Florida State (5-5, 3-4 ACC) beat Pittsburgh (6-4, 3-4 ACC) 16-10 on Friday night to improve to 2-0 under interim head coach Rick Stockstill. The Seminoles have now won back-to-back road games for the first time in more than two years and sit one win from bowl eligibility.
Rick Stockstill on the win:
“Really proud of our team….just a phenomenal effort. A show of toughness and resiliency.”
“The most talented team doesn’t necessarily always win. It’s the team that plays the hardest, the team that plays the hardest the longest,
that competes the longest, that fights the hardest, that’s tougher both mentally and physically. And I thought you saw that out there tonight.”
“We fought. We competed, man, on both sides of the ball.”
“We didn’t flinch. Nobody flinched. Offense, defense, we didn’t flinch.”
“We played really good together. Complementary football.”
“I’m fired up about this team. I just love the passion that we’re playing with. I love the heart we’re playing with, the competitive spirit, the competitive character that we’re showing.”
“I believe in them and they’re starting to believe in themselves.”
Rick Stockstill on the defense:
“We’re thin everywhere really…. we were out two defensive linemen again this week and we don’t flinch. Somebody keeps stepping up, making plays…I thought our linebackers played well. I thought our secondary, our corners really in support, they made some nice plays on the perimeter.”
“I thought we tackled good.”
“We’re short-handed a lot of places, but those guys stepped up and really played well tonight.”
Rick Stockstill on Ashton Daniels:
“Ashton had some critical conversions, critical runs….I just thought Ashton managed the game really well. He didn’t force throws in there. He took what the defense gave him.”
“I thought he was very efficient in how he played.”
Rick Stockstill on Gabe Panikowski:
“He’s given us no reason whatsoever this year not to have confidence in him….he’s been money the whole year.”
“I got a lot of confidence in him and our team does.”
Rick Stockstill on the personal meaning of the win:
“This one was special.”
“We hadn’t won a game on the road in two and a half years, and now we’ve gone back-to-back.”
“We’re underdogs coming here and we find a way to win….I got a couple of them in there when I played, but now I got one as a coach.”
“They’re playing for more than just what’s in that locker room. They’re playing for everybody, every former player, every former coach that ever put that helmet on and that you leave your heart, you leave your soul on that field. And that’s what they did tonight.”
“I just love how we’re playing. I love the emotion, the confidence, the belief, the passion, everything we’re playing with…..It’s been a heck of a lot of fun.”
Rick Stockstill on doing whatever it takes:
“At times it wasn’t pretty.”
“We’re doing whatever it takes to win….you don’t get a W by how your stats look. You get a W on the points, you do whatever it takes to win and I don’t care if we win 16-10, 50 to nothing, 3-2. Win the dead gum game.”
Video via Warchant
