Coach Pasqualoni Quotes Prior to West Virginia Game
"It was a typical week off. Hopefully we've healed up some bumps and bruises and we can regain our focus and get going again."
On West Virginia:
"West Virginia is playing excellent football, playing very hard. I think they're playing great football with the speed, the tempo and the no-huddle offense. On defense, they're just playing so hard and so confident. We've played against all of these kids on defense. They have a lot of good players on defense. We know how good they are."
On when West Virginia's new offense started to click:
"The way they played against Miami. In the first half, that's where it happened. I think you take the score of 45-3 and you throw it out the window. They started coming on strong at that point."
On West Virginia running back Avon Cobourne:
"He's a great back. He's as good a back as you're ever going to play against. He's very fast, he's very elusive, he's very powerful. He's a great player."
On preparing for West Virginia's two quarterbacks:
"I don't know if you can. You have to prepare for one offense. They run one offense and they can have either quarterback in the game. They're two very different quarterbacks. I don't know what you do differently.?
On how Syracuse's defensive backs will matchup against West Virginia wide receivers:
"That's something we'll try to work out as we go through the week. It's going to be a big challenge for the defensive backs. They spread you out and they run guys in and out. They change the formations. They snap the ball before you're ready. It will be a tremendous challenge for our defense. I just hope we can slow them down."
On kicker/punter Mike Shafer's confidence since he has focused on punting and kicking off:
"I think the fact that Mike's been able to just focus during the course of the week on punting, which is a big thing and kicking off, which around here is a big thing. It has given him a chance to be really comfortable as opposed to then he's got to jump into all the time and technical aspect of kicking field goals which is completely different than punting or kicking off. I just think it's helped Mike to settle down and it's allowed him to do well in the two areas that he's focusing on and I think it's helped his confidence."
On quarterback R.J. Anderson's performance against Virginia Tech:
"In our opinion, Robin (R.J.) had a pretty good game against Virginia Tech. I'm not so concerned with statistics. I'd rather win the game than have good statistics. I thought Robin did a good job in the Virginia Tech game of taking care of the ball, which is the number one statistic. Let's just hope we can do as well against West Virginia."
On possible letdown after upsetting Virginia Tech:
"I have a lot of concerns. I have a lot of concerns that we regain our focus and have a great week of practice. We have to have a great week of practice. We hope that everybody is done with the week off and ready to go back to work."
Player Quotes
Quentin Harris, Safety
On week off:
"The week off is done for the team. I think that it came at a great time. It came after a big win at Virginia Tech. There are a lot of guys banged up and bruised, including myself. I think it came at the right time for us to heal up and refocus and spend some extra time on the little things around here like fundamentals, tackling, basically going back to day one."
On West Virginia:
"I see that they had an excellent game against Rutgers. We have our hands full. Offensively, I know they have several weapons."
On reaction to West Virginia scoring 80 points against Rutgers:
"At first I saw it real quick on the ticker. I waited and saw it again and thought 'wow'. I haven't seen it on film. Regardless of who you play, if you score 80 points, that's impressive."
On Syracuse's return to the national rankings:
"The last time we were ranked was before we played at Blacksburg two years ago so it seems like we lost everything there and now we were able to take a little bit of that back. We're ranked again, it's ironic that we got it back against the team we lost it against."
On how playing Georgia Tech and Tennessee at the beginning of the season has helped the Orangemen:
"I think it showed us where were and what we needed to work on and it helped us throughout the season."
On Avon Cobourne:
"He adds another dimension that, once again, the safeties have to account for. Even though they run the spread offense and they like to throw it, they also have a running threat. It's not one of those deals where, going into the game, I know they're going to throw it or I know they're going to run it. I basically have to play it honest. He's elusive and a hard runner. He's also a nice guy. I met him at BIG EAST media day and we sat and chatted for a little bit.?
Joe Donnelly, Tide End
On West Virginia:
"West Virginia is team that can't be taken lightly. A lot of people are trying to look ahead to our games after West Virginia. The only game that matters is West Virginia right now because this is a one game season. If we don't beat West Virginia, the games that lie ahead really don't make much of a difference. West Virginia's on a roll right now."
On Syracuse's return to the national rankings:
"Being ranked is a small victory because it really doesn't mean much until the end of the season. It's nice to be appreciated by the coaches and the people who voted, but we'll see where we are three games from now and then we can celebrate how high we're ranked."
On improvement of sophomore quarterback R.J. Anderson:
"The difference between this year and last year is unbelievable. Last year he was kind of new to the offense and, at times, he showed great confidence and at times he was kind of unsure of things. This year when he comes into the huddle, he's at that same level as Troy (Nunes). When R.J. comes into the huddle, it's all business now. Whenever we need a play to be made, it seems that R.J. is making the play. He's a tough kid. He's done a great job of leading us thus far."
