Pete Lembo, Ball State Head Coach

On the start with the fumbled kickoff return for a touchdown -
“There's no question that when you're playing a team like this you want to get off to a good start, you want to play you're A-game and it was a tough beginning for us. That was my decision to put Phil (Phil Dudley) in there and obviously we didn't cover up enough people. He took a pretty vicious hit and the ball came out. From what I could tell from the sideline, I didn't sense anything that he was carrying it low or anything like that. I think the speed of their coverage unit, which was a concern going in, and they ran by some of our guys and we didn't give him enough cover there to have a chance to get north and south.”

On putting Phil Dudley back to return the kickoff -
“Phil has looked good in practice and I wanted to give him a chance early in the season here and see if he could give us a different gear on that unit. That was 110 percent my decision to put him in there.”

On Dudley's injury status after taking the big hit on the opening kickoff -
“He's getting checked out. I don't know if it's long term or not. (Shoulder?) Yes, yes sir. Certainly it was an injury that was going to put him out for the rest of the game.”

Overall thoughts on offensive struggles -
“Obviously it was a very, very good opponent and we didn't help ourselves by making some mistakes. I wouldn't say it was so much a lack of poise, but obviously very little margin for error and I don't think we brought our A-game tonight. We need our A-game, you know we ended up with three turnovers, couldn't run the ball as consistently as we would have liked and holding up in pass protection at times was a challenge as well.”

Keith Wenning, Ball State Quarterback

On the difficulties moving the ball against the USF defense -
“I mean you gotta give credit to their defense, they're a lot faster than we're used to, that was the hard part about not moving the ball."

On fumbles -
“I really didn't see them coming, I was kind of looking at my blind sides so its just something I have to be aware of to keep better control of the ball.”

On this loss and the next game versus Buffalo -
“This is humbling compared to last week, but we just have to take each game one at a time and move on to the next game.”

On the USF touchdown eight seconds into the game -
“That's about the worst thing that can happen but we have to get over things like that. Things like that are going to happen, its football, its our routing, we have to overcome stuff like that.”

Jason Pinkston, Ball State Cornerback

On USF quarterback B.J. Daniels -
“He had a very good game, he's a scrambler so he's always good at keeping plays alive. A couple of times he scrambled and receivers got open, he is a very athletic quarterback. He impressed me a lot, I mean he was hitting his targets, his percentage was pretty high and I didn't expect him to be that accurate with the football like he was."

On the pick from Daniels overthrow -
“Yeah, I was just reading when I was on top of the one the whole time. When he put it out there I just went out and got it.”

On USF's speed-
“They were pretty fast, but it was just a couple of times we didn't get off the field like we were supposed to. I don't think their speed shocked us or anything, we were ready for it because we've played a couple of fast teams before its nothing we wasn't ready for.”

B.J. Daniels, Quarterback

On feeling comfortable -
“Just the focus all summer, the time that the receivers and I have put into it, Coach Vaas and Coach Fitch and then on top of that it's the second year so a lot of guys are a lot more comfortable with what's going on.”

On setting career highs (attempts, completions, passing yards) -
“It feels good. It feels even better to get the win. That's the most important thing. We want to take each week very seriously and make sure we come out with a W.”

On seeing a difference in yourself -
“Not necessarily, just doing what I can to move the ball and what the coaches ask of me.”

On reading the defenses better -
“Like I said before, I guess it's the time and the work that we put in all spring and summer. The receivers and I are trying to make sure we are all on the same page and it's the little things; timing and trust and things like that.  And like I said before, being a second year in the offense makes the difference.”

On getting coach to relax -
“I mean I'm just out there trying to have fun. I'm joking around and messing with him and picking at him while the game's going on. I guess we all get emotional and hype sometimes, and I'm pretty sure there will come a time where they calm me down as well.”

On the defense -
“We have a pretty good defense. They are doing their thing and they're really helping us out. It's good, it's real good. I definitely appreciate that. We want to get on the field. We want to show what we can do and the defense is giving us opportunities.”

On seeing openings -
“We as a core are all on the same page; the front five and the running backs and receivers. Like I said we were working all summer trying to make sure we were all on the same page because it was important for us to do what we need to do. We took it as a pride thing. We feel like we have a good defense but we want to be known for moving the ball on offense as well.”

On the emotion coming off a win and the passing of Lee Roy Selmon -
“Well, amongst the players, we said we were going to play this game for him.  We don't want to have any drop-off in anything that wavered over. It was definitely terrible news to hear and going to the funeral was real nice but we had to come out and still play football.”

Darrell Scott, Running Back

On tonight's performance -
“It feels great, I need to stop hurdling though. That's one thing I need to work on. Over all it was a great team effort and we just got to finish at the end.”

Hurdles?
“High school.  I'm still thinking its high school. I need to wake up.”

On the comparison to LeGarret Blount -
“Yeah, I mean people compare me to him but I like to try to make my own identity.”

Feeling of being in endzone -
“It felt great, it's been 3 years.  It felt really good. I think Demetrius Murray got in there too so it was good.”

On the three-run drive -
“It felt great, it felt great. Things are finally falling in place for me. I mean the line did great, that's one thing they did.  Ball State came out to play, but I think we came out to play too and it shows.”

On liking last drive with BJ -
“Yeah, I definitely did. I kind of got hurt at one point.  I shook it off and came back strong.”


Terrence Mitchell, Wide Receiver

On Lee Roy Selmon -
“He basically is the program. Without him, like I said before, none of this would be here. I applaud Lee Roy and I give my condolences to his family, for all that they are going through.”

About patience for opportunity -
“My grandmother always told me to be patient and my time will come. I just sit back and know my role and I know what other guys on the team can do as well. I just have to stay low and stay level-headed.”

On tonight's receptions -
“I didn't know they were going to feed me as much as they did tonight, but I'm happy they did.”

Did you feel you earned trust from BJ? -
“I feel like I earned some trust. It was actually my first game getting a reception. Last year all I got was reverses.  I really liked this game. This game was special to me.”


Mike Jeune, Linebacker

On the team's performance -
“It was a good game.  My teammates played real well, offense and defense, and the other team played a good game too.”

On the first play -
“On the first play, I really didn't know that he fumbled when I hit him.  But I'm happy that he did and that I'm happy that my teammates were there to pick up the fumble and score.”

Does a big play like that alleviate concern? -
“We were just thinking about Lee Roy Selmon, because he did a lot for the program, and if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here or none of my teammates would be here. So this game was really dedicated to him.”

How does it feel for turnovers and big hits? -
“It feels real good. I don't know what to say, it just felt real good.”

On your big hits -
“Fans come to see big hits--big plays. So I'm trying to give the fans what they want.”

Think your hit was intimidating?
“I don't know, I really don't know.  I just know he was trying to do his thing.”

On onside kick last week -
“The only thing I know is that the other team wanted the ball and I wasn't going to let that happen. So I had to go and hit him and make sure they don't see the ball.”

How do you like making the first splash on special teams? -
“I really like it. I'm trying to make a name for myself--that's what everybody is trying to do. But it isn't all about me, it's about my teammates and what I can do for the program.”


Skip Holtz, USF Head Coach

Opening Statement -
“Great to win. When you sit down and look at it, I'm really proud of this football team. With everything we had to go this week. I felt we learned a lot about ourselves from a maturity stand point this week. One (week) with so many distractions with an emotional win at Notre Dame, the rain delay, getting back at 4 o'clock in the morning, the news of Lee Roy Selmon's passing on Sunday, a hard week of practice, going to a funeral on Friday, and then coming out here and playing on Saturday. It had all the makings of a let down. It had all the makings of coming out and playing a little bit flat ad maybe not playing with the emotion we needed to play.”

“I think it speaks volumes for these players and senior leadership with the way so many guys have stepped up. I thought the first half, outside of redzone productivity, it was probably the most complete half of a football game since I have been here. I thought that was pretty impressive. Mike Juene and Sanchez set the tone right out of the gates, came down made a big hit, a physical hit, on the kickoff scoops it up and scores 8 seconds in to the football game. It's kind of a nice feeling to have that in your hip pocket as a coach.”

“Offensively we drove the field, a number of times we just weren't able to push it in the endzone, which is something we have to look at. Really like I said in the first half, the only negative was our redzone to say we kicked too many field goals. I thought they did a nice job protecting the football. Got a couple turnovers on defense. And I thought the first half was the most complete football game, we came ready to play. We have great respect for ball state. They've done a great job with that program, they had a nice win against Indiana last week. We said it not about who we played, it's about us. Only we can control how we play, and we played well.”

“Second half probably the coach in me wasn't as excited about the second half as our first. We've been talking about the depth of this football team. I think that reared its ugly head. We struggled to get a first down in the second half. I thought we were trying to preserve the shutout until they got the interception and then the personal foul, and they went down there and put the ball in the endzone. Then we took our 1s out and put in our 2s. The 2s need that work they needed that experience and I have said this before but they are one snap away from playing because of injury. We need as much work as we can, and we have a long way to go with our 2s. It's amazing we don't let our 2s practice. I thought the 1s they were sharp they were crisp. I was impressed with the way they played tonight.”

On BJ and his comfort level -
“Really played well. We came out kind of run the ball play-action pass. They blitzed us on like 7 of the first 11 plays. Had BJ sit in the pocket and manage the game. But he is seeing the field. He is doing some great things. The one interception I threw, I hate it, because I have been getting on him about giving the wide receivers a chance and not throwing it over a receivers head and he gave the receiver a chance a he stopped on him. It was just a go route, just a take off route, Sterling pulled up. I thought he threw a couple really nice deep passes, but we weren't able to capitalize on them. I think the way he's seen the field. The accuracy and the comfort level. The difference between year one and two, just looking at his leadership skills.” 

On Darrell Scott, and running game -
“He hasn't played in 2 years, this being his only 2nd game in 2 years, I thought he came out and ran physical, he went north/ south and went downhill. I don't know if he is trying to become a hurdle champion, but when you're 245 pounds you run through people not over them. He's trying to hurdle everybody out there. He said I did it in high school all the time. It's like well this isn't high school. He's a talented player, it's nice to get him some work get him some carries. Then with Demetrius Brook carrying the ball about 12-14 times I think was the balanced ratio between those two. I'd like to get a little more consistency in the running game. I thought the passing game, the receivers, quarterback and protection did a really nice job game. We have got to get more consistency in our running game, we're going to have to look at the film and look at the kind of consistency in the redzone office.”

On different look for receiver open up -
“No, we just felt like this game we wanted to turn the personnel sets and put some speed on the field. It's the personnel package that we made the decision to start the game with. I've said this before I think the receivers are the most improved group. Just when you look at it from top to bottom group from the bottom with Andre Davis you just have a lot of confidence in them with sterling, with AJ (Love), and with Bravo-Brown, with Terrance Mitchell, Deonte Welch, and the way everybody is just getting better. It's a good group right now and we are trying to get as many of them on the field as we can. Especially, right now when you have the opportunity to win a game like this and get them on the field and get them some more experience like an Andre and a Rueben.”

On Turnovers -
“I think this football team is understanding … and creating stuff on defense. And I really think we're doing a great job of protecting the ball on offense. I think we threw two interceptions tonight. We threw a ball over the middle of the field, which is a major league no-no, ... Just some things that need to be corrected. We threw the ball over the middle, and we had the communication mistake with BJ. But other than that I think we are doing a very good job. I think the running backs are actually doing a good job with ball security, BJ's doing a great job with it. And the defense is really making a difference. Trying to create strips, and we had another opportunity when Kevyon Webster intercepted that pass, but we had the roughing the passer penalty. We just have to eliminate those mistakes. We're going to make those kinds of mistakes early and as long as we can watch them and correct them from there it will help us down the road from there.”