Oct. 9, 2004

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen

Opening comments:
"My hats go off ... to Coach Gailey and the Georgia Tech football team. They totally outplayed us tonight and really deserved to win. ... Obviously we got outcoached, we got outplayed, we got outhit, we got outhustled. It was probably the most disappointing I've seen our team play in a long time."

"To me, we've got a lot of work to do. We'll see how we bounce back. Our character is being tested right now. We'll find out what we're made of. We have a tough game coming up and it's not going to get any easier after that so we really have our backs to the wall and we're either going to get better or we're not. Some of our new guys have to grow up and they have to grow up in a hurry."

On the decision to replace QB Joel Statham:
"Joel just couldn't do anything right. We just felt like we needed a lift ... I don't think this is all on the quarterback. He's got to get some help too."

On the team's preparation for Georgia Tech:
"To me, this is the worst we played in a long time. We did a very, very poor job of preparing these kids for this game. I [have] to look myself in the mirror. I'm not very proud of what I've done."

On Jordan Steffy's performance and his future playing opportunities:
"I think from what I saw tonight, he has a good chance of getting in. Whether we go to him or not, I don't know if he's ready for that yet or not. We'll have to wait and see ... You're putting this kid in some tough competition right away and we definitely would like to cut things back for him and give him something to work with if that's the route we decide to go."

On the team's status:
"...To play like we did tonight is very disheartening. I told the kids last night that this would be a real test to see where we are and if this is where we are, we're in trouble. We got to get a lot better than this if we want to get to a bowl game."

Maryland junior defensive end Shawne Merriman

On the game:
"You definitely don't want to lose one at home. We have always had a pretty good streak at home. It was just a tough loss for us. We have to come out and get the next one."

On where the team goes from here:
"We just have to work on getting the mistakes that we have made corrected. We have to come out and get back at it again Monday."

Maryland senior cornerback Domonique Foxworth

On the game:
"They made plays at important times and they made plays when they needed to. That was something we were not able to do."

Maryland senior offensive guard C.J. Brooks

On the team's play tonight:
"It is very frustrating. We thought we worked hard this week. We rested up during the bye week, but we still didn't get the job done. There are some things we have to work on to get this thing right."

Georgia Tech Head Coach Chan Gailey

On Quarterback Reggie Ball:
"I told him, don't go out there not to make mistakes, you're going to play loose and aggressive. He went out there and played the way he's capable of playing. We've got to keep him [at that level of play]. That's part of being a great player, no matter who you are. You've got to be consistent."

On the play of his defense:
"I don't think I could ever say enough about the defensive effort tonight. [Maryland] moved the ball a little bit the first couple of times they had the ball, but after that, we just sacked them and kept them off balance. I thought our guys did a great job of executing Coach Tenuta's game plan.

On Georgia Teach matching up well against Maryland:
"I think coach Tenuta has a great feel for their protections, so we were able to get some pressure and rattle the quarterback. If you keep the quarterback off balance, I don't care who it is, you've got a chance to win. He and his staff do a super job. They're fantastic when it comes to defeating offensive schemes."

On the consistency of Georgia Tech:
"You always think about how to get the team to play like this every week. That's the challenge of every coach. We've just got to believe we can do it. We went out and prepared to win and we told [the players] to go play the game. We made big plays and they didn't."

Georgia Tech junior linebacker Chris Reis

On the win:
"It's huge. This game was make-or-break for our season. We needed to come in and get our confidence back up and win this game, and we came out and executed. We played really well, our defense just stepped up to the plate and we really executed and we got a win.... I think around the second quarter we started getting into a little bit of a rhythm.... This game really bounces us back big time. It gives us confidence. Our confidence level is sky-high now going into next weekend.... We know our potential now."

On the defense:
"I'm happy, what can I say? We held them to 81 yards total offense. I mean, come on, that's ridiculous. We did an outstanding job. I'm proud of everybody. We just came out to play today, and that's the kind of play we can do week in and week out defensively. This is the first time we played 60 minutes of football."

On the Maryland-Georgia Tech rivalry:
"It's a big-time rivalry. It's kind of like the Clemson game. Maryland's a big team, they're a great team. This is a huge win."

Georgia Tech senior wide receiver Nate Curry

On getting an ACC road win:
"Anytime you go on the road and get a win, let alone an ACC win, it's big. Going against a rough team like Maryland with the type of offense they run, we knew we were going to have to put points on the board. I think our defense did a great job keeping points off the board."