Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference (Sept. 23, 2007)
Opening Statement:
"It's a little different Sunday than the past few. I do say this – it was a great win yesterday and there were a lot of good things that we saw on that film. I reiterate what I said yesterday that it really was great moments on offense, moments on defense and, obviously, on special teams. It took that kind of effort to pull it off. We really did a real fine job of getting ourselves to a point where the game was 38-28 and we had the ball, but we found ways to make it difficult on ourselves. What I thought was good was that we were able to hang tough and still find a way to win that football game, even though we looked like we were losing momentum by making some mistakes. I was pleased that we were still able to pull that off."
On the reaction from the people around him and the community since he returned from Louisville:
"It's been good. There have been phone calls, emails and text messages – there has been a lot of that. I went to Mass this morning early – and I've been there the past three weeks, too – and it was pretty neat.
"It's everything I expected it would be. I had a buddy who was out at (the PGA Championship event at) Turning Stone (golf course) and said he was on the 17th hole and all of sudden this roar goes up and the guy who was getting ready to putt had to pull away because of the crowd. And he's wondering what the heck the people are right here, right beside me, but they must have had a bunch of people watching the game. But that's kind of why I'm here (in Syracuse), it really is. I think that's exciting and it gives us something to build on."
On what the residual effects will be after a win over a nationally ranked team:
"I think we have a very hungry football team. We are. We are a hungry football team. That's why I know nothing has deviated much. All through this thing they've worked hard and have begun to put some of the pieces together. I think even leaving the meeting this afternoon our team sees we can still do a lot of other things better and we can clean this up and clean this up. We spent a lot of time talking about those things and trying to figure out how we can become better. It's still one play, one day and one game at a time. It really does come down to that."
On explaining the difference between this past game and the three previous ones:
"It finally came where we put pieces together. We came right out on offense and made a play. On defense we did some fine things, stopped them and then we return a kick off for a touchdown In the first half we scored 21 points. We almost had as many yards in the first half as we had in a ball game. We made them punts four times – they had only punted three times all year. We also held them on fourth down. We were putting the pieces together. I guarantee every one of you thought this kickoff team could go because on the first opening kickoff of the season (against Washington) everybody saw it. You saw some things from (quarterback) Andrew Robinson and the offense at times. In certain games there were some good things from the defense, but there were also things that weren't going right. We got a really good half put together (against Louisville) which gave us the momentum to finish the ball game the way that we did."
On how a game like the Louisville one helps (quarterback) Andrew Robinson's development:
"Andrew is what he is and I just think he'll keep on working. I know this about him, he's not going to lose sight of reality and he's going to be real and he's going to work real hard because it means a lot to him. He's going to get more comfortable with the guys he's working with. That's what he is. He's not going to deviate much. Can he improve more? Yes, he can. He's going to keep working."
On how big of a turning point the win is for the team:
"The thing is we are 1-0 in the BIG EAST. That's really what it is. We are 1-0 and tied for first place in the BIG EAST. To our football team, that's exciting."
On when he knew freshman Max Suter was the guy he wanted returning kicks:
"I saw a lot of Max in high school and he was a very exciting football player. When he came in for the summer, he was one of those guys the older players talked about – kind of a different guy. I'm not certain they totally wanted to admit he could run, but they were telling me he could run. Then in camp you could see this guy is a good athlete. He's wild; he has a wild hair about him. Given the opportunity in the opening kickoff in the Washington game, you got a feel for what he could do."
On if he was more aggressive in his play selection at Louisville:
"If I said no, then you would ask, 'What about the first play of the game?' Yes, it was good. We went up on them a couple of times and felt like we could. The thing that I liked was the protection was good. Their intent was to stop us in the running game on early downs. Then when all of a sudden when you can play action and throw deep, it makes you think twice about the way you are playing, I'd like to believe."
On playing to win by passing in the fourth quarter:
"There were discussions in that regard. That's exactly what it is. There was no time to sit back. You know what, to win in a real game you have to play for 60 minutes – I mean play the game and do the right things. If you can't execute them and can't do them, then that's a different thing. You can't be afraid to throw a football. And they all-out blitzed on that play we threw to (tight end) Jawad Nesheiwat. The quarterback has been through a whole lot of blitzing this season and he just stepped back, the tight end got opened, and he threw it to him – he really made it look simple. You have to have confidence that you can do those things and make them work."
On if he thought (quarterback) Andrew Robinson's maturation process would be where it is at after four career starts:
"Andrew went out and did his thing. Andrew didn't do everything perfect. He had a couple of balls there were he was inaccurate. He threw a ball behind (fullback) Tony Fiammetta one time and he laid that ball out there to (wide receiver) Rice Moss, where if he could get it in there a little bit better. He didn't put a guy in motion on a play and that doesn't happen very often with Andrew. You know what, he is human. I also want to say this – the offense line did a good job. The receivers – that catch (wide receiver) Mike Williams made on the slant route was a fine catch and (wide receiver) Da'Mon Merkerson – the way he ran the stem of that route to get open was excellent. Just like I say, Andrew's job is to make others look better, some of them made him look better – not that he wasn't doing the right things. When you have everybody working together, that's good stuff."
On how impressed he was with the Orange defense in the first half:
"It was the key to the game – I really think that. If you can hold them to seven points and make them punt and turn the ball over, too – I don't care about the yards – yards are yards, those are stats. The fact of the matter is they were getting stopped and we weren't giving up big plays. I really thought that was really important. Don't get me wrong, hitting the touchdown on the first play of the game is a big thing, but the defense did keep it under control so the offense could get things rolling pretty well."
On how important it was to have the big plays when they did:
"What I really liked was how our offense responded. There were a couple of series there when after turnovers we didn't necessarily make the most of those situations. But, when Louisville made it 21-14 and we came back and responded and the next time they scored and we came right back and respond – boy, that's good stuff. I give our coaches credit and I give our team credit for making the plays."
On what changed with his defense in the first half that didn't happen in the first three games:
"They did a good job of stopping the run. I think Louisville decided they were going to come out and try and run that football because they went into some personnel groupings that kind of surprised me a little bit. It looked like they thought they could maybe bloody our nose a little bit, but our guys handled them very well. Other than they hit a draw play one time where we were in a kind of bend, but don't break kind of a defense right there and they popped a draw for 12 or 14 yards in the first half. I think it was really a matter of not giving up a bunch of big plays."
On if it was the play of the linebackers:
"Again, same thing, it everyone. It was upfront when we had just a four man rush on and (defensive end) Jameel (McClain) gets a sack on a first down play – that's a big play. We had some good tackling by the linebackers there in the first half. We had some good coverage by linebackers and secondary. We had pressure on the quarterback, a pass blocked in the first half."
On (defensive end) Jared Kimmel's health:
"We'll know more tomorrow. He hurt his knee. They are going to take an MRI tomorrow to check it out. I just know this, for Jared Kimmel to be helped off the field worries me. Jared Kimmel is going to be a real fine football player here. Let me tell you something, he's rare. I think it's in the blood because he is different – his body is different. He made some plays. He caused a fumble, blocked a pass. He went by about eight of our defenders on a chase play. Here's this kid 6' 5'' 250-some pounds and he's flying by everybody to make a play. I feel for him and I feel for his family that he's banged up right now. I hope for the best. At the same time, I always worry when they want to wait a day later to do some work on him to check him out."
On any other injuries:
"We're sore. We have some guys who played 90-some plays in that game. That's scary when you think it was 90 degrees out there. I give (assistant athletics director for athletic performance) Will Hicks and (director of strength and conditioning) Hal Luther credit for those guys. Our team is in fine shape – they really are. We're strong and explosive. We can go. We can go for a long time. We have great stamina as a football team."
On if there was an inclination before the game that the upset was going to happen:
"The way the week went and what I liked, we came in here on Thursday night, like we do each week, after practice and we talked a little bit. I think everybody left this room pretty serious and I liked the way we left. I felt good about the way the preparation had come to that point. I knew they were going to South Campus not to fool around. Not that I think that they do other times. I go back to Coach Mac – he had a thing about his '87 team and we've talked about it here, it takes a real commitment and I've told you since last spring that what I like about this team is that they like each other. They seem to kind of take care of each other. I felt good on Thursday about it and Friday we came in and had a walk through and it was good. Friday night the hotel was good. I knew we were going to go out play. It was just a matter if we could put it all together."
On if he was surprised during the game with the way everything was coming together:
"I didn't have time to really be surprised. I just wanted to keep it going. The only thing I did notice though was mid-third quarter we weren't taking advantage of some situations and you have to make hay when the going is good. You let a team back in on some of those things and sometimes you pay for that. I was really more intent on keep things moving along; that's how you really are in a game. You really don't have time to evaluate everything as much as you are trying to keep it going."
On Miami (Ohio):
"I have great respect for their coach (Shane Montgomery). I haven't had chance to watch the film of the game from Colorado, but I do know he is a good football coach. Their quarterback (Dan Raudabaugh), who played against us last year, I have a lot of respect for him. It really isn't about Miami of Ohio, it's about Syracuse. Just like it wasn't about Louisville, it was about us. As long as we can maintain and keep worry about things we can control, then that's all you can do. That's really how I see it."
