Post Game Quotes
Sept. 27, 2008
Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon
Opening statement…
“It was a tough loss today against North Carolina. Coach [Butch] Davis has done a good job with his staff and keeping his guys fighting through the entire game. We had our shots and we had our chances, but we just did not make the big plays on defense. There were too many deep balls that got us in trouble and guys just blowing responsibilities. When you give up two big-time touchdowns on third and long, it just is uncalled for and it’s unacceptable. We have to get those things fixed. It’s just hard knowing you had a chance to win the game, but those guys executed and we didn’t. Hats off to them, and now we have to get ready for next week against Florida State and move forward.”
On final play…
“Any time a ball touches a receiver’s hand, you have to make those catches. It was a tough catch,but their job is too catch the football.”
On margin of error with young players…
“That plays a big part… That’s huge and we as coaches have to get those guys back to better coaching. We have no choice but to play those guys when they are young. We have to get those guys caught up real fast, and we will.”
On challenging calls…
“There were a couple of plays they told me that I could not challenge. So if they say you can’t challenge, you can’t.”
Miami quarterback Robert Marve
On his last play/throw…
“It was a bad pass. I threw it high. It was a face ball. The ball was too high for him to catch. I should have put it down more for him. If I put it in his chest, it probably would have been a touchdown.”
Looking forward to FSU…
“It’s FSU versus Miami – that’s a great rivalry. We’ll come out ready to play.”
Miami center Xavier Shannon
On whether the team’s fitness is holding them back…
“It’s not conditioning – we’re a very in-shape team. We just have to get over that hump. We just need to push hard. When you think you’re going hard, go harder. That’s what we have to do now.”
On the future of the program…
“We’re going to get better as a team. We’re going to keep playing Miami football and doing what we have to do to stay on task so we get better every day.”
Miami wide receiver Kayne Farquharson
On the last drive…
“You always want to be the one to catch the winning touchdown, but it just didn’t happen for me today.”
On how long this is going to affect him…
“It won’t. I’m looking to Florida State now.”
North Carolina Head Coach Butch Davis
Opening statement…
“As I told the players in the locker room, a lot of times the character of your football team and perseverance gets tested. We have an enormous amount of respect for Miami’s football team. We watched the way they played against Florida and they have done an outstanding job. They just dismantled Texas A&M and we knew we had to respect them – they were a good team, that they were going to be explosive and we had to find a way to fight through the early barrage. We were going to get big plays, and adjusting to the speed of Graig Cooper and some of the receivers, and we were fortunate to be able to hang in early. I was proud of our team. I was proud of the way our coaches made some adjustments through the course of the game. I thought our running game was a significant contributing part of having success today.”
On Cameron Sexton…
“You can’t have any type of conversation without talking about how Cameron Sexton played. He played very well and composed. We had a preconceived plan that Cameron was going to come in the third possession of the game. We didn’t know exactly how it was going to work out.”
On returning to South Florida…
“I have great respect for Miami. It’s an outstanding football program. They have an excellent coaching staff, they’ve got good athletes and you have to respect them. It’s hard to beat Miami in Miami. Just do the research over the last 30 years; they have won an awful lot of games in Miami. We are fortunate to have won. We came down here to try to play as good as we could, to fight as hard as we could and hopefully that would be enough.”
Quarterback Cameron Sexton
On winning touchdown pass…
“It is not necessarily designed to go to the player I threw it to, but he was part of the read. They took the first two away and I threw it. Brooks [Foster] made the play. He slipped earlier and I told him I am coming back to you and he answered. It wasn’t anything special, he just made the play.”
On trailing 14-0…
“My thought is always the same; it’s just one play at a time. I don’t get into ‘we have to score right here’. It’s just one play at a time. When you can take it one play at a time, that’s all that counts. You just keep doing what you do. You don’t change because you’re down, you don’t change because you are up.”
Wide Receiver Brooks Foster
On his playing…
“I feel good. I just try to do the best I can to contribute. It is tough to dish the ball around because there are so many talented players. So every opportunity I get, I just have to go out there and make a play. That’s what I tried to do today.”
On scoring the last touchdown…
“I really wasn’t expecting the ball to come to me because the play is designed for the ball to go to the flat. But if the flat is covered, I am going to be open in the corner and that’s what happened.”
