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FEDEX ORANGE BOWL: WAKE FOREST v LOUISVILLE

December 31, 2006

Paul Petrino

MIAMI, FLORIDA

COACH PAUL PETRINO: Well, we came down here and got after it pretty good when we first got down here, went out there in full pads and practiced real hard.
Today we call our perfect Thursday. This is a Thursday practice. We try to go out there and go through all the situations and just go up and down the field, make sure we execute our game plan, so today is a real important practice for us, looking forward to getting out there.

Q. Talk about your offense this near, especially late in the season. It seemed like there were small bumps in the road along the way, but towards the end you really seemed to go to a different level. Do you feel that way, and if so, why? What happened?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Well, I would say probably we started out the first couple games of the year about as good as you could be, and then we had a little spell in the middle where maybe we were just finding our dandy because Brian was hurt and he was out a little bit, and Hunter played a couple games. And then when Brian came back we probably ran the ball a little more than always staying 50/50.
The most part, we ended the year Sunday in the country in total offense and our goal was always to be No. 1. But I do think, like you said, the last two games of the year, we really executed and went up and down the field. And probably just as much as anything, the more Brian played, the better he got feeling and the more he got back in sync with the offense and just everybody kind of learning each other and getting a feel for the whole group because the first game of the year you lose maybe the best player in the country, Michael Bush, and that first half he looked pretty good.
It was just kind of a couple -- we had a lot of injuries throughout the year, and we don't ever talk about that like a lot of people whine and cry when they get that stuff; we don't ever even mention it. For the most part I thought we played real good at the end of the year, good enough to win every game but one.

Q. You made a reference to a desire to be No. 1 in total offense every year. How much of that, if any, is based on the recruiting benefits of that, to be able to tell a prospect, hey, we do have the best offense in the country?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Well, I think that played a big role in it, but I think from day one since we came to Louisville when we had our offensive meeting, that's our goal every year. The last couple years we've been first, we've been third, we've been fifth and we've been second. So in the past four years we've been in the top five every year, either in scoring or total offense. That's just something we strive for and our kids understand we're going to try to pay attention to the details and go out there and work every day. It helps in recruiting, but I don't know if necessarily that's why we make that our goal.

Q. I was wondering how much the layoff affects you and how much you're concerned about a layoff, how much you're concerned about a layoff, going into a game like this after a long layoff?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: I think you're always concerned, especially on the offense just because like was mentioned before, we were playing so good in those last two games, so you're always a little concerned. What we've kind of tried to do with our players is said let's go into this like it's two-a-days and let's get after it and work hard. We've probably a hit it a little bit more so we can come out and execute. We executed in the first game against Kentucky as well as we did in any game all year, so we've tried to really practice hard and go at it that way.

Q. The fact that they lead the nation in interceptions, is there something you've seen on film that's made that possible other than just the fact they have good players?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: I think they do a good job of changing up their coverages. They do some things on 3rd downs where they'll drop nine guys sometimes. You know, they got some teams like Boston College, their corners would jump and stuff. A lot of people try to double-move them and then Boston College tried to double-move them and they went cover two and picked off two of them off in the end zone.
They lead the country in interceptions with 21, and I think about seven of them have been in the end zone to win games. They just do a real good job of getting to the ball, and I think they're well coached and they play hard, and it's a great challenge. But you get to a great Bowl game like this, you're supposed to be playing a great team, so we look forward to it.

Q. How has Brian improved this year, particularly after the thumb injury, and are you ever kind of surprised at how quickly he seems to kind of physically rebound from things? Obviously the knee he rehabbed quickly and the thumb he was supposed to be out three to six and he was playing sooner rather than later?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Yeah, I just think more than anything it's mental toughness. I just think he's a real tough kid. I think a lot of kids can come back faster than maybe the doctor is always saying. It just comes down to how much pain you can handle both physically and mentally. I think Brian is a very, very tough kid and he's going to do everything he can to get back on the field, and he was taking snaps when it was very painful where a lot of kids wouldn't have been able to do it.

Q. You guys always talk about playing fast and having tempo, especially in your practices and games. Why is that so important to you and how does that help you as an offense?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: I just think the faster we get in and out of the huddle the more tempo we have, the more it puts the defense on the edge. I think defensive players a lot of times have in their mind that if they're out there past five or six plays that they should be tired, and I've never understood that because offense is out there the same time. Defensive kids seem to think that. So we really try to get up tempo, go after them, go after them, go after them, so they don't have any time to rest.
We're not the so-called no-huddle offenses, but we probably get in and out of the huddle and run our plays a lot faster than those no-huddle teams do because they stand up on the line and take all that time checking their plays.
We just try to really have a fast up tempo. We feel like we practice harder than other people do, we get more plays in in practice and if we can do that in a game we feel like we can wear them out by the fourth quarter.

Q. Do you find because of Louisville's offense and also its offensive reputation that teams try to do a lot of different things to you on defense that they haven't done that you've seen on film?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: That's happened this year quite a bit, yeah. I think a lot of people come in and have a different package against us and try to do different things. I'll be surprised if these guys do it. They seem like they really have what they like and know what they're doing, and they'll probably have a couple new wrinkles because we've had so much time off.
A lot of teams we've played came in and did totally different things than what you saw on film. That's just something you've got to do a great job of adjusting on the sideline and making your adjustments and moving on the fly and getting it done.

Q. Is Wake's defense similar to anybody's defense that you've played this year?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Schematically they're a little similar to Connecticut, but they just do a real good job. They fly around and get to the ball and cause a lot of turnovers, and that's the biggest thing we've been talking about from day one in Bowl practice, kind of make sure we take care of the ball.

Q. I thought I'd give you a chance to brag a little bit and tell me about the new baby.
COACH PAUL PETRINO: We had a baby girl named Eva Gabrielle Petrino. My wife had her on the 21st, and talk about mental toughness, my wife got on the plane five days later with Eva and flew down here. They've been in the hotel. We're really excited, and it's just a great deal.
We also have nine year old twins. Mason is standing right over there, and his twin sister Anne Marie is back with Eva. Yeah, that was a great Christmas present.

Q. Along those lines, family seems to be enormously important to you and your brother. Talk about to some degree working for him and also just being on the staff and what Bobby is like and why you think he's been so successful at Louisville so quickly and how the family relationship works both on and off the field.
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Well, it's kind of something that we both -- our dad was a coach so we grew up around football our whole life. We were probably breaking down -- learning how to break down films, learning how to read defenses when other people were out hunting and fishing with their dads. It's something I knew 20 years ago Bob was ready for a head job and was just a matter of when he got it. Obviously I'm biased, but there's no better offensive mind out there in the country.
To me it's been a great experience because I've learning from the best, and it sets me up for when I get my chance to hopefully do as good a job.
Another thing that's real special is our kids get to grow up together, and everybody is around, and Bob makes it a real family atmosphere up at the office. You come up to our office, our kids can be up there, our kids run around -- because that's how we grew up; we grew up in our dad's building and we thought it was our building. It's a real family atmosphere and you see kids running around the building all the time, but they know how to behave when it's serious time, too. That makes it a real special thing.

Q. The Miami game, what happened before the game, how did you get caught in the middle of that, and were you surprised at the publicity that followed?
A. Yeah, I was surprised. It was just something -- we just don't like people to jump on the bird and we were just trying to get them off of there. It probably was -- we just wanted to make sure they got off.

Q. Did a lot of people think it was Bobby?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: I think when it very first happened some people thought it was Bobby, but it was his brother (laughter).

Q. You just talked about a minute ago getting ready to -- being ready maybe to take over your own program. How close are you to that? I mean, have you thought about the process of getting a head coaching job and when you'd like to go ahead and do that?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: Oh, I think I'm ready right now. It would just be a matter of the right situation. But I'm also very happy at Louisville, so it would have to be a good job, but there's no question in my mind I'm ready right now. But I'm not out politicking for a job, either.

Q. How do you and Bob by divide up the offensive duties? I know he calls the plays, you're up in the press box, but could you elaborate on that a little bit?
COACH PAUL PETRINO: As an offensive staff we game plan and we watch all the cut-ups together as a whole staff and we actually game plan and do everything as a whole staff, where some other schools some guys break up and do it different. We'll go through the whole game plan.
We do everything by formation, game plan that, do what we're going to do, run, pass, play action, quick game, and then we go by situations in the game, 3rd downs. The coordinator, more your job is the day-to-day getting practice ready, making sure everything is organized, making sure everything falls into place.
During the game I'm up in the box and I watch the secondary and I'll say what I think is there in the passing game, and Coach Nord is up there and talks about the running game and a lot of our plays are scripted and we'll say a lot of the plays we want to run, and then the final decision is made by Bob.

End of FastScripts

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