EMU-CMU Postgame Quotes
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
CMU Head Coach Brian Kelly
" It was a great game. These two teams battled today. I'm proud of the way our kids competed. We went to overtime with Eastern again, and they were good enough to get it done today. Our players, our coaches ... we're disappointed with the outcome of the game, but we battled and I'm proud of our kids."
On going for it on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter rather than kicking the FG: "We were out of range for a kick. We were going into the wind - Wellock had missed two field goals in that direction earlier - and we were out of range. That was a decision we made in pre-game as to what his (Rick Albreski) range was. We felt confident that we could run the football and pick up the first down."
On the play of the defense holding EMU to 20 points in regulation: "The problem with our defense has been the second quarter. We gave up 14 points in the second quarter. That's something we're going to need to look at as a coaching staff and see what we can do to correct it. Eric Deslauriers is a tough kid, and we made the decision that he wasn't going to beat us today. The bottom line is we need to produce more than seven points in the second half. That's just not going to win you a lot of football games at the Division I level when you only get seven points in the second half."
On trying to contend with EMU QB Matt Bohnet and his mobility: "We had a spy on him at times today. It was effective at times for us. When you're dropping eight into coverage and only rushing three, those guys on the defensive line got tired chasing him."
On a more concerted effort to run the football in the second half: "They were playing coverage. We wanted to run the football, and we wanted to take advantage of what they were giving us. We ran the ball well, but we didn't put enough points on the board."
On the play of Dan Bazuin: "Dan didn't practice all week, and it was questionable to doubtful as to whether he would play today. He battled out there. He did the best he could under the circumstances. I'll take a Dan Bazuin at 70 percent because I know he'll give it everything he's got on the field."
EMU head coach Jeff Genyk
"It's been 69 years since Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan in back-to-back years. It's a tremendous boost for our program...It's as fundamental building block for our program."
"I can't say enough about the defense. It was important because our special teams didn't play as well as I'd like."
"The offensive line did a nice job. It's a bittersweet thing because we need to run the ball. But our pass protection was amazing. In that final drive, Matt Bohnet did not come close to throwing a ball that could have been intercepted."
EMU QB Matt Bohnet:
"You've got to give credit to the offensive line. They did a great job; I had a lot of time. And the receivers made some great catches."
On the final drive: "We knew we would have an opportunity to win. Our guys played well, and the defense gave us a chance...We did not doubt the whole time that we could win. We knew we had to execute and move the ball down the field."
EMU K Andrew Wellock:
His thoughts on his final field goal: "I approached it like any other kick. [The two earlier misses] were in the back of my mind, but I knew I had to redeem myself and regain the confidence of the coaches and my teammates."