Georgia vs. Louisville - Post Game Quotes
December 31, 2014 | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Georgia Bulldogs
Mark Richt Head Coach
Opening Statement
Very proud of our team. It was a year that I thought we had overcome a lot. I think this game was maybe very similar to the type of season we had as far as losing some key people and other guys having to step up and make plays and just continue our focus and continue to fight. Just really, really proud of everybody. Our players, especially our seniors. A lot of our seniors get a lot of attention because they played a lot, they made plays. They made tackles and catches and touchdowns and all those types of things and threw touchdown passes. There's a lot of our seniors that were scout teamers. They were seniors that were walk-ons. But, all those guys are very important to our program and I just want to wish them the best because they deserve it. They're Dawgs for life and we're going to be there for them to help them transition to life after football which is very important to me to let our guys know that and to follow through with that. I thought our coaching staff did a super job. Great game defensively tonight. Their offense has been averaging over 30-something points a game and we were able to hold them to 14. Even towards the very end when they were trying to get seven more on the board, they kept fighting until the very end and I'm proud of the job they did. Our offensive staff pulled together under some adversity. Anytime you lose a coach like Mike Bobo, you've got to rally. You've got to come together and do that. I know Will Friend is going on to Colorado State with Mike, but Will chose to stay for this bowl game and that was key to our success. It would have been very difficult to run this bowl game without Will there with those offensive linemen. I think they played their tails off for him and for Georgia. John Lilly obviously did a good job of honing the game plan down. Plan B made it a little bit simpler. Nick Chubb did a beautiful job, but he couldn't do it by himself. He showed everybody in the country again that he's a pretty talented young man. I'm real proud of Nick.
Louisville's defense came in ranked at third before the bowl game against the run, why did you guys have so much success running the ball?
Well, you block well and you run well. You have to have a good scheme. I think you have to be patient to. I don't know how many times early on we have a one-yard gain. It wasn't just like we were plowing through them. When you look at the end result, you see we ran the ball well against them, but it took some patience. Just having the score the way it was, and us trying to eat up as much clock as possible in the second half, we chose to run the ball for that reason.
A lot of it had to do with how well we played on defense. Some of it had to do with the fact that Hudson was out of the game and we didn't want to put too much on our younger quarterback.
Talk about your desire to coach in the SEC?
I coached for fifteen years at Florida State and then one year at East Carolina. Then taking the Georgia job was an exciting opportunity for me and my family. You know it's a rugged league. It's very tough league and when you win in this league, you know you've done something special. It's not just on the field. It's in recruiting, it's in facilities, it's in coaching staffs. The passion of our fans is by far the most exciting thing about our league.
When you think about next year and the optimism, a lot of it will start with Nick.
We certainly have some backs that are talented and that's a good place to start. We've got four out of five offensive linemen returning. We've got some good things offensively to build around no doubt.
Do you care to comment on Bryce Ramsey's performance tonight?
I think Bryce came in, and of course it was really, really cold. We decided to take a shot. If you score, it's a real smart play. If you throw an interception, it's not exactly what you're hoping for. He didn't have one shot to even warm-up. We were scrambling to get him in the game and probably shouldn't have put him in that position right at that moment. He did some good things. He made a couple of nice throws that were big on third down situations and he made some mistakes too. It was a big responsibility and overall, he secured the ball well.
What does this bowl win mean for you personally?
It's great to win, period. It's just not fun to lose. Losing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I told the team before the game that I was thankful we had another game to play. I'm glad that for our seniors, we had a chance to play another game and win against a really good team. The bowl was awesome. I really appreciate everything that the Belk Bowl did for our players and our staff.
#27 Nick Chubb - Running Back
Four months ago, could you have envisioned your freshman year going like this?
Coming in with all of these great running backs, like Coach said, we shared the load. All five of us get the ball so I take advantage of all opportunities. I had a great season, but it has to do with the whole team. The offensive linemen blocking up front, great linemen and great play calling.
When you hear the number 266 yards rushing in a game, what's your reaction?
I'm very excited, but it wouldn't be capable without the rest of the team blocking and pushing and everyone doing their job. I've done a lot in high school, but it's a whole different animal up here. I'm very happy.
You had 33 carries tonight. Have you been tired at all this season?
Yeah, I'm not going to let y'all know that though. I'm tired a lot during the game. That last touchdown I was very tired, but it was my time. I got in there and with the good blocking up front, I got in there. You know, if you score, you get off the field.
You know that there's only one running back that has run for more yards in a game - Hershel Walker. How do you feel about that?
It's a blessing being in the same sentence with him. He's a great running back. Like I said, it's the awesome line up front blocking for me and making everything possible. I'm just so thankful for everything and everyone around me and it's been a great season.
You made an 82-yard run off the goal line. Did you think you were going all the way?
It was a lead play and yeah, I thought I was going to play, but the player had a good angle on me and he didn't give up.
How has Todd Gurley helped you this year?
Todd's amazing. He's a very good leader. He keeps motivating me and he's been there for me. He's a great person on the field, as you know, and off the field, he's an even better person. I'm just blessed to have him in my life.
#61 David Andrews - Center
You had a situation where your running backs are just going nuts and getting big yardage. What were your words with the defensive line?
It was an edgy game and a physical game at that to. We knew it was going to be tough to get those yards at first. We were 3, 4 yards. Negative 1 yard one time but we knew if we kept pounding it we were going to bust some yards and we did.
What did you think of the David Andrews chant?
It was special and it was an emotional game. I appreciate it. I love all the fans. I love the University of Georgia. I love this team and I love this place. It's just a special place to be.
You were part of the "Dream Team" class. At the end of your career, tell me what you think about that?
We have some guys missing but we came in as a very tight group, recruiting and everything. To go out with those guys on top and get that last victory with them means a lot
#12 Brice Ramsey - QB
Your coaches and teammates were the only people who figured you would throw the first snap out there.
It was short notice you are right. I didn't warm up at all or anything. I played real cold, but there are no excuses.
On Nick Chubb
It's huge. You got a back like Nick Chubb, that kid turns a third down and runs 10. Half the time he's getting 10 yards on everyone. It's huge to have a playmaker like that in the back field. It takes a lot of the pressure off the quarter back.
How much was your adrenaline pumping just being in that game and in that setting?
Oh yeah! My adrenaline and nervousness started coming and it was there at first, the first drive. After the pick I was like "whoa I have to slow down and get it together. By the third down conversion on the crossing route I adjusted. It felt like a relief. I felt like I got this.
Third Down Conversions:
I have to watch this film. Obviously I have a lot to improve on.
#5 Damian Swann - CB
Is Chubb at the top of the list of reasons to be excited?
Absolutely! It's just like everyone being excited when we got Gurley. It's the same excitement. That kid is powerful. That kid has great balance. That kid is good at football. He's going to break a lot of records in his Georgia career.
Louisville Cardinals
Bobby Petrino - Head Coach
Opening Statement
"You have to give Georgia all the credit; they did a great job running the football. We couldn't get off the field on third down, I think that really hurt us throughout the night, they did a really good job of executing on third downs. Offensively we never really got any consistency and we weren't able to get into a rhythm. We had a couple nice drives where we got some points on the board. I thought when we got a stop there we had a chance to go down and get in a position to win the game and then we turned the ball right over. I think our young quarterback learned that when you call plays and the play is covered, you have to throw the ball away. You can't take negative plays and you can't throw interceptions. We've got to look at it as a great opportunity to learn for the guys that are coming back and work hard to get better and our quarterback will learn a lot from watching the film from this game."
Thoughts on the opposing running back
"He's just a really good running back. He's hard to tackle and he's got great vision. There were a number of times where we had guys there to make the play and he just made them miss or ran over them. It was a tremendous performance by him; they also have a great offensive front. They know what they are doing and they do a good job of sustaining their blocks."
Shifting in momentum after the key interception
"Yea I think that is where we ended up throwing the interception. We felt good, guys were excited about it, we felt like we had a good stop and we were right there to go down and score a touchdown. We tried to have the first play as an aggressive call, a play-action pass and they did a great job of covering it. That is where we have to learn to take care of the ball, throw the ball away and move on to the next play. That is the thing we need to learn with our quarterbacks, sometimes they are going to cover guys and we need to be able to take care of the ball and move on to the next play."
Thoughts on Georgia's success tonight
"I think two things, they did a nice job of protecting their quarterback and their receivers made catches. They made catches in traffic; they made catches and got open at times. They just did a really good job of executing on third downs and we weren't able to really put pressure on the quarterback that we normally get on third downs."
Did you feel your young quarterback was not ready for the situation?
"No I didn't get that feeling. I just felt like our inexperience showed up a little bit and they did a good job. They mixed things up on them, they changes coverage's and changed blitzes. In that third quarter when we took the ball and scored and drove the ball we thought we had him going, he was settled down and doing what we needed him to do. But then he we just made a bad decision after we got close."
Why did you make the decision to start Kyle over Eddie?
"I just felt like going through practice that he had the most reps, he did a good job in practice, I thought he played really good against Kentucky and I felt like he would give us the best chance to get started in the game. We said in the second quarter we were going to bring Reggie in and give him his opportunity and it just didn't work out the way you would like it to."
Despite tonight's loss, do you still view your return to Louisville a success?
"It has been a great season for us, I think our players did a great job of sticking together as a team and working hard. To go 9-3 in our first year in the ACC and be in the other three games where we had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter says a lot for the senior group and says a lot for our young guys that got in and contributed. I think it has been a really good year for us; we got a ways to go, I think tonight is a great measuring stick for us. I think our coaches are exciting about getting on the road and recruiting and getting in the winter program and getting our players better."
Did the penalties prevent your team from getting in a consistent rhythm and do you have any update on the injuries?
"No updates on the injured players right now. We had a couple guys who were down on the field for a while, but knock on wood I hope everyone is going to be ok coming out of that. I know a couple of them got to return to the game. We had some penalties, we had some things where we hurt ourselves and that is always hard to overcome and I think that obviously affected the game."
Do you think the switch to Reggie may mess with Kyle at all or alter his flow at all?
They both understood what the plan was going to be going in. They were both going to play in the game, it just didn't work out that way, it just didn't work out the way we had liked to seen it work out. We had liked to see Reggie get moving and carry the ball a few times and run with it but we weren't able to convert on third down and stay on the field."
How will you remember this senior class?
"A group that did a lot to help build this program. I think they did a lot to do with our movement into the ACC. A group of guys when we came in as a new staff, that they did a great job in the transition. They had a positive attitude and a great work ethic and a group that I thought really elevated the game of football at the University of Louisville."
Do you think the defense wore down a little bit in the second half?
"Yea I think some of that is on the offense. Offensively you've got to stay out on the field and move the ball and get first downs and let the defense stay on the sidelines and get rest. We weren't able to do that and obviously with a big, physical and experience offensive line and then a great running back, it is going to take its toll if you are on the field too much."
Thoughts on moving forward to next season
"I'm excited about it. We lost a lot of good football players, certainly our offensive front we've got to do some rebuilding there because we had so many seniors on the offensive front and at the wide receiver position. We've got to do a good job of refueling at those spots and we've got some guys who were redshirted this season who I'm excited to see in the winter program and spring ball and we've got a lot of really great guys coming back on defense. We are really looking forward to it and we know we've got a lot of work ahead of us and we've got to do a good job recruiting."
Deiontrez Mount - Defensive End
What happened when you all weren't lined up?
I think we maybe had two D-Lineman on the field, we actually were playing out there with nine. After substitution, we had about nine guys on the field.
What do you attribute that to? You practice so much, but did it happen during the year much at all?
We didn't expect those guys to play us up-tempo like they did. All year they showed they're a team that takes their time and they check with the coaches on the sideline. This game they didn't really do that that much.
Was there problems with communication?
It messes up the communication across the board. We've been fighting for something all week and we came into this and were not expecting the uphill both ways. It's definitely something we can get better on in the future.
What are your plans now, have you heard anything on the draft yet?
Yes, I start training January 2nd and got invited to the East and West so I think I'm going to do that.
How frustrating was it?
It is very frustrating because on defense we've been resilient this whole year. We didn't have that same answer tonight and we got outside of ourselves.
On the touchdown where you weren't all lined up. Was it sideline or communication?
It was sideline, it was a mess up on the substation and communication across the board. Everything that could have went wrong in one play, it went wrong in that play.
How physical was this game?
The game was very physical. Georgia does a great job of running the ball. They're a good team, like I said, we just didn't come with the same match.
Kyle Bolin - Quarterback
What things would you have like to done over?
I wish I didn't throw that second interception. There were a couple of balls that got away from me.
The team for next year and battle for quarterback
Hats off to our seniors. They did an unbelievable job here at Louisville. We're going to miss them. But I think we're going to come back strong. We have a great group of athletes and some guys coming in, some that are eligible so we're just going to take this loss and the bad taste in my mouth and come into the offseason ready to start off with Auburn.
How many quarterbacks are in the mix for next year?
It's going to be a great opportunity for us to compete and for us to get better. The great thing about it is we all get along. If someone has a better day than the other, we're not looking at each other and mad, we're happy for each other.
Does this make you guys closer knowing each could get a chance?
Yes, I look at it now and I never would have thought I would have played this year because of the situation at the beginning of the season. It just goes to show you that you have to pay attention in meeting rooms and you have to work hard in practice because you never know when.
Mentally, what do you take away from this game?
You have to compete and play all four quarters. You can't come out early and be successful but then let up on the gas, you have to keep pushing forward the whole entire game. I think that's what happened to us.
What will you remember about DeVante Parker?
Not only is he a great player but he is one of my great friends. I'm going to miss him, on and off the field. As a player, I don't think I've ever seen anyone compete like him. He's an unbelievable athlete. He did a lot for me when I was playing and did a lot for me when I wasn't playing. I wish him the best of luck and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him.
