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BILL BLANKENSHIP PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 11, 2014
TULSA, Okla. - TULSA HEAD COACH Bill Blankenship
Opening Statement... "Good to get a win on Saturday. One of the things I tell our team is that the hard thing about coaching and progressing as a team is when you lose a game most of the time it's not as bad as you feel and usually when you win it's not as good as you feel. So you have to always look at facts and truths and always try to move forward. There's certainly plenty to celebrate, but we've got plenty to work on moving forward to Central Florida. We're very proud of our guys to close it out and get back in the win column. That locker room was special and we love being a part of all that."
On things the team is celebrating and things that weren't so good... "These are the same things I told our players. Offensively, you can really get excited about a 500+-yard performance, about a balanced attack that had very effective run and pass attacks. Zack Langer going 160+ yards and Dane Evans was very efficient passing the football especially after a less than stellar start. I mean, he missed a couple of throws early but then got in a groove. I thought that Keyarris Garrett and Keevan Lucas were dominant in the way they played and that's what we're hoping to continue to get from them and for them to continue to grow. On the other hand, we left 14 or 17 points on the field. We fumbled the ball right on the goal line, we took a sack before halftime that took us out of field goal range. There are some things that happened, like in the last drive we were ultra-conservative and were just trying to work the clock and probably could have gotten more points if we had continued to be aggressive. So, there is still room for that offense to grow. Defensively, I think that thing that stands out to everybody, especially our coaches is that we had 14 or more missed tackles, opportunities to get a guy down. And that extended drives, and it extended opportunities for first downs. So you get caught up in the bad part of that and forget that there were some really good things on defense. We had more big plays defensively than we've had all season. We chart what we call a big play ratio: their big plays vs. the ones that we generate. We were far and away, almost four times better, than what we've done most of the season in terms of generating big plays; sacks, takeaways, a couple of interceptions and a fumble recovery. There were a lot of positives on defense, but you are kind of blinded if you focus in because there were some glaring problems in being able to tackle their quarterback and he really handled us very well. So that was the good and bad with those. Special teams coverage was fabulous. We finally got a kick return out with D'Angelo Brewer that set up a score. Those are always the things you look for in terms of special teams. We hit a game clinching field goal at the end that put us up two scores with the defense on the field and no time-outs. So you love that kind of stuff. But the other side of it is we couldn't keep a kickoff within 52 and 2/3 yards. If you can kick field goals you ought to be able to put a kickoff somewhere down there in the grass that keeps it in bounds. We struggled with that. There are plenty of things to continue to work on and we had one foolish penalty on a punt return and we always try to play flag-free on special teams because they just hurt you so bad. So that's kind of the synopsis of kind of the good and bad from Saturday."
On if getting the win is the definition of tipping it over... "Consistent winning is the definition of tipping it and not letting it roll back. I think you've got to have those plays and those moments that you think are the tipping point and I think this is one of those moments. We'll see how we continue to move forward. Everyone needs positive reinforcement for certain behaviors and so you need to get that positive reinforcement of a win for the effort and consistent work that you've been putting in and hopefully that will help build the ability to hold out and win in the future. We've been close, we've been in games, but we need to be consistent about finishing them off."
On if there was a drastic difference noticeable between the performance against SMU... "I think the summary is that offensively we were very efficient, defensively we generated those big plays and that's why Brent Guy's number one stat is what he calls big play ratio, how many do you give up, how many do you generate. I think with what we measure we were somewhere in the 14 range for big plays and they had generated like three, I think that's accurate. I know about four was the ratio. When you get to that kind of ratio you are actually giving yourself a good chance to win. In our 2012 season with a really good defense, we were consistently in that range of generating big plays. Sometimes you give some up, but you need that ratio to be high enough to cover up some of big plays."
On the back-to-back wins against UCF in 2012... "I remember us talking about it as kind of a flashback to high school when you would play a team in the regular season and then it was postseason and sometimes you'd get a repeat and that doesn't happen much in college. I remember very clearly, we were playing pretty well at the time, but so were they. They are a very well coached football team. I've come to appreciate matching up against George O'Leary. I think he really is a good football coach and you know his team is going to be well prepared. When we watch them on film, they just don't make lots of mistakes. The mistakes they're making right now are in turning the ball over and things like that, which I'm sure is driving him crazy. But in terms of the defense they put on the field and the offense, they traditionally do not beat themselves. They really put a product out there that makes you have to defend them well and be aggressive offensively. "
On if the win will impact the preparation and execution of the UCF game... "There's never a time when I felt like a loss was a good thing to come off of. You don't choose to build off losses. It's what you have to do, you have to learn to overcome adversity and all that. But anytime you come off of a win, you're always generating momentum. Every time you are coming off of a loss you're having to regain momentum. I'm looking forward to getting to practice today. I know that the weather is going to be cold and all that, but I expect the energy to be very, very high and these guys to be very excited about making the trip to Orlando."
On what it takes to beat a George O'Leary team... "You're going to have to be physical, that's for sure. His teams are physical teams, traditionally. And, again, I think you have to be careful to not beat yourself. We've said this not just against UCF, but I think to ever become really good and win, you've got to first not forfeit your opportunity to win by not giving it away. That's where if you can become better at taking care of the football on offense, and I think over the last four games, our quarterback has continued to prove himself to the point where over the last four games he has 10 touchdowns and no interceptions and 1,200 yards, now that's progress. Knock on wood, hopefully we can continue that. We haven't put the ball on the ground a lot with our running backs and those are things you have to grow into. That's the kind of performance we've got to have if we're going to be in a position to win the game on Saturday. We've got to first not beat ourselves and then give ourselves the chance to match-up and make some plays."
On if the players needed the win against SMU from a confidence standpoint... "Oh yeah. We all did. You can grind, you can stay focused and stay together and they were doing that and I think they would have done that again this week. The reality is that that positive feedback is what feeds you. You can continue to grind, but you also need to be re-energized at times. The guys in that locker room and how they feel with each other when they come off that field, that matters from week to week and that's what you build on. I promise you I wasn't just selling positive spin to say that our guys were grinding and working and continuing on, but it's not fun. The wins put fun into it and it also gives you that positive reinforcement of man, we want to do that again."
On if Dane Evans needed that confidence to tie it all together... "I think quarterbacks always do. But by the same token, he has taken some steps along the way to become a lot calmer in game situations. He's seeing things. He's truly in his second season now. If you actually add the games he played his first year to where we are now, he's actually beyond the 12 game mark now. That's kind of where you get to if you start becoming a true second- or third-year quarterback, things begin to happen a little slower as you see them and I think he's adapted well. He's really done a nice job of checking us in and out of good plays. And that's going to get tougher this week, but I think he is in a better place to get ready for this game than he was three weeks ago."
On if he would like to get the ball to Keevan Lucas and Keyarris Garrett more or keep it with Zack Langer... "I want to do whatever it takes to win. And I think we have established that with our offensive players that if we're good enough in the throwing game it will open up the run and if we're good enough in the running game it will open up the pass. They really get it. If all you can do is pass, you won't be able to do it very long because people will gang up on you. The best thing we did last week, and this goes back to the quarterback, was to just play against the defense they gave us. When they wanted to press us up close we were able to throw the ball, when they wanted to cover the pass we were able to run the ball. Until the fourth quarter, we were very much balanced. In the fourth quarter we very consciously decided to keep the ball on the ground and see if we could wear them out."
On if the Memphis trip was good for travel lessons... "The truth is that that even goes back to the Temple game. We actually traveled well at Temple. We had a very positive vibe in terms of how we went to the game - how the game started and how the game went out. It didn't end well for us, but in terms of adding the travel component to it I thought we took a huge step forward. Going to Memphis was another test, and this will be a little more like going to Memphis because of the Friday thing. Friday night games are a little funky hanging out at the hotel when there's not football on, watching soap operas or movies or something. It's different on Saturdays if you have a night game because really you just start watching games and just stay in the football mode. You've got to work on that a little more on these non-traditional games."
On what changed in the fourth quarter with the play calls for the run plays... "Just really our decision to force the run. We're up a couple of scores, you're trying to just manage the game and I thought we were at a point where we were wearing them out. And that was part of the process with just going ahead and trying to end it. There are a couple of things that happened when I look back on it that I really regret. We got down to about the three and we rolled Dane out and he got sacked and it brought us back off the goal line. That was basically my fault, because what we were trying to do was we had a quarterback run call. And I just threatened his life not to throw the ball. I didn't want the clock to stop and then we mis-blocked it. And what you want to do is throw it away and get back to where you were, but I had threatened his life pretty much so he did exactly what we asked him to do. We just didn't execute the play. That's where I go back and I think if I had just continued to be aggressive and just do what we had done previously, we probably would have been better off. But I was really cognizant of trying to protect the time and the lead and try to bleed it out as best we could. "
On if UCF watched TU struggle with the running quarterback and decided to put some wrinkles in the game plan... "The challenge is somewhat coming from the fact that UCF had a bye week last week, as SMU did the week before they played us and as Houston does next week before they play us. Welcome to the American Athletic Conference. That's just part of the scheduling, it kind of happens that way. Any time you are playing a team coming off of a bye week, here is what you can bank on: they will have some new wrinkles in. You are probably aware of this, but Matt Davis wasn't the regular quarterback at SMU coming into their bye week. It wasn't a complete shock to us because we actually kind of thought they might do that with Coach Mason's background on defense, he knows what a duel-threat guy can do. So they put in some plays we had never seen them run. We had never seen them run a zone-read, we had never seen them run the option, all those kinds of things they put in. UCF is no different. They are going to have some wrinkles for us that we haven't prepared for, we just have to adapt. That's what happens usually on the bye weeks. I think they will try to have some quarterback runs in because he is a runner, a good one. He's a big guy, like 6-4. He's a little more like the Memphis quarterback in terms of stature, not 6-6, but he's a big guy that they do a lot with already."
Is it safe to say that the defense is not what you had hoped it to be... "It's very safe to say. You can't sugar coat it, we're not as good as we thought we would be on defense. There are some reasons, but I think at this point the biggest struggle we have is probably confidence. I think because their confidence is hurt, we're being hesitant. When you see guys that miss that quarterback, and he's really good, but the way we went after him did not look like a confident team trying to hem him in. It looked like guys were trying not to mess up. I think that's what happens sometimes in the secondary. You get trying not to mess up instead of just going and playing with confidence. The other side of that is I think that's the tipping point that you've seen on our offense, it's the same guys but now they're playing with confidence. Confidence is one of those very underrated qualities that really can make a huge difference in how you perform."
On dealing with fan backlash... "I don't think there is much you can do. You owe it to your players, you owe to everyone who are those true blue supporters that you have to just do your absolute best and that's what we're doing. I think it's interesting the things that get talked about. Everybody wants to have a theory on why it's not working, you guys have heard me say on a regular basis that I just don't ever think it's that simple. It's a very common thing that I hear is that we haven't recruited as well. Probably so. We need to recruit better. We hear we have too many Oklahoma kids. Oh, really? Who did we play with in 2012 and 2007 when we were the number one offense in the country? The left tackle was from Shawnee, the left guard was from Coweta, the center was from Comanche, the right guard was from Sapulpa, the right tackle was from Oklahoma City, the wide receiver was from Jenks and the quarterback was from Owasso. The running back was from Moore and the other running back was from Midwest City. Now there's a really good player from Little Rock and a really good player from Texas and a really good player from California. But I don't think it was an Oklahoma problem. In 2012 when we won the Liberty Bowl and won 11 games and had a great defense, that defense was made up of defensive ends from Jenks and Edmond Santa Fe. One of the Edmond Santa Fe kids was a walkon that ended up tied for the sack lead here because he was a senior. In the interior was a guy from Edmond Santa Fe and a guy from Del City. The two inside linebackers were from Jenks and McLain. Had a great outside linebacker from Dallas-Fort Worth, had a great corner from LA. But we had another corner from Midwest City and another safety from Glenpool. So it's not as simple as saying we have too many Oklahoma kids. Because apparently when those Oklahoma kids are good kids and they're seniors, which that defense was, they probably play pretty well. I don't know how that happened, but I'm just saying the theories you hear, you just look at and think, `Really? You think that's the issue?'"
On problems earlier in the season impacting the conservative play calling in the 4th quarter... "Every bit of it plays into that. That's what you do as a player and a coach. You take those experiences and put them back in there and you think it's right before halftime at Temple and we're moving the ball and we've got a lead and it's 2nd & 1 and we throw a ball and it's incomplete and then we run it on 3rd & 1 and think we're going to get it but we have to punt. And then they score. And you think if we had just run it three times maybe we'd have been alright. Then we go to Memphis and we get them down in the red zone and get a little more aggressive and we get a touchdown on the first one. Another time we're down there and we throw it three times and we think we get interference and it doesn't get called, next thing you know we don't score. You get into that and think about if it is helping our defense. I'm really trying to do the best we can to generate points and to help that defensive unit that is trying to build their confidence as well. All of those things play together and you just hope that over 30 years you generate enough of that experience to know this generally works and this is what we need to do."
