Nov. 27, 2004
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes
COLLEGE PARK, Md.
Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On today's game:
"Wake played very, very hard. The first half was our best first half since the Florida State game. I thought Sam Hollenbach did an excellent job at managing the offense. We had a good effort from our defense and a good effort from our special teams. The field goal at the end of the [first] half was real big for us."
On Maryland's defense:
"The defense was just phenomenal. Shawne Merriman had an unbelievable game. He was just everywhere out there. This was a big way for our seniors to leave."
On senior safety Chris Kelley:
"Chris had another great game today. He plays with reckless abandon and great effort and enthusiasm. The fumble in the second half was huge for us and Kelley was involved in that."
On sophomore quarterback Sam Hollenbach:
"I'm really proud of Sam. He is a tremendous story. He played with composure and poise. Today he was very calm. The early start helped his confidence for the rest of the game. Who knows where this will take him? I'm very happy for Sam."
Senior Offensive Guard Lou Lombardo
On the game:
"Today went just like the past four or five years of our careers. It was an "o-line game", a line of scrimmage game. Whoever won the line of scrimmage was going to win the game. It was a privilege to have that as our last game."
On the play of the offensive line:
"We told Coach (Friedgen), this could be the last time we put on the uniform so let's run the ball at them. Make us work for our last game and we loved it. We opened up the holes (for Josh Allen and Sammy Maldonado) for them to make the runs and it was a real honor."
Sophomore Quarterback Sam Hollenbach
On his play:
"After I got a few snaps under my belt, I became comfortable out there. We have practiced this stuff all year long. It was good to get out there against another team and to be able to execute."
On next season:
"Hopefully this game will give me motivation for off-season workouts and we will see what happens. A lot of people kept telling me to hang in there and it has turned out for the best."
Junior Defensive Lineman Shawne Merriman
On his two key sacks at the end of the game:
"My teammates were definitely looking for me to make big plays all season. It is no better to time to come through then when your team needs you the most. To come out get two sacks like that really helped us get the win."
On the win:
"It was great to get this win today and send the seniors out with a win. They struggled so much during the year and it was big to send them on their way with a win today was big."
Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the play of Terps QB Sam Hollenbach:
"They threw him a little bit more than we thought, especially in the first half. It really kept us off balance. They did some nice things with him. I thought he made a couple of really nice throws early that got us on our heels a little bit. I was very impressed with him in the first half."
On the Wake Forest 4th quarter fumble:
"[The play would have put] us first and goal at the one. Maybe we could have gotten it in, maybe we couldn't. The one thing I never doubt about Kevin Marion is his effort. I can't get mad at him. I had to put my arm around him because the thing that he's doing is going full speed trying to get that thing in the end zone. There's no question that his motor was running full out to get that thing in there but unfortunately he put the ball on the ground."
On playing so many close games this season:
"If you told me we were going to go to the wire this many times and only win one of them - we've been in these kind of games seven times and only came up against Boston College with a win. When you play in the ACC, you play really good football teams and that's the chance that you take every week. I would have thought that some how, in some way, we would have found a way to get over the top in at least two or three of these games."
Wake Forest Senior Linebacker Brad White
On the game:
"We could have won. We probably should have won it. We had the missed field goal and the fumble at the one [yard line]. But I can't say enough for the guys on this team. That's what I'm going to miss most, being a senior - I'm just going to miss the guys, going onto the field, going to the gridiron, fighting every play tooth and nail."
On Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach:
"I think he played fine. It was a real conservative game plan for him. They didn't want him to do too much. He won. We have an argument in the locker room all the time about who's better, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, and I choose Tom Brady all the time because I think you judge a quarterback by wins. [Hollenbach] may not have had awesome numbers or what not, but he won the game and that's all that matters. I don't care if you've got a quarterback that hands the ball off. If he hands it off, doesn't fumble and they win the game, he's a winner in my book."
On how this game differed from other this season:
"I think this one is different in the sense that we didn't have a bowl game on the line, so the rest of the season didn't matter at this point. It was all about this one game, trying to leave this program a winner. We feel like we've done so much for the program, and to leave on a losing note, it really hurts. We've never beaten Maryland since I've been here, so we really wanted this one. That's what hurts."
Wake Forest Junior Quarterback Cory Randolph
On his team's performance:
"The defense did a great job of keeping us in there. Our offense was struggling a little bit, all year really. We had a chance to win it at the end, and that's all you can ask."
On the fumble at the one-yard line:
"I don't place any blame on Kevin [Marion, wide receiver]. Kevin did a good job catching the football and he tried to score. He gave the effort and sometimes you come up short. But I applaud him. He tried to make a great play. We needed a score, and it just happened that he turned the ball over. They made a greater play. It happens."
On the season:
"Since I've been here, we've always been close but we're just not there. I think that's the most frustrating thing for me because I've been here three years and it's been the same thing year after year after year, and that's frustrating."
Wake Forest Senior Wide Receiver Jason Anderson
On a possible late score in the fourth quarter:
"I thought I had it. I tipped it once, but I didn't think I tipped it high enough. When I realized I still had it rolling off my foot, I tried to kick it up but it kind of rolled up. I felt it on my legs, so I tried to squeeze my legs together. I tried to do everything I could."
