Pitt vs. Louisville Postgame Quotes
11/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
PITTSBURGH -
Pitt Coach Dave Wannstedt Quotes
“Finally, we win a game where we win the turnover battle. It was a long time coming.”
“They did a great job of stopping our running game. You knew that was going to happen sooner or later.”
“I thought today offensively, coach Matt Cavanaugh and quarterback Billy Stull picked up the slack by being able to move the ball to score points. In time of possession we had the ball eight minutes longer than they did.”
“We came up with five turnovers and that was the difference in the game.”
“Our kids came out and played their hearts out. I’m happy for the football team and for our seniors. With seven wins, this should put us in position to get in a bowl game, for sure. We head into the bye week and then we re-group and finish this season strong.”
“What has changed in our fourth down strategy is, earlier in the year you are still trying to get a feel for your team and who can perform. It might be a game where we don’t feel good about going for it. We’re not going to do it just to do it.”
“Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to run successfully every game. LaRod Stephens-Howling got a little banged up and he came back. Louisville did a great job with stacking the box and they have good players. I give them credit. They did a very good job with handling the run.”
“Before the long pass for a touchdown to Jonathan Baldwin, Matt Cavanaugh and I were talking and we said, ’Let’s throw one deep.’ In that situation, Lou Holtz used to say if you throw deep on third and long, if they intercept it, it’s as good as a punt. Jonathan is amazing. We gave him the ball on a reverse, too and he gained some yards.”
“I’ll say this about our seniors, I’m so happy for these kids. This is what it’s all about, to see C.J. Davis and Scott McKillop and these kids work so hard. They know that hard work does not guarantee you anything but it gives you a chance.”
Pitt Linebacker Scott McKillop
“We played well today. There were a couple of times in the third quarter when our defense could have played a little better but that’s one of the things we’ll work on starting tomorrow.”
“It’s a big win. It’s big for our team and it’s big for Coach Wannstedt. It’s his first winning season and I’m happy for him.”
“We have to be able to play good in all three phases and I thought we did that today. Our special teams did a phenomenal job, especially our kickoff coverage. Hats off to all of them. Pinning their offense inside the 20-yard line was big for us.”
“That was the first time ever in my career returning a defensive play for a touchdown. I was running with the ball and thinking to myself that if I get tackled at the three or two-yard line, I’m going to hear about it forever because I like to joke around with the other guys in the locker room about things and I’m sure they’d be all over me.”
“I think the bye week will help us. Like Coach said, we have a couple guys that are banged up. We’ll get ready for Cincinnati.”
“Bill Stull stepped up today and played well after being shaken up last time and that was big.”
“A lot of people say ‘Shady, Shady, Shady’ and granted the offense goes through him, but it was nice to be able to stretch the field a little bit and our other guys really stepped up and made some plays.”
Pitt Running Back LeSean McCoy
“The momentum is definitely building. It speaks about the leadership of this team because we haven’t had a bowl game in a while. The defense played excellent after all the heat they took from the Rutgers game. I’m proud of our guys.”
Pitt Defensive Tackle Mick Williams
“It was just a fun day for the defense. The special teams played well and the offense did well too.”
Pitt Wide Receiver Derek Kinder
“It always helps when Shady is going out and making plays and bringing eight guys in the box. It gives us (receivers) one-on-one situations where all we have to do is make the play. He’s had success this year and that’s allowed us this opportunity today.”
“Everyone knows that we have probably six receivers who can go out in any situation and make a play.”
“Couch Cavanaugh is doing a great job of mixing up a variety of plays. His play calling kept their defense from focusing in one thing.”
Louisville Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe
“I thought we made some horrible mistakes in the first half. Our defense really stepped up and stopped the run, which is a key part of their offense, but we just couldn’t capitalize. When you turn the ball over on special teams like that, it can be very difficult to recover from. I also thought we missed some chances on offense. We had some receivers open where if we connect, it would have been a big play.”
“On a third-and-long play you can’t get beat deep. You have to make them throw the ball short of the sticks then make the tackle. But give Pitt credit for converting there. Bill Stull made a very nice throw and that was a good play by Jonathan Baldwin, too, to pull it in.”
“When you’re playing on the road you need to get momentum early and we didn’t do that today. When we started fumbling balls in the punt return game, it was tough to establish any kind of consistency on offense. That wasn’t the kind of start that we needed.”
“We put Matt Simms in because we were trying to find a spark and we felt that was the time in the game to do it. Hunter Cantwell was disappointed as any competitor would be, but he handled it the right way and came out strong in the third quarter.”
“We contemplated putting in Trent Guy to return punts after the second fumble. However, he’s a little bit banged up so we determined that wasn’t the best idea. I also thought Doug Beaumont responded well after those early mistakes and did a pretty good job afterwards. Those were tough conditions to return punts in today. If you looked up at the flags during the game, half were blowing one way and half were blowing in the exact opposite direction.”
“The stop Pitt got on fourth-and-one was no doubt a turning point in the game. We had just scored and gotten a stop and if we can convert there, we have a good chance to put some points on the board. Give them credit, it was a big play.”
Louisville Center Eric Wood
“That was a tough game. We made too many mistakes to pull it out. I thought we had an excellent week of practice, and our defense really carried that into the first part of the game. I just felt like we didn’t do enough on offense early on. That’s not how you win ballgames.”
“We have to make sure that we stop hurting ourselves. Pitt’s a very good, very talented team and when you play someone like that on the road, you can’t make the mistakes that we did. We have to quit hurting ourselves.”
Louisville Quarterback Hunter Cantwell
“It’s never fun to be taken out. But Coach Kragthorpe thought Matt [Simms] should have a series, so you accept it and move forward. Coach made sure to tell me to keep my head in the game, which I did, and I was able to make some plays when I came back in.”
Louisville Defensive Tackle Adrian Grady
“[LeSean McCoy] is a great back. He runs with a lot of power, but he’s quick and shifty, too. Our game plan was just to get to the ball and surround him because he’s incredibly dangerous when he has a defender one-on-one.
