Coach Pasqualoni's Quotes Prior to Miami Game
On what specifically makes Miami such a good football team:
"They have great players. The coaching staff does a great job with kids who are very talented. They are a very gifted team."
On whether he is disappointed that the series between Syracuse and Miami has not developed into a better rivalry:
"You are always disappointed in a loss. I just wish we had played better against them. That's all. You just wish, over the years, that you had played consistently a little bit better. They have had, obviously, some of the best teams in the history of I-A football. We've played them in a stretch where they've been awfully good. It's a turnover here, a missed block there. It's always a culmination of a little bit of a lack of execution and turnovers. Before you know it, against a team like that and like the teams they have had and the talent they have, it gets out of whack."
On whether Miami is as beatable as ever:
"I'm sure they are really going to focus on what they have to get done this week. I'm not so sure they are as beatable as ever. I'm sure they paying strict attention to all the details this week. It certainly doesn't make it easier."
On whether two back-to-back losses for a team that has had so much success can send it into a tailspin:
"Kids in football, like the kids here, are very competitive. Football attracts very competitive people. Like our kids would respond with great attitude and effort, you have to say that Miami will respond with great attitude and effort. They will come out. They can still accomplish what I'm sure they want to accomplished this year which is win The BIG EAST Conference Championship. They are still in the hunt for that. We are sure they will come out and play their best game."
On Miami's decision to change starting quarterbacks and comments on Derrick Crudup:
"We know Derrick. Derrick's father played at Oklahoma so Derrick's had football in his blood for a long time. He's an outstanding quarterback. He is a big guy. He's an excellent drop-back passer. He has a quick release. He can beat you with his feet as well as his arm. He's very strong. He can run. Now you have to get ready for two quarterbacks and the style of two quarterbacks. Brock Berlin has a great arm. He's an excellent drop-back passer. Derrick is probably a little bit more mobile, probably a little faster and probably more dangerous with the run."
On whether he saw anything in game films to make him feel that Miami needed to make a change at quarterback:
"They had some chances to win that game against Tennessee. That didn't happen. Obviously, Coach Coker feels that it is time to make a change. I'm sure that part of that decision is based on the fact that Derrick has probably worked really hard. He has probably played really well. He has probably performed great in practice. They feel he deserves a chance to be the starting quarterback. I don't think it is that Brock Berlin is not good. Brock Berlin makes great throws. He's won some big games for them this year against top five opponents. We anticipate getting ready for both of them. I don't know if it will change the way they call plays. I wouldn't imagine it changes their system. You just try to get ready the best you can."
On whether his team can gain confidence with Miami's two losses and how important is that confidence:
"I think it is important to be confident. I think our kids, in each and every year that we have gotten ready for these people, have been optimistic that we can go and play with them. If you play well, don't turn the ball over, play your best and you play a good game, I think you always have a chance. Whether it is this Miami team or any other Miami team, if you go in there and make mistakes and you don't execute, you are not going to have a chance to win. I think what is going to be required to win and what it is going to take to win this year, in my mind, is no different than any other year."
On what it will take to beat Miami:
"You have to go in there and you have to execute. You have to play well. You can't give up big plays on defense. You have to play field position. On Saturday (against Temple), we were fortunate in the fact that, defensively we come up with the ball a couple of times and put it on the short field for the offense. The offense was able to turn two turnovers into two scores early in the game. When those things are happening and you are playing well on special teams, you have a chance to beat anybody. That is what it is going to take."
On any lessons the team learned in its last two road games at Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh:
"I think the kids learn from past experiences. I hope we have taken what we could from those games and have moved on. Hopefully, we are ready to go out on the road and play a good game. We will have our opportunity this week to see against a quality opponent, in a hostile environment, if we can function any better than we did at Virginia Tech and better than we did at Pitt."
On whether this Miami team is suffering from some of its former players leaving school early to enter the NFL:
"I don't see that. They have as good a defense as they have ever had. I think offensively is that they have had some bad breaks. The ball bounces your way for so long, and against Tennessee on Saturday, it didn't bounce their way. I guess if you play the game long enough and you play enough games, it is going to happen to you sometimes. I think they have a real quality offensive line. If anybody has a better tight end than Kellen Winslow, I don't know where that guy is. Their backs are terrific. I really like their fullbacks. The tailbacks are very gifted. The wide receivers - Kevin Beard has been around for a while. He's a big guy. The younger kids are a little less experienced but very talented. Ryan Moore is a big kid. The young (Sinorice) Moss kid is an explosive player. The kid (Roscoe) Parrish is a dynamic player. They have talent."
On Miami running back Jarrett Payton:
"I think he is an awfully good player. He's big. He's 6-2, weighs 210 or 220. (Jason) Geathers is an exceptional player. He's older. He's been in big games. The fullbacks are talented."
On whether he's glad to see Miami off of Syracuse's schedule next year:
"I wouldn't say glad. You always look forward to playing top-level opponents. If we don't have Miami, then we'll have somebody else. Next year it will be Florida State. As we go it will be Ohio State and Penn State. If it is not Miami, I think it will be somebody else. You always enjoy competing against high-level competition. I think we will continue to do that."
On status of Damien Rhodes and Jameel Dumas for this week's game:
"We are going to go out there today and see what it looks like. I don't know yet. I will know a little bit more on Wednesday."
On Joe Kowalewski's touchdown against Temple:
"It was great for Joe. We had one other big throw to Joe earlier in the year and we just missed. It was a little too long. He needs that kind of play for his confidence. When he played in high school he was a fullback and a linebacker. We brought him in and made him a linebacker. We weren't really sure what to do. Then he started eating at the training table and all of a sudden he got to be 250 or 260 pounds. We thought the tight end position would be a great spot for him. I think it is the perfect spot for him. It is a new position for him, although he has been there now for about a year. All he needs is confidence. Plays like that give you great confidence. He needs to develop some confidence in blocking. He needs to develop some confidence in running routes and catching the ball. When those things happen, I think you are going to see Joe develop into being a pretty good all-around tight end."
On the number of penalties against Miami in the Tennessee game:
"The Miami game with Tennessee was a very, very intense football game. There was emotion in that game. There were probably some penalties on both sides in that regard and there were probably a few more penalties that should have been called that weren't called in that regard on both sides. It was a very physical, very intense football game."
On whether Johnnie Morant will be a bigger part of the offense this week and what are the ways he makes this team better:
"We like to use Johnnie all we can. The thing that Johnnie does that would make anybody's football team good is he runs by people. He is fast and he is tall. Those are the things that make you want to get him the ball. I thought he had a couple of big-league catches on Saturday. I thought, from an assignment standpoint and a blocking standpoint, from an all-around standpoint, he had a pretty good football game on Saturday. I hope he can build on that this week and get better. I think he's100 percent healthy now. Maybe he can help us on kickoff returns. Hopefully he can catch a ball or two that can help us in this game."
On how close the team is to playing a complete 60-minute football game, particularly on defense:
"I think it is real important. I think we are getting there. Every week, to the credit of the kids on both sides, we've been getting a little bit better. I thought we played pretty consistently on Saturday. Defensively, I thought we played better. We gave up a couple of plays on those two drives that were unfortunate. Little by little, we are getting better. I think it is really important this week. Miami has a great defense so it is going to be important not to give up big plays this weekend."
On Tim Washington's role and whether he will see more playing time:
"We don't have any specific number of plays or rotation or whatever. We are confident that Tim can go in and do a great job for us when called upon. He has to be ready to go in on the next play because he might have to go in on the next play and win the game for us. He has a big responsibility. He plays a big role on our team. We'll go as needed. When we feel we have to put him in to give Walter (Reyes) a break, we'll put him in. I think that is working out pretty well. I thought you saw a little bit more of what we've seen Tim Washington do over the last year on Saturday. Hopefully, you will get to see a little bit more of it."
On any specific weaknesses of Miami that Syracuse will try to exploit on Saturday:
"You just look to go in and play a good game. You just look to go in and play your game. Miami is your next opponent. You have to treat them that way. I think you have to think about your team and what you have to do. I don't think you can worry about Oh,, we're going to play the University of Miami. We've never done that, regardless of who we have played. We are more concerned with getting our team ready, getting the game plan together and just going down there and executing well - doing things like taking care of the ball, not turning the ball over, not giving up big plays on defense and playing well on special teams, covering kicks, punting the ball well, kicking off well. Those things are the things you worry about."
On whether the lessons learned from the Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh game are mental or are they changing the way the team approaches the game:
"I think the lessons are you have to execute. Against Virginia Tech on the first third-and-two of the game, we gave up a 75-yard touchdown. So I think what you learn is you have to be exact and detailed and right on top of what you have to do. I think the kids will be ready to play. I think they will play hard. As a coach, you just pray that you will play well, that you don't make mistakes, you don't make technique mistakes, you don't make assignment mistakes because those mistakes will beat you, especially against a good team like this."
On the correlation between R.J. Anderson's play and the play of the team:
"I see more of a correlation between the performance of the team and quarterback's play. I think that goes for any quarterback in any league on any team in America. When the team is playing well, I think the quarterback and the supporting cast are playing well, I think the quarterback has a chance to play a great game. When the quarterback has to engineer 80-yard drives every series for the whole game, it is going to be hard. Now you give the quarterback the ball on the +40 or +35, give it to him in the red zone a couple of times, protect him, take some pressure off of him and run the ball, I think the quarterback has a chance to have a great day. Robin (R.J.) had a very good day (against Temple). We were very good on third down. I don't know what we were on throwing, but it was very good. But the team, I thought, played well all-around. I thought defense supported well. They gave the offense the ball on a short field a couple of times which is fun. It really helps you. I hope it can happen this week."
Player Quotes
Johnnie Morant
Senior
Wide Receiver
On Miami:
"We're looking forward to the game on Saturday and playing Miami. It's going to be my second time going down there to the Orange Bowl. We want to come back with a victory. This week we are going to practice hard. We know what we have to do to go down there and play Miami."
On how Miami's recent losses affect his team's attitude:
"It shows us that they are beatable. They are down a little bit right now. We are going to go down there and try to take advantage of that."
On his performance against Pittsburgh versus his performance against Temple:
"It's just focus. The one I dropped (against Temple), I just try to forget about it because that is what happens sometimes. You are not going to have a perfect game. You are not going to catch everything. Some people do drop balls. I dropped one so I just forgot about it and just caught the next two balls."
On whether his first catch against Temple set the tempo for his performance that day:
"Oh yeah. The adreneline is pumping and you are just looking for the next ball to catch."
On how the team has handled losing to Miami so badly the last few years:
"It's ugly, losing by so much, not really scoring against them, not moving the ball. It's not pretty. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. We just have to go down there and play on Saturday. The key is moving the ball."
On the play of R.J. Anderson against Temple:
"It starts in practice, concentrating on third down. On Wednesdays, we work on third downs. It comes from practice."
On what has been the key characteristic in Miami's recent success:
"The team speed and the way they use it and play together. The name "Miami" just gives them the confidence that they are supposed to win."
On whether he feels any added pressure for the rest of the season now that he is 100 percent healthy:
"I don't feel any pressure. I'm just going to do the same things and try to help this team win."
On what he hopes to accomplish the rest of the year:
"I want to be able to do my job, just be able to catch ball like on third downs and help us move the ball down the field. Hopefully that will take some of the pressure off of Walter (Reyes)."
On how the team handles facing Miami after it has lost two in a row :
"Everyone plays hard. We just have to play hard too. We know they are going to play hard. We just have to play harder. They are definitely going to play harder because they lost those two games. We just know what we are getting into on Saturday."
Darryl Kennedy
Senior
Fullback
On how Miami's recent losses affect his team's attitude:
"I just want to go down there and play. They have lost these two games so they have been a little down. This is going to be one of the toughest games we have to play. We're looking forward to it. This is my first time going down there so I'm definitely looking forward to it."
On whether the team will do anything differently to get ready for Miami after their last two road losses:
"We just take everything day-by-day. We just go through the same routine, but we might practice harder. We just follow the same steps. We know this is a big game so we're going to go out there and practice a little bit harder each day."
On his role on special teams and taking over the role from (former SU standout and current New York Giants special teams player) David Tyree:
"I'm just out there to play. I saw David do it last year. This is my last year so I knew I could come in take that place that David did. I saw what David did and he did a good job."
