Virginia Tech 49, Boston College 0: Steve Addazio Postgame Quotes

What can you say after losing 49-0? Steve Addazio had to wander up to the podium and figure out the answer to that question. Here’s what came out. Transcript is, as always, courtesy of BCEagles.com.

Opening Statement ...

"Obviously, we played poorly today. We had some opportunities early that we didn't capitalize on. We had to create momentum and that didn't happen. In all three phases, we had opportunities that we didn't do anything with. We got our butts whooped, and that is the tale of the day. We have to go back and take a look at the tape. We have to improve and get better. We have to teach our young guys how to handle this environment. Being in this kind of environment and what it takes to turn back that tide. We will go back and do that, and we will move forward."

On if there was a point where things got out of hand ...

"Obviously in the second half. They had some quick multiple scores with some long balls and a couple PI calls. In the first half, there were some opportunities there. We had dropped balls. We got the ball at the 30-yard line on the first drive, and we turned the ball over. We come right back with a kickoff return, and we created a penalty that nullified a touchdown.

Those are major momentum swings. You are talking about having the ball at the 30-yard line in the first series and then they turn their deal into score. We turn around and answer that score with a kickoff return for however many yards that was. That gets nullified by a penalty.

You continue to see a series of things that were deflating. There were dropped balls everywhere. I didn't think we competed hard enough for some balls a couple of times. We didn't make the plays that we needed to make when they were available to us on both sides of the ball.

In the first half, we were playing pretty physical on defense. We played pretty strong, but we gave up some plays. I think the offense lacked on capitalizing on the opportunities they had. That left the defense on the field for too long. It was a shame that we let that gap go from 14 to 21 before the half.

Then we came back in the second half, and it got away from us. Plain and simple. That's where you have to be able to come out and make your best plays, so that you can turn the tide or momentum of the game around. It had to happen in that opening drive of the second half, which we were not able to do. I think we had a drop ball in that series right there. I can't exactly remember which one it was right now. That's the key and the focus of the game. We managed the first couple weeks to be able to make plays and make plays in the air on offense. My biggest concern is the mistakes being made of front in the run game. We are going to go back and look at the tape and get ready to roll next week."

On if the block in the back was disappointing ...

"It is what it is. You have a guy in there that is trying and playing as hard as he can. That's a young player making a mistake. Obviously, that mistake was costly, but guys go out and compete. They make mistakes. They make plays, and they make mistakes. It is part of the learning process. It happened. That's life, and we have to move forward. There will be a lot of good plays in his future as well."

On if the second half was disappointing ...

"Yes, but that's what happens when you start doing what we were doing. I was worried about the fact of establishing the run game, and we didn't do that. Uncharacteristically, we were dropping balls. We had to learn how to compete for some of those deep balls. There were a couple deep balls that were there to compete for. We have to learn how to do that. That's the youth of our wide receivers right there. It showed. We played a good team in a tough environment. You have to learn how to handle that. You can't shrink in that environment. You have to expand in that environment. I think that there were some guys that I looked at, and it was a big environment for them. It was probably the biggest they ever played in. They could feel that.

I told the team that nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems. That's where the reality falls, and the reality is that we can play a whole lot better than we played today. That's the reality of it. Make no mistake about it, we got our butts beat today. In a place like this, if you let it get away from you, it will snap over and roll on you real quick. I thought that happened in the third quarter very, very quickly."

On junior quarterback Jerod Evans ...

"I think he is a dual-threat quarterback. I thought he threw the ball pretty exceptionally well today. I thought they caught the ball really well today. They held onto the ball well today. All the plays that they could make, they made. All the plays that we had an opportunity to make, we didn't make. Including all the penalties that you want to throw in on top of that. That's what happens.

I thought he did a nice job. I thought their team did a nice job. I thought they played at a high level today. That's what happened. I thought we played at a poor level, and they played at a high level. Then there became that gap."

On Boston College's offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler’s return to Lane Stadium and what he was feeling before the game ...

"I really can't. I'm not here to speak for Scot Loeffler. Obviously, Scot is extremely upset just like every other coach and player in that locker room. It doesn't matter who, what, when, where or why. We just came out. We didn't play well. We lost the football game, and that is the end of that."

On how taxing was the Virginia Tech offense ...

"It's taxing if you let it become taxing. If you are three and out, then it is not taxing. If you sustain drives, then it becomes very taxing. The throws down field were the story of the day. We had two critical PI's. Those lead to that third quarter roll that started happening right there.

Obviously, we dropped balls on the other side. We are dropping them on one side, and they are throwing some long balls down the field for some completions and PI's. It created a third quarter gap really quickly.

Running the ball early, there wasn't a lot going on. We were real good against the run, and then we had those issues in the back end. The calls were the calls."

On if this lost is any different than the lost against Georgia Tech in Dublin ...

"All losses hurt equally the same. They really do. When you lose a close game, it's crushing to you. When you come out in a game like this and get your but whooped in, it's crushing to you. I don't think one is worse than the other. I really don't. I think it is important to determine the why and the issues that have to be corrected. We have to found out what created this to happen this way. Obviously, we already discussed what I think off the field. I need to have the ability to watch the tape."