Nov. 2, 2013
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GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Paul Johnson
“It was a tough football game. I was really proud of the effort our guys gave. I thought our defense played tremendous, especially in the first half. We made just enough plays offensively. At times when we moved the ball, we could never bust big plays. To give them credit, they were getting negative plays. Ninety-seven is one heck of a player. He created a lot of havoc in there. We got some negative plays for us. We just never got in sync offensively, especially in the second half.”
“I thought in the first half, we were doing pretty good but the turnovers were killing us. We would get down there, turn it over and then we had it just outside field goal range and you didn’t want to punt. We can’t take that long to get the ball off so we ended up giving up some chances to score. We lost momentum big time in the third quarter. We can’t convert a third and one and we shanked a punt. They came out and got a touchdown. But after that, I thought our guys were pretty resilient. They fought pretty hard.”
On Pitt’s freshman wide receiver Tyler Boyd…
“We knew both of their receivers are good players. I thought we got good pressure on the quarterback, especially in the first half. They were going to make some plays. I thought that there were two plays that were pivotal in the second half, offensively anyway. The first time was when we tried to get DeAndre (Smelter) on a stop and go and the guy clearly grabs him and then we don’t make it and then boy, did he go up and get the last one. That was a huge play. Defensively, we were able to keep them out of the end zone.”
On if he is surprised on how DeAndre Smelter has played football after playing baseball…
“No, I’m not surprised. He’s a really good athlete and like I said before, I think he is going to get better the more he plays. He’s got all of the ability to become a really good route runner. I’m not sure that he is right now, he’s more on his athletic ability. When he becomes a really good really route runner, he’s going to become a handful. You’ve seen him go up and get the ball. He’s a gifted guy. He’s got a lot of ability.”
On it being the third straight game that the defense hasn’t allowed 100 yards rushing…
“Ted and those guys have done a good job with them trying to stop the run. I’ve said all along, if you can run the ball and you can stop the run, you usually have a good chance of winning. Especially if you do away with the turnovers, you have a great chance of winning. The secondary has done a good job too because sometimes, we’ve got seven or eight in the box to stop the run and they’re out there on an island and they do a pretty good job covering. I thought Louis Young played pretty good. Those receivers were good and he came up and pressed some guys and covered them pretty well.”
GEORGIA TECH PLAYER QUOTES
Vad Lee R-SO QB #2
On being bowl eligible
“It means everything because that’s what you play college football for. Obviously you want to go to the big bowls and we realize that’s still alive for us and we understand that. We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve got to do and let everything play out because if we keep doing what we are doing by winning and our defense is playing great and on offense we are going to pick it up, then we’ll be in good standing.”
Robert Godhigh R-SR AB #25
On his touchdown
“We had somebody pulling and after he got that block it was wide open.”
Jeremiah Attaochu SR DE #45
On Tech’s defense
“I think it was a team effort. We were working in tandem. The secondary was giving me time. On some of those sacks I had time to get there. Defensively as a unit we kept ourselves up and just played nothing different really.”
On whether this game was one he imagined when Coach Ted Roof rejoined Tech
“I just knew Coach Roof when he came in, he was a good guy and very easy to talk to and very down to earth from player to player. I knew I was going to enjoy playing for him. I just knew my senior year I was going to be a leader. I didn’t think I was going to do this, I just wanted to enjoy being a senior and enjoy being a round my teammates. Coach Roof has made than more fun. You want to get up and go to practice every day, and I appreciate that.”
DeAndre Smelter JR WR #15
On his key third down reception in the fourth quarter
“In the huddle Coach (Johnson) called a post corner. I saw how the corner was playing me so I wanted to give him a little bit to the post and keep an eye on the corner. When I saw it we had a little bit of room and Vad (Lee) threw it, I knew I had to go up and make a good play on it.”
Will Jackson R-SR OL #52
On the offense’s frustrations in the third quarter
“Well it’s tough. I feel like we had some self-inflicted things when weren’t executing the way we should have. Coach (Johnson) really didn’t make any adjustments, it was just running our base stuff because they came out the way we thought they would. We came out in the third quarter and stalled a little bit and shot ourselves in the foot. I know I had a bad missed assignment on a block and some other guys made mistakes but I’m glad we were able to rally back in the fourth quarter and put it away.”
PITTSBURGH COACH PAUL CHRYST
Opening remarks
“Certainly give Georgia Tech credit. They made some big plays to win the game. I’m proud of our kids; they put themselves out there. We did some good things there, but the bottom line is, there are plays to be made when the game matters, and I don’t think we made enough. Tech certainly did. Give them credit. They’re a good football team.”
On starting Dorian Johnson at OT over Adam Bisonowaty
“Yes, (Adam) was able to practice a little bit Wednesday and Thursday, and he dressed tonight. We thought he might be able to go. Early in the week, Bis was definitely out. [Dorian] was challenged tonight, but he did some good things. He did some things where he got beat. I need to do a better job of helping him on some of those things. Again, we were concerned about amount of practice reps [Bisnowaty] was able to get.”
On how the defense recovered in the second half
“I thought that [Aaron Donald] made some big-time plays. Certainly they were challenged, and that’s a good offense. They got some things on us. I thought our defense was well prepared, and guys played hard, and played well in a lot of areas. They made a big play on the third-and-17, and [Tech] put the ball on the ground, and when they did, we just weren’t able to capitalize on those, offensively.
“We had a hard time running the ball with any consistency. It can get better, and we need to get better.”
On your success with crossing routes in the passing game
“If they were in certain coverages, we felt like we were able to get a bead on it and go with it. A couple times, we didn’t. A couple times we had some things down and we didn’t hold up with the protection. It was a heck of a job by Devin to get out of bounds on the cross there at the end. It’s complementary-type patterns. They were giving us those a little bit.”
On the offense at the outset of the second half
“Anytime you’re doing well in the passing game, your quarterback’s in rhythm. I thought we did a better job of helping in the protection, but we got exposed when we didn’t. That’s what’s impressive about Georgia Tech and their defense. You roll the dice on something and get singled, they can make you pay for it. In the first half we thought we had some things and missed on them.”
