University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn vs. West Virginia Quotes
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2010
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UConn vs. West Virginia West Virginia Head Coach Quotes October 29, 2010 Head Coach Bill Stewart Opening Statement: "Tough Loss, I hate it dearly, the Mountaineers played hard, but it was very disappointing. All the stats look good, 414 yards on offense, 81 plays, won the time of possession, and we converted on third down for a higher percentage, but we could not hold onto the ball. I thought we played very hard, very physical, and very tough, but I am not proud of how we took care of the football. They had zero turnovers; we can't strip the ball, can't pick the ball, can't knock the ball loose on defense and our offense gave the ball away. You cannot win any games if you can't take care of the ball. We gave a valiant effort, but I am not proud of how we handled the ball. Maybe the UConn Huskies fans rushing the field all around us will linger in their mind and hopefully they do not have that feeling too many times during their career at West Virginia."
On inability to score in the red zone "I thought we did well in the red zone except loosing those fumbles." On play of QB Geno Smith "Geno played ok. He played better than he did last week but not as good as he did in the first 6 weeks. He played well and gave us a chance to win."
West Virginia Player Quotes
WR Brad Starks (#2) On the fumbles and defensive frustration "You gotta help them out as much as they help us out."
DL Chris Neild(#90) On two losses in a row "It's a new and different territory for us, this never happened to us. You gotta expect the unexpected; we were hoping to come out with a win as we always do today. On another bye week after suffering a loss. It's not something you look forward to, but it's a definitely a chance to work on the little things, and gives us time to prepare."
UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall Opening statement "This win was a combined effort. Defense played well enough to win, offense played well enough to win, and special teams played well enough to win. That's how we have to win around here, as a team. I'm proud of everyone and it feels good to beat West Virginia for the first time in seven years. I thought the fans were great tonight, I appreciate their support, and now we have to go get ourselves ready to play the next game."
On the changes in the game plan "We had nice drive right before the half in the last two minutes, and when we came into the locker room I told the guys I wanted to keep up that tempo. We came into the game trying to slow the tempo down a little bit. We saw some things and I thought our assistant coaches did a great job of making adjustments."
On LB Sio Moore
"Let's not give Sio too much credit. He may have had a lot of tackles, but he still has a lot of work to do. I'm not praising him because he can't handle it. He made a lot of mistakes out there along with the plays he made. I appreciate his effort, but he needs to get a lot better with his technique."
UConn Player Quotes
#23 RB Jordan Todman Todman on poise Zach Frazier showed in the second half and overtime
"He's a heck of a player, and we all know that, and being here so long, he's a veteran. He knows what it takes and he has it. He came out here and was a leader, you know, completing passes ,making big plays, and running when he has to. It's a great thing to have a leader, a quarterback who can handle it."
Todman on how this game was a gut check for the program after everything that has happened over the last few weeks
"Definitely a gut check, you keep getting knocked down and knocked out and people might give up or quit. My team showed up and we won, we did it. We wanted to turn it around and do whatever it takes to win. And you lose two games and get shut out against Louisville, it definitely is a gut check."
#46 LB Sio Moore
Coach Edsall was a bit apprehensive to give you any excessive praise tonight, what does that mean for you?
"It just makes me work harder. That's all that is. I know I'm not perfect and there's a lot of plays I left on the field. I don't take it as any offense. I just take it as there's more I can do out there and he knows it. It makes me work harder."
Talk about West Virginia's possession in overtime and how you were able to get the ball?
"We knew we had to come up with a big play and that's what the game came down to - who made the last play. I knew we would get it done."
They had seven fumbles today. It looked like you guys were doing a lot of stripping in there. Did you practice that all week?
"Yea, we practice that every week. The strip drill. If you get your hands on that ball, you pry it out, punch it out, whatever it takes. With the little guys running the ball, you gotta get your hands in there. When you practice it though, it doesn't matter if the runner's big or small, you get it done."
What'd you do when (kicker Dave Teggart) kicked that ball through the uprights?
"I ran right out on the field and tackled him. I ended up on the bottom of the pile. I was just so excited for the entire team. I was excited for the fans, I was excited for everybody. I was definitely excited for our coach."
