George O'Leary
Opening Statement:
"I have to give a lot of credit to Rutgers. They played exceptionally well. Offensively we didn't get on track all day. You can't give a team 14 points and that's what we did in the first quarter. But, again, I have to give Rutgers credit. In the second half I didn't think our offense did anything at all to move the ball. I thought we hurt ourselves in a lot of situations."
On his team's performance:
"We played hard, but early on in the first half we gave up too many plays. You can't do this against a team like this, and that caliber of a team. We came out in the second half and fought hard but I think we waited a little too late."
On the big interception in the second quarter:
"Being a defensive player we have to go out there when they make stops when they intercept the ball and turn over, but we still have a whole football game to play so it's no excuse."
On what they need to bring to next year:
"We need more leadership. We need to be able to rattle the guys and not get down on ourselves when we make mistakes."
On if it was a successful season:
"I don't (think so). We needed to win this game for it to be a full season. We didn't get our conference championship goal so (winning a bowl game) was another goal for us to get and we didn't get that."
On Brett Hodges:
"Brett brought a lot to the team. From day one he came in and he gelled right in with everybody. He brought a lot of leadership, poise, everything you could ever want in a quarterback."
On the season:
"I'm proud of the season we had. The guys fought hard for the season. Today was still disappointing."
On differences between the teams:
"Rutgers made big plays when they had to. That's the bottom line. They made plays and we didn't. When they needed to make a play, they made a play. When we needed to, we didn't."
On if they were prepared for Rutgers:
"I feel like we understood how good they were. They just beat us in some spots."
On what he will miss about the team:
"Hanging with my teammates. I am going to miss my teammates a lot. We are like a big family. To be away from those guys is going to be hard. Hopefully I get to come back and see them a lot."