Syracuse Player Quotes
November 22, 2003
R.J. Anderson
On Close Game:
"We were coming back and just driving to score. When Walter had the long touchdown catch, I thought 'We're back in this thing.' We just came up short. They made a bunch of big plays. They're a hot team."
On the Back and Forth Momentum:
"That's football. It's how it happens. If there's a bad play, you just have to bounce back. In the first half we were killing them. We were guarding and playing our behinds off."
On the Team's Confidence:
"This is by no means 2002 when the confidence was really low. Last week was a must-win game. This week was a must-win game. Next week is must-win again. We'll battle back."
On Looking Ahead:
"Syracuse has historically been a 'backs against the wall' type team. I think we do better that way. We'll respond to the challenge and beat a tough team and move on."
Kellen Pruitt
On Confidence After Back-to-Back Losses to Good Teams:
"We know that we can compete with the best teams in the league and the division. We need to focus on that and keep our confidence up for next week."
On the Crowd:
"The crowd was definitely great today. It helped us make a lot of big plays on third downs. It gave us a boost and a pick-me-up when we needed it."
Walter Reyes
On Performance:
"It's frustrating. You have to give credit to West Virginia. They played some really hard ball, so my team was playing with a lot of heart today."
On Bowl Eligibility:
"It would be nice, but you have to take one game at a time. We play Rutgers on the road, so we're going to try for a great week of practice and to go down there and win that game."
On Injury:
"I couldn't just sit on the sidelines and let my team down. I let the trainers do what they needed to do. I told them to just tape it up and I went back out there to help my team in the second half."
"Everything goes through your head. This is what I live and die for - football. To take that away from me would be devastating, but I was blessed and luckily it was just a bad bruise."
Marcus Clayton
On Performance:
"We could have won, just like the other games. We're going to do what we do and bounce back like we always do. We just have to win the next two. We're not going to reminisce about these losses."
On Difference between High School and College:
"In high school, you can be the fastest on your team, or the fastest in your city as a running back. If you catch the ball, you know you're gone. In college, you have people faster than you are or equal in speed. You have to depend on your blocks."
On Performance and Short Return:
"Every game I make at least one mistake, but I'm learning. I'm a true freshman. This is my first year doing it, so I'm just trying to learn from my mistakes."
