Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes
October 18, 2005 | Football
Oct. 18, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University football team, having won three consecutive games, returns home to take on Western Michigan University Saturday (Oct. 22) at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons are atop the Mid-American Conference's East Division with a 3-0 league record, and BG is 4-2 overall. On Tuesday (Oct. 18), head coach Gregg Brandon met with the media at the team's weekly gathering...
Q: Did you watch all five overtimes of the Western Michigan-Ball State game?
Gregg Brandon: Oh, yeah. It was a great game.
Q: Their quarterback was making his first start, but played a lot in that game.
GB: Yes, (freshman Tim) Hiller. He came in in the first quarter, and finished the game. He did some nice things. We recruited him. He's a kid from Ohio, and he's a good player.
Q: He didn't play the week before, though, right?
GB: No, (Robbie) Haas was the guy. After (Ryan) Cubit got hurt, they went with #14 (Haas), and now they're going with Hiller. He's a big, strong kid who has a nice arm. He can run -- he scored on a bootleg late in the game, in one of those overtimes. He has some mobility. I think he's going to be a good player once he gets more experience.
Q: Your defense has a pretty good streak going, having allowed only one touchdown in each of the last three games. Are they fired up to face someone who doesn't have a lot of experience?
GB: Well, I think any time you face a quarterback that doesn't have a great deal of experience, the obvious thought is, 'let's pressure him, and try to sack him.' You've got to be careful with that, because they've got some weapons. (Greg) Jennings is a very explosive receiver, and they are scoring 30 points a game. So, we can lay our ears back and get after the quarterback, but if we don't cover and tackle, then it will be a long afternoon. We'll have a plan to get after the quarterback, we'll have a plan to try to contain Jennings -- I don't know if you can stop him. He caught a lot of balls against us last year, but we kept him out of the end zone, and that's the key. That's what we've been doing lately on defense, keeping people out of the end zone.
Q: Other than your two guys (Charles Sharon and Steve Sanders), is he the best receiver in the league?
GB: Well, statistically he is, that's for sure. He's a 10-catch-a-game guy, with a lot of yards. The thing I like about him is that, obviously, he can catch the ball, but he's very effective after the catch. He's fast, he can make you miss. We've got to try to keep him in front of us as often as we can, and leverage the ball. There were some runs (after the catch) he has made, particularly at Ball State, where they didn't leverage the ball and he outran them.
Q: What does he do to get open?
GB: He runs good routes. He uses his quickness, and he's good at separating from defenders. And, they have a nice scheme; they'll utilize him well. He'll never line up in the same place twice.
Q: What are the biggest differences you can see from last year to this year with Western?
GB: Well, they're committed to rebuilding. You can see that on defense; they're playing eight (redshirt) freshmen and true freshman. They're running around and they're competing. Last year when we played them, the game was over for all practical purposes at halftime. I'm not anticipating that this week. I'm anticipating them to come in and give us a battle. We have to play better than we did against Buffalo.
Q: How is P.J. Pope? Is his availability still in question?
GB: Yeah, we probably won't know until later (in the week).
Q: Any other injuries of note?
GB: We've got some guys banged up, as usual, right now. The offensive line has some bumps and bruises, and you've just got to take care of those guys at this time of the season. We can't bang too much during the week. Our D-line is starting to show some wear and tear, and our linebackers haven't been healthy all season.
Q: You mentioned the D-line -- it seems like they have gotten better.
GB: No question.
Q: Is that because they are finally comfortable with what they're doing, or is it the fact that you can give the starters a break once in a while?
GB: I think it's the latter. I mean, you can get a Diyral Briggs in there, who's a great pass rusher. You can get him in there, give some of those guys a blow and not drop off that much. Same with Nick Davis, he can spell the inside (linemen). And, we've settled into conference play; we're not playing teams that are as physically dominant as those we played during the season. The matchups are more (comparable) to who we are. We have a better opportunity to hold up (than) if you're going to play Wisconsin week-in and week-out.
Q: Was Terrill Mayberry receptive, at the beginning of the season, to playing safety?
GB: I think he was a little apprehensive, but he know that it was best for him and the team, and he responded. And, he's just grown every week at that position, and done a nice job.
Q: It seems like the defensive backfield as a whole, they have been great ball-hawks and created a lot of turnovers.
GB: Yeah, something like 13 of the (opposition's) 15 turnovers are from the secondary. Those kids are playing well. The thing that they're doing well is communicating and playing together, and that's so important in that back end. It's so important in football, especially in team defense -- everybody needs to understand where they fit in the scheme, and when you have an opportunity to make a play, make a play within the system. That's how you keep people out of the end zone. You may give up some yards, but you keep people out of the end zone by playing great team defense, and that's what our secondary's doing right now.
FALCON PLAYER QUOTES FROM TUESDAY (OCT. 18)
B.J. Lane
Was it nice to be "the man" on Saturday?
"It is always nice to have a good game, but there is always room for improvement. I have to credit the offensive line because they did a great job of creating holes for me. My hat goes off to them and for us to keep it up this season will be great."
Are you prepared to take the load with P.J. Pope being out?
"I have to prepare myself every day through practice and take each game one at a time. I prepare myself the same way and just carry the load like that."
What are your thoughts on Western Michigan?
"They are a very talented bunch. I know when they come in they are going to give us their best shot, and we need to be prepared mentally and physically, and just be ready to play our game."
Steve Sanders
How does it feel to be the nation's touchdown receptions leader?
"I really don't pay attention to it. It is good to have it, but I am more focused on us doing well as an offense and getting points."
What do you know about Western?
"They have four freshman corners, and being a fifth-year guy, you have experience and just want to go out there and show it. We can take advantage of their inexperience through Charles Sharon and myself who are fifth-year guys and we just want to exploit that."
Are you looking forward to going against their inexperience? "We don't underestimate them, because they are D-I athletes just like we are, so they are here for a reason. We just want to go out and play our best game."
Terrill Mayberry
When you play against a team like Buffalo that is winless, does the defense lick their chops a bit?
"The Mid-American Conference doesn't really allow for you to do that with anybody. You know going on the road, especially in the MAC East, it is going to be tough. It doesn't matter if the team is 0-5 or 5-0, you are going to get their best game. In this conference, the road environments are very tough to play in."
Do you feel like the defense is finally getting a little bit of respect?
"I think we are finally doing the things we are supposed to do, and naturally, people are going to notice when you are doing things correctly and doing things the right way. We are taking advantage of the opportunities that we have when we go out and play. I don't think we really capitalized in Wisconsin and Boise, but things happen, and we are now in a position to fix that and get ourselves to a level we want to be at by the end of the season.
Kory Lichtensteiger
What is the offensive line doing to allow for success in the running game?
"We have emphasized (the running game) a lot more. I think it starts with the attitude we have; we determined we we're going to run the ball, and since deciding that, we have been."
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
"We are hoping to get a big crowd. Just any time we are at home in the Doyt, it is a good time. Just the home atmosphere is such an advantage for us, and I think we play so much better here."
What are you emphasizing on against Western?
"We are always going to fall back on the run, but hopefully we can get our passing game to work a little better than it was last week. They are young, I think they start eight freshmen on defense, (but) we can't take them lightly. Any of those guys can break out and have a good game."
Mike Thaler
Do you think you had an opportunity for the defense to shine against UB?
"I think we did. We just went out and played tough and hard, and we can just use this as another stepping stone to get better. We had a season high in sacks, had another seven-point (defensive) performance. I think they came out and surprised us with that big freshman fullback, but we stepped up and played well."
Does Western's talent and record scare you?
"It is scary. You have to watch for it and can't take them lightly. You never know what Saturday they are going to put together that talent and they are all going to come together and play as a team. When that happens teams like that can be very good. You have to take them for what they are, not the reflection of their record, but what you see on film. We aren't going to take them lightly. It is another MAC game and we want to come out in front of the home crowd and really shine."
