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TU Prepares For Homecoming Week
10/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 11, 2010
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham spoke Monday morning at his weekly press conference about the narrow loss to SMU and looking ahead to Homecoming Week and playing a home conference game for the first time this season.
Opening statement
We are disappointed. It was a tough loss. I am proud of how hard our guys played. I pointed out after the game that we had some guys going into the SMU game that hadn't been able to practice. I'm really proud of the courage that they've shown. You have to give SMU's defense a lot of credit. Their defensive line is as good as we've played against to this point. (Linebacker) La'Gared Davis was definitely a force. I knew going in that they had a good defensive system, and that was the difference. They were able to make some plays and hold us in situations. We had three dropped touchdown passes, and we had one overthrow that we had deep for a touchdown. We just had a lot of missed opportunities. We had an interception in our hands that, if we catch, it could be a difference in the game and they don't score a touchdown on that drive. We had a great punt - Michael Such is doing a great job punting the football - and we jump right on top of it and it squirts out. Not a lot of breaks went our way. We lost a close football game, but I was proud of our kids and how they played. Obviously you have to give SMU credit. It was a tough one to lose, but we have to move forward and we have a good team coming in here in Tulane, which is much improved from what they've been in the past. They play really good defensive football and have one of the best defenses in our league. They went up to Rutgers and beat them on the road. They had some guys injured and out this week, and they also had some turnovers in their loss to Army. Tulane is a good football team, but we have to focus on ourselves at this point. We're halfway through the season, we have six games behind us and we're 3-3. We don't control our own destiny in the conference race. We have to go to work and get better fundamentally and we need to get reinspired and reenergized. This is a special week for us because it's homecoming. All of our alumni and lettermen are coming back, so it's a very important game for us to go out and play well and get better fundamentally and get us a win.
On missed opportunities throughout the SMU game:
I'll tell you one of the most disappointing things was our kicking game. I had to say our kicking game because that was not the kicking game we are used to seeing. Our kickoff cover is one of the best in the country. It's ranked fifth in the nation with seven true freshmen. I can't tell you how proud I am of those guys. Our punt cover team is seventh or eighth in the country. Such is doing a tremendous job and (placekicker) Kevin Fitzpatrick is doing a great job with the kickoffs. I've been so confident this year calling for a field goal, but we got two blocked against SMU. We make either one of those and we're right there. On the same hand, they have a 6-foot-7 guy and he made a play and we didn't do a very good job protecting. That was discouraging. Other than that, our kickoff return team gave us good field position, our punt coverage team did a great job and our punt return team did a great job. We feel like special teams is one of the best aspects of our team right now. Defensively, they had some really good receivers. Aldrick Robinson is a guy that people have had a tough time trying to contain. He's extremely fast and he got behind us. There's no question we'd like to have some plays back, but our defense played really hard. We felt like going into the game, we could keep them under 20. That was going to be the type of game for us defensively. We were able to impact the quarterback and hit the quarterback. We didn't have a lot of breaks, but I was really proud of how hard they played. Offensively, we moved the ball up and down the field, but it was all about missed opportunities. You can't have dropped balls. The thing that told the story to me was the first play of the game. We run a naked pass and Charles (Clay) is out there with two lead blockers. He could have scored on that play, but the ball was dropped. We had a lot of missed opportunities and you don't get them back in a close game like that. But I was proud of how hard the kids played and they came together as a team. But it's about winning and it's disappointing to lose one that was so close.
On losing four division games by a total of eight points:
You have to look at each opponent. SMU is a lot better than they used to be, but we should have won that game. If we can defend a Hail Mary pass, we would have won the first game of the year and we had way too many mistakes and missed opportunities. One of the things that hurt is that we have had turnover amongst the coaching staff. Keeping the staff together has been important because that continuity helps us. One of my goals this year is to keep this group together. We're learning from our mistakes. I think the only thing you can look at is leadership and discipline. We've had some tremendous leaders in the past with guys like Paul Smith and David Johnson. We've won those games with that leadership. I think it starts with our coaching staff. We have to make sure we play more disciplined. In a close game, something as simple as catching an interception that's right in your hands can sway the game. We just try to look at each opponent each week. We could very easily be sitting here at 5-1. We've been whipped and we played poorly in one game. Injuries have been a factor. That was the big thing in week one when we lost the guys in the secondary and that was why things fell apart in the last quarter. But if we can defend a Hail Mary pass, we're 4-2. And if we can make one or two plays, we could be 5-1. I was sitting here and answering the same kind of questions in 2005. We were coming off a 4-8 season and they were referencing the losing seasons of earlier in the decade and saying you were coming off a losing season. We were 4-4 and got beat by UTEP, but we put our heads together, went out and played. Who knows? The only thing we can control is going out and getting better and I know we're one of the better teams. I have a lot of confidence in the staff and this team. We just need to play consistently at the level that we need to play at. We just have to get better.
On if the program is progressing like SMU and Houston:
I think we are getting better. There's no question we're playing with a lot of the same guys. We haven't executed to our potential offensively. We can be a lot better there. Defensively, we are not as good as we were in the past, in 2005 and 2006. This year it's been tough defensively because we lost so many people before the season even started. You can't lose that many guys and expect it not to impact you. I feel like our defense has gotten better every single week. We went into a game very aggressive and got shelled. But our guys have responded and gotten better. Our schedule is an indicator of that. I look at our 2008 schedule and it is a lot easier than this schedule. I don't give that a lot of thought. We have a good football team and there's no question we have one of the best football teams in this league. But there's not that much improvement between any of them. Anyone can beat you on any Saturday in this league and I think that's been proven over the years. I do think we've gotten better as a program, but each year you graduate people. We graduated a lot of people defensively and we knew that we were going to be a young defense coming in. The bottom line is W's and L's and we'll see where we are at after these last six games.
On the strengths of the team at this point:
I think the big thing that we have to do is be more consistent as a football team. We've been able to run the ball. Our tempo and our system have definitely improved to get things back in sync. Our rush defense is something that's been a strength for us. In the last two years, our rush defense has been better than it has ever been. We're very stingy in giving up rushing touchdowns. We were last year and we're doing the same this year. I think the biggest thing and the most difficult thing is that the big play has not come. Last year, we had more big play touchdowns than we have this year. Some of it has been dropped balls and some has been not executing. We were meeting with the offense this morning and they were talking about things we have to do better. I stopped the meeting and said `Hold on, didn't you guys know you are the ninth-best offense in America?' We're doing some good things on offense. That's why I try not to focus on statistics. If you look at the body of work and what we've done over the past three years, there's no question that we've done good things offensively. The most confidence that I have is what we've done offensively. I really think we're on the right track offensively. I also think we're on the right track defensively. We're doing some things differently. We're playing more 3-4 and four-man fronts to adapt to our guys. There's no question we've had some injuries and deficiencies on the back end, and we have to get better with our pass defense. We're working hard to do that and we also want to get better at impacting the quarterback. Special teams is the No. 1 thing I think we're doing well right now. If I looked and evaluated each phase, I'd say special teams. Are we better in special teams than we were in 2007 and 2008? No question. Are we better offensively? We're No. 1 in the country those years and we are ninth right now and finished 35th last year. It's more about scoring points and winning games. That is one of the things that I liked this morning. Coach Morris didn't even know where the offense ranked. That tells you a lot about him. He doesn't care. He cares more about winning games. I do think we've gotten better in those two phases. We knew that defense was the one area where we had the most work to be done. In the last three games our defensive line and our linebackers did not play that poorly, but we played got mismatched in the back end and gave up four quick touchdowns. I feel like we're getting better against the run, but it doesn't matter if you don't win games. The end-all is winning games, and I do have confidence that we are going to do that. I feel good about our guys, our staff and I feel like we have continuity and hopefully have a chance to keep this group together. People don't recognize the significance of that and how hard it is when you lose people. We've lost coaches to the big conferences. As we win, that's going to continue to happen. That really impacts you in recruiting more than anything. The biggest focus for us is to continue to get better fundamentally. I have a lot of confidence that we're going to do that. We're going to be in the same type of game that we were the other night in the next five conference games. They're going to be close games, and we have to figure out a way to win those because we haven't been able to do it.
On concern over Damaris Johnson not leading the nation in all-purpose yards:
He's leading the conference in all-purpose yards. He hasn't had a touchdown reception this year, but he only had two last year. He's performed extremely well and he's a phenomenal player. My whole philosophy defensively is that it is hard to march down the field and score. We have to get some explosive plays and get some things broken out there. It hasn't happened for us. It hasn't been easy. On the same hand, are we playing good enough offense to win games? You're darn right that we are. I do like that we have a lot of tools to work with. You can't lose sight of this - SMU is a good football team and one of the best teams in Conference USA. You have to give them credit, too. Their defense is the best one we've faced to this point. You have to give them credit. Coach (Tom) Mason does a great job and they are running a three-man front, which is tough to go up against.
On issues concerning the two blocked field goals:
They had a 6-7 giant in there who has led the nation in blocked field goals for two years. We thought we had a plan to keep his hands down and we didn't. Our short snapper isn't very big and he was able to penetrate. Both balls that were kicked were low kicks. But both of them would have been good. We didn't execute very well. We were soft and he was able to get some push because of his size. He's been pretty special at doing that. We'd like to have those two back and try something different.
On the strengths of Tulane:
The difference in their football team is their stellar defense. They have guys that can play for any team in the nation. They have 51 and 20 and 95 up front. They have the leading tackler in the conference. They are playing really good defensively. They also have guys that can stretch the field offensively. The quarterback is banged up, so they've struggled a little bit. But they are getting healthy now and they will be a challenge. Coach Bob Toledo is a good coach. The strength of their team is the defense and their ability to create turnovers. They have a good pass defense that is ranked 23rd in the country. They are playing at a different level as a football team right now.
On if this is the biggest challenge for TU's offensive line:
I think the biggest challenge is what they faced last week. SMU had big players who were imposing and impressive. That's one of the things that I want to point out. I think we gave up four or five sacks all year long. The guys on the offensive line have done a good job. Tulane's guys are very active and quick off the ball. The strength of their defense is their interior line. They also have a special playmaker at linebacker.
On Coach Mike Norvell and his recruiting in Louisiana:
Mike has done a tremendous job. You look at Damaris, Ricky Johnson and Kalen Henderson. We've signed a whole bunch of really good players out of Louisiana. It's not just Louisiana, he does a good job recruiting for us, as does our whole staff. Mike, Bill Blankenship, Paul Randolph, they've been stellar in terms of recruiting. Chad has had a big impact this year as well. Mike is a special guy and is doing a great job.
On the importance of Homecoming:
I look around the country and see guys playing seven and eight home games. I'd like to schedule like that. However, this will be our first conference game at home this year and it's the fourth conference game we've played. Homecoming is special because all of our alumni and lettermen are back. We've performed well at homecoming since I've been part of the program. We play really well when we play at home. It's different on the road. I just think that's college football. You look all over and you see that. The bottom line is if you want to win a championship, you have to win on the road. The good thing is we only go back on the road one more time in conference play. Coming back home for homecoming is special for us. I'm hoping to have a big crowd. Our guys will give it all they've got and our guys will play well.
