Football: Bill O'Brien Post Game Press Conference at Florida State (Sept. 2, 2024)

yep so big first win as your first game as head coach at Boston College how's it feel and it's big to come against the defending ACC champs yeah it's good I mean look these These Guys in that locker room um you know theyve put a lot of work into this in the offseason you know from Winter conditioning to Spring practice to Summer practice to uh training camp so you know I'm very proud of these guys you know um they were resilient tonight to come down here against a team that you know really was you know really in in their minds I'm sure had to have this win that's that's a heck of a statement for BC but it's just one win it's only one so we we have to understand that and we we've got to be able to handle success you know as well as we handled adversity tonight you know I mean handle them the same way so but we're on the we're on the right track that's for sure um Tran Ward obviously come back here used to the year two years ago yeah was that big for him coming into the game wanting to be a big part of it yeah I mean you know he's Florida State then Kansas State he he's found a home here at BC he's a he's a really he's a grad grad student uh very bright guy uh practices very hard has a very business-like approach to everything that he does um does a lot in the community just like a lot of these guys do uh so look I think he's he's a good fit for BC we wish we had him for longer we only have him for this season but uh but he he had a good day today behind behind an offensive line that really really paved the way tonight thank you yeah all right we'll go to questions from Zoom we'll start with Dan Rubin coach 263 yards on the ground um and five yards per carry what was it about the the offensive line in particular that helped plow that for uh for three guys you know to get 70 yards individual yeah I think they communicated well I think they knew the game plan very well they were very well prepared by Matt Apple bomb and will long they they did a really good job the offensive staff did a really good job the defensive staff did a really good job the special team staff did a good job and the players were able to carry out that they executed you know which was the key um and you know again Boston College you know has to be known for its offensive line we have a great tradition of offensive Lin in here and hopefully these guys can keep that going they started off on a good note tonight Kevin Stone hey coach congratulations thank you Kevin um the drive after Florida State minut it 21 to13 you guys responded right away what did you see in that drive and and just how important was that it felt like the turning point in the game yeah that was a drive you're right that was a drive where we had to answer they they they were on a little bit of a roll there and that's always a big drive that type of Drive is big in every football every close game I've ever been associated with you have to have an answer drive and so um you know our guys did a good job they we ran the ball quite a bit on that drive and uh I thought the offensive line really established themselves during that drive and and give those guys you know a lot of credit Trevor hos hey Bill you really preached Poise and consistency throughout Camp just how about the ability to not turn the ball over and only have one penalty all night yeah I thought they did a good job even the penalty was um you know I think it was on JJ he look he just got a little too close to the returner he was down there very fast which was a good thing to see uh we'll fix that but yeah I thought they played with poise you know even at the end there I thought Netto oala did a great job of not retaliating against something that happened to him so you know I think that's got to be a big key for us moving forward we've got to be a disciplined football team we've got to be a team that plays with poise a resilient team you know I I I believe I have a very strong belief that that helps you win football games s go ahead you talked about quick decision- making quick throws for Tommy all all offseason what' you think about Tommy tonight look I thought he managed the game very well he um you know he he's a very Dynamic player um you know I think the key for us this year with him you know in the off season was to say look here's some things you can improve on footwork taking care of the ball reading coverages you know understanding obviously our offensive scheme protections and things like that he's done a really good job of that and you know he has to you know stay consistent with that throughout the year because like I said in the very beginning it's only one game it's a it's a look I'm not I'm not trying to take anything away from the win it's a very important win for BC and where we're at but um it's just one game and and he really played well in the game he's got to keep that going go to Tom Carol coach congratulations on the win tonight um so you keep talking about it's one game it's one game but you've mentioned to us before you know for the city of Boston to really Buy in on BC football you need to win and you need to build a winner and to get this just one game in this environment in this Spotlight it's just a huge win for the program so how do you build off this momentum I know you have the short week for Duane but then you have Missouri shortly after that how do you harness what you got here in this big win and and keep moving yeah I think that's the key right how do how do we do that and I think what we do is we we we take it basically one process at a time really I'm being honest with you we got to you know get on the bus here you know get on the plane get back at 4:30 in the morning get some sleep make sure that we recover tomorrow um and understand that you know we got to get back to you know class on Wednesday we got to get back to a lot of different things and um you know just take it really I know it sounds cliche but really that's what I preach is one day at a time doesn't matter you got to take it one day at a time and really just be disciplined enough in in every facet of your life whether it's academically football-wise or in the community we've got to be able to to to get back and and get back to work and have a good couple of days before you know Duane comes rolling in here Graham go ahead yeah coach I know this is not something that is concerned with what's going on on the field but um one thing that was really noticeable to us reporters tonight was the just absolutely overwhelming support from alumni of the BC football program on Twitter and social media tonight we saw guy you know people from Doug fluty to Matt Ryan Z flowers Christian mahogany AJ Dylan Justin Simmons you name it anybody just tweeting out pretty much constantly throughout the game um I know that's not something you're necessarily concerned with at all right now uh but you know does this surprise you for the program getting all these uh you know people to come back and really reach out and that sort of respect and have you heard from these guys more often I've I've spoken to a lot of guys uh in the off season um I think pretty much every guy that you just mentioned I've spoken to I'm well Z I actually met when I was with the Patriots getting ready for the draft we brought him in for a pre-draft visit and um you know all those guys are awesome we we have great alums at BC I I have great friends I got text uh today from you know good luck text from Mike posos from Steven Boyd from Tom mcmanis guys from my era um that that that were awesome players here at Boston College when they won these guys take a lot of pride in BC and we I think that's part of what we have to do we we've got to play to that pride and uh you know B BC's had a lot of good football players over the years and you know we have to be consistent in in in our approach every single day and try to keep continue to make them proud all right we'll go to Brett and then to Mack congratulations on the first win I'm sure that's exactly how you uh drew it up um can you kind of talk about you know you guys come out the second half um get the get the interception and then turn that into a touchdown to extend the league can you talk about kind of what the you know your guys thought process was kind of coming out that's yeah I think we did a good job you know we talked a lot about halftime and our halftime process um over the last couple weeks in preparation for the season you know making sure that the coaches we meet first talk about the adjustments we need to make maybe a you know kind of a call sheet for the second half in all three phases present that to the players talk to the players about what they need to go you know to get done on the first drive uh what plays they can expect things like that and then you know Max Tucker comes up with a huge play um and that was probably one of the biggest plays of the game because that that really got us going in the second half and I think you know again you talk about a guy like Max Tucker Catholic Memorial Boston guy really tough good football player really what BC's all about I was really happy that he got that play because he he's a very very hardworking guy that uh just has a lot of pride in playing for BC all right go to Zach hi coach O'Brian um so sounds so excited Zack H anyways uh just kid your uh your first win you know being a a huge upset uh against Florida State you know a team that was you know considered by some to be you know snubbed out of the playoffs last year you know how do you feel about that being your first win at as a head coach at BC yeah look I think it's a really good wi Zack it's I'm I'm proud of the guys very proud of them but it's really just one game you know it really is like we have 11 games left and and you know we have to divide it up we talked to these guys a lot about you know 12 one game Seasons that's how we have to approach it you know I talk to him a lot about it's not like baseball where there's 162 games or you know uh basketball there's 82 games hockey 82 games in the pros there's not there's not there's only 12 opportunities so we have to do a good job of trying to take advantage of every single day every single preparation and then every single game and I think that's that's going to be uh very important for us but I'm I'm very proud of the guys and the way they play tonight no doubt about it all right Mac go ahead hey coach congrats to you and your team um just did you talk about the physicality of your team I mean it really was evident you're able to dominate on both sides of the ball and and really it looked like you guys had the experience of a couple games not not being your first game being able to get you know tackle really well and get to the ball can you just speak to the physicality of your of your team and being prepared yeah that was a big part of the game plan you know I think the number one key on on defense was to be able to tackle in space and I thought our guys did a great job of that they really the first guy in got these guys on the ground there's some great athletes in Florida State and I thought our guys did a really good job of tackling in space and that was that was a big key that'll be a big key for us the rest of the year you know ball security taking care of the ball on offense which we did a decent job of that and then tackling on defense that's going to be a big deal moving forward and I thought they started off doing a good job job with that all right we got time for two more Dan and then we'll go to finish it up with Tom Carol coach the Florida state offense came in um you know with its issues for lack of better term from from last week but what was it that this defense from you were able to do that that really forced them into a box made them onedimensional and and forced them obviously with the the long drive to get going I thought our front played really well and I think that that in combination with the pressure we were able to get uh and then our our coverage was good and and Tim mixed the calls up which was really good uh and then I I thought you know we we did a good job stopping a run right I don't think they they might have rushed for maybe 30 or 40 yards and so uh we did a great job of that and and again that's something that we have to we're gonna have to continue to do that's that's my biggest concern guys I'm just be honest with you this is a great win it's an awesome win for BC but we got to turn the page you know because um we got to keep it going it's only game one and I think that's a big big point that I'm gonna stress to these guys as we travel back to Beantown my question was going to be about Tim Lewis and The Game Plan he put together obviously the defense came up huge tonight seemed like you guys were really focused on forcing DJ to throw the ball out to the boundary and it seemed like they weren't able to get that offense going uh just talk a little bit about how important it is to have a guy like Tim Lewis on your staff as you're kind of establishing a new soier at Boston College Yeah Tim Tim's a great guy he does a really good job of connecting with the players he's a good teacher uh they they have a lot of confidence in him and his staff he's he's got really good guys underneath him with Danny O'Brien um Ray Brown and Jeff kishion and then the G and the analysts you know we have you know Tito pasqualone and Tom jerkovic will Blackman we've got a a strong defensive staff and that and we got good defensive players and so that combination you know we've got to keep that going the communication between the coaches and the players in a lot of different facets uh you know led by Tim has been really good and we've got to keep that's got to that's got to sustain week in and week out