Sept. 13, 2003
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Sept. 13, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen
On the outcome:
"It sure feels better than last week. It was good to be at home with a big game coming up. It really didn't matter who we played; I just wanted us to play to the best of our abilities and get better as a team. I was very pleased with the fact that we kept our tempo, intensity and focus. I thought our defense played very, very well as did our special teams. It was a game that we had a good home crowd. Now we have a big game coming up on Saturday."
On the Maryland offense:
"I still think we missed some plays but we made more than we missed. I wanted Scott to get on track. I think he played better, but there are still areas where he could improve. I thought Josh Allen ran the way he ran last year. I saw that coming in practice. Practices this week were very sharp and very focused."
On the running of Josh Allen:
"I called Josh into my office and said 'What happened to all those runs you had last year, don't you think it's about time to start seeing a few more this year? You're going to come out and run the way you're capable of running.' He did that all week in practice."
On his team's attitude:
"I said to the guys before the game, it is not as important that we win - it is important that we play well. If we had not played well, I don't know
if that would have been a confidence builder. If you come and are not ready to play, you're going to get beat. That's the way it is."
Maryland Placekicker Nick Novak
On ranking third on the Maryland all-time scoring list:
"I scored 125 points last year and I think that is all I need to break it, but I don't shoot for records. I just want to put points on the scoreboard. It feels good to rank up that high on the list, but I'm more concerned about the team than any records. Mentally and physically, I'm just relaxed when I get out there. I try to make good contact with the ball and usually I'm able to kick it straight."
Maryland Wide Receiver/Specialist Steve Suter
On returning his first punt of the season for a touchdown:
"It felt good to run one back today. I just don't have that extra kick I used to have. It's frustrating to see a hole I could easily hit at full strength, but instead it closes up. It's something I'll have to continue to work on in order to get strength and endurance back into my legs. Hopefully I'll be able to get another next week and get on a roll like I did last year."
Maryland Quarterback Scott McBrien
On the significance of getting their first win of the season:
"We needed to get that first win because it's definitely a big confidence booster. Tonight we were playing to win. We were playing to make plays and really put points on the board. It didn't matter who we were playing. It could have been the scout team as long as we got that first 'W.' All we needed was a big play and we got it to Josh on the first play. His run gave us all the confidence and momentum we needed for the rest of the game."
The Citadel Head Coach Ellis Johnson
On the first play of the game:
"I'm sure it did (take the air out of our guys a little). I've been on both sides of these types of games. If you're on the side that (Maryland) is on, you want to do something real quick to make sure the other team knows that they are playing a superior opponent. If we could have done anything right and hung around with them and made a few plays or something, it obviously would have helped our confidence and made them question themselves."
On the Citadel defense:
"We've got too many runs (against us) right now that are breaking in the open field. That is what concerns me right now. The front seven can not stop the run effectively. I think we've played some good opponents, don't get me wrong, but you want to show some signs of improvement."
On the Maryland defense:
"Maryland does a lot of stunts and blitzes up front. I think our people had a lot of problems handling that, but the biggest thing was just their overall strength and speed up front. It just got to the point where we couldn't block them."
On the final score:
"(Maryland was a) struggling football team coming into this game. They couldn't worry about whether they were getting ready to play us or play one of their biggest ACC opponents. They had some problems they had to address. This was a very important game for them in many ways, and although it was a very lightweight, small college opponent, they probably had some things they had to address to get back on track. I don't think they did anything that was rubbing it in or taking it to us at any kind of level. I thought they did what you have to do when your football team is not playing well."
The Citadel Quarterback Willie Simmons
On preparing for the next game:
"We have to figure out exactly what we need to do. We have to do something. We have to correct whatever we did tonight, which was nothing good, but we have to correct it before next week when we start conference play. We'll just go back to the drawing board and try to come out as a whole again."
On what he expected before the game:
"I expected us to come out and get in the game. Regardless of the stats and what happened tonight, I still feel like we have a chance to be a very good team. We have a veteran offense, but we haven't played like it the last couple of weeks."
On the team's confidence after two straight losses:
"Once you get accustomed to losing, you might as well stop playing the game. Conference play starts next week. I hope these guys don't get down, thinking the season's over, because our season is just beginning. We're 1-3 in non-conference games, but if we win our conference games, we can look back and say we had a good season."
On Maryland coming off two straight losses:
"Any time you play a team of this caliber coming off two straight losses, one to a team they definitely feel they should have beaten, it's not a good situation. They've got guys who are mad, guys who want to prove themselves and find out what's going wrong. They've got players who want to come out and show everybody what kind of team they are, and that's what they did tonight. They played flawless football and we didn't."
