POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 35, Memphis 34
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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HOUSTON HEAD COACH Tom Herman
Opening Statement
"There is not much to say, other than 'incredible team win.' I know that phrase gets used a lot across the nation, probably used by me as well. We couldn't do anything in the first half offensively. Defense gave up some big plays, but I thought they played admirably given the lack of field position and lack of keeping drives alive by the offense. To come out and take the first drive of the second half down for a touchdown, then come back to give up a touchdown on defense, things looked pretty bleak. At one point, we had a false start and two back-to-back holding penalties in a row, and the offense came off the field.
But it was really neat to see the look in our team's eyes of never giving up. They really played for each other. It's also another phrase that gets used around this country probably way too much, but in our locker room we have a bunch of guys that love each other. It's impossible to give up when things are getting kind of rough and looking kind of bleak. When you're doing it for yourself, it's easy; you just move on to the next thing, but when you're doing it for somebody you love and you know they love you back, it's impossible to give up. Again, we'll celebrate tonight, but it's a workday tomorrow. We've got a UConn team that's fresh, that's coming off a bye week, and we have to make sure we're prepared to go 1-0 next week."
On Kyle Postma's performance
"Gutsy. He's a pretty unflappable kid. We talk about unit pride and competitive focus, meaning when your number is called, you're ready, and you're focused at all times, and you prepare when your number is called. You won't let your brothers down. He had a great week of preparation. He's had a great season of preparation. I don't think anyone batted an eye when we put him in the game."
On his team's 'next man up' culture
"It goes back to the culture that you work on since we got here in January. It's not just something that happens in a week. That is something that is engraved in our program now, that everybody prepares as if he was the starter. I know a lot of teams say that, but we live that. That's who we are; that's what we do each and every day. We've got Jeremy Winchester down there and three freshmen offensive linemen out there. We have Javin Webb score a touchdown. How many backups do you want in the game making plays for you and rising to the challenge? It's a testament to our coaching staff, the way that they prepare those guys and a testament to how our program is run."
On the backups seeing action tonight
"It goes back to the culture that you work on since we got here in January. It's not something that just happens in a week. That is something that is engraved in our program now. Everybody prepares as if he was the starter. I know a lot of teams say that, but we lived that. That's who we are. That's what we do each and every day.
It's no more evident than we've got Jeremy Winchester down there and three freshmen offensive linemen out there. We have Javin Webb score a touchdown. How many backups do you want in the game making plays for you and rising to the challenge? It's a testament to our coaching staff, the way that they prepare those guys and a testament to how our program is run."
On the atmosphere in the stadium
"I didn't want to win it that way; I can tell you that. I would rather it have been 47-0. What an unbelievable atmosphere tonight. I want to publicly thank our students, not just for tonight, but each and every week regardless of opponent; 6,000-8,000 strong. Cheering their tails off. They've taken a lot of ownership in this team. The city of Houston, the casual fan, I'm sure there were a lot of them here tonight. Hopefully they didn't leave after the first quarter. We do appreciate that. They had a bunch of false start penalties. The atmosphere there was truly a home field advantage here tonight."
On the defenses performance
"They played really hard. They didn't play extremely assignment sound. They played really hard. Probably the only play I was disappointed in was the long screen pass for a touchdown. We didn't have guys flying to the ball and tackling the ball carrier. We give up a big play there on the triple option on their sideline for a touchdown. Other than that, these guys take a lot of pride in what they do. They are one of the best outfits in the country. At times they didn't look it tonight, but they played really hard; really inspired. We took the ball away there twice in the fourth quarter which was huge."
On Greg Ward's injury
"He got his ankle rolled pretty well. Nothing that I don't think will keep him out too long. We'll find more out tomorrow when he comes in. He was out there jogging around in the second half. He would have been ready if something happened to Kyle (Postma), but we figured that Greg's game is he relies on his feet a lot. That's his style of play. If his feet are not there, I'm not sure if he's the best option. So we decided to stick with Kyle, and he came through. Had Greg had something happen disastrously then he wouldn't have been able to go back in."
On Kyle Postma's play as reserve quarterback
"I saw what you guys saw. I mean, he's a gamer. I say that, but we don't have gamers in our program. We have 'practicers.' He's a 'practicer' first, but when the lights come on, he shines. He was undefeated his last year in junior college, and he's a playmaker. It may not look the prettiest, but he somehow finds a way to get the job done, and we saw that on his film in junior college. We saw that getting to know him as a person and doing our homework. It wasn't certainly by chance that he's here.
The amazing thing is that he was here to start his career as a freshman walk-on. The guys around here who were around when he was here kind of saw that in him as well. For whatever reason, he decided it was in his best interest to go to junior college, and he really played well. He's a playmaker. He's a great athlete that has a good arm, quick release, he's football smart and again didn't look really pretty at times tonight, but finds a way to get it done."
On Greg Ward's status going forward
"Greg is our starter if he's healthy; that's a no-brainer. We're talking about a guy who has led us to this point. He played really badly in the first half. Some of it was on him, some of it were things that he couldn't control, but the things that he could control, I didn't think he played really well. He's our starter, and he will be if he's healthy. The good thing is, if he's not we know we've got a guy in Kyle Postma who can certainly win ball games for us."
On the strength staff's influence in the win
"We gave the game ball to our strength staff. This is not a game that you win without an unbelievable off-season training. We put these guys in positions of adversity starting in January or February. It's not something that you snap your fingers and it happens. It's something that you have to engrain in your program, and our strength staff did that throughout the course of the offseason. I told them to be thankful for the way they were trained, not only by the strength staff, but by their position coaches. I told them that the plan is undefeated. When executed properly and executed with a purpose, with a genuine love for the guy next to you, the plan is undefeated."
On the teams hard work
"It means we've taken one step closer to a spot in the conference championship game. That's really about it. It lends credence and validation to the way that we train our guys. Much like the Louisville game, and the Cincinnati game these guys can see firsthand that as hard as it gets in practice, as hard as it gets in the offseason, that the dividends for their investment will be there on Saturday."
On the rankings
"If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, I don't understand the college football rankings and why they have them so early, because there's so much football left to be played. If you get caught up in that, then you're probably doing yourself a disservice as a team. We don't care. We don't talk about them. They matter none to us, because we know that if we win our conference championship, then we're going to play in a New Year's Day bowl game. Again, our goal was not to be 10-0 after 10 weeks. We never set out to do that. Our goal was to win our conference, and by winning tonight we've taken one step further on our journey."
On Demarcus Ayers
"He's a dude. He's a warrior. He was hurt a bunch. That was a very ill-advised throw down the left sideline where we had about 18 people, and he comes down with the ball. That's just a testament to him, and his toughness and his ability to make plays when his team needs him to."
On Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch
"That dude is a bona fide dude, man. He is a great college football player. I had a chance to say that to him after the game; to let him know that we have the upmost respect and admiration for him in the way that he plays. He is a great player and a great ambassador for our conference and for that Memphis Tiger program."
On Elandon Roberts
"They gave him a PBU in the stats, but it's really a dropped interception. He came up big for us when we needed him to, and he is the heart and soul of our defense: him and Adrian McDonald. He had 18 tackles, and that's about right for him. He's a guy that in our scheme kind of sets up for the front guys to turn up some blocks so he can run around and make plays, and he did that. He is a very emotional leader for us too, and we're lucky to have him. "
On second half changes
"There was nowhere to go but up after that first half. It was a putrid display of offensive football until the last drive of the first half. Credit to Coach Applewhite and the offensive staff for coming in, making the necessary adjustments and getting their guys coached up. It was kind of tight in the first half. Very tentative on offense, and we have to figure out why. Everything I know about getting guys ready to play a big game we did. I'm not sure we were as relaxed as we could have been in the first half, but our offensive staff got them calmed down, relaxed and in some good situations in the second half, and the kids executed."
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK Kyle Postma
On the comeback win
"It's indescribable, honestly. I still don't even know how to put this all into words. It's crazy just coming out and being able to play for my brothers. Just making plays out there on the field. When I'm out there scrambling and Demarcus Ayers is getting wide-open, being able to drop the ball off to him, and let him make the play. Defense is going out there and gets the ball. Elandon Roberts catching that ball for us. Just putting us in a winning situation. It's just crazy. I don't even know what to say honestly."
On being prepared to go in for Greg Ward Jr.
"All practice I've just been sitting behind Greg (Ward Jr). Greg is a great player. Obviously everyone knows that. I've been taking mental reps from him and seeing what he does in the pocket and getting out on all those plays too. Just sitting behind him and having Coach Applewhite teach me everything. There's no better circumstances than that for me to go in and just be able play for everyone."
On what Greg said to him before the second half
"He was just telling me to just be me. Do what I can and not be nervous. Go out there and make plays, and don't stress about anything."
On the road to coming back to UH
"Making the transition to JUCO, I did that because I felt like I wanted to be able to play wherever I was. My first year here I didn't feel like I was going to have the opportunity to play, so I just went the JUCO route. That's obviously not a very fun way. There's not much to do there but play football, which is good.
I had an offer here. With the new coaching staff and everything, I had great feelings about coming here, and it just played out all the right way. Now I had the chance to play. I was playing receiver at the beginning of the season. I'm just here to play wherever I can and help the team out."
HOUSTON SENIOR LINEBACKER Elandon Roberts
On the team's comeback
"Memphis a very good team, and their coaching staff is very good as well. We made little adjustments and had to calm down on defense, because they have great backs and a real good quarterback. Memphis' quarterback is a very talented guy and played very well in the pocket. When you have that type of quarterback that you are playing against, it can make things a little shaky. Playing without William Jackson made things a little rocky for us. We tried to make sure that when Jeremy Winchester came into the game that he had a way to find his game. We ran a lot of different coverages to cover him up and let him get into the rhythm of the game. With defense, some games are like that, and you just have to come out and make that big stop at the end, and that's all that matters."
HOUSTON SENIOR SAFETY ADRIAN MCDONALD
On the win for the night
"We have to keep that 1-0 mentality. I liked the way the stands were looking tonight. I told the team before the game that if we didn't hold up our end, then the stadium would go back to the way it used to be. The top section is usually a little empty, but we got it done."
On making adjustments from the first half to the second half
"I don't remember any adjustments being made. It was really just getting off the field and just holding them. We gave them way too many explosive plays in the first half. We just need to have better eye discipline."
On getting a win over such a high profile team
"This is big. It was nice to have the stadium packed and loud, especially on third downs. That is what the standard should be. I am hoping that it stays this way."
On why the team is playing so well
"Just the way we work. No one really sees the inside of the program, but we work hard Tuesday through Thursday. Friday we get to relax a little bit and get ready for the game on Saturday. I would say it's the preparations for sure, and the coaching staff makes sure we are doing the right things."
On how it felt to win the game
"My legs are still shaking a little bit. They caught the pass that made them close enough to field goal territory, and I knew their kicker was pretty good. I knew I had to keep defense strong and not let them get a chip shot in. I found myself in a similar situation in this game as I was in Louisville or Cincinnati. Our defense had to go out there and hold up their end. It's not how we start but how we finish."
On the feeling when Memphis missed the field goal
"It was probably one of the greatest feelings. This game makes us 10-0. We came back, never stopped believing, never put our heads down and stayed calm."
HOUSTON JUNIOR WIDE RECIEVER Demarcus Ayers
On the offensive mindset going into the second half
"When you prepare like we prepare, then there really is no pressure. It was frustrating on the sideline, trying to rally the guys together and get everybody on the same page. We tried to stay as calm as possible and let Greg (Ward) know what we were seeing and try to help him get comfortable in the pocket when we struggled early, but whatever we did, part of it is coming together and really readjusting on the sideline. Coming back, it is like overcoming adversity; that is all that matters."
On living the dream and experiencing an ending like tonight
"Coming out of high school, I probably could have gone anywhere in the country. I knew I wanted to stay close to home and create a legacy here with the guys that I came in with. Postma was one of the guys that I came in with. He and I joke all the time that he didn't get to play a lot his freshman year, but he probably transferred all his tickets to me every game so that my family could come and see me play. Me, him (Postma) and Greg (Ward) have had a bond ever since our freshman year here. Elandon Roberts, we came in together; he transferred in my freshman year here, and to see these guys grow and create history here has been a tremendously fun atmosphere for this program and this university. It has been a fun ride, and we are not done yet. It is like I said; it is something that you dream about all your life; coming to college, playing on ESPN, playing these big games in this type of atmosphere. Just to come out on top and to know that we have a chance to still obtain our goal of a conference championship going into these next two games is a good feeling."
MEMPHIS HEAD COACH JUSTIN FUENTE
On his postgame speech to the team
"That is between the team and I."
On his team's turnovers in the fourth quarter
"We had a mishandled pitch, and we probably shouldn't have put our kids in that situation. We had a low ball that got intercepted on a run/pass play. Credit to Houston for making those plays. There are a lot of plays in the game that ultimately determine the outcome. It wasn't the last play, and it wasn't the first play, it was just a bunch. Both teams were out there battling and competing, but we came up a little short."
On adjusting to Houston backup quarterback Kyle Postma
"Obviously, he didn't run around as much, but we still had a hard time with him. He still made some plays with his feet; a few less quarterback designed runs, but they still did some of the same stuff. It wasn't a dramatic change."
On the message given to kicker Jake Elliott following the missed field goal
"There is no one play that wins or loses a ball game. You put yourself in those situations enough, and work hard, and sometimes that is going to happen."
On getting a good look at the pass interference call on Memphis in the end zone
"No. (I did not get a good look)."
On his team's offensive changes in the second half
"I don't know. We still ran the ball, I don't know what the numbers were, but we tried to make a concerted effort to run the football, just get back to some basics. They have really good players. Sometimes those guys made plays, and sometimes we made plays."
On quarterback Paxton Lynch's late interception
"The ball was thrown a little low, and the linebacker made a good play."
On his message to team going into next week
"I haven't got a message for them yet. We just finished the game. I don't have a message for next week. It is a pretty quiet locker room in there."
MEMPHIS JUNIOR QUARTERBACK PAXTON LYNCH
On the mood in the locker room
"Obviously, everyone is upset, because we were up pretty big, and we just let it get away from us. Turnovers hurt us, and they're very good at taking the ball away. They're a great team."
On what was said to kicker Jake Elliott after the game
"You can't do anything about it. It's not on just Jake; it's not on just me. It's not the o-line. It's not the defense. As a group, we just didn't finish the game like we needed to.
On ball control
"Yeah, previously we had turned the ball over, I think a total of nine times, and we did a great job until the end. They did a great job of taking it away, and we just didn't cover it up."
On whether Houston's defensive adjustments slowed Memphis down in the second half
"Not that I know of. I'll have to watch the film and see what happened, but they just stepped it up and played great in the second half."
On the interception he threw in the 4th quarter
"The linebacker just made a great play. The read was to go to that back side to Mose [Frazier], but that linebacker [Elandon Roberts] just flew across, and I didn't see him, and he made a great play on the ball."
On potentially being eliminated from the conference title race
"Just keep playing. I mean, we have Temple left, who is a great team. We have SMU left as well who are a good ball club. We still have a chance to win ten games this season. Next week, we're just worried about Temple, just like last week. We took a pretty bad loss to Navy and moved on, and then this week has to be the same."
On the field position for the field goal attempt on the last drive
"Yeah, I knew Coach Fuente told me that we at least had to get to the 35. Once we got to the 35, he just made sure I was smart with the ball. Jake [Elliott] usually doesn't miss those kinds of kicks, and you can't put that on him at the end of the game. That's a big time kick for him that he'll usually make nine times out of 10, but tonight it just went their way."
On whether the close loss will be harder to bounce back from
"It will definitely be tough, just because of the way we lost and how much we were up by. We felt like we had the game tucked away, but we turned the ball over, and at the end of the day we just kind of hurt ourselves."
MEMPHIS SENIOR LINEBACKER WYNTON McMANIS
On the mood in the postgame locker room
"Everybody is heartbroken; things like this come a dime a dozen. Sometimes you win them, sometimes you lose them. It was very quiet, and people are down, but we know we just have to come back next week and get ready for Temple."
On the missed kick in the that sealed the win for Houston
"It happens. We have total confidence in Jake [Elliott]. He has kicked and made those kicks a million times. It just didn't go that way. We have confidence in him, and we are never going to lose that confidence in Jake."
On how Kyle Postma changed the game
"He had the same game as Greg Ward, Jr. did as the starting quarterback. He just came in and threw the ball around a little better than he did."
On where Memphis struggled in the second half
"We didn't do a good job of containing the quarterback in the second half. In the first half, we were doing a pretty good job of containing him, and in the second half, we let him get out a couple of times, and he was able to make a couple plays and extend some drives with his feet. Those things, we can't let happen."
On what he tells a team after the loss, as one of the leaders
"We never focus on that. We still have aspirations as a team, and what we can accomplish, and (we can) still win a championship. We are going to just keep pushing forward and keep getting better and try to win from here on out."
On the difficulty of bouncing back from a tough loss
"Close losses are always tougher, because there is always that hope that you could win that game, and it ends up not going your way. It kind of fuels it, like last week, we used it to fuel us and had a pretty good game. We just have to use this to fuel us even more and keep driving to get better."
