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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 13, 2010

Ralph Friedgen

THE MODERATOR: We now go to Maryland head football Coach Ralph Friedgen. We'll bring on Coach Friedgen for a brief opening statements and then go to questions.
Coach?
COACH FRIEDGEN: We are preparing for a very talented team in Clemson. They've had three very tough games, but they have a wealth of talent and are playing very, very well and we're expecting a very tough game.
We'll open up to questions.

Q. I wanted to ask, coming off an off week, how did you put that to use? And do you think, you know -- was there anything you needed to correct that you did correct?
COACH FRIEDGEN: Well, we tried to correct it. We'll find out if things are corrected. We spent a lot of time on fundamentals because we were fairly beat up. I had to get kids well, and, yet, we still had to get better. That was the task.
And so I didn't do a lot of physical stuff, but I did a lot of individual fundamental work with positions and did work some against each other: Worked on kickoff return which needs to get better, try to focus in on third down, things that we're not doing as well as I think we should and try to improve in those areas.

Q. You won against Duke because you won the turnover battle and you made the big plays in the kicking game but were outgained by 100 yards or so. Is that a game that's easier to build on and fix things than one where you physically dominate and just control?
COACH FRIEDGEN: I knew Duke was a very good team. Especially -- I thought they were an excellent team offensively. You know, I thought they played very well against us, like I knew they would. I have a lot of respect for Coach Cutcliffe and his program.
One of the things I thought we did, though, in the last two games that we haven't been -- that we didn't do last year is we were able to finish games and compete. And so I think you take that from the game, too.
I didn't think we played our best, especially in the first half and any time you're not playing your best and still come away with a win, that's a good night. Those were the things I was pleased about.
We got to continue to keep our turnover ratio going the way it's going. I think that's a very big factor in winning football games.

Q. What's your plan for how you are going to use your quarterbacks this week?
COACH FRIEDGAN: Well, both will play. We haven't decided on who will start yet, but both will play.

Q. Are you looking at this Clemson game -- I mean, are you curious just how good your team is this year, and do you learn that this week?
COACH FRIEDGEN: Well, you know, it's -- obviously, the last time we were away, we didn't do very well against West Virginia. And I am hopeful we will handle the crowd noise better than we did then, hopefully learn from that experience.
I think we will find just where we are at going against a Clemson team that I know will be ready to play. It is a very important game for them as it is for us.

Q. You said a couple questions ago how one thing you didn't do last year that you are doing the last couple weeks is finishing these games. What's the difference -- what's the different ingredient this team has that's allowed you to win some of these close games that you weren't winning last year? I know it was a point of emphasis before the season. But what's the difference allowing you to finish?
COACH FRIEDGEN: I hope some of it is maturity. I think it is confidence, the fact that you do push through and are able to win the game like we did at Navy and Florida International and then at Duke. So I think that's a learning process.
Last year we didn't do it, and this year we are. We are also not turning the ball over like we did, especially in the early part of last year. First half of the season we lost a lot of games by that.

Q. Kind of a follow-up from the last question. Ralph, you hear people talking about teams having to learn how to win. Do you subscribe to that? And if so, how close is your team to learning to win?
COACH FRIEDGEN: You know, I think each game is a learning experience. You know, when you have positive learning experiences, I think it accelerates the learning curve. When you have a negative one, I think it delays it.
I think every good team I have been associated with has had a confidence that good things were going to happen to you down the stretch. And sometimes you got to make that happen with how well you play.
But to me, if you don't do the things that get yourself beat, penalties, turnovers, sacks, dropped passes, then you give yourself a chance to win and that's how confidence is built, in my opinion.

Q. Do you feel like your team is starting to get to that point now?
COACH FRIEDGEN: I think we're in another stage right now. We got to learn how to win on the road. I think that's a very important part if you are going to have a good football season. And we are going to get a very big test of that this week and next week when we go to Boston College. So I think we need to be able to take strides when that happens. Then I think we will start to grow as a football team.

Q. What kind of coverage is Torrey Smith drawing and what is he doing to beat that? He is averaging almost 24 yards a catch.
COACH FRIEDGEN: Well, Torrey has been getting a lot of double coverages. When he made a couple big plans up at West Virginia, they started what we call clouding the coverage or rolling the corner up and putting a safety behind him.
We are trying to move him around some to make that a little more difficult. But they are going to be able to double him. It is a matter of other guys making plays to help offset that.

Q. Coach, you've had some success with big plays this year. Does that become self-fulfilling? Does it create a momentum in guys just trying to outdo each other? Or has it just been one of those flukey things?
COACH FRIEDGEN: I think we have some weapons, guys that make plays, guys on both sides of the ball. I think what we need to be better at is maintaining the momentum and making the easy plays, keeping us at third and extra long and try to build some drives. I think if we do that and we're on the field longer, then we'll get more big plays because we'll have more opportunities.
But right now we haven't done a very good job of time possession and our time on the field is limited. And, yet, we're still making big plays. If we can correct that other part, I think we can have a lot of big plays.

Q. You guys have obviously had some success against these guys in recent years. What do you think, is there any trend there or anything that you have figured out about them?
COACH FRIEDGEN: No. (Chuckles).
We have been very fortunate. I think it is a tough place to play, but I think it is a great place to play also. I think the fans are very enthusiastic, but I think they are good fans. I know the people that go and travel to the game are always -- say how well they are treated and, yet, they are very supportive of their team.
And it is just -- you know, we have just been fairly fortunate to eek out a win. It has always been a close game. I hope we can keep it going, but it won't be easy.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks for being with us.

End of FastScripts

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