Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green Quotes vs. EMU
November 10, 2007 | Football
Nov. 10, 2007
Recap |
Stats |
Notes |
GALLERY 
YPSILANTI, Mich. - BGSU head coach Gregg Brandon along with players Antonio Smith and Tyler Sheehan chatted with the media following the 39-32 BGSU win.
CB Antonio Smith
Talk about what Eastern did to give you trouble...
"They kept doing the zone read plays. They just kept getting yards off it and our guys weren't hitting gaps like they were supposed to. It was simple, but we just couldn't execute our plan."
How did you get everyone to step up in the later stages?
"We wanted to let everyone know that we still have something to play for. We just kept them focused and telling them to forget about their mistakes and to play the next play."
QB Tyler Sheehan
Can you talk about the last drive of the game?
"We just wanted to score. We didn't care how much time or how little time it took. We knew we could run the ball against them. We just took advantage of it and ran some plays that we didn't practice this week just because we knew it would be good against them. The coaches did a great job of seeing that kind of stuff and we did a great job of executing down the stretch."
What made your rushing game so effective tonight?
"I think we have one of the best lines in the country no doubt. We have three great seniors that are holding it down out there, and our two guards are young guys that play like older guys. Our line did a phenomenal job.
Talk about the two point conversion and its similarities to the play against Minnesota at the start of the season...
"That's exactly what we wanted it to look like, we still have the option to throw that like we did to Freddie [Barnes] in Minnesota. We knew that a lot of teams had seen that and they are going to cover it. I still had the option to throw if it was open, but we knew Pete was going to be wide open on the weak-side back there."
There was some frustration in the first half after a couple of turnovers, how did you rebound from that?
"We knew that we could move the ball on them. We were throwing it all game and constantly moving down the field. We had some tough times and had tough errors, but we knew what we had to do and we just talked about keeping the ball moving and good things would happen for us at half time. We didn't have to punt all day and when you don't have to punt all day something good is going to happen for you."
How big was the play when Dan Macon's fumble was recovered for a touchdown in the end-zone?
"It was a huge play for us. Our linemen are always trying to dive on balls in practice. All the guys are trying to run and make a play and Shane Steffy landed on it and everyone went nuts because the lineman finally scored."
Head Coach Gregg Brandon
OPENING STATEMENT
"I just want to say some things about this team that I think need to be said. We got bowl eligible tonight, which is huge for this football program right now. Considering less than 12 months ago we were struggling. For us to come back and get bowl eligible and win six football games right now from where we were less than a year ago is a huge credit to the kids in this program. We had to hire six new coaches in the off season. It's a huge credit to those guys to come in and rally these kids and put us in the position to get to a bowl game. The six wins make us bowl eligible but it would be nice to win seven games and to win eight. There are only two teams in the conference that are bowl eligible, and there are only three or four more who have a chance to get that way. We are already there, but we need to take care of business the next couple of weeks and just see what happens. I think it's a great tribute to these kids to win six games, and Frank Solich told me going off the field after the Ohio game that `Coach you have a heck of a team. Just trying to have a winning season is huge in the MAC', and Frank is right it is huge. We have a winning season and I can't say enough about the kids in this program. They did a great job and tonight we really showed, that after making sloppy mistakes we were able to make the plays in the end. It's great that Sean O'Drobinak, a fifth-year senior, who played tight end his whole career until we moved him to defense, even though he was apprehensive about it. He did a great job jumping up and batting it down on fourth down. That's this football team right now, guys like that making plays. That was huge."
Last year those plays down the stretch didn't seem to happen as often for you, what's different about this year?
"We have short term memory. This program is back, and we're going to continue to win. We have great kids and great coaches in this program. Our facilities are second to none now, so the sky is the limit for Bowling Green right now."
What do you think about your troubles against their running game?
"I think their offensive line was very physical. They did a nice job knocking us off the ball. We have to do a better job with that, there is no question. You can't give up 260 yards rushing and expect to win. We have been winning games giving up those rushing yards and it's tough with teams holding on to the ball that long. You think it's going to catch up with us, but it hasn't yet, so hopefully we can keep working on it and fix that, and do better against stopping the run."
Comment on Chris Bullock's big gains near the end...
"We made an adjustment and went to a trap play that we hadn't run all game. We've run that play for years and we didn't run it tonight because they were running inside twists where the nose guard and tackle were twisting. Sometimes you can trap that and pop it and it be good, and sometimes you can't. We felt like we could pop it. Three of those big runs by Bullock were the quick trap and Chris did a good job in there."
What adjustments were made at half time?
"The kids were frustrated, and I thought my team tonight tried too hard to win the game. They wanted to win so bad that we were making mistakes. It was one of those things where we needed to settle down. I think that the senior leadership came through big and kept our poise, and in the end were victorious. The kids were just frustrated at half time because they were trying so hard and we were playing hard, but things weren't going our way. We were still in the game, and I told them just to settle down, we're still in this game and let's win this thing in the second half."
