Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
USC 42, Syracuse 29
Syracuse Football
Syracuse vs. USC
Saturday, September 8, 2012
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Macky MacPherson, Junior, Center
On the comparison of last week’s game to today:
“It’s a tough loss, and I hate saying that two weeks in a row, but it is what it is. We played a good game, but USC is the number two team in the country and in order to beat them you have to be great. We had our moments and we had a good comeback, but they had some players on the other side of the field that really stepped up for them.”
On performance of offensive line:
“We allowed two sacks today and that is two sacks too many. We can’t allow Ryan to get touched, that is unacceptable on our part. We set lofty expectations for a reason. We don’t want to be a good offensive line; we want to be a great offensive line. By setting those types of goals is how you become a great offensive line. We can’t let Ryan get hit like that and that is on all five of us.”
On overall performance of team:
“No one really gave us a shot. We knew we had talent on our side of the ball, and we believed in ourselves, which gave us some positives. It’s still a loss for us and we are still upset about it. Come tomorrow we are going to move onto the next game and put everything behind us. We’re going to look at what the positives were and what we can work on.”
Marcus Sales, Redshirt-Senior, Wide Receiver
On expectation of USC’s defense:
“No, I expected a lot from their defense and we just have to keep our foot on the pedal.”
On the next step after this game:
“I think this game will be out of our systems come Tuesday’s practice. Tomorrow we start working on the game against Stony Brook, so I think Tuesday we will be ok. “
On key components that the team did not capitalize on:
“We had some plays in the first half, for example on that first drive we came out with a kick, but things happen in the game and we just need to roll with the punches. “
Zach Chibane, Senior, Offensive Guard
On offensive plays that stood out to get SU down the field faster:
“We made some good fast completions out there. Ryan played a good game and our receivers stepped up.”
On Jarrod West’s impact on offense:
“I think Jarrod is doing a nice job of getting open. He has really matured in this offseason; we’re excited to see what he’s got.”
What the team learned from today:
“We learned that we were able to go against a highly ranked team with a lot of good players on it. We were able to play well and keep it close, but all of us, we are in the business of a football game and we left a lot on the field. We learned a lot about the character of this team. Things we already knew and helped us in our identity.”
Ivan Foy, Sophomore, Offensive Guard
On halftime changes:
“At halftime we told each other it was a brand new game. It was 0-0. We were relaxing and telling each other it’s a new half and a new game.”
On when it was 21-16, did you think it was your game:
“It was close, but we never said that. We said we just have to keep going and finish.”
Shamarko Thomas, Senior, Strong Safety
On where the Syracuse program is now:
“We’re on the rise. Today we showed a lot of key plays, big time plays. We showed that we going to fight. Every game, every team we play were going to give it our all.”
Ryan Nassib, Senior, Quarterback
On whether or not Syracuse proved people wrong:
“I am very excited about how our team did today. I mean I am disappointed with the loss. I think we did a really good job sticking with these guys and I know a few key plays didn’t go our way. We were definitely in that game and some things go a different way and it could be a whole other story.”
On the challenge of coming back next week to play Stony Brook:
“We’re looking for our first win. So that’s the biggest motivation right now. We are going to pick this up and take it to a whole different level. ”
Jarrod West, Junior, Wide Receiver
On the flow of the game:
“I think we knew it was working from the first half and we just continued to keep running the things that were working.”
On the difference between last year and this year against USC:
“I mean every week we prepare for the number one team in the nation. So it was nothing different for me. I prepare to play the best corner every time I go out there. As a team this year we felt great going into it. We believe we had a great chance at the game but it fell short.”
Ashton Brolyd, Freshman, Running Back
How do you feel how you handled the game:
“I think I took it the best way I could. I really am just disappointed with the loss. Its not about me playing, you know it’s a team game. And I just hope we come out from now on and leave nothing on the field.”
Playing this game:
“We know what we have, we’re not scared of nobody. It’s a name. It’s a lot of hype in college football. People don’t think we can do a lot but we know what we have in the locker room. Tomorrow we start all over and clear our minds and get ready.”
Alec Lemon, Senior, Wide Receiver
On how he felt in his return:
“My hamstring is great, 100%. I was ready to get back on the field with my teammates. It felt great to get back out there.”
On whether or not this was a moral victory:
“We did win the moral victory, at the end of the day everyone has wins and losses. But at the end of the day we looked at it as a team and it was the #2 team in the nation and we put up a good fight against them. We lost the game, but we feel great about what we did. Coming up, we know what we can do in 10 more games.”
On the end result:
“We know what we have in that locker room and the stuff we can do. We played a great team and we feel like we made some mistakes that they capitalized on it. Like I said, we know what we can do out there. We can play with the best out there and we feel confident going on the rest of the year. “
Siriki Diabate, Senior, Linebacker
On playing style in first half:
“We just came out, executed the plan, kept on working the calls and just tried to make the best out of every call. The second half, I would say we were doing the same thing but they have some good athletes—credit to them. They just came out and executed better than we did.”
Jeremiah Kobena, Sophomore, Wide Receiver
On offense’s slow start:
“We just got off to a slow start. What we needed to do was just come together and get a good drive going. You see how that worked out for us in the second half. I think we just got a little rattled. We were running on high emotions out there, we just needed to come together. It was a big game. We were competing with the No. 2 team in the nation so we had a lot of emotions going.”
On matching USC’s playing strength:
“We played hard. Our defense held up great. I think it’s just more of a continuation towards the rest of the season. ”
Marquis Spruill, Junior, Linebacker
On facing USC’s offense:
“They had two good receivers and they gave us a big problem. “
On difference between first and second quarter:
“They kind of changed their game and we changed ours a little bit. We started to miss tackles -- we weren’t wrapping up like we should have -- so there are things that we could have done better.
Coach Hackett, Offensive Coordinator
On performance of offense:
“Obviously we dropped the ball and that is something we need to address and improve upon. Knowing that we were that close against a team like USC, there has to be a lot of positives to take out of the game. We had our opportunities, but we just missed them again.”
On performance of Marcus Sales:
“We have a lot of opportunities for these guys and he took a couple of them and missed a couple of them and that’s just the way things have been going. We have to continue to get better.”
On key components that are needed for next game:
“We need to start faster. We need to be there right out of the gate, so we can see if that will make us better. The sky is the limit and we can do it, so we just need to continue to keep working.”
Coach Shafer, Defensive Coordinator
On the USC Offense 2nd half:
“No, not adjustments wise. They just made some good plays and did a nice job. SC is a good football team and those kids made some good plays.”
On limiting USC quarterback Matt Barkley :
“With throws, yes, that’s part of the plan to try to offset some of the pressure situations. We played coverage a little bit more. They just made some plays in space and forced some miss tackles and they are a good football team.”
On USC touchdowns and SU coverage on those plays. Are those times where you can’t do anything on those plays:
“No, I wouldn’t say that. I would just say we have to continue to fight and continue to get better fundamentally as we finish those plays. We got a long season in front of us. I like the character of this team and we will come back this week and play our butts off.”
Syracuse vs. USC
Saturday, September 8, 2012
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Macky MacPherson, Junior, Center
On the comparison of last week’s game to today:
“It’s a tough loss, and I hate saying that two weeks in a row, but it is what it is. We played a good game, but USC is the number two team in the country and in order to beat them you have to be great. We had our moments and we had a good comeback, but they had some players on the other side of the field that really stepped up for them.”
On performance of offensive line:
“We allowed two sacks today and that is two sacks too many. We can’t allow Ryan to get touched, that is unacceptable on our part. We set lofty expectations for a reason. We don’t want to be a good offensive line; we want to be a great offensive line. By setting those types of goals is how you become a great offensive line. We can’t let Ryan get hit like that and that is on all five of us.”
On overall performance of team:
“No one really gave us a shot. We knew we had talent on our side of the ball, and we believed in ourselves, which gave us some positives. It’s still a loss for us and we are still upset about it. Come tomorrow we are going to move onto the next game and put everything behind us. We’re going to look at what the positives were and what we can work on.”
Marcus Sales, Redshirt-Senior, Wide Receiver
On expectation of USC’s defense:
“No, I expected a lot from their defense and we just have to keep our foot on the pedal.”
On the next step after this game:
“I think this game will be out of our systems come Tuesday’s practice. Tomorrow we start working on the game against Stony Brook, so I think Tuesday we will be ok. “
On key components that the team did not capitalize on:
“We had some plays in the first half, for example on that first drive we came out with a kick, but things happen in the game and we just need to roll with the punches. “
Zach Chibane, Senior, Offensive Guard
On offensive plays that stood out to get SU down the field faster:
“We made some good fast completions out there. Ryan played a good game and our receivers stepped up.”
On Jarrod West’s impact on offense:
“I think Jarrod is doing a nice job of getting open. He has really matured in this offseason; we’re excited to see what he’s got.”
What the team learned from today:
“We learned that we were able to go against a highly ranked team with a lot of good players on it. We were able to play well and keep it close, but all of us, we are in the business of a football game and we left a lot on the field. We learned a lot about the character of this team. Things we already knew and helped us in our identity.”
Ivan Foy, Sophomore, Offensive Guard
On halftime changes:
“At halftime we told each other it was a brand new game. It was 0-0. We were relaxing and telling each other it’s a new half and a new game.”
On when it was 21-16, did you think it was your game:
“It was close, but we never said that. We said we just have to keep going and finish.”
Shamarko Thomas, Senior, Strong Safety
On where the Syracuse program is now:
“We’re on the rise. Today we showed a lot of key plays, big time plays. We showed that we going to fight. Every game, every team we play were going to give it our all.”
Ryan Nassib, Senior, Quarterback
On whether or not Syracuse proved people wrong:
“I am very excited about how our team did today. I mean I am disappointed with the loss. I think we did a really good job sticking with these guys and I know a few key plays didn’t go our way. We were definitely in that game and some things go a different way and it could be a whole other story.”
On the challenge of coming back next week to play Stony Brook:
“We’re looking for our first win. So that’s the biggest motivation right now. We are going to pick this up and take it to a whole different level. ”
Jarrod West, Junior, Wide Receiver
On the flow of the game:
“I think we knew it was working from the first half and we just continued to keep running the things that were working.”
On the difference between last year and this year against USC:
“I mean every week we prepare for the number one team in the nation. So it was nothing different for me. I prepare to play the best corner every time I go out there. As a team this year we felt great going into it. We believe we had a great chance at the game but it fell short.”
Ashton Brolyd, Freshman, Running Back
How do you feel how you handled the game:
“I think I took it the best way I could. I really am just disappointed with the loss. Its not about me playing, you know it’s a team game. And I just hope we come out from now on and leave nothing on the field.”
Playing this game:
“We know what we have, we’re not scared of nobody. It’s a name. It’s a lot of hype in college football. People don’t think we can do a lot but we know what we have in the locker room. Tomorrow we start all over and clear our minds and get ready.”
Alec Lemon, Senior, Wide Receiver
On how he felt in his return:
“My hamstring is great, 100%. I was ready to get back on the field with my teammates. It felt great to get back out there.”
On whether or not this was a moral victory:
“We did win the moral victory, at the end of the day everyone has wins and losses. But at the end of the day we looked at it as a team and it was the #2 team in the nation and we put up a good fight against them. We lost the game, but we feel great about what we did. Coming up, we know what we can do in 10 more games.”
On the end result:
“We know what we have in that locker room and the stuff we can do. We played a great team and we feel like we made some mistakes that they capitalized on it. Like I said, we know what we can do out there. We can play with the best out there and we feel confident going on the rest of the year. “
Siriki Diabate, Senior, Linebacker
On playing style in first half:
“We just came out, executed the plan, kept on working the calls and just tried to make the best out of every call. The second half, I would say we were doing the same thing but they have some good athletes—credit to them. They just came out and executed better than we did.”
Jeremiah Kobena, Sophomore, Wide Receiver
On offense’s slow start:
“We just got off to a slow start. What we needed to do was just come together and get a good drive going. You see how that worked out for us in the second half. I think we just got a little rattled. We were running on high emotions out there, we just needed to come together. It was a big game. We were competing with the No. 2 team in the nation so we had a lot of emotions going.”
On matching USC’s playing strength:
“We played hard. Our defense held up great. I think it’s just more of a continuation towards the rest of the season. ”
Marquis Spruill, Junior, Linebacker
On facing USC’s offense:
“They had two good receivers and they gave us a big problem. “
On difference between first and second quarter:
“They kind of changed their game and we changed ours a little bit. We started to miss tackles -- we weren’t wrapping up like we should have -- so there are things that we could have done better.
Coach Hackett, Offensive Coordinator
On performance of offense:
“Obviously we dropped the ball and that is something we need to address and improve upon. Knowing that we were that close against a team like USC, there has to be a lot of positives to take out of the game. We had our opportunities, but we just missed them again.”
On performance of Marcus Sales:
“We have a lot of opportunities for these guys and he took a couple of them and missed a couple of them and that’s just the way things have been going. We have to continue to get better.”
On key components that are needed for next game:
“We need to start faster. We need to be there right out of the gate, so we can see if that will make us better. The sky is the limit and we can do it, so we just need to continue to keep working.”
Coach Shafer, Defensive Coordinator
On the USC Offense 2nd half:
“No, not adjustments wise. They just made some good plays and did a nice job. SC is a good football team and those kids made some good plays.”
On limiting USC quarterback Matt Barkley :
“With throws, yes, that’s part of the plan to try to offset some of the pressure situations. We played coverage a little bit more. They just made some plays in space and forced some miss tackles and they are a good football team.”
On USC touchdowns and SU coverage on those plays. Are those times where you can’t do anything on those plays:
“No, I wouldn’t say that. I would just say we have to continue to fight and continue to get better fundamentally as we finish those plays. We got a long season in front of us. I like the character of this team and we will come back this week and play our butts off.”
