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BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 27, 2017

Steve Addazio

Boston, Massachusetts

Florida State - 3, Boston College - 35

STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, that was a beautiful win. I'm really proud of our kids. We played a really fine football program and the team that won the National Championship not that long ago. Our kids played with tremendous passion and energy, and this game meant a lot to our program for a whole lot of reasons.

Certainly one of the biggest is the Red Bandanna game means a lot. The ability and the honor we have to represent Welles Crowther on this night is a special thing for our university and for our football program. I just had an unbelievable honor to be able to give Welles' parents the game ball down in the locker room, and that was really quite special.

I think right from the start, we came out firing. We were going to empty the drawer, so to speak, and we went after them in all three phases. I thought we played a really good first half. The second half we kind of worked towards more managing the clock. After we scored and got up significantly and just trying to run that thing down. We rushed for over 200-something yards. I thought Anthony played really well, especially when he had to make some great plays in the first half. I thought A.J., I thought John, I thought the line played well. I thought we made some really great catches.

Kobay had a catch in the end zone. We missed one. But I thought we continued to play explosively. We continued to play aggressively going for fourth downs and continuing to do the things we could to be as aggressive as we could be. I thought we played really well on defense. I'm proud of the kids. Proud of the way they played. This was a great win for us to get. We have a bye week now, a much-needed bye week so our kids can regroup and put extra focus on their academics and mentally and physically get a little bit of a recharge as we go down the home stretch.

We have some big games here left to play. But I certainly want our kids to celebrate this great win and feel great about it. They're resilient, the faith that this team has in each other, coaching staff and players alike, is remarkable, and I'm very, very proud of that. Any questions?

Q. Obviously you saw (Inaudible). Could you imagine the weight that's shifted over the last 30 seconds?
STEVE ADDAZIO: You know, we felt from the beginning that we had something special here, you know. I think we got stung early with some injuries, and those key injuries really hurt us. They were really hard for us to overcome, especially given the fact that we had some young guys in critical positions. But I think we were able to regroup.

We're paper thin, as I say each week, but we regrouped and we're playing at a really good level right now and gaining confidence. There is like a resilience here. I think -- I told the team downstairs there is a chemistry in our team, a very strong chemistry, ands it a love for each other. I didn't want to sound corny then and I don't want to sound corny here. But there's a special chemistry, and that's a really cool thing, and that's what we have. These guys want to have each other's back, they want to play for each other and fight for each other. Coaches, players, administrators, and there is a great passion and love here.

Before I even forget, the stadium was electric tonight. The fans were unbelievable to come out and the support that they gave for this game and for our program, and it means a lot to our team.

The B.C. community has really done an unbelievable job, and that's exciting. So it's still a process for us. One day at a time, one week at a time, one game at a time. And we're in the infancy of this thing. But it's so exciting to know that the big picture is really going to be a great thing here. You know, as I say, to say there won't be rough spots along the way as we go here, I can't say that. But I know that if we keep working hard and sticking together, this team is going to emerge and grow, and the future of this team is going to be absolutely phenomenal.

So the work right now is to just keep trying to develop and grow and stay healthy and maximize each day and each week.

Q. Could you elaborate a little more on emptying the draw? Was that like the Jeff Smith throw, something like that?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, specials. We ran the reverse. We ran Jeff's throw. We had another wide high play. We had several things that we wanted to do tonight to keep it moving. We were in empty. We threw the ball. We did a lot of different things. Just to stay aggressive.

Then some fourth downs and early on I went for the field goal at the 30 there, and we missed that. But then later we went for the fourth down call. We converted. Then we went for another fourth down on the 30, which we weren't able to convert. But just kind of just keep going after it, just keep hammering away. We really wanted to go block a punt and worked really hard on that.

I didn't call that, you know, but that was in the mindset too to go after the punt. But sometimes that gets dictated by how the game flow is going. Of the.

So I think we're trying to stay aggressive. Trying to let the kids develop. The quarterback is gaining confidence and trust, which is a huge deal.

Q. Last three games you had the offensive breakout coincided with A.J. Dillon breaking out. What have you seen with him that's reinvented the offense and had you guys rolling the last three games?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I wouldn't say we're reinventing anything. But I would say we're having more productivity. We're making some of the plays early in the season we weren't able to make. I think A.J. is certainly becoming more and more comfortable. The as a young back just learning the nuances of the different styles of run game, gap schemes, zone schemes. There's a lot to that. The how to, you know, he runs very, very hard. How to maintain your physical composure after a series of runs, you know? The more you get used to that, the more comfortable you are, the more you can handle. That's where you start seeing those backs being able to handle 25, 30 reps things like that.

So it's a process. He's a freshman. Anthony's a freshman. You know, Ben Petrula is the apex of the offense, the center of the quarterback and tailback right now. Then of course Kobay White is a freshman out there as a receiver, and those are really talented young guys. There are a lot more of those young guys too. The so I think it's a work in progress.

Q. How much of a difference maker tonight was (Inaudible)?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I mean, I always think that's a difference maker. That's what makes college football special. To come back to our home stadium, to have our crowd be there at night like this, and you saw the Red Bandanna ribbon around the stadium, it's college football at its very, very best. To think that that doesn't infuse into the team, it does in a big, big way. That called a home field advantage. It was an exciting night here in Chestnut Hill at Boston College. So I appreciate that. We appreciate that. The football program appreciates that support, and it was fun to be a part of.

Q. You talk about the home-field advantage. A lot of your other ACC wins have been on the road. You saw the fans obviously come on to the field. Do you have a sense to finally do this in front of the home crowd, I'm sure for many of the fans that's how they've done it?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I mean, I think it was great to be able to have the student body and the fans be able to be a part of this win. I think that makes college football special. You're on a college campus, and it just makes it kind of special and it's exciting. That's a really good thing. You know, that's something, for sure, that is very, very meaningful to the team.

Q. Coach, you lamented the late bye week in previous times. Bow now you've got a bye week with a lot of people hurt. And three teams perfectly winnable. What's it mean to have it right now and to have a shot at having the best season?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, you know, again, it just hits me, one week at a time here. I think the bye week does come at a really good time. I think Scott on the radio asked me after the game, and I did think about this, I mean, we're really hitting on all cylinders right now. You almost, you know, hate to get out of the rhythm you're in right now. But Harold needs another week, and Anthony Brown is going to need another week. So we need this week.

But I'd be lying if I didn't tell you it's hard to walk away from the rhythm we're in right now. It's a good rhythm.

Sometimes there is something to that. But we do need this bye week, and our kids need to be able to really have an extra dose of attention to their academics. This is a very, very competitive school here, and at this time of the year there is a lot going on. So to be able to have more free time right now to really, you know, catch back up so to speak, and to rest their bodies, and to do that with a very positive feeling, I think.

Sometimes you go into these bye weeks and you don't have a positive feeling, that can just grind on you a little bit. But I think it's a positive feeling, and that's a good thing. So we're going to take it for what it is. Needed rest, and hopefully we can come back and keep our rhythm, and we'll see. We'll see.

We have a great game against N.C. State, which they're playing. They have a veteran team right now. They're playing at a very high level. But they've got a couple wars tomorrow and next Saturday before they get to us. So we're going to have a little extra time, and I'm looking forward to that.

Q. Was the common thread to these three wins points off turnovers?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Sure. Yep. I mean, I think we were able to create turnovers and we're not turning the ball over. That's a huge thing. We're playing. We're running the ball, we're able to make some explosive plays. We're playing well on defense, and our special teams continue to grow. But, yes, we're winning the turnover battle, and that's a big battle and that's a good thing. So, but we've got a lot of good football left to go. One week at a time, our focus will be clearly on N.C. State.

Q. Steve, so FSU coming into the game is one of two teams in the Atlantic Division you haven't beaten. So now after tonight, what's this win mean to you?
STEVE ADDAZIO: A win is a win. Every game is an important game. I mean, this was another important game to me. We're just about trying to get better each day, each week. It may sound boring to everybody, but that's the truth. We just look at it, like, hey, let's go have a great Tuesday. Then a great Wednesday. Let's play our tails off, man. Let's go out and play B.C. football with great passion and energy.

That's really how we look at things. I really don't look at it any other way. I knew we were playing a really good football program. They were very, very talented on defense. So we knew we had to have a good preparation for this game. We're just trying to find a way to win each week. That won't change as we move forward. We're in a very competitive league, and a very competitive division. We've got to fight and scratch for every inch we can get. That's kind of our mindset collectively. So every one of these games, we're going to go out and battle and let the chips fall where they fall and then keep plugging along.

Q. What do you know about A.B., so far as far as his shoulder?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, I think he tweaked it a little bit towards the goal line there. We had to bring him out. So, we'll see. We'll see. He came back in, so that's a good thing. I think this rest will be really good for him. Really good for him because he needs to get healthy there, and it will be really good for Harold.

Q. Can you talk about the job the defense did with Harold?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, those guys took every snap. Wyatt, and Zack and Ray Smith and Noa Merritt, they're doing a phenomenal job. How paper thin are we? You know, we took one of the best players in the conference, he didn't play today. But we're going to get him healthy and get him feeling good again. So that by itself will be a huge deal for us. Hopefully this will be enough time to make him feel better so that he can play at the level that he wants to play at and we all want him to play at.

Q. (Inaudible)?
STEVE ADDAZIO: What's that?

Q. (Inaudible)?
STEVE ADDAZIO: He just really couldn't go today. Yet, obviously, yes. Realizing there's a bye week here and we just have to try to get him back. He couldn't play last week. Really couldn't play much the week before at any kind of level. So this was in the best interest for Harold to get healthy. It's just a rest thing. It's nothing major, but it's a rest thing. This hopefully will be really, really good for him. I'm sure it will be.

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