This is a partial transcript.
Opening Statement
“Heck of a football game. We knew it was going to take 60 minutes to beat those guys, and we took every second of it to get it done. I guess the thing that I am most proud of about this football team is that there was never a point in the game where, no matter what was happening, anybody got down. No matter what the situation was. I remember when Elijah [Hood] put the ball on the ground on the fourth play of the game, and as those guys were coming off the defense was going on saying, ‘Hey, we got your back. Don’t worry about it.’ That’s the way it was throughout the entire game, no matter what happened. So I’m really proud of the way this team played. My hat is off to Pat [Narduzzi] and that football team, I mean they are a heck of a football team. They’re going to win a lot of games, and we are very fortunate to get this one, but we are very proud of our football team. And what a crowd tonight. It was electric out there. The fans – they were our edge, that was a big key for us.”
On Ryan Switzer on the final drive
“Ryan Switzer is a player. I don’t what to tell you; he’s a player. In the game plan this week, from what we saw he knew he was going to have an opportunity to have a big game. Basically because they are so run dominant, stopping defensively, they get those backers in there, the safeties are involved. So basically, it was going to have him one-on-one against a safety the majority of the game. We felt like we could take advantage of that. And he did. He made some great plays and some clutch plays for us tonight.”
On learning something about the team in a tough game like this one
“We learned a lot about our football team tonight. We talked about it before the game. We had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team. And I can say there is a lot of grit in this football team for one, a lot of toughness, and all the intangibles that we need to be successful. Our guys had a great week of preparation, and that was the key. They prepared starting Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. They prepared to win this football game. And I can’t say enough good things about them.”
On the two stops at the end being because of defense or an adjustment
“No adjustments. They just bowed their neck. They gutted it up and they got it done. They made the plays, they made the tackles. There were no missed tackles in those last couple of series, and they got some really good running backs. And the way they stretch you with the ten, they do some really good things and it makes it difficult for you. So again, we made the plays when we had to make them.”
On being concerned at the end of the game and making the play
“I thought for sure we were going to get a play off. I mean because we had already talked about it with the guys, if we did run it, and again that’s a run-pass option where the quarterback has got to make the right decision, we had talked about not running it. But he handed it off so you know he had to get off the ground. And they ate up as much time as they probably could. I think there was about 13 seconds left on the clock when we finally got a play off you know. So, something like that.”
Opening Statement
“Heck of a football game. We knew it was going to take 60 minutes to beat those guys, and we took every second of it to get it done. I guess the thing that I am most proud of about this football team is that there was never a point in the game where, no matter what was happening, anybody got down. No matter what the situation was. I remember when Elijah [Hood] put the ball on the ground on the fourth play of the game, and as those guys were coming off the defense was going on saying, ‘Hey, we got your back. Don’t worry about it.’ That’s the way it was throughout the entire game, no matter what happened. So I’m really proud of the way this team played. My hat is off to Pat [Narduzzi] and that football team, I mean they are a heck of a football team. They’re going to win a lot of games, and we are very fortunate to get this one, but we are very proud of our football team. And what a crowd tonight. It was electric out there. The fans – they were our edge, that was a big key for us.”
On Ryan Switzer on the final drive
“Ryan Switzer is a player. I don’t what to tell you; he’s a player. In the game plan this week, from what we saw he knew he was going to have an opportunity to have a big game. Basically because they are so run dominant, stopping defensively, they get those backers in there, the safeties are involved. So basically, it was going to have him one-on-one against a safety the majority of the game. We felt like we could take advantage of that. And he did. He made some great plays and some clutch plays for us tonight.”
On learning something about the team in a tough game like this one
“We learned a lot about our football team tonight. We talked about it before the game. We had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team. And I can say there is a lot of grit in this football team for one, a lot of toughness, and all the intangibles that we need to be successful. Our guys had a great week of preparation, and that was the key. They prepared starting Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. They prepared to win this football game. And I can’t say enough good things about them.”
On the two stops at the end being because of defense or an adjustment
“No adjustments. They just bowed their neck. They gutted it up and they got it done. They made the plays, they made the tackles. There were no missed tackles in those last couple of series, and they got some really good running backs. And the way they stretch you with the ten, they do some really good things and it makes it difficult for you. So again, we made the plays when we had to make them.”
On being concerned at the end of the game and making the play
“I thought for sure we were going to get a play off. I mean because we had already talked about it with the guys, if we did run it, and again that’s a run-pass option where the quarterback has got to make the right decision, we had talked about not running it. But he handed it off so you know he had to get off the ground. And they ate up as much time as they probably could. I think there was about 13 seconds left on the clock when we finally got a play off you know. So, something like that.”
