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University of Massachusets Athletics
Postgame Quotes: No. 17 UMass 42, Bryant 7
October 25, 2008 | Football
Oct. 25, 2008
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Coach Brown's general thoughts on the game:
In a game like this I was concerned after last week's lost how we would respond. I think the guys took care of that, they showed great maturity. We did not try to candy-coat it, or come out with any fake motivation. It was all about us this week and just coming back and playing the game the way we're capable of. I thought our response in the first half was very comparable. We went no huddle this week, obviously they run a number of different packages and play a lot of zero-man coverage and wanted Liam to be able to have a chance to see it. The fear that you have there is "does your quarterback get hit?" but wee kept him upright all day long; and " can your receivers get off the one-on-one?" and Jeremy Horne responded with five catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns. This is the kid of game that is built for him, he's a vertical player, he has the ability to go down the field and we made the most of him. In the second half we really tried to look at a lot of guys, we played a number of guys on both sides of the ball, which obviously impacts your continuity especially on the offensive side. It got a little ugly there with some of the turnovers but at the same time it is a chance to get those guys in the game when they don't get a chance to play much on Saturday afternoons. Now we have to get ready to go down to Rhode Island and play our best game of the year especially after the way we played there last year.
On the significance of playing so many players
It is very valuable, the one thing that happens is some guys get in and their stock rises while for other guys their stock stays the same. Hey have to make the most of their moments when they do get into the game and some of those guys took advantage of it today. On defense I really think Viveiros stepped up and played really well at the rover position, Dickson played a ton at the free safety position, Jonathon Hernandez did some good things and showed some spark at the tailback position.
On the injury to Sean Smalls:
We don't want to say anything right now until we see an X-ray or MRI, it could go either way. Filling in for him, I think Corey Davis and Rayshaun Goodwin did a good job in response. Those guys have been on the field now for a few weeks so the adjustment wasn't that drastic, but obviously losing s player like Sean is difficult to replace.
On the return of Liam Coen after last week's injury:
If your quarterback isn't upright when those guys are hitting their marks you're in trouble. My biggest concern for the week was that Liam would make it all the way through the game healthy. These kinds of teams concern you because they're blitzing all the time, all you need is one protection error and your quarterback is down for the rest of the game. I thought he showed great toughness, coming back out onto the practice field on Wednesday. He prepared really hard for the game, and that's what you expect from your leader.
Liam Coen on the offensive production:
In the first half we started with a good drive, Jeremy made some big plays for us. We kind of lived on big plays and we executed them. I liked what I saw with the guys hustling and making plays. I was excited to be out there and that's what I was looking forward to, and I think the guys responded after last week.
Bryant Head Coach Marty Fine on what the team learned from the game.
A ton. We knew exactly what we were getting into. I made the decision [to play UMass]. Last October, we decided to go Division I. The first thing I wanted to do was find a benchmark, some way to judge where we are and where we want to be in 2012 when we are eligible for the playoffs. We're used to winning; we've built a wonderful program. We graduate every senior that we have for four years. What we want to do is maintain the character and integrity of the program we have. Some good wholesome, clean kids, play hard and play well. We have to judge where is the cutoff of ability where we can still do what we believe and win at the next level. The only way to do that is to play the best teams you can find at that level. You need to have a way to measure yourself so you can draw a clear blueprint of where your future needs to be. There's a ton of things-the size, the speed, the coaching, the talent level-that we're aiming to become without at any time lowering our standards academically or morally.