COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Postgame quotes following Maryland’s 40-37 loss to West Virginia.
Maryland Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
“That was a tough one out there today. It was a hard-fought battle for 60 minutes and it came down to the end. We came up one or two plays short today, but I was proud of our guys to fight back the way that they did. We got ourselves back in the game to tie it up and then just could not get over the hump on third downs offensively. It hurts, nobody likes it, but what we have to do in that situation the next time is just come up and make one or two more plays so that we come out with a better feeling than what we have right now. Give West Virginia credit because I told you all week long that it is a very good football team that is athletic with a lot of speed. With all of the things that we did today, we still had the opportunity to try and win the game at the end and came up short.”
On quarterback C.J. Brown’s brief exit in the game:
“What happens is when his helmet comes off he has to come out of the game. We coach our guys to stay down and he did not concuss. It was that his helmet came off, we had him checked out and it was a good opportunity to get Caleb [Rowe] on the field to get a couple of snaps. There did not have to be any protocol for a concussion because he was not concussed in that situation. Our trainers wanted to double check to make sure, but it was more of the fact that his helmet came off and we wanted to make sure he was okay.”
On quarterback C.J. Brown’s rushing and overall progress:
“There is no question about it. He might have started a hair slow, but that is the way C.J. [Brown] has to play in order to be successful. I thought he had fun out there even though he might have taken a couple of tough hits. You can see the kind of threat he is as a dual-threat quarterback with the big runs that he had since they had guys locked up and nobody in the middle. That is advantageous for us for him to go play like that and perform his way and I think he looked a lot more at ease today and that was good to see. I think this will give him more confidence and that is the way he has to play in order for us to be successful.”
On the winning field goal for West Virginia:
“I did not see the kicker move early. The only think that I will make a comment on is that I always review the film and if I ever have questions or concerns regarding the officiating then I have the opportunity to submit those calls to the Big Ten crew and then tell me whether I am right or wrong.”
On running back Wes Brown:
“Was not injury related, just a head coach decision.”
On Maryland’s running game:
”In terms of what [West Virginia] was doing, we felt doing more of the zone-read would be more effective for us against their scheme as opposed to some of the other things we might have run in previous games. I think we did have some success with running the ball. I wish we would have had a little bit more success in some of those third-and-short situations.”
On not capitalizing on opportunities:
“Let’s not put the blame on C.J. [Brown] here. There are 11 guys that play on offense, all 11 guys figure into each and every play we do. That is exactly what I said when I first came in, the fact that we had a lot of missed opportunities today. Offensively, defensively, and even on special teams. What we will continue to do is we’ll work hard at getting better and working on the things that we feel give us the best opportunity to win. Again, we all have to get better and be more consistent with everything we do; coaches, players, all of us. So hopefully, we don’t put ourselves in these situations moving forward. One thing, we had a turnover early, and that was the last one we had. I’m surprised none of you asked me about the game Will Likely had. With his punt return and a forced fumble. There were some positives, but like I said, we just came up short.”
On Maryland’s defense keeping the team in the game:
“I think that’s the philosophy we have, you play every play as hard as you can. Play every play like it’s the last play you’ll play. If you do that, you got a chance to be successful. Our guys believe in that and we made some plays down in the [red zone], some big plays, and some big stops and got some turnovers. That was good. What we have to do is try to prevent teams from getting in the red zone. We did do some good things with getting turnovers.”
Maryland Players
Quarterback C.J. Brown
On the hit he took late in the first half:
“I’m fine. I was trying to get down and he got me pretty good. My helmet came off and that’s just the protocol that you have to come out of the game. Everything is fine. I’m all clear.”
On West Virginia’s physicality:
“It was a physical game and we knew that going in to it. I’m pretty beat up, but at the same time, it hurts a little bit more after that loss. We will watch film tomorrow, look to get better and move on to Syracuse.”
On the offense’s performance today:
“We are going to have to look at the film. There were some plays out there that we left on the field on third down. I knew we weren’t where we had been in the past two games. Third down conversions were the biggest thing for us. We were 4-of-15 I think. You want to keep the defense off the field and we need to stay on the field.”
On West Virginia’s defense:
“They were just dropping coverage. They knew about the outside and we hurt them early and in the second half. That was their big adjustment. They were able to get a little pressure on third down and cover zero. They were mixing it up, but at the same time we knew what they were in and we just can’t get in those third-and-long situations.”
On his long touchdown run:
“Coming out of the half we knew that we were going to get the ball and we wanted to make a statement especially with the momentum we had coming in. To come out and half that play and that run really uplifted the stadium and [the team].”
Wide Receiver Jacquille Veii
On his first career touchdown reception:
“It was exciting. Coach [Locksley] called the play, and I saw them throw the ball and I just went up there and tried to make a play. I’m happy that I did.”
On his transition from running back to wide receiver:
“I know it’s for the best of the team. I just have to keep working on the fundamental parts and intricacies of being a wide receiver.”
On losing to West Virginia:
“It hurts because we work so hard as a team. Everybody was stepping up and making plays, but West Virginia was great at battling back and making plays too. When it came down to [the end], they just made the game winning play.”
Wide Receiver Stefon Diggs
On his role in the game:
“I just try to make the most of the opportunities I’m given and be the best teammate I can be at all given times. If they aren’t throwing the ball, I have to be the best blocker I can be. I just have to help anyway I can.”
On C.J. Brown’s performance:
“He showed a lot of character and a lot of fight. One play when he got hurt when his helmet came off, he came right back in the game not too long after that. It just shows a lot of character and a lot of fight that quarterbacks need to have and he showed up today.”
On West Virginia’s 108 plays:
“They just ran a lot of plays. I don’t know their efficiency. I haven’t looked at the numbers yet, but I feel like I’m going to look at film and see what happens.”
Linebacker Yannick Ngakoue
On the defensive game plan:
“We brought pressure. We were just trying to play the run as best as possible.”
On dealing with West Virginia’s 108 plays:
We have that type of mentality every week, just in case we have to go against that many plays. I feel like it was normal and I felt like we were prepared, but they just got the win.”
On adjustments at halftime:
“Everybody just looked at each other and we said it’s either us or them and we just gave as much energy as possible which made us get back into the game like this.”
“We just made different adjustments with our coverage so we could get a better look and a better opportunity to make plays.”
On Will Likely:
“He just brings a lot of energy and he always comes through in key moments when you need him the most and I felt like we needed him the most today and he showed up and helped us out a lot. He’s a big part of our team.”
West Virginia Head Coach Dana Holgorsen
Opening Statement:
“I just couldn’t be happier for our team, coaching staff, our fan base – everyone needed this one. What a game, I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a game that had so many drastic momentum swings. I’m just proud of our team, that we were able to get the victory at the end. As far as keys of the game, we didn’t win the turnover battle. We wanted to finish in the red zone, but we obviously didn’t do that. We wanted to win the special teams battle, but we saw how that went. But at the end of the day winning is the most important thing and I’m happy our guys found a way and we are going to build on this.”
On plans for last drive:
“I think we executed it perfectly. Some people may have some choice words for me, but when you play cover two with three safeties deep, the right thing to do is run the ball. I couldn’t be happier for Dustin Garrison and Dreamius Smith who we told all along that we are going to need them, and they got in there and ran hard. The most important thing is to get yards and we got yards, we aren’t afraid to run the ball in those situations.”
On hands off approach with specialists:
“I haven’t talked to [kicker] Josh Lambert since he got on campus, and we are going to keep it that way. The one thing about Josh, he’s missed a couple this year but when he has missed he’s came back and made it up. He’s a guy that we have complete confidence in when it comes to making that shot. I know his name and who he is but other than that I’m doing the hands off approach. I told Coach [Joe] DeForest, “You’re as good as it is in the country at coaching the specialist.”
On Maryland’s special teams:
“I’ll tell you this, they are really good at special teams and they were last year. I said it in my Tuesday press conference, they are really good on special teams, and they have dynamic return guys. In addition to that, it takes more than specialists and return guys to be good on special teams. Maryland focuses on it and their guys have good body types and great depth. They are really good at it and we have to continue working on it.”
On back and forth play today:
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but those guys on the other side are pretty good. Those guys can move the ball and score points. We gave up plays, they gave up plays, and it was a heck of a game. Two teams that wanted to win, two teams have talent, two teams that have been building depth for the past four years. They are doing a great job, we just happened to get one more. The game was back and forth with a lot of plays and very up tempo – it’s what the Big12 is going to be about and we all know that. ”
On feelings after the game:
“Enjoy it for about 12 hours and then back to work. That was a good locker room, with a bunch of kids who were excited about winning the game and who were happy for each other. I’m happy for our coaching staff, our players, and our fan base. I know next Saturday night is going to be a lot of fun.”
West Virginia Players
Quarterback Clint Trickett
On the team’s resiliency:
“That’s exactly what I told the guys in the shower. We get a big lead and we let them come back. It was a lot like the TCU game last year when we were able to get a last second field goal.”
On the game’s rollercoaster feel:
“That’s exactly the way to describe it; rollercoaster. Offensively, I think we ran 111 plays, 700 yards almost. The offensive line played terrific and we pushed the tempo of their big guys and they were rolling. We wore down their defense there at the end. Kevin White was making plays, Mario [Alford] was making plays. That’s part of the game.”
On his 511 yards passing:
“I barely even did anything. I’m throwing it two yards to those guys and then they take it 90 yards and they make me look good. Just facilitating those guys that are the ones making the plays and deserve all the credit.”
Kicker Josh Lambert
On the last play:
“Well I missed one before that. It got blocked so I was hoping for the opportunity to redeem myself. We got close enough to get another chance and we made the best of it.”
On his ability to forget the blocked kick:
“At that moment in time you can’t really think about what’s happened before. The most important kick is the next kick.”
On his stutter steps:
“Yeah I was anticipating the snap and took a step and realized it and I was able to gather myself very fast and it went through.”
Wide Receiver Daikiel Shorts
On if offensive execution was mentioned before the final drive:
“Not really. Everybody just came together and tried to get as close to getting a field goal or a touchdown as we can and we were successful.”
On getting more playing time:
“It definitely helps out with the confidence level and just helping the team out. Being able to support these guys and make plays for the coaches.”
