Rice Postgame Quotes
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2010
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Rice Head Coach David Bailiff
"I was pleased how that thing started, how the team played, the drive, the defensive goal-line stand. You know, we gave away the cheap seven, gave them almost too-good field position too many times, the interception, the punt returns."
"I thought we went toe to toe with a giant and finished that game strong and finished it hard, and I'm really pleased that our freshman quarterback came out and played and effectively moved the offense."
"I was most pleased with our offensive line. All five of those guys moved some bodies tonight, opened up some run lanes we didn't have."
"Our defensive line really did an effective job of stopping the run. Overall, this is a game we can look at, we can build on and improve, but I'm very pleased with the effort."
"You eliminate your mistakes, eliminate your penalties, that could have been a different game."
On QBs:
"We have a great quarterback situation. We have three very talented quarterbacks and I think they could start anywhere in Conference USA. That's how good each and every one of them are."
On Taylor McHargue: "He did some great things and he did some freshman quarterback things. I think, if he wasn't here, I'd call him a bonehead! He'll get better every week as he grows up. You've got to remember, last year he wasn't even shaving right now."
"He's got four more years to grow, and we think he's going to be something really special"
On goal-line stand:
"That just builds momentum in what we've been talking about. Making the plays, tackling in space. ... When the guys are seeing their efforts paying off, you can build on that kind of thing. ... You play to win, but you can build on this game."
"You saw us tackle in space, and that's something we have not been able to do. You saw a bunch of Rice Owls moving at a high rate of speed, keeping leverage on the football. We tackled well tonight. I know we played better defensively just by the way we tackled."
Taylor McHargue
"Preparation was the same for all three of us. Even if we named a guy, all three of us were still prepared to start, so that didn't change much."
"The first drive, we had a pretty good idea of how they were going to come out. On that first drive, we had a few plays that, had they gone the other way, we would have had a touchdown. It was definitely a good opening drive."
"I didn't have to do everything by myself. I've got 10 other guys on my side that I believe in to the fullest - a great offensive line and guys that, if I can get it into their hands, they'll make the plays."
"We did have them on their heels a little bit, with the tempo, but it comes down to putting it into the end zone. So we're not going to make excuses about that."
On biggest transition from HS football:
"It's a little bit faster. Playing against UT for the first game is challenging any week, much less your first collegiate game."
On TD pass:
"It was intended to Vance and I thought we had it, for a second, and then it got tipped up. ... You get lucky every now and then. Randy made a great play. He's a ball hog."
Randy Kitchens
"I was running right down the hash, and I saw the ball, I was looking back, and then - Vance is a great athletic guy, and I saw him go up for it - and I was expecting to get a block or really just help him out. I was expecting him to break a tackle... but the ball just fell right there and I grabbed it."
"As soon as I had the ball, that's all I really focused on. I secured it, saw the end zone and I was just trying to get there as hard as I could. Luckily I made it there."
"We had some unfortunate turnovers, but we played with a lot of heart and we never gave up, no matter what the score was. So we'll try to keep that rolling."
Travis Bradshaw
"There were four guys around every tackle. I feel like we were just flying around. It was really getting physical and that's something we lacked the last few years - not as many people around the ball. Today really showed that we can play with anybody. We really took a big step today."
"We really worked on simplifying the playbook. Coach B says, 'Small menu, big understanding.' That's something we focused on."
"When you know all the little details, you can play fast. And I feel like that showed today."
"That goal-line stand gave us some momentum. We were excited about that. That just showed us we can do this."
