Post Game Quotes
11/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 16, 2009
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Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham
Opening Statement...
"Naturally it was very disappointing. We have to give Coach Holtz a lot of credit. They have a very good defensive football team, probably the best team we've played in a while. I thought their defense was in the same line as Boise State. We had trouble blocking them up front. Their front four were very dominant, you can tell that by the stats. I didn't feel like we came out ready to play defensively. They had a lot of yards in the first half, especially in their running game. When we scored before halftime, I felt like our guys were spirited. We did some stupid things there in that first half that hurt us. What's killed us is turning the football over and making stupid mistakes. We have to get this thing going back in a positive direction."
What do you attribute the slow start to?
"I would attribute the slow start to East Carolina's defense. We had some missed opportunities, but they really dominated up front defensively."
Tulsa Linebacker Mike Bryan
How are you feeling? Talk about what happened. You had to leave the field there.
"Last play I played, I just got a little stinger and had to come off the field. Nothing big."
On the five-game losing streak...
"It's a little bit hard to comprehend. I've never felt this before. It's a weird feeling. We're taking it the best we can, and there's not much we can do about it. We came out tonight and we weren't ready to play. East Carolina took it to us and beat us. But this five game losing streak is unbelievable. It's hard for me to comprehend. It's like I'm going to wake up anytime now. It's a bad dream. But no, it's reality. We're going through a tough time right now. We'll get out of it, though."
How good was their offensive line? It just seemed like they started knocking you guys backward and just drove the ball as long as they wanted to.
"I'm not going to say how good or how bad their offensive line was, but I will say they came out ready to play and we didn't. The first half was embarrassing. They had 400 yards of total offense first half. That's ridiculous. I think they had over 150 yards rushing. They came out ready to play and we didn't. It took us until the second half to get going, and that's just part of it I guess."
Mike, as a leader, what do you take upon yourself here with two games left? What do you tell the guys?
"Two games left. We've got four wins underneath our belt. Even if we win the next two games, we probably aren't going to a bowl game. Even though we will be bowl eligible, we probably still won't go. We just have got to come out and finish. It doesn't matter what the end result is. If you've got a game to play, you come out and play the best you can. It doesn't matter what you're doing - anything you do in life. If you've got something to do, it doesn't matter what the end result is - you come out and do it the best you can. We're going to come out these last two games and give it all we've got, lay it on the line, and hopefully come out with two wins. That's what the expectation is."
I know it wasn't the goal going in, but how important is 6-6 in making sure it's not a losing season?
"I never thought that would be the goal. It is very important for me to not have a losing season my senior year. It's already a disappointment or a bust or whatever you want to call it. So it's a big disappointment. It would be a major disappointment to end up 5-6 or 5-7. It would be a disappointment to me and a disappointment to everybody here at this university."
Does it go beyond the X's and O's right now of this losing streak and become a mental thing for some of these guys?
"I don't think it's a mental thing. We're coming out here and playing hard. I don't know if we're just not getting prepared like we used to, and we don't know it. We play every team,, and we play up to every team that comes in here, and it's a close game going into the fourth quarter. It doesn't matter if it's the fourth or fifth team in the nation or the 15th team in the nation. We play them a close game. We play up to people's levels, and we play down to people's levels. That's a sign of immaturity or a sign of poor leadership. I don't think it's a head thing. It's something we need to get fixed. We'll figure out what it is by next week, though."
East Carolina Head Coach Skip Holtz
Opening Statement...
"The defense really stepped forward in the fourth quarter. We haven't scored on defense all year. I guess it comes in bunches when you look at it. Really, just to get the win is what is important. I think that was as good a first half offensively that we have played as a team since I have been here.
"In the second half, the defense stepped up. Offensively, we wanted to run the football but they loaded the box. We didn't want to get into a passing game with the lead. They kept coming back and making it a one-score game. I told them to be patient and not to start chunking it all over the field because they were playing man coverage."
"Dominique Lindsay is a warrior. Our offensive line played a really good game tonight. Korey Reynolds stepped in for an injured Rob Kass and did a really nice job. Darryl Freeney obviously stepped in played well. Levin Neal's interception, Emanuel Davis' interception and Jay Ross' scoop-and-score fumble recovery are obviously three huge plays to turn and blow this game open in the fourth quarter."
On the four forced turnovers...
"The defense did a great job and I believe they were all in the second half. Coach Graham is a good football coach and I've been impressed with the job that [G.J.] Kinne has been doing, but in the second half things just really started going our way."
"I'm just really proud of these players and how they have overcome a difficult schedule with the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday games. That's now over and we will get back early Monday morning and work with a short week for UAB. I'm just really proud of our players and the way they came in here and competed."
