Oct. 11, 2003

Recap| Final Stats| Notes

Toledo vs. Eastern Michigan (Oct. 11, 2003)

Toledo Head Coach Tom Amstutz

(General Comments)
"I thought we looked like a good football team in the first half. Our offense used a good mix of plays and we had a lot of players making plays for us. Every win is special, especially when it is a league game."

(About playing after having a bye week)
"We took a little of time off the first week to rest and then we got after it this past week. How you do coming off the bye week is you focus on executing. I was proud of our seniors to make the team mentally ready to practice."

(On the play of the offense and Bruce Gradkowski)
"I thought our offense was sharp in the first half and Bruce did a nice job in leading us. He has been practicing very well and he had players making good plays for him. We had the opportunity to get the ball to a lot of different guys and they took full advantage of their opportunities. I thought Trinity Dawson and the offensive line did a good job of running the ball and that helps us execute our entire offense.

(On the Toledo defense)
"After the opening drive, I thought the defense was pretty solid and we had the opportunity to play a lot of different players."

Junior Wide Receiver Lance Moore

(About playing after having a bye week)
"These past two weeks were extremely long. It seemed since forever since we last played. We knew we had to come out and play well and I think we did, especially in the first half. The next couple of games, though, we have to put two halves together."

(On the Play of Bruce Gradkowski)
"Bruce seemed to be in real control in the first half. It seemed like every time the ball was in the air, we were coming up with catches and guys were able to run after catching the ball. A lot of credit has to go to the offensive line and to Bruce."

(On the punt return game)
"I had a good return in the first half, but the turf monster got me. Steve (Odom) had a great return in the second half. I'm happy for him, but I don't want him to take my job."

Senior DE Frank Ofili

"We were eager to go out there and prove ourselves. It's a great win for us coming off the bye week."

(On maintaining their edge while having a big lead)

"We just kept playing to hold them. We set goals for every game and try hard to obtain them no matter what the score."

Sophomore QB Bruce Gradkowski

"It felt like we hadn't played in quite a while. We came out strong and played with a lot of fire and were ready to play the game."

"EMU played tough tonight but we came out and played hard."

(On the TD pass to Steve Odom)

"I kept running toward the sideline and saw Steve running across in the back of the end zone and I knew if I threw it up a little bit he would have a chance to get it. I was trying to throw it where only he would have a chance to catch the ball. Steve just made a really good play."

Sophomore RB Trinity Dawson

(On scoring three touchdowns)

"The receivers made a lot of big play to get us down near the goal line. Unfortunately for them they didn't get into the end zone. When we got near the goal line we just tried to punch it in and try to make a play."

"This game was important for us. All of our MAC games are like championship games for us. We came out ready to go because we hadn't played in a while. It's a great win for us and really helps our confidence. It lets us know we can drive the ball down the field and spread the ball around to different receivers and let them make plays for us."

EMU Head Coach Jeff Woodruff

"You just can't turn the ball over against a good team."

"Our defense really struggled for the first time all year. We just couldn't slow them down until the second half."