Ball State at Central Michigan: Notes and Quotes
11/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 20, 2004
NCAA Football
Notes and Quotes
Ball State at Central Michigan
November 20, 2004, Kelly/Shorts Stadium
BALL STATE:
Quotes
Coach Brady Hoke
-"The game started pretty well for us but it went downhill real fast. We gave up too many sacks."
-on Justin Harper's touchdown: "The safety should have intercepted that ball and the momentum shifted. It was pretty quiet on this side and we let them back in."
-"I don't know if the losses are any tougher no matter what the circumstance. Losing feels the same way... pretty bad."
-on CMU's two blocked extra points: "They had done a great job with blocking kicks. You talk about a 41-40 game, those things make a difference."
-"Our kids aren't used to being ahead. But I thought the coaches did a good job and the players were focused. I didn't notice any drastic drop-off at all."
-"Our team reponded well. We only gave up 14 points in the second half. I've seen our kids shut it down before but they didn't do that today."
-"We'll get by it. It's not gonna be easy but we'll get by it."
Wide Receiver Dante Ridgeway
-"We were up 27-0 in the first quarter, but we didn't make enough big plays. I guess I'll take the blame for that."
-"We tried to get this victory for our seniors. They laid the foundation for the next years."
Quarterback Joey Lynch
-"They came out and played what we expected. Later on, they were in the same looks, but they started making plays."
-"Some of these guys are never going to play football again. We really wanted to send them out with a win."
Notes
-Joey Lynch passed for 397 yards and four touchdowns. His four TD passes tied a Kelly/Shorts Stadium record. His yardage total is also a career-high, third-best in school history.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Quotes
James King:
Regarding his sacks: "It was money time. Coach put me in the game and I got two sacks."
"The team came out unfocused. When things got hard, we never gave up and that's a compliment to Coach Kelly."
Adam Kieft:
Regarding the comeback: "We didn't want (the score) to let us down. Once we got something going, we knew what we had to do and that was to put the ball in the endzone. We never gave up and we fought back. The seniors wanted to go out on a good note."
Jerry Seymour:
"The win is a big momentum (carrying into next season). The seniors left us with something and I'm going to miss these guys."
Coach Brian Kelly:
"Playing so poorly against Buffalo and down 27-0 today and coming back to win shows that you have to show character and do things the right way, and that's the only you come back and win. In the end we found a way to make plays and stop Dante Ridgeway."
"James King owed us. He needed to get out and compete at a high level and he did that."
"The (first touchdown) certainly created a spark. Kent made a good throw and we were able to have a great play to get us back into the game."
"Today was the first day that Jerry returned kicks. We wanted to get as many touches to our best players."
"Finding a way to get Jerry some semblance was what we needed to do (to run the ball)."
Notes
-Jerry Seymour's 217 yards rushing is a new career-high for the sophomore.
-James King moved into third-place all-time in career CMU tackles in his last game as a Chippewa. His 13 tackles gives him 408 total. King also blocked a punt, the 13th of his career.
-Kent Smith's 257 total offensive yardage gives him 2,679 on the season, second in Chippewa history. His 15 completions gives him 188 on the season, second most in Chippewa history. His two touchdown passes moves him into fourth all-time on the CMU single season list (16).