University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn vs. Rutgers Postgame Quotes
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2009
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UConn Post Game Quotes
Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
It seems like the same thing. In all of our four losses, we just couldn't finish the game out today. It's tough to take but it is what it is. We had the opportunity and we didn't make the play when we needed to.
What was the breakdown on the 81-yard touchdown at the end of the game?
They make a good throw and a good catch but then we had a young man that took a bad angle to the ball. We didn't make the tackle. That was a coverage we were playing pretty much all day long. We put our best guy on their best guy Reggie (McClain) and they make a good play but we've got to make a play and he doesn't make the play. Like I said a coverage we were using all down long and having success with. Unfortunately we didn't have success that time.
How much can one team take in a season?
I don't know. We'll just keep fighting. That's all I know to do. We'll just go back to work and get everybody to understand how every play is important. We made so many mistakes for the first three quarters and then to come back and put yourself in a position to win the game like we did and then to have one more play there at the end where we did a good job the whole second half. To have that happen is just hard to describe.
Sophomore Tailback #23 Jordan Todman
After this game do you ever wonder how much pain that you can take?
You do wonder but I know if the pain continues to come I know no one on our team is going to give up or quit. There are some teams where they get broken down and they keep losing and losing thinking that maybe they'll get hot and not continue to fight, but our team's not like that. We're going to fight on the field, we're going to scratch and crawl. You have to be ready, you never know how the season is going to go.
Can you talk about how Zach (Frazer) played today?
Zach, I feel like, you never know what's going to happen, and coach always says you need to be ready to go as the number two. We lost Cody (Endres) and Zach had to come in and play. He completed passes. He put us in a position to win the game late.
Take us through your touchdown run at the end of the game:
Coach told me the play and I ran it in. There wasn't really a lot of time on the clock and I knew I had to get it through the wide receivers and the linemen. So we got the play out there and we knew it was fourth down and we had come too far to quit now.
Rutgers Post Game Quotes
Head coach Greg Schiano
Opening Statement
"I'm happy for our kids. We came to fight, even when it didn't look so good. I'm sure it's a tough one for the other side, with everything that has gone on up here. It was a college football game where both teams played really hard."
What was the play call on the final offensive play?
"It was a basic play. We were trying to get a chunk. If you don't get chunks, especially first downs, you've got to use your timeouts. We had one left. It was a heck of a throw and catch. [Quarterback] Tom [Savage] really got that pass right in there. That window was small. [Receiver] Tim [Brown] made a tremendous catch. There's not that many guys that can outrun a secondary, but he one of them."
Did you get a sense that this was more meaningful for Brown because of his friendship with Jasper Howard?
"He was pretty emotional after the game. It was tough for him. He wasn't sure if he should go down to the funeral. He was trying to decide what to do. But we're in the thick of academics. He had a lot going on. He's been a little somber this week, and understandably so. Those guys were close."
What did you say to UConn head coach Randy Edsall after the game?
"There really wasn't anything to say. As excited as I was for our team, I've been on the other side of those. I've never been on the other side for those kinds of circumstances, though. It was tough."
Was it more UConn's run defense or Rutgers' inability to run that factored into their running game?
"I'm going to bet when I watch the tape that we're one away from popping a lot of big runs. It's a little bit here, a little bit there. We've just got to get better. That's the thing. It's a young group. We've just got to get better."
What kind of impact do you think of UConn losing starting quarterback Cody Endres had?
"It almost happened again where the backup quarterback [hurt us]. We've had our [issues] with them over the years. [Frazer] came in and threw for over 300 yards. The kid played great. And we hit him quite a bit. He kept coming off the ground and kept going. He's a tough kid."
Quarterback Tom Savage, Fr.
What were you thinking about in the huddle before that last offensive play?
"We needed to get to around the 35-yard-line to get a field goal. None of us were panicking. We've done it in practice before. Our coaches called a perfect play. I saw they were playing a cover two. When I threw it, [Brown] wasn't even open. But he came back and made a play. You can't draw it up any better than that."
Before the snap, did you think something like that was possible?
"We did it earlier in the game. Coach made the call, and we just made the play...You can't complain with that result."
Was any part of you down after they scored the go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left?
"I wasn't down. Of course you're upset. We were on the 19-yard line. We knew we needed at least a field goal."
Players Mentioned
