and last week, as a team we just executed a lot better."

(On having 1,000 yards for two years in a row here?)"It's a blessing. Just being around the guys who made it happen two years in a row. Just my coaches trusting me from last year and this year. Steph Louis for one, Coach McDonald, just everybody is just a blessing.

(On being able to bounce back from a difficult loss last week)"It's just football. We just know that we just got to bounce back and come back to work the next week and we couldn't afford to get another loss on our schedule, so we just had to execute today. I'm glad we did that."

(On handling success when people are praising them)
"Me personally, I don't really chime into that, so I don't really know what's going on from that aspect. But I know as a team, we just try to be better each week, but sometimes we just fall short. I don't know if it's exactly because we get praise, or however you take it, but I feel like we just fall short sometimes."

NC State Quarterback Ryan Finley
(On what went well for NC State during the game) "It was an exciting win. I thought it was a great team win. I loved how we played with tempo at times and got into a rhythm, everything was working. I thought the offensive staff and Coach Drinkwitz created an awesome game plan and we just executed it, it was a lot of fun.

(On the red zone offense) "Just execution, just doing our job, enjoying it. I think you saw our team have a lot of fun today, and I think that's when we play our best.

(On Kelvin (Harmon)'s second consecutive 1,000 yd season and his impact on the team) "I think we all know how good he is. You just have to watch the tape to know that. Congrats to Kelvin on 1000 yards, doing it in 10 games is quite the accomplishment. It's pretty special to be able to throw to him. I'm just proud of him and I'm happy for him."

(On having a receiver as good as Harmon on the team) "Well we've got more than one, and that's even better. It's exciting. Those guys played really well today. Jakobi (Meyers) had some great throws there. It was just constantly winning at one-on-one and Kelvin came down with some huge catches."

(On Coach Doeren's challenge to the team this week) "His challenge was to get everybody going, and stick to the process and focus on the preparation side of things, and that leads to the results that we want."

(On the coaching change at Louisville and if it impacted NC State's outlook on the game) "I don't think so. I think for the most part it was just noise. I think a team like that is dangerous, but at the same time, I think if you can jump out on them early like we did and get into a rhythm, it was going to be tough on them. We knew the situation, but we knew that we just had to come out here and play our game.

(On Matthew McKay's performance) "It was fun watching him play, really fun. He ran for a first down, he checked into that QB sneak, he had some great throws. He had a nice scramble and throw to Kelvin (Harmon). It was fun to watch him play, he marched us right down there."

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

C.J. Avery

Michael Boykin

Malik Cunningham

Tabarius Peterson

Jaylen Smith

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