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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: FLORIDA STATE v GEORGIA TECHNovember 26, 2012E.J. ManuelCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Q.  First, how do you mentally shake off the effects of losing to your big in‑state rival and turn your focus to this game? How difficult is that a thing to do? EJ MANUEL: It's tough, but at the same time, having a mature team and having a mature outlook on what we do as football players and as competitors, we understand we have another game next weekend. That game is tough, as well, because it's a championship game, and it's something that hasn't been done here at Florida State since '05, and you just have to move on. It's a process, understanding why you made those mistakes, and you can't go out there and do it again next week. Q. What adjustments do you think you have to make within the offense to have the kind of performance you want to have in this game coming up? EJ MANUEL: I think executing, going through my reads better, and guys just executing at every position. I think that's what we lacked, and turnovers. Teams that have good defenses thrive on that, so whenever you turn the ball over, that gives them the added confidence. I think that's the biggest thing, not turning the ball over. Q. You played in the championship game two years ago when you were a sophomore, and of course you lost that one. Does having played in this offer any kind of advantage to you, and what did you take away from that game the first time? EJ MANUEL: I think playing in a big game like that, it was my first college championship type game or anything like that. It was like a second Bowl game. Just the fact that you have a week to prepare, you try to treat it like a normal game week. I understand that and my teammates understand that, so we have to get the job done. Q. Are there any lingering effects this week from the injury? EJ MANUEL: Yes, sir, I'm fine. I took a hard hit. It's a part of the game. It's a physical game throughout the whole 60 minutes, we got some hits on them, they got some hits on us, so I'll be fine. Q. What did you injure? EJ MANUEL: My jaw, so yeah, I got hit in the head. Q. Did they do a concussion test on the sideline? EJ MANUEL: I think they went through some preliminary tests, and I passed them all and I was able to go back in and play. Whatever tests they did do, I don't know for sure, but I passed so I was able to go back and play. Q. There's no lingering effects of that at this point? EJ MANUEL: No, sir, I'm fine. Q. (Inaudible.) EJ MANUEL: Yeah, it wasn't even a factor in my mind that I wasn't going to go back in and play. They were going to have to hold me down if I couldn't go. I didn't want to finish the game with an injury like that being my last time in Doak Campbell. I wanted to finish the game whether we won or lost. My teammates would have done the same if they could. We're all tough guys and we're all football players, we understand it's a physical game. You get knocked down, it's about how you get back up after that. Q. (Inaudible.) EJ MANUEL: You mean just in general? Q. Yeah, in terms of just overall, your expectations were different. EJ MANUEL: It's tough, but now it's Monday, the sun still came up, my parents were here on Saturday, hanging out with me yesterday and things like that. It's tough. You don't want to lose to your in‑state rival. It's a huge game. It was definitely a game we thought we could win. But it just didn't go our way. For whatever reason the turnovers, I have to do a better job at quarterback taking care of the ball. It's tough, but we understand that we have a huge game, basically an even bigger game this week coming up versus Georgia Tech, being our Conference Championship. We have to be ready. We can't allow this game to linger on. Q. On a bigger picture with Conference Championship games across the country this weekend, do you guys or do you think Florida State or do you individually feel any kind of calling, any kind of responsibility to represent the ACC well to kind of carry that flag into the postseason or to have an 11‑win team in the Orange Bowl after a hard weekend last weekend across the board in some high profile games? EJ MANUEL: Definitely. We just want to go out and win the game. We want to make it to a BCS Bowl game. It hasn't been done here since '05, so we feel like there's definitely still great goals out there for us to achieve and we don't want to come up short and get to the 100 percent goals we want to get to. Q. Do you think that league reputation means something to people across the league and just the big picture of college football? Is it important to you how the ACC is viewed? EJ MANUEL: I think so. I think we're one of the stronger teams in our conference. I know Clemson has had a great season, as well. But I think if we go out there and win the game, we'll be able to help our conference. Q. I've been looking through some of the Conference Championship game records, and it looks like there's no real pattern to if somebody loses a game the week before in a lot of these games, most of them if not all of them are rivalry games and the performance in the championship game. Not just with FSU but with most teams, does having a championship game, does having that kind of carrot the very next week enable you to bounce back a little bit quicker than you might have from a disappointing loss like that? EJ MANUEL: I think it's kind of the same, whether we have another regular season game‑‑ any time we lose, we want to get that bad taste out of our mouth. I know me personally as a quarterback and a football player and just as a competitor, I want to get it out of my mouth as soon as I can. Being we have a game next week and it's our championship game, I'm going to be ready for it, my teammates are going to be ready, and I think that's the biggest thing. You just want to move on, get that bad taste out of your mouth and get a W. Q. Talk about last week against Florida. What do you guys have to do this week against Georgia Tech because they have a very good defense, as well. What do you have to do as a quarterback to win that game? EJ MANUEL: We just have to take care of the ball, execute when the plays are there. I don't think it's any more complicated. It's simple. It's football; you've got to take care of the ball, move the chains, get 1st downs, can't get a lot of three‑and‑outs and things like that, put your defense out there, and that's a big thing because I know those guys run the ball a lot, so time of possession is extremely important. So when we have opportunities, we need to score touchdowns and not just field goals. Q. You have two more games in your college career and then you're off hopefully to the NFL. What do you want to do after football? EJ MANUEL: After the NFL and things like that? Q. Yeah. EJ MANUEL: I'm not sure. I think the fact of being an athlete and you meet so many different people throughout your college career and then your pro career, I think that's where you can kind of branch out into different things. As far as right now, I would like to get in business, but I'm not exactly sure specifically what I want to do right now. Q. You played at Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium your sophomore year. What's it like playing in an NFL stadium like the Panthers'? EJ MANUEL: It was great. We played in Jacksonville a few years ago. I don't know if I played in that one. I played in a Bowl game in Jacksonville. Any time you get a chance to play in a pro stadium it's always a treat. Playing in Miami is a pro stadium, so it's kind of like you're in the NFL even though you're not yet. Any time you get a chance to play in an NFL surrounding, it's a great feeling. Q. I know it was a while ago, but I'm curious what you remember from your games in 2008 when you were red shirting and your game in 2009 against Georgia Tech? EJ MANUEL: Yeah, I didn't play in that one but I know it was a close game. We had a turnover at the very end that kind of cost us, and they're a great team. They still do the same scheme of offense. I'm sure the defense is just as good as they were last‑‑ when we played them. I know they had a couple NFL guys on the team back then. We're expecting a physical game, a great game. We're expecting those guys to do well on offense, so we have to do well on offense, as well. Q. Did you run the scout team offense in 2008, do the option stuff? EJ MANUEL: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Q. What do you remember about that? EJ MANUEL: That was my red shirt year, so it was fun. They have a lot of wrinkles in their offense as far as kind of doing the triple option. They do a lot of trick kind of things out of it, run the option then drop a bomb on you. Back in my freshman year it was enjoyable. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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