Bobby Bowden Playing Quotations

Football has always been a big part of my life. Almost from the day I was born, playing and coaching football were all I really ever wanted to do.

I felt like we were looking at a team that might, could blow us out; we don't want another Colorado-Texas ballgame. What did you learn? ... We're playing Penn State, No. 3 in the nation. Now if we can hang with those guys, maybe we got the material to get back on up there where we belong.

He made big mistakes, but we're playing a freshman. Our quarterbacks have got to play better.

Last time you're playing at home (this season), I thought we'd go out there and jump all over them. We're just not a dominating team right now.

Out of all of them, he would have been the least one we expected to do what he was doing. We didn't know how he could play like he's playing right now.

Our quarterbacks had performed so well the week previous to this game in practice. Then you go in that ballgame and you look like a freshman, you know? So there's no doubt about it, now we've got to get them playing to their ability. ... And, of course, we'll try to blend our running game with it more.

Time will tell. It should help our confidence. Next week we'll be playing a team we should be favored over (I-AA The Citadel). You expect your confidence level grows because we haven't had it lately. We haven't had it the last five years.

We've come out trying to run the ball. The second ballgame (against I-AA the Citadel), we came out throwing because we thought we were superior and we could do what we wanted to. Now, when you're playing Syracuse and you're playing Miami and you're playing Boston College, you better do what's best. I felt like sooner or later, we're going to have to come out throwing the darn ball, and that's what our offensive staff wanted to do.

We've come out trying to run the ball, ... The second ballgame (against I-AA the Citadel), we came out throwing because we thought we were superior and we could do what we wanted to. Now, when you're playing Syracuse and you're playing Miami and you're playing Boston College, you better do what's best. I felt like sooner or later, we're going to have to come out throwing the darn ball, and that's what our offensive staff wanted to do.

We've got 119 I-A schools. Out of 119 of us, I'll bet you 100 are fighting an attrition battle. You've probably got 19 lucky teams. Boy, they're lucky. They've kept their offensive line healthy all year, they've kept their running backs healthy, and they're probably playing for Southern Cal and Texas.

Tonight, the No. 1 team in the nation is playing the No. 2 team in the nation. The next best team is Penn State. So we ain't playing a dad-gum nobody. We're playing Penn State, No. 3 in the nation. Now if we can hang with those guys, maybe we've got the material to get back on up there where we belong.

It wasn't scaled down that much. We had it in there, we just might not have called it. But that's not the problem, it's the way we set the formations and try to move people around. That's the thing. Last night we called a reverse, and we called it to the wrong side. We did it against Miami; run it the wrong way. And we lined up wrong a lot of times. That (learning new system) is harder than you think, playing as many people as we have. That comes with the territory.

If you had told me that we would have hold them to seven points, I would have told you that we would win. What our defense did in this game is amazing, especially the defensive line. A few weeks ago, we didn't know who would be playing up there.

If your team is playing aggressive, going after that ball, trying to get after it until the whistle blows, then occasionally a guy is going to overdo it, and you're are going to get a penalty.

These guys, even though they're young, they're playing a little harder than the last bunch that came through, ... I think they saw a lot of things we weren't doing well, and that we weren't doing what we're accustomed to.

All I know is they have done what they've had to do to win. The first week was very grueling because you played two games in one week, and we came out there. Then this ballgame here, you go away from home with a rookie quarterback, and you wonder how is he going to respond to the crowd, and how is the team going to respond to the crowd. You win that ballgame and, of course, that is the main stat you want, that win. So you just say, up to this point, so far, so good. We know we've got to get better because the people we are playing are going to get better.