University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt and Connecticut Postgame Quotes
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 10, 2009
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Pitt Head Coach Dave Wannstedt
“It was a great come-from-behind win for our team and I told the players that (the comeback) was outstanding. I really liked how we did it. The second half we came out and re-established our identity from the standpoint that we played very physical as an offensive line and we started running the ball. Defensively, we stepped up.”
“We have not played as good as we can for a whole game. We gave up a big score on defense where we got faked out on the play. Offensively, we left two scores on the field early. We were able to overcome that.”
“Our players gave great effort. Our kids didn’t come close to quitting. They stayed together as a team–nobody came unglued. And, our coaches made some good adjustments at the half.”
“We had some guys make plays today who haven’t had many opportunities to make difference-making plays. We have a great senior leadership group but we also had a lot of young players play today.”
“Hutch (Dan Hutchins) got a chance to kick the winning field goal at the end. Sometimes that is taken for granted. We have a new snapper, holder and kicker. As a coach, you don’t take those things for granted.”
“You have to give Bill Stull credit. He didn’t play his best game–you can’t turn the ball over–but he battled back. And when we needed him to make some plays in the fourth quarter, he did. I give him credit for keeping his focus and not becoming rattled.”
“At the end of third quarter, we began gaining some momentum. It was a team win.”
Pitt Defensive End Greg Romeus
“This win says a lot. That’s what we pride ourselves on–being a second half team. We went out there and didn’t get tired. We kept trying and I think it shows how much we’ve grown up as a team.”
On the fumble recovery:
“I just saw the ball and I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
“At halftime, we knew we were capable of coming out and having a big second half. We did exactly that last week against Louisville, so our guys were never down and we had our confidence the whole time.”
Pitt Middle Linebacker Adam Gunn
“The big picture is that we have been a second half team and we came out with the victory today.”
“If we can play the way we did in the second half today, things would be great. That’s why we were excited and can’t wait to play our next opponent and put it all together.”
“Our whole idea is that we have to keep positive through the ups and downs. We need to manage the ups and downs–can’t get too high or too low. If we just keep playing hard, it will all work out.”
Pitt Tight End Nate Byham
“Late in the game, it was a gut check for us. We had to look ourselves in the eye and say ‘we have to be able to run the ball or the game is over.’ We had to face adversity and we pushed on. We were tired and we were in pain, but we kept fighting and we made plays.”
Pitt Wide Receiver Jonathan Baldwin
“It feels good to be 5-1. We worked our tails off. We won the game in the fourth quarter and we have to keep up our game as we head through the Big East.”
“We know last year’s team is gone. We’re not the same team and we’re still trying to find out who we are. This win today really helped us find out who we are.”
Pitt Quarterback Bill Stull
“As a quarterback, you have to have confidence and understand that you’re going to have ups and downs. Obviously I didn’t want to have the interception there for the touchdown but we battled back and put some great drives together. All game our defense stepped up. It’s just a great way to finish the game for us.”
“Nate (Byham) is clutch. He’s a great player. We know every single play that, no matter what, he’s going to give it 110 percent. He’s a guy who doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s a senior guy and he’s an All-Big East player and he showed that today.”
“Today was just one of those days where we knew we had to battle and it was all on team effort.”
Connecticut Head Coach Randy Edsall
“This is a disappointing loss. We had a lot of good play throughout the game, we just didn’t make the key plays when we needed to. We had a chance to put the game away, but we didn’t execute. Pitt is a highly talented team. Dion Lewis is a great runner and we didn’t wrap him up and tackle him. We didn’t finish and when it came down to it, we didn’t make the plays when we had the opportunity to.”
“We knew that Pitt has a good offense. We didn’t take the best angles on tackling Dion Lewis and that hurt us. On their passes, we weren’t where we needed to be and we gave up a few big plays late in the game. When we put our eyes where they should be, and when we execute, we’re a good team. Pitt has some special players that are playmakers in Dorin Dickerson, Jonathan Baldwin and Dion Lewis. We knew these guys were good and we didn’t contain them. That’s what happens when you’re on the road against a quality team and you don’t finish.”
“When Cody Enders is in the situations where he’s under pressure, where he took a sack, he just should have thrown it away and we told him that. Instead, he tried to make a play and fumbled. End result, we gave up three points that we couldn’t afford to give up to a team like Pitt.”
Connecticut Quarterback Cody Enders
“Pitt did a good job. They did what they needed to do in order to win. We thought that we could make some big plays against them and we did, but we didn’t finish.”
“This game did mock the North Carolina game a little bit, but what matters is, is that we continue to improve and finish.”
Connecticut Running Back Andre Dixon
“We need to finish games. We were up 21-6 and we didn’t put them away. That’s the point in the game when we needed to put the pedal to the metal and win. That’s unacceptable. We gave them the chance to come back.”
“Our offense was okay, but we needed to try to keep our defense off the field. We should always want the ball. We made a couple of good plays, it was a collective effort, but it wasn’t enough. It’s disappointing. Pitt wanted it more and they did what they needed to do.”
