GEORGIA STATE HEAD COACH BILL CURRY
Coach Curry's overall thoughts on the game:
"Another routine Georgia State win. What a wonderful test for our guys... I'm so proud of Dan [Williams] and Iain [Vance], and I'm so glad that they get to celebrate making the plays that made the difference today, but there were plenty of other guys who made plays. In order to be a decent program, you have got to win these games. You have got to win the games when you come out and you just don't have it."
On the defense's play:
"The defense played hard all day long. They played their guts out all day. Even when we didn't look good, we were flying around, but we couldn't tackle anybody. So I knew we would hang in there. I didn't know we were going to be able to stop them in overtime, but we did."
On the fourth down play in the fourth quarter:
"You should always be able to make [inches] on fourth down, and the problem with quarterback sneaks is always where they spot it... There was nothing else to do in that situation. You don't risk punting and getting it blocked. Nine times out of ten you make the first down... That was the reason for that call. You must be able to make those kinds of first downs in those situations."
On the offense during today's game:
"Not only were we inept offensively as a team, we were vacant-eyed... There was something going on that wasn't as productive as it should have been on our offense today. And yet, we were able to get the job done when it mattered. I'm very proud of our team."
On quarterback Kelton Hill's resiliency:
"I'm very proud, in particular, of Kelton Hill, who had two very unfortunate plays, and then came back to help us in remarkable fashion to win the game, without hanging his head."
On his team's overtime experience:
"I think the fact that we have been in overtime before helped us a lot today. We have practiced overtime for over a year... So, these things are not new to us. We tend to play well when we get in a crunch, and we have got to keep doing it."
Drew Little, QB, R-Fr.
"We felt like we had a chance to win the whole time. They missed a field goal and we know we are already in field goal range so we were just trying to get the ball and not turn it over. Get it in the middle of the field and set Iain up with a good opportunity."
On different kind of win than the previous two...
"We are just glad to come out 5-2. We got a 'W' and that's all that matters. That is what is going to go down in the books. We didn't play as well as we would have liked to but we came out on top."
What did you learn from this game?
"They threw some different things at us that we haven't seen this year. We had to adjust to that. We just stick to our rules and our guys made great plays. We are just looking forward to next week now."
On TD pass to Danny Williams...
"We had practiced that play all week. We saw their corner flip their hips pretty quickly on the fade ball. Dan ran a great route. All I had to do was put it within 10 yards of him and he is going to catch everything I send to him."
Danny Williams, WR, R-Fr.
On the two routes he ran...
"The first one was a corner route. The second one, the touchdown was one we have been working on all week called 'Stutter and Go.' I just stuttered at 10 yards and Coach Bond was saying all week, 'He is going to bite. He is going to bite on it. Just run it.' Sure enough he did bite on it and I came wide open to catch the pass."
On relationship and connection with Drew Little...
"Drew and I are great friends on and off the field. He is one of my good buddies. Whenever we get a chance we go throw the ball. I was hurt last spring so I didn't really get a chance to play in spring ball. Whenever we get a shot we went out there and threw the ball around. Drew is just a really great quarterback. He is the best leader I have ever been around. He's really good."
What did it feel like on the field when the offense was trying to get it together?
"N.C. Central, you have to give them credit. They are a really good team. The coaches were telling us all week that this is the second best team we have played and they proved it. Our defense got turnovers in the first half and we had the ball in pretty good field position and I guess we just couldn't get stuff going. It worked out in the second half. But N.C. Central, they are a real good team."
Iain Vance, PK, R-Sr.
On comparison to winning field goal in Campbell game ...
"Obviously, every kick that you get like that, just like we do it every day in practice, obviously it helps. It gets the tempo and everything down. The snap, the holder and the kicker all needs to be in sync. Really it is all about the guys that are out there busting it every play like Danny and Drew and Kelton. They are out there every play. I don't want to go out there and pull it left when they have driven the ball down the entire field and just go out there for one play and mess it up."
On state of mind before the winning field goal ...
"I had a lot of teammates coming up and saying things to me so I was just telling them to back off. It is pretty calm until right before the kick. Then you start worrying about things, but other than that you are trying to clear your mind the rest of the way."
On missed field goal ...
"That was all me. I just pulled it left. There is nothing you can do but forget it and go on to the next kick."
As a kicker in overtime, are you hoping that maybe you will get a chance to come through for the team?
"Yes, I'm always looking to redeem myself if I mess up. There is no question in my mind that I wanted to get out there and do that."
North Carolina Central Head Coach Mose Rison
On quarterback Keon Williams and the final series of the game...
"He made a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage which was exactly what we practiced. Give Keon [Williams] a lot of credit; he played a good football game today."
On the numerous penalties that plagued his football team...
"A lot of those penalties were something simple like lining up offside. That is just everyday, fundamental football. We made some mistakes that hurt us, but at the same time, we just lost that football game."
On what needs to be done at practice to get a win next week...
"The thing that is most important is that we score a lot of points. We need to keep the ball on offense and play ball-control. We did not do that the last couple of weeks and we have been a ball-control team all season long."
On his defense...
"Our defense played well. I feel so bad for these kids when we are in position to win one on the road and we let it get away. We gave them big plays and that should have never happened. We have just got to make the plays and we did not do it."
NOTING GEORGIA STATE:
OVERTIME - This is Georgia State's second overtime game in history and they've only played seven games.
They played into overtime with No. 4 Jacksonville State. GSU won the toss and deferred. JSU scored a TD. GSU got to 4th and goal from the 2 and the pass that was caught was ruled out of bounds after first being called a touchdown.
Today, GSU won the toss and again deferred. The defense forced North Carolina Central to try a 45-yard field goal that was wide. Then, the GSU offense moved nine yards to the 16, where Iain Vance came in to nail a 33-yard attempt.
HALFTIME RALLY - This marks the first come-from-behind win at halftime in GSU's short history. The Panthers were tied with Campbell at 14-14, but outscored the host Camels, 10-7 in the second half, to win 24-21. The Panthers trailed Jacksonville State, 17-10, and came back to outscore them in the second half, 17-10, and tie the game in regulation at 27-27 to force OT. JSU scored in OT to win. GSU trailed Lambuth, 9-0, and battled to a 14-14 second half, to lose, 23-14.
FOUR OF A KIND - The Panthers have reeled off the four consecutive wins since the overtime loss to No. 4 Jacksonville State on Sept. 18.
TAKEAWAYS - The Panthers had a season-high three interceptions today. They had two in each of the past two games vs. Morehead State and Savannah State to give them 7 interceptions in the last three games.
They had four total takeaways today to follow four each vs. Morehead and Savannah to make it 12 total takeaways the past three weeks.
In addition, a fourth down tipped pass by Jake Muasau was a big play that helped in the victory, Brent McClendon and Fred Barnes had their first interceptions to become the seventh and eighth players to have interceptions. Brad Chahoy's interception made him the first player to have two picks this season. Jake Muasau's fumble recovery was his third of the season.
100 FOR WILLIAMS - Wide receiver Danny Williams had five catches for 103 yards today to top his previous school record of 8 for 101 yards two weeks ago vs. Morehead. The TD catch was his fourth of the season.
BO KNOWS PUNTING (AND CATCHING) - Bo Schlechter had 4 punts for 204 yards, a 51.0 average. This is the third time in the past four games he has averaged 50 or more yards a punt. His longest was 59, three yards shy of his season-best 62 yarder. He had two inside the 20 to give him 8 of those in 7 games.
Schlechter, who began the season at QB, moved to WR during the season. Today, he had a key 23-yard catch in the third quarter to up his season total to 8 for 118 yards.
LONGEST DRIVE CONTEST - Georgia State's 85-yard drive in the third quarter was the season longest, topping an 80-yard drive in the road win at Campbell.
A LITTLE STREAK THAT IS BIG - QB Drew Little upped his streak to 134 consecutive passes since an interception in the first half vs. Jacksonville State in game three. That is 18 straight quarters without having a pick. On the year, he has 13 TD's and just four interceptions.
VANCE HITS SECOND GAME-WINNER - Iain Vance hit a 30-yard field goal with one second to beat Campbell on the road. Today, he made his second game-winner with the 33-yarder in the overtime.
DownHILL Runs - QB Kelton Hill had a team-high 71 yards rushing today to follow his personal-best 95 yards last week. He leads the team with 348 yards on just 41 carries.
