Aug. 29, 2003

Recap?|? Box Score?|? Notes

UNLV HEAD COACH John Robinson:

ON THE WIN
"Obviously it was a good win and an interesting football game. It had all of the aspects of a first game. There was a lot of nervousness and uncertainty. I was surprised at all of the offensive procedures (penalties on UNLV). In the second half, I thought we were a little tired and the other team was really tired but we were fresher in the fourth quarter."

ON QB Kurt Nantkes:
"Kurt was pressing in the second half and was throwing those ground balls. We told him to not aim it - just throw it. Then his balls became more accurate. I think Kurt came out and thought it was going to be easy. But as the pressure mounted, the better he got."

"(Tight end) Greg Estandia obviously established himself as a real weapon tonight."

"I thought we missed (suspended WR) Earvin Johnson. We were unwilling to get the ball down field and I think we would have more if he had been in or we had more time to prepare for him not being in the game."

"The defense showed its speed and put some real pressure on the quarterback. I think our cornerbacks played well."

"I would give us a C+ and nothing better than that. Our punting and kicking were good. We had a lot of penalties and stuff that you scratch your head over. We can play a lot better but the competitiveness was there. We ran the ball well and that is not an easy team to run against."

ON GOING FOR IT ON FOURTH-AND-SEVEN IN THE FOURTH QUARTER DID HE CONSIDER GOING FOR THE FIELD GOAL TO PULL TO WITHIN ONE POINT?
"No. That would have left us down a point and you would have to get the ball back and score. I never considered it (not going for it)."

UNLV QUARTERBACK Kurt Nantkes

ON THE FOURTH-QUARTER DRIVE TO TAKE THE LEAD
"We needed to have a 90-yard drive to take the lead and we pulled together as a team and did it. If it wasn't for the penalties and mistakes, who knows what the game would have been like."

"I was in a funk in the third quarter. I was putting too much on the ball but then I broke out of it."

"Next week we get Earvin back and that is a lot of weapons to have. Now we have some momentum going into next week (at Kansas). We have some confidence now. We all feel that we didn't play so well tonight and can still get a lot better."

TOLEDO HEAD COACH TOM AMSTUTZ

ON THE GAME:
"The difference between winning and losing is very small. I am not disappointed with our players; I thought they gave effort. I think we have the makings of a good team and I was still very encouraged by what I saw.

ON UNLV:
"I give UNLV a lot of credit. Their tight end is a great player and I thought their quarterback was a real fine player. Their defense did a nice job against us."

ON THE TOLEDO TURNOVERS:
"We had two turnovers that were really critical and that was 14 points right there."

TOLEDO OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ROB SPENCE:

ON THE GAME PLAN
"We tried to make it a simple plan and build from there. [UNLV] is a tough team to plan for because they have such a good defense."