Nov. 18, 2008

Black Out Set for Lehigh Game
More Coverage: Lafayette News Stand

Head Coach Frank Tavani
On Holy Cross loss: "It's a tough way to have to recover for our annual rivalry, but as in life, these things happen. We played hard, had the lead other than six seconds in the game but that kind of epitomizes what I try to preach to our football team all the time--that every play counts, every second counts, and at the end of the day you can only give your best effort which I thought we did. We didn't execute in some situations but I think that happened both ways and in the end they made the play they had to and we didn't. Certainly as tough a loss as possibly I've even been through here for probably any time during my career, but by the same token, the way I saw it the next day, the sun still rose and I was on the right side of the grass."

On turning attention to Lehigh: "Well, normally it takes care of itself. Everyone knows the magnitude of the game. Now it's really more nationally recognized. You see we're finally making the top-10 rivalry lists along with the major colleges and regardless of what they say or how they want to look at it, it is the most played rivalry, so for both schools it's a great day. For me, it's an honor and privilege for it to be my 23rd."

On whether it's possible to over-prepare for a game: "You certainly can do that. I think what you have to do is follow your plan that you've used all season. At this point in the season, Lehigh has all of our film, we have all of theirs. That's 10 games plus special teams. It's all broken down into offense, defense. If you didn't put all that information into the computer you'd probably have more data than you could actually analyze, let alone use. I chuckle to the staff. I remember the day it took three days with a pencil and pad to compile all this. It took you until Wednesday or Wednesday night to get to the information you really needed, and now that's all input ahead of time and usually the first thing Monday morning or Sunday night you already have these piles of computer. There is such a thing as the game of football, playing, making tackles, blocking. Again, we don't utilize all of it--as the paranoid coaches that we are, we certainly look at all the tape--but week-to-week it's different sometimes. Some teams' offenses are totally different and some teams' defenses play a totally different defense against an option team. That's not going to do you much good with preparation. You're looking for similarities to what you're running and what the defense is giving and vice versa on the other side of the ball. It's just like guarding against getting too hyped up at the beginning of the week. We've got to go through the week just like we've gone through every other week. The excitement and the pandemonium will all be there in the minutes before kickoff."

On facing Lehigh without QB Sedale Threatt: "You're looking at a different type of athlete. Sedale Threatt was kind of scary all the time because of the things he could do with the ball besides throw it. Regardless of how well some people thought he threw or didn't throw, he was just a threat all the time being such a great athlete and I think he showed that last year's game, playing hurt. I said in the postgame that day he was probably the best athlete on the field. In one sense that's gone, but in another set of circumstances now you've got a big kid who's come along nicely through the season and is really running their offense with some confidence, has a strong arm, can see over everything, which creates some other problems. They kind of remind me now of maybe prior to the Sedale Threat days--more of the screens, throwing the ball down the field, but yet have had a nice run game to go along with that."

On what he said to kicker Davis Rodriguez after Holy Cross game: "I told him, hey, you've got to get your head up. It was the first one he's missed and it happened. You look at the film and you can't even tell why. You'd like to say it was a bad snap, a bad hold, he didn't follow through, he opened his hips. It's so slight that you can't even really see and unfortunately those things happen. Again, it supports when you're telling the team that you can't take these things for granted. Everybody takes PATs as a fact but really when you look at it, you don't really line up and practice the PAT. You're always practicing field goals. We don't line up and practice and take the extra point. You might take a field goal from 10 yards further back, but you don't put the ball on that line and do that. You think it's just going to happen but it didn't happen. Again, there were a lot of plays in there, and the two things that will stick out are obviously that one and probably the last one, but there's a lot of other plays in there that could have made a huge difference in that game and those things happen. As I talked to Davis on Sunday and Monday it was more of, hey, remember last year again Penn and how that was a great feeling and how you were able to accept that? You have to handle that the same way when it doesn't go your way. Keep your head up, your chest out and say I'll be back and there will be more. To his credit, he just felt he had let the seniors down. He felt bad beyond my 24-hour rule. As far as we're concerned, that game is history and it was on to the Lehigh game. I will say in terms of both teams, I figured it out in looking at their film and ours, there's probably six plays between both of us that you could have had a completely set of different circumstances. We could have their record and they could have ours. We're very well aware of that. They know what it's like to suffer last-minute losses, last-second losses; we do, too. That's the great thing for the student-athletes at both schools--having this great opportunity regardless of what happened the rest of the year. To a lot of our alumni, let's be honest, it's all they care about."

On dealing with extra distractions: "I'm kind of hopefully a cagey vet now with it, but certainly there are just a lot of other things that take away from the coaching aspect. Fortunately the way we've structured our staff, I've got them doing what they need to do and I can handle all these other things. Every day there's something going on. There's something at lunch, at night, our senior dinner on Thursday night, a pep rally that normally doesn't happen. Taking the team off campus the night before a home game doesn't normally happen. Fortunately for me I've had experience and gone through it. Again, I take care of that and I'm also certainly focused on practice."

On Rob Curley: "He's better now than he was a week ago. It was hard for him to accept. I think he was still having some residual effects from the injury and being out. I see him, and I'll know more through practice, in a much more positive frame of mind. I'm going to give him the opportunity to demonstrate that in practice. It's really about performance in practice. We're not just watching practice; we're reviewing the tape of practice and zeroing in and I'll meet with Coach Heffner and Coach Fein as well as my own feeling of how we're proceeding."

On whether he thinks Lehigh RB Matt McGowan will play: "I would guess. He's a tough kid. Two frustrating seasons now and having the seasons shortened for him with injuries. I would suspect they held him (out). Again, the ankle was apparently pretty severe but everybody is different in the healing process, the rehab process. Just knowing Matt McGowan the little bit that I do, he's a tough kid. He's a competitor. I've got to believe he's going to strap that thing up and we're fully expecting to see him. He certainly is an asset to that offense."

Closing statements: "For the first time, believe it or not, that responsibility (choosing the jerseys/uniforms) will be taken away from the coach. I'm going to leave it up to our captains. They deserve to make that decision, what uniform they want to wear their last time out. I think they've earned that. I have my suspicions about which way that will go.

I want to thank the media for everything that you do for our student-athletes. It is all about the student-athletes. With the student-athletes, whether it's with our team or anybody else, they deserve the best because everything they put in to this both academically and the commitment to football is tremendous. I can't say enough about the Patriot League and the Ivy League about what I think is still good about college football in terms of there truly are student-athletes; we epitomize that. Too many times with all the money and the BCS and all the things that go with that, people just overlook the great football that's being played in the Patriot League and the Ivy League, as well. This football game that is again the most played rivalry in the country, two good schools in a backyard brawl going against each other with quality student-athletes where their priorities are straight and it's the benefit of all our futures."

Senior Linebacker Andy Romans
On his role for the game as captain: "It's kind of what Coach said. You approach it like a normal week. We can't get too hyped up at the beginning of the week. We've got to keep an even keel."

On preparing for Lehigh after tough loss vs. Holy Cross: "This week is still special, just being involved with the rivalry. It takes care of itself. Obviously we'll be on the guys and everything, but I think that just being involved in this game takes care of itself. I don't think we need to do anything special. I think this game is special enough as it is."

On out-shining Lehigh's linebackers and if that adds extra incentive: "I don't think so. We don't really compare ourselves to other linebackers too much. We're so focused. They have a very good offense. We're just focused on stopping their offense that that will get us ready to play extra hard."

On playing in New Jersey high school all-star game: "I was on the North team. It was me, Jerrell Robinson, Shaun (Adair), (Tim) Diamond and myself. On the South, there was Joe Moore and D.J. Brown. I think he (Tim Diamond) played safety that game."

On favorite Lafayette-Lehigh memory: "It's tough to say just one. I'd say just being involved in the whole thing in general. If you come to this school or you go to Lehigh, we're all very fortunate we get to be involved in such great games with such tradition. Being involved in general is just a great experience."

Senior Fullback Joe Russo
On his role for the game as captain: "In the end it's just another game. We need to keep our heads on an even level. We need to get back to the basics and just play football.

On preparing for Lehigh after tough loss vs. Holy Cross: "It (the loss) is hard to let go for the whole team and it was such a devastating loss and we try to abide by the 24-hour rule, but after that game, the seniors kind of felt there goes our playoff chance. Again, you've got to forget about it and concentrate on Lehigh."

On out-shining Lehigh's linebackers and if that adds extra incentive: "I can say I'd rather play against Tim Diamond than Andy Romans any day."

On favorite Lafayette-Lehigh memory: "It would have to be my freshman year, 2005. It came down to the last play and Coach Tavani talk about how we've been on both sides of the devastating loss and a nail-biting win and we were fortunate to be on the winning side of that one. It was an incredible feeling."