BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Paterno post-game transcript

September 13, 2008

BWI Staff

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno came out to talk with the media following the Nittany Lions' 55-13 win this afternoon against Syracuse. Here's the transcript from his post-game press conference.

*** Transcript

What did you think about that effort today? That's three straight weeks that you played pretty good.

Well I think we're a pretty good football team, I just don't know how good and I won't know until we have some adversity. But I was pleased by a lot of things. I thought the defense did a good, solid job, particularly for some of those down guys. We lost Lucian. He got hurt. A lot of young kids in there and I thought they did a good job.

Do you know what's wrong with Lucian?

He has a sprained ankle.

Can you talk about how important those first three plays of the game were?

I don't know... I thought after we fumbled the ball that was one of the few bad plays Clark has made so far this year. On second and one, he's trying to make something happen but get rid of it. Go to third and one and get the first. Then of course, they gave it right back to us.

You went to Devlin a little earlier. Was that part of the plan?

Well, Devlin has been practicing real well and I thought if things went well I'd try to give him a quarter. And, I wanted to get the other kid in there too in the last quarter. Devlin did play about a quarter and a half and Cianciolo played the fourth quarter. They're working hard. You just feel like giving them a shot.

Was it important to score early?

I think if you score early it's always good. But, that's what I'm saying, if you're a good football team, sometimes things don't go your way. You have to stay focused and poised. So, I'm just not sure how good we are yet.

Do you think you have any kind of guage of how good your guys are?

We'll find out in the next couple of weeks. Temple coming up to our place, they'll be tough. Al Golden is one of our kids and he's got a couple of coaches that were our kids and they've got almost everybody back from last year, plus that quarterback is a good football player.

You talk about adversity, Clark had some with that fumble early and he came back and looked like he shook it right off. Is that encouraging?

Oh yeah. I'm not discouraged by anything that happened today. I'm just not getting carried away, that's all.

What's the kind of adversity that you're talking about? Is it getting behind early or coming back from turnovers?

Oh yeah. Playing some people if they maybe don't quite anticipate what they're going to do. A couple of times you gotta improvise, kids have got to make plays in tougher situations than they have today. It's like '94 when Illinois went up 21-0 and we had to make a drive in the last five minutes... a 94-95-yard drive against a really good defensive football team that had two first round draft picks. That's what I mean. That's the sign of a good football team.

Also with adversity on the defensive line, it seemed like Odrick and Ogbu had very good games today.

That's why I said, I thought that the down guys played really well. And, some of the young guys. There were kids in there... Lucian was playing really well... I thought they came up big and did a good job and I'm pleased about that.

Is that why you set up the two minute drill at the end of the half?

Yeah, you gotta give them some experience. Yeah, I think you put it well. We're always trying to make sure... because you can do it in practice but it's not the same.

Do you think this offense can be pretty good?

I think we can be pretty good, yeah. But, you gotta stay healthy. The offensive line has got to stay healthy. The second offensive line has a long way to go yet.

Is there any concern about over confidence since these wins have been so easy?

Well, sure, there's always concerns about that. But, we talk all the time and we try to make sure they understand that can happen.

How much different was it playing Syracuse now as opposed to when you last played them?

Oh, Floyd Little came over to talk to me before the game and I said, 'You son of a gun. I can still see you running for three punt-return touchdowns right in front of me.' But, I've got great memories of Syracuse and the rivalry. Some of the greatest games we ever played we played against Syracuse.

Are you still proceeding day by day with the suspended guys?

I haven't made up my mind. I decided I was going to keep them out this week. I gotta go back and talk to some people. Obviously, I'd like to have them back but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Do you think there's a chance they might not be back this year?

This year? Ya know, I don't like to speculate. I don't know. I really don't. I'd just, I'd rather not even talk about it.

Were you upset about Stephfon Green's excessive celebration?

He didn't think he did anything. The Big Ten especially will be very tough on that. They don't need to do that. Just take the ball and give it to the officials and we try to tell them. But, that's probably his first touchdown, I think, isn't it? But, I sat him down for the rest of the game. He'll be OK.

Are you slowly working Quarless back in?

Yep. (Will his role expand?) Well, we have to see if he can beat out Shuler. Shuler is pretty good.

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