Opening Statement:
“Tough loss tonight to a very good football team. Give credit to coach Beamer and
his coaching staff and the players of Virginia Tech. They did a very nice job of
coming out and executing what they wanted to get done offensively and defensively.
I told the players on the team, the last four out of five times that we’ve played
Virginia Tech I’ve told the players this was going to happen: whoever can stop the
run and whoever doesn’t turn the football over, that’s usually who wins the game.
Whoever rushes for the most yards, that’s usually who wins the game. You look at it
tonight: they ran the football, we did not stop the run, we had turnovers, they
maybe had one… and I think when you play Virginia Tech, that’s what you have to be
sound on and we weren’t tonight.”
What about tackling?
“Bad. Everything from tackling, guys not wrapping up, that’s what you’re going to
see when guys running as much as they yardage-wise. You ask me about tackling –
that was yardage. Guys not doing their assignment – we’re going to lose the football
game. Same thing on offense: if we can’t run the football and block those guys up
front, our passing game isn’t going to go like it’s supposed to. They were in their
comfort zone. They got ahead and we couldn’t block them in the running game so
when you start throwing the football, it becomes a feast or a famine. Jacory (Harris)
got hit a couple of times but he’d bounce back and keep going.”
Rain?
“Both teams had to play in it. We’ve scrimmaged in it plenty of times. They just
came out and they beat us. You’ve got to give Virginia Tech credit, fellas. I mean
they’re a good football team and they always play us tough.
“I think there were a lot of crucial plays in this game that could have changed it in
our favor. When they muffed a punt, we didn’t have anybody down there to recover
it. They got it back. Two drops by Jimmy. Then, we had two guys out there to tackle
a guy on a long 60-yard run and that was crucial cause if you get that guy down, it’s
still third and long and we have the field position.”
What did you tell them at halftime:
“They put themselves in this situation as a football team. We talk about the tackling
and the run defense and run offense to keep them off balance. We’ve got to come
out in the second half and have a good kickoff return which we did. We went down
and scored which was good. Then had a three and out. And things happened in our
favor but that big run and those two drops by Jimmy really turned the tide of the
game back to them.”
Blocked punt?
“Blown assignment by one of the guys on the outside.”