Bowling Green State University Athletics
Football Weekly Media Luncheon Quotes
September 17, 2002 | Football
Sept. 17, 2002
BGSU Coach Urban Meyer
On the first road game of the season:
"This will be our teams first test on the road. We have the opportunity to play in a Big 12 facility and to see if we can continue to build upon the success we had a week ago against Missouri."
"I liked the way our team played on the road last season. We won three close games (Akron, Missouri, and Northwestern) with outstanding efforts in the fourth quarter and our two losses (Marshall and Western Michigan) came down to the final series each time."
About playing Kansas:
"As I said last week about Missouri and Gary Pinkel, I'm glad we are playing Coach Mangino and Kansas in his first year and not in his fourth or fifth year. He and his staff have their team playing better each week and with much greater confidence."
Commenting on Josh Harris and his improvement at quarterback:
"For a guy who people said couldn't throw the ball, Josh Harris has provided everything we could ask for at the quarterback position. He's extremely smart and a great leader. He has complete confidence in his teammates and that has made him a better player. He's not looking to run on every play, but he sets up and waits for the play to develop. He does that because he knows our offensive line is going to protect him. They have been outstanding."
On kicker Shaun Suisham:
"Shaun Suisham has been outstanding. He's kicking the ball like we knew he could. He's second in the nation field goals right now and his ability to allow us to put points on the board takes a great deal of pressure of our offense. Being able to make it a 10-point game, instead of a seven-point game, puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the opposition."
On the Falcon defense:
"Our defense has been great at making plays in key situations. Our coaches came up with a great game plan to hold down Missouri's running game."
"We knew that Mitch Hewitt would step in and give us the level of quality that we had from that position a year ago in Khary Campbell."
Senior linebacker Chris Haneline
On this week's game:
"Kansas is a lot like Missouri in that they have an athletic quarterback and they get you in a lot of sets and run some misdirection at you. We have to focus on our reads this week and improve on our pass defense."
"This is the first time this year we will have to prepare for a game in back-to-back weeks and going on the road just doubles the challenge."
Senior Rimington Award Candidate Jon Mazur
On the confidence the team has in one another:
"We know our roles on this team and we know what we have to do to win football games on this team. This team really believes in themselves. Two years ago we didn't really have an identity. It was like we would play hard for three quarters, but in the fourth quarter it was like what is going to happen that would make us lose this game. Now we know what it takes and our coaches have done a great job of putting us in this position. I think the win at Missouri a year ago showed us that all of the things Coach Meyer was saying were true. We follow his lead. We built on that through the year, but had a couple of losses. The way the season ended for us, winning at Northwestern and then coming home to beat Toledo has just propelled us into this year, confidence wise."
Junior quarterback Josh Harris
On getting to play a Big XII team for the second straight week:
"We approach each game the same, regardless of the opponent. Our coaches put together a game plan and we are going to go out on Saturday and execute it to the best of our ability."
On the team's success and the work it has taken to get to this point:
"It is always good to see your hard work pay off. It makes you feel that the stuff that you do to get there is worth it. We are just privileged and blessed right now that everything is going well."
