Postgame Quotes

Nov. 11, 2007

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | AP Action Photos media-icon-photogallery.gif

Virginia vs. Miami
Post-Game Quotes

Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon

“It was a tough one today… big-time tough loss for us. I feel very bad and disappointed for the city of Miami, Dade County and the University of Miami. I was expecting a better turnout from us as a team and I’m disappointed because it hurts. The fans were out tonight, the atmosphere was right but we just couldn’t get anything started.”

“As I wrote down the keys to the game, I said Kyle Wright needed to get off to a fast start, the backs and tight ends need to be more successful in the passing game and on third down the defense needs to get off the field. That was the game. We had too many turnovers, receivers had balls hitting them in the hands, tipped balls, connections on pass routes, the defense not getting off the field on third down and too many busts in coverages.”

“When you go back and you look at it and you say what can you do any better? Any different? You just don’t know. Everything we ran in practice – and this is the hard thing – is what they showed us in the game offensively and defensively.”

“It’s a bitter loss. A tough one, especially with it being the last one in the Orange Bowl and you lose 48-0. It’s very tough. I’m not making excuses for anybody. The coaching staff and myself, we have to get these guys back and going. We’ve got two games left. We’ve got to respond back with those two games on the road. It’s like I told the team in the locker room, everybody is going to judge you on what type of character you have for the season and what you do in the last two games. If you shut it down, they’ll know what type of person you are.”

Junior safety Kenny Phillips
On bouncing back from the loss…
“It’s not over. We have been down before and came back. We just have to keep our heads up and take care of things.”

On the defensive mistakes…
“It all comes down to missed assignments and busted coverage. I guess we just have too many guys trying to do too much.”

On Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell…
“He is a great athlete and is a great runner. Anytime you have a guy who runs as well as he does and can also throw, he is going to be trouble.”

Senior lineman Derrick Morse
On the loss…
“It is kind of shocking. Virginia played a great game. I’m not taking anything away from them, but we played really bad.”

On feeling like UM let people down…
“Anytime we lose a game, it hurts everyone. At Miami, we are a family so anytime you lose it hurts the ‘U’.”

Senior wide receiver Darnell Jenkins
On bouncing back…
“We can regroup, but only if everyone wants to.”

On the loss…
“No one imagined a game like this, but that’s what happens when you don’t execute.”

Senior quarterback Kyle Wright
On the game…
“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t get it done tonight. We haven’t gotten it done all year. It was such a historic night, the last game at the Orange Bowl for all of the players and the fans. For us not to play well and get it done, it’s the worst loss I probably ever had to deal with.”

On the loss…
“We got beat in every aspect of the game tonight. I can’t explain the frustration. That’s not the way we want to go out tonight on senior night, the last game at the Orange Bowl.”

On the rest of the season…
“As hard as it is to deal with this loss, we still have a game next week. We just have to find some way to win.”

Junior defensive end Calais Cambpell
On the game…
“It’s really tough, a loss like this. There was definitely a lack of execution. We worked against everything they showed us in practice. We simply didn’t execute. It’s something we have to work on. We have to get to a bowl game.”

Virginia Head Coach Al Groh

Opening Statement…
“This stadium has been a wonderful place for football. My team was very mindful of some of the great performances individually and team wise that have occurred in this stadium and we tried to set it as a standard of performance tonight. A lot of teams have run out of this locker room here today and the environment and competition has raised the level of their play and it looks like it raised the level of our play a little bit tonight. I am really pleased with the way it turned out… Certainly we have more work to do, but I am proud of them and I am proud to be a part of them.”

On the atmosphere of the Orange Bowl…
“Well, it is a very dynamic atmosphere, but really we didn’t pay it much [attention]. We knew that the only thing that was going to determine the outcome was what happened in between the white lines. So obviously our team was very focused as far as what we had to do in that circumstance.”

On Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell…
“It was certainly a terrific performance on his part to step up and give our team what it needs. As a leader of the team, the way he plays is symbolic of all of the rest of the players of the team.”

Virginia Quarterback Jameel Sewell
On the team’s fast start…
“It helped us a lot to come out and set the tempo. We knew what we were up against. We knew they were a good team that has great athletes, and we just wanted to make sure we were able to play our ball and keep going down there and scoring.”

On his performance…
“They were all easy passes… a lot of screens and a lot of short balls. When people were open I just made sure I got it to them. I thought I played ok, but I just have to make sure I just keep elevating my game going into next week.”

Virginia Defensive End Chris Long
On the defense’s dominant performance…
“You really want a shutout. We’ve been close all year and we get really disappointed when we give up points, but we played four quarters of defense.”

On playing the last game at the Orange Bowl…
“You certainly have to understand that this is their night because it’s a historic place that I have a lot of respect for. We have a lot of respect for the program, but at the same time everybody wants to win a football game. So there was a football game going on today and one team had to come out on top. I don’t want to take anything away from the history here. I got chills yesterday when I was walking through the Orange Bowl. It’s an awesome place.”

On the team’s success…
“It’s been a long time coming for us. We’ve been working and trying to improve. We can still improve. We’re not going to sit on this and be satisfied. We’re going to try and get better.”