Postgame Quotes
Jacksonville State at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tenn. - Finley Stadium
Sept. 10, 2011
Chattanooga
Head Coach Russ Huesman
Opening Statement:
"We ran the ball well tonight and that is what we wanted to do out there. Our running backs ran hard, and we hung on to the football. It was a great team effort. I am proud of the guys. We are 1-1, but we have got to be 2-1, bottom line, that's what I told them in the locker room. That is all we're thinking about."
On his team's 212 yards rushing:
"We ran the ball well. We blocked. We had seams. Our offensive line did a great job. They protected B.J. [Coleman] for the most part. We have a young offensive line and those guys are stepping up. I am proud of them. They played hard.
On putting up 500 yards of total offense:
"That's a great number. If you get 500 yards you can pat yourself on the back. I have to give credit to coach [Marcus] Satterfield and the offensive coaches. They did an unbelievable job. He was confident coming into this one. He thought they could move the ball on them, and they did a great job."
On holding Jacksonville State to 24 yards in the second half:
"I was really nervous to be honest with you. We were not playing great defense and were not slowing them down a lot [in the first half]. We made the decision to pressure them in every personnel group. We decided that we were going to pressure them and move our guys. It paid off pretty well.
"We played really well. Our kids know this defense. We can rush the passer with a four-man rush. Our guys can run. I feel good about what we're doing defensively."
Senior Quarterback B.J. Coleman
On beating a top 10 team:
"It feels good. We had a feeling in our gut from last time and we really wanted these guys. This is just one game. We are going to enjoy this one tonight and go to work tomorrow. We've got to get ready and go to work."
Senior Wide Reciever Joel Bradford
On the offensive performance:
"Our focus offensively was to score as many points as we could because they got us last year in the fourth quarter. We knew we couldn't quit. Give credit to all of our players and all of our coaches for keeping us focused and our heads into the whole game."
Senior Safety Jordan Tippit
On what he thought of the home crowd:
"We really appreciate the fans coming out. The home side was packed. They had great energy and we feed off that. It was good to see them come out."
Jacksonville State
head coach Jack Crowe
On the Chattanooga offense:
"I think BJ Coleman is the single difference in the game. I think he was in control and in a rhythm all night long. I am very disappointed in our play and even in our plan. We were not able to break [B.J.] Coleman's rhythm. We really needed to stop the running game, but it was like we didn't even know it was coming until the end, so we could step up and stop it. Chattanooga is a really good football team with an outstanding quarterback. I don't think we represented ourselves well, both coaching and playing."
On Jacksonville State's defense:
"I do not know that I have an answer for the defense. I think our players are better than what we are playing. The only thing I can say and I do not even know if this is right, but there are a lot of new moving pieces. There is just an atmosphere of uncertainty. Chattanooga's offense was very consistent."
On this year's game compared to last season's 21-17 win over Chattanooga:
"I thought this game had the capacity to be like last year's game, but we did not hold up our end of it. I thought we showed up early, but we didn't maintain our momentum. I think there is a lot more maturity on the offense of Chattanooga than we have right now."
On the passing game of B.J. Coleman and Joel Bradford:
"I don't think we did anything to try to deter the Coleman-Bradford connection. They are two great players and I don't think we did everything we could have done to defend against them from a coach's standpoint. I am going to have to step back from this game. I thought we had one set of issues last week, but it seems to be a little something else. Two weeks, two different sets of issues. Hopefully, we can put the two together to tell us what we need to know and tell us where we're going."
Jacksonville State
Quarterback Coty Blanchard
On the game:
"The first half I thought we were very balanced. I thought we were throwing the ball well, but in the second half it was hard to get a steady drive going. That pick-six definitely hurt us, and the Colman pass to Bradford that we dropped in our hands and good plays like that hurt us. We have to keep our defense off the field. I felt like the Chattanooga offense was on the field during the whole second half. We have to play better next week."
On his play as the starting quarterback:
"I have to be a better leader in the second half and do whatever it takes to get a job done is what I have to do. Thank goodness this isn't a conference game. Chattanooga has a great football team and hopefully we'll see them in the playoffs."
On the teams play in the first half compared to the team's play in the second half:
"Everything was clicking for us in the first half. I think in the second half Chattanooga came out better disguised on offense, and their defense threw some different blitzes against us. We didn't have time to adjust, but we have to get better."
