Rich Rodriguez Last Quotations

Hey, we have a lot of guys back. And we can't run guys out of here. They love going to bowl games and getting those gifts. But I am approaching it the same. I am anxious to see how much better our guys can get. Everybody that we played (in the Big East) had a young team last year. We played pretty well, but there are always areas to improve.

Dan will be the key for us this season, just like he was the key to our offensive line last season.

It's an opponent that's given us some fits over the last couple years.

It has obviously been a really good rivalry, ... I can remember as a player, it was always a tough, defensive, low-scoring kind of ballgame, coming down to the last possession. The last three years, we've had some really good games against them. It's very emotional on both sides. I think there's a lot of passion both fans have. Both programs have been excited to play each other.

We took the approach that we're playing an 11-round championship fight. Right now we've completed seven rounds and we're on round eight. And we also have some lessons to teach from last year when we had a chance and our destiny in our own hands. We stubbed our toe a little bit at the end.

We're a little more talented now than maybe we've been the last couple years. But we've got to show it on the field.

I want our guys to feel good about last year. But any play made last year against Georgia or Louisville won't help us get a first down versus Marshall. The 2006 season is upon us, and we're 0-0.

He's doing a nice job, he's our backup long snapper and he's competing to get better. We've been proud of the way he has worked. He's better now than he was last year and every week he keeps getting better and better.

The last couple of games there's been a lot of long drives. The games are going a lot faster, which is OK as long as you win it.

When you play a team that's got a great secondary with great speed, you can't make a lot of moves. Coach (Calvin) Magee and I were on him the last two weeks, 'Steve, press the blocks, make one cut and just hit it.' And he did that today.

We lost a lot of guys to graduation last year, so we realized there wasn't going to be a lot of talk about us winning the Big East this year. It was neat to watch them come together.

As I mentioned to some folks last night. There's a lot of good football teams in the Big East and we had some very competitive battles with them and we'll continue to have those the next several years.

We went over to the Dome last night to the game to get a sense of the atmosphere, and I know it will be even louder Monday night. Communication is going to be a big key, but we can't prepare our guys fully until it happens.

They have given us some fits in the last several years,

They have definitely given us fits over the last several years, ... They are very talented again.