Head Coach Pasqualoni’s Press Conference – November 22, 2004
Head Coach Pasqualoni’s Press Conference – November 22, 2004
On if he has talked to Jake about this week’s game:
“I think that our focus and our attention is on this game. It is obviously a big game for Syracuse and for Boston College. That is where our focus has been.
“Boston College is playing really good football right now. They had a very impressive win against Temple. They were able to go down there and get something done that we couldn’t get done there. So, I admire the way they handled it. Their quarterback got hurt and a young player, Matt Ryan, came in and did very well. We have enough on our plate just trying to get ready for this game. I would not want to do anything to distract or take away from it. It is a big game for our seniors and for our team. It is an exciting BIG EAST game. There are a lot of side bars – it is the last BIG EAST game for Boston College. There is a lot here this week and we have to stay focused on the game.”
On having a bye week this late in the season:
“Considering that Walter Reyes is hurt, it is probably good. I was thinking about it and the last time we finished the season prior to Thanksgiving was the season of 1992. I don’t know whether it helps you or hurts you, but I do know that for players who are injured it does help them.”
On if there are similarities of the end of this season to the end of last season:
“The difference is we were playing at home last year. Last year, we had a very disappointing loss to Rutgers on the road and we came back and had a big game against Notre Dame. We had a disappointing loss at Temple and now we go to Boston College for a very important game.”
On the attitude of the team:
“When we have had a disappointing loss, in the years that I have been here, the kids have bounced back and have practiced with focus, enthusiasm and intensity. That is what we had last week. We have the right attitude and the right approach. I think the kids would like to go and play well to have a winning season.”
On Walter Reyes:
“Only he is going to know how he is and he won’t know until he gets in the inside drill today and somebody hits him. The category that Walter will be in today is ‘limited.’ Which means we limit the amount of contact and the drills that we put him in.”
On how tough it would be if Walter couldn’t play in his last college game:
“Obviously, it would be disappointing if he can’t play in this game. At the same time, it is part of the game. Walter will do everything he can do to be back and ready to go. I think you can imagine if you were a college senior and had a chance to play in your last regular season game, then you would want to do that. Especially since it is a big game like this and on national television.”
On Walter Reyes’ career at SU:
“Walter is a great kid and he has been fun to be around. He has always done what we have asked him to do. He has been a terrific representative of Syracuse football and this program. He genuinely has a good heart and is an unselfish guy. He really likes people and he has a great smile. In community service, during the five years he has been here, he has never said ‘no’ to one thing we have asked him to do. And we have asked him to do a lot of things. He is very talented and we all know that. He is a great inside runner and a great outside runner. He has really good vision. He has a good sense for allowing the blocks to form and he knows when to accelerate and when to slow down. It is pretty impressive to watch that. If it was me running the ball, I would be going 100 miles an hour, regardless of what was going on. He has the poise and confidence to just let things happen and accelerate when he needs to. I don’t know how many college backs you see actually do that stuff.”
On SU’s chances at a bowl bid if it beats BC:
“I am pretty confident, I think that there are going to be some slots available out there. You don’t know for sure, but I think there is a very good chance of that happening.”
On if the he and the staff have been distracted by all the ‘side bars’:
“It has not affected me at all and by the way the staff is working, I would say that it has not affected them. It is business as usual. We have a very professional group of people here. It has been good.”
On Boston College leaving and adding fuel to the fire:
“I haven’t looked at it that way. Personally, I have no problem with the people at Boston College. Who am I to say that, ‘I am mad at Tom O’Brien.’ I am not mad at Tom O’Brien, I think he is a good guy. I don’t see any other way than the Syracuse kids playing the Boston College kids.”
On the future of eastern football:
“Syracuse, Connecticut, Rutgers, Pitt and West Virginia are trying hard. I think there is a really good nucleus of teams and I think Connecticut will add to the BIG EAST and eastern football. I still miss the fact that we don’t play Penn State. I have to be honest, I really miss that. I wish we were still playing them and maybe (laughing) Joe Paterno wishes we were still playing them too. We will miss playing Boston College.”
On outside factors affect on a football game:
“Don’t get me wrong, we get fired up at practice. I think all the other hoopla stuff is just way over blown. When the ball is teed-up, you have to block and tackle and you have to know what your assignment is. You have to play with a great deal of confidence and emotion. If you spend all this time on this other stuff, I don’t know when you would get the preparation stuff done. There is so much to prepare for, they do so much on both sides of the ball.”
On if SU’s approach changes with the starting quarterback out:
“I watched young Matt Ryan play against Temple and the first thing I thought was that BC would cut back what they were doing and run the ball more. That is not what they did, they just ran their offense. The guy had a terrific game and he played unbelievable. They have a lot of confidence in him and he is very confident. I don’t think we can change anything. We have to go in there try to defend everything Boston College does.”
On how Pitt and Wake Forest were successful against Boston College:
“Boston College did not run the ball as effectively against Pitt. And for whatever reason they did not have the big plays against Wake Forest that they usually enjoyed. They had opportunities to win both games, but couldn’t do it. Boston College has three great running backs and offensive line has been solid. They play very consistent on defense and they play a lot of zone coverages. Sometimes they bend, but they rarely break. Their kickoff returns and punt returns are really exceptional. Their kickoff coverage is very good as well, so they are doing well on special teams.”
On BC’s defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka:
“He ranks up there with the real good pass rushers that you see. He is a very disciplined player and plays within the scheme of the defense. He is not just running up the field trying to sack the quarterback and appears to be a very unselfish guy. He does a good job of doing what they ask him to do.”
On how tough this season has been for him:
“It has been frustrating. That is part of coaching and I think that you have to be willing to take the good with the bad. I just keep teaching and coaching and I keep everything in perspective. The frustration of not playing well at Temple was tough, because I thought we got better every single week, up to the Temple game. That is what is important. We had 400 yards of total offense, we ran the ball well and we defended the ball well at times. We just gave up too many plays.”
On what he has to give thanks for:
“Well, I think we have a lot to give thanks for. You keep everything in perspective. We are going through a very difficult time right now as a country. There are a lot more serious things going on right now. When I was in college, you could be in college or you could be in Vietnam. Now, you can be at war or you can be in college or can be doing your job, whatever that may be. There is a lot to give thanks for and one of the things I give thanks for is the opportunity to be in college football.”
Comments On Athletics Director Jake Crouthamel:
“There has been no better boss that I could have. He is more supportive and more knowledgeable as an administrator. We meet on Fridays and those meetings are always interesting and I always get a lot more out of those meetings than Jake probably thinks I do. I get a whole heck of a lot out of the conversations that we have. It would be very fitting, with Jake having so many friends in New England, to go up there and play well. It would be most fitting to go up there and win a game.
“Jake is one of the icons in this business and when you lose a guy like Jake, college athletics is losing a lot. Eventually, you lose a guy like Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden and the athletics directors are losing Jake. That is like the coaching profession losing those other guys. Athletics in the east is losing a great deal, and I don’t know if everybody understands that or realizes that. Nobody has worked harder trying to keep eastern football together. He has done a fabulous job. To say that any university is going to replace the guy is wishful thinking. I think you are going to hire someone, but you are not going to replace the guy, there is no way that can happen.”
Senior center Matt Tarullo
Opening Statement on BC’s defense:
“Boston College’s defense did really well this week against Temple and they have done well the entire year. Their front four has done really well and they have really athletic linebackers and they always have a tendency to have really fast guys. I think we are excited as an offensive line and as a blocking unit to go against a very seasoned defense. I am excited because this is our last regular season game and it is a really tough Boston College team.”
On if there is any extra motivation for this game:
“The motivation we have is that we have to go out and play the best game of the year. The last couple games, we have said that but we have not necessarily done it. I think that to go out and play the best game of the year would be great for our coaches and for each other. We have been practicing hard enough and we have been very focused and we have put in a lot of extra time.”
On the game being the last in the BIG EAST for BC:
“It adds a little fuel to the fire, but the fact remains that we are focused internally and not externally. We are focused on ourselves and what we have to do.”
On if a win could save Coach Pasqualoni’s job:
“Obviously, the goal is always to win and to play our best. Coach P is a great coach and to think about the fact that something may change, it upsets me because he is a great coach. For a program to lose him, it would be a program losing one of the best coaches in the country, in my opinion. Coach P is almost like a figure head of a great era of sports in college football. I think he has a lot of coaching left in him.”
On if a win will get SU a bowl berth:
“I think that with a win we definitely have a good shot. We have to focus on Boston College and not on the next part of it.”
