Sept. 30, 2008
Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy
On team's offensive approach this season: "Some of it is exactly what we expected from our team and some things are very, very different. I think the biggest difference is we greatly pride ourselves on taking care of the football and we had seven turnovers two games into the season which is something very foreign to us. A year ago I think we might have had seven on the season. We survived our first game with four turnovers and probability shouldn't have and the three really cost us in the second game along with the missed extra point. Those are the things that are surprising...our lack of ability at least at this stage to take care of the football."
On throwing the ball more than running it: "We set up the run with the pass and that's the strength of our football team. We feel like we have a really outstanding quarterback and outstanding receivers. It's like anything else...we're going to do whatever it takes. Some years it's been running the football, some years it's been throwing it, some years it's been perfectly balanced. Whatever we can do to maximize our efficiency and get the ball in the end zone that's what we're going to do."
On which players have stood out through two games: "I think our defense. Andrew Berry really is an exceptional player on defense. Matt Curtis, a defensive tackle. Eric Schultz at linebacker. Our defense has done a very solid job so far. Offensively, I think our offensive line has played very well. They've done a good job pass protecting and I think (quarterback) Chris Pizzotti's been very consistent."
On whether it feels like he's been there 15 years: "Anytime someone mentions it's like it must be a mistake. It's mind-boggling. It seems like about six or seven. My philosophy in life is enjoy every day because it goes too doggone fast. I wasn't always like that. I used to put my nose to the grindstone and accomplish the next goal but boy you wake up and you're 52 instead of 32 and you have to figure out the heck did that happen?"
On his one year as an assistant coach at Lafayette: "One, it was magical. To have an opportunity to be a part of a turnaround like that is really magical. All the coaches on that staff, we still stay in very close touch. We're very, very close. I think the greatest thing was what a great place Easton is, what a special place Lafayette is and what a magical year it was. It was my first full-time job coming from being a GA at Brown, and to have that be my first full-time experience really just fueled the fire I have for the love of college football."
On fact Ivy League teams do not go to the playoffs and how it impacts the approach to the season: "I think if you asked anybody in our league in would be unanimous that we'd love to be there. I always say, though, there truly is a little bit of a different situation with Harvard. We've have the very good fortune in the last 10 or so years to be able to end a couple of perfect seasons against our archrival Yale in front of anywhere from 35 to 45,000 thousand people. You end a perfect season like that, I guarantee it doesn't get any better than that. When I was a coach at Maine we went to the I-AA playoffs and it was great but I'm not sure it was any better than playing in what we see at the Harvard-Yale game; it's like a bowl game. If you asked everybody else in the league they'd love to go (to the playoffs) but it's not as important an issue for Harvard and Yale."
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani
On comparing Ivy League teams Penn and Harvard: "They're both very physical and very strong on defense. Both have a very strong tradition of winning. Obviously Harvard, like Penn, we have not had much success against. It's well-documented. I think we've lost the last seven in a row so I'm sure I'll probably mention that a few times as a reminder. The feeling is if you can beat Harvard during the season you deserve a piece of the Ivy League title and that's pretty much the way things have gone the last three or four years. Coach Murphy does an outstanding job with his program. They're a national name, certainly. Their football team is very, very physical so this will be another very physical football game and we certainly know we have our work cut out for us."
On injuries from the Penn game: "It actually turned out not to be as bad as it looked. I went in Sunday morning fearing the worst and certainly there are some concerns but out of it all it looks like Andrew Poulson would be doubtful. Everyone else looks probable, depending on how (Neil) Goldsmith comes around from the concussion. No tears or breaks or anything of that nature. The knee situations are of the sprain-type nature and Tyrell Coon's was of the bruise-type nature. Really, I think we really dodged one there. The big one is (Mike) Wojcik. If you see the film of his knee, you'll come to see how appreciative we are of the Friends of Football coming through with those custom knee braces. There was a quite a discussion at the time about it but our Friends group was adamant that we put the very best on our players and the fact that they're custom-fitted really went a long way in saving that knee. It would have destroyed the knee but it's now just a sprain so we're very thankful we made that move."
On why there was an increase in the role of the tight end vs. Penn: "It's also a product of how well Michael Conte has been performing. You really can count on him. He's doing great job blocking, he runs routes, he catches the ball. Again, as people start to lock up on Shaun (Adair) which they decided to do, the tight end is ultimately the guy you can free up. You can put him in some spots where you know you can get the ball to him and there were definitely some things...the throw-back on the touchdown pass to him is definitely something we practiced since day one and it was the right situation and it worked out. Some times you look like a genius and other times you look like you have no clue what's going on. Mike has just been performing at a high level and we certainly need to continue to utilize his talents."
On Curley's vision at the line of scrimmage on Conte's TD: "It's going to one place. We're sprinting right and throwing back left. If he's (Mike) covered, Rob's got to run it. You sprint one way, get all that motion going that way. Donovan McNabb threw that thing at Syracuse a lot. It's a very difficult play to defend even when you're anticipating it coming because everyone goes full sprint one way and he slips across. It's a total misdirection pass play."
On a letdown from the first half to second half: "I don't believe so (that there was a letdown). People were more fired up at halftime than I thought they were before the game. I'm always curious to see what we're going to be like because I can never tell--these guys hide it pretty well. It's a credit to them coming back so hard and I knew it was going to happen. Some of it in the back of my mind I'm anxious to see how we're going to react in that situation. There's going to be a time when you're down 24-0 at halftime and you have to do it in the second half. We've done it and come back and been a second half team in the years I've been here and this is a situation where we look like we could have put it away; we should have had more points in the first half. I guess you can say we held on but we did a great job of knowing what we had to do with the game on the line and that's what it's all about. In the end, it's 24-17 with us winning. I wasn't concerned because I didn't think we played a poor second half. I thought they played better. We won the first half 24-0, they won the second half 17-0 but we won the game."
On Curley's fourth-quarter fumble: "It was a quarterback sneak all the way. First, they're lined up offsides, I saw it clearly on the film and it should have been a penalty. That knocks D.J. (Brown) back, Rob stepped back and didn't have the ball. Again, it's a different guy and those are things as a coach that shorten your life. But it's football, crazy things happen."
On Penn's problems with the 40 second clock: "They did have trouble. What happens is they're waiting for us to make defensive adjustments, see what personnel is on the field and we kind of do it, too. A real credit Coach Heffner and our offensive staff from day one of preseason camp. It had been something that was so bad for us in the spring game. I was doing the timing in the spring game and I bet we didn't get three plays off. I lost sleep all summer about this 40 second clock but we met, talked about it, and from day one and we had officials here for five practices and we utilized the clocks. We like to be breaking the huddle at about 17 or 18 seconds, get to the line and most times you see that. If you didn't take extra time and think about it and work on it, it certainly is a different deal. We've changed what we do. We're not sending every play in with all those words. Now it's just the play; it could be two words. We're signaling the formation and Rob knows what the formation is before the plays are even sent in. The whole function of signaling and doing all that is completely different. It's like anything -- you have to rep it and you have to practice it."
On the performance of the offensive line: "I thought we did a good job. We missed some things but those things are going to happen when you play against a real good football team. We were real concerned about their nose guy, No. 75. He destroyed Villanova and he only really beat us twice. I thought our line played as physical a football game, and Bob Heffner conferred, of any group that we've had. This line is still trying to find its personality being pieced together. Week in and week out its coming together and we were pleased with how physical our o-line played and I don't want to get too overconfident but we like it."
On the win over Penn and it being the pivotal game: "I don't know if I'd use the word 'pivotal' but definitely in my own mind, and I didn't tell the kids this, it was my personal measuring stick as to how far we've come and also where I also think we can go from here. Now, I won't address where I think we can go because I'm only interested in Harvard, but it definitely gave me a much better barometer. Not taking anything away from the first two opponents, but we knew this was a championship-caliber opponent and this week might even be better. As a coach, you want to watch this progression and get better week to week and we're making that progression. This team is really coming together, has dedicated itself and is on a mission. Now we just have to stay on track and keep battling because every game is going to go down to the fourth quarter, I'm telling you that right now because the competition is that good, I think."
Junior Defensive Back Eric McGovern
On his major (Economics & Business), classes: "Right now I'm taking a class called Econometrics which deals with regressions and trying to predict how the market will move in certain situations. It's pretty interesting and it ties in pretty well with the economy right now."
On the defense's performance in the first half vs. Penn and what was different: "We remembered from last year that after we got to the quarterback that when he would throw he would kind of shy away from hits so we knew we had to get after him. With the blitz packages we have now, Coach Loose says we're having the same game plan for each team and as long as we can play our style of defense we don't think anybody can hurt us too bad."
On his play against Penn: "Coach Loose, he calls plays where I can get down in the box and I'm all over the field. Plays that come down on run support, I like them."
On reaction after Penn's touchdown early in the second half: "I was angry because I missed a tackle so I was a little upset with myself. I gave up leverage on that play and I have to get better at those things. We knew they were going to come back and throw everything they had at us so we were ready to play a ballgame."
Junior Offensive Lineman Brian Wycinowski
On his major (Economics & Business), classes: "I'm also an Economics and Business major. Actually one of the courses I'm taking this semester is Public Speaking, which will help me today. It's a very interesting course. It gets you in front of the class and gets you talking to people and it's a great course for anyone."
On injury to the center and its impact on the game: "At first (D.J.) Brown was having some trouble remember which way each play went. He makes the call on which defense it is. There were a couple plays where it was a different fit and that took a little time and on the sidelines we talked about it because he didn't really get any reps at center because I don't think he practiced on Wednesday last week; I think he only practiced on Tuesday and at that time he wasn't really taking any reps at center. I think we'll be fine this week. D.J. has played center and played the entire end of the season last year so I think we'll be fine."
On the knee braces: "I was not braced at all in high school. I think that's because the speed of the game is so different at college. In high school there are not a lot of guys that can fall on you and hurt you. If you look at the play (where Wojcik was hurt), the guy was run right into his knee but the brace caught his knee. I've had a couple of plays like that at practice where the same type of thing happened and the braces are really protective. Friends of Football did a great job of supporting us for that and it's definitely something we need, especially those of us on the offensive line."
