University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt vs Buffalo Postgame Quotes
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2011
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PITTSBURGH -
Pitt Head Coach Todd Graham
“I’m very excited and very proud for our kids to come out and get a win. We did a lot of positive things and have a great place to build upon.”
“I thought Ray Graham was outstanding. I loved his toughness.”
“We ran 43 plays in the first half and only scored seven points. That might be a record.”
“I thought it was a pretty clean game. We have really emphasized not having a lot of penalties and not turning the ball over. We had a bad turnover in the second half when Tino lost the ball in the pocket. I’m very proud of how the guys came back. We scored every time we had the ball in the second half.”
“I think we made great strides as a team. We’ve come a long way in our conditioning, but I think we still have a long way to go. Every player in that locker room knows we have to get a lot better.”
“It’s a drastic change for these players and we’re really close. If we hit those two long passes, then everybody’s excited.”
“We’re pleased to be sitting in a position here of being 1-0 and entering into week two. Half of the teams in the country will have a loss today and we won’t.”
Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri
“We came out and had a really good game plan. They were getting open down the field. We just have to work to finish off plays.”
“The biggest thing in the first half was all my reads and everything was right. That’s a positive thing that came out of the first half. Not being able to execute definitely gets you frustrated.”
“We were able to go into halftime really just focusing on us. We felt like when we came out in the second half if we just focused in and finished plays we were going to able to score some points.”
Pitt defensive tackle Chas Alecxih
“Buffalo really played hard. They caught us a little bit with the quick game and they weren’t really letting us rush the passer like we wanted to. We started getting a little tired, but we picked it up and I thought in the fourth quarter we really turned it around.”
“Coach said after the game (that) I played 80 snaps, which is the most I’ve ever played. I think you definitely have to give credit to our strength and conditioning program because we are in shape.”
“They ran it in the first quarter and I didn’t cover and I got yelled at by my position coach. The next time they ran it I was ready for it.”
Pitt running back Ray Graham
“It was the first time going against another defense. We’ve scrimmaged against each other. Going against another defense was kind of different. We settled down and the second half we did what we had to do.”
“We have got a lot of work to do so we are going to go in and watch the film (and) just get after it. We’ve got Maine coming up (next) and we know what we have to do.”
Pitt wide receiver Mike Shanahan
“I think it was just everybody settling down a little bit. Even though we’ve tried to simulate games in practice, that was our first time running our offense in a game. I think we’ll get a lot better.
Center Ryan Turnley
“The first half we didn’t execute as well - but in the second half once we settled in and got comfortable, I think we really started to gel and execute a lot better. Every day we just need to go in and work to get better.”
Buffalo Head Coach Jeff Quinn
“We didn’t achieve the outcome we came in here to accomplish and that is always disappointing. There were, however, a lot of things out there tonight that we should be proud of as a team. I was proud of the way our kids competed and how they fought through. There were tough conditions but we managed to get some turnovers. We were able to manage the second half better as an offense. We also did a much better job executing our run game offensively in the second half and that really made a big difference for our team.”
“Chazz Anderson’s maturity level really impressed me tonight and he has a lot of confidence in himself as a player. When Chazz makes a mistake, he looks at it as just one play. He knows he can count on his defense and his surrounding players to help make up for any mistakes. As we tell our defense, if they put the ball in the end zone then we have to do our part and we were able to do that tonight. We still need to improve some things on special teams and in other areas after looking over the films. Overall, Chazz was very positive on the sidelines, very professional and the kids are responding well to him. We just finished with a team meeting and he immediately spoke up as a leader. He is a solid competitor and a great addition to our football program.”
“Branden Oliver put a smile on my face tonight because I know how much time and hard work he has been putting in to be the running back for this team. The offensive line also impressed me because we were able to put 100-yard rusher against a Big East team like Pitt. I knew that was something we were going to need when going up against Pitt.”
“Our guys held our own tonight. If you look at Pitt’s starting defensive line, they have some nice sized guys. They blitzed us and pressed us throughout the entire game. We held up at times but there were a few moments were they pressured our quarterback. Pitt created a turnover in the first drive of the second half that really drives you crazy as a coach. I know if we would have kept position then we could have had the opportunity to put the momentum back in our corner. Instead we created momentum for Pitt and that was a major concern for us starting the second half.”
“We are doing a lot of great things. I feel good about our players and where our team is at right now. I’m not happy with how the night ended but we can certainly develop and learn from this standpoint.”
“Ed Young is going to have the opportunity to go back in there and show his teammates that he is a reliable and dependable guy. Not one player felt worse then Eddie after tonight. I have known Eddie since I have been here. He is a great young man and a phenomenal competitor. He did not make the mistakes on purpose. He lacked concentration and I think those missed catches could have resulted in two touchdowns, potentially.”
Buffalo QB Chazz Anderson
“Personally, my performance was not good enough. I am here to win football games and we unfortunately did not do that tonight. It’s time to get better and we have a new week ahead of us. I’m going to keep preparing like I have been. Pitt is a good football team but what I am excited about is how well our defense did tonight. Branden Oliver ran the ball exceptional tonight and I’m excited about next week.”
