CMU 37, Ohio 10
10/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2005
Post Game Quotes
CMU head coach Brian Kelly:
On scoring on the first possession: "It was important for us to get off to a quick start. We preached the importance of playing physical football all week, and we were able to throw the football effectively. Those were the keys for us today."
On his defense's performance: "They don't want to throw 36 times in a game in the realm of their offense. Daniel Bazuin was very effective in his pressure and Isaac Brown was very physical today. Their base play is the belly option, and we took them out of that early today."
On Justin Harper's 41-yard pass to Obed Cetoute: "It's always a part of our offense, but there is a time and place for that sort of thing. The one thing we were afraid of was that Obed might outrun Harper's arm, so we needed to have about a 30 mile-per-hour wind at our back. Obed made a great catch on the play."
On senior quarterback Kent Smith: "He did a really nice job out there today. He still struggles with a few reads, but I thought he had his best week of practice this week. He's still a sophomore in my eyes. I see the progression that he's making and I know he's far from a finished product."
On the significance of the win: "We had an opportunity to showcase our football team today, and I think we did a good job of that. What's the significance of the win? Nothing if we don't beat Toledo and Northern Illinois. Our players' focus is on the last four games of the year against West Division opponents. But, this was a nice win heading into the bye week."
Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich
On the game: "We expected to play better today. CMU is a good, physical football team, and we just didn't match up well with them today either offensively or defensively."
On big plays: "That was a key in the game today. They hit some big plays early and often. They have the personnel that is capable of making explosive plays down the field, and we've been struggling at stopping teams from making big plays."
On the play of QB Brandon Jones: "He was really under the gun today, but we put him in a tough spot with when he came into the game. We were down and had to throw the ball. I do think it was good for him to get some experience in that setting. He will be a good thrower before it's all said and done."
On why Jones was in: "Part of it was that Austen (Everson) was banged up. He took some pretty big hits in the ballgame. Part of it was the game situation gave us an opportunity to give him some playing time."
On the running game and RB Kalvin McRae: "The running game was a plus for us today, especially considering our injuries on the offensive line (playing without three starters). Kalvin played well today. He ran hard and made good cuts."
On the offensive struggles: "It seems like we can get a drive going, but we have a breakdown somewhere on a play and get ourselves backed up into long-yardage situations. We haven't been a good team in long-yardage situations."
On CMU defensive end Daniel Bazuin: "He's a very good football player with a great combination of speed and size. Once we got into the situation where we were behind and had to throw the ball more, he was much more dangerous and made some plays on us. He's an excellent player."
On his team: "We have to continue to try to get better at everything we're doing. We can't make mistakes and hurt ourselves in games and expect to overcome that and win."