COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Postgame quotes following Maryland’s 41-38 loss to Rutgers at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
Maryland Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
“It’s disappointing to say the least here this evening. We had opportunities to win the game, didn’t, and when we needed to make some plays, we didn’t. We had trouble stopping them on defense, and when we did have them stopped we made some errors that gave them extra possessions, which is not good in the game of football. We didn’t play well in special teams. We gave up some plays there and had some penalties that hurt us. We were pretty efficient offensively, but we didn’t make a third-and-one and a fourth-and-one there at the end. All in all, I thought the kids played hard but we came up short.”
On if he has ever experienced a game like this as a coach:
“No. I don’t remember anything like that. I thought where it started to change a little bit was when we got the roughing the punter call and then we come out in the second half and give up the big return. We were having trouble and they were taking up time. We hurt ourselves with some penalties on offense that set us back. We kind of just lost the momentum and had a tough time getting it back. I thought when Brad [Craddock] made the 50 yard field goal, I thought that would get us going a little bit more, but then they went down and scored. Then we were going back and forth there until the end.”
On the pass defense:
“They had a couple big plays where we made some errors and he just hit some open guys. We just had to play a little tighter than what we were. We just made some mistakes.”
On the play calling on the final offensive possession:
“We had opportunities there and on the third-and-one play we have to find a way to get it, but on fourth-and-one we have to come off the ball and make that situation there. We didn’t. You can always look back and say could have called this and could have called that. They are always good calls if the plays are executed, that’s the thing. We just didn’t get it done in those situations.”
On Rutgers defense:
“They were coming with pressure and then C.J. [Brown] would check and they would get out of it and different things along those lines. It is just one of those things where they didn’t really do anything different, they might have brought a little bit more pressure in the second half, but again, anticipating and using good fundamentals and good technique so you don’t get yourself in situations where your feet get beat or your hands get where they shouldn’t get to.”
On the emotions after the game
“It hurts. It hurts a lot, there is no doubt about that. It is not going to take away from the other things that this group of guys accomplished this year. We accomplished some things that nobody thought we could accomplish this year. We get an opportunity to get to play another one, but it’s disappointing because how this game started, to where it ended. There is a lot of hurt in the locker room and disappointment. Again, we did a lot of good things this year. You want to see the seniors go out on their last home game with a win, we just came up short. A lot of that was because of some of the things that we did. What we have to do now as a program, is just look at these things and make sure they don’t happen again, and when we play again in a month, utilize this season to propel us forward, to make us better. That’s what we will do, because that’s the kind of kids we have in the program. It’s disappointing, but I love these kids and I love what they’ve done this year and what they’ve accomplished. Like I said, it’s disappointing, but it is not going to take away from the other things that we’ve done this year. Going to Penn State and going to Michigan and beating them on the road, and the things there. Tonight is just disappointing. We will live with it, but we will get better from it.”
Maryland Players
Linebacker L.A Goree
On the game:
“It was a tough game. They seemed to have the answers to what we were doing and made the right plays when they had to. They kept driving the ball down the field and we had a hard time stopping them.”
On what went wrong in the game:
“We had a lot of penalties. You can put the blame on a lot of things, but I think it is on us. We usually play real good football but we couldn’t stop them when we needed to stop them.”
On the senior class:
“It was a tough loss, but I don’t want to base what the seniors did in our four years on this loss. We did such a good job listening to Coach Edsall and turning this program around.”
Running Back Brandon Ross
On the loss:
“It just hurts. We had a 35-10 lead at halftime, but we as an offense we only scored three points in the second half so we feel like it’s on us.”
On what happened on the last offensive play:
“I’ll know more when I watch the film tomorrow, but I think they brought a center blitz from the field side and they got me in my legs and I couldn’t drive that well.”
On what changed in the second half for the offense:
“We weren’t able to get a rhythm in the second half for some reason. We just couldn’t get anything going.”
Defensive Back Jeremiah Johnson
On the feeling while Rutgers ran out the clock:
“I was upset. When you see the victory formation for the offense, there’s kind of a helpless feeling.”
On senior day:
“Being at home for the last time, we wanted to give our fans and family a win.”
On how the seniors felt leading up to the game:
“We were excited. We talked about how it was bittersweet but we would focus on going out on top. Throughout the week, we were very motivated and we spent a lot of time reflecting on memories we made.”
Wide Receiver Amba Etta-Tawo
On how he has developed as a pass catcher:
“Through practice and practicing how you play. Coach [Edsall] always preaches if you go hard in practice, it will play out in the games.”
On the bowl game:
“It’s a tough loss, but fortunately we have another opportunity to play. We just plan on practicing hard and fixing our mistakes so we can go out and win.”
Quarterback C.J Brown
On the 4th-and-1 play
“We have to be able to get a yard. I think Coach [Locksley] made the right call, but unfortunately we didn’t get that yard.”
On the difference in the second half:
“I think the biggest thing for us were the silly penalties and getting backed up. Also, they stopped the big plays. We gassed them in the first half, but we didn’t get any big plays in the second half.”
On the loss:
“For all the seniors, including myself, to go out with a loss, it hurts. To be up 35-10 at the half and for them to comeback at home on senior night; it’s not a good feeling. It definitely leaves a sour taste in our mouths.”
Defensive Lineman Andre Monroe
On Rutgers’ ability to protect the quarterback:
“I think a lot of it was max protection; they kept a lot of people in. Also, Gary Nova did a good job with releasing the ball quickly a lot of times.”
On emotions of the senior class:
“We’re all upset about this loss, but it’s back to work and we’re thankful that we have one more game together as a unit.”
On the disappointment of losing at home:
“A loss is a loss no matter where it is. It’s going to hurt regardless and that’s how we feel about it as a team.”
Rutgers Head Coach Kyle Flood
Opening Statement:
“To say I’m proud of this group is probably an understatement. It’s a group of players that you all have heard me talk about all year, about how special of a group they are and how hard they work in the offseason. We played a very challenging schedule and they kept battling every step of the way; tonight they had to do the same thing. I felt like we had a chance to make some plays in the first half. We didn’t do a very good job of that. In the second half we made those plays, and we made enough of them to win today against a good football team.”
On defense from first half to second half:
“Maryland has got a talented offense, so it’s really just a step here, a fit there, a wrap and roll on a tackle instead of getting stiff armed; it’s the little things that really make a difference. If you go back and watch the film, we had guys free to the ball we just didn’t make the play. We did a better job of doing what we do in the second half.”
On Gary Nova’s legacy at Rutgers:
“Gary has done a lot in his career at Rutgers and he will go down as one of the all-time greats even before playing this game. Does this game add to his legacy, of course it adds to it, but I don’t think it defines Gary. I think it’s a great example of what he is and what he has done for this program. I didn’t realize until after the game that this was the largest comeback in the history of the program. It doesn’t surprise me that Gary would be involved in that.”
On defense after fumble in fourth quarter:
“Great job by our defense. You could see that Robert Martin was really disappointed that he put the ball on the ground. I grabbed him right away and told him that he was going to be a big part of why we will win the game tonight. The defense was telling Robert not to worry and that they would get the stop. They believed going onto the field that they were going to get the stop.”
On turning point of the game:
“I think the drive to start the second half was the turning point; that’s a 14-point swing. Without that I don’t know if we would have had enough time to come back. That created some momentum for us for the rest of the game.”
On halftime speech:
“I told the team what I told them at the start of the game; we are going to empty the tank. This was game 12 for us and we came down here to empty the tank and give them everything we had. We made some corrections and talked about the things that we could do better. I told them that they were going to look up at the scoreboard at some point and we were going to be in the game and have the lead, and sure enough they proved me right.”
On entry to the Big Ten:
“When we were brought in, I thought that we were a perfect fit for the Big Ten. From a football standpoint, nine bowl games in ten years, from an academic standpoint we’ve achieved very high from an APR or GSR standard. I think our culture athletically and academically fits the culture of that of the Big Ten. First impressions in life matter, and I think we’ve made a pretty good first impression at Rutgers.”
On mixing it up on offense:
“You don’t want to be one dimensional. I think it makes it hard for your linemen up front if you become one-dimensional and just throw the ball every down; then they have to put up with the blitzes and the pass rushes. Looking at the stats at half time we were pretty effective running the football. Both Josh Hicks and Robert Martin had a good first half. We felt like we could mix it up and have good plays. We had three receivers over 100 yards, so guys were catching the ball too.”
On character of the team:
“For me, it just confirms how I’ve felt about this group all along. Even in the games that we couldn’t come back, I never felt like they ever quit. The effort level was excellent and I have been proud of their effort level all year. What the team has found out is that if you play with that kind of effort all game, good things will happen. For the rest of their lives, they will be able to say that they were a part of the biggest comeback in the history of the program.”
Rutgers Players
Senior Quarterback Gary Nova
On the win:
“It is a great team win and a great way to end the season. On top of all that, it is great to get a win for Coach Friedgen back here at Maryland.”
On this game being the highlight of his career:
“Yeah I’d say, but not just for me. Being a part of this group, with these guys. The way we fought back, through adversity, and the way we just fed off each other.”
On being down big in the first half:
“In the first half, we missed on some opportunities. We knew it was more us, they did a good job, but we knew if we hit some of those plays, we had the opportunity to score some points. If we got some of those opportunities in the second half, we could be right back in the game.”
Senior Linebacker Kevin Snyder
On stopping Maryland on its last possession:
“The first time we ran it, we ran it down the backside and did a really good job. The second time we ran it, it was nothing special, we just slanted right into the play and ended up getting them in the backfield. I was there at the end I guess I get credit for being there.”
On the defense’s effort:
“It is a half of a gem. We gave up three points in the second half and held them to minimal yardage. Obviously, the first half is not what you are looking for, but I just thought it was amazing how the guys came out with energy in the second half. It’s very tough when you are down like that and you give up that many points in a row, but like I said earlier, that is the special teams and the offense giving us the energy we needed.”
On having a winning record:
“It feels really good. Coming from a 6-6 campaign when we ended up 6-7 last year, it is good to take that step this week, get this win, and go into bowl prep on a high note.”
Freshman Running Back Robert Martin
On the late fumble:
“It definitely took the life out of me, but I had to rely on my defense, and thank them as soon as they made the stop.”
On what keeps the team fighting:
“Just knowing that we can compete with anybody. Just knowing what we are capable of doing. Throughout this game we had good, solid drives, we just weren’t capitalizing. We knew they couldn’t stop us, so we just kept thinking we had to get seven each drive.”
