Top Quotes Following Florida State Seminoles Second Straight Win Over Miami

-On beating Miami for only the second straight time since 2005/2006, on winning at Doak for the first time since 2005, and on the seniors winning 3 of the last four games in this rivalry:

"We found a way to win the game when we didn't play our best and a lot of that had to with Miami.  They did a nice job and we have to fix a lot of things. But our kids are learning. When you start to become a good team, you're not always going to play your best but you figure out how to win. We've got to find a way to make it interesting. You're not going to win every game by 25 points. It doesn't work that way. We've got to be a little more mature in those situations. Add another classic. That's what rivalry games bring out in you. Miami had a great team, they've got a heck of a team and they played very well. Our kids battled, fought, scratched. Didn't always play well, we lost the field position early, couldn't get out of it but battled back and responded when we had to. Give Miami credit, in a rivalry game, two teams are going to go at it and that's what happens in these games. There's craziness. I love the fight, the competitiveness for our kids to stay in the moment. Buy hey, we won another game against Miami; a very classy football team, and Al Golden does a great job with them. We're growing through the season, we aren't just learning and that's what I'm the proudest of. We've got problems, we aren't perfect but we are figuring out how to win and play in situations, but I'll tell you one thing, we're playing with a lot of heart. There's a lot of togetherness in that group and I'm very proud of them."  -Jimbo Fisher

"This is my first time actually playing and winning against Miami. It means a lot.  I've watched three of these games and now to be able to play and start and win, it's huge. I think it's one of those things when I'm 30, 40 years old I can look back and say, 'Yeah, we beat Miami. It's a great victory.' The bragging rights from this year until the next time we play them next year, we'll have it. At the same time, you have got to be ready for those guys next year because they will always bring their `A' game just like we will. It was a great game and I am looking forward to going down to Miami and playing them next year."  -EJ Manuel

"It's great and it's like playing against family and playing against your neighborhood friends. You are friends but for 60 minutes you're like enemies. It's just competing, it's just having fun and it's the game of football. Then after the game being able to give those guys hugs and seeing them, it was a great feeling."  -Lamarcus Joyner

"It means a lot because we are now 1 and 0 in the state and [with the opportunity to win the state championship] that is one of our goals. It means a lot, but with me coming from south Georgia I just try to put my heart out on the line for all the guys that did play in high school down in south Florida because it means a lot more to them almost because they've played with and against those guys their whole life." -Greg Reid 

"I can now go home with my head held high. It's great to have bragging rights. I don't have to worry about anybody coming up to me and talking stuff. I can go home and I don't even have to say nothing."  -Rodney Smith

"It's one of the biggest rivalries in the college football. For us seniors, it was great to beat them again. No matter how good Miami is or how good we are, when we come together it is going to attract a crowd. We play like it's our national championship, our Super Bowl, everything. That's how the rivalry is between Florida State and Miami." -Senior Shawn Powell

"This game's always big for us, especially for those of us that are from down there. There is big competition going on because everybody knows everybody and everybody's going to have something to say. Its big for us to get two wins in a row against Miami. A win is a win in my book. It doesn't matter how it comes." -Senior Beau Reliford

"I knew it was going to be a fight because it always is. It feels good to beat them here. I think we deserve it and our fans deserve it."  -Bert Reed

"I think that was my first field goal miss (against Miami), I missed an extra point my freshman year. But now it's out of the way and we still got the win. It's funny all the wide rights and wide lefts, you're going to miss one way or the other, unfortunately I missed but luckily it didn't come back to bite us."  -Dustin Hopkins

"I just knew I could get the DB to bite and I knew he was going to put the ball in a good spot. It was a great throw. He put it right there in the middle of both the corner and the safety." Rodney Smith on his 21 yard TD reception from EJ

"I've out gained them and still lost too, so I feel a lot better. The flow of that game was very weird. It was a different type of game, rivalry games for the most part are. It wasn't just a fluid game from the field positions and the turnovers and the penalties and delays and returns, there wasn't rhythm to the game, but there were two teams out there scratching and clawing hard." -Jimbo Fisher on still winning despite being outgained

"It was simple, I think he kind of shanked the kick a little bit and it took a little one hop and I grabbed it and when I looked up I was looking for somebody to give a move to and it was just there and I just ran. The whole field was just there and I just took it. I looked up, and all I saw was the band, man. It was clearly open. Finally."  -Greg Reid on his 83-yard punt return

"Greg thinks every return is a touchdown. That's what makes him great. But he's also got to be smart in situations. Greg's mentality; I'm going to tell you something I would rather say whoa than giddy up any day of the week." -Fisher on Greg Reid

"It did seem like an odd one when I look up and we have three first downs and had 17 points. But that's what it's about, about being a team and preaching that it's all four phases. When the offense is not doing well, the defense and special teams pick us up."-Bert Reed

"That was huge. I tell our kids all the time, you can play well and play poorly and lose and you can play very average and play situations well and win the football game. Even though they played well, but the situation in the red zone we were able to convert and get the turnover. We found a way to win the game even when we weren't playing our best. A lot of it had to do with Miami; they did a nice job. When you start to become a good team, you don't always play well but you can figure out ways to scratch and claw and make plays at the right time to win the game. Hopefully, that's what we're starting to learn to do."  -Fisher on Joyner's interception than ended UM long drive

"I don't know how he got that ball on his fingertips like that and kept it. Either he's got hands or he's got heart. I respect him for that."  -Greg Reid on Nick O'Leary snagging the onside kick

"When I saw Nick jump up and catch it with his hands, he's got those strong hands, I knew they weren't going to get it from him."  -Rodney Smith

"He's a really tough kid and he will do whatever it takes for the team. That was the play of the game." -Bert Reed on O'Leary's onside kick recovery

"We gave up too many yards as a defense and we also gave up too many big plays. I know one time we didn't cover one of their receivers in the middle of the field, and we also just really beat ourselves most of the time and could of prevented a lot of things, so we've got to get those things corrected and come out next week even better."  -Nigel Bradham on the defense's performance and forcing turnovers

"We didn't have any turnovers and they had turnovers. That's the key. We created turnovers and we didn't turn it over on our side. Turnovers affect the game more than anything." -Jimbo Fisher

"I dropped back into coverage and saw he was running a drag route from the far side of the field so I kind of saw him the whole time. We were in Cover-2 and he came into my zone, so I waited for the quarterback to throw the ball and I made a play on the ball. I really don't know what to say. I didn’t want to leave the game. I hope I’m not labeled as a dirty player. I don’t want to be labeled as a dirty player. I feel like I try to play clean all the time. I mean, I’m a linebacker though and being physical is my job.  I just don't want to be suspended for the next game and hopefully the officials will look it over and they'll work something out and see what it really was classified as."  -Nigel Bradham on his clean but vicious hit on UM's Byrd

"To be honest, I think it was a clean hit. I didn't see any helmet to helmet. It was all shoulder pads. I just think it was a nice, vicious hit. It was clean."  -Lamarcus Joyner 

"If you watch those hits from back in the day, you see those rough hits. Just let us play. I'm pretty sure he didn't intentionally try to hurt the person. It's just football." -Greg Reid:

"It wasn't in the head, but they said he launched into a defenseless player. I just hope the young man is OK"  -Jimbo Fisher 

"We knew that they might do something like that a little bit but really didn't think they were going to do it that much. They have two great QB's though and we did a good job at stopping them." -Jenkins on UM playing 2 QB's

"Field possession wise, I feel like we held the edge. Shawn came up big, wow, he played awesome. I'm not sure how many he had inside the 10, but when you can pin somebody back there and force them to punt, it just sets up scores for our offense. We really just built off each other."  -Hopkins on Powell

"At the beginning we came out and didn't move the ball like we wanted to. We tried to come back in the second half and really refocus on the fundamentals from practice all week. In the second half, I felt like we did that and we came out and executed really well."  -Christian Green

"I really didn't give a reaction because I thought it was going to be a touchback, I was really upset with myself. The special teams did a real good job. We focused on hang time; Benjamin is a great punter returner/kick-off returner. They also have a good kick-off coverage team as well. There were things we looked at and everybody put their piece in and it worked. We prepared well and actually took it out to the game on Saturday. We saw the outcome." -Shawn Powell

"Special teams was huge for us, and then getting the onside kick and coverage. We covered very well on Benjamin, whose a great returner. Shawn punted the heck out of that thing, boy."  -Fisher on Powell whose 5 punts averaged 54.8 yards 

"He got a little nervous in there and snapped one before we were ready," Fisher said. "That's a big rivalry game for a true freshman." -Fisher on freshman center Austin Barron

"From week one, the maturity of this team is incredible. Whether it is success or if you mess up something in practice, you just let it slide off your shoulder. You don't get upset when a coach gets on you, you don't take everything personal, you got to move on and do what you're supposed to do, get your work in and get off the field." -EJ Manuel on the team's growth

"The stat sheet really doesn't matter." -UM safety Vaughn Telemaque 

"Can y'all quit writing about wide right?"  -Jimbo Fisher asked the media