Nov. 11, 2006
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On today's game:
"Well, it was just another day at Byrd Stadium. I'm lucky [that] I'm a guy of faith. We got some breaks tonight. I take my hat off to Miami. They played really well under a very tough situation. The coaching staff is to be commended. They had an excellent gameplan. Our kids played hard, but I think we weren't as emotionally high as we have been. We were able to make two big plays and that was enough to win the football game. It was kind of an old-fashioned football game."
On Miami's defense:
"I think they played great defense. They're a good football team and we knew that. They were pressing our wide receivers up. They played our screens very well. They're so fast."
On Maryland's confidence:
"We had a confidence problem at the beginning of the year. But now, they're almost cocky. But they got it done. They have a belief now and that's really nice to see. We've got to play better, but every good team I've ever been on has had confidence."
On preparing for next week's game against Boston College:
"We've got to get back, refocus and practice well. It's going to be a very, very good game."
On Maryland's run so far this season:
"I don't know what to say. It's miraculous. The ball has been bouncing our way, but there was a period of time when it didn't go that way. I really had my doubts tonight. We made some mistakes [that] we shouldn't make. We missed some assignments. But all in all, it's [win] number eight."
On his conversation with Miami head coach Larry Coker:
"I told him I admired how his kids played. He is a class individual. It's a difficult time. He had to come out and put a heck of a gameplan together."
Senior Linebacker David Holloway
On winning close games:
"We've worked all season on not giving up until the end of the game. You saw it against West Virginia when we kept fighting, and you saw it against Virginia when we were down 20 [points]. It's in our nature. The older guys taught me when I was new, and now I'm teaching our young guys."
On the key turnovers:
"Those were big. We try to get as many as we can every game. We made a big stop, and then Trey [Covington] came up with that pick. It was a huge lift."
On Miami:
"I have a lot of respect for them. People don't realize that as a football team, we're together all day. So for them, that was like losing a family member. For them to come and play through that, I have a lot of respect."
Junior Running Back Lance Ball
On Miami:
"They were playing really hard for [Bryan Pata] out there. After the game, I went up to some of their players and told them how much I was feeling for them. They're going through a lot right now and I just wish them the best."
On winning close games:
"We're just doing what we do all the time. We just keep hanging in there. Good teams get good breaks, and that's what we're getting right now."
On the upcoming games:
"We're 8-2, and we have a few big games on the schedule. If we keep fighting hard, we can be in Jacksonville [for the ACC Championship game]. We just have to keep getting up for every game."
Sophomore Linebacker Erin Henderson
On the win:
"This means a lot. We know that if we won this and our next two games, we'll be in Jacksonville for a chance to get to our ultimate goal and play in Miami [in the Orange Bowl]. We have to get ready for Boston College now."
On winning despite statistics:
"The secret is to never look at the scoreboard. If you don't, you might feel like they're moving the ball well, but when you need a stop, you can feel confident that you can get it. I don't pay attention to the numbers."
Miami Head Coach Larry Coker
On today's game:
"We gave up 65-yard and 96-yard touchdown passes, which is unconscionable. Other than that we played great defense. They only had about 50 yards rushing. They did a good job of not allowing big plays. We dropped a touchdown pass late. This is very, very disappointing for us."
On the decision whether to play this game or not:
"This was a tough week with lots of distractions, as everyone knows. [Bryan Pata's] not there. He's not there at the table with the defensive line. We played the game because that's what was best for our therapy. The ACC wanted us to play, but they never made a mandate."
On attempting to come back from a 14-0 deficit:
"They didn't give up at all. I'm very proud of the way they fought back. It says a lot about our team. I knew we could come back. Herby, I was very impressed with. He did an outstanding job to give us a chance to win the game."
On the rest of the season:
"This fuels my emotions and excites me for next week. We have to keep that emotion and get ourselves ready for Virginia. I still think we're a good football team. I don't know how much we have left in the tank."
Sophomore Quarterback Kirby Freeman
On the game:
"We came tonight playing for all the right reasons. We didn't get any lucky breaks. We worked really hard all week. I personally worked harder than I've worked since I've been here."
On coping with Bryan Pata's tragic death:
"It's been difficult. We've been preparing the best we can. Personally, I prepared the hardest I could prepare this week. We had a really rough week with the situation with Bryan. That's the most important thing right now. It's not losing the game. It's that we don't have one of our brothers. The hardest part of the whole thing was that at the end of the game, we had played a game and been close together all week, but we still didn't have Bryan."
On Bryan Pata:
"All of us were so close to him. It's pretty hard to take that he was there one minute and not there the next. The situation happened on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning we were still unsure about Kyle's [Wright] hand. I was watching film, and I looked over and Bryan had sacked me twice on Tuesday [at practice]. That was the hardest part, when the reality kicked in."
On the offense:
"On that last drive before the interception, we had several guys saying, `Let's win this thing for Bryan.' We needed to get within the 35 yard line. We had to move the ball offensively, and I felt like we did a great job with that tonight. We had some 15 play drives, 17 play drives, 19 play drives. The offense was on the field the longest we've been all year. We just couldn't catch a break. I try to do my job the best I can personally, and I felt like I did a good job."
