UCF Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement about the game…
“Excited about the win. The kids played extremely hard. I thought we did a great job defensively getting some stops and creating some turnovers. That was a big part of the game. Offensively, we took care of the ball, something we didn’t do well in the last game. We were really efficient on third downs.”
On this game helping the team going forward…
“It helps us because it's the third week. Early in the season and throughout the season but certainly early in the season, a new staff, everybody just getting on the same page. It's all for coaches to be on the same page. We're just better because the more time on task - when I say time on task I'm talking about the time we spend together doing what we do - the better you get. Tonight, getting a win was big. (We’ve) got a big one next week as well. But I liked what our defense is doing as far as how they're competing, how they're maturing. The belief in what we're doing - they've created three turnovers in every ball game – is that right? You know what I'm saying? That's a big part of the game and (we’re) really proud of what they're doing there.”
On the last drive before halftime…
“At times you've got to play a situational football. You’ve got an opportunity to milk the clock, put the game on ice. Your defense has been on the field there a little bit. I think it's important that our kids handle that. And they did. Whether we changed personnel, a little bit of motion. Our kids execute. KZ did a great job of managing the clock. Really proud of the way they handled that four-minute situation.”
On the packed stadium and fans…
“You know coming here. I thought I knew what this place could be. The expectations and the capability of what this place can be is greater than what I thought. The passionate fanbase - look at the packed house. The student body has been absolutely fantastic the first two weeks of the season. I mean, you walk in that stadium 60 minutes before kickoff, both sides of the end zone are packed out. People are passionate about it. We've got a great brand. What Danny White is doing with the facilities here, this is a unique opportunity in college football because of what the upward trend is. It's pretty fantastic place.”
On Adrian Killins Jr.…
“Really close to busting a couple of those wide open. I love AK, love speed. We got Greg on the edge a couple of times and some run game; AK was on sidelines during that. AK has been great. He's physical; he's going to throw his body in there; he's going to finish every run. As far as being an inside guy, we're close to just finishing a couple of those double teams where we're able to come off from the second level. Now you got a big gash and big play right down the middle football field.”
On the defense and FAU’s Devin Singletary…
“He is hard to bring down. I thought we did a really good job for most of the night. The defense was put in some tough situations because of our special team’s kickoff coverage unit. We're starting the ball in the plus 35 and maybe out from there. You give up one first down and all of a sudden, you're in four down territory. That changes the way you call it as a defense coordinator, the way you play defensively as well. So at the end of the day, really proud of what those guys play.”
On McKenzie Milton…
“Sometimes that happens. As a play caller, didn't want to put him in a position to take many hits in week two. Week one we use them, just didn't feel like we wanted to do that in week two. Week two, mobility and all those factors kind of culminate into how you prepare and play for a game plan. He's at his best when he has the ability to do that. It's got to be a part of this game for the most part.”
UCF Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Back Richie Grant
On interceptions…
“No, I'm never disappointed about interception. Of course I want them. But if the defense gets them, it is good for everybody.”
On FAU running back Devin Singletary…
“He’s a good back. If you miss him, he is going to make you pay obviously. A few times we did miss him; he got plus yards. You’ve just got to wrap him up and bring him down.”
On his big play…
“I knew it was a clean hit; I wasn't worried at all. I hit him in the chest. When the flag was thrown, it was just a chance for us to get our breath and get some water. I had to make that collision for my defense. They were driving the ball; he was wide open. I knew it was going to be a collision and I just wanted to be clean.”
On the halftime adjustments…
“We had a few things we had to adjust during halftime. I think we adjusted well; we’ve just got to wrap up with our tackling.”
UCF Senior Linebacker Pat Jasinki
On his interception…
“I kind of knew that play was coming. That wide-pop pass is pretty popular now in college football and it's all about your eyes. As a linebacker, if you have your eyes right, then it's not that hard of a play to make. I think the quarterback probably wouldn't have thrown it if not for the pressure from Titus. So that was huge. That was one of the plays of the game, really. One guy affected another guy. And a good play happened.”
On the defense getting turnovers…
“I thought it was great. Whenever you can make big plays, have turnovers, that's the key to success. Obviously, we have a lot to fix. But in that aspect, getting turnovers is what defense is all about.”
On the challenge of FAU…
“Well, that back was good. He ran hard. He definitely wasn't going down without wrapping his feet. We had struggled with that, especially that first couple drops. We were looking solid and then, when they got that momentum, it kind of swung their way. We just weren't really bringing our feet with our tackles. A lot of diving, a lot of reaching. I think that was the biggest issue.”
UCF Redshirt Sophomore Linebacker Eric Mitchell
On his interception….
“It felt good; felt like a dream. As I was running, to be honest, I just thanked God for it.”
On the linebackers….
“It's a good thing. We work on that a lot. It is good to see all the linebackers get an interception like that.”
On FAU running back Devin Singletary…
“He's a pretty good back. I just feel like tackling is tackling. No matter who he was, you just got to tackle. Wrap up his feet like coach is trying to tell us every day in practice."
On playing on ESPN and the crowd at the game...
“It was great. Happy that the fans came to see and support. I thank them.”
UCF Redshirt Senior Tight End Michael Colubiale
On Coach Heupel and McKenzie Milton…
“What a great game plan. Going into this game, McKenzie did a good job of spreading the wealth around. Our offensive line did a good job protecting out front.”
On being involved more...
“Well I'll do anything they ask me to do, whether it's blocking or run routes. Today, it happened to be throwing the ball a lot more to the tight ends so I had to make the play. If that was in blocking I'd be blocking.”
UCF Junior Quarterback McKenzie Milton
On his performance…
“Like I said earlier in the week, the best thing about football is getting to flip the page and play the next game. You know what we did, we took it one play at a time. When things got a little shaky, we didn't flinch. So I thought that was a big test of character for our team and it was a great win. Hats off to FAU; they played very hard, well coached team. A lot of talent out there on the field tonight, but our team battled and it’s a great team win.” On being a runner tonight… “Playing good teams, you're going to have to use a QB run game when you can. When the opportunity presented itself, we did that. Hats off to those wide receivers blocking on the outside. If they don't if they don't shore up those DBs, those lanes aren't there for me to try and crease. Those guys did awesome tonight."
On Michael Colubiale…
“Yeah, thank God for that sixth year, huh? I told him on the sideline, he's going to have a chance play in the NFL next year because he got that year. He's such a big weapon for us in the run game, the pass game. He's a wide receiver that's playing tight end now and he's a stud athlete. He's a great guy to have in the locker room. I love that guy to death.”
On scoring right before halftime…
“We practice those kinds of situations in practice so I think that's big. Just being prepared for those situations. The coaches did a good job of getting us in some good play calls there. We expected them to play two man and third and long in a two-minute situation, and that's what they did. We got some stuff over the middle. The o-line did a good job of protecting and, like you said, it was big for our momentum because we hadn’t scored since the first quarter. It was good to get that one in before halftime. In football the most important possessions, I think, are the last one going in halftime and the first one coming out of halftime. We got 14 points; that was huge for us.”
FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin
On UCF winning…
“First off, [UCF] is a really good team. You support the players, and always the quarterback. They’ve got a really good quarterback who makes a lot of really good decisions and makes a lot of algorithm plays. Hats off to them for playing really well. And we helped them. Three turnovers to none, you’re not going to beat a team like that, obviously. We had a little run there, after they had their run early, in the second quarter. We got in two series there, got a field goal, and they would go down and score in about 30 seconds.”
On being disappointed in the defensive play…
“Yeah, I am, especially the turnovers, number one. That’s supposed to be the strength of our team, and we’re pretty beat up. It’s no excuse, and (Jalen Young) tried to play out there and (Hunter Snyder) tried to play. We gotta get back and get to conference play. Our goal is always to win the conference. We tell our players that from day one. There’s always playoff talk and crap, you know…We got a long ways to go before that can ever be in question.”
On winning games…
“Well that just depends on how you look at it. I expect to win these games, and maybe that’s ridiculous to think in your second year of a program with a history like our program’s, but that’s how I think.”
On UCF’s defense against Singletary...
“Well, he rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns, but they didn’t do a good job with explosive runs, so credit to [UCF]. We didn’t loosen them up; they played the same collar almost the whole day. They kept going the whole time. We didn’t do a good enough job of loosening them up, of backing them up, of making them play different things.”