TicketsOct. 17, 2006
On the Louisville Game:
"I thought we went down there (Louisville) and played extremely hard. We talked about it all week long, about what we would have to be done in terms of winning down there. The biggest thing was that we would have to go down there and match their intensity and play with great faith and confidence. We did do that. I think we played extremely hard. There is not one player on our football team that we couldn't have asked more from that and that didn't give all they could.
"We believed that we would get it done, and it almost happened. We went down there and said we had to do a couple of things. The keys to victory were that we had to run the football. We were able to run it, and we had to stop the run. I think we did at least through the first three quarters. We had to be at least 2-plus turnovers, and we were that. The one turnover before the half hurt us. We had to play superior special teams, and we had to have two big changing plays in the special teams. I think we got probably one or one and a half. We had a 15-yard return that got us back over the 50 and we had a big fumble recovery by DeAngelo Smith. We had a big (kickoff) return by Dominick Goodman. But with all that being said, we did miss two field goals which hurt us.
"That's where we're at. We need to move on and put it behind us. It is a measuring stick for our program, but it isn't a win. We need to get that part of it down.
"Louisville's got a good program with good players. They played well down the stretch so we have to give them credit."
On the USF Game:
"It's a huge game for us. We're 3-4 right now, and we need to get to 4-4 before we can talk about anything else. USF comes in here, it's an ESPN nationally televised game, and it's on our home field. We should play well on our home field. They've got great defense, great corners, great skills guys, an outstanding safety, two outstanding corners, and all three linebackers are back.
"Offensively, they've got a quarterback that makes things go. He's a runner and thrower. They use a number of different tailbacks. They use about seven wide receivers. Their guards and center are relatively new.
"They are a very well-coached team. Jim Leavitt does an outstanding job. They beat North Carolina last week. They are a 5-2 football team. As I've said every week, they will be a challenge for us, and we'll need to play well. The biggest thing for us is to get past the Louisville thing and move on. We'll be doing that today."