Wake Forest Athletics
Quotes
10/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 27, 2007
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North Carolina Head Coach Butch Davis
"I take a lot of responsibility every time we play. We got off to a horrible start and we just didn't play well."
"We cannot continue to have turnovers. We had the two interceptions and the punt that hit the player's foot and we just can't keep having turnovers."
"I give a lot of credit to Wake Forest - they are a great football team. They [Wake Forest] aren't going to give you anything - you have to earn it."
North Carolina Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks
"They did a good job. Wake came out ready to play, ready to compete."
"They came out with a high intensity and we just didn't do that"
"It's not the way we wanted to play off a bye week. The scoreboard doesn't reflect our team."
North Carolina Quarterback T.J. Yates
"After the first play for us [the interception] it just kind of went down hill from there. It's hard to get back on track after you throw an interception like that."
"We just have to forget about this game and move on and play like we know we're capable of."
Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
On linebacker Aaron Curry's game against an in-state rival...
"Well I sensed coming into this game that Aaron [Curry] was going to play with a lot of intensity. He was excited to have a chance to play North Carolina; being an in-state kid it was really important to him. Our biggest fear was that he might get a little too excited and maybe not be taking care of business as far as his assignments were concerned. But that wasn't the case - he played really good football today."
On Kevin Marion's second long kick-off return...
"When it went to 23-10 what I expected was to get back into a barnburner that's going to go to the wire. That return and of course Josh [Adams] getting it into the end zone helped us to breathe a little easier. The downside was that we had to go right back on the field defensively but there's no question about it: it was getting ready to be a dogfight and that return was huge."
"Big kick returns are probably the biggest momentum swings in football. Right after you score a touchdown you feel pretty good about yourself but a big kick return takes away from that a little bit. It's not only something that your team gets pumped up about but it also takes the wind out of the sails of the other team."
"We talk to our players about doing their job and they're going to have opportunities. If they get themselves in position, they're going to have opportunities to make big plays like Aaron [Curry] did today. I think sometimes you gamble too much and that's when you get in trouble, but we have guys that have been around long enough to know. Guys like Alphonso [Smith] have learned the hard way. This year, however, we've had an extraordinary number of opportunities to make big plays like that happen."
"You look for big plays in all areas: special teams, offense, and defense and what the big plays in the kicking game and on defense did today enabled us to be conservative offensively and just take care of the football and let the clock spin."
Wake Forest Quarterback Riley Skinner
On the quality of special teams and defense...
"Sam [Swank], Kevin [Marion], Kenny [Moore], Aaron [Curry], our entire defense had a great day. When you're getting the ball on the ten yard line to start a drive, it makes things really easy. The less we're on the field but still putting points on the board, the better. It was pretty exciting to see [our fans] riled up after the game.
On the difficulty of the game...
"No game is easy but this game was easier than others. It is easy when all you have to do is hand the ball off from the ten yard line to get in. Being at home helps. It's nice being at home and playing in front of a crowd like that."
On six wins in a row...
"There's definitely some momentum now. We're improving on what we did wrong in the first two games. We're playing more as a team, more fundamentally sound, and we're not turning the ball over. This is our second turnover free game in a row."
Wake Forest Cornerback Alphonso Smith
On the ability of special teams and defense to score...
"When we get a turnover, we want to score. We want to stay on the field. When we make a turnover, that's what we're trying to do.
On the quality of the win...
"It was really fun, especially for the young guys that are from this state. This North Carolina team is a pretty good team.
