Sept. 2, 2006
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UCF
HEAD COACH George O'Leary
On the performance tonight:
"I told the team right away if they are going to play like that for the rest of the year, they are not going to win another game. The play was sloppy. We have got a lot of things to improve on. The defense gave up big plays."
On giving up possessions:
"I hate to hear that word thump, thump and then have to go out and punt. We are going to have to work on stuff."
On Steven Moffett and the rest of the offense:
"Overall, I think Steven [Moffett] had a good day except for a couple of missed receivers. I was concerned with the sloppy play by the offensive line and in the run game. But, I have to say you have got to enjoy the win and just play better. We cannot play that way and expect to win. Our linebackers and safeties blew coverage. There was too much of a lull in the third quarter. The skilled players are only as good as the people protecting them. Again, we will look at the tape and see what we have to correct."
On Mike Walker:
"It was good to see [Mike] Walker out there catching balls. He is a good competitor and a good receiver."
SENIOR RECEIVER Mike Walker
On the first game of the season:
"It felt great to be back out there. I just came out there and acted like I never had a knee injury. If you never think about it, you will be alright. I just came out there and showed everybody I still can play football."
On connecting with receiver Mike Walker:
"We had good timing out there. The timing was on, but it could have been better. For the first game, we did pretty good."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK Steven Moffett
On getting back into the season:
"It feels great to be back. Just like I was telling people earlier, we got tired of practicing against each other; we wanted to play against someone else. It was real good playing against someone else and being front of the fans. It was a good time out there."
VILLANOVA
HEAD COACH ANDY TALLEY
On playing a quality Division I opponent:
"We were a little shaky in the first half. Big crowd noise, I think we were not as poised as I would have hoped we were because we had some younger players out there. We asked for the effort in the second half. We just asked them to compete. I think the turnaround in the second half was something that we could build on, so we were really happy the way that the kids played in the second half. Our stats were good, we just had poor field position in the first half .We missed two field goals, a chance for six more points. All in all I think that it was a good effort that is one of the better teams. We will not play a better team in the Atlantic 10. Certainly UCF appears to be another bowl team to me. The level of competition was excellent, the crowd was definitely into the game, it was a tough venue to play. We are playing 38 players, they are probably playing 55 guys. We were worn down a little bit, but I thought that we competed great in the second half."
On Marvin Burroughs' return:
"Having him back is really what our program is all about, because it is more about quarterbacks making decisions in our offense. He played really great for his first time back against a skilled secondary. We need some of our younger receivers to be a little more consistent and understand some of the adjustments we are making in the flow of the game. "
On the experience of this game for his team:
"I think that this was a great barometer game for us, it gave us an opportunity to assess how we handle adversity. In our league, there are a lot of good teams and a lot of terrific quarterbacks, if we can pull it together against a team like this then. I know when we get back into our league we will have a chance to be really successful."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK MARVIN BURROUGHS
On taking his first hit:
"I had to knock the butterflies out waiting for that first hit, after then it was just about the game and I was happy to be out there."
On the first half versus the second:
"The offense and defense were faced with a lot of adversity in the first half. They came together in the second half and just play Villanova football.