Bowling Green State University Athletics
Football Quotes: Week Eight
October 13, 2008 | Football
Oct. 13, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Coach Brandon Audio
Partridge Audio
Andrew Goetz's Interview with Schaefer
The Bowling Green State University football team had a busy day with the media this afternoon (Oct. 13) following the 37-33 win over Akron. Here are some of their thoughts.
Coach Gregg Brandon
On last year's loss at Miami
"When we played them in '05, it was a similar thing down there. They had three punt snaps go over (the punter's) head for three safeties. I've never seen that in a college game. They're out of it before they're in it. The same thing happened to us last year. We turned the ball over three times in the first half, maybe the first quarter, and we were out of it before we were in it. And then the mud game (in 2006)...it's been wild the last three times we've played them."
On home record versus road record
"It's important, because we're in the MAC, and whether we're at home or on the road, we need to win to stay in the hunt. That's proven to be true week in and week out right now in our conference. It's nice to be in control of your own destiny, and beating Akron gave us that, so we just need to keep winning."
On what Miami presents offensively and defensively
"Miami is a solid program; they've been that way for years. They've struggled lately for points, but that was the way they were last year. We can't look at the statistics. Their defense is leading the conference in total defense and scoring defense, so that's enough right there to get your attention. We've got to score points like we did Saturday and like we did at Wyoming, convert third downs, finish in the red zone, and keep them out. That gives us our best chance. They've got good special teams. Statistically, you look at their numbers, their punt team is leading the conference in net; the punt returns are solid, they've got a good guy back there. They still present some weapons, just like anyone else in this league. There's enough talent across the board in any program that anybody can beat anybody."
On identity of the team
"The identity of the team is the same as it's always been. We are up and down, which is something we're working on every week to try to stay consistent and take care of the details. Coach Brandon's done a good job of getting us ready for these games, and this week versus Miami is going to be the same thing. We're going to come out, work hard in practice, work harder than we have before, and hopefully get a win at home."
On rivalry with Miami
"It's a very big rivalry. Most of our players are from Ohio, and when you're getting recruited, it's Miami, Bowling Green, and Toledo out of the MAC. We really want to come out and win this game. The last couple of years, we haven't been able to do that. They've always been pretty good games, except for last year. The "Mud Bowl" down there when it was raining, we had that two and a half hour delay. Miami is like the unsung rivalry. The Toledo game, everyone around here knows about it, but Miami is something we talk about a lot. It's the 'hold the rope' game, as Coach Brandon says, and we really want to come out and get a victory here to get us going in the MAC.
On how badly the team wants to win at home
"Very badly. We've kind of disappointed the fans the last couple home games. Especially against Miami coming here, the last time we lost to them on a last second missed field goal. We're going to work hard this week, work harder than we have before, watch a lot of film, and really come out and play our best."
