Pitt vs. Navy Game Quotes
10/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 11, 2007
Recap |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
PITTSBURGH -
Pitt vs. Navy Quotes
October 10, 2007
Pitt Head Coach Dave Wannstedt
As I told the players, we had several opportunities to have a chance to win the game. It wasn't one player or one play.
Coming into the game, I felt like the players practiced hard. We just couldn't come up with the big turnover and you have to have that to be successful.
I thought Pat Bostick played well and LeSean McCoy played well. A couple of our young kids rose up and did everything they could possibly do.
On the last play of overtime
We felt good about the play. We felt like we had a good match up with Darrell Strong. It was our two-point play.
We went for it on fourth down a lot more than I was comfortable with, trust me. We felt like we had to go on fourth down early just to stay in it.
Darrell Strong, for anybody who has seen us practice, has made as many big plays as anybody on this football team. I have a lot of confidence in Darrell. If I had the same situation, I would do it again.
Our field position didn't give us much of a chance. With a team like this, the plan is to make them go 80 or 90 yards and we didn't get that done.
I was very confident. We spent more than 10 days preparing. We spent some time in the summer talking to different people about this offense.
We knew that they were going to run the ball. For the most part, what they did running the ball was what they have been doing for the past five years.
Pitt Quarterback Pat Bostick
If you score 44 points, you're doing something right but if you're not winning games then there's something to say for that too. I have a lot of support and a lot of great players around me that help me command the offense. It's coming along but we still have a lot of work to do. The scoreboard showed that tonight.
I thought I did alright. I was efficient. I'm more comfortable now. I feel more comfortable every time I step on the field. We have to do something better though to win the game. I don't care what it is, I just want to win.
There's no point in pointing fingers at anyone. We can look at the film and say we could have done many things different.
Pitt Linebacker Scott McKillop
We knew they liked to run the ball but we also knew that they have the ability to pass the ball. They're exactly what we thought they would be. It's tough when you don't see an offense like that all the time. We got a great look from our scout team in practice but they weren't Navy.
Pitt Fullback Conredge Collins
Every time we ran it (the final play of the game) in practice it was successful.
I think we're off to a good start with the running game. It was difficult at first with the quarterback situation but we're getting much more comfortable and we're getting better.
We recover the same way we do from every loss. We go out and practice and pretend it never happened.
Pitt Safety Mike Phillips
Losing tonight was tough because we worked so hard and we know we're better than our record. It's sad because we have great coaches and great players and the results just don't show it.
Every week we look at it like things are going to happen soon but we just keep coming up short. It's frustrating.
Everybody has to be on the same page during the whole game to win.
Navy Head Coach Paul Johnson
It was a hard-fought game, one of those games where it's rough for either team to lose. I give a ton of credit to Rashawn King for making a play at the end and giving us a chance to win. There's an ebb and flow to games like this usually and I thought tonight it was going to be whoever had the ball last was going to win. Obviously, that's not what happened but it was still so well played on both sides.
I felt the whole time that we had to match them score for score. We caught a little momentum when we were up four and pulled in an interception. If we can put some points up there, it really changes the direction of the game. But give Pitt credit, they made a big stop on defense and we didn't get the play we wanted to on the punt, and suddenly they were right back in the game.
When we had them at fourth-and-two in the second overtime, I thought they'd kick the ball. When I saw them come out on offense, I thought they'd run the ball. Obviously, I was wrong in both cases, but you practice and prepare hard so that your players are ready to react to anything the opposition throws at them.
Wyatt Middleton, I think he's like any talented freshman; he makes some outstanding plays, but there are also times out there when he looks lost. Tonight, he was able to get some big stops for us that kept Pitt from converting some key third down chances. You just know the more he plays, the better he's going to get.
Joey Bullen's kick before the end of the first half was a big miss, particularly in terms of momentum. The one at the end of regulation, I thought about putting another guy in who's got a bit of a stronger leg, but it's hard to go against a guy who's won two games already for you this year in the same kind of situation. It goes to show that the best kick he had all night was the one that he hit in the second overtime that gave us the win.
We were due to win one like this, I think. Our other two overtime games had ended on flukes; a missed extra point and a fumble on the first play. I wasn't sure what way this one was going to go for most of the night, but I had all the confidence in the world that my players would come through once we got them to fourth-and-two in the second overtime.
Navy Cornerback Rashawn King
They went at me earlier in the game, so I thought they might test me. As a cornerback, you're always thinking pass first so I was ready to react. Darrell Strong is a big receiver so when I saw where they lined him up, I knew I would just have to man up and make a play.
It feels great to make a big play in a game like that, but I hesitate to take too much of the credit. The coaches prepares us very well, and my teammates worked hard all week and played a great game tonight, too.
Navy Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada
It's hard for a defense to practice against us because you can't really simulate the offense we run in practice. I think you saw with the way Pitt played us in the second half that it takes a while to get used to the speed of the game.
On the bench I was telling the guys, we can't miss a turn. We have to fight hard on every possession to make sure they don't get a leg up, because it might be over.