University of Massachusets Athletics
Postgame Quotes: No. 3 UMass 40, Holy Cross 30
September 01, 2007 | Football
Sept. 1, 2007
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UMass Head Coach Don Brown's opening statement
"Crazy things happen in an opener and we certainly had our share today. The really good thing that happens for us in the long run is we played a Holy Cross team that just kept competing. We had some miscues that we have to take care of to perform better. But at the same time, when the game was on the line [we stepped up]. Chris Koepplin's field goal at the end of the game was huge to give us that ten point cushion."
Brown assessing his team's performance
"The defense stepped up twice in two major series. We got key stops when we needed to. Offensively, in the first half we did what we wanted to do. We sputtered in the second half, but the good thing is there's a ton of stuff to correct. I have to do a better coaching job; I thought about this team being very mature, and thought we handled some of the situations a little bit better. Our metal was tested, and we found a way to get a win."
Courtney Robinson on his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown
"We talked about it in practice and watched film. I just knew that if it came to me, I'd have an opportunity to return it. I saw the outside was open, so I took it and scored. They set up the wedge; Holy Cross came down hard, but our guys picked it up which gave me a chance to bounce it to the outside. From there, I just had to get it to the end zone."
Brown on Holy Cross' comeback
"They put together two pretty solid drives. When you look at 16 plays for 70 yards, that's earning it. One of them was aided by a pass interference call, which happens during the course [of a game], especially the way we play press coverage. Then we had the miscue and one play later the ball is in the end zone. Then they put together another 12 play drive. They did what they had to do. They made a couple key third down conversions. You have to give them credit."
Brown on the opening drive of the third quarter
"The interesting thing is we came right out of the half and made it look easy. Three plays, 83 yards and we're in the end zone. Even though it's a great series, it can be a negative with guys starting to feel good about themselves. You've got to remember those guys over there are going to keep competing."
David Burris about rising to the challenge in the fourth quarter
"Someone has to step up on every play. I read the guy better on that particular play and was able to take advantage of the situation."
Matt Lawrence on his first game as starting running back with the Minutemen
"I played pretty well. Coming out of camp, the coaches prepared me well about the situation. Great things happen when you play hard, so that's what I go off of."
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore's Opening Statement
"Unfortunately for us it looked like we played our opening game. We made a lot of mistakes in all three phases of the game. We had some alignment problems on defense that cost us on some big plays. We dropped a lot of balls in the first half in particular, we gave up some big plays on special teams, and shanked three punts (that I counted). We made a ton of first game kind of mistakes and obviously it cost us the ball game against a very good team."
Gilmore on his team's effort
"I'm not disappointed with our effort, in fact I think our team showed a lot of character. I think a lot of teams would have folded after they scored that touchdown after the half. Our players just came right back and showed a lot of character. That doesn't surprise me. Those are the kind of kids that we have in this program; we are going to have an excellent year."
Gilmore on the condition of cornerbacks Casey Gough and Seun Bayode
"They just got back from the hospital a few minutes ago and right now the x-rays look negative. It was a possible fracture in the lower leg, they aren't sure what it is right now. Sometimes the preliminary examinations are very quick so we are waiting for the final results on that. But we are encouraged and it looks like they are both going to be fine. They are similar type injuries. [Seun's] was from a direct blow and I believe Casey twisted his leg during a play."
On the game plan
"We are a spread offense and we did come in with a good game plan to throw the ball. We were pretty effective in the first quarter, but as we got into the second quarter, it was pretty evident that we could throw against them and our run game wasn't as productive as we would have liked. We have a great quarterback and a great set of receivers. They were getting open but unfortunately it wasn't our sharpest day. I think we showed that we could get open. When we polish up our game you are going to see some unbelievable results for the rest of the year. If we can come this close to a UMass team that went to the national championship game, I am quite sure that we can do well the rest of the year."
