Dec. 1, 2007
UCF Head Coach George O'Leary
On bid offer to go to AutoZone Liberty Bowl:
"Obviously, we have accepted the bowl bid and we are happy to go to Memphis with our football team and program. We are very happy to play in the bowl. Besides the players, Keith (Tribble) and I are looking forward to a great time."
Opening Statement:
"Great day for a football game and it's nice to have home field advantage in a great setting and great venue like we had today. I think it was a game where there were big plays involved in the first half and I think both teams settled in a little bit in the second half. Again, I think good players rise to the occasion and we got some takeaways. All we spoke about at halftime was responsibility and we knew what we had to get done. Good football game. I'm happy to win the Conference USA championship. That was our goal at the start of the season. Happy to be going to the Liberty Bowl. Great day for UCF. I am extremely happy for our seniors."
On playmakers:
"There were a lot of kids who made plays out there. Kevin (Smith) has been special from the first to the 12th and I hope everyone recognizes that. They saw a guy who goes out and plays like he's supposed to play: competitively. I am just very excited for my football team and what they have accomplished this year. I am looking forward to the bowl season."
On the venue:
"I think the stadium has been a great help to the campus itself and the fan base. I know the players thoroughly enjoy it. Unless you are down on the field, it's a very loud stadium. It has to affect the opponents coming in here from a crowd noise standpoint. Again, I said last year when the stadium was going up that it was the last piece to the puzzle. I think we have to continue to get better each year and I think the stadium is only going to help us do that."
On the defense against Tulsa QB Paul Smith: "Paul Smith is a really good quarterback. I look at the efficiency of quarterbacks and do they move the chains and do they make big plays when they have the opportunity. Any praise he's gotten, he deserves. We have harassed him back there. That gets to a quarterback after a while. I give credit to the defensive staff for putting pressure on the quarterback."
Quarterback Kyle Israel
On winning the conference championship:
"It's really hard to explain how I feel. I think the way we reacted after the game with our teammates and the coaching staff explained how we felt. It has been a long journey and we have had our ups and downs. We set a goal out at the beginning of the summer that we were one team, with one goal and one mission and that was to be the champions and that was the way we finished today. I am excited for the future of this program as I leave."
Running Back Kevin Smith
On winning the conference championship:
"It feels great. There's no better feeling than winning a championship with our teammates. We have been working hard for this since the summer. Everybody has been pushing each other. It seems like when things were getting bad, we didn't let anybody get down. It's a feeling you can't explain to share this with the guys up here and in the locker room. It will last a life time."
Punt Returner/Defensive Back Joe Burnett:
On 83-yard punt return:
"It's all about making a play. I wasn't going down easily. I know it's a big game. It's a championship game where you have to go all out, you have to leave everything on the field. I got down the field and got the job done."