Nov. 10, 2008

Sophomore Defensive Tackle Marvin Austin

On the physical play against Georgia Tech: "I would say we are a little bit more beat up after this past week. Anytime they run the ball 45 to 50 times it is going to take a toll on you. We knew it was going to be a tough physical game, so this is something that we expected."

On returning to home to play against Maryland: "It is very exciting. It is going to be important to stop the run and make them one-dimensional. They do a lot of things on offense to confuse the defense. They try to make the same things look different and make different things look the same. I get to go back and a lot of people in my family, and around the area want to see me play in person. A lot of them have not had that opportunity, so it is going to be a pretty special game."

On being able to shut down Georgia Tech's option offense: "I would say it was a big step for our defense because we became more disciplined as a team. It just shows guys going out there and giving their all for their teammates, so I think it brought us closer as team and helped us a lot as a defense."

Sophomore Tailback Ryan Houston

On his weight loss and his success this season: "I feel like the weight loss has helped me tremendously in terms of vision and cuts. I weighed in at 273 last year and currently I am 241. Last year, I could see the hole but I could not really get there at my weight. I feel like I am more explosive and can make people miss."

On the progress of the running game: "As soon as T.J. [Yates] got hurt, Coach Shoop told all of us that we need to step up in the run game. Everybody is going to know we have a back-up quarterback coming in and they are going to try to make us run the ball. We took pride in ourselves to make it easier for Cam [Sexton], and run the ball effectively."

On preparing for Maryland: "Maryland is a good team. I watched them on film a little bit this morning. I think they have a good run defense and a good linebacker corps. We have to pound the ball on them at first and then try to open up the pass."

Junior Quarterback Cameron Sexton

On the success of the run game: "It is a credit to our guys up front and I think we were more physical than they were. I think we did a great job up front with our front five. I think Ryan [Houston] has a demeanor and attitude that he can not be denied. They know what we are going to do when he comes in the game and he is still able to get those yards."

On the high ranking of the team: "We obviously want it to happen and we set goals for the team to have a high level of success. The biggest thing for us as a football program and we talk about it all the time, is just to take the games one at a time. We expect to win and play well. We do not worry about the rankings, but absolutely we expect to be here."

On Maryland's defense: "I think they really use their personnel well. I think they do some things schematically we have seen a little bit this year, but not too much of this season. I think they will do a good job matching up against us, so it is going to be a week of preparation where we need to do a good job working on the individual stuff of our offense."