Pitt vs West Virginia Postgame Quotes
11/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 26, 2010
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PITTSBURGH -
Pitt Head Coach Dave Wannstedt
“Everybody understood, approached and prepared, I thought, as well as we could have prepared for this football game.”
“The turnovers prevented us from taking the lead. We came out after halftime and gave up one play to begin the second half, and then the air kind of came out of the balloon. We had to play catch up, right into their hands.”
“Obviously, it’s disappointing. We just didn’t make enough plays. We didn’t make enough plays on defense. We gave up way too many plays on offense from a turnover standpoint.”
“I don’t know if our confidence was shaken a little bit or what. But, we missed some tackles in the second half that we made in the first half.”
“Ray Graham’s fumble, I thought, happened when he was spinning. Dion Lewis’ fumble, he was kind of climbing over the top and laying on a body. He thought he was down, he wasn’t. Were they stripping the ball more than anyone else? I’d say no. We didn’t protect the ball well enough.”
“We had two or three opportunities to get points. You’re only going to get so many opportunities.”
“I really thought we’d play better today. We didn’t.”
Pitt Quarterback Tino Sunseri
“We really got off to a bad start. I thought I could make a throw and it didn’t happen. When you play a good team like West Virginia, those mistakes will come back to bite you.”
On the Pitt fumble on a high snap
“The ball was too high. When I went back, I should have just fell on it but I tried to pick it up and make a play but they recovered it. It goes back to the fundamentals of football and that’s to just fall on the ball. I didn’t do that.”
“We have a mentality on offense that we’re going to play until there’s all zero’s on the score clock. We knew we were going to get another chance and we just focus on making plays the next time out.”
“From here, we look at the season as trying to end on a positive note. We need to prepare for Cincinnati and go from there.”
Pitt Defensive Tackle Chas Alecxih
“I really can’t put the game into words. I feel the worst for the seniors because I felt like I let them down.”
“We didn’t finish today. We always talk about making sure we finish and we didn’t do that today.”
“You go out there and give it your all and then you look at the scoreboard and you can’t believe it because you feel as though you’ve been playing your hardest.”
“We had a great week of practice. The intensity was there. We knew what was on the line but everything seemed to go against us.”
“It’s very disappointing because we felt like the last three seasons, that we controlled our own destiny and we let it slip away.”
“You win as a team and lose as a team. Today, as a team, we didn’t get the job done.”
West Virginia Head Coach Bill Stewart
“Heck of a win for West Virginia, the players, the coaches, the staff and for me. To come on the road and win in the Big East and in the Backyard Brawl is really special and to win in a pretty good manor is even more pleasant. That’s a tribute to our players and staff. I’m really happy. I wasn’t comfortable with our defense in the first half. They weren’t in sync. I know they made some big plays, but I wasn’t happy with our defense. I got after them pretty good at halftime. We were a step behind, Pitt was knocking on the door all day, but we didn’t let them in. I wasn’t seeing that zip we had, but we rallied and we did what good defenses do and we kept them out of the end zone. If you look at ball possession, Pitt had the ball for the majority of the first half and I told the guys at half that it needed to change. I wasn’t frustrated with the offense because we couldn’t get the ball, but when we had the ball we were good. But we regrouped, made some adjustments and got the win.”
On Tavon Austin breaking open:
“He did some nice moves. A flash came out of the backside and Tavon is quick when he gets out in space and you can’t catch him. He’s difficult to get the handcuffs on him. He’s the quickest little guy.”
On going after Pitt’s defensive backs:
“They got called a lot for holding in South Florida, but when you attack that you get away from what it is that you do. That’s what we were doing the first half. But we went and ran the option and power and Noel Devine caught a flare pass. Geno Smith today I thought made some great decisions and plays and got us first downs.”
On scoring 21 points and guaranteeing a win:
“Well nobody wanted to talk to me at halftime because I was so mad. I was the only one doing the talking. I was the only one doing the talking. We were out of sync in the first half and that is a credit to Pitt. They got after us. If it wasn’t for their turnovers, the game would have been much different.”
On the West Virginia offensive line:
“I am very proud of our offensive line. In the fourth quarter I wanted them to get an attitude that nobody could stop us. I told them to get on their toes and run down hill and go get people. We did a nice job on the pass protection. Pitt has a tough defense. Geno Smith made some great decisions.”
On Pitt’s turnovers:
“They were big. I am a big Tino Sunseri fan. I know his dad well and we were hitting him with everything we had and he was playing tough. He is going to have a good career here at Pitt and in the Big East.”
Cornerback Brandon Hogan
On his interception:
“I just turned around and saw the ball and I caught it, and tried to make a guy miss. I think he was open, though. I saw somebody right beside me.”
On giving up first downs in the first half:
“Yeah, we gave up a lot in the first half, but we were able to adjust and cut back. We contained their dump pass from the quarterback and just got after them. Tino Sunseri threw some nice balls. He really put the ball there for Pitt today.”
Wide Receiver Tavon Austin
On his play:
“I’m just happy to go out there and not let my teammates down. I did my part and went out there and I executed. We are still going to need some help in order to claim the Big East title.”
On bouncing back on offense:
“We’ve been out of sync. But the game itself had us hyped up a little more, being the Backyard Brawl. There still isn’t an excuse, we need to come out and execute no matter what game it is. The offensive line did a great job and we were able to come out and do our jobs.”
Quarterback Geno Smith
On West Virginia’s first possession:
“I wish I could do that every time. We try to get the ball down there in that situation, it’s great for the defense to get the ball down there close to the end zone and we just ran it in.”
On playing Heinz Field:
“It’s just great to think about this place and all of the legends that have played here. Just to step on this field and have an opportunity is great. People were saying what kind of environment it was, but I liked it.”
