Nov. 5, 2011
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 1 
|
Photo Gallery 2
COLLEGE PARK, MD. -
Postgame quotes following Maryland's 31-13 loss to Virginia.
Maryland Coach Randy Edsall
Opening statement:
"We're disappointed that we had it 14-13 at halftime, and we weren't able to generate enough in the second half to put it in the victory column. We had five turnovers and were 3 of 13 on third down. We gave up some big plays, that didn't allow us to do what we wanted to do today and get a victory. I feel bad for the seniors, not being able to go out with a win. I thought the crowd was good today. It is disappointing that we didn't come away with a win."
On switching quarterbacks:
"I don't thing switching quarterbacks adversely affected us. It was our plan to put in C.J. (Brown) in the second quarter. I think that Danny (O'Brien) moved the team down the field and then we stalled and had to kick a field goal. When we made the move to put C.J. in we went down and scored a touchdown. We had some things that happened, and as the game went along we decided to play the guys that we played."
On the dropped passes:
"I haven't had a chance to watch the film yet, but I think we had a couple that our guys took their eyes off the ball. It is one of those things where you have to have you eye on it until you tuck it. Maybe some of the throws weren't exactly where the ball was supposed to be, but anything in the framework of your body we expect them to catch it. We do ball drills during practice. We work on looking the ball in and going back to the ball. We work on everything you need to do to catch the ball."
On whether the drive-stalling changed momentum:
"I don't think it changed the momentum. We just weren't able to come back and make some plays. A couple of times on the play-action passes we didn't get enough guys dropping back into coverage. It was just a situation that we scored points and went up early. I don't think that one stop changed the momentum in the game."
On the focus the rest of the season:
"We aren't going to slog through anything. We are going to go out there, play hard and work to get better. We are going to be even more determined to get better. One of our goals is gone from this year (making a bowl game). But, it is all up to us to go out there and work to get better. That is exactly what we are going to do. It is disappointing but we have to go and get better."
On what went wrong today:
"It is just execution. When we execute you can see what happens. We had a guy wide open on the first drive and the sun got in his eyes. There were things that we did out there but there were things that we didn't make. That has been the story of the season. The big play against us on defense has hurt us all year long on defense. Not being able to make plays offensively hurts us as well."
On playing A.J. Hendy and Trenton Hughes:
"The thing we have been trying to do all year is play best players. Regardless of their year we have played the best players. That is what will continue to be until the end of the season. Today we got A.J. Hendy and Trenton Hughes both went in and played. Whoever is the best guy is going to be in there. We aren't going to take anyone who we are going to redshirt and burn their redshirt. We don't really have anyone else on our roster that hasn't been playing who will be getting in there."
On keeping the players positive:
"I don't think that anyone checked out today. These young men know that we have Notre Dame next week and we are going to play as hard as we can. Every game from here on out we are going to keep playing as hard as we can. As long as we have games to play we are going to keep going out there to get better. That is all we can do. It is all of us working together to find how we can get better and going out to get it done."
Maryland Players
Sophomore Quarterback Danny O'Brien
On the loss:
"[Being bowl ineligible is] very frustrating, and it's something we never imagined. We definitely didn't imagine preseason, but here we are. I think the worst thing about it was losing this game for the seniors, being their last game at Byrd Stadium. It was really emotional, and on top of that, losing to Virginia. That's the last team you want to lose to, so it was really bad."
On Virginia's defense:
"They did mix some things up. I thought they did a nice job of mixing up their pressures. The first pick kind of made us hot; it gave us a look we hadn't seen. It was just the fade out concept - they got us on that one. They did a good job on third down mixing it up, whether it was me or C.J. [Brown] in there. They did a good job, so I credit them, but at the same time, there were a lot of plays to be made on our side of the ball that we didn't make."
Senior Defensive Lineman Maurice Hampton
On the loss:
"I feel like with great teams, sometimes you have ups and downs, and things aren't exactly cohesive. All we can do is hold our heads up, keep working. We still have a season to finish out, and we need to work as hard as possible to know next year is going to be different."
On being bowl ineligible:
"Nobody has to say anything about that. We only have a few games left. As a senior, you've got to play every game and every play like it's your last."
On being 2-7:
"This is not a 2-7 team. This is not a 2-10 team. This is a team that's supposed to be winning. It comes out and it works hard. Everybody has been working harder every week to do the right thing. They're coming together, things just keep happening, things don't work together just yet. All I can say is, give it some time. Just know that we're all working, we're all holding our heads up and we're going to keep trying to do the right thing."
Sophomore Quarterback C.J. Brown
On the coaches:
"The coaches are always looking out for what's best for the team. We have all of our confidence in them and what they tell us to do is what we're going to do."
On sharing play time with Danny O'Brien:
"It's difficult, but you have to prepare to go in and do what you can do. Unfortunately today wasn't one of those days that was easy to stay warm and stay loose."
On sharing play time with Danny O'Brien:
"Danny and I have a great understanding of what is going on and we're pulling for each other. The team's goal is to get a win, so we're doing what we can to support each other and score points."
On what to do now:
"You have to just keep getting better. We're going to look at the film and see the missed opportunities on the field and we have to take advantage of that. The season isn't over. We still have three more games. We have a great game next weekend against Notre Dame."
Junior Safety Eric Franklin
On the team's elimination from bowl contention:
"We still want to win every game and finish with the best record we can."
On the team's morale:
"We're hungry for a win. We haven't won in over a month. I know all of the guys want to win really badly so we're going to do what we can to do that."
Senior Wide Receiver Quintin McCree
On playing with two different quarterbacks:
"It's a different kind of rotation, speed and play calling, so it's difficult but in the end we still have to come out and win."
Virginia Coach Mike London
Opening statement:
"I think the game was a tale of two halves. In the first half we started off great with a long return and then the next play was a long touchdown run. Then we kind of shot ourselves in the foot there a little bit. The resiliency of the guys and sticking with the plan was key for the second half.
"It was great to see those guys compete in the second half and really have fun doing it. We might have come out too tight or too tense, I know everybody was talking about the implications of [the game]. That's all we're trying to do is get better as a team and try to string some victories along the way."
On what can be taken from the game:
"What you take [from the game] is a road win and another conference win. Obviously you'll always look at the tape when you have a chance to see the things we could have done to help us be successful. And then you try to improve in every aspect, so that's why we practice and game plan. I'm pleased with the coaching staff and the players for believing in themselves to have a successful season."
On the win:
"It's tough to win games on the road. It is a challenge to come back from a high win versus Miami and be committed to do what you need to do to win another game on the road. So hopefully that's a sign of progress for this team as we get older."
On the program:
"The key is to do whatever we can to block better, tackle better and minimize mental errors. That's the most important thing in particular with this thing. [We have] to learn how to win and learn how to win and come back and win another game. Those are the steps that this program has taken and all we see now is the next step and that is the next game."
Virginia Players
Junior Running Back Perry Jones
On becoming bowl-eligible:
"Coming into this game we tried not to think about that too much. We didn't want to let the past two or three years effect now. It's good that we are bowl eligible, but we are still trying to look for more wins. The bowl is secondary right now; our primary goal is to continue to get wins."
On the team's confidence going forward:
"A win like this, to become bowl eligible, it's definitely a confidence booster for the whole team just to know that we can hang with the best of them. We've just got to keep getting better from here."
On responding to losing the early lead:
"We knew they were going to come out here and give us their best game. One thing Coach London talked about was withstanding the blow they were going to give us. We knew they were going to come out swinging and it was just up to us to hold on and keep going forward."
Sophomore Quarterback Michael Rocco
On the touchdown right before halftime:
"It was a hot read for me, so I just held onto the ball until the last second and let KP [Kevin Parks] make a move and hit him in the open space"
On the quick start:
"It was a big deal. Unfortunately, we kind of wavered a little bit in the first quarter. Our offense is resilient and we came out and scored again right before half and then put it on them in the second half"
Senior Safety Rodney McLeod
On the overall team effort to become bowl-eligible:
"It's a great feeling, Coach London tried to shy away from it, but as players you know that six wins gets you bowl eligible. We came out here and we executed and now we're bowl eligible. Now it's about how far we want to go as a team. We're going to continue to get better each week."
On the mood of the team going into halftime:
"The mood was that we did a great job in the first half, but we could do better. We knew in the second half that as long as we came out and played UVA style ball, we'll come out victorious"
On how far the team can go:
"The sky's the limit. It's just about how we play each and every week. It's all about preparation throughout the week. We had a great week, and you saw it showed today"
On his three interceptions:
"I just had a magnet today. A lot of great calls though. I made plays when they came to me"
