Central Michigan - Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement from Coach Dan Enos:
“It was a great rivalry game, they are always exciting and we thought our guys were very resilient. I give Western Michigan a ton of credit too they played extremely hard. I thought it was a very closely contested contest. There was obviously a lot of give and take but a typical rivalry game and we feel very fortunate that our guys were resilient and that we found a way to win. It was a big thing to find a way to win and we did that.”
Coach Dan Enos on CMU turnovers and winning:
“On the road, minus four turnover margin, we might have to go back in the archives and look at it and it is probably less than 1%. Defense did a tremendous job after the turnovers with holding them and trying to kick field goals. Then they got a pick six which was huge in the game so I give a lot of credit to them and our defensive staff and defensive players.”
Western Michigan - Postgame Quotes
Head Coach P.J. Fleck
On the game overall…
“I'd like to thank all the service men and women of our country who have given us the freedoms to have a football game. We wish you a speedy and safe trip home. Football is not about life and death, but it does teach you about life. I'm so proud of our service men and women, we are thinking of you and praying for you. Execution. Execution and opportunities are what it came down to. We've got a football team right now that I couldn't be more proud of. Am I disappointed? You bet. But I could not be more proud of a group of guys. They made the effort. We have seven walk-ons who are smaller than me and they made plays and their hearts are beating out of their chest. We have a defensive group that had six true freshmen out there at one time and they had five turnovers and got after it. We had an offense that never quit. We didn't have our best day offensively, but they never quit. They've had every right to quit this entire year, and normal teams would have quit. That tells me that the foundation is being built. I am proud of that group. When you look back our defense did a tremendous job of getting turnovers. They placed tenacious. Offensively we had a lot of open people and a lot of holes, and we were just inches away and with youth and inexperience that's where those inches come from. Especially when you blow it up and put it in a rivalry, but they've learned now and they are going to keep learning. This is why they are building their scars and building their foundations. I am as disappointed as everyone else. I want to win like everyone else. We will be better. We are going to continue to Row The Boat and we are going to continue to do our job, build the program the right way, recruit the right way and we are going to make this program what I said it is going to be. We didn't play well enough to win, but we didn't execute well enough to win. Defense got beat on a ton of third downs in the first half, but then it flipped and the defense started playing well but the offense was off by inches. We are going to re-group and get better. I know those kids are hurting in there but I am proud of their resilience and resolve and how they continue to fight even when they have every right to quit, which is a credit to our coaching staff. We are going the right direction.”
Junior SS Justin Currie
On the defensive performance…
“First I just want to say thank you to all of the seniors for everything they have done and their dedication to this program. We needed to get turnovers. We emphasized getting turnovers because that gives a better chance of winning the game. We kind of took it to heart. We came out slow and didn't really get going until the end, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.”
Senior DT Travonte Boles
On his turnover…
“It was a good feeling but it still wasn't enough to win the game. It is all we can do to get our hands on the ball on defense. That is what we worked on and I'm glad we got the ball.”
On game tempo…
“I feel like it came from within. We knew what the intensity would be like in this game and we knew we had to pick it up from the first quarter, especially on defense we knew we had to play better.”
On final game against CMU…
“In my perspective it's different because I'll never get a chance to play them again. When it doesn't go the way you wanted it to it's tough. They executed more than we did and at the end of the game it showed in the results.”
Senior RB Dareyon Chance
On the offensive performance…
“It comes down to execution in the red zone. You can do as much as you want but it's about scoring.”
On final game against CMU…
“You want to win, especially when you have won before. When it comes down to your last chance it doesn't matter how many times you have won before. The reality of the situation is that the game is today. It hurts. It hurts really bad but it is what it is. When you don't execute you get the results that come with that.”
