UCF v Rice Quotes
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 24, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Rice Head Coach David Bailiff
"It's like we are stuck in a circle. We got to get out of it. I'm glad the open week is here when it is. It's going to let me to evaluate everything from the top to the bottom of this program, evaluate everything we're doing, evaluate our personnel - from me to everything in this program. Once again too many missed tackles, too many penalties, too many ball on the ground. Those guys practice too hard to look that unprepared. Something's up and I am going to get it fixed.
"Like I said I'm glad we're getting in an open week. It's eight straight and its time we get some things figured-out -- figure out how get this team's confidence back, figure how to get out of this cycle of making mistakes, and this cycle of pressing."
(After UCF's first play from scrimmage) "At that point I was thinking we've got to keep them up, we've got to keep them into it because that was a missed tackle. That's something we've been talking to them all week about, 'when something bad happens put it behind you.' I was hoping that when we got out there on the next series that we play our tails-off. There were times I thought the defense rose to the occasion. They had two one-play drives where we missed tackles. You're not going to win too many football games with one-play drives. We'll look at the tackling drills, is there something we can add that we get better at it."
Rice Player Quotes
DB Travis Bradshaw
(on putting a loss like this behind them) "It's tough. We keep saying that every week, just put it behind you but we just have to make it happen. We're not coming out there fired up, we're not playing like we know we can right now and it's just frustrating. We have to do something and we have to find out what it is on this week off and come out there with a new identity for next week."
(on what's missing from putting it all together) "It's hard to say. We keep putting ourselves in those holes early. We have to first of all not put ourselves in those holes and if we're in it, be able to come back out of it and we've definitely struggled with it this year. We just have to focus and keep working."
(on being tentative and thinking it's happening again) "That's what we're trying to not let happen. Hopefully it's not evident out there. Everybody should be focusing on their job, but if we start getting the attitude `oh here it goes again,' then it's over from there. We just have to make sure it doesn't happen."
(on the bye week) "We need that. Like coach said, evaluate everything and come out with a new identity for sure."
RB Jeramy Goodson
(on what has changed from last year to this year) "It's focus. In practice, we come out, we pay attention to detail, but in the game, it doesn't carry over so I'm saying in the game, it's focus. No doubt."
(on what disrupted the focus today) "If they do throw something unexpected, we should be able to deal with that, based on how we prepare during practice, because like I said, everything is good in practice. IT just doesn't carry over in the game."
(on how he will personally help the team from now on) "Just rally, get everybody going, I think that's what we have to do, stay close together and make sure whatever we're doing in practice carries over to the game."
(on how much talent this team has compared to other CUSA teams) "Come out and play hard, like coach said and has been saying all season, we're a better team, we can match up with anybody in our conference, for us to come out and play like the way we have, it's just lack of focus. That's it."
UCF Head Coach George O'Leary
"I thought it was a 60-minute game. We were up 28 nothing at half-time and I thought the kids went out in the second-half and fought the fight and I was pleased with that. We made some plays and had the opportunity to play everybody so I am pleased. I thought we made plays when we had the opportunity to make them.
"It helps with morale in the locker room? Everybody had an opportunity to get in there and help and I?ve been on both ends of those type of scores so I know what it is like to be on the other side of the field too. Again, we were able to get guys an opportunity to play that can be evaluated on tape.
(On UCF defense) "I thought they did a nice job. We got the chance to play a bunch of people and I thought the coverage closed quickly on a lot of routes."
(Next week) "Big game next Sunday (at Marshall on CBS College), we?re 4-3 and every game right now is critical. Like I told the players right after the game it is a five-game (season) now and we play one at a time."
