Opening Statement:
I was really proud of our guys, the way we overcame adversity (Saturday). We ended up going down 14 points and our kids didn't panic, and they played hard. I was really pleased with our run defense. We gave up two yards, and the thing we need to eliminate is our turnovers – especially if they go for touchdowns.
On the play of the offensive line:
Toward the end of the game, we started running the ball. We had to throw the ball a lot just because of the situation we got ourselves in early in the ball game, but I thought we started running the ball better at the end of the game when we had to run it, and they knew we were going to run it. I thought we were okay. We have a lot of room for improvement, though. But we're getting there.
On the relatively low number of mistakes/penalties:
We made a big point of that, not getting ourselves in problems with pre-snap penalties. We did a lot of shifts and motions in the Wake game, so we had to sit in there. I was happy about that. I believe we had two offside penalties where our defensive line jumped, and I believe we had one lineman down field, but I think for the most part, it was a pretty clean game.
On the hype surrounding the return of Tom O'Brien to Chestnut Hill:
To be honest with you, the only hype that's coming around is from the media. As far as the guys around here, we've got to play an NC State team that beat us last year. I'm not really concerned about the hype that's surrounding it.
On the kickoff situation/if there will be a need to switch to freshman Billy Bennett:
There very well may be. We do have to get that addressed and get that fixed, because putting our defense in a situation where we're just giving up field position before we ever start is not a good thing.
On the combination of Matt Ryan and offensive coordinator Steve Logan:
Our offensive system is very, very quarterback friendly. It's all surrounded around making it easy for the quarterback, as far as reads, what he's looking for pre-snap…and it's been a proven system for the last 13 years or so. Matt Ryan, I think he could be in just about any system, because he is a very talented player.
On overcoming the adversity of losing several key players to injury:
I told our guys, not one guy is going to win a game for us. It's going to take a collective effort from all of them, and I needed all of them to be able to step up and fulfill their role, whatever role that was. The kids responded to that, and stepped up and played. I think you can make up for a lot of things if you play hard and play aggressive. I don't know about any other coaches' philosophies, but you have different talent every year, and you have to fit your system…to accentuate their talents. The scheme we've put our kids in gives them the chance to be successful.