Nov. 19, 2005

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Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On today's game:
"We had our opportunities, but we didn't take advantage of them. When you turn the ball over as many times as we did today, it's almost impossible to win. I thought our defense played hard and they were on the field for a long time today. BC is a very good football team and a very efficient football team. We were right there with them for most of the game. I thought our special teams played very well for the most part, but our offense just had too many three-and-outs. We just didn't play very well offensively.

On the Terps' play:
"Today wasn't our best day and that is probably an understatement. Not many teams in the country are able to win 10 games three years in a row, especially with the way our league is right now. As a team, we didn't play well today, but last week we played pretty well. What is killing us right now is that we turn the ball over too much. We just weren't hitting on all cylinders today, but I don't think that one bad game signals the decline of a program. We are still a young football team and the fact that we were still fighting, even though we were 15 points down, showed that our kids still have a lot of heart. Did they play their best game today? No. But I never saw them quit. I saw them continue to battle all the way to the very end. I'm disappointed, but I'm not discouraged. I thought Vernon [Davis] played very hard today. I think for the most part, all of our kids played hard. I'm just disappointed that we made the mistakes that we made."

On not taking advantage of BC mistakes:
"We had some great field position today and we have to come out of that with points. If we were able to do that today, things might have evened out a little bit. We had our opportunities; there's no question about that."

On play of senior linebacker D'Qwell Jackson:
"I thought he played hard today just like he always does. We're going to miss him an awful lot. He's a fantastic player and a fantastic kid."

On possible bowl eligibility with a win against NC State next week:
"Next week is a big game. This team has worked hard enough to go to a bowl. I think we would have gone to a pretty good bowl if we would have been able to win the last two games, especially against a team as good as Boston College. But we have to go down to Raleigh now and that is going to be a tough game. If we win that game, I think we'll still go to a bowl."

Maryland Safety Milton Harris
On the game:
"It was very frustrating for us. When you have opportunities to make plays or win games and you don't get it done, it is very frustrating. They made some plays, our defense played hard, we just didn't take away enough of their big plays. We were in position to make plays but we just didn't make them."

On next week's game against NC State:
"We still have a chance. We have to come out on Monday, have a good week of practice and get ready for NC State. We had opportunities this week. We just didn't take advantage of them."

Maryland Guard Donnie Woods
On the Boston College defense:
"They were bringing a lot of stunts and blitzes. They brought some blitzes on first down to stop our running game and they did a good job of that. They were real good up front and we had a hard time protecting."

On the offense:
"When you are in the red zone, you have to score. We didn't do a good job of that when we were in the red zone. Who knows what happens if we turn those turnovers into touchdowns?"

On next week's game against NC State:
"This is it for us. It is the big showdown. It is either a winning season or a losing season for us. There is a lot at stake next week."

Maryland Quarterback Sam Hollenbach
On the game:
"It is the worst feeling in the world right now. I accept responsibility for those mistakes and those mistakes can't happen. You cannot beat good teams like Boston College with mistakes like that."

On next week's game against NC State:
"We just have to keep our heads high after this game and come back on Monday, have enthusiasm and get ready for NC State. It is tough to take a loss like this, but at the same time, I really feel confident in this team. I have confidence in myself, the coaches and I think coming into the last week of the season, we can get it together."

Boston College Head Coach Tom O'Brien
On the win:
"We finished our season on a winning note. It certainly wasn't pretty on our part, but our kids play so hard. They just keep coming and keep playing and keep playing."

On his defense:
"We got a great defensive effort today. To be put in the position that our defense was put in by the kicking game, they did a phenomenal job today. My hat's off to the defense."

On the Eagle's four turnovers:
"On offense, we did enough to win. We will hopefully have another chance to play another game and get better, because I don't want to end on this note as far as turning the ball over the way we did and still winning."

On surviving despite some mistakes:
"Our kids play hard. They refuse to ever quit. But we can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot like we do. It just makes it that much harder. It could have been a lot cleaner today for us."

On the role of special teams:
"We couldn't get off the field because of mistakes in the kicking game. We have to catch the ball and kick the ball cleanly. Those are things that keep the defense on the field and gave Maryland so many extra chances."

On finishing the season strong:
"We ended the season strong by winning the last two games against two conference opponents. After we got into the swing of things, it's do or die here in this conference in the month of November. We played well enough to separate ourselves from NC State and Maryland. Hopefully that will lead us to a good bowl game and a chance to play again."

Boston College Quarterback Matt Ryan
On the defense:
"The defense played awesome. Two defensive touchdowns, that's a really good job. I don't think that we have had one defensive touchdown before that this year because we talked about it this week and one of our goals was to go out there and for the defense to make plays and create some turnovers. They did a great job."

On the offense:
"I think that we put up a good number of yards offensively. We probably should have had a couple more touchdowns and we just have to play better."

On committing four turnovers:
"It doesn't compute to just have 31 points on the board after 4 turnovers. That's not the way football usually works. If you turn over the ball, it comes back to haunt you and you don't like to turn the ball over, but in other situations we stepped up and made some plays when we really needed to."

On his progression:
"I am definitely more comfortable on the field. I would say that it is easier to make the reads and I guess that means the game has slowed down a little bit."

On getting off to a quick start:
"Maryland is a very good football team; their defense is strong. We came out with fire and a really great drive, but that's the first quarter and the first drive and there's still plenty of time left. It was a four quarter game. We didn't put it in the end zone as much as we would like, but it is something we will have to look over to hopefully get better at and be able to go to a bowl game."

Boston College Linebacker Ray Henderson
On the game and his interception return for a touchdown:
"It's a very satisfying way to finish the regular season. I'm just glad we got the win and didn't look past this game to a bowl game, which we did last year. The last four years I've been wanting to get in the end zone, since I haven't been there since high school. It felt good to get back there again. I'm proud of the way the team fought today and the way everyone was busting their butts to get the win."

On the team's performance:
"We stepped it up and played pretty well today. We had some sloppy mistakes, but everyone from the defensive line to the secondary stepped up their games and we weren't going to lose today."

On Maryland tailback Lance Ball:
"Lance Ball is another tough kid. He's from New Jersey, so he's going to run the ball tough. He's low to the ground, fights for every yard and is tough to try and contain. He's just a heck of a player."

Boston College Linebacker Jolonn Dunbar
On the defense:
"The defense stepped up a lot and we came through big. It was basically our time to come through. Maryland is a tough team and they've been bringing games down to the wire for the last couple of weeks, so we knew as a defense that we had to step up."

"When Ray [Henderson] got his touchdown, it put the icing on the cake. That put a lot of emotion back into the game."

On Boston College's first season in the ACC:
"This is our first year in the ACC and we tied for first. That's amazing. They said we would not be able to compete in it and to come out here and play as hard as we can, that's just a great accomplishment."