University of Toledo Athletics

Jason Candle
(on earning a win during the season opener at the Glass Bowl)
“To get tonight’s win, especially in front of our home fans and our family, is special. Toledo is a special place to me. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into my job here, not just as the head coach but as an assistant coach before that. I’ve had a lot of great players come through here that have impacted my career in a positive way, many of which were here tonight. To have those guys back and be around the program creates a special feeling all around. It was a great night for me and for our team.”

“Very proud of our football team against a very tough football team in Western Kentucky. I thought it was a great home environment tonight. Great to be back in the Glass Bowl. Good to take some Week 1 mistakes off the videotape, obviously aided by a hot start and two turnovers. When you can turn those turnovers into points, those are some massive momentum swings that occur in the course of a football game. We were able to ride that wave, found some rushing yards and found some consistency in that area offensively, and we did a good job in the yardage battle on special teams and in the kicking game. Great win for our team.”
 
“Those personal things will be things I look back upon someday. I talk to our team about the history of our program, to walk these halls and to see all of the great players that have come before them. I don’t think that’s any different on the coaching front. There have been tons of great coaches that have come through here before me, and I don’t think you can move anything forward if you don’t respect where this program has come from. I’ve always kept that in mind, from the day I accepted the job. It’s a tremendous amount of responsibility to be the head coach here. I take a lot of pride in being the product of the staff around me, some who have been with me the whole time. It’s not just my accomplishments, it’s theirs too. Proud to be associated with really good coaches and really good people, in a place that cares about winning and a place that loves football. Ultimately, we have been able to recruit student-athletes that believe those same things, and it’s a special thing to be in the locker room with those guys tonight.”

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
“We used the turnover to give the offense momentum to start the game off fast. After the loss to Kentucky, the defense came together and locked in. We watched a lot of film after the game to prepare for Western Kentucky. We knew what mistakes we needed to fix heading into the game. The defense was able to get on the same page going into today’s game. Everybody wants to get better together."

Chip Traynum
“My mind was stuck on executing the game plan. Last week, we didn’t come out and play Toledo football how we planned on. Tonight was another opportunity to play our game and I think we met that goal. As an offense, we set the standard for tonight. We try to keep up this consistency week by week. Brick by brick we keep building. We haven’t seen the best version of this team yet.”