Sept. 25, 2010
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Final Stats |
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COLLEGE PARK, MD. -
Postgame quotes following Maryland's 42-28 win over FIU.
Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
Opening statement:
"We had a lot of adversity during the week. I knew this would be a very tough team to play, especially defensively. They're ranked in the top 10 in some categories. I thought our coaches did a heck of a job getting the game plan together. I was proud of the way our kids kept fighting, especially our defense. They played 98 plays. That might be the most I've seen and it wasn't exactly cool out there. I thought they did a phenomenal job hanging in there.
I thought our offense came to life. Danny O'Brien played very, very well. This essentially was his first game. He's had two games where he's had one play. With the poise he showed and the game management, I thought he did a really, really good job.
It was a concern I had on both sides of the ball to get better on third down. We have to get off [the field] on defense and we have to stay on [the field] on offense. We have to look and see where we can get better there."
On why Danny O'Brien started today:
"Basically, we didn't have a quarterback in practice all week. Danny practiced a little bit on Thursday. He said his ankle was feeling better. The doctors were concerned when I talked to them on Sunday that if we keep playing him it won't heal and a 3-4 week injury lasts eight weeks. Jamarr Robinson wasn't coming along either, so he couldn't play today. When we went out to pregame, he couldn't raise his arm. In the middle of the week, Danny was feeling fine. His condition was better than we thought it would be. He didn't get many reps and that's always my concern. He's a bright kid and he does work at it. I was really impressed with his poise. He never got rattled as a freshman playing his first game, first start against a pretty good defense. You'd think he was at least a little bit nervous, but I never got that from him. I thought he threw the ball well."
On the injury to offensive lineman Andrew Gonnella:
"Well the doctor told me it was a high ankle sprain, which was just what I wanted to hear. I can tell you this about Gonnella, though - he is a tough hombre. He's got bad knees; he's got bad everything, so it didn't surprise me to see him go back out there. A lot of guys wouldn't have gone back in. We wouldn't have played him if he said he couldn't play. I'm hoping and praying it's not real bad."
On the offensive line:
"I kind of got in there with them this week. They saw a side of me they probably haven't seen. It was good to get in with them. I just wanted them to know that they had my support. In fact, [offensive line] Coach Brattan went recruiting yesterday so I took the offensive line and had a lot of fun with them. They're good kids, they're just young."
Maryland Players
Offensive Coordinator James Franklin:
On winning the game against FIU:
"I think winning this game is extremely important, but games and teams like FIU are scary because they don't have the name recognition that a lot of people are used to. But you don't go to Texas A&M and be up 20-6 in the third quarter, you don't go to Rutgers and its 20-13 in the fourth quarter [unless you're a good team]. I think that team and that coach did a really good job and they are close to taking the next step in their program."
On the offensive lines performance:
"Considering you have Pete DeSouza as a redshirt freshman starting his first game at right tackle, and taking our starting right tackle and moving him to left tackle, I thought for the most part they played pretty well. I have to watch the tape and evaluate it a little more, but I thought for the most part they played pretty well. I would still like to be able to run the ball a little bit more consistently, especially early in the game. I thought they protected pretty well, and considering the circumstances, I thought they did pretty well."
Senior Running Back Da'Rel Scott
On how things opened up today:
"We opened them up with the pass a little bit and we were able to provide the run."
On the offensive line and if there injuries and inexperience affected the team at all:
"It didn't affect us a lot. We have some players who weren't able to play, but those who did stepped up a lot. They raised their games so it didn't seem like anybody had gotten hurt."
On when he found out Danny O'Brien was starting:
"It was pretty late because Jamarr was dealing with his issue and Danny was dealing with his, so they were both out during the week. When I found out I knew that I could trust either one of them, so it didn't really matter to me."
On Danny O'Brien:
"For how young he is he is a very poised person and I respect that."
Senior Linebacker Adrian Moten
On the offense's long plays and its effect on the defense:
"It's tough on us, but it makes us more motivated to go out there and get a three down stop. I wouldn't mind if our offense did that every play because it's going to motivate us to do better and get the ball back."
On what the team has to do to improve on third down:
"We have to pressure the quarterback; we can't let him sit back there. I'm sure we are going to look into that this week and make adjustments"
On if the defense was fatigued by how much they were on the field:
"I wasn't even tired. We did it last week, so I just wanted more stops. I wanted to pressure the quarterback more. Ninety-eight plays isn't a big deal, and we did 82 last week and 82 the week before, so what's 16 more plays.
Sophomore Defensive Linemen A.J. Francis
On the team's performance on third down:
"They just get the ball out quick; not a lot of teams get the ball out that quick. It makes it hard for us to get there on our blitzes. I feel like the third down stats are a little inflated the past two weeks because of how quick they get the ball out. But with that being said, we still have to get there."
Freshmen Quarterback Danny O'Brien
On his preparation for the game:
"For me, I prepare the same way every week as if I'm going to start and I go from there."
On the team's performance:
"I think it was a great team victory. We ran the ball and protected great. Any time you can do that you can beat anybody."
On the offenses focus of attack this week:
"We wanted to establish the run early with Da'Rel [Scott] and [Davin] Meggett. We wanted to get the ball out to the perimeter. We had a lot of one-on-one coverage on the outside and that's where our playmakers are."
FIU Head Coach Mario Cristobal
On today's game:
"When we get down that close, we have to score touchdowns, particularly in the game when they were scoring. They were really tough to stop, and we had a few opportunities to stop them and we didn't execute. We need to be much more precise on our execution. We need to attain consistency to be the offense we want to be. Sometimes we are off by a block, or just off on a pass. Things are getting better, and with over 500 yards of offense, we need to put up more than 28 points. We moved the sticks consistently, and we showed we can move the ball and score fast. But we need to be more consistent as a program."
On playing a BCS team:
"They are a really good football team. Playing against an ACC team is tough, especially on the road. The room for error is much smaller. The little things we could've made up in previous games they made us pay for today."
On quarterback Danny O'Brien:
"I thought he played well. He took what our defense gave him and ran with it. He was able to recognize our coverage and move the ball within the sticks. He looks like a real sharp guy. Plus they have a pretty good offensive line."
On the play of quarterback Wesley Carroll:
"We expect a lot out of our quarterback. He is getting better, but he is still developing. We aren't going to blame this loss on anyone in particular. Execution falls on everyone. We need to run better, pass better, tackle better and coach better. There isn't a lot of room for error, and when you make a mistake, the other team is going to capitalize on it."
On Tony Logan's return:
"We had a mistake on special teams where we just didn't tackle. He's (Tony Logan) a real good player, and if you miss a player like that, he is going to make you pay the price. He's got 4.3 speed, and he really made us pay on that return."
On the offensive gameplan and execution:
"We took what they gave us. We knew they had a really good defense, but we were able to move the ball on them. They gave us a lot of stuff underneath the coverage, and we were able to go fast and get the ball into some of our playmaker's hands. We missed a few plays, and they made us pay in the fourth quarter. Maryland has a real storied program and I know our guys are going to learn from this experience."
FIU Players
Cornerback Anthony Gaitor
On today's game:
"Missed tackles and miscommunications were our biggest problems today and it's something we really need to work on."
On differences between today and previous games:
"We came out with the same intensity and same energy, but the missed tackles really hurt us."
On Maryland's offense:
"They are a pretty good offense, they move the ball pretty good, and they are just all around a really good offense"
On Maryland's receivers:
"They are pretty good, and they really came out ready to go today. They are one of the toughest offenses we have faced this year."
Running Back Darriet Perry
On whether this was FIU's best offensive performance:
"Well it is one of the best games this year, but I know that we can do a whole lot better. We should have executed a whole lot better as a team."
On quarterback Wes Carroll:
"Wes is a good quarterback, but us as an offense around him have to make him better as a quarterback, and we just have to get better as an offense. At practice we really have to execute and come out clicking as working as one cylinder."
