CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After a 29-24 victory at Virginia on Saturday, Virginia Tech football interim head coach J.C. Price and select players met with the media for a press conference. Read what they had to say below.
HEAD COACH J.C. PRICE
Opening statement:
"What an incredible team win. Our offense carried us in the first half; defense stepped up in the second half. The kids just made plays, there was no special calls. Those kids, we just wanted it more than they did tonight, that's all."
On how the team reacted to turning the ball over with three minutes remaining:
"As prolific as their offense is, our mind went immediately to the clock. Obviously, you're thinking that your defense is going to get a stop, but we still had to make sure that if they did end up scoring that we had enough time so that we could come back down the field and score on our own to finish the game. Down the stretch those kids kept battling. We called the one time out to try to stop the clock and try to let the defense catch their breath because we wanted our best players out there, and those guys stepped up and made a play and got off the field on fourth down."
On a better defensive performance in the second half:
"The kids tightened their chin straps. There were no different calls, we didn't call anything different. The kids just played just a little bit harder. We talked about halftime there was no magical call that was going to win this game. There's going to be four quarters of grit which is what this program is about, and they did it."
Reflecting on being able to secure a win:
"It may sound cliché, but these kids deserve this. We said all along that you know life's not always fair, with the hand we're dealt with some tough losses and things that down the stretch. What happened to our team is unprecedented. The way those kids just keep coming together, they never splintered. That's what Virginia Tech is about, it's about being a family and that's what those kids did. They rallied around each other. They just refused to give up. We did have some heartbreaks early in the season, but I tell them all the time that you can control what you can control, that's your attitude and your effort. You can't control what's over. This was the only thing that was on our plate. I told them last week, for the first time in my life I believed in a moral victory. Then I told them this week that there was no moral victory. We're either going to win or you're going to lose. And the kids found a way to win."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN LUKE TENUTA
On the offensive line doing very well establishing the line of scrimmage:
"Obviously, that was our game plan, coming out fast and running the ball. That was our plan, just running the ball right down the middle. Then we went into stretch more in the second half. That was our game plan, though. Just go out there and run the ball and the big plays will come. That first touchdown pass to Tayvion [Robinson], when you establish the run, the deep ball will come, and that's what happened."
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN NORELL POLLARD
On what the message was when the defensive line wasn't getting much pressure on Virginia's quarterback Brennan Armstrong in the first half:
"Coach [Bill] Teerlinck just kept telling us to keep rushing, keep rushing. They weren't really running the ball, we knew that. So, we just had to find a way to sack the quarterback. If we couldn't complete the sack, we at least tried to get him out of his spot, move him a little bit, which we did a couple of times."
DEFENSIVE BACK TAE DALEY
On what was going through his mind when UVA got into the red zone late in the fourth quarter and what happened on his game-sealing pass deflection:
"I was thinking that we definitely needed a stop for sure. We were in two-man coverage, so I just had the zone and just made sure nobody crossed my face. Then I just made a play, man. That's all I can really say."
WIDE RECEIVER TAYVION ROBINSON
On his touchdown pass and how long that play has been in the playbook:
"I was under pressure and it was off my back foot. That's tough to do. It's been in the playbook for a while, we've just been waiting for the right time to call it and that was tonight."
QUARTERBACK BRAXTON BURMEISTER
On how he summed up Tayvion Robinson's night:
"Explosive plays. I mean, every time he touched the ball it was explosive. When you can get explosive plays, it builds a lot of momentum and opens a lot of things up. He did a great job tonight."