Georgia State Head Coach Bill Curry

On overcoming adversity...
"When you go through hard times as we have this year, you find out that you basically have two choices: you can wallow around and feel sorry for yourself or you can get back to work through the difficulty and keep working to correct it. And in time you do get it corrected. If I bring anything to this task, it is that I've been through this enough times that I know, if you keep the right work ethic that you will come through it. This one is different because of the obvious, but it also involves the same elements. We've got a good group of guys that don't wallow around, that come out on the field and work at it. Whether our performances drastically improve or slightly improve, we are improving each week. It's not enough to make any of us happy. None of us are somehow suggesting that we've done close to what we should have done, but we press on."

On St. Francis...
"They are an outstanding football team, having the best season of their history. We know a little more about them than we might because we hired Craig Harmon, our tight ends coach, from St. Francis. They're 7-2 with a very strong offense and defense. Their quarterback, E.J. White, runs and throws well. They have good wide receivers and an outstanding running back. Their defense is led by two linebackers named Tondini, the two leading tacklers. It's a 3-4 defense, they line up and play it very straight. On special teams, they are not complicated. They've had difficulties similar to our difficulties. We're looking forward to playing Saint Francis. We're looking forward to playing again on our home field."

On the offensive inconsistency...
"The only thing that is obvious is that we are inconsistent, not in effort, but in execution. We miss a block at just the wrong time or miss a check. When we got to overtime the other day, we did some incredible things. It seems like as the game wears on we get more and more tense rather than relax and play well. We work hard not to do those things. But it's a fact and there's no denying it and there is no simple explanation. We just have to keep plugging until we can execute our offense and do what we're supposed to. I don't think we have any excuses. Does that [injuries and instability at quarterback] factor in? Of course, it's a factor to have three different quarterbacks and the issues with the quarterbacks. But to suggest that that's the reason we've done what we've done, I think there is much more. I think it's concentration and maturity. It's all of those things. We can't just cop out."

On the defensive improvements...
"There has been a level of intensity that the defense has generated. That's what you hope for from a defense. That's how they practice and how they play. There have been specific people that have stepped up. Brandon [Jones] coming back has helped a lot. Some people growing up and performing better and better. One guy who has improved enormously is Terrance Woodard, our nose guard. He's really stepped up and improved his game. Mike Hall has become more consistent and intense. Our young corners have all played well. So it's sort of been a group thing."

Brandon Jones, Senior Free Safety

On how the team finishes this season on a positive note...
"There have been certain guys who feel a little depressed about the season, but then we have leaders on our team that continuously keep everybody's heads up. They let them know that the season is not over, we signed up for 11 games and we need to finish them as strong as possible and do what we can to win. Being on the losing side is very hard. We've been continuously encouraging everyone that we can build off of this season and use it to get stronger as a program. Everyone wantws to finish out strong and finish with a positive outlook on the season.

On the improvement of the defense from earlier in the season...
"I would say that a lot of the guys are coming in and studying the film more. A lot of the guys feel very confident on the field now that they know what to expect because they are really studying the film instead of watching it. When we come out for practice, everybody feels like they're still competing. As we're out there competing and going as fast as we can, the game is slowing down for a lot of us on the field now. By game time, a lot of the guys know exactly what to expect. I can say one player, Dexter Moody, from the South Alabama game he was particularly calling out their plays on the field. He knew exactly what they were going to run. It truly helps out the whole defense. Last game, against UTSA, he was doing the exact same thing. I can tell that the guys are buying into the defense that we run. Coach Thompson has done a very good job of preparing us and putting us into the particular places to make plays and his schemes have shown that we're buying into what he's teaching us.

On how much he has seen of St. Francis on film...
All of their players are together and they know what they're doing out there. They try their best to get the ball to the guys on their team that can make plays. We have to make sure that we're on top of our game and play at the top of our game defensively at all times.