Oct. 11, 2003
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Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the overall game:
“This was definitely the most disappointing and frustrating game since the Florida State game my first year. We really just played poorly in every area. Offensively, I thought we had a nice plan, but we did not do enough good things. We missed some throws, missed some blocks, and had some bad penalties. We were just not very consistent. On defense, we were not able to stop the run, and they ran a lot of bootlegs that kept us off balance. If you can’t stop the run and you allow big plays, its real hard to win.”
“I give all the credit to Georgia Tech. They have a lot of talented skill players, great offensive line, and their defense is solid. They were able to get a nice balance with both running and throwing.”
“We really missed a lot of opportunities in the first half. We thought our defense was a little too soft early on, but we felt good only finding ourselves down seven in the first half. We came out in the second half and cut it to 10-7. We had all the momentum, but it stopped after they went down the field after being backed up deep. Again I give credit to Georgia Tech, they made some big plays, and that was a big throw.”
On the missed tackling
“I am extremely disappointed with our tackling today. We had a lot of our better players missing tackles, but their skill players have to get some of the credit. They made it tough on us, but we missed too many tackles to win the game.”
On Cory Randolph’s play:
“Cory was fine, but was not very sharp today. He made some good throws, he made some bad throws. He has to be good for us to win. Today’s not all on him, but he was not sharp for sure.”
On time of possession discrepancy:
“It all goes back to running the football. They were able to, and we were not able to stop it. We ran the ball better than expected. Maybe we should have shown it earlier in the game, but we would get a nice gain, then no gain. They were just more consistent.”
On the inability to convert a third down:
“We just found ourselves really behind the sticks today. The main problem was that we found ourselves always trying to cover a lot of ground. We had the chance to make a couple throws, but we either missed them or they were dropped.”
Cornerback Eric King
On GT receiver Jonathan Smith
“We knew that Jonathan Smith was a good player, and we just wanted to contain and stop him. We only managed to do that occasionally.”
On the defense “We made a lot of mental mistakes, and we just sat and watch the game unfold in front of us and never stepped up.”
Running Back Chris Barclay
On the game
“It was tough having nice plays on offense and then having them called back. That made it really hard for us to find our rhythm, which we didn’t do. In the first half, the defense played well, then in the second half, we came out and played well but collectively we just did not come together.”
Quarterback Cory Randolph
On the spread formation
“We tried to come out with something new that they were not prepared for. Sometimes, we dropped passes, or I would make a bad pass, but the offense never came together, and that’s all that matters.”
Head Coach Chan Gailey
On the progression of the game
“I felt we played tremendous on the first drive. Penalties became a problem as the game progressed. I said before the game that we needed 17 points in order to win the game. Our offensive line executed very well, as well as, the entire offense in general.”
On the defense
“I thought we came up big at very opportune times. Blocking the field goal was tremendously big.”
On Reggie Ball (QB)
“His maturity is obvious. He just handles himself well. I thought he played an excellent game. The timeouts he called in the second half were right. He’s an excellent athlete that did a great job of executing today.”
On the last drive
“It was tremendously satisfying for our offensive line and running backs. I thought it was a great way to end the game. It doesn’t always happen like that, but when it does happen its great.”
Quarterback Reggie Ball
On the offensive line
“It starts out with the front five. They have been dominating the last couple of games, and today they went all out. Our starting offensive line is very underrated, just like our wide receivers.”
On big plays
“We put ourselves in position, we’re going to make big plays. I have confidence in our wide receivers.”
On throwing to Jonathan Smith
“My job is to throw the ball to the open guy, and it just so happens that my reads find me to him. I keep finding him open.”
Running Back P.J. Daniels
“I have high expectations for this team and for myself. Coach Gailey believes in me. I love the pressure, and I want the ball in my hands at the end of the game.”
On the team
“Every week we grow stronger and stronger as a unit, and the chemistry is getting better. I can really tell the chemistry in practice is starting to rub off in the games. We have a young quarterback and some new starters that are starting to get our offense.”
