ECU v Rice Postgame Quotes
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 20, 2010
East Carolina Head Coach Ruffin McNeill
"Tough day, tough loss. Hats-off to Rice. They did a good job offensively. They did a great job moving the football all day long. They executed on offense. They ran the ball and made the clutch throws when they had to make them
"(Soph. RB Sam) McGuffie, who we knew had a lot of speed, did a great job of running the football. Their quarterbacks were very mobile. The wildcat, we knew about that, prepared for it and worked on it. They out-executed us, so my hats-off to Rice.
"I felt like we had to take some chances there in the second half. It was tough to stop them and it was time to take some chances.
"We have to put this one on the back-burner as quick as possible. We have SMU coming in on a short week. We have to get ready for them.
"The wild cat is something we had known about, and worked on it and prepared for it. It comes down to execution. I'm disappointed. The kids are disappointed, but sometimes it comes down to just making a play. There's no magic defense. Both sides (coaches and players) are responsible. I've taken my blame, but we also have to get off blocks and make plays on defense.
"We felt good about the game plan going-in. We wanted a quick start, and it was just the opposite. We got off to a slow start. (Rice) got off to a quick start. They executed on offense, and did some good things on defense. They had two picks, but part of that might have been us trying to force too much and try and get it all back on one play.
"(QB Dominique) Davis took a shot on a throw to (Dwayne) Harris, but he stayed in there. He's a tough kid and I'll talk to the (training staff) about him. He?s a tough hombre. He played tough and hung in there.
(on going for it on fourth down in the third quarter). "We had the lead down to 10 point, and I felt we could chop it down a little more. I took a chance on that fourth down play. I thought we could make it. Lincoln felt good about it. I thought we could get it going for it on fourth down. It was a long three (yards). I made the call to go for it. I felt we could move the ball.
"On the next series we forced them to third and long. Their quarterback scrambles and McGuffie breaks out of his route and makes an adjustment to get open. He bobbled it there, but hung on. Rice executed when they had to.
"Matt (Milner, freshman DL), had a big play to grab that fumble and I thought he might take it all the way! He zigged-zagged a little and he was moving well.
"I told the team to stay focused. Our seniors have their final game Dowdy-Ficklin. It's SMU on a short week so there's a lot to prepare for in a short time.
Rice Head Coach David Bailiff
"First and foremost, I am so proud of this football team for hanging together. This season has been tough, but they have come over here every day with the attitude that we are going to get better and get it turned around. When times are tough all you can do is keep working through the tough times. That is what we did as a team. Their attitude and effort allowed us to go out and win a big ballgame. I think you see an offense that is absolutely coming alive. We rushed for over 400 yards and we had some good passing yards.
"I am very proud of (QB) Taylor McHargue coming in. He played two snaps at SMU before reinjuring that shoulder, but the way he responded was very nice. When there wasn't somebody open it was good to see him scramble and pick up some yards. That is a trait that we have to have for a quarterback to be successful and I think he did a great job operating the offense tonight.
"There are some individual efforts out there with (TE) Vance McDonald and (RB) Jeremy Eddington and (RB) Sam McGuffie (RB) Tyler Smith. Those guys are making plays and our offensive line continues to improve. Defensively, in the first half I know they gave up 300 yards, but they really responded in the second half and only gave up a little more than 100 yards. Their third down conversion is really going to be special. It's good to see them get some takeaways. It was good to see them get some third down stops. Our special teams with (P) Kyle Martens was just magnificent because (ECU IWR) Dwayne Harris the special teams player of the year last year in C-USA. I am proud of the game plan Coach Beaty and Coach Driesbach and Coach Naivar put together."
(on the game being a momentum builder for next season)
"Yea, uniquely enough you could look back to Tulsa. You look at the points we should have had if we had executed in the red zone. We thought we left 21-28 points on the field in that game. I think last week against Tulane you saw the personality being born. You now see an offense that believes in itself and believes it can win. It was a long time coming, but I'm really proud of these kids."
(on offensive mix of plays)
"The unique thing with Jeremy (Eddington) is that it is like you have to prepare for two offenses. You're running the wildcat with Jeremy and he threw the ball. It wasn't great but it keeps them off balance. Then you put McHargue in who can do all that and throw the football. It presents a challenge with all the different play variations that we can run. It has worked well for us. We started doing that back in the UTEP. As he (Jeremy Eddington) has learned more, we've been able to give him more. He's really comfortable with what he is doing. He's one of those young men who loves football. Whatever the result of the run, he gets up with a smile and is ready to play the next play."
(on executing the game plan of running the ball)
"It was great execution. I know at halftime Sam McGuffie and Jeremy Eddington were averaging over 10 yards a carry. We made some adjustments offensively at halftime, and I was really excited to see us continue that momentum when we came back out in the third quarter."
(on performance defensively) "We had a big fourth down stop at Texas as well. Hopefully we have our swagger back. All you can do is keep working. Working on the fundamentals and techniques. I think that we kept with our fundamentals and kept working the techniques this week. It led to some turnovers. I thought (CB) Philip Gaines played a big time game."
(on fumble recovery right before half as a momentum killer)
"We just told them at half that they can't stop us. Jeremy made a freshman mistake, but he already showed you when he came back in the third quarter that he had put that behind him. He also busted his tail to get down there and keep him out of the end zone. When he (RB Jeremy Eddington) went 88 yards I didn't know he was that fast."
(on scoring on opening drive of second half to respond to lost fumble)
"I thought that was paramount to us winning this football game. They did score 27 points in the fourth quarter on UAB. They are a football team that every time you pulled away, we never felt comfortable enough to take our foot off the accelerator."
Rice Tight End Vance McDonald
(on his role in the game today)
"They came out in a weird defense that we hadn't practiced. With (WR) Luke (Willson) going down we lost a big playmaker. I knew had a little more weight on my shoulders, and I made the plays in the first half. It was a lot of fun."
(on how he felt the team is progressing)
"I think it is just confidence. We started off the season knowing we could be good and I hate that it has taken this long, but we've had great play calling and focus. Our execution has been great. It is really good to see us moving the ball as well as we are."
(on how it feels to successfully execute the offense)
"It's big. I like having the role that I've been given. It is just good to be rolling as well as we are right now, having swagger that we do on offense, and knowing we can only stop ourselves. We are going to move the ball."
(on this game being a momentum builder)
"Last week was tough, but we did a lot of good things. Especially on offense. Our job is to score more points then them. I feel like we came out last week and we had that momentum coming in to this week. We ran a great offense in this game. We have gotten to that point where we know that we can move the ball against anyone. We can execute and we can only beat ourselves. The confidence we have built is a great thing to carry into next year."
Nose Tackle John Gioffre
(on densive performance)
"We had that turnover early on that first kickoff. We had the momentum going and you could feel it going up and down. The coaches kept saying keep in there, stay in there. That's been our problem in games past. We went in and just got hyped and seized the opportunity. We came out strong.
(on building momentum)
"We are split offensively and defensively at a basic level, but as a team when we see our offense doing good, it's like ok we can't let them down it's our turn. When they're doing what they (the offense) did tonight, it just makes our job easier."
(on importance of winning the turnover battle)
"Takeaways is one of the key things we focus on defense. There were just people flying around. The motto of this week's practice was rely on your technique. I think we just held strong to that and it showed."
(on being a part of such an enjoyable game)
"That's our offense. You saw it in the Texas and Houston games. At times it is tough due to injuries, but you have got to rally together. Just to see them running like that made me proud to be a Rice Owl. That's how it should be all the time. The way we played tonight is Rice Football. We are handling those little mistakes. We are not giving up the fight. We are in this thing."
Rice Quarterback Taylor McHargue
(on coming back from injury)
"You always want to be on the field. It was tough having to watch, but I knew my role and that was to be positive for the guys that were in. It felt really good to get back on the field and contribute."
(on his success despite time off due to injury)
"Our offense any Saturday can have the performance that we did today. It was never a question of if I could do it, it was more if I didn't make mistakes and allowed our playmakers to make the plays. I didn't think about it. I knew if I managed the game and did my job that we would be fine."
(on coming back to the offense that now utlilizes the wildcat)
"It helps a lot because it puts them on their heels. They're trying to make personnel changes and get different people in the games. They don't know how to handle it. As long as we are executing efficiently, it doesn't mean we have to get 10 yards a carry with the wildcat, it just means that we are controlling the line of scrimmage, it puts them on their heels."
(on how it feels to play in a game where you are having so much success)
"It's huge. That's what you play for. It's fun scoring points. Coming off the field with a big win like this is big for the program."
