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Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham Addresses the Media
9/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 7, 2010
Coach Todd Graham quotes
Opening Statement:
Sunday was a tough one for our guys. We're really proud of the effort. Our guys really fought and battled in probably one of the toughest atmospheres to start out in. East Carolina has a new endzone facility and it was an unbelievable atmosphere. They had a big-time home field advantage. We came up a little bit short, but we felt like we had a lot of positives after looking at the film. The one positive you want to have is to win the football game, and to lose on a Hail Mary - what can you say? You just have to move on to the next week and get better as a football team. The key for us is to continue to get better and improve every single week. Hopefully we can get some guys back that were injured during the game. We had lots of positives from our offensive line, and we felt like G.J. (Kinne) had a great game, especially the second half. The way our guys fought and the attitude they had on the sideline, I was very proud of our program and our kids. We just have to focus on figuring out a way to win those situations. It was one heck of a football game. It was probably as good a football game as there's been on TV so far this year. We're really proud of our guys and we're proud of the effort, but obviously there are some things we have to get better at. We are going to work hard to do that.
On possible lingering effects after losing on a last-second play:
I'm heartbroken for our kids and for our program because I know how hard they work. That's just very tough. To battle and to put yourself in position to win in that type of atmosphere is always disappointing. The people who were there and who watched on TV could see that it was an unbelievable effort. You can't ever say that losing is something you ever want to experience, especially like that. It's a loss, but the sun comes up and we have to go to work and get better. I just hated it for our kids because I felt like we deserved to win. We played well enough and hard enough to win, but we gave it away to be honest. It was an unbelievable fourth quarter with 10-straight scores. When we lost Dexter (McCoil) and Jamad Williams in the second half, we had some young guys coming in and we made a lot of critical errors with our backups. We lost two of our five back-end secondary guys and we gave up a lot of missed tackles and things that we have to do a better job of. Those were things that stuck out to me down the stretch. They had 81 plays and we missed a lot of tackles and things like that. Other things that stuck out to me are we have great kickers. We missed a field goal and an interception that could have been the difference. You go back and you start counting all those plays, but the bottom line is you win or you lose the game. Our guys have a great spirit, and we're going to get back to work. Our guys are hungry to get back out on our home field and get better as a football team.
On whether he spoke with the team on how to get over a loss of that magnitude:
There is a lot of work that goes into playing 12 regular-season ballgames. There are a lot of practices, meetings, sprints and workouts. The kids understand that, just like in life, you're going to have setbacks and sometimes it's hard to understand. You work as hard as you can but you still come up short. What you have to do in those situations is you just have to keep plugging. You go back to work and our kids had a good attitude. We went over and corrected those mistakes. There were a lot of mistakes made down the line, but there were a lot of plays made, too. There were lots of positives, and you just have to continue to get better. We coached it just like we would have coached it if we won. We went back and looked at the film. It's a short week so time was a little tough for us. You pick up and you go on, and you have to get back out and get ready for a very good Bowling Green team. I think Bowling Green is a good team, I'm impressed with their skill players - their receivers, their quarterback and their offense. They run the ball extremely well. They have a great kicking game. They ran a punt back for a touchdown against Troy. There is no time to sit and look behind you. During football season, you always have to look at the next play, the next practice, the next day and the next game. Our guys are moving forward from here.
On if the defensive secondary is the greatest concern at this point:
The game is four quarters. We played three quarters and we couldn't stop them in the fourth. We have to get better defensively. We have to get better at tackling and we have to get better down the stretch. The play of Dexter McCoil for three quarters was unbelievable. I thought he had an unbelievable game, and losing him was big. Jamad (Williams) cramped up at halftime and we lost him. That was a big factor because we gave up big plays in those areas down the stretch. There are lots of things we have to get better at, such as impacting the quarterback, which we always have to get better at after the first game. I'm really proud of Charles Davis. I thought Charles did a great job of having new guys in there the whole fourth quarter and trying to make adjustments. Our guys played hard. I was really proud of how hard they played and how they fought. We've really taken pride in competing as a team. I like the sideline, how the guys on offense were encouraging guys on defense throughout the whole game no matter what the situation was. We just have to keep fighting and scratching and we'll get over the hump.
On the failed two-point conversions:
If we knock down the Hail Mary, then no one is talking about it. You are going to get second-guessed. When I asked Coach (Chad) Morris to come in here and be the offensive coordinator, that's part of his offense. That's part of what he does. He is going to be aggressive. If you go back and look at the first two on film, both of them should have worked hands down and we just didn't execute. If you could take them back, would you change them? Well of course because you didn't win. We're going to be aggressive. I've given Coach Morris the latitude to run the offense his way. That's what we've always been here. We've been a team that runs it in the (fast) lane. We're high-tempo and that's part of it. Naturally, when something doesn't work, you can always go back and second-guess it. If we can kick a field goal (one was blocked earlier), we can win a game. If we can execute one of those two-point conversions, we tie the game. The last two-point conversion, our chart called for us to do that. We tried to throw a fade to Trae (Johnson). The first two-point play was one where we tried to be aggressive. We felt like they weren't prepared after we lined up the first time (for the first extra point). We thought we would walk in (and easily score), but actually we had a bad snap or we would have scored on that. The bottom line is you win or lose. If you lose, there's a lot of second-guessing. If you have things to do over, we wouldn't do them any different. We're going to be aggressive. I think Coach Morris did an unbelievable job in his first collegiate football game. I was proud of G.J. (Kinne) and our defensive guys and how hard they played. Football is a physical sport and we had some guys go down. We have to do a better job of preparing the guys in the second tier to come in because that was the difference, I think, in the game defensively. We're not worrying about that today. We're moving forward. That was our philosophy with (former offensive coordinator) Coach (Gus) Malzahn and that's our philosophy here. We are going to be a team that attacks and is very aggressive. That's what makes us who we are and what makes us very unique and special. That's why people like a lot of points scored. That's how you score points, it's not being conservative. We evaluate every single call and every single play. I looked at that play and both of those two-point conversions should have been easily converted. We just didn't execute. You don't get to go back and have do-overs. I want Coach (Morris) to be aggressive. I want Coach to be creative. I want him to do the things that he did. When you score 49 points and punt the ball twice, you ought to win football games. We could have scored more. We could have played better in all three phases. There are a lot of things that we can get better at. The great thing about watching film is there are a lot of things that we can improve upon. We're encouraged and focused to get back on that field in front of that home field and get a win and keep building. I like the character of this team and have tremendous belief in what we're doing. I can tell you this, after going through that game, I'm encouraged because we got into a rhythm as the game progressed. Guys were battling and we faced a lot of adversity. You have to give (East Carolina) credit. They had some really good players and executed. They executed one more play than we did. We're moving forward because we don't have time to look behind. We have to get ready for Bowling Green. I've got a lot of confidence in these guys.
On going for two-point conversions in the future when it's not on the chart to do so:
We don't go by a chart (early in the game). We go by how we feel in our offensive staff. They're going to game plan each week and we're going to force people to defend that. If you follow where that comes from, it comes from Boise State. That's their philosophy as well. We're a long way from being where they are at, but that's where that philosophy is at. We've exchanged ideas with Coach (Chris) Petersen and them and that's where we got that from. Coach Morris used it at Lake Travis (High School) and he brought it here. We're not going to be careless, but if we have the numbers, we're going to be aggressive. That's where it comes from and it's part of who we are offensively. I want to get back to that aggressive style and I think we established that in the second half. I think you can go back to the second half and find a lot of plays in that game where it could be different either way. People ask would you go back and kick it? Well yes, if I knew it wouldn't work, I'd go back and kick it. I was really proud. It was an incredible game and unbelievable atmosphere. I did like how we came out in that game offensively and the demeanor of our kids was one of being extremely aggressive. We're not going to be careless, but we're going to be aggressive.
On potentially overlooking Bowling Green:
There's not any concern of over-confidence. This is not 2007, this is 2010. They have a different coach and different players. We have different players. There are lots of things that are different. We're not looking at (the 63-7 victory over Bowling Green in 2007). We're looking at the fact that we're pretty fired up to get back on the field and get a win under our belt. We're just starting off the 2010 season, and we started off with a heartbreaking loss. We can't wait to get back out there and play. I can assure you we're not underestimating Bowling Green, because they are a really good football team. They have really good players and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. We're going to have to play well, there's no question about it. This team went to a bowl last year (Humanitarian Bowl against Idaho) and they put up great numbers offensively. They play extremely hard and they are well coached. I am impressed with their schemes on offense and defense. They are very sound about what they're doing. They are coming off the same type of loss that we had (BGSU lost to Troy 30-27 on a field goal with four seconds to play last weekend). They'll be motivated as well. We're not going to be overconfident because we beat them in 2007.
On young guys making big plays early in the season:
We are a very veteran offensive football team. We have a lot of guys over there who have made plays, and when you can spread the wealth, it makes it very diverse. It's very difficult to defend. The key to the whole thing is just managing the game at quarterback and just taking what they're giving you. That's why you see that many different guys scoring touchdowns and making plays is because you just take what the defense gives you. As long as we're doing that - managing the game and getting our rhythm and tempo going - I like what that looks like.
On being concerned about becoming a team that has to outscore opponents to win:
When you go in at halftime, it's 17-16. It's obvious that our offense is the strength of our team right now and we have to get better defensively, but we're a team. We had some young guys and had some guys get hurt and some backups that didn't perform like they needed to perform. We have to do a better job of getting them to perform like they need to perform. We have made a big focus on being a team that emphasizes defense. If we are going to win a championship, we have got to improve defensively and we have to get better. That is going to be a process. But I have a great belief in the kids. Coach (Keith) Patterson, Coach (Paul) Randolph, Coach (Van) Malone, Coach (Jess) Loepp, they are doing a great job with the team. We just have to keep getting better every week. That's the key. But we're at a certain point where we have to get better. For three quarters, we played really well at times. We gave up three touchdowns - one was on a hitch play, one was on a slant play and one was on a run play where we had them dead in the backfield. All those were long touchdown runs. You don't get to go back and pull those out. We have to get better fundamentally defensively. We're going to have a lot of young freshmen and new guys play. But I have great confidence in those guys. We have to develop those guys and get better. I don't care what it is. I just want to win. At halftime, our offense was frustrated. We had a lot of missed opportunities. Our defense was encouraging our offense. It's the same kind of deal. It's give and take. You can't give up 27 points in the fourth quarter and feel good about how you played defensively. There's lots of things we have to do to get better. The key is getting better fundamentally and it's not how you start, but how you finish. I like the character of our team. Our guys are working hard and we're going to continue to get better.
On the play of junior quarterback G.J. Kinne:
I'm very proud of G.J., He settled down in the second half. When he executes the plays and manages the game ... I think he showed the experience he has under his belt. It's like anything that you do. You have to be a learner. In every play, you have to try and learn and get better. What we've expressed to him is that he has a lot of talent around him. He has to take what the defense gives him. Don't make your mind up what you are going to do before the ball is snapped. We showed him in the second half and we scored every time we had the ball in the second half. He made tremendous decisions except for one. On 2nd and 4, he threw an interception on their end of the field. I think it was a great learning experience for him. He showed a great deal of command of the offense and what he is doing. (Coach) Chad (Morris) has done a great job of developing him. He showed that he had some experience. I was proud of his performance and how he played. On the same hand, we want to win. We win as a team and lose as a team. We have to figure out how to win those close ones down the stretch. I was very proud with how he handled himself in the second half in responding to us being a little sluggish in the first half. He showed good poise and experience.
On the importance of getting a great crowd in the home opener against Bowling Green:
One of the great things about college football is home-field advantage. Our fans that went to East Carolina got to see what an incredible atmosphere that was. We've had a great atmosphere out here with the renovation of our stadium. We need everyone out here in force. The team coming in here is a really good football team. We need to get this thing loud and kick this thing off and defend this field. We've always played well here at home, especially in our home openers. We need to create a great atmosphere for our guys and I call upon our fans to come out in force and help support our team. (ECU) was as challenging an atmosphere as there is and we want to create the same thing here. We've had that and I appreciate the fans and how they've supported us and our program. We're going to need them in force.
On playing close games and not getting the breaks needed to win:
2009 is 2009 and 2010 is 2010 and we played one game this year. Those close games boil down to discipline and it boils down to making those plays. People make plays down the stretch. (East Carolina) made an incredible play (to beat Tulsa this past weekend). We didn't execute on that play, but there's 12-to-15 plays that change the outcome of the game. I do like how this team played and the personality of this team. We didn't play not to lose. We played to win and I like that. That's what I want them to keep doing. You keep doing that and you keep plugging and it will fall back our way. But I'm kind of tired of losing the close ones.
