TicketsOct. 10, 2006
On the Akron Game:
We came out and obviously struggled in the first quarter. If we are going to become as good as we can be, we have to start winning the turnover battles. It's a combination of a number of things. We've got young players who are having trouble taking care of the ball and there are good players on the other side of the field who are making things happen. We need to come away on the plus side of it. Last week, we were minus-3 in the category. When you are minus-2 you've got a 5 percent chance of winning. Because of the dominance in yards and possession time, we were able to come away with the victory.
I was very impressed with our offense, at the end of the game, being able to run the ball for 24 straight plays. To be able to do that at the end of the game was a great accomplishment. I can not remember a football game that I have been involved with in the last 10 years where a team held the ball for the final nine minutes of the game.
On special teams, we continue to play pretty well.
Defensively, we were able to stop the run. That means we were able to make the game one-dimensional. The defensive staff did a good job of adjusting after the first quarter.
Akron is a good football team. They took N.C. State and they play people tough.
On the Louisville Game:
It's a rival game for us. To me, that's exciting. It's easy to get your players up when it's personal. This week, it's Louisville and it's personal.
I believe that Louisville can play with anybody in the country and win. And that's what we want to get to. I believe when the time comes that we beat Louisville, we will be able to compete with anyone in the country.
We are a 3-3 football team. If you look at who we have lost to, we've lost to a 6-0 team (Ohio State) that is No. 1 in the country. We lost to a 4-1 Virginia Tech team. We've lost to a Pitt team that is 5-1. We've lost to teams that have a combined record of 15-2. I'll match that up against any team in the country.
We play against a 5-0 team this week. It'll be another measuring stick for this program. That's exciting. You always want to challenge yourself against the best.
I don't think we are going to be intimidated by the environment. We've been in different environments such as that before.
They've got an excellent football team. They are No. 1, 2, or 3 ranked in almost every category in the BIG EAST. They are No. 1 in scoring in the country and they are doing it without their top two players.