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December 20th, 2019 | BAHAMAS BOWL

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Buffalo Postgame Quotes – December 20, 2019

Head Coach Lance Leipold
Opening Statement…
“I’m really proud of our guys, especially after a layoff, to play as well as we did, as physical as we did. We were able to establish the running game. Our defense, especially in the first half, played outstanding. We got some key fourth down stops, created a couple turnovers. It’s a team effort, but these three gentlemen sitting next to me had great days and great seasons.”

On the program earning its first-ever bowl win…
“We talked a lot about it this week, that this is something that they could accomplish that nobody else could ever repeat. I think once we started talking about that aspect of it, I think it helped motivate them to understand that they might not have hit every goal we wanted to achieve this year, but this one would be very special and one that would separate them from any other team past or future. I’m really proud of them. Proud of our coaches. From the day we arrived, in recruiting guys like these three, our goal was to develop players and become a consistent program that could play consistently in bowl games and win bowl games, compete for conference championships. We’ve been able to take the necessary steps to get there. The nice thing is that all three of these guys come back next year so we have a chance to keep building on it.”

On Jaret Patterson’s impact on the season…
“Statistically, those numbers speak for themselves. I think it’s like James said, and there’s others in our program too, but if you’re going to look at somebody who takes care of themselves, prepares, takes care of their body, comes out every day. There were actually some days we had to tell Jaret he wasn’t practicing early in the week because he was going too hard all the time. We were worried about him wearing down, so we just took away his helmet for the day just so we could try to prolong him. I don’t know what his stats were today so I apologize, but when you look at what he’s doing this late in the season and how well he’s playing, it goes into the preparation in how he takes care of himself and how special he is. The stats are great, what he does on the field we’re grateful for, but what he does in our locker room with his work ethic and what it can do for our other younger players as we move forward is going to be pivotal for us to be able to be this type of team. All three of these guys have the ability to do that. Yes, they’re very talented, but it’s how they go about it each and every day that will help our program continue to move forward.”

On seeing the team celebrate…
“Just the excitement, the joy. That’s part of it when people ask why you coach. When you see that, you try to think about all the little things you try to make sure they’re taking care of: why they need to be on time, why they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. All the things that you try to do, it’s to try to help them the best way possible to be in situations to have these special moments. I guess that’s the part that’s pretty fulfilling. I’m really happy for them. They present that trophy, I hand it backwards and I don’t know if I’ll see it again until we get to the office after the first of the year and that’s okay with me.

On the team’s time in the Bahamas…
“Oh, you can bring us back every year if you like. What do you guys think? In all seriousness, we really want to thank the people of the Bahamas, and everybody who helps put this game on. It’s a special experience, win or lose. It’s a special experience. The friendliness and the hospitality have been outstanding, and if we’re ever in position to be chosen again, we’ll gladly accept and try to get back here again.”

Sophomore Running Back Jaret Patterson
On the team earning its first bowl win…
“It means a lot. It’s our first bowl game win ever. The feelings still aren’t real. The guys that came before us paved the way for us. There’s the whole support we get from the community, from the University at Buffalo and the Buffalo area. This is for them.”

On his performance…
“Just want to shout out to the guys up front. The running game started off kind of slow. I knew it was a four-quarter game; it’s now how you start but it’s how you finish. As the game kept going, I just felt like I kept getting in rhythm and finished the game off strong. The defense played lights out. It was a team effort and dominant win for our team.”

On how much the win means…
“It means a lot. Like I said before, the feeling really hasn’t hit me yet. We’ll always be in the history books. Our names will always be the UB team that won the first-ever bowl game, and that’s something people can’t ever take away from you.”

On the Bahamas experience…
“The guys, we had a great time here. We just enjoyed the weather and the whole vibe of the Bahamas, the whole atmosphere. It was a great experience.”

On the turning point of the season…
“Probably the second half of the season. We were a 2-4 team. We just decided how we wanted to write our season, I guess you can say. We wanted to go bowling. That’s why we just took it one game at a time, one practice at a time. And this is where we are now, we won our first-ever bowl game.”

Sophomore Linebacker James Patterson
On the team earning its first bowl win…
“It feels good. Getting this experience and being in the history books and to separate ourselves from the other UB teams.”

On his brother Jaret’s performance…
“It’s nothing new to me. I’ve seen it my whole life. A lot of people rip me and be like, ‘how did he do that?’ I’ll be like, I’ve seen it my whole life so I”m not surprised. That’s what he does. He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen and he’s going to continue to do that.”

On how much the win means…
“This is a building process for us. We’re going to use this momentum for next year. We can start off fresh and continue our way to the MAC Championship and then another bowl game.”

On the turning point of the season…
“That bye week really helped us get our bodies back and our minds right. We had to regroup and rejuvenate. We knew that we could play with anybody. Penn State – we had them down during halftime. We know that if we can do that each week, nobody can play with us.”

Junior Defensive End Malcolm Koonce
On the team earning its first bowl win…
“It’s a nice feeling that we’ll always be in the history books at Buffalo. It’s just good to bring it back to the rough Buff.”

On how much the win means…
“For me, it’s a nice feeling. The way we started, it was kind of rough at the beginning and then we pulled it together that bye week. We locked in, focused up, and now we’re here.”

On the turning point of the year…
“I think it was more just us realizing that the games we lost were more on us. We were beating ourselves. Once we found out that was the answer, then we locked in.”

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