TicketsNov. 20, 2007
Opening Statement:
"For everyone at the University of Cincinnati, this is an important week for us. A nine-win season hasn't been done (at Cincinnati) since the 1950s. It's a mark I know our seniors want to leave.
Secondly, the opportunity to be in the top 25 at the end of the regular season is a very important mark for this program, so you can understand how important this game against Syracuse is, relative to some historical markers. It's our seniors last regular season game.
Clearly, we want the momentum going into the offseason with a victory. All of those things together, playing on the road against a BIG EAST opponent, regardless of record, is a challenge.
Last time we were in this situation -- coming off of a loss to Louisville -- we did not play very well against Pittsburgh. Our kids understand what's at stake, and from my perspective, keeping the attention on playing Syracuse."
On Syracuse:
"I think there are a lot of things that go into why you win and it's not necessarily the 11 guys you put on the field. There are a lot of things that have to go right, for you to win.
I believe they are trying to find themselves offensively. It doesn't seem that they have been able to establish themselves to the level consistency. They've given up a lot of sacks. I think they are outstanding on the edge with (Mike) Williams and (Taj) Smith, those are two, very good, All-BIG EAST caliber wide receivers. They haven't been able to establish the running game; they haven't protected the quarterback very well, either.
Defensively, they haven't been able to come up with the big plays that we have in terms of turnovers and takeaways. It's hard to put a finger on it, because they have good football players. I think Greg Robinson is an established, veteran coach. We don't want to be surprised when Syracuse puts it all together, because there are enough good players on that team that can beat you."
On Syracuse's upset of Louisville earlier this season:
"Well, I think (Syracuse) got up early, and made some big plays. They were able to get Louisville on their heels a little bit and dictated the flow of the game early on. It's hard to go back nine games, I think if you go back four or five games you get a better indication on where a football team is.
From my perspective, this will be a game about how we play. If our defense comes to play at the level at which we're capable of, we should be difficult to handle up front and if our offense continues to make progress, obviously do a better job of running the football we should be fine."