Temple University Athletics
POST-GAME QUOTES, CINCINNATI AT TEMPLE
9.28.02 | Football
"We haven't been very good in the third quarter this year. I felt like we came out and played well on defense. We got the blocked kick and put ourselves right back into the game. We played hard. We've just got to play perfect football to have a chance to win against good teams."
"It starts off with jumping offsides. We've got them on the one-inch line and we jumped offsides. That gives them a little operating room, and they hit about a 40-yard pass. That was a great throw and catch. They had close coverage, and those are the kinds of plays great players make. They made a great play to get it off the goal line."
"I expected them to throw the ball all game, even when he was healthy. I think they had a better opportunity of throwing the football than running it. If I put myself in their shoes, I would be throwing it on us too. We're pretty good against the run. They had some good runs when we got into a coverage look and only had one linebacker in the box, but for the most part they didn't run really well against our base defense."
"We still have to become a better tackling team. We're not tackling really well. Their receivers were very elusive, but we've got to tackle better, especially at our inside linebacker position."
"Emotionally, we're very fragile right now. I know I am. If you lose four weeks in a row, it gets you down. You have to keep everything in perspective. More than likely, all four teams we've lost to will go to a bowl game. I think Cincinnati's got a very good football team."
On the kicking game:
"I'm not (concerned). I'm concerned that we missed them, but Cap (Poklemba) has been kicking for four years. He's been kicking off great. He's got to get to work and fix that himself. Like a golfer, he has to work on his mechanics. In a game, he has to make sure to keep his confidence, because he's a great kicker. He just had a bad day -- let's hope it stays at that."
On Temple quarterback Mike McGann:
"I thought he played well. We've got to protect better, I think that was obvious in the game. They did a good job putting a lot of pressure on him."
On Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli:
"I think their quarterback is a great player. He had a great day. He's had a great day every week they've played this year. He's an outstanding talent."
"He did a great job of escaping the blitz. We blitzed on a touchdown pass. If he can step up and there's no pressure there, then your corners are really vulnerable. That's what happened on the second long touchdown pass in the fourth quarter."
Cincinnati Coach Rick Minter:
"I just want to congratulate our kids on showing the heart of a champion again. We had to rebound against a good, quality Temple football team. I wish Bobby Wallace well. Bobby's done a very good job with this program. I know he doesn't necessarily have the wins to show for it, but his kids played extremely hard. They're very well coached. They gave us all we wanted today. We were lucky to get out of here with what we got."
"Our kids did what it took to win. We got down in a hostile environment and had to come back once again. I thought Gino (Guidugli) played pretty darn good. I know back home everyone talks about 300-yard quarterbacks, but we do whatever it takes. If we can throw for 300 and win, that's good. If we could become a little bit more balanced, we might not have to do that all the time."
"Our kids played hard. We rallied when we had to and made plays when we had to. We had a lot of errors today -- some of them certainly forced by a good Temple team; some of them, I thought, errors on our part. We can't make those when we get back home and in league play."
"I'm happy with our win. I'm not happy with the way we're playing right now. We're making too many errors to be a good team. We were good enough to win today, and that's all that counts."
On quarterback Gino Guidugli:
"He's got great vision. This kid's a tremendous competitor. Athletically, he's very gifted."
On the fourth quarter success:
"That's been our deal over the last two seasons. I don't know what to do to put a finger on it. Last week we lost a big ballgame against Ohio State, and we reversed that. We played great for three quarters, then we stunk in the fourth quarter. For the last four or five ballgames, and even into last year, we have been known as the 'cardiac kids.' That's because of all these fourth quarter comebacks. While it's exciting to watch, good teams don't always put themselves into that position. Yet, a sign of a good team is that you can do that and win."
