2021 First Responder Bowl Postgame Coaches Quotes
2021 First Responder Bowl Quotes
Air Force 31, Louisville 28
December 28, 2021
Head Coach Postgame Quotes
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun
Opening statement…
“Incredible bowl. The work that everyone put into this. The hospitality and practice environment. They flat know what they are doing. The way they treated AF is beyond exceptional.”
On what you saw on film in throwing…
“I figured we would do it more than we did in the last game. Sometimes you get into game and make adjustments. We did a solid job in protection. Brandon made some gigantic plays in creating separation and making plays.”
On the long drive at the end of the game…
“I don’t know if you can every truly forecast the way a game will unfold. So much in what we do is how we can adjust. Sometimes you have to change up formations, sometimes change your blocking and throwing game. We protected well and the delivery was really good. Sometimes you can complete a ball that is pretty good but sometimes when you complete a ball and do something with it that is really good.”
“Credit to them. They are a really good football team. They had a lot of really close games with some really good teams. They are a darn good team. Their quarterback is quite a player.
“You had a feeling. I am glad that it is a 60-minute game. He is so electric, and he has great instincts. He made some really key throws too
On another bowl win and 10-win season…
“You want to have a year where you have a winning season quite frankly. These guys just kept doing more and more. It was impressive to see these guys work this week. We went so hard the first two days where we took the pads off these guys. We ended up going to walkthroughs because they went so hard in their focus and intensity.
On the play of his quarterback…
“You think of the amount of carries that he has. You think of the carries he has over the last few seasons. He plays three different positions for us. You tell him so many times to just go through this. His play making ability, he is difficult to tackle. The way he came off the ball so fast. Those are plays you try to emphasize but he just has a great feel for playing football.”
“It is indicative of how much they value the collegiate experience and how much they love playing football. What was neat is that these guys will leave some influences that will carry over to our other guys. You think of the guys that have already graduated and everything they leave.
On the fourth down stop…
“They tried to go quick. We made a call where we tried to bring the edges and we had two plays in mind we wanted to stop. We have practiced that immensely.
On the early stop on the missed field goal…
“When we moved the ball offensively we tend to extend the drives. The missed field goal was key and obviously the fourth-down stop was key.”
On playing in a bowl game and the opt outs…
“You were going to have a hard time not letting these guys play this game. Their maturity to get vaccinated, everyone that was on our trip. Our guys wanted to play football all season long. The discipline to mask up and how important that was. These guys did it.”
On looking forward to next year…
“We are a grinder team. It is a hard place to be competitive and it is ok to recognize that. We had 29 seniors this year, and that is a lot. We will have to start over.”
On player opt outs in bowl season…
““I think the kid has to have the opportunity to make that choice. I don’t think we want to put additional rules in place. I look at it kind of like the military. If you care about people you provide structure and you give them a pathway that they can grow. We are on a good path, and that doesn’t mean that there aren’t adjustments that need to be made. These guys sacrifice a lot being in the sport”
Louisville coach Scott Satterfield
Opening statement…
“Congratulations to Air Force and coach Calhoun and his staff, they do an outstanding job. They have a bunch of great kids on that sideline. Just give them their props for coming out and playing a really good game. We knew the challenges that we were going to face when we came into this game. Their offense and occupying the football was one for sure. Trying to stop the run, and in doing that, when you do that, you are going to be one on one on the outside and they took advantage of that.
“We did not play good on the perimeter on the outside on those throws, but I want to give them credit. We were playing man-to-man, and our guys have got to win, and their guy won. I think that was a huge part of the game, the two big touchdown throws that they threw, and then the drive in the fourth quarter, the nine-and-a-half-minute drive they hit two big third downs to convert and keep that drive going. We held them to a field goal, but nine and half minutes were off the clock and that is how they win, they keep you off the field. I think offensively we played solid. The most disappointing thing to me was early in the game we got down there. We got a first down and were called for a holding and then we missed a field goal and it proved to be the difference in the game. Three points, they made theirs and we missed ours.”
On the fourth-down play that was stopped…
“That was an up-tempo, we ran it three times in the game and picked it up each time before. Matter of fact, we got a touchdown earlier on the same play. It was just getting up there and snapping the ball and trying to score. They pinched the edges and we didn’t give ourselves an opportunity. It was a good play by them. We got the play right back and threw the ball and got a touchdown. It wasn’t as bad as the play earlier where we didn’t come up with points. We we’re able to have an answer right back.”
On playing a team like Air Force…
“It is tough for us. The secondary were guys that haven’t played much at all. There was a true freshman out there. We were shorthanded in the back end out there and they were on an island. Again, credit to them and their quarterback. He made the throw and the receiver made the catch and they connected for touchdowns. We talk about not giving up the big plays but those plays are critical. The guys in the box were doing a good job stopping the run and doing their thing.”
On the passing game from Air Force in the first half…
“Any time you play a team like this they are going to take a shot. They connected, and they came back to it again. If you go back and look, it was long-yarded situations where they felt one-on-one they were going to take a shot and see what happens.
On Louisville’s passing game…
“Early on we had a couple of guys open and a couple balls tipped. We had a good read on plays early and the ball just sailed. It wasn’t in sync and we weren’t clicking early in the game. When we came back in the game and started settling in we were able to make some plays throwing the football and then we settled in in the throwing game. We had limited positions. Early in the game we probably tried to throw it too much early. Our offensive line was doing a great job creating holes for our backs.”
On the mistakes from the team…
“It comes down to one or two plays and you never know when those plays are going to happen. We are just good enough to be right there in those games and we have to get over the top. We have to make more plays. It is making a kick, knocking a ball down. When you have an opportunity to make a play you have to make a play. We are so close. I feel like this team can grow and develop and get over the hump.
On heading into the offseason…
“We just continue on everything that we do. Guys that were young this year that had to play, we had young secondary, young wide receivers, all of those guys get a little bit older and get more experience. That is how you do it. There is no secret to how you do it. You have to work. I told the guys in the locker room that we will lose some guys in the locker room. They aren’t going to be there anymore. The next wave is going to have to step up and grow up and become leaders and not just be freshmen or sophomores anymore. Come back in here and be a man, work your tail off, and let’s get this program back to where it is supposed to be and compete for ACC championships. That is the message for this offseason.”
On playing with shorthanded rosters…
“We have to do something. Saying it is the virus is not the whole story. We all know that is not the whole story, we have the early signing period, guys opting out for the NFL and just not wanting to play. We have guys transferring that our going to the portal before the game. There is a lot of factors. We have the four-game redshirt rule where they can’t play in the bowl game. We would love for those guys to play. Maybe we say those games don’t count to the redshirt rule. We have to look at everything when we look at the postseason when we think about the postseason. We are two years into this thing and we are getting games cancelled left and right. It is disappointing as a fan, for the schools, we have to do something about it.”