Pregame quotes for the UH-Cincinnati game

About how Cincinnati will play in a BCS bowl game after the UH game, Mac said:
"I don't want to make a big deal of the BCS thing. I don't know how (the UH players) are treating it. I'm treating it like it's another ball game. It's the last scheduled game of the (regular) season. We're not in a BCS game. We didn't have a good enough record. We're playing the No. 13 team in the country. They're a good football team. They're a well-coached team. It'll be a real challenge. That's what this game is to this football team." (HA)

About his sprained right foot, Kealoha Pilares said:
"If it doesn't want to cooperate, I can't run. Then I'm a sitting duck." (HA)

About how there is a tendency to over-compensate with ankle injuries, Pilares said:
"Then the other foot starts getting sore. Then my whole running mechanics start changing." (HA)

Even though Mouton was held out of contact drills this week, Mac said that he will:
"be ready to go. He's a tough guy. He's been working hard, and the trainers have been working hard to treat him." (HA)

Despite the status of Mouton and Pilares, Mac said:
"we're playing our best football right now. We have to continue to improve. We have to play better than we did last week. This is a lot better football team than we played last week. We have to raise our level of game." (HA)

About their difficult situation at QB to start this season, Mac said:
"We were forced into some adversity as far as the quarterback situation. There were guys who had to learn the offensive positions. Even though some of them were backups (in 2007), you don't learn it in practice, you learn it in games." (HA)

About how Alexander needed time to understand their offense, Mac said:
"This offense is sophisticated. The quarterbacks need game experience to learn it. At the same time, you don't want to destroy (their confidence) while they learn the offense. It's a very touchy situation. I think (offensive coordinator) Ron Lee and Rolo (quarterback coach Nick Rolovich) and Brian (Smith, the line coach) and (running back coach Alex) Gerke did a great job of bringing everyone along." (HA)

Proud of how their team came together as the season went on, Mac said:
"This hasn't been easy. But the coaches and players stayed together and fought through everything. I'm really proud of the leadership and loyalty of this football team." (HA)

About how Cincinnati's offense is similar to UH's offense, Rich Miano said:
"They have a pro-style offense. It reminds me of ours." (HA)

About how UC's QB Pike reminds them of Colt, Miano said:
"(Pike) wears No. 15. The way he runs around and makes plays, and with his accuracy and command of his offense, he looks a lot like Colt Brennan on video. He has the ability to beat you in the pocket. He has the ability to beat you on the scrambles. He has good leadership abilities and intangibles." (HA)

HA Note: "Pike also is tough, playing the past five games with a fracture in his left (non-throwing) arm. In the five games prior to suffering the injury, he completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 770 yards, an average of 154 yards per game. Since returning, he has completed 65.3 percent for 1,290 yards, an average of 258 yards per game."

About being left out of the All-WAC first team, David Veikune (no sacks in their first 7 games) said:
"If I started out with more sacks, I would have had a chance to be on the (first) team." (HA)

About how Veikune grades out well when they study the film, DL coach Dave Aranda said:
"He always grades the highest. His effort is always the best. He plays with the best technique of any of our up-front people. The thing about Dave is he's always where you need him when you need him. I don't think he's had one bad game." (HA)

About how Veikune plays like DEs Kyle Vanden Bosch and Grant Wistrom, Aranda said:
"Both are effort guys. They get pressure off of effort. They're also technicians. Dave is similar to both. Dave fights his ass off for everything he gets." (HA)

About Dan Kelly's struggles this season, Ikaika Malloe said:
"In practice, his technique is flawless. During the game, he didn't perform the way we expected him to perform." (HA)

HA Note: "In the past month, Kelly has missed six of seven field-goal attempts, and is nine of 19 for the season. Three kicks were blocked."

About how he believes in Kelly, Malloe said:
"He's our best kicker. I firmly believe that. The word 'believe' is a powerful word. That's what we're working with. Dan has to believe in himself. We all believe in him. The staff believes in him. We know what he can do. But we're not the ones kicking the ball. Once Dan can trust himself, and believes he can kick it, there shouldn't be any problems." (HA)

About how this game means a lot to the team because of their seniors, Greg Alexander said:
"It means a lot to everybody. Everybody's going to put it on the line for those guys. The seniors are the ones who really held this team together through all the adversity we had. So we want to send them out the right way." (HSB)

About playing a BCS-bound team on national TV is like their BCS game, Sol said:
"This is like a BCS game." (HSB)

About his team, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said:
"This group likes to play football, and they're going to go and compete and fly around,. We'll expect our kids to go out and compete at a high level." (HSB)

About how this game can measure their progress since the Florida game, Alexander said:
"I think we're a completely different team than we were against Florida. So it should be a good measure to see where we're at." (HSB)

About Cincinnati's defense, Alexander said:
"They can cover a lot of ground. Their (defensive) ends are tall, lanky guys and same with their corners." (HSB)

About Cincinnati's DEs, OL coach Brian Smith said:
“They’re real athletic, their ends are fast. I’d say both of them are real comparable to (Warriors defensive end) David Veikune. They run well, good change of direction, good motors.” (HSB)

About dealing with Cincinnati's quickness, Smith said:
“It’s more just trusting in your fundamentals,. You’ll get exposed a lot easier if you’re leaning or reaching or over-setting to compensate. The little things get exposed easier against a more athletic player.” (HSB)