University of North Carolina Athletics
Quotes
November 12, 2005 | Football
Nov. 12, 2005
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UNC Head Coach John Bunting
Opening Statement:
"I just left a really disappointed locker room. That's about as painful a loss as we've had around here in terms of being so close but so far. There's a lot of disappointment. There's a lot of players down there who played their hearts out and gave everything they had to win the football game. One team had to go home a loser and it was us.
"Playing at home, in front of a great crowd, this is especially disappointing for us. I'm proud of the effort of this football team and everything they tried to get done. There were a lot of plays made out there on both sides. We were probably one play short. It shouldn't have come down to even overtime in my opinion, but it did. And in that overtime period I would have thought we would have come out and won that football game or gone into second (overtime).
"I'm proud of the quarterback. I'm proud of the defense. There were so many plays that they made, especially in the second half. There were two that we didn't make. We didn't finish a couple of plays. It's a shame because they really played well.
"I'm proud of the quarterback and the receivers who made some plays. Besides the last kick, the kicker kicked well. It was probably a high snap. I'm sure it threw him off some.
"This game will hurt a lot and it should. It will hurt the players. It will hurt the coaches. But, we'll find a way to get over this and get back to work Monday.
On going for the field goal on third down:
"There's always a consideration for another play. I was not going to take a chance for a sack or a fumbled snap. Let's take all the hazards out of the play. We had already had two shots at the end zone, close to getting a touchdown on one. We thought let's have a chance to live again. That's why we make that decision. If there's a sack, the game's over."
On the Tar Heels' injuries:
"The injuries we had were significant. I want to give Chase Page a lot of credit playing defensive end a lot today. Going into the game Brian Rackley hadn't played, hadn't practiced. He had a week from the week before. He never had a full recovery from it so he didn't even suit up. We know that Hilee Taylor is going to have to be x-rayed and I'm hopeful that Brian Rackley will have some recovery from last week."
On the next week:
"We have a game at home next week against Duke. Once again it will be up us as a coaching staff to get this team turned around get ready for them (Duke)."
Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
Opening Statement:
"Well, I've had a lot of these games like this, but I don't think I've ever felt as drained as I am now. It's on empty. Tough week, and we did so many things wrong today, and then again, we did so many good things. Proud of our players and coaches; kinda hung in there when things weren't looking real good. Kids kinda showed what they're made of. I thought [Sam] Hollenbach was two big interceptions deep down in their territory and yet has the composure and the guts to hang in there. The first touchdown he made was a huge play. He made a guy miss; he was getting pressure all day and found Jo Jo [Walker] and made a perfect throw. And then the next play I think was a great call by Charlie [Taaffe]; he ran a double move on the guy on the outside, guy bit on it, and Sam made a perfect throw. Defensively, I thought we played hard the whole game. This is a good football team we beat. They play hard and they're tough and well coached. I feel very fortunate to come out here with a win."
On how this comeback compares to other comebacks he's had with Maryland:
"NC State. I was watching that one on TV and didn't believe we were gonna win and I knew the outcome. We were 14 points down with seven minutes to play and won by four. It was the type of game that it was. We make some plays and then all of a sudden we make some penalties. It was like we were swimming upstream the whole game and no matter how hard we kept trying, we kept getting knocked back down. The guy [Dan Ennis] missed an extra point. That's a big play. That's a four-point lead. And then their guy [Connor Barth] hits the bar. You ever wake up one of these mornings and think it's not going to be your day? This guy hits the bar and it goes good; my guy hits the bar and it goes bad."
On if he talked to Dan Ellis before the overtime field goal:
"No. I didn't say a thing to him. I got faith in the kid. He peeked on his extra point. I saw as soon as he did it. Think he was blaming the snap and the hold. You can't peek. When he peeks he opens his hips and yanks it to the left."
On going long in the fourth quarter:
"Well, the first one was third down. Third and eight; they're in two deep coverage. We went with four verticals and mike linebacker jumped Vernon [Davis]. Jo Jo [Walker] was supposed to break across the corner to the safety's face. What happened was that the safety kinda bit when he saw Sam [Hollenbach] scrambling. Jo Jo went right behind him and then it was a perfect throw. I've seen guys miss that throw a lot. I give Sam a heck of a lot of credit. He's a solid guy and makes mistakes like all of us, but he hung in there and found a way to get it down."
UNC Players
On what coach Bunting said to the team after the game:
"Coach just said that there was nothing he could say about us not playing hard and not fighting. He said you can't question that. But, it comes down to making plays. It's all about who can make a play. This game is over and done with. Let's ready to come back and focus on Duke on Monday."
On the thoughts of a bowl game:
"It's the ACC. It's a bowl game every week. Nothing's like it. Week in and week out you see teams get knocked off. They had a lot on the line. They came over here. They came to win. Hats off to those guys. But, it's still time to go to work. Again, this is the ACC. Teams don't give up and fold in the ACC. They may in other conferences but not this conference. Teams fight to the finish here and that gives us a little bit of breathing room. But today those guys came back and made two big plays at the end. That's what this conference is all about."
On the final drive at the end of regulation:
"The receivers made some plays. Jesse made two big catches, I think. Matt had a big run. It was the play-calling that we had that put us in a scoring position."
On the decision to kick a field goal on third down in the last play of regulation:
"We didn't want to have the possibility of getting sacked or getting tackled in bounds without the chance to spike the ball. So, that was a great decision by coach Bunting."
On his long catch followed by a fumble:
"I didn't even know where the guy came from. I thought I was all alone with the linebacker and he just played his role and made a play."
On giving up 500 yards:
"We gave up 500? We don't feel like we took a step back. To give up 500 yards is a lot. But, as you can see, we didn't stop playing even in the overtime. We kept grinding even with people in hurt positions. We kept at it. We didn't stop. So, it's still frustrating. It don't matter if its 500 yards or one yard. We still lost."
On his interception:
"We had a rush - the Y-Jet. I'm looking at the quarterback the whole time. I see 44 come out the back field. I saw his shoulders turn a little bit and I jumped on it. I had my hands on it and I was looking at the pylons in the endzone. That dude had a great angle on me and got me. But, I should have out-ran him."
