Postgame Quotes
October 11, 2008 | Football
Oct. 11, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Mike Leach
On today's game
"It really was wild and hard fought, and the rest. It was one of the strangest games I had been a part of, and I think that Nebraska would say the same too. I can't say enough about their offensive line and their offense did a great job. I think the coaching job they did was impressive. I was proud of our guys hanging in there, we had a little bit of adversity but we overcame it. I am really proud of them for that. I think sometimes we went out and tried to make too much happen, defensively we tried to make too much happen we tried to play perfect and we just need to make routine plays. We need to solve something's on special teams but I am impressed with this group. But almost always in games like this you have to be the last guy swinging and we were and I am proud of our players."
On the effort in today's game
"I was very proud of everyone doing their best, I thought we played really hard; in a lot of areas we played a really good game. At times we got a little disjointed. And Nebraska deserves a lot of credit for the fight they put up, their first road game and they put up a lot of fight. They played as hard as any team we have played this year."
On the fourth down and four conversion
"Well, we were hoping he was offsides, I was thinking he was. There were a lot of things that didn't turn our way this game but in the end it did. When you are down quite a bit and things aren't going your direction you got to stick in there and our guys did that."
On time of possession and the way his team responded
"Well, surprising, the whole thing was strange. Some stats guy could really have a hay day with it. Who cares about time of possession, I thought we could have done better on third down offense and stopping them. And we let them have the ball too long and they did a good job controlling the clock. I think that we will learn from it and respond to it. I think there were some key times, and even with that we held them to 10 points for a real long time. And offensively we responded a few times which was key, and special teams we did some things which were key and even with the mishaps we found a way to win and our group deserves a lot of credit for that."
On Graham Harrell
"I think Graham Harrell did a great job keeping them focused in and that is tough. Our offensive had about nine yards a play and I can't say enough about that, keeping their head in it and ready to go do. Finding a way to go out there and respond time after time."
On what he learned from today's game
"The best character builder experiences are the ones where you come out on top. There would still be some character to be built if we lost and I like the starting point with the win here."
Running Back Baron Batch
On a frustrating game
"It can definiately get a little nerve wracking and they are definitely playing keep-away and they got a stop when they needed to and we won. And I'm just real happy about that the fact that we got win."
On first overtime game
"It didn't really seem like overtime, none of the game seems like games. The games are the easy part. We know that we are prepared. It's definitely a blessing it's definitely fun to be back out there playing."
On being thrown off guard fourth down play, fourth quarter
"It was a good play because we went hard count and threw them off side. He (Graham) made a good pass and got it out there."
Quarterback Graham Harrell
On fourth down play
"We got to work, we got to make it happen and we did and the thing about coach is he has a lot of confidence in his guys. He said just make it work and we did."
On Crabtree being open
"I'm surprised with how open he was and if he was just a little guy I would go to him. You know, Crabtree is our go- to guy. I knew he was open and he was; I threw it up there and he made a play.
On current team mood
"It was extremely exciting game, were lucky to go in there and come out with a win and you have to show respect for Nebraska, they are a good team. They did a great job executing. Lucky for us we came out on top though."
On the difference in time of possession
"It's tough and that's the game plan a lot of people have against us and Nebraska today has done the best job since I've been here. You've got give them the credit they came out and executed. But they made the mistake at the end and it came down to it and we got the win."
Linebacker Brian Duncan
On the defensive struggles
"It was nothing that we didn't see in practice it was just guys on the defense trying to make too many plays trying to be a hero. Ruff (Ruffin McNeill) says the only way that we are a hero to him is if we do our job. We came through with a victory and had a good time."
On if any lessons were learned today
"Absolutely, it teaches us that we can't give up on a team and anyone can come in this house and we can go anywhere and get beat. We have to go out there and respect each team."
On where they go from here
"We are excited, Coach Leach is a great guy, Ruffin (McNeill) has a great scheme. We are going to improve as weeks go by and we are excited, we had some fun today."
Nebraska Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Bo Pelini
On talking to the players after the game
"I said those things hurt us. We're still beating ourselves. We're still doing some things penalty-wise, dropping coverage, busting assignments, things you can't do against a good football team. They're a good football team, and a well coached football team."
On the potential of his team
"Like I said all along, there's character in the room, we have to play smarter. We're not about moral victories. Nebraska never will be as long as I'm head coach. If we start being about moral victories, you need to get a new coach."
On limiting Tech play
"I thought our offense played outstanding. We made some mistakes and there are plays out there on the field that we will regret that could have helped us win the football game, but we didn't do it. Ultimately, we didn't make enough plays in time to get it in the end."
On the interception in overtime
"I told Joe (Ganz) this, I told the football team this: that play did not lose us the football game. There were a lot of plays out there for us to win the game. We would not have been in that situation without Joe Gance. That play did not lose the football game. It never does."
On overtime play
"That first play in overtime hurt us. We let the back get away from us and that was unfortunate."
On the next games
"(This game) doesn't change what we have to do. We've got to go back to work. I told them one thing; this shows us is the potential we have as a football team. You can't get too high or too low, you've got to just go. This doesn't change what we've got to do tomorrow or the next game. We've got to keep progressing as a football team. You put in the hard work, you practice well, you learn the game plan, you do some things and execute."
Wide receiver Todd Peterson
On the game
"It's heartbreaking, going on the road against a team like this and that we struggle against a heavy ranked team and to come that close. No way to describe it really."
On whether they can play with a team like this
"It's a matter of guys need to start believing that now. That's been the difference. There's no moral victories, we came in here to win and we can play with these teams and we've got to come out with that attitude."
On in the offense was successful
"Their defense came out, and have been doing pretty steady stuff the whole year. We felt if we could spread them out and make them show that hand then we kind of know what they were doing and that worked out for us. We were spreading the ball and spreading the field, running it on them and getting little gains here and there and the immediate passing game. That's what's been working for us."
On the last drive
"Just the two-minute drill. We do it in practice every week. It's a wide receiver's dream, you know. Got to throw the ball and got to make the plays. We've executed it before. That's what we do."
On if this was better than last week's loss
"A loss is a loss. Obviously, it's not fun whether you lose in overtime or you get beat by five touchdowns like last week. I mean, there's a lot of guys in there who are heartbroken right now."
Quarterback Joe Ganz
On game not being his fault
"Yeah I guess, the last play I was trying to throw it out of bounds and the guy pulled me down from behind and it went right to the kid. It's just a sick feeling to end it like that after we played so hard and so well. We had our chances early, it shouldn't have been that close. We had our chances early and should've punched it in."
On if the offense was successful today
"We had a good game plan and we executed it. We have a good offense and I don't think we get the credit for it. We've been shooting ourselves in the foot and we did it again today. Close 4 and 1, crucial play, penalties, we're just shooting ourselves in the foot. We can't do that as an offense. We can't settle, we have to score touchdowns."
