Bowling Green State University Athletics
Football Quotes: Week Thirteen
November 17, 2008 | Football
Nov. 17, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Coach Brandon Audio
Haneline Audio
Sheehan Audio
Andrew Goetz's Interview with Haneline
The Bowling Green State University football team had a busy day with the media this afternoon (Nov. 17) following their bye week. Here are some of their thoughts.
Coach Gregg Brandon
On what he told the team about the rest of the season
"Well, it's a win-out scenario, just like it was two weeks ago and we're halfway home. The closer you get, the more I think the sense of urgency and the build up, kids can feel it and sense it. We've still got a lot of work to do. This one Friday night isn't going to be easy, but we're still playing for a championship, and that's why these kids come to Bowling Green for to play in big games like this. The last one we had was in '05 right out here against Toledo. We didn't get that done in overtime, and there are some kids on the team that played in that game. It's another opportunity to win the East and get to the championship."
On how the team used the bye week
"We spent a good amount of time, at least the coaches did, studying Buffalo and implementing game plan, but last week was mostly to give players time to rest. We had light practices and gave them a couple days off. At this point in the season, I don't think more is better from a reps standpoint. I think they need to be mentally focused and hungry to want to come to practice. If you're not ready to go now, you're never going to be. You're playing for our team goals and, like I said, why kids come to Bowling Green to play for championships."
On whether the bye interrupted the momentum of the two game winning streak
"I don't think it hurt us. I think it came at a good time to get healthy, and I think there was a little sense of relief after we beat Ohio on the road in a tough game. If we were 4-2 or 5-1 in the MAC right now, it doesn't make any difference, we've got to win this game. It doesn't make a bit of difference. It's just the way you want it right now."
On how big the game versus Buffalo on Friday is
"It's huge. We always talk about playing for championships. We let some slip by, and the pieces have fallen into place for us to go out there and control our future. We are where we want to be, and just need to take care of business. Everybody's really excited, I think, because of Buffalo beating Akron. Akron could have lost down the line, but the way it worked out, we had a bye week and the guys watched the game together, and the morale of the team from seeing that happen was just a big booster for us and got a lot of the guys locked in right away from last Thursday night when that happened to now. Guys at practice are just locked into our assignments and are just really excited to get out there Friday night."
On how the bye week affected the team
"For myself and for some of the older guys, the wear and tear of the season, the normal bumps and bruises that you get, I think it really helped us get a little rest, recover, and helped us have the time to really focus on the importance of this Friday's game. With everything that's happened up to this point it really gave us extra time to prepare. We've had extra film study time, and I think it's really helped physically. We'll see how we come out Friday. I felt like coming into that OU game that we were hitting our best stride on defense for the whole season, and I was excited to get back out the next week but at the same time, the rest for our bodies was awesome."
On whether or not there is surprise at the team's opportunity to win the division
"A little bit, but our league and especially our division is so competitive, any given week, it all depends on who shows up. We know we've just got to keep showing up. Still being able to be in contention this late in the season is really inspiring for us, especially given the way the season has gone. We've just got to take these next two games one play at a time, and we know that any play can change the game for us, especially against Buffalo because they get so many turnovers."
On thoughts about the division title after losses to Eastern Michigan and Miami
"After disappointing losses like that, we laid an egg against those two teams, you always think that, but once things started to pan out, we started to realize that we've still got a chance at this. Now that we control our own destiny, it's definitely a way better feeling than it was after those two game."
