Temple University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
11.28.08 | Football
Nov. 28, 2008
Al Golden, Temple head coach
On the victory:
The fact that it wasn't easy. I think because we've lost some of these, and we've won two now, so that's a good sign that our guys have learned to compete now and find a way to win, because it wasn't easy. That's a good team [Akron]. That's a good veteran team there. They've got some guys that are going to play in the NFL. Very talented group-- 16 seniors and they're two deep. Big, physical, mature team. A lot of redshirt kids in that program so that was a good win for us. That's what pleased me the most.
On the last two weeks, in terms of finishing:
They just get it now. They understand. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom. Sometimes you have to experience what we experienced at Navy. I think the Kent game was a little different. We were just out of gas, and we didn't have enough players to finish the game, most particularly on defense. I think the offense finished the last four games, averaging 37 or 38 points a game, so that's pleasing. And I thought the defense tackled well today, which I thought was good.
On what attributed to points being hard to come by:
That was a good defense. Really good group of guys on defense. I thought our seniors were trying to do too much at the beginning of the game--a little too emotional. And then they finally settled down. So we weren't sharp on a lot of the down the field throws for the first two-and-a-half quarters. But then we settled down, didn't change too much, and started making plays.
On what do you tell the kids that are leaving and the ones coming back:
We spend the last eight days giving two or three kids the opportunity to talk to the team, and it was incredible for those guys to share their stories and what they've been through here. When you look back at the coaching change, conference change, whether they were going to drop football, and now here they are winning the most games in 18 years. Just talking about the type of program we are, how important academics are to us--every guy in that room is going to graduate, and I can't tell you how important that is to the program. Also, the senior class was put together. That was apart of the plan three years ago--to create a senior class so we could have some kind of symmetry; otherwise, this whole turnover would have taken twice as long. These guys were instrumental in building a program, and they taught us a lot.
J.D. Brookhart, Akron head coach
I knew coming in this was a very good defense. We had a very slow start, part them, part us. The opportunities that we didn't convert were very difficult. I thought our defense played a pretty solid football game. I think they were tired, and it was a little bit of a desperation mode for us...We felt at a 6-6 tie we would have another opportunity to win. We didn't take advantage of it.
On being bowl eligible and losing down the stretch:
Obviously, it's frustrating. I know Al [Golden] is going through the same thing. There were some losses that could have gone either way. You've got to find a way to get over that hump, and that is the challenge we all face. This league is very similar you see it week in and week out. You've got to find a way to make some breaks go your way.
Akron QB Chris Jacquemain
They played hard. We've got to give them credit. We didn't execute like we've been doing all season. We made some mistakes at the end and gave them the chance to take the lead. It just came down to us executing. They didn't do anything we haven't seen. They played hard.
