2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game Practice Day Quotes – Jan. 3, 2013

2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Practice Day Quotes – Jan. 3, 2013

NORTH DAKOTA STATE QUOTES

North Dakota State Head Coach Craig Bohl
On his team’s practices: “Our guys have come about. We’ve had really good preparation. We had really good preparation in Fargo (N.D.), and we’ve had some good work since we’ve been down here in Frisco.”

On Grant Olson playing in the game: “Well, we were a little bit concerned. It was a little bit touch-and-go. The great thing about Grant is nobody is as instinctive or intuitive or has a better understanding as to what we’re doing than Grant, so it was good to get him out there at practice.”

What to expect from Saturday’s game: “It’s difficult to say. I do believe Sam Houston is a better football team than they were last year. Last year, they were pretty one-dimensional offensively, but they’ve really improved their running game this year. I would anticipate it being a higher-scoring game this year.”

On splitting time at running back with John Crockett: “We’ve been doing this for a couple of years at North Dakota State. Instead of having one good back, we have two. It helps your body so much at this time of the season. We’re both feeling pretty good and fresh and it helps a lot knowing that one of us doesn’t have to take the entire work load. We both take pride in our work, and we’ve both gotten better each day.”

On facing Sam Houston run defense, which allows 84.1 yards per game: “They’ve done a good job this year getting to the ball and slowing the run. We think we have a good game plan to counteract what they do. I guess we’ll see on Saturday.”

On splitting time at running back with Sam Ojuri: “I don’t know if we necessarily feel ‘fresh,’ but probably better in game 15 than if just one guy were handling the load.”

On facing Sam Houston run defense: “They’re darn good, and we understand that. But we’re pretty good, too. They have players, we have players. They have athletes, we have athletes. Should be a battle of the titans.”

On facing Sam Houston State offense: “We know what they’re going to try to do. They’ve got a new offensive coordinator, so they do run out of some different formations. But they’ve got essentially the same personnel. They’ve got the same quarterback, who’s playing better than he did last year, and they still have a great running back (Tim Flanders) who’s been running over everybody. We know what we have to do, and we know if we stop those guys it’ll be good for us.”

On facing Sam Houston running back Tim Flanders: “He’s a good running back. Watching him on film makes you realize you have to wrap him up and get him to the ground or he’ll break tackles and make you pay.”

On the improvement of Sam Houston quarterback Brian Bell: “Biggest improvement for him over last year is just making more plays. He’s staying in the pocket and hitting the right guys in the passing game. I think the coaches probably have more confidence in him as well, and he has some good receivers to work with, too.”

North Dakota State quarterback Brock Jensen

On winning throughout his football career: “You have the players around you. You have to have a good defense, good special teams, playmakers and a great offensive line. We are here for a reason, and it is all about the team. I always put the team before me and do whatever it takes from an individual standpoint to help the team.”

On being back to the championship game: “It feels great. It was a tough journey and we faced a lot of adversity throughout the year. Both we and Sam Houston State are here for a reason. We are both great football teams and it is in the making for a great game. We, as a team, are really happy to be back.”

On the difference between last year’s team and this year’s: “We have some new faces out there, but we also have a lot of returning starters. We have a different game plan and a different approach coming into this year’s game. It helps us a little bit that we struggled [offensively] last year because it lets us know what we can and cannot get away with against Sam Houston.”

On having a strong running game behind him: “Having a really good running game is every quarterback’s best friend. It enables play action and allows us to do a lot of different things with a running game. Having three really good running backs puts me in a very fortunate position.”

North Dakota State linebacker Grant Olson

On being back in the championship: “There is a lot of excitement and it proves that hard work pays off. We are happy to be back but we also want to win the championship. There are not too many times where you play the same team back-to-back in the national championship, so to play Sam Houston State makes it all that more interesting. We are familiar with them and they are familiar with us, so it is going to be even more of a tightly contested game.”

On facing Sam Houston State: “With the familiarity with have with one another, both teams are going to come out with some minor adjustments from what they normally do and have some variations of things just to have better matchups.”

On facing its third consecutive option-style offense: “It has helped us because we have had to learn to understand the triple option with the dive, quarterback pitch routine. We know someone has to be on someone for every single one of those plays. Some of our defensive calls might be similar from the Wofford game because Sam Houston runs some similar plays. So it is a little bit of an advantage to have some familiarity with that style of offense.”

SAM HOUSTON STATE QUOTES

Sam Houston State Head coach Willie Fritz

On Saturday’s matchup: “Each team is different each season. When the ball is kicked off, it’s all about preparation. We’re focused on playing the very best we can play.”

On getting back to the title game: “It’s difficult (to get back). That was one of our goals coming into the season. We want to be one of those programs that are in this type of game year after year. We started off in tough fashion (1-2 after three games), and basically we were in playoff mode from that point on. The kids were able to win seven games in a row, and qualify for the NCAA playoffs. We’ve played four games at home and 10 on the road, so we’ve really earned the right to be back here.”

On quarterback Brian Bell: “He’s the winningest quarterback in school history; he’s the all-time passing leader; he’s a coach’s son and his brother is a former starting quarterback at Baylor. He makes tremendous decisions, and we have total confidence that he’s going to put us in the right situation.”

On the team’s mentality going into Saturday’s game: “I tell our guys all the time that it’s not about being physically tough, but rather about being mentally tough. We need to be able to have playoff intensity in meetings, lifting weights, in practice, walk-throughs or whatever the case may be. Our guys know I’m going to be consistent every day, and we’ve got a mature ballclub, and they’ve been consistent as well.”

Sam Houston State running back Tim Flanders
On team’s attitude heading into Saturday’s game: “We know we lost (last year’s title game), but we’ve spent the season trying to figure out what else we need to accomplish to get over the hump and win Saturday. Our attitude has completely changed from last year. We have to play hard for all four quarters, especially offensively, because we were really behind the chains the entire game last year.”

On Sam Houston State’s offensive balance: “We have a new offensive coordinator (Doug Ruse) and he’s done a great job for us. Our quarterback (Brian Bell) has thrown the ball really well, and our receivers get overlooked, but they do a great job getting open and blocking downfield when we run the ball.”

On his mentality going into Saturday’s game: “I have to remember that every time I have the ball in my hands won’t result in a big play. They (North Dakota State) has a very good defense, so I have to be able to be OK with 3-yard gains or 4-yard gains. We have to stay ahead of the chains and we’ll be fine.”

Sam Houston State wide receiver Richard Sincere

On the layoff from the semifinal game: “It’s been tough because we have been waiting to play for a couple of weeks. We are excited to get back there and play.”

On playing North Dakota State for the second consecutive year: “In a way, we want to redeem ourselves from last year’s loss. We know how good of a team we are and we want to come out on Saturday and prove it.

On thinking about winning a national championship: “I think about it all the time. It is one of the goals we established at the beginning of the year, so you have to be able to envision your goal if you want to achieve it.”

Sam Houston State quarterback Brian Bell

On being back in the national championship: “I am just thankful for another opportunity because you never know when the opportunity is going to come again. We are thankful to be here and we are going to make the most of it.”

On the layoff from the semifinal game: “It gave us a lot of confidence because we got a nice little break to get out feet underneath us and rest a little bit. But we came jumping right back into to practice and firing off plays and ready to go.”

On the rematch with North Dakota State: “It is a game between two great teams just like last year. They are a great team and everyone knows it, and we are going to have to battle for four quarters. Their offense and defense is a little bit different, but they are still a great team.”On Sam Houston State’s passing game: “It is another dimension to our game. If you are throwing the ball well, then the running game is going to benefit from that and vice versa. So if we can do both, then it will be very beneficial.”

Sam Houston State defensive back Darnell Taylor

On playing North Dakota State: “We are both talented teams and North Dakota State plays a style that is really physical. We know that, and we feel like we are ready."

On coming into the postseason unseeded:
“Once we found out that we weren’t part of the top five seeds heading into the playoffs, we knew that we were as good as those teams and we had to go out and prove it. We knew we were a top team.”