DJ Durkin, Maryland Head Coach
Opening statement:
“Obviously a great win for our team and our program. I’m so proud of our kids. That’s the one thing I can say is just how proud I am. Those guys responded. We had adversity and they responded. They rallied around Max (Bortenschlager) and thought Max played a great game… I thought the O-line and the guys around him did phenomenal… We did it. We made the plays. I’m very proud of our group.”
On Max Bortenschlager’s game:
“Max has a quiet confidence about him. … He doesn’t say much, but he’s very confident about what he does. He made some great throws on third down, some great conversions. I thought our offensive line did a tremendous job protecting him. We had zero sacks in the game. It was a big thing on the line of scrimmage going into the game. We were able to rush for over 270 yards and no sacks. That’s an offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage. On the flip side, our defense held them to 80 yards rushing. I think that’s the story of the game. Both teams going into it we knew both want to run the ball. It was going to be a test of will, who is going to be able to run the ball and who’s going to get stopped, so that’s where it was won, I believe.”
On Max Bortenschlager’s confidence from week to week:
“It’s the same. That’s Max every day. The difference was he had a team around him with a resolve, a determination about them. Just a group of guys that decided to come together and do something special.”
On clock management and the play at the end of the half:
"Our offense did a great job executing. We were in that gray area of, ‘Do we come out and go two-minute, or just try to run the half out?’... They used a timeout so you know we said, ‘Let’s go hit it’. There was six seconds on the clock and that was a huge play by our guys. We can drop back and throw a Hail Mary to the end zone, or try and get a quick one. Ty Johnson did a great job of getting down. If he tries to make one or two more moves, he probably gains eight, nine more yards, gets tackled, and the half’s over. It’s something we work on and talk about and to actually go execute in a game is huge. He went out there and he was open, he slid, we called timeout and then we get the field goal.”
On preparing for Minnesota’s defense against the run:
“We saw they’re good. They play hard, they’re stout in the middle. They’re very sound in what they do. We also felt that there were things we can take advantage of, and our guys were good, too. We tested and really challenged our offensive line, so yeah, they are good and they’re one of the best defenses in the country, statistically, so if we can’t run the ball in this game, it’s not gonna go well. I thought those guys, you know, they stepped up to the challenge, which is what you want to see.”
On preparing despite talk about QB injuries:
“I think the proper way to live life is with an edge every day when you wake up, so that’s what we’re trying to pass on to our team. I definitely think those guys had something about them today, it’s got to continue. It’s got to be every day, every day we prepare during the week for practice. We’ve got a long schedule ahead of us. We have to keep understanding what helps us be successful.”
On the fake field goal setting the tone early:
“I didn’t do it for a statement or something, but our guys understand we’re going to play aggressive, we’re gonna swing… I think their guy made a heck of a play, beat a block and made a play, but the look was there. I think we score nine out of ten times on it, but either way we’re going to call it. We want our guys to know if we practice something and we want to do it, we’re certainly going to call it.”
Opening statement:
“Obviously a great win for our team and our program. I’m so proud of our kids. That’s the one thing I can say is just how proud I am. Those guys responded. We had adversity and they responded. They rallied around Max (Bortenschlager) and thought Max played a great game… I thought the O-line and the guys around him did phenomenal… We did it. We made the plays. I’m very proud of our group.”
On Max Bortenschlager’s game:
“Max has a quiet confidence about him. … He doesn’t say much, but he’s very confident about what he does. He made some great throws on third down, some great conversions. I thought our offensive line did a tremendous job protecting him. We had zero sacks in the game. It was a big thing on the line of scrimmage going into the game. We were able to rush for over 270 yards and no sacks. That’s an offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage. On the flip side, our defense held them to 80 yards rushing. I think that’s the story of the game. Both teams going into it we knew both want to run the ball. It was going to be a test of will, who is going to be able to run the ball and who’s going to get stopped, so that’s where it was won, I believe.”
On Max Bortenschlager’s confidence from week to week:
“It’s the same. That’s Max every day. The difference was he had a team around him with a resolve, a determination about them. Just a group of guys that decided to come together and do something special.”
On clock management and the play at the end of the half:
"Our offense did a great job executing. We were in that gray area of, ‘Do we come out and go two-minute, or just try to run the half out?’... They used a timeout so you know we said, ‘Let’s go hit it’. There was six seconds on the clock and that was a huge play by our guys. We can drop back and throw a Hail Mary to the end zone, or try and get a quick one. Ty Johnson did a great job of getting down. If he tries to make one or two more moves, he probably gains eight, nine more yards, gets tackled, and the half’s over. It’s something we work on and talk about and to actually go execute in a game is huge. He went out there and he was open, he slid, we called timeout and then we get the field goal.”
On preparing for Minnesota’s defense against the run:
“We saw they’re good. They play hard, they’re stout in the middle. They’re very sound in what they do. We also felt that there were things we can take advantage of, and our guys were good, too. We tested and really challenged our offensive line, so yeah, they are good and they’re one of the best defenses in the country, statistically, so if we can’t run the ball in this game, it’s not gonna go well. I thought those guys, you know, they stepped up to the challenge, which is what you want to see.”
On preparing despite talk about QB injuries:
“I think the proper way to live life is with an edge every day when you wake up, so that’s what we’re trying to pass on to our team. I definitely think those guys had something about them today, it’s got to continue. It’s got to be every day, every day we prepare during the week for practice. We’ve got a long schedule ahead of us. We have to keep understanding what helps us be successful.”
On the fake field goal setting the tone early:
“I didn’t do it for a statement or something, but our guys understand we’re going to play aggressive, we’re gonna swing… I think their guy made a heck of a play, beat a block and made a play, but the look was there. I think we score nine out of ten times on it, but either way we’re going to call it. We want our guys to know if we practice something and we want to do it, we’re certainly going to call it.”
