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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes
November 08, 2005 | Football
Nov. 8, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference East Division leaders will do battle in a Tuesday (Nov. 15) showdown, as the Bowling Green State University football team will head to Oxford to meet Miami University in a nationally-televised contest. With a week to go before the game, BGSU head coach Gregg Brandon and players met with the media to discuss the Falcons, the RedHawks and a myriad of other subjects ...
Q: You've got a little extra time for some guys to get healthy before the Miami game.
Gregg Brandon: That's always helpful this time of year. We're going to give them a couple days off and let them rest a little bit. It also gives the staff time to get out and recruit a little bit, and get in a little extra film study on Miami.
Q: P.J. Pope looked like he's returning to full strength.
GB: He's getting there. I'd say he's 90 percent plus right now. He ran the ball well against Kent State. We controlled the clock with the rushing offense, and that really helped us win the game.
Q: Not that B.J. Lane hasn't filled in and done a good job, but we've talked about that being a big loss, that you haven't been able to use both P.J. and B.J. like you had planned.
GB: Well, it just makes you prepare differently, you've got to go in a different direction. We lost P.J. early (in the season). We had a nice package set with both P.J. and B.J. in there, and the last two weeks have been the first opportunities to get back into that a little bit. It made us go in a different direction, I guess. But that's college football, everybody has those issues, and it's the teams that can fight through them the best that will be standing there in November, like we are.
Q: Can you talk about the play of Loren Hargrove at Kent State?
GB: Loren did a nice job. He stepped up and made some nice plays. He was a part of a great team defensive effort. We had a lot of guys play well on that side of the ball.
Q: Miami is a team that BG hasn't beaten in a few years. Is that a factor heading into this game?
GB: I hope not. If we let it be a factor, it will. It's like anything else; it's one of those unnecessary distractions. The past results have nothing to do with this game. This is a different time, different team, different place. If we allow to enter in, then guys go down there thinking, 'well, we've never beaten those guys.'
Q: So, more importantly, this is a big game on the road, then?
GB: Yeah, it would be huge. It would be nice to go in and win a big conference game like this on the road. To be a champion, you've got to play and win a game like this. We've talked with our team about it. We need to go on the road, with a hostile environment, quality opponent, big conference game, and win that game.
Q: What have you taken from some of the other big road games in the past few years that you can apply to this game?
GB: In any game, but especially on the road, turnovers seem to be a factor. A team gets a turnover, and they get the crowd into it, and you have to have a veteran team and great senior leadership to be able to overcome those things. We haven't done a good job with that on the road in the last couple years. You've got to take care of the football, you've got to take advantage of your opportunities when they present themselves.
Q: Can you talk about some of the things that Miami does, offensively and defensively?
GB: Defensively, I think they've got all of their guys back now. (Terna) Nande's back, and their linebacker's back; those guys are really good players. Their corner, (Darrell) Hunter, is outstanding. Their front is good -- again, it's going to come down to, we have to be able to rush the football to a degree, keep our defense off the field and control the clock. Offensively, they present a lot of problems. (Josh) Betts has a strong arm, and he's operating at a high level right now. They've won four in a row. They have the two great wideouts, but I think the guy that's making them go right now is the tailback (Brandon Murphy). He's really matured into a very good runner, and if you load the box up on him, they've got the two guys outside, (Ryne) Robinson and (Martin) Nance. If you try to double them, or do something to take them out, you've got Murphy squirting through there. It will be a really good challenge for us.
Q: They seem similar to BGSU, in that they have some veteran guys at the same positions.
GB: Yeah, they're very comparable that way. They have good receivers, we have good receivers. They have good backs, we have good backs. The injury factor might play into this. If Omar (Jacobs) is healthy, obviously that gives us a better chance to win the game. If Anthony (Turner) has to go, then you'll see more of what you've seen the last couple weeks. So, that means P.J. Pope, B.J. Lane have got to continue to carry that load and our offensive line needs to step up and block and protect the quarterback.
Q: Have you talked with your players about what needs to happen to win the East Division?
GB: One of our team goals is to win the East. To do that, you have to beat Miami, just like when we were in the West, you had to beat Toledo. They're the benchmarks of the conference, and they've won the last two championships (between them). Those are the people that are the champions right now, so if you beat them, you put yourself in great position to win a championship.
Q: Mike Thaler and Teddy Piepkow come across as very good leaders, in terms of being well-spoken, etc. Are they active on the field in that way?
GB: Well, Mike was our player of the game (at Kent State). He had a couple sacks, he had some hurries, some tackles, and he really kept the defense together. When Anthony went down, I remember looking behind me to see if anyone looked like, 'here we go again.' And, I said, 'It's gonna be great when we win this game with our third-team quarterback.' They kind of looked at me like, 'gotcha, coach,' and they did a good job of keeping Kent out of the end zone, other than that one score in the fourth quarter.
Q: In watching tape of Miami, have you seen a lot of improvement in their offense?
GB: Yeah, I think they're doing a good job of using Murphy, I've seen him emerge. And, they're doing a good job of getting the ball to Nance and to Robinson; they have a nice scheme.
FALCON PLAYER QUOTES
Mike Thaler, Defensive End
(On the Miami game)
"When it comes to this week, you really want to get after it. You have to respect your opponent, but you really want to get after them."
What type of confidence do you have after the win at Kent State?
"It was a great win, not only for our offense because they were able to go out there and have success. We didn't have Omar out there, and for a short time, we didn't have Anthony out there. It was a great confidence booster for our offense, knowing that we can go out there, rush the ball and get some points without having our quarterback have to make all the plays. And, for our defense, we had five sacks and held them to 25 rushing yards. I think that is a huge confidence builder. We went out and played as a team, and we came out with a great win."
(The MAC Championship is still up for grabs)
"It's all over the place. There are about 50 scenarios someone could run through. Coming into this, you always figure you have Northern (Illinois) and Toledo in the West, and BGSU and Miami in the East, but there has been a real shakeup this year and it is just up in the air right now."
Omar Jacobs, Quarterback
(Will you play at Miami?)
"It's up in the air. The competitiveness in me wants to play, but the trainers and everybody has to be smart at the same time. If I do it again it could be worse than what it is now. It's just being smart now and taking it day to day."
(What have you told Anthony?)
"The same thing since he began starting. Play confident, study your film, and always come down to your backs. Just little basic things and trying not to put too much pressure on him. Just stay positive no matter what happens. Just keeping him up after the last couple games."
(When Anthony went down, was there any thought of needing to grab your helmet to get ready to play?)
"Not at all. I have faith in the team and the coaches. They had a back-up plan and I wasn't it. I looked at Anthony and knew he was hurting, but it wasn't anything that would keep him out of the game forever. I felt comfortable with him, Van (Johnson) and the game plan. We prepared and I wasn't worried."
Teddy Piepkow, Linebacker
(What does the team and defense have to do to pull this win out?)
"I think it is all about playing together, having trust in each other and having trust in the system, being in the position to make plays and making them."
(Do you feel this team still has something to prove against a quality opponent?)
"Right now, we are playing for each other and we are playing for a championship. We are playing for the guys that were here before us. For the last four years, we have been successful and we do not want to be the class to drop that tradition."
P.J. Pope, Running Back
(What is the meaning of this game?)
"It is a very important game. We have a chance to play for a MAC Championship, which is a blessing. Also, Miami is a rivalry game, and the alumni consider Miami just as big a rivalry game as Toledo. It means a lot."
(How are you health-wise?)
"All together, this is the best I have felt. I feel good now and it definitely feels good to be on the field."
(What do you need to do well in order to win at Miami?
"No turnovers, first and foremost. We need to run the ball to control the clock as well as pass the ball. Take care of the ball, try to stay on the field as long as we can, and keep our defense fresh."
