TicketsNO. 25 UCF 51, CINCINNATI 23
OCT. 7, 2017 | NIPPERT STADIUM | CINCINNATI, OHIO
Postgame Quotes
Cincinnati Head Coach Luke Fickell
Opening statement:
"There were a whole lot of firsts out there tonight. Not having a while lot of answers. Not being able to put ourselves in some positions to give us an opportunity. The positive side of things our offense moved the football even when they didn't score they still moved the football from the get go. The UCF coach said that was the best a team moved the football them all year. Up front our offensive line had some growth. You got to see Mike Boone get back involved in the offense. He's a guy that's a big deal for us. He can bring a lot of sparks for us.
"We've got to continue to grow. There are a lot of areas of this ball club where we have gone up and down. All of a sudden someone starts to do something good and then on the other side things start to go the other direction. It's a rollercoaster.
"I told those guys that I'm going to focus on the seniors. I'm going to get up every single day for the rest of the season and those are the guys I'm going to think about. I going to think about what they've done, what they've been through and what I can do to put them in a better opportunity to put them in a better position to be more successful and make this experience at making a run these last six or seven games something to remember. We have to have motivations and I know darn well that's going to be my motivation."
On playing young guys:
"There are going to be situations that the coaching staff is going to be put in when planning for the future and if that means a young guy is going to play, then yeah that means a young guy is going to play. That decision is going to be in the best interest of the team. It's tough sometimes on them that they aren't playing in the game but I know this, not getting in is going to be my motivating factor."
On combating UCF's speed:
"We have be smarter and try to get our players in the best positions. We also need to move our guys around which I tried to do today. We put Grant Coleman in as safety which is a guy that usually plays as corner in order for us to increase our team's speed. It didn't go well and there were some speed factors which exposed a lot of things. But as coaches, we have to find the best opportunities to be successful. There were some issues in the Navy game but I don't think it was a speed factor. In the game against Michigan there was one play that looked like it was a speed factor but there were a few more here tonight."
On UC quarterback Hayden Moore's success on the ground:
"Sometimes the quarterback has to be an option to run the football. He took some shots and kept on going. I think sometimes taking shots can get you in the rhythm of some things too. What it does too is it makes the guys around you say realize he's in this thing too, he's going to get and up and keep fighting for us."
UCF Head Coach Scott Frost
On the performance of the offense:
"I have been around football a while and I don't remember a cleaner game on offense. They execute it so well. We had such a good week of preparation and I knew there were ready to play but the performance that they put on tonight on offense was special and it is a great thing to build on."
On the fast start:
"You know I was a little worried coming off last week in a big game and you know some of the distractions that could potentially hit your team. Our guys prepared great and I knew that coming in but anytime you can score on the first drive I think it really sets the table for the rest of the game. We have done that a couple weeks in a row here now so obviously our guys were dialed in and ready to play at start of the game."
On if there was a conscious effort in the first two drives to get a big lead in the game:
"Honestly, on the first drive we guessed right. They kind of had a tendency on a certain down and distances on blitz and we have got a protection that can pick it up and run some verticals and they left a seam wide open. On the next one, I wasn't expecting that at all, Tre'Quan (Smith) just beat his guy and McKenzie (Milton) made a good throw so we had two big plays early on in the game."
On Milton's performance:
"I will tell you what, that kid is playing lights out and he deserves some credit for a lot that is going on. We are a lot better all around him too. He has got good weapons, some new ones coming up every week and his offensive line. One sack through four games is pretty special. A lot of guys are playing well but McKenzie is playing some darn good football right now."
On how the team handled playing this game being ranked:
"It is starting to look like we have a pretty special group. These guys are handling everything that is being thrown at them, from ranking and big wins to hurricanes and lighting delays. They seem to be able to take it all in stride and I am really happy for them."
On Cincinnati's success on third downs:
"I don't think we played great on defense and I thought they had a really good plan and I thought they played well on offense. I give them a lot of credit. They have got a good coach and a good coaching staff and they are kind of where we were last year trying to figure it out and build on it. I have no doubt that they will get this program where they want it to be. I told our team, our defense carried us last year, and they have carried us in a lot of games since I have been at UCF and this is probably good for us, a game where the defense didn't play quite up to our standard and the offense carried it. That's what a good team does is each unit picks up the other unit."
OCT. 7, 2017 | NIPPERT STADIUM | CINCINNATI, OHIO
Postgame Quotes
Cincinnati Head Coach Luke Fickell
Opening statement:
"There were a whole lot of firsts out there tonight. Not having a while lot of answers. Not being able to put ourselves in some positions to give us an opportunity. The positive side of things our offense moved the football even when they didn't score they still moved the football from the get go. The UCF coach said that was the best a team moved the football them all year. Up front our offensive line had some growth. You got to see Mike Boone get back involved in the offense. He's a guy that's a big deal for us. He can bring a lot of sparks for us.
"We've got to continue to grow. There are a lot of areas of this ball club where we have gone up and down. All of a sudden someone starts to do something good and then on the other side things start to go the other direction. It's a rollercoaster.
"I told those guys that I'm going to focus on the seniors. I'm going to get up every single day for the rest of the season and those are the guys I'm going to think about. I going to think about what they've done, what they've been through and what I can do to put them in a better opportunity to put them in a better position to be more successful and make this experience at making a run these last six or seven games something to remember. We have to have motivations and I know darn well that's going to be my motivation."
On playing young guys:
"There are going to be situations that the coaching staff is going to be put in when planning for the future and if that means a young guy is going to play, then yeah that means a young guy is going to play. That decision is going to be in the best interest of the team. It's tough sometimes on them that they aren't playing in the game but I know this, not getting in is going to be my motivating factor."
On combating UCF's speed:
"We have be smarter and try to get our players in the best positions. We also need to move our guys around which I tried to do today. We put Grant Coleman in as safety which is a guy that usually plays as corner in order for us to increase our team's speed. It didn't go well and there were some speed factors which exposed a lot of things. But as coaches, we have to find the best opportunities to be successful. There were some issues in the Navy game but I don't think it was a speed factor. In the game against Michigan there was one play that looked like it was a speed factor but there were a few more here tonight."
On UC quarterback Hayden Moore's success on the ground:
"Sometimes the quarterback has to be an option to run the football. He took some shots and kept on going. I think sometimes taking shots can get you in the rhythm of some things too. What it does too is it makes the guys around you say realize he's in this thing too, he's going to get and up and keep fighting for us."
UCF Head Coach Scott Frost
On the performance of the offense:
"I have been around football a while and I don't remember a cleaner game on offense. They execute it so well. We had such a good week of preparation and I knew there were ready to play but the performance that they put on tonight on offense was special and it is a great thing to build on."
On the fast start:
"You know I was a little worried coming off last week in a big game and you know some of the distractions that could potentially hit your team. Our guys prepared great and I knew that coming in but anytime you can score on the first drive I think it really sets the table for the rest of the game. We have done that a couple weeks in a row here now so obviously our guys were dialed in and ready to play at start of the game."
On if there was a conscious effort in the first two drives to get a big lead in the game:
"Honestly, on the first drive we guessed right. They kind of had a tendency on a certain down and distances on blitz and we have got a protection that can pick it up and run some verticals and they left a seam wide open. On the next one, I wasn't expecting that at all, Tre'Quan (Smith) just beat his guy and McKenzie (Milton) made a good throw so we had two big plays early on in the game."
On Milton's performance:
"I will tell you what, that kid is playing lights out and he deserves some credit for a lot that is going on. We are a lot better all around him too. He has got good weapons, some new ones coming up every week and his offensive line. One sack through four games is pretty special. A lot of guys are playing well but McKenzie is playing some darn good football right now."
On how the team handled playing this game being ranked:
"It is starting to look like we have a pretty special group. These guys are handling everything that is being thrown at them, from ranking and big wins to hurricanes and lighting delays. They seem to be able to take it all in stride and I am really happy for them."
On Cincinnati's success on third downs:
"I don't think we played great on defense and I thought they had a really good plan and I thought they played well on offense. I give them a lot of credit. They have got a good coach and a good coaching staff and they are kind of where we were last year trying to figure it out and build on it. I have no doubt that they will get this program where they want it to be. I told our team, our defense carried us last year, and they have carried us in a lot of games since I have been at UCF and this is probably good for us, a game where the defense didn't play quite up to our standard and the offense carried it. That's what a good team does is each unit picks up the other unit."