Sept. 21, 1999
Game Facts and Coverage
Terp Notes
Quoting Vanderlinden
Maryland-Georgia Tech Tentative Depth Charts
Lists, Leaders and Rankings
History, Fans and Media Information
On the Terps: "I've said going into this year that I thought we had a football team that had talent. I think our scheme and system is starting to come together and evolve. You can't say enough about Calvin McCall, because [quarterback] was an unknown going into the season. He continues to step up and perform. I'm very happy for all of the Maryland fans, I know it's been a long drought. We still have a long way to go, but it's a good sign, and it's great to be 3-0 going into an off week. The credit goes to our players, they are the ones that have made it happen. They've bought in and worked hard during the off season."
On win over WVU: "West Virginia really took it to us a year ago, unlike any other opponent last season. To come out and reverse that 100 percent was a great feeling. There is a real seriousness within our ranks. I think our guys are very mature. We have three under our belt. Our goal is to have a winning season and get ourselves into postseason play. Once we get to that goal, we'll take a different look at the whole situation. The team has a right to be happy, they've earned it. But we'll get back to work on Tuesday and I think the players will be very serious."
On the shutout: "I was surprised as anybody that we shut West Virginia out. They have good concepts and really spread the ball around. I was hopeful we could contain them and not give up a lot of big plays in the passing game."
On offensive line: "The way our offensive line came out in the third quarter really allowed us to run the ball effectively and I thought was a turning point of the game."
On Calvin McCall: "He really has performed well mentally. I don't know if he missed a check {vs. West Virginia} or not. I don't think he missed one last week against Western Carolina. I think Calvin has a pretty good grip on reality and is going to stay focused for a young guy. That's going to be critical for him now."
On concerns: "I'm concerned about our pass rush. We really did not put pressure on [WVU quarterback] Marc Bulger. We've got to come up with a pass rush."
On running backs: "LaMont had a big day, with 164 yards. I think he felt that after last year's performance against West Virginia [one net yard] that he had a lot to prove. And Bruce Perry continues to prove he is a big-time running back. That is a nice 1-2 combination, it's kind of a Mutt and Jeff situation, with big and small and quick."
On keys in the 3-0 start: "We needed to make plays in the passing game on both sides of the ball. That was our nemesis a year ago. A year ago we couldn't make plays in the passing game offensively to keep drives alive and we didn't make enough explosion plays to score enough points. Conversely, on defense we got into a lot of third-and-long situations, but we were last in the ACC in third-down conversion defense. You can have the best system in the world, but if you can't cover or rush - if you don't have a guy to make the plays in the air - you're going to struggle. That's kind of what happened a year ago. We became a better football team, which allowed us to become the kind of team we're becoming now."
On Georgia Tech: "We have a huge challenge in Georgia Tech. They were the No. 1 offensive team in our conference a year ago. Joe Hamilton is a very good player who [led his team] to 35 points against Florida State. That's unbelievable. This really will be a tremendous test for us."
