Houston Football Postgame Quotes
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2010
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2010 Houston Cougar Football Postgame Quotes
UCF Knights (7-2 * 5-0 C-USA East) at Houston Cougars (5-4 * 4-2 C-USA West)
Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 * John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium * Houston, Texas
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
On the chemistry between David Piland and Patrick Edwards
"As a said a couple of weeks ago, the chemistry with our offense is there. The confidence level has improved and our running backs are playing as well as they ever have. The comfort level of the receivers with the quarterback, not just with Patrick (Edwards), but with everyone, has improved. We just need to continue to get better. Patrick is having a phenomenal year, it's not just this week or last week, but every week. Every time he's stepped on the field, he's been effective for us. He's made big plays for us this year and he's really set a good example for our offense."
On Mantagi Tonga's performance
"I'll have to look at the tape. He got through today and he's getting healthy. For all the practice that he's missed, for him to play as much as he did is good news for us."
On the defensive performance
"We play in spurts and you can't do that offensively, defensively or special teams wise against a good football team. In third-down situations, we would stop them on first and second down, then on third down he'd (Jeff Godfrey) would scramble and get out of it. We gave up one really good play. We need to get better. It's frustration for everybody when you keep the quarterback contained, until the second-and-long or third-and-long situation. He's a guy that can move around. What has to be addressed is consistency. We need to be aggressive with our defense."
On style of play tonight
"I don't know if we created it; it was a game. They area good team and the bottom line is we didn't make enough plays in critical situations and they did. I thought Godfrey very well and he was able to create plays with his legs, extend plays and get first downs. I thought our effort was really good and that our guys came out from the opening kickoff even though we didn't score a lot of points in the first half. We flew around and played very hard. Obviously we made some changes at half time that were noticeable and got us back in the football game and also got us ahead. We just didn't make enough plays and they did. The bottom line against a good team is that you have to be consistent and we weren't
Key of picking it up from being 23 down
"We just executed better and obviously had a better feel on what they were doing defensively then at the beginning on the game. Field position was the difference. We were able to change the field position in the second half. Taking the ball and doing what we did. We created turnover early in the game when were at the two yard line, which isn't a good thing but we were able to move the ball in the first half but we couldn't put touchdowns on the board, missing field goals and missed the extra point. With all those things we gave ourselves at the end of the game a win or tie and because of that our guys are playing hard. Are we doing the right things all the time? No. When you play a good team, you exploit that. It's disappointing because we didn't win the game. For our team our seasons not over. We will continue to correct and we'll get ready of Tulsa next week.
On Michael Hayes, Bryce Beall and offensive line being effective on offense
"I think our guys accepted the challenge being able to run the ball the last couple of weeks. We're getting really good production out of our offensive line and running backs. Price protection was okay but the defensive line will make you work like that. We made a bunch of different people work. We could have been better there. We had to get back into the game and were able to run the ball once the score got tighter. We were able to play our type of football game. Offensively our play was good. Miller made a heck of a play in the first; hit the screen, rushed up the field, put a foot in the ground and turned around and went back around and made a heck of a catch on a screen play and scored. That is why he is defensive player in the league and he showed it right there. The second reception was a tip ball and its unfortunate for us and we would like to have that back but you can't. With all that being said I thought we handled the situation at the end of the game well."
JUNIOR RUNNINGBACK Bryce Beall
On the clicking of the running game
"We played hard and gave great effort. We didn't execute like I know we can. We were executing in spurts and we cannot do that. We have to start fast and finish the same way. It seems like we have momentum and then we don't. And that is all about us getting each other up and being prepared for the situation at hand. We took the lead and had momentum then we lost the lead and lost it. Instead we need to pick it back up and keep it going. Keep the momentum going."
On the fight throughout the game even when down
"We have been in this situation before. We have had a lot of fourth quarter game-winning drives. We feel comfortable going on the field. We just didn't execute the way we were supposed too. We went out there and played. Coach Sumlin put us in great situations at game time against the defense. So we are used to the situations. We need to go out there and make plays. The season is not over. We are going to come out Monday and ready to play.
In the first half we were able to move the ball down the field against them. We just didn't put any points on the board. We missed a field goal and turned the ball over. We knew in the first half that we were able to have success both on the ground and through the air. We kept each other positive in the first half heading into halftime down 20-3 knowing that with our offense we can put points up on the board. The second half we started great and played well. We just got to get together and learn how to finish."
On the game tempo working in the Cougars favor
"UCF is the type of team that wants to grind it out, play slow and use as much of the clock of as they can when they have the ball. But when we started speeding the game up the game fell into our hands. It was like a basketball game, we kept going up and down the field. It was real good to watch. They started to get fatigued and we moved the ball well. That goes a lot with what we are trying to do and the type of temp we want to have."
On Quarterback David Piland
"He is growing and growing every day. He is going to be a great player. He stood in there and took a couple of shots and still kept on going, kept us fighting. That is what I love about him. He is young and game by game he is learning more and more. He is going to be a great player."
On the offensive line
"The offensive line did a great job. Coming in we knew UCF was good against the run, top-10 run defense in the country and top-20 overall defense in the country. Our offensive line took the challenge that coach Sumlin gave them and they played well for us. They gave us a lot of gaps. Coach (Jason) Phillips says all the time that if we have just little bit of a hole that we need to take advantage of it."
JUNIOR TRANSFER RUNNINGBACK Michael Hayes
On running the ball on third down
"That is something we brought upon ourselves and with what the defense gave us, having fewer guys in the box. (Head Coach Kevin Sumlin) was confident in us running on third down and getting the first down. We take that upon ourselves to get the first for our team."
On the fight throughout the game
"We got done early but coach (Kliff) Kingsbury and coach Phillips told us to keep our heads up and keep doing what we are doing. When we got up, we were doing good and executing our plays like we were supposed too. When we kept getting down and kept getting intercepted, the coaches told us to keep going, keep executing. It just didn't come out the way we wanted too."
JUNIOR MIDDLE LINEBACKER Marcus McGraw
On how the team got motivation coming into the second half
"We just wanted to continue playing. We didn't want to hold our heads down and saw we were going to lose. When you're in the locker room, you kind of pump yourself up."
On what was going through his head while he was playing
"Every time you go out on the field you have to be ready to play. You have to be ready to do your job and not slack down; you have to keep your head in the game and contain them. I think we did good a job keeping it close."
SENIOR CORNERBACK Jamal Robinson
On the game
"It was a hard fought game. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into this. We came into the second half and we tried to sustain it, but we couldn't. They're a good team and we weren't able to finish the game."
On UCF quarterback Godfrey
"We just couldn't contain him. We got them to third and long a bunch of times, but he would go for a quarterback sneak. He's a good player."
On the close game
"We came up short; we didn't get the win. How close we were doesn't mean anything because we still lost the game."
UCF HEAD COACH GEORGE O'LEARY
On coming back to win after Houston took the 24-23 lead in the third quarter
"I thought that showed resiliency on our offense's part. There was an odd number up there, so I'm glad they missed that extra point."
On Houston's high-powered offense taking a toll on UCF's defense
"We lost two of the linebackers and one defensive tackle so we were down some players, but that's when other guys have to step up and make a play. I thought some of the young guys did step up and make plays. I was hoping (cornerback) Josh (Robinson) would've held on to that pass, then it would've been over but it was a good win against a very, very good football team."
On making enough good defensive plays to get the win
"We made enough (defensive plays) and we put some heat on them. I was concerned that we were playing too much coverage and not enough run defense. That sort of hurt us in the first half a little bit. It was a great win for the team and I'm happy for them. We've just got to continue to stay healthy. We're home next weekend so that's great."
On being 5-0 in Conference USA
"That's great, but you play one at a time. This game gives you an opportunity to being closer and closer to being home in December, which I think is really important."
