Georgia State Head Coach Trent Miles
Opening Statement: "We were outplayed today. Hats off to Liberty for coming in here and being able to run the ball and do what they did offensively," head coach Trent Miles said. "We've got to go back to the drawing board and do a much better job.
On offense… “When we are on offense and the other team is scoring as much as they are, we can’t miss a possession. We can’t settle for a punt and we can’t miss field goals. We have to drive the ball down and score touchdowns and we were unable to do that.”
On defense… “Liberty had 43 minutes on offense and we had 16. We had three possessions in the first half and scored two touchdowns. It’s very difficult when your defense is out there the whole time and can’t get off the field.”
On penalties… “Our penalties happened at very inopportune times. We had an eight-point game and all week long we were working on a middle (punt) return with a block and we had it drawn up perfectly and we just over-jump the ball and we get a 15-yard penalty.”
Nick Arbuckle
On Panther’s opening touchdown: “It wasn’t specifically a plan to score on that one play. It was a third down call. It wasn’t really our idea to run it early, but we got into a third down earlier than we would have liked to, so we called it, and Donovan did an amazing job.”
On Donovan Harden’s return from injury: “We just picked up where we left off in the summer. His injury happened before camp, so I had him all summer. We had the chemistry going; he’s only been gone for a handful of weeks, and so we just picked up where we left off.”
On losing the game: “It is really hard to lose any game because our goal is to win each individual week. When we started the season and going through all the offseason stuff, our ultimate goal at the end of the year was to win the conference. It’s really hard and difficult to lose a game like this, but in the end, it is really going to help us get to our ultimate goal because you learn so much more from a loss than you do from a win, and so we are going to have the opportunity to go back and watch film; learn from our mistakes, and learn how to improve and get better. It’s not good that we lost, but we are going to be better next week versus Appalachian State than we would have been if we won.”
WR Donovan Harden
How he felt returning to action: “It felt pretty good. I wasn’t 100 percent out there, but I was able to be effective and help my team out whenever they asked, so it’s a good feeling.”
On how his foot felt: “I’m ready to compete, bottom line. I don’t like that I’m 100 percent, but that is not going to stop me from helping my team. It’s my last year; my senior year. I feel like there are a few people that look up to me on the team. I’m not going to let them down. Regardless if I feel 60, 70, or 80 percent, it doesn’t matter. I’m ready to play”
On what the team must do going into next week: “We’ve got to step up. I know a lot of people are pretty fond of our receivers, but it’s not good enough at the end of the day. Obviously, we just took our hard lumps, so we’ve got to step up, and it starts with me. I feel like I am probably the oldest in the group; the most experienced, so it starts with me. I’m going to definitely step it up this week, and I’ve already talked to (the rest of the team), and everybody is ready to step up.”
Liberty Flames Post Game Quotes with Head Coach Turner Gill
OPENER: “I am just proud of our football team, and I want to thank God for continuing to give our guys the strength, the power and the execution in this ball game. It was a great ball game. Georgia State did a great job. We knew that the receivers were going to be outstanding. We knew it was going to be a though deal there but again, our guys hung in there. We got our running game going; it was suffering here in the last two or three weeks. And to see that happen, I am just proud of our football team. Again, give all the glory to God.
“It was nothing but motivation. We are trying to win a football game. Whatever happens outside winning football games like joining the FBS, God controls that. Obviously our administration is doing everything they can to keep us moving forward. But right now, we are focused on this football season. On the next opponent, Gardner Webb.
“We kept the ball a whole lot. They have a very explosive offense, so if they get the ball they are going to score some points, and so it was great for us to control the clock, but they didn’t have enough opportunities, and in the first half, they only had 16 snaps. It was just a great execution by our coaching staff and great job by our players. They were prepared pretty well. Again, it was a great win for us.
“Well, we talked about trying to limit their explosive plays. All I can say is that they are a great football team, and they had good execution there. We couldn’t hold them down. We had to make some stops. We didn’t make them. We knew we were going to have to score in the 30’s to have a great chance to win the game, but again, I have to top my hat off to their receivers. They have great three receivers and a quarter back that can make plays.
