Temple University Athletics
FOOTBALL: TEMPLE vs. BOSTON COLLEGE POSTGAME QUOTES
11.23.02 | Football
"I think a big difference in the game was turnovers. In the first half, Boston College was more physical up front than we were on both sides of the ball. We didn't play our normal defense. We played a little soft and not as aggressive as we needed to play. I think we straightened that up at halftime. We came out in the second half and played a lot more aggressively on offense. I don't know whether I'm more hurt from losing the game or more hurt from seeing these seniors leave. We saw two of them leave too soon on offense (due to injury). That really killed us. That showed how valuable Donny Klein is at center and how valuable Tanardo Sharps is to our offense. When we lost both of those guys, we were really struggling. Then we ended up losing Joe Laudano also and had to move Dave Yovanovits from tackle to guard. Give Boston College a lot of credit. They played extremely well. They ran the ball well early in the game and ended up with 148 yards rushing. We usually give up about 104, so that's not too far off our total. I thought the pass defense played fairly well at times. They held (Boston College's offense) to less than 50 percent on completions. Overall, I think the game was fine defensively. Offensively, we absolutely felt like we were lost without Tanardo and Donny Klein. (We had) too many turnovers, which has been the story all year long... that, along with short-yardage or being able to run the ball inside the five yard-line. We will exhaust all possibilities to figure out how to address that for next year and be better at that part of the game."
On what it will take to improve the program:
"This is the kind of football team I want to be around. I don't care if we win zero games. The character, the heart, the type of individuals we have in this program... I told our seniors, and I couldn't talk long because I got all emotional when I tried to talk... Nobody knows what these kids have been through unless you've been around this day-in and day-out. Obviously winning games is very important in athletics, but being able to be with these kids when they've done what they've been through and showed that they can overcome adversity, keep fighting odds, keep playing hard, keep sticking together, keep caring about each other, keep caring about Temple, and some of them pretty good players. Tanardo with over 3,000 yards rushing - (Dan) Klecko I think is the defensive player in, if not the country, at least the BIG EAST, that I've seen - (Sean) Dillard is the all-time leading receiver (in receptions) - Jamal Wallace is one of the best free safeties that I have ever been around - Terrance Leftwich is an outstanding player - Dave Yovanovits and Donny Klein have started every game since their freshman year - Cap Poklemba has been kicking for us ever since his freshmen year. They have done a lot for this program... You just keep working. You keep recruiting. You bring kids in and they are around these kinds of kids and they become better players. We have recruited very well the last two years."
On the program's future:
"A lot of things will happen between now and August. I don't have the answers on those things right now. The problem we have had since I've been at Temple is it seems like when we make a big step and then we get knocked down a step. It's like a roller-coaster, up and down... we've just got to keep fighting. It's not easy. I don't have the answers for what our future holds for us. I know one thing: we are playing in the BIG EAST for the next two years and we'll probably recruit a lot of junior college players because of that. We will have answers for them. We sure are confident and hopeful that we will be playing in the Eagles' stadium, which will be an exciting thing. We've got some good young kids in the program. We will battle whatever battle we have to go against... One of these days we will knock that door down. We were very close this year. Our schedule wasn't kind to us this year, but at the same time we had opportunities. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, we had a great opportunity to win both of those games. That's all we have to do, I think, is do it one time and go to a bowl and I think, if things proceed in the future as we would like, then we'll have a good program."
On senior WR Sean Dillard:
"He's got some great qualities, when you talk about his speed and his hand-eye coordination in catching the football. He's not as big as you would like, but at the same time, we don't have anyone else that can replace his speed. Speed has been one of his big attributes. I think he's been an outstanding athlete for us. We'd like to have him bigger where he could block better. That was part of our problem today. We couldn't run inside because they were really playing inside run and we couldn't run outside because our blocking at the receiver positions was not very good. That really hindered our running ability. We try to throw screens and we still don't block out there for the guy who is catching the ball. There's a lot more to playing the receiver than catching footballs. Sean Dillard's speed and ability to catch the ball with his hands and be able to play the ball in the air, which a lot of players can't do... I think that's been Sean's biggest attribute."
On the amount of points the defense gives up:
"I think the points thing today comes from turnovers, mostly. We held them to field goals quite a few times today. I think that the points over the last few years has been a product of the offensive turnovers and the kicking game. Not the kicking game this year as much. I think the kicking game is probably the most improved part of our game this year. Then our offense, even though we looked kind of inept today, you still look at the fact that last year, taking out the Rutgers game, I think we averaged about five points a game against BIG EAST teams. I think we did make some progress offensively this year. The defense has played well. We give up points because we turn it over."
On senior RB Tanardo Sharps:
"He bruised the same thigh that has been bothering him the last few games. In all honesty, I haven't really sat down and talked to him. I went over and asked if he was okay and he said he couldn't loosen it up... I'll talk to all these kids Monday. It was hard for me to talk to them today. I just told them... how much those seniors mean to me and what they've done. It's been fun being around them."
Boston College Head Coach Tom O'Brien
"We're very happy to win the football game today. Since I've been here, it's been a tough place for us to play in. Some strange things happen here in the Vet. I'm excited with the way our team hung in there."
"I'm happy to win. This is the first time Boston College has had four winning seasons in a row since 1977. I think it's a great accomplishment for this football team after some of the things we've been through. We have an opportunity now to win an eighth game. We finally get to have senior day at our place instead of being everybody else's senior day opponent."
On the Eagles' defensive efforts:
"By our own penalties and stupidity... we gave Temple opportunities to score. I thought our defense was outstanding. They hit that long pass at the end of the third quarter, but we did exactly what we wanted to do in the third quarter. That was the first, first down of the third quarter. I think that came with less than two minutes to go in the quarter, so I'm very happy with the defensive effort and what they were able to accomplish today. I guess Sharps got hurt at halftime, but (before that) he had a lot of carries for not many yards. For a guy that has rushed for all that yardage, I think that was a great job by the defense of stopping the run."
On the increased role of RB Brandon Brokaw:
"The last couple weeks, we have gotten into rotating he and Derrick, and I think it's helped Derrick Knight and give him some rest and he doesn't take the beating he has. Brandon has given us a changeup. They are two very distinctively different runners. One is little and shifty and finds seems to take off, and the other guy is big and powerful to run you over. It gives us a nice change of pace back there."
