Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes: Week Seven (Game Six)
October 08, 2007 | Football
Oct. 8, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University football team, after four non-conference contests among the season's first five games, now will play seven consecutive Mid-American Conference games to end the 2007 regular season. First up in that stretch is a Saturday (Oct. 13) game at Miami University, with the 3:00 p.m. game set for a Fox Sports Net Ohio broadcast. On Monday afternoon, Falcon head coach Gregg Brandon and several of his student-athletes met with members of the media ...
HEAD COACH Gregg Brandon
How is the team's morale after Saturday's game (at Boston College)? Do you watch the film and harp on it or do you just move on and pretend it didn't happen?
"Well, we don't pretend it didn't happen because it obviously happened. The thing about Boston College was, that was a really good football team and we had to be clicking on all eight cylinders to have a chance to win that game -- four interceptions later it was a blowout. We didn't take care of the ball, and we didn't respond like we needed to when those turnovers occurred. Again, in the grand scheme of things this game (Miami) and the next game are huge. These are MAC East games and these are the ones that we've been playing for. We put that one on the shelf last night and now we're getting ready for Miami."
How fired up is this team to get back into conference play?
"Pretty fired up. I think coming off that loss they'll be even more fired up to prove that wasn't us out there last week -- that was a group of imposters. That happens though; it's college football and when you're on the wrong end of that, it's tough. As I said, BC is a great team and [QB] Matt Ryan is a first-round draft pick in my opinion."
Now that you're entering the MAC, do you show anything else now or is what we've seen, as far as offense, what we're going to get the rest of the year?
"[The offense is] pretty much what it is, but we have a few wrinkles here and there. We are who we are right now. Hopefully we can rush the ball better. A lot of the games, Michigan State, Minnesota, Boston College, we weren't working on running the football. We thought our best chances to win the game were to throw the ball 50 to 60 times. The [offensive] lines and [defensive] front sevens on those teams were very much built for the Big Ten and the ACC."
Miami isn't scoring a whole lot of points; does that mean their defense is pretty sharp?
"I think their defense is pretty scrappy. The last two weeks they've really stepped up defensively. Against Syracuse they ran to the ball really well and in the Kent State game they were flying around. If you can play great defense and keep people out of the end zone you have a chance. I mean obviously they aren't scoring like typical Miami teams of the past but they are finding ways to win games the last couple weeks."
You mentioned there was atonement for the Boston College game. Is there atonement for last year's Miami game?
"Well that was a tough loss, the `Mud Bowl'. The thing about going to Miami is that is a rivalry game in my mind, just like playing Toledo. The old guys that played here in the 60s and 70s will tell you that Miami is a natural rivalry for Bowling Green. We went down there a couple of years ago and we beat them in the weather delayed game [2005]. It was the first time we won down there in 12 years. Going to Oxford is tough, we have to impress upon the kids that they have to be focused to go in and win this game."
Six weeks into the season, what are your thoughts on the team compared to what you expected?
"A little bit better than I thought. I think offensively we can throw the ball against anybody effectively. Boston College was an aberration; that was a great team and I'm not going to get caught up in that game. We have demonstrated that we throw the ball, move the football and score points. We have demonstrated that we can make stops defensively at key times.
"I think we play a salty schedule, and in the non-conference we are 2-2. The kicking game has improved dramatically although we didn't cover kicks very well on Saturday. With Roger Williams back there we got some stupid penalties on our kick off return for blocks in the back. We have to fix that and do a better job at that, but I think we have a guy back there that has the ability to pop it, I think he is close; that's exciting. [Punter Nick] Iovinelli is doing a nice job. I think we are sitting pretty good for conference play."
How hard is it to prepare for Miami with all of the changes in their lineup? Do you just prepare for their schemes and not concern yourself with whoever they put in there?
"We are a lot like Miami and we were a lot like them last year. You have a lot of question marks, especially with injuries. They have talent and you can see it. Miami is going to have guys; their offensive line is salty. It is going to be a tough MAC game; the East is wide open."
What are you thoughts on Buffalo's win over Ohio on Saturday?
"Buffalo is getting better. [QB] Drew Willy is a fifth year guy. Kids grow up and mature and they get better, if they have some talent.
"Tyler Sheehan is going to grow up, mature, and get better. This game [BC] is one of those games that is bound to happen, you hate to see the interceptions but he's got to learn the school of hard knocks. You play against better people, you have to take care of the football every week. When you are playing against an opportunistic defense like that, with a lot of veterans and experienced players, you can't throw it away. He'll learn. He'll get better."
Player Quotes
Sean O'Drobinak
What did you guys learn from the Boston College game?
"The Boston College game was unlike our style of play on both sides of the ball. We didn't play together, we didn't play as a unit and there was just no synergy with either the offense or defense. What you learn from that is every good team has an off day, whether it's on offense, defense, and special teams or, in our case, the entire unit. We lost every phase of the game and every stage of the game and we're fortunate it was against Boston College and not another MAC opponent. We still have all our goals and everything is still attainable for us. So what we're learning is that last week was a bitter disappointment, but we have everything in front of us yet and we're taking a new approach to the rest of the season."
How tough is it on you guys to have a loss like that?
"It's really tough, but the biggest difference between us losing now and us losing last year is last year a loss would linger through the week into Tuesday and Wednesday. It would still be on our minds, but right now Boston College is behind us. We ran last night [Sunday] and we got punished for it, which was well deserved, but it's in the past and it's a thing of the past and we can't do anything to change it now. This season, that's the biggest thing. We as seniors talked to the defense and said we didn't play well together on Saturday, but that's behind us and it's over with. We got this week now and this week only."
Does having a game like that give you more of a hunger to come out and perform better this week?
"Well I think every game you better have a little bit of an edge or a hunger to win, but this is a league game, so we're going to have a little more fire, especially after getting embarrassed on national television like that. I think we're going to have a little more desire to prove ourselves."
What do you like about Miami when you see them?
"They're a solid team. I was watching the film on them this morning and though they're last in scoring offense, they can put some points up. On any given play they can run, run, run and then throw one deep on you. That's what their M.O. is this season and we've just got to lock in and play our assignments and we should be OK."
How big of a rivalry game is the Miami game for you guys?
"This game is as important as any game we play, it's right up there close to the Toledo game. We call this game the `Hold The Rope' game or the Miami rope. We have a red rope in our locker room that signifies the rivalry. Back in the day it was a big game and lot of these guys don't know that, but I remember two years ago being in the locker room when we were down there in the rain delay game. Coach Brandon passed out these little ropes of thread where each one you could pull apart, but when we put them all together, it was just one very tight and strong unit and that's what you have to be. You have to be one strong unit and we have to play as a team to beat this Miami team."
Do you think they'll be jacked up to play you guys?
"Well I just found out that it's their Homecoming game today, so everyone will be back in town for the game and it's a league game and anyone can win. So we're going to go in there and just expect the worst. We're going to practice crowd noise all week and we're going to do the same things we do every week and go out there and perform on Saturday."
Marques Parks
What did you guys as a group learn from this past weekend?
"I think overall we found a lot out about who we really are. They were a good team and I think we found out that they really were that good of a team and deserved the ranking they had. But at the same time we didn't play our best brand of football either and luckily that happened now and not against some of the other MAC teams. We got our seven remaining games all against league opponents, so we can get on a roll and put all of this behind us in week five rather than in week 10 or 11."
Is it tough to get back in the right frame of mind after what happened?
"It is, I think, because football is a different sport in that you practice so much and play only once a week, whereas in basketball or baseball you lose to a team and you're playing a new opponent the next day or in two days, so you don't know that the game is already behind you. We play Saturday to Saturday, so we have seven days to put this game behind us and practice. When the scout team comes out, we're not practicing for Boston College anymore. We're practicing for the Miami RedHawks, so we're putting it behind us now."
Would you agree that Miami is one of the teams to beat in the MAC East?
"Yeah, they're a pretty strong MAC East team. I was just looking over some of their statistics and they seem like a really balanced team on offense. They don't have outstanding numbers rushing the ball or have outstanding number passing the ball, but they have a nice balance there and they play good defense. They won against Kent State and I'm sure they're going to scheme us up. They know us very well and I'm sure they're going to have something very special for us."
With five games down, do you feel good about where you are heading into the stretch run here?
"Yes and no. I'm really happy that we're 3-2 and that we have a winning record after five games, but I think we could've beaten Michigan State and I think we could've played a lot better against Boston College, so in that respect maybe there are some guys that aren't too happy because there were some games where we didn't really come out and play our best. But, then again, like I said, we are 3-2, we are 1-0 in the MAC and we've got seven-straight games where we can just let loose, play our game and try to win the MAC."
