University of Houston Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston 31, UCF 24
10/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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HEAD COACH Tom Herman
Opening Statement
"It was an unbelievable team win. I'm really proud of the way we responded, not necessarily in the first half, but there was a ton of confidence and positivity in the locker room at halftime. We obviously needed that. Our defense came out, lifted our spirits and got the ball back to our offense. We finally started blocking people, running the football and making great decisions. We were putting the ball in the end zone and protected it. Credit to our kids and our coaching staff for making the necessary adjustments at halftime, but also to our kids for buying into the culture and their training on how to respond to adversity. Most of [the adversity] was self-inflicted, and obviously we have to play better in all four quarters. We can't continue to live on the edge like this. I'm going to celebrate this one because we're banged up, we're tired and we fought like I've never seen them fight."
On the adjustments made in the second half
"We played more soundly. There weren't a lot of changes in the calls other than lining up quickly and lining up in the formations to the tempo they play at. A lot of the errors in the first half were getting lined up. We just played a lot of base defense on first and second down and let our kids go play. They got off blocks, we got after the quarterback and we shut the run down. When you do those things, good things happen."
On what was said to the players at halftime
"I just reminded them of the tools that we have been preaching for two years and really re-emphasizing this week. It's the tools that they're given on how to respond, which is recognizing the issue at hand and defining the issue for them. One was the turnovers on offense, and on defense, it was getting lined up. I told them there is no 18-point play. It is a matter of responding play after play and being mindful and intentional with your thoughts and actions, knowing that every play is its own entity. For six seconds you have to have a singular focus, a laser-light focus, on what your job is and executing that job. When the play is over, good or bad, take a deep breath, get the signal from the sideline and go do it again. Our guys responded."
On the team's experience when responding to adversity
"We grew up immensely. Effort has never been a question, but the questions have been 'How do I do my job when faced with adversity and not panic? How do I continue to have great body language and execute my job?' I think they grew up a lot. Mike Tyson had it wrong when he said 'Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.' You don't want to walk into a heavyweight fight and think you're not going to get punched in the mouth. You have to have a plan for when you do get punched in the mouth. Our guys did a great job of going back to that plan at halftime and executing it in the second half."
On the slow start to the game
"There is a big difference between playing not to lose and playing to win. We have such good kids on this team who are pleasers and perfectionists and want to do right all the time. The message finally sunk in that things aren't always going to go well, and the worst thing you can do is press and to try to do things outside of your training. Chance Allen slipped on a slant, and when the ball is in the air, it goes right into UCF's hands. We get another ball batted and it is intercepted. We had some unfortunate things happen to us early that could have been devastating, but our guys continued to fight. If that happens again, at least we know what we're capable of and how to fix it and respond. You don't anticipate a guy slipping or a defensive lineman timing a jump perfectly to bat a ball. We'll correct the things that need to be corrected, but we've got to go out from the word 'jump' and play to win, not play to not lose."
On the intentional grounding explanations
"I was told that because he was not the person that took the snap, whether he's outside of the pocket or not does not matter. He must throw the ball in the direction of an eligible receiver. They said it needed to be closer. That was the explanation they gave to me. On theirs at the end, I was told there was a receiver trying to come back to the ball. The ball never crossed the line of scrimmage. I guess it didn't matter since they had a receiver coming back to the ball. I was a bit perplexed myself. I'm going to have to re-read the rules."
On the impact of this comeback on the long-term goals of the team
"It's one of the biggest, if not the biggest win in our programs' history. We had our backs against the wall as far back as you can get. We were getting beat down, by ourselves most of the time. We were reeling. To be able to come out swinging in the second half should give us confidence especially going into the bye week. Hopefully we can get a lot of key players back. The ones fighting through some nagging injuries, get them healthy and fresh to go win a football game in two weeks."
On Linell Bonner's injury status
"He had a Grade-2 separation of his shoulder. I imagine he'll be ready in two weeks."
On Brandon Wilson
"In the second half that he played, being that our captain is one of our better players, it was nice getting him in the flow and have a big play. He needed that and can tell he was genuinely happy that he could impact the team's outcome in a positive way and support his teammates. It was really good to see it happen to one of my favorite guys on the team."
On Matthew Adams' shoulder
"I don't anticipate it lasting longer than two weeks. We will give him this week off as well and then get him ready the week directly in front of Tulane."
On getting Tyus Bowser back before Tulane game
"That is a definite possibility. He was running around the past few days with no equipment on, but he was being conditioned. He gets checked up every few days to see how he feels, and I think by the end of the week we will be able to put a helmet on him. Going into next week, we will have him go to practice and monitor how well he does."
On style of playing the game due to changes
"I hope so. It's a good problem to have. I say that because it's a problem that shows our guys really care about doing their part for this team and the program. I'd much rather have this problem of pressing rather than trying to do too much or having a team that lacks effort and energy. But to answer your question, these guys will have finally seen the way to go out and play your game and win football games. It's to play loose, without self-doubt, without pressing, or self-inflicted pressure. It's about trusting your training and that your partner next to you will do his part. Good things will happen."
On schedule for next week
"Rest is important. We won't have any other activities for tomorrow other than come in if you played in the game and check in with your trainers. We are going to let them sleep in and by Monday there will also be no activity as far as home field activity and light lift. We have to be in the building to get our bodies right. It's where our training room is, our weight room is, where are coaches are and where our family is. I want them to be in the building, but our activity will be at the very minimum so that our bodies may heal and be refreshed for the next game."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK Greg Ward Jr.
On how defense played in the second half
"The defense played great in the first and second half. Offensively, we gave UCF the ball, which put our defense into bad situations. We all believed in each other and the defense told us they had us. We went out there and just played for each other."
On how he was able to come back and get a win
"It was nothing I did. The main thing I was focusing on was taking care of the ball. I didn't do a great job in the first half. The offensive line played a hell of a game. The receivers made plays outside and made blocks on perimeters so our running backs could have some big games in the stretch."
On the win for the team's confidence
"It was a confidence booster. The team needs to quit putting ourselves in bad situations like that, but today was a great win, a great family win."
On the team shirts that say "all about us" and it's meaning
"It's all about the guys in the locker room. It's all about the guys on the practice field with us, from the coaches to the staff to the players. Nothing else really matters and that's what were focused on."
On team leaders inspiring team at halftime
"Yes, Garrett Davis had a great speech at halftime. He said to just play with your heart and that's what everybody came out and did. Offense and defense, we all just believed in each other and played for each other."
On if the recent slide was more mental than the play on the field
"Yes, I would say more mental as far as having to come from behind and putting ourselves in bad situations. It was nothing about X's and O's. It was just things that we were doing mentally. Maybe just thinking about injuries or just putting ourselves in bad situations."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Steven Taylor
On getting turnovers
"Collectively as a defense we can only control what we can control. We try to get three-and-outs and play collectively as a unit. We put it on ourselves to help the offense out by forcing turnovers because that's what we can control at the end of the day."
On the last few weeks
"We can't dig ourselves in a hole like that. Obviously we want to come out and start the game off better, and we learned a lot as a defense. I really appreciate our guys for responding. We really needed that today."
On emotions in the locker room after the game
"We trained all winter, summer and spring for adversity so it feels really good to see all the work, practice and preparation achieved. It feels great to do what we practiced."
On message of the new shirts
"We want to control what we can control, gather together as a family and play together as a unit. We want to play hard for each other because we went through so much together. Like our shirts say 'It's all about us.'"
SENIOR CORNERBACK Brandon Wilson
On what was said at halftime
"We just told ourselves that we have to do our job. It wasn't anything big, that's basically all we told ourselves."
On his interception
"Yes, I knew I caught the ball. I was just out there doing my job and doing what I was told to do. When you do your job, good things happen."
On how defense responded in second half
"We had to come out and respond. We put ourselves in some bad situations with the penalties and stuff, but we responded and good things happened."
UCF HEAD COACH SCOTT FROST
Opening Statement
"There's not a lot to say about that one. We had them where we wanted them. At halftime, every message every guy was talking about was finishing them off. We just didn't do it. They made a bunch of mistakes in the first half and gave us opportunities. The last thing you want to do against a good team is return the favor. Between negative plays, sacks and turnovers in the third quarter and early into the fourth we let them back into the game. We can't make those mistakes."
On talking to the team after a disappointing loss
"I was searching for words to talk to them about. I don't want anybody on our team hanging their head. If you look at the teams we played the last two weeks and the scores in comparison to UCF's program last year; it isn't even close. We beat UConn on the road, then came down here and had Houston on the ropes. These guys can't forget what they've accomplished. Do we need to get better at finding ways to get things done? Absolutely. But I don't want our guys hanging their heads on the way back home. I want them to understand how much this coaching staff cares about them. We believe in them. They're fighters. We're looking forward to pushing the reset button and getting excited for the Tulane game."
On the difficulties in the second half
"Turnovers killed four drives. It seemed like we had a negative play on every first down in the second half. I love these kids that are out there fighting for us, but we don't have enough of them right now. We ran out of gas today in the heat. There were a couple injuries, and we only have so many guys we can put in the football game right now. Their depth wore us down a little bit. Still, we can't fumble the ball, we can't throw careless balls, and we can't make some of the mistakes we did."
On if quarterback McKenzie Milton was rattled
"McKenzie doesn't get rattled. If you're back there and there's that much pressure, it's hard to stand in the pocket. He's trying to survive. We're beat up a little on the offensive line. There are injuries on every team, so that's not an excuse, but there are only so many guys we can put in the game. They rotated quite a bit on the defensive line and it wore us down."
On the team's youth and inexperience
"It's all those things. After the same kind of thing happened against Temple, we looked at it as a coaching staff to find out what we could do better. We were trying to call plays in the second half to stay in front of the sticks. The safest short passes and runs to stay ahead of the sticks and keep ourselves out of situations where McKenzie would be back there with the rush coming at him. First down blew up in our face, so that didn't start well. On one drive our defense got off the field on a fourth down, then our offense gave the ball right back to them. It's the mark of a young team. We need to grow up."
On all the captains being freshmen
"Those guys deserve to be captains. They contributed as much to this team as the older guys. Most of the older guys, who are playing a lot, have had a chance to be captain. If they haven't, they'll get a chance. Those four kids have been important to our football team, and I want to give them an opportunity to represent the team."
On if quarterback Justin Coleman was going into the game
"It was dependent on McKenzie's health."
On the effort from Shaquem Griffin and the defense
"Shaquem and Shaquill (Griffin) are awesome. Our defense is a group of fighters. The first half they played was unbelievable. The first drive of the third quarter was unbelievable. Our offense just put our defense in too many bad situations. Turning the ball over and giving a team like that, with a quarterback like that, a short field means it's only a matter of time before they start moving the ball. Depth on that side of the ball is still a little bit of an issue. We need to address that."
On quarterback McKenzie Milton's demeanor after the game
"McKenzie's a competitor, so he's disappointed."
On if there was a moment the momentum changed
"When we got that turnover at the beginning of the third quarter, a veteran team would have put it in the end zone and made the margin potentially too big to come back from. When we got something started, we turned the ball over or gave up a sack. It was just a slow death in the second half. We were on the head set scrambling and trying to come up with ideas to avoid it. Our kids continued to fight. I'm proud of them for that, but you can't make those mistakes against a team like that."
UCF LINEBACKER SHAQUEM GRIFFIN
On the feeling after loss
"It's hard to explain, knowing that this same thing happened before. As a team, we have to finish. We came out and fought hard. Second half, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. We can be upset, we can cry, we can throw a temper-tantrum all through the locker room. But it's our choice, and that's not the way to do it. Our whole thing is, like coach said 'forget about this one and move to the next one.' That is what we are doing."
On defense feeling gassed late in second half
"We felt gassed just being on the field a little longer, but that is not an excuse we should make. The offense is going to do what they do, and the defense is going to do what they do. We as a team have to hold our own and being gassed, that is all a mental thing. We can choose to give up, or we can choose to keep fighting.
It was little mistakes we made that turned into two big plays. That is one thing we have to work on. Are we tired? Let's focus on the little things. One guy and a gap and then touchdown. That was our biggest thing: one guy moving out the way, it just creates big plays. Being tired, it makes you unfocused and keeps you from being mentally prepared for anything they throw at you."
On being an inspiration to Julianna Linton and other people with prosthetics
"It's a feeling that everybody can't have. I'm blessed to have that type of feeling. Being able to be that face and inspiring person for others, not just young people, but older people as well. It's just a blessing for me, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
UCF WIDE RECEIVER TRE'QUAN SMITH
On the turning point in the second half
"The offense had too many turnovers by far, and not being able to finish. We have to come out the same way we did in the first half, and when we don't do that with a team like Houston, they can come back easily. For the offense, we have to do our job and stay on the field as long as possible and give defense some time to rest up."
I say it hurts more because you have been through it once. You know how it feels, and you don't want to go through that again. It really hurts, but we have to come together as a team and bond together and just forget about it and move on to the next week, because the next week is going to come regardless, so we have to come together and get ready as a team."
On the struggles in the second half
"Being able to execute and being able to communicate. By far, that's all it was for us. And the biggest by far is being able to finish."
On whether the second half was because of what they did or what Houston did
"That's all on us. We have to be able to finish. No matter what Houston does, we have our game plan. We have to stick to our game plan."
On the Houston defense
"They have a pretty good defense. I know if I do my job and run as hard as I can, and my offense does their job we should be good. That's the biggest thing. Everyone has got to keep doing their job as we did in the first half. If we do our job, everything goes smooth. On offense, if one person isn't doing their job, things can get tough."
