Oct. 1, 2005

Recap |  Complete Results |  Notes |  Photo Gallery

Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On today's game:
"I'm so happy for our players. They've worked so hard and we've gone through some ups and downs with inexperience and youth.

On team's offense:
"Today, offensively, they put it all together and played very well against a very good football team. Virginia was the 18th-ranked defense in the country and we threw an interception in the red zone, which took points away from us. And then we threw another interception and gave them seven. So I got after them a little bit, but other than that I think we scored on every other possession."

On team's defense:
"Defensively, like most teams, we struggled against Marques Hagans; he is a heck of a player. They have a good offense. They move the ball up and down the field really well. I was a little disappointed in our special teams, our coverages and our returns. I think we have to get better at that."

On importance of game:
"This is a big win and I hope it gives our young guys some confidence. I'm hoping this will give our team the confidence to know they can do it."

On Maryland coaching staff:
"I thought Coach Taaffe called a heck of a game and I think Coach Blackney made some tremendous adjustments to help our team out in some tough situations."

On play of Maryland receivers:
"I thought our receivers really played well today. Sam made some good throws and they got off the press. Derrick Fenner caught a pass late in the game, which was a big play. I have to take my hat off to the receivers because I think they are the most improved group of players on our team."

On play of Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore:
"Lance was the hot back. He made some great cuts and had a coupe of really great touchdown runs. I also thought Keon played really well. They do everything well. They can catch the ball, they can block and they can run. And its good to have those guys get the experience that they need."

On Maryland's black uniforms:
"I secretly bought those this year, and I thought for a big occasion we'd do something different. I always like to mix our uniforms. I think we're one of two teams with four different colors. The kids were begging me to wear them. I didn't tell them we were going to wear them and they warmed up in their red jerseys. When they came in from warming up and they saw the black jerseys hanging in their lockers, they went nuts. But it's not the jerseys that win football games. I'll do anything to try to get these kids to play well and it worked out today. And I don't think the jerseys did it, I think the players did."

Maryland Running Back Lance Ball
On his performance:
"It was a good day today. All week, our coaches stressed that we had to run the ball to win the game. We just came out there and executed. I give all the credit to my offensive line; they created all of those holes today."

On the offense:
"We have a good offense. We have a lot of talented players. We just came together. Even when they scored on us, we said `Let's go out there and score again.' Our offensive line was great. We had a great attitude coming into the game, knowing that we could run the ball if we found the open holes."

Maryland Cornerback Josh Wilson
On the defense:
"We bent today, but we didn't break. We just held on at the end and finished the fourth quarter off strong. Unlike the Clemson and West Virginia game, we were able to finish strong and that was our motivation. We wanted to come out and play 60 minutes and get the win."

On Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans:
"They have a quarterback who can make plays out of nothing. You think you have him sacked, but he will break containment and run for a first down. It is hard to keep a lineman on a quarterback, but we were able to get the job done."

Maryland Wide Receiver Jo Jo Walker
On the play of the wide receivers:
"We know that we are going to get hit anyway, so we have to make the catch and make Sam [Hollenbach] look good. He makes us look good; it goes hand in hand. Coach [Bryan] Bossard has been a blessing for us and has helped our receiver corps get better every week. We just want to go out there and play with our hearts for him."

On making the tough catches:
"We have a great [strength coach] in Dwight Galt and you have to be tough. I want to make the tough catches and try to lead the team in all ways possible."

Maryland Quarterback Sam Hollenbach
On the offense:
"Our coaching staff put us in position to make big plays. We have some good plays that complement each other, such as the option and the play action pass. Those plays really helped us out today."

On rebounding from his two interceptions:
"It was a tough situation. As a quarterback, you have to deal with those things. I just wanted to get back out there on the field, because our offense was moving the ball really well. I was the reason why the two drives stopped. The guys never lost faith in me and it was fun to get back out there and get the win."

Virginia Head Coach Al Groh
On the game:
"The game pretty clearly defined itself in the first half as to how each team was trying to play it, what each team's approach was and what problems were brought about for each team. From that point on, each team played pretty consistent with its approach."

On whether the Maryland offense surprised him:
"They did more of certain things, and less of other things. That's what good teams do. They don't use smoke and mirrors. They have a way they play. By doing that on an accumulated basis, they are able to execute what they are trying to do."

On Maryland's execution on offense:
"There were about two or three plays that we had difficulty with all day. In the long run, they did a very good job of executing them. Lance Ball did a great job running the ball."

On the Maryland rushing attack:
"A great majority of the runs came off of about two or three different plays and we tried four or five solutions to them. In the long run, no matter what the call or the adjustment was, too many guys got blocked. You've got to beat blocks. If you don't beat blocks, you are going to give up some yardage."

On losing despite scoring 33 points:
"We didn't score enough. We gave up too much, but we didn't score enough. We didn't do what we had to do. It's important that in a circumstance like this, the team came up together. It's important that the team remain together and not become fragmented internally or externally as a result of a game like this."

Virginia Offensive Tackle Brad Butler
On the game:
"Right now, emotions are a little high, but after a couple hours, it's just something that you have to let go. We have to learn from it on Monday when we watch film and be ready to go next week. That's a big thing we have to learn in college. If we hold on to things and let it get to us, it will affect us again next week. We just have to learn from this and be ready to go next Saturday."

On the final Maryland scoring drive:
"We were listening to Coach [Ron] Prince and trying to set up our two-minute offense. We were just trying to set up what we were going to do next, so we weren't looking at the defense."

Virginia Safety Nate Lyles
On the Maryland offense:
"We weren't expecting a game like that. We played pretty tough defense. We didn't expect it, but they won the game, so it doesn't matter. I thought they played well. They had something to prove and they did it. We just didn't tighten up, and they were able to make the plays."

Virginia Wide Receiver Deyon Williams
On playing against his friend Josh Wilson:
"On the field, he's not Josh Wilson to me, he's No. 4. You can't go out there against a person who is your friend and play like he's your friend on the field, because that will mess you up, and things won't go the way that you want it to go. I just had to play like he was just another person on the field."

On his performance:
"We worked hard all week on the passing game. We worked on getting timing down right and getting everyone on the same page. Unfortunately, we still have some things to work on because things didn't go the way that we wanted. But we just have to forget about all that stuff that happened today and move onto next weekend."