Oct. 4, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
On the Virginia game
We're very happy with the way we played this week. It was a big win. We had the running game and the passing game going. We were making plays. This could be the beginning of something. We have to get better each week if we're going to be the team we want to be by the end of the season. I don't want the Virginia game to be the high point of our season. We need to put that behind us now and get ready to play Temple.

On the upcoming Temple game
This game scares me. It could be a trap for us because of the youth of our football team. Temple is struggling, but they have some players that worry me. There are some things that concern me. They have been a blitzing team, so we have to be ready for both coverage and pressure.

On Jared Gaither's play
Jared has made improvements. The major improvement is on his assignments. He's so good that even though he doesn't do things exactly right technically, he's able to get away with things. He played very well for us against Virginia. He's allowed us to get our best players in the right spots. Jared's development has definitely helped us offensively.

On the defensive play
I thought for the most part our tackling was better. Our secondary tackled better. Virginia has a very good offensive football team, so you have to give some of the credit to them. For the most part, I thought our effort was pretty good. [Virginia quarterback Marques] Hagans just gave us fits.

On special teams play
We haven't made any changes, because we were pretty pleased before Saturday. Virginia executed better than we did and we got tentative. That has to get better. One of the things we're not doing as well as we have in the past is punt returns. Our kickers have been kicking well for us, so that has been fine. I just don't think we returned kickoffs or covered kickoffs as well as we should.

Guarding against a letdown
All I can do is talk to [the players]. I try to be honest with my players. If you're going to be the best you possibly can be, you have to be mentally tough to block out who you're playing, and execute on that day. The team that is going to win the ACC Championship is the team that can get up the most Saturdays in the year. We just have to prepare like we have the last few weeks, and play like we have the last few weeks. If we do that, then I think we're really maturing and growing.

On the running backs
I think all of them are playing well. They've all had their good games. It's not only how they play in the games, but how they practice. When you have a game like we had last week, where it's back and forth, you go with the guy that's playing the best at that particular time. Lance [Ball] had a very good game, and also had some very good blocking. If he continues to do that, then we'll continue to play him a lot. It's a lot easier calling plays when you can run the football.

On the receivers
I've been pleased with our receivers all year. I think there's been a complete change in them, not only in attitude but also in effort and production. Our stars are much better. All of our receivers, with the exception of one, are over 60% completion percentage.

On team captains
We voted on captains yesterday, and we'll have permanent offensive and defensive captains, and then rotate the special teams captain by week. It was almost unanimous with both of these gentlemen - Jo Jo Walker is the offensive captain and D'Qwell Jackson will be the defensive captain. I thought the team made excellent decisions with both of these young men.

On the offensive line
A couple of weeks back, I said that I was disappointed with the fundamentals of our offensive line. I changed some practice routines and just focused on the fundamentals. Even though we're not where we need to be yet, we didn't have as many mental breakdowns. I saw improvement. We're working very hard to get the maturation accelerated. I saw an improvement in Brandon Nixon. He's a big kid, and we're trying to get him to come off the ball and be more physical. We're going to be pretty good, we just have to keep working at it.

On Sam Hollenbach's development
When we're able to get the option going, we don't have to be concerned about how many people are in the box. Now you can be a little more unpredictable. I think [Sam] Hollenbach is improving at running the football. I don't think he had the confidence at first. He's a very coachable kid. What was really encouraging to me on Saturday was that he threw two interceptions early...and late in the game, on our final drive, he had the guts to throw that thing between two people, and he threw a perfect strike. He kept his poise, and he learned and didn't make the same mistake twice.