University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt vs Notre Dame Postgame Quotes
9/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2011
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Pitt Head Coach Todd Graham
Opening statement:
“I’m proud of our guys’ effort and how hard they played. We asked our players to give everything they had on every single play and I thought they did that.”
On taking care of the football:
“Our goal coming into the game was to not turn the football over. We didn’t turn the football over, but we came up three points short.”
On the offense and fourth down:
“We needed to score touchdowns instead of kicking field goals. We went for it on fourth down probably more than I have ever gone for it on fourth down, trying to be more aggressive.”
On the gameplan:
“I was proud of the plan we had. We’re capable of playing good coverage. We pressured the quarterback. We had a great plan. Defensively, I thought we played well enough to win the game. I like the character of this team and how the players have bought into it. I believe in our football team. We’re getting better.”
On penalties:
“We had too many penalties. We had too many negative plays. But I still think our players are disciplined. We had three false starts in the first half. I think our players were kind of antsy.”
On Notre Dame’s defense:
“Their defensive line was very good. They were the best we’ve played up to this point.”
On the next game [vs. South Florida]:
“We’ve lost two close games back-to-back. I’ve got all the confidence in the world. Our focus is to go to work and figure out a way to beat South Florida and be 1-0 in the Big East.”
Pitt Quarterback Tino Sunseri
On the loss
“Whenever you battle throughout the week and you feel like you have a good gameplan coming in and you lose, it’s tough, because you put in all the time and effort in during the week. It’s disappointing.”
On finishing the game:
“We have to learn to finish, and we’re going to. We’re so close. That’s the thing that’s so frustrating right now in our lockerroom. We feel like we are inches away from really busting this open and really being in that uptempo offense and understanding it, and being able to put points on the board.”
Pitt Defensive Tackle Chas Alecxih
On the chance to rebound against USF:
“The big thing is going to be the short week and forgetting about this. Conference play is the big thing. We’re going to focus on that and with the short week, we’re really going to have to get going.”
Pitt Safety Andrew Taglianetti
On causing a fumble and turnover:
“We really kind of preach getting turnovers. I think that sparked us a little bit. Anytime you make a play like that, get a sack or force a fumble, it’s a big thing. I was just happy I was able to get out there and make a play.”
On containing Malcolm Floyd:
“We know he’s a great player and we really wanted to try and contain him. A lot of their offense is based on him so if you can shut him down you can shut down their offense. I think that was apparent today.”
Pitt Offensive Lineman Corey King
On nerves from the start:
“It was great to get that first play out of the way. After that I kind of settled down. All last night I was pretty nervous, but I definitely got comfortable after that first play or two.”
Assessment of performance in first start:
“I definitely made some mistakes, but when I do make mistakes I just try to make them 1,000 miles per hour. I just need to get in and watch the film. There are some things I need to improve on and I’ll try to get better every week.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly
Opening Statement:
“A good win for us, obviously – a hard-fought four quarters and it came down to our ability to put together a very good drive at the end of the game. I think both teams battled back and forth and I think (quarterback) Tommy (Rees) was 8-for-8 in his last drive and Tyler Eifert was huge, he went up in traffic two or three times (and) got hit and held onto the ball. (It was) just guys making plays on the last drive is really what stands out. Obviously, two fourth down conversions and our offensive line getting a big enough push –those are good signs for us in terms of being able to win closely contested football games because you are going to have some of those along the way.”
“It came a little easy offensively for us the first three weeks and this was a struggle for us, but we kept finding ways to move the football. We turned it over, it was untimely, and we missed a field goal, but I like the way our guys battled. I am really pleased with our reliance and our toughness. We are playing the kind of football I want our teams to play. It wasn’t and isn’t going to be an instant classic, but it is from a football standpoint—games that you have to win on the road. And you are going to be presented these kinds of closely fought, last-drive, come up with a big stop or a big conversion (game) and that was what we saw today.”
On what Pitt did to take (WR) Michael Floyd out of the game:
“A lot of things, a lot of different coverage variations. They did a nice job. I though we adjusted to the things we needed to. We started to get in some pretty good flow and rhythm and we had one three and out in the third quarter, but other than that we made some adjustments at halftime based up what their game plan is and I think it’s the first time that somebody really aggressively tried to take Mike out of the game and it opened some things for us, obviously, as well.”
On the importance of tight end Tyler Eifert on the last drive:
“He was really big, obviously. He is the one guy that if you are going to double Mike (Floyd) out there and try to play three on two with the other two receivers – he got a lot of singular coverage and we found him and he made some big catches."
“It is part of our overall passing game that you can’t take them all away. We missed TJ (Jones) a couple of times and we forced a couple of throws. It was just a matter of communicating with Tommy (Rees) that this is what is going on- here are the guys that you have to keep sight on and Tyler was going to be one of those guys. Tommy did a nice job. The route combinations we set up also featured him, they were to feature Tyler Eifert. He was not the third or fourth, he was the primary (option) in a lot those throws.”
On the play of quarterback Tommy Rees:
“Growing up and seeing some things (helped in last drive). There were some new looks for him that he had not seen before that we had to adjust a lot with him. And after Tommy sees it, he gets much more comfort. You could see his comfort level on his last drive. Like I said, I think at one time it was close to 13 or 14 out of 15 (completions) and he was really good at throwing the football.
"The end of the half he did some really good things in terms of throwing the football. He was on a really good streak. He had to step up and didn’t get enough on the interception he threw to Eifert. You look at him and he knows what is going on out there, you don’t feel like he is – what’s the word that I am looking for – rattled. You never sense that or feel that way with Tommy.”
On rushing of Jonas Gray:
“He only had three carries, but obviously a big run that showed great speed. A big-time run. When your number two back gets in there and gets a chance and makes a big play that’s what you expect from Jonas (Gray) and it was nice to see him do that.”
On the play of defense:
“We had a lot of games and I think one of the key plays of the game was (outside linebacker) Prince Shembo running down Ray Graham, great hustle. A lot of those illustrate what I like about this team – they keep battling, they play every single play. Sometimes maybe not as good as we would like, but it is a group that is learning. They had the big sack, Stephon Tuitt at the end of game, that was huge and it moved them back after we challenged the play - some young guys getting in there and making plays for us.”
What it means to be 2-2:
“I told you this many times. I like the way we compete. I mean, I would like to have won 37-to-nothing, but you know what winning is winning and it’s not easy. You go on the road against a BCS team and limit them to 12 points and find a way to win. I like that development. We are developing an expectation with our guys that in a close game we are going to win it. And those are good dynamics so we put this one behind us and believe it or not, we have expectations we want to win every game.”
Notre Dame Quarterback Tommy Rees
On Pitt’s defensive strategy:
“Pitt did a pretty good job today. They made of a lot of plays to test Mike Floyd throughout the game. We had to make some adjustments concerning Floyd after the first half. The coaches did a great job with the game plan and making the necessary adjustments for the second half.”
On Pitt’s coverage of Michael Floyd:
“Pitt would always add an extra half to his side. If there was someone down then they would press on him, have safety help, or spin a safety down to take away some of the quick throws we usually pass to him. By having Floyd out there it kind of opens everything for everyone else including Tyler Eifert. Eifert had a great game and became the main option for us toward the end of the game. When you have such a good player like Mike out there and the defense is trying to take him away then you have to react and get the ball out to other places.”
On Notre Dame’s victory:
“Like all the guys say an ugly win is better then a pretty loss. A win is still a win. We were on the road against a good Pittsburgh team and all we can ask for is coming out with a win. We knew the offense needed to step up the last quarter and make some plays. We were confident that we go down and score to win the game. Everything was quick and timing was right in that last drive.
Notre Dame Tight End Tyler Eifert
On getting open against the Pitt defense:
“I found myself open and Tommy Rees was able to find me by rolling the coverage to Floyd so that allowed other guys to step up and make plays. We had to develop throughout the game. Pitt had to come out and adjust to us and we had to do the same. You have to go back and forth throughout the game and today proved to be no different, it was a constant battle. The coaches upstairs see exactly what Pitt is doing and then it up to us to respond and make the necessary adjustments.”
Notre Dame Cornerback Gary Gray
On Gray’s 79-yard scoring drive:
“Basically the week before Coach Kelly was talking a lot about getting sweeped tackled so basically I focused on keeping my knees high and making sure nobody caught me from behind. It was long overdue for my first scoring drive. All I wanted to do was start celebrating after I got in there and scored, but I had to act like I had been there before.”
