GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH GEOFF COLLINS
Opening Remarks
“I’m proud of the guys and the way they just continue to battle. The things that we asked them to do all week, accelerate the process. It was a five-day week, a short week. I felt their attention to detail and trusting in the plan, executing the plan at a high level was really, really good. It was the first time we had to go through a short week together and I thought they handled it really, really well. It’s back to the trust and care and the belief factor that these guys have shown all season, that helped us tonight.
“We asked them to start fast and strike first, they did that. And then we asked them to finish and that last drive, putting it together with five minutes left on the clock and not letting them have the ball back was really cool to see. The will of our offensive line, the will of our running backs, blocking on the perimeter from our tight ends was really, really cool.
“I’m just really proud of the guys, the way they finished and played together and it was really good to see. It was a great environment: eight o’clock, ESPN, under the lights, Boddy Dodd Stadium, downtown Atlanta, representing the 404. All the things that we’ve talked about in building the program so that we are playing more and more of these as we go. That is the goal, that’s what we’re building towards. The guys were excited and I think they really enjoyed being in that kind of environment on that kind of stage and performing the way that they did.”
On the running game and finding success on the ground:
“I think [offensive coordinator] Dave Patenaude and our entire offensive staff deserve a lot of credit for the plan that they put together on a short week against a unique defense that we have not seen a lot this year. The way they had our guys prepared and locked in, the small amount of cumulative reps that we had to be able to play and still be able to fit up the things and block the things and identify the different looks that they were giving us. Hats off to the coaching staff and hats off obviously to our players to learn it, apply it on a short week and then be able to go and execute it.”
On improvements heading into next week vs. Georgia:
“Every single week we’ve got to get better. So we’ll digest the film. We’ll go out recruiting tomorrow because that is the lifeblood of our football program, obviously no specifics but that is what we will do. Saturday we’ll get a head start on the game film for our next opponent. It’s a really, really good football team. We’ll come in on Sunday and get ready for preparation, Thanksgiving week and play a team in-state.”
On how putting the team through tough situations in practice translated into the game tonight:
“It’s everything in our program. There’s a lot of talk, some good things written about [redshirt-senior, TE] Tyler Davis and his contribution to this culture and this program and what him and [redshirt-senior, OL] Jared Southers have meant to developing the culture, laying the groundwork, laying the foundation for all the future success that we’re going to have. It begins in the offseason with [head strength and condition] Coach [Lewis] Caralla. It’s the bonds that we form with the coaching staff across all positions, the relationships that we form with very member of our staff, with every player on our team, those kind of things. The resiliency shows up and the bonds that are formed because you don’t want to let somebody down that you care so much about. That is what we have in that locker room and it will just continue to get stronger and stronger as we move forward. The foundation that our eight seniors have laid for this program is really special. I’m so happy that their last night game at Bobby Dodd under the lights on ESPN was a win. They’ve worked for it, they’ve earned it and they’re going to mean a lot to this program from a long, long time.”