Ryan Carty | Head Coach
Opening Statement:
Well, obviously, we didn't make enough plays against a really good football team. We tried to make work early and did an effective, okay job of that. We obviously didn't do a great job giving ourselves enough manageable third downs on offense and you could get off the field – get them in third and longs. So, when you fight against a team that's a lot better than you talent-wise, that's going to come back to haunt you over the course of the game, you're going to get one out.
Q: Early on, they converted a couple of 3rd and long, you know, in a fourth down conversion, I mean, was that kind of a good sign for you guys early, not that it was going to change the outcome, but you know, a good sign for you guys early that defense was kind of hanging in there and they kind of needed some big plays to kind of keep it moving on those first couple series.
A: Yeah, for sure. And, you know, we needed that, we needed them to hold us in this game for a little bit. I know the defense you're going up against, being those guys. And so, you know, it was only, I don't want to say a matter of time, but you know, if we kept going back out there and getting into situations where we've dropped back fast, we're probably going to be stuck for a little bit because they're pretty good in the secondary and they were pretty good up front.
So, you know, I think Coach Diaz does such a great job at mixing up the looks on defense that they're not going to give you something, you know, from one drive to the next. I was kind of hoping they were just going to play us like an FCS team. That didn't quite happen. And so then, unfortunately, we had to innovate, you know, just like we tried to do that.
So, you know, we have to, obviously, learn from what we did well and didn't do well today. Because we obviously have an FCS schedule and we got to get ready for it this week.
Q: Coach, you talked about holes opening up on the O line. I mean, you only scored seven points, but it seems like the O line didn't play that bad. I mean, they provided, they couldn't hold a blitz out on third down and long but, you know, up until that point, they were opening some holes but they, as you said, they just got closed up by the running backs.
A: Yeah, again, that was going to be a focal point for us. Obviously, we're going to be able to see it, you know, through the best defensive ends in the country. So, you were going to see, you know, whether or not we could hold up and you know, it wasn't like you said – it wasn't ridiculous out there. You know, especially early we did okay in kind of holding them off a little bit.
Dillon Trainer | LB | Senior
Q: Obviously this was a difficult game for you guys, but how do you try to make this a positive experience?
A: I think one of the biggest things Coach Carty tells us is progress. Now, there's always going to be ups and downs in the direction of progress and you know, you can't expect it to just be a straight trajectory. We experienced that today but I think everybody here can attest to the fact that diversity is what makes you great. It causes great men to rise and weak men to crumble. So I think what we faced today was obviously a difficult task and we didn't get the results that we wanted, but at the same time, it's going to set us up for the future and is going to make us stronger and test our character.
Dillon Trainer | LB | Senior
Q: Were you encouraged early defensively when you guys kind of forced them into a couple third and fourth downs? You guys had to be feeling good about yourselves at that point from a defensive standpoint, correct?
A: Yeah, that felt good. I think one positive is that we made them earn it on every play today. It doesnt matter who we are playing, everybody's going to have to earn it against us. Again, we didn't get the results we wanted and, you know, we didn't play well enough to win but there's some satisfaction in the fact that they did have to barge on every single drive that they had.
Marcus Yarns | RB | Senior
Q: What made it so hard to move the ball against these guys?
A: They know how to set plots very, very well at a second level linebacker position and then they just focus the ball very fast.
Marcus Yarns | RB | Senior
Q: What is that moment like for you, I mean 14-0 at that point and it is a big play in a big stadium, does it feel like a big moment for you?
A: A little bit. I didn't have many of them, but at that point it felt good.