Post Game Quotes
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2009
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Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham
Opening Statement...
"Naturally, a very disappointing day for us. I want to congratulate Coach Jones. They did an awesome job today. Their defense played great. We didn't play very good in all three phases. We were dismal on 3rd down, and we couldn't get any rhythm offensively."
When asked about the shuffling of quarterbacks...
"[We] felt like we were missing some throws, some opportunities. [We were] trying to get a spark, so we put Jacob in there."
"[We] had some things planned for Shavodrick, specific package stuff. [We'll] continue to try to get him on the field. He's making a lot of mistakes when he's in there...he's a talent and we're trying to get him into the game."
"Basically, [we] just put Jacob in there to try and get a spark. We got a spark; [we] got a touchdown. We were trying to generate some type of rhythm"
Is the quarterback position still being evaluated?
"Obviously we didn't play very well today. It's not on any one person."
"[We were] very disappointing and unimpressive. It shows us digressing and moving backwards. What you do is you take ownership in that. Everyone in that locker room knows it's on us. Defense played hard at times, but we gave up a lot of yards, [and] big plays. We can't give those up."
"[We had] no rhythm. We didn't play very good. We have to go back to work and stay together, and get better as a football team."
When asked about Jacob Bower's performance...
"Jacob did some good things, [and he] made some good throws. We were trying to generate a spark. He did some good things, and we did some bad things."
"I'll look at the film and see from there, but we had to do something to try to generate some type of offensive productivity, which is amazing that we're digressing on offense instead of progressing. I thought we were getting better, but we're not right now."
"We're not very good right now. We've got to go back to work, and we've got to stay together."
"We've got good kids. I believe in them. I believe in our staff. I believe in what we're doing. We're just not executing or playing very well right now."
When asked about the play call on 4th and 19...
"That was our New York punt. There was four minutes left on the clock. We were going to punt the football, [but then,] they put a returner back there. We had a play that would have been wide open, [and] we thought it would be there, and [then] the ball gets deflected. We probably should have punted the football, but at the time we felt like we needed to try to do something to spark our team. [It was a] bad decision."
What goals do you have, and what does the team need to refocus on?
"You've got to focus on your character. You bring this on yourself by losing. [There was] a lot of negativity."
"The same people who were screaming at you today will be cheering for you when you're winning. We brought it on ourselves."
"We haven't played very well; we haven't prepared very well. We've lost our rhythm as a team."
"We've got an opportunity to redeem ourselves [against Houston], and we better get ready because we've got the best team in our league coming in here next week."
When asked about the last few drives (chance to win, couldn't get SMU off the field, etc)...
"Everything about the game was disappointing to me."
"I thought, at times, we played very well, but defensively we gave up too many big plays."
"They converted on 3rd downs."
SMU Head Coach June Jones
Opening Statement...
"I thought our defense did a great job, especially early in the first half when our offense was feeling their way through things. Kyle Padron was a little bit nervous and was struggling early on, but he did a good job settling down. I'm happy for him. He makes plays and that's what you have to do, and he made a couple of big throws when we needed them."
On the importance of this win...
"I think winning conference games on the road is really a defining time for a football team, and we've had two of those this year. We are still a young team learning how to do it, but the experience for all of these new kids will carry on."
On the play of Kyle Padron in the second half...
"We didn't protect him very well in the first half. He was trying hard to do his job and then he had to worry about somebody else doing theirs. It was great to see him make plays, especially those third-down plays. Those were huge."
On the defensive performance...
"The coaches did a really good job on getting a lock on what they were doing. We knew that it was going to be that type of [close] game."
"Ja'Gared Davis just keeps getting better and that's why he started, because he's been playing so well. He's just a good football player. Bryce Hudman also made a lot of big plays in the third and fourth quarter"
Tulsa Player Post Game Quotes
George Clinkscale
How much does this loss hurt?
"It hurt pretty bad. I mean, I didn't expect to lose, but like I said anytime anybody can beat anybody, you have bring it and get ready to play every game. They brought it this game. We didn't play to our best ability. They were the best team today.
You all still had a chance to win and you couldn't get them off the field. Can you talk a little about that?
"It was a tough deal. They just called a tough ball. It was something we weren't prepared for. We made some big plays when we had to, and we made some poor plays when we should have made some big plays. It was just our collective loss today. I mean, if we would have shut them out, we would have won, so there's no pointing fingers. We lost as a team."
This makes three losses in a row. Do you all feel like things are spinning out of control?
"No, not at all. I mean, we just pull it together even tighter now. We're getting ready to go to practice tomorrow. It will be a normal Sunday. We're just going to bring it a little harder every day, prepare a little harder, get ready, and get this stink off of us."
Are you impressed with SMU's freshman quarterback?
" I knew he was capable of it, so I wasn't shocked when he got in there and started slinging the rock around and making big plays. I wasn't surprised at all. I always knew he was able to do it."
On facing Houston next week?
"We just gotta bring it, and get ready to play every day. Everybody can beat everybody. We've gotta bring it. They're a tough team. We're ready to get back on the road, and get back to work."
Two times they scored on a play where the receiver rolled out and released the defender when he came up after the quarterback. Can you talk some about that?
"Somebody left a man, we didn't get to the quarterback in time, just collective things that could have went differently. If we would have stopped the play, we got a sack, it wouldn't have happened. If we would have tackled him, it wouldn't have happened. So it was just a bust all together."
There were some late hit flags and other penalties. How much do these mental mistakes hurt the team?
"They'll kill you. Anytime you play like that and you get stupid penalties, it will kill you. You can't have those type of calls, those type of penalties. You gotta keep your head in the game and play smart every play."
On how the season is shaping up?
"We're right where we want to be. In 2005, my freshman year, we were 6-2 in conference and won a conference championship. I mean, so we only have two losses right now. I mean, we're not counting a conference championship out, we just have to go to work and keep playing. Anything can happen to us at the end of the season."
What will happen if you knock off Houston next week?
"It will probably give us a little more confidence, a little push, a little edge, but we're going to keep doing what we're doing. We're just going to treat it like any other game any other week. Just go to the next week, go to Sunday, come ready to play, come ready to practice, and get to our next opponent and try to get another victory.
Un'tavious Scott
Same question, what do you think?
"I agree with my teammate. I just feel that as a team we just need to come together. I mean, refocus ourselves and get back on track. Everything will fall into place."
You all play Houston next week. What do you have to do to be better next week?
"Basically, all we have to do is do what we do. Come ready to practice every day, bring it everyday, and lay it out on the line on Saturday. That is as simple as that. Do what we do."
With your record, you all are now in a bowl game race. What do you have to do to make it to a bowl game?
"Well, I just feel that, the same thing that we need to do to get back on the winning track is the same thing that will get us into a bowl game. All we have to do is come back and refocus, pull together, and everything will fall into place. All we have to do is get back to the basics, the fundamentals, and everything will take care of itself."
Jacob Bower
Coach Graham talked about the offense digressing instead of progressing. Can you talk to me about the offense overall?
"We definitely were really flat today. It just seemed very emotionless and flat, and we made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of things uncharacteristic of us."
This is the most you've gotten to play all year. What's it like being out there?
"I'm a team guy. They called my name, so I went out there and tried my best to help the team win. There's still a lot of things I did wrong. There's a couple of plays I wish I had back, but I tried my best to help the team win."
How do you all reset before going into Houston?
"I think we just have to not worry about any of that and just focus on our game plan and getting better and not worrying about who's winning, who's losing, how many games we have to win to get a bowl game. We just have to focus on execution, and I think if we execute better, then a bowl will take care of itself."
You described the offense as being "flat". Can you tell us why?
"You know, I don't know. The lack of focus. The lack of preparation. Being unflexible. We're coached how to win, coached how to come out, and I don't know what pre-game rituals we're doing. It seems like we need to come out and focus more. The locker room needs to be more serious. It didn't seem like the same atmosphere as the Boise State game. Before the Boise State game, you could feel it. We're gonna come play. You could feel it. Everyone in the locker room knew that we were coming out. It didn't feel that way to me. I don't know what you guys felt, but maybe a better job preparing and coming out and being ready to play."
What are your thoughts on the quarterback situation? What do you think could happen?
"I'm not going to worry about that. I love this school, I love this town, and I'll do whatever is best for this team. You know, we just gotta let the coaches do what coaches do, and they're coaches for a reason, and they're really good coaches. I really love and respect those guys, and they'll make the best decision after they watch film. I'm sure of it, you know. Whatever they decide to do, they've had experience doing that, and we'll do what they tell us to do."
