Jim Leavitt Quotations

Right now I just want to win. I came here to win a football game ... I don't want South Florida football to be just 'Oh, we did this, we did that'.

He's a young guy, a true freshman. We told him after the first time that he can't hold the ball down (low) and he's got to put the ball away. Those two turnovers gave us two tough situations.

I thought Andre played great. He's a hell of a player.

I thought they played good enough to win.

We got everything done we needed to. It might have been better inside, we got their attention. We've done enough hitting.

We haven't always played the best or had the greatest seasons, but every year here we have made progress to something bigger in some way.

Those kids are the ones that have all the courage.

To go to a bowl game as part of a BCS conference is a pretty big deal. A lot of things came together to make this happen. I always expect big things to happen.

Both are capable. Both have moments when they are great, both have moments when they're not as consistent.

The one thing I'm proud about our football team is we battled. You've got to give credit obviously to North Carolina State's defense. They did a great job.

The one thing I'm proud about is we battled. I don't think you saw us quit ever, all the way to the last snap, and I'm real proud of our players for that.

The bottom line is, you've got to get the ball in the end zone.

You never liked to get whopped on like that. They beat us pretty good. A new year is a new year: different people and different players.

They're ready to play. You can only do so many activities, so much.

It's a sense of contentment that we reached a bowl this year. But we're really driven to win a football game.

It wasn't me, but those guys had fun. I stayed as far away from that group as I could. I'd show up for five minutes and leave, but they'd play cards, watch TV, have fun. They were a very close group.

Everybody is so excited about getting to a bowl ? but it is not enough. We want to win this football game and that's it. I would hope that every player on our team wants to win in the worst way and does all they can to do that.

They both have been playing great for us.

They won't appreciate it as much now as they will 20 years from now. It's impossible. They'll appreciate it years from now, when they're looking back and wondering who was that first USF team that went to a bowl game.

I want to tell you something - we're in the hunt.

I have no idea. After the Louisville game (a 45-14 win), I'd say no, after today, I'd say a lot. I haven't thought about it. But we just lost, and we've got to get moving the ball.

I like to win, so right now, I am just thinking about the loss. So saying I am happy that we just got here is a bunch of baloney. The bottom line is, we have to play better to win. But I will tell you this: We are in the hunt. We have 70 sophomores and freshmen on our team. We have a chance to build this program as long as we keep battling.

Being here is great. But we're here to win a football game.

I felt we could run the ball on them, we just couldn't do it consistently. At times, we did some great things offensively. But we didn't put the ball in the end zone, and you have to give credit to (N.C. State's) defense for that.

I couldn't wait for the day when we could use our own fields to practice for a bowl game. I won't miss seeing (the other teams).