Opening statement:
“We are really disappointed in how it ended up. I felt early on, up 17-0, we were playing really good football, and then we had a couple of mistakes that really hurt us. On a kickoff we had poor placement, [Joe] Reed goes 57 yards then they score on a short [field]. We were still up 17-7 at the half, and we were feeling really good about it then the interception in the 3rd quarter. Stone was trying to throw it away but that ball has got to go in the ground. I felt like we gave them a couple of things there. A good football team, they took advantage of it. Overall, I loved the way we played. Right now we are playing excellent defense. This is the third game in a row that we played really good defense. You see the other team having to earn everything they get. We contained Bryce Perkins better then Pitt did, better than Florida State did. We just didn’t make enough plays to win the game.”
On the 4th down call:
“We told the team coming into this, being four touchdown underdogs, that we were going for it. In the first half we go for it 4th-and-one. A great call by our offense. We hit Geiger for a 47-yard touchdown to put us up 17-0. If we punt it there it would have put us up 10-0. We were aggressive and then up 17-14 with 10 minutes to go we had fourth and less than a yard. I talked to Coach Scott about the call. We were going to jet sweep motion, which was causing them to widen the perimeter and run the quarterback, and their deep tackle made a heck of a play. We came here to win and that is how we tried to play today.”
On the belief on the sideline:
“I think you saw it right from the start because we took the opening kickoff and took it for a touchdown. We had a hold on it, and normally that would take a team and set them back. Then our offense goes on a 7-minute drive, and we kick a field goal. Right from the start of this game I felt like we were dominating the football game and then to jump up 17-0. Our guys thoroughly believed they could come in here and win. You’ve got to give UVA a lot of credit, that is a really good defense.”
On disappointment of loss:
“They are extremely disappointed right now. They feel like they have let this one get away. I don’t think I am overstating it as we are standing here about the fact that we were up 17-0, on the road, against a top 25 team. They felt like they should have won the game. There is a lot of disappointment, and this won’t be a fun bus ride home. We have to grow and learn from it. We are a really young team, and I feel really good about this football team right now. I am just disappointed we didn’t get one of these last two games against Virginia Tech and Virginia.”
On Keion White’s new position and performance:
“In my humble opinion, I thought he was the best player on the field tonight for either team. He was dominant; they had to start doubling him in the second half. Through the first two games we weren’t getting production from that bandit position. The way Blackwell’s defense is designed is your bandit should be your most productive player. He was looking like our most dominant player upfront and Derek Wilder had been playing well at end, so as I said to David, ‘Let’s get our best 11 on the field.’ That is why we moved Keion to bandit, and he is probably going to stay there.”
On defensive pressure on Stone:
“Blitz. A lot of blitz. The defensive coordinator is outstanding, and they dialed up some really good zone fires. They put us in a lot of one-on-ones, and we just couldn’t handle it enough. There were times we handled it and then we didn’t get open. You got Bryce Hall back there and some really good defensive players.”
On managing Virginia’s 3rd down offense:
“It started with the really good coverage looks from Blackwell. He went from blitz to 3-down drop 8. He never gave Bryce Perkins the same look and then the fact they couldn’t handle Keion White. He was incredible coming off the edge.”
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