Opening Statement: "The weather conditions were significant during the game and went into a lot of the decisions. Our defense played extremely well – that's now two weeks in a row, especially on short yardage situations. We won the penalty battle, except for the very first game, which is very unusual. We've gone back to being one of the more discipline teams in the country, when it comes to penalties. We won the explosive play battle, surprisingly. The biggest thing in the game was the front, our offensive and defensive line. That offense had pretty much been able to move the ball and score points on everybody and our defense was able to be able to play really at a high level. Even when we turned the ball over on our side of the field, our defense stepped up in sudden change defense and played extremely well. There were a lot of good things to build on, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The running game on offense, I thought that we had a really good plan and a good feel for how we wanted to attack their defense and then they made some adjustments. And then we adjusted from there as well. The special teams is probably the area that was impacted the most from the weather.
Most importantly, we are 1-0 this week on the road, we're going to enjoy this trip back to Happy Valley."
On defensive line stopping fourth and shorts: "That's been two weeks in a row with those stops. They had a lot of window dressing on their plays with the speed sweeps and the fake speed sweeps. I thought we did a really good job of playing in the box, making sure there our front seven handled the box to get our perimeter players to handle the speed sweeps and things like that. We were able to come off and be disruptive. We thought we had a chance with our defensive line on their offensive line. That's two weeks in a row in critical times our defense was able to make significant stops."
On QB Will Levis: "We have to mix some passes in there, no doubt about it. The weather was also a significant factor, but we have to mix some passes in there to be sure they respect it."
On the fourth and 13 call to go for it: "We weren't close to field goal range. That's also why we kind of went to a four-minute offense there. When we were in that situation in terms of going into the wind trying to eat the clock up so we could get the ball back, with the wind, and take advantage of that.
Again, we were kind of in no-man's land. So, we made the decision to go for it there, but yeah the wind was the biggest factor."
On defense: "We've gotten back to playing how we played for the last six years which is making sure to limit explosive plays, make people earn it, run to the ball, gang tackle, the basic fundamentals of defense which we've done a pretty good job of here for a long time. And we got back to that. I think a lot of it deals with our defensive line and our front being explosive and being able to handle the run or get penetration. I still think we can be a little bit better when it comes to pressuring the quarterback and sacks, but overall it's hard to argue with what we've done the last two weeks specifically on the defensive side of the ball."
On QB Will Levis and his usage: "It's primarily been a short yardage offense that we've been using that for. That's been the plan from the beginning, but we'd like to mix some things in there no doubt."
On fundamentals and lack of it heading into the game in relation to COVID protocols: "Our focus from the very beginning with our administration and players was to keep everyone safe and healthy. We did take an intentionally conservative approach because of what our primary goal was from the beginning. You also factor in different rules for different states, what other teams may have gotten in during the spring practices. That's very difference across the conference. I'm very proud with how we have handled COVID, knock on wood, up to this point. At the end of the day, that's really the most important thing.
Our responsibility is to keep our student-athletes safe and healthy and we've worked hard at that. Has there been impact on other things because of that? Yes."
On play-calling in second half with weather: "It affected both teams, us specifically significantly on special teams and offense."
On QB Sean Clifford: "I thought early on he played really well. Obviously, the turnovers, we can't have them. When he missed today, he missed high, which puts you in jeopardy of tipped passes and things like that. Early on, he looked very confident and comfortable in managing the game. But we've got to do it consistently and not put the ball at risk."
On turnovers: "The fumbles, it's ball security, technique, understanding that people will go for the ball. We've done a good job of it in previous years, but it's been an issue for us this year, it has had the biggest impact on our season, the turnovers, no doubt about it. We have to be able to push the ball up the field more. Not just this game, but in general. By doing that, it opens up the underneath stuff. We have to threaten people down the field more. We have to get better in that area."
