SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Press Conference Quotes
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Press Conference Quotes
Dec. 24, Cotton Bowl Stadium
Boston College coach Steve Addazio
Opening statement...
"We are very excited and appreciative to be here. Thanks to the First Responder Bowl and the City of Dallas. We are thrilled to pay in a prestigious game against a great opponent with their tradition and great record in the bowl season. We are appreciative for what is a great honor for us against a great opponent.
"Each year it is another game that it is an extension of the season. You want your players to enjoy and get a taste of the city they are in and appreciate the part of the country you are in. You realize it is a business trip and you have to manage a combination of the two. At the end of the day it is really tough to get a win. When you play a team like Boise, and the amount of respect we have for them, they have a lot of talent and a great history around them. It will be an unbelievable challenge for us. We have had great prep for the game and we are excited about it and are looking forward to it. We want to just have a great time at the bowl.
"Today is Christmas Eve and it is an exciting time to be together with our families and football families."
About the matchup with Boise State...
"We are playing an elite team. You have been coaching long enough and you watch the tape you know what you are going up against. They are 10-win team that is loaded with talent. In our minds we are playing an elite opponent that has dangerous weapons in the players that are well coached. Each time you go into a bowl game you never know who you are going to play and the draw we got was an elite team that plays extremely hard. What a challenge it is going to be here right now. I am not the kind of guy that would just say that and I am telling you with what I see. The film doesn’t lie and is always accurate. This may be one of the best bowl matchups that is going to be on TV."
About having Scott Loeffler back with the team for the game...
"We are all in this thing together. I am very heavily involved in the offense and I am thrilled to have him back. I am thrilled that he will be coaching at Bowling Green. We can be so well in sync. He has been gone, but was able to get back for the prep week and we were moving right ahead to install the game plan, which isn’t anything abnormal. We are very appreciative that he is here. We gave each other a big hug and said “lets go finish this thing”. To have a chance as a staff to do this together, we are really relishing that."
About concerns on Boise State…
"Talking about an offense with an elite QB and running back surrounded by really really good football players. They challenge you physically with a lot of schemes. Good players are good players and there are a lot of talented players on Boise as well. Special teams can be an indicators sometimes of a program, and I really see some special guys on that side of the ball as well.
"The quarterback has so much to do with the outcome of the game, and when you are playing against an elite quarterback and running back, that is a really good combination. Hopefully it’ll be a showcase for talented guys on both sides of the ball."
Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin
Opening Statement...
"Thank you all for being here on Christmas Eve. We are excited to be here with our players. We have done this before on Christmas. They are looking forward to getting out there and playing in the cotton bowl and what an awesome opportunity it is.
"The last time we played Boston College I was an assistant and they had a great player named Matt Ryan that we faced on the blue turn. Their style, which is tough in all three phases, that shows up from studying their film this entire time. What an awesome opportunity for us to play against a great opponent. We had a good season, played in a championship game and now we have to go and finish.
"When this game is over, everything changes. We are really appreciative for the opportunity but the goal is to go out there and finish the season."
On facing a Power 5 opponent in the bowl game...
"We draw the best opponent, Power 5 or not. The motivation goes back to January when you set out and go do this work to play in a championship game. You know if you do that you are going to play in a bowl game and the very best opponent that you can.
"As the games got set up, this was the best opponent that we could play. The type of season they have had, this is an opportunity to play against one of the very best. Everyone wants to do that, regardless of conference. It is going to be a tremendous opportunity for fans to come out and watch two really good football teams go at it and that is what we are most excited about in this bowl game."
Motivation for the players to end the season with a win…
"Every team that is going to play in a bowl game wants to have a win in their final game, that is nothing unique. But for these seniors, we are really proud of that group. The captains were a part of last year’s championship team, got into another this year, and we are going to get a chance to watch those guys play for four hours, what they don’t see is the work that they put in for the last four or five years, and for us to be where we are right now they are a big part of it. What I am excited about is seeing those guys compete out there one more time.
"We know what we have to do to win a game, and those guys understand that because they put the work in. They have looked good in practice and have looked focused, and that is all you can ask for those guys. When this game is over everyone scatters, this is the last opportunity we have together and we want to see them perform well. To play a team like BC, what an awesome opportunity and it has everyone’s attention to play our best football. I have been proud of these guys, all year and their whole careers."
About winning the bowl game to end the season…
'You feel differently. One of the keys, and you look at Mack Brown said, he said it is always better to end the year with a win and that isn’t a secret. It comes down to your preparation and how you focus on the things leading up to the game. There are a lot of things that these bowls do and allow you to do, if you work hard leading up to it, you can enjoy those events and at the end of the day it is still about playing a football game.
"These guys have been focused on getting done what needs to get done. When you are playing a team like BC, you have to make sure you are playing the game the way it needs to be played to win."
About CFP Expansion and the Group of 5's inclusion...
"Yeah, do it. That is something that a lot of people are talking about. The idea that is being passed around is a good one and most likely will eventually happen.
"I think about the players, and that needs to be in consideration. The time they have when it is over and when they go back. This isn’t something new. It is all about how you do it, and give the guys an opportunity to get a break.
"Other divisions do it, and it all works out. So there is a plan for it. The platform that they have with the four teams and attention if you are one of those four teams is really strong. But five and six are pretty good too. These teams that win 11 or 12 games sometimes get forgotten.
"I think at some point it will expand. If you are an undefeated team you should get your shot. If you won every single game, and you don’t get a shot, that is wrong. You should have a chance to finish your season undefeated."
On the challenge of facing the Boston College defense...
"Both guys are excellent. The entire defensive line. Everyone wants to talk about certain players on every team, but when you watch you see a lot of great players. The interior guys do their job, the safety’s, the corners. The edge guys are exceptional, and their abilities, they have been developed. When you see the things they do they understand the game, they play hard and are physical. They have done a really good job. They played against some really good competition all year. They have played teams that are really good. Iron sharpens iron. Those guys are very good, and our guys understand that. They know that we have to go out there. It will be a great challenge for us and that is one of the battles for us and is certainly one of the keys to the game. When you have good players utilized the right way, they are going to go perform."
Boise State
Brett Rypien (QB) – Thoughts on sharing the ball more not using having just one reciever…
“Its been different, but we have been able to do a really good job spreading the ball around using all our guys.”
Jabril Frazier (STUD) – Thoughts on facing a very good O-line from BC…
“Our plan coming into the game is to stop the run, we knew as soon as we got Boston College we were going to face a very good run offense, so we know its very important to get a good push with our front seven.”
Boston College
Jon Baker (OL) – Thoughts on being in Dallas for for the Bowl game…
“I’ve never been to Dallas, its warmer than what I’m used to, but I’m excited to be here and play a good football team.”