Head Coach Lance Leipold
On arriving in the Bahamas today…
“It was very exciting. I had a chance to be down here a week ago, seeing what it’s all about and seeing the experiences they’re going to have. I know they’re going to make memories that will last a lifetime. You could feel the energy on the bus coming here and we could feel it this morning when we met as a team back in Buffalo.”
On the team’s reaction being selected to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“It was crazy. It was what they were hoping for once we hit bowl eligibility. It really solidified when we hit the seventh win that this would be a place that we were hoping to be selected and be a part of. We’re looking forward to a great week.”
On what he’s excited for this week…
“My family and I will probably try to squeeze some time. I’m a dolphin lover so I’d like to get over that way a little bit, and getting in the waterpark area. I try to make the most of it. I’m probably more at an age too where you get a lot of enjoyment watching guys experience things that they’ve never had the chance to do and may never get the chance to do again. That will make this trip very fulfilling at the early part of the week. We’ll make sure to get focused to play against an excellent football team and make this game as exciting as it has been in previous years.”
On the challenges of balancing fun with football…
“We talk about it. It will be challenging. We’ll find out how well we do at that, especially with this destination. You really have to try to balance it. As it gets closer to kickoff, then we get back into more normal routines. The layoff is one part of it – you haven’t played in a while and then you come to a place like this – these are all challenges that we’ve talked about and hopefully our team will embrace and be ready to go out and play well.”
Taylor Riggins, Junior, Defensive End
On the team arriving at Atlantis today…
“It’s amazing. It’s beautiful. All the guys saw Atlantis, and everyone got riled up and excited. Everyone on the team is really excited to be here and get out of that cold weather up in Buffalo. Lately it’s been low 30s and snowing every day. To be able to get down here in the sun is really nice for us.”
On balancing fun and football…
“It’s really important to stay focused. We want to have fun but also stay focused. At the end of the day we still have a task at hand: win a football game and take home the first bowl game in UB history.”
On the team’s reaction to being selected to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“We were so excited, jumping up and down. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. A lot of people on the team may not ever get the chance to come here again. It’s good to be able to do that with the guys and play the sport we love.”
Zac Lefebvre, Junior, Tight End
On his first thoughts about Atlantis…
“It was amazing. I’ve been to the Bahamas on a cruise, but I’ve never been to the Atlantis Resort. It’s a pretty cool experience looking around and seeing everything.
On the team’s reaction to being picked to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“Everyone just started getting crazy. We were jumping around, screaming and yelling. It was a good time.”
On Buffalo’s mindset coming into the week…
“Everyone’s excited. We couldn’t wait. It was between Idaho and here, so we were pretty happy that we got picked here. Buffalo right now is about 30 degrees with snow on the ground everywhere, so coming down here is awesome.”
