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Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen Quotes
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Opening statement:
“It was a very good win for us and our program. Playing well down here isn’t something I’ve been able to get our team to do. We had so many kids step up. Virginia played hard like I knew they would so we were very fortunate to get a win. Losing three years in a row is not good and I wanted this one really badly. I think the kids knew it. I’ve been on them all week. I am very thankful to them for playing as well as they did.”
On Virginia’s secondary:
“We thought we could beat them. We thought their secondary was their strength but they were all banged up. When we played one-on-one we could beat them. Danny [O’Brien] threw it right on the money. His deep ball is looking really good.”
On Virginia’s penalties:
“There were a lot of holds on that team, both up front and in the back so I think the officials did as well as they could with that.”
On Maryland’s success in the red zone:
“Last year our red zone offense was not good. I think [offensive coordinator] James Franklin called a great game.”
On clinching a winning record:
“Here we are with two games to go in the season and we have a shot to win our division. We were picked to finish last by all of the experts and that itself is an accomplishment. We’re not looking to stop there though. We have a huge game this week and we’re coming home so hopefully we’ll get a lot of people to come out and support us. Who knows what could happen? We have some issues like everybody does at this time of year but we also have kids that are playing their hearts out right now. As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that. They just laid it on the line. We have very good leadership from not just our seniors, but also our juniors and sophomores.”
On the difference between the first and second halves:
“I was upset at halftime because we didn’t stop the run and we were going to be in trouble. Then we did a better job stopping the run in the second half and they had to throw it. That was when we started getting some picks and some sacks. They did a good job protecting. They were keeping seven guys in at a time to get quick passes out but when our defense needed to, they came up with some big plays. That last interception sealed it.”
On his team’s growth:
“I have a good bunch of kids and I know how hard they work. They’re just starting to grow up right now. They’re just getting started. We finished the game on the offensive side today and that was a very positive step.”