Virginia and Pitt Postgame Quotes
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Sept. 28, 2013
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Quoting Virginia Head Coach Mike London:
On his decision to go for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter:
“We were down there and had the opportunity to get the first down. Even if you don’t get the touchdown, there is still that chance that you get the first down. Talking to players and coaches, I said ‘let’s go for it.’ We are on the road. We had two downs to get it. Obviously we didn’t do a good job of executing today. It’s disappointing to have had that many drops and to not be that efficient on third downs.”
On Virginia’s defense:
“We played a heck of a game. We played aggressive, and we played hard. We created turnovers, we sacked the quarterback and we hit the quarterback. When we can do those types of things, you expect the opportunities on the other side to give you a chance to score points.”
On if the early fumble set the tone for the game:
“Early on you create a sudden-change situation where we muff a punt and they recover it, we have a bad snap and they get it in the red zone. Anytime an offense can use a short field to score touchdowns or points, it’s always going to have an impact on the game. Obviously at the beginning, those 14 points had an impact on us.”
Quoting freshman linebacker Max Valles:
On his performance:
“My teammates gave me the confidence all week. They told me every day that I’m a great player and that I just needed to show it. I really credit the older guys for giving me the confidence to go out there and play.”
On why he is successful on the edge blocks:
“I use my speed as much as possible and try to stay motivated. If I get blocked I try to stay motivated and get as much as the pressure on the quarterback as possible.”
Quoting junior tight end Jake McGee:
On his missed catches:
“I think I should have caught most of them. I expect myself to be able to make those plays.”
On if missed catches can be contagious:
“We had a lot of drops today. It’s something we have to improve on and fix.”
Quoting junior wide receiver Dominique Terrell:
On what occurred on the muffed punt:
“I killed the play. I just tried to catch it to keep it down, but it slipped past me and hit my leg.”
On what he is supposed to do it the punting situation:
“I’m supposed to get away from it, but I tried saving us field position.”
Pitt Head Coach Paul Chryst
Opening comments:
“It was certainly a good win. I’m appreciative of all the work that goes into it, from the players, coaches and everyone. That was a great win.”
On the difference of this game versus the previous high-scoring game (vs. Duke):
“Last week, it wasn’t like there was awful play. We had our moments. When you give up big plays, or you don’t, you can see the difference. In two different weeks there were two totally different games.”
On the performance of the defense:
“Our defense played really well. They brought a lot of energy. Certainly, those early turnovers were a key. We were able to cash in on them. It was certainly good and we appreciate the victory. There were a lot of good performances on defense, but mostly I felt everyone was doing their job. The players were cutting loose and that was good to see.”
On the offensive performance:
“Offensively, we struggled and never really got a rhythm going. Virginia has a good defense. On third downs, we continued to struggle. We were consistent running the football. We never got in rhythm. We’ve got to work together to get better. I thought special teams did a better job today.”
On the momentum of the game:
“Momentum is a big part of football. Defensively, we had it and were able to keep it. We had some big stops on third down and fourth down.”
On preparing the team for the next game:
“You can build on all the positives. Offensively, defensively and special teams, you can’t gain real confidence until you actually do it, and do it over and over. I think there are some things we can build on and absolutely we are gaining confidence.”
Defensive Linemen Tyrone Ezell
On how it felt to get the win:
“It felt great to go three in a row. That’s what we’ve been talking about all week. It’s something we haven’t done in a while here at Pitt, and it feels great right now.”
On what the defense did different this week compared to last week’s game:
“We just all did our jobs, and we did them well. That was the same saying for the whole week. We made sure all of our eyes were on our keys and we did that well.”
Linebacker Matt Galambos
On the defense only giving up three points the whole game:
“I think we were ready to rise to the challenge today. Last week we gave up a lot of points, but a win is a win. We came in with a different mentality this week and tried to be more of a unit and cut down on big plays. I thought we leveraged the ball a lot today, gang tackled and played really relentless.”
On when he found out he was going to start and how he felt out there:
“As soon as Shane [Gordon] went down, I figured I was the next man up, and coach told me that this is your job and that I should be ready to play. It was really awesome being out there though. I was really thankful to be out there and get a chance to start and play with all of our great players.”
Running Back James Conner
On his touchdown run early in the game:
“I just wanted to get us on the board early. It’s important to do and take some momentum away from the defense. I just really wanted to do that for my team.”
On the play of the defense today:
“The defense was phenomenal today. We wouldn’t have won this game without the way they played. You really have to give them credit. Hats off to the defense today for sure.”
Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald
On defense carrying the team:
“It felt real good, especially after last week. Last week we missed plays and that is difference between last week and this week. Communication was real important and everybody was making plays. We got out there and did what we had to do.”
On Coach Chryst:
“He was just telling us what we had to do. He told us communication was important on making plays. We went out there and tried to show that.”
On the importance of keeping Virginia out of the end zone:
“It was really important at the end. It was a big fourth down stop.”
On playing with a chip on his shoulder:
“I just go out there each week and just play the game. Football is just a game and it was fun.”
Wide Receiver Tyler Boyd
On having another 100 yard game:
“I just want to continue to go out there and play my game. This week I did not think that I played to the best of my ability but I still went out there and got the job done.”
On the lack of momentum on offense:
“Everyone was getting down about themselves, but linking back together and pushing ourselves down the field is what changed this game.”
On the Pitt defense:
“This week I give all the credit to the defense. They did everything they had to do and that was a lot. It is never going to be perfect; it’s football.”
Wide Receiver Devin Street
On Virginia’s defense:
“We have to give credit to the defensive coordinator. I think he planned tremendously. He made a lot of great calls. They double-teamed and triple-teamed. I think their defensive line did a tremendous job.”
On Pitt’s defense:
“I’m just so proud of our defense. They stepped up. It is just showing how much of a team we are and I think we still have a lot of work to do but we played as a team.”