Oct. 5, 2008
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Postgame Quotes
On the game:
"What I'd like to say is Virginia obviously just outplayed us. My hat's off to them. They played very well, they played very hard and that's really the story of the game."
On the team's focus:
"We didn't play very well. We made a lot of mental mistakes; we weren't very physical. You know, it's kind of what I was worried about coming down. We just don't seem to be reaching these guys. I knew how Virginia would react, very similar to how we reacted after Middle Tennessee. It's an emotional game. We've got to be ready to play. I did my best to try to prepare these guys and it obviously it wasn't good enough. "
On the week's practices leading up to the game:
"I thought we practiced pretty good this week. Thursday I thought we practiced pretty good."
On who should take responsibility for the loss:
"It's on me. I'm the head coach. Everything was under me. We weren't prepared to play a good Virginia team tonight and anytime that happens, you can put the blame on me."
On the team's defense:
"You know what's frustrating is a lot of things they were hurting us on, we had practiced. We did make an adjustment here or there, but it really wasn't about Xs and Os. It was about who came to play and who didn't. That's what it was about. You could have the greatest plays in the world and if you're not going to execute them and the other team is playing a different speed than you are, then it's not going to work."
On the missed on-sides kick:
"Obi (Egekeze) kicks that thing perfectly every time in practice. I was caught in a situation with the ball on the 45 and we were going to kick it and get it on the 20. How much are we going to gain there? I figured we'd try the dribbler, which I think is one of the tougher returns to get if you hit it right. We missed the ball. It wasn't our night."
On the what was said in the locker room at half time:
"I said a lot to them at halftime, and so did the other coaches. Some of the players said things. They still had that distant stare."
On how the players reacted on the sideline as they fell behind:
"Some of the guys were saying things but after awhile they weren't. They mentioned Middle Tennessee and I could see we weren't prepared and the practices weren't good. This week, we were spirited. I felt like we'd be ready to play, but we weren't."
On what he told them in the locker:
"I told them we have a meeting on Tuesday at 2:30 and I'll tell them what we're going to do. I originally was going to give them a day off, but I don't know what I'm going to do now. We've got to get better. We're banged up right now, we're banged up after this game because we got the crap kicked out of us."
On the implication of this game:
"We're playing four of the next six at home. It was reiterated daily. Last night I talked about it - that is was our chance. It's frustrating. It really is. You guys must think I'm out here trying to throw these games, but I'm trying my hardest to prepare them, to motivate them, but right now it's frustrating to everyone, the players and the coaches. I don't think they wanted to play poorly. I don't think they wanted that at all. I take my hat off to Al and Virginia's coaches, they did a great job of preparing to play. I'm sure after losing to Duke that motivated them very much and the fact that we were coming out here really motivated them. I knew that was going to happen. I knew that. I try to think, 'what more could I have done.' It's a question of whether they hear you or they want to hear you."
On the state of the team:
"I don't feel like this team quit at any time. I just don't think we played well. There's a difference there. They were trying right to the end. It just wasn't our night tonight. The biorhythms weren't right or whatever. I just think they had trouble. Virginia was playing very good. You've got to give them credit. They came to play and they were playing at a higher level than we were."
Virginia Head Coach Al Groh
On the game:
"We took a little step forward here tonight. All four phases had a good evening: offense, defense, special teams and coaching staff. We have a ways to go yet and we have a lot of things to improve upon but I think we made some progress tonight."
On the rest of the season:
"Our challenge is to keep moving forward next week and realize this is one phase in the overall development of our team. We have a ways to go with seven games ahead of us."
On stopping Maryland's RB Da'Rel Scott and WR Darrius Heyward-Bey:
"They are the two playmakers on that team and that was quite apparent when watching the previous games. We had some detailed plans in mind to deal with them. The bottom line is our players focused on what we had to do in regards to those two players and got it done."
On Cedric Peerman:
"To have Cedric Peerman back for what is essentially the first time this season made a great difference. He's got a great heart for competition, his team and his teammates. His production is a significant part of what we want to do."
On Mikell Simpson:
"He took the ball from Cedric and literally ran with it for that (later) part of the game and did a bang up job."
On the offensive line and first-time, freshman starter Austin Pasztor
"The offensive line made some real good progress tonight. That included a nice break in for Austin Pasztor who started against, and played against, some real good players tonight."
On QB Marc Verica:
"This is an on going process and this position in football can often be a season-long or even a multiple-season process. That being said, he played a very, very good game tonight. He was on target from the start. He overcame a tough week to play very well. I hope this is a sign of good things to come."
On going for it on fourth and short:
"We said, `Don't over-coach this.'" We planned to give this game to the players and let them take ownership. They took ownership."
On Virginia's big plays:
"When teams are point-producers, it is usually because they turn in some big plays. We certainly got some big plays tonight."
