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NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TOWSON v NORTH DAKOTA STATEJanuary 4, 2014Robert AmbroseTelvion ClarkConnor FrazierFRISCO, TEXAS North Dakota State – 35 COACH AMBROSE: I have to give credit to Coach Bohl, his program, his players, his staff, and North Dakota State's fans. They are undefeated for a reason. They are one, and they are perfect. I'd also like to congratulate my guys, as well. We lost the day, but we won the year. They made history. I don't think it's possible to be more proud of a group of young men as I am right now. Q. Just talk about the blocked field goal and how you may have felt that change momentum at that point. COACH AMBROSE: I'd say so. A legitimate 10‑point swing, I pretty much think everybody here figured that part out. We made a mistake, and they made us pay for it. I think we all knew what kind of game it was at that point in the game, and things were moving in the right direction at least for us, head to head, pretty even. As I said before, they were perfect. The margin for error is small. We made an error, they made us pay for it. Q. Rob, can you talk about the field turf? Was there talk at all on the sidelines regarding injury, trying to stay up? Did that hurt momentum at all? COACH AMBROSE: There was a conversation with the officials before the game. Both of us were present. In the end we've played in snow, red turf, busted turf, you name it. It doesn't matter. Q. Telvion, can you talk about the way this defense has played, especially this postseason, coming up with stops that maybe you guys didn't always make during the regular season? Talk about how you've risen to the occasion over the past three games. TELVION CLARK: I think during the postseason and all season, the defense has played phenomenal at times. Tonight I think the guys came out, they fought hard if you take out the exception of about four plays, I think we're right in there at the end. Q. Rob, can you talk about do you get a break at all between now and signing day? COACH AMBROSE:  No. We'll get off the plane, try and get some sleep tonight, eat breakfast tomorrow morning, we'll meet, and I'll probably be doing an in‑home meeting tomorrow night somewhere. Q. Coach, can you talk about your decision to try the field goal there given the turf situation, the distance and that kind of thing? Was there any question about going for it or punting or anything like that? COACH AMBROSE: Well, we certainly weren't going to punt from there. The kickers kicked on that turf all day. They didn't have a problem with it. It was the cutting that made the biggest difference. The turf had nothing to do with us missing a block and having that kick blocked. Q. And can the players address the turf issue and the footing and how treacherous it was? CONNOR FRAZIER: I mean, the turf was pretty bad, but like coach said, we've played in snow and red turf, and you can't really blame the turf for a missed block assignment or things like that. We play in all types of conditions. TELVION CLARK: The turf wasn't the best. It wasn't ideal, but that's no excuse. Q. Is it hard right now to get past the moment and think about the year that you guys have had, to have really an historic season in Towson history? You said you felt a pride, but describe for the players, how hard is it to get to that? Connecticut it's pretty hard. I love this team with all my heart. This is the best team I've ever been a part of, and we just made a historic run. We definitely wanted to come out on top and win this championship game, and North Dakota State, just credit them. Their team is phenomenal. I just love this team so much right now. TELVION CLARK: I second Connor again. I love this team and everything that it's about. We've built a lot throughout the course of the season, even before the season started and the off‑season I saw things building, I saw things starting to mold out, and I think we really proved a lot this year, although it didn't end the way we wanted it to. I couldn't be more proud of my guys, our guys, and the things that we've accomplished. COACH AMBROSE: It's more than just about a game. It's about a family, a commitment to each other, a bond that is borne of hard work, sweat, toil, pain, and as far as‑‑ I mean, as a head guy, it's another building block in something that we're trying to build. It's one more step in the building process. Clearly we're not there yet. We're just not. But we're getting pretty dang close. Q. Rob, what was North Dakota State able to do defensively that maybe only I guess William & Mary and James Madison were able to do this year? COACH AMBROSE: Well first they play 11‑man defense as good as anybody in the country, and they don't make mistakes. That's it. You make one mistake, they will make you pay for it, and we did that. Offense is hard, man. Offense is hard. 11 guys got to be dang near perfect for a play to work. Defense, all you've dot to do is have one good guy. One guy make a great play, it's great defense. It goes back to the fundamentals of it all. They are a great defense on a great team on a great program. Q. Coach Ambrose, looking back three years ago, 1‑10, what has happened over the last three years to get you guys to this point? COACH AMBROSE: We won more. (Laughter.) Everybody talks about the 1‑10 year and looks at it as a statistic in the game that we didn't win or ones that we lost. This goes back farther than that. There was the first year, but the first year was all blow outs. The second year, four‑point losses, three‑point losses, seven‑point losses, 10‑point losses to nationally ranked teams. There's a huge difference in losing by 35 points and losing by four to the same team, the same team that was a top 15 team. We've been building this since day one. The construction project is not over. It's not there yet, but we're certainly getting there. Q. Has Terrance West talked to you about his future and what he'd like to do next year? COACH AMBROSE: I'm impressed we made it this far. That is a conversation that he and I both agreed we are going to have in detail tomorrow. Q. Rob, when you talk about almost being there, not being there yet, in what way has this team factored into your decision about your future at Towson with all the rumors that have been creeping around all season? COACH AMBROSE: I guess I'm just thankful we got this far before anybody said that. I'm a Tiger. I love the town, I love the school, I love the kids. My daughter was born there. It would be hard‑‑ I don't think Texas is going to offer me a job. I can't see me going anywhere. I really can't. Q. Did you interview anywhere else this season? COACH AMBROSE: Did I interview anywhere else? No, I had a conversation with one or two people, but I wouldn't dare call that an interview. Q. And just for the transcript, what is that in your left ear? COACH AMBROSE: Damn, I don't have a funny thing to say. It's an earring. It's an earring. Yes, I'm comfortable in my sexuality. No I'm not having a midlife crisis, and yes, I did this for my players. There was a conversation where I said I would do anything for these guys. I would lay in front of a bus if it gave them a chance to play in a National Championship game. As stiff as I can be, as hard as I can be, I would get my ear pierced and wear it in the National Championship game for them, and these sons of guns got us here. To be honest, there's a lesson to be earned. I'm a man of my word. Some of these guys have never‑‑ it's not convenient. I don't want to wear an earring. I don't like it. I think I look terrible, although my wife likes it. But I said I would do it. It doesn't matter if I liked it or not, I said I would do it, and it's a lesson they needed to learn. Q. Coach, everybody knew what you wanted out of the game plan with Terrance running the ball. Can you assess his performance? COACH AMBROSE: I thought he played pretty well. I really did. I don't think we played particularly well up front. I don't think we actually did anything in any three phases of the game particularly completely well. There's some surprises today, Jake Ryder punted extremely well for the first time, and I thought Terrance played pretty well considering the circumstances, the team he was facing, the defense he was facing, and the conditions in which he had to run. Yeah, I thought he did pretty well. Q. The conversations that you'll have with Terrance coming up with his potential professional future, you've been around football a long time. Just can you assess staying in college for a fourth year as opposed to jumping to the NFL? COACH AMBROSE: On the whole in almost all cases, I'm going to tell you that the history of an education and what it will do for the rest of your life in most cases, in almost all cases, is more important than a short‑lived NFL career. But Terrance is also an older player. He was an older freshman, he was an older true freshman, and he's an older junior. It's not a question that Terrance has the talent to play at the next level. There's got to be a conversation about where he could actually go, and we're going to weigh both possibilities, playing at the next level, and guaranteed continuation of his education, obtaining his degree at some point, or I'll kill him. He knows it, too, and I mean that in love for all you literal people out there. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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