POST GAME QUOTES: Houston 30, Tulane 18
11/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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HOUSTON HEAD COACH Tom Herman
Opening Statement
"I am really proud of our guys, especially the way that we came out on the first half, got special teams touchdowns, got some big stops by our defense, and our offense started clicking towards the end of the first quarter and second quarter. Obviously when your first two quarterbacks go down it is very difficult to play offense. We have got to find a way to run the football but that is obviously the strength of their defense.
Hats off to coach (Willie) Fritz and especially their defense. That is a defense that is ranked in the top 25 or 30 in a lot of defensive categories. They are fourth in the country in takeaways and we protected the ball, except for that last throw before the half which was pretty meaningless. We protected the football which we haven't done here in weeks past.
We did a really good job of understanding the position that we were in offensively. We have to run the football better, there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. When you are not running the football well and you have no quarterbacks that are at 100 percent, you play great defense and you flip the field.
Our special teams did a great job. We recovered two onside kicks, really four onside kicks if you count the two in the first half. We did a really good job of flipping the field. Our defense played really well but we have got to defend the pass when teams are one-dimensional but we will get that fixed."
On Kyle Postma and Greg Ward Jr's injuries
"I don't have an update on Kyle Postma. It looked like either a wrist or forearm (injury). They took him in for x-rays, but I haven't had a chance to talk to the training staff. Greg Ward Jr. spiked the ball and the whistle didn't blow. If he doesn't hear a whistle, the ball is on the ground, so he dove on the ball and tweaked his shoulder. He wasn't 100 percent. We were thinking about trying him in the start of the second half, but a less than 75 percent Greg Ward Jr. is not going to be ideal for our offense. Postma went in, but obviously he got banged up so Ward got to go back in."
On backup quarterback
"We have to have a conversation about that. If we have an 18-point lead in the third quarter, probably D'Eriq King or Hunter McCoy would be the guys to try to close the game out. [Sells warming up] was just in case. Right now, the third guy to go in would be D'Eriq King just because he has used his year of eligibility already. He gets some reps at quarterback, but obviously we're going to have to get him some more this week."
On D'Eriq King's availability in the second half
"The biggest thing was if we needed him to play quarterback. He got a few reps in the second half, but not a ton. Linell (Bonner) was playing well too, so we didn't need him there."
On the upcoming matchup against Louisville's Lamar Jackson
"He's the best player in college football, that's pretty undisputed right now. We'll have our hands full with him, and they play good defense too. It'll be a big-time challenge for us, but one I know our guys are excited to take part in. We normally have a 24-hour rule on celebrating. Go celebrate with your friends and family tonight, but when you wake up tomorrow morning it's Tuesday of game week, and we have a big on to prepare for."
On Greg Ward Jr., needing to relax
"All we said was protect yourself. I don't know if dialing it back would be the right words. Just make sure you are being smart with your body and protecting yourself because we can't lose you."
On Tyus Bowser's performance after surgery
"I thought it was great. He had 11 tackles and three sacks. He played fantastic. He's a little worn out. Obviously game shape is different than jogging around trying to stay in shape, so it was good for him to get those meaningful reps. I expect him to be even better because of it next week."
On Houston's punting game
"It was pivotal. Eleven punts with a 44-yard average and six inside the 20-yard line. When you're not playing great offense, but playing good defense, the key is to continue to flip the field. We got good field position because we had some fourth down stops and onside kick recoveries. We didn't do much there obviously with ball offensively, but when that happens, you need your punt team to show up and they certainly did. They were bringing a ton of pressure."
On Greg Ward Jr.'s, preparation
"We knew that as much man-to-man that Tulane plays that we were going to have to take some shots deep. We prepared him for two weeks and told him he's was going to miss some and that not every deep shot would connect, but when he did they will be big plays. In my onion, we didn't connect on enough of them. We have big receivers to adjust to the ball; they have really good hands. Elite speed is what they're lacking in. We have to give those guys a chance to make a play on the football. This was a good learning experience for Greg. He was amped up and over threw a few passes in the first half."
On defensive attack
"They did a really good. Coach (Todd) Orlando called a great game. He played a lot of base and mixed in some pressures. We were sound when we got off the field on third down. I was really proud of the way they kept responding to being on the field."
On if there was a change in Dane Roy's punting style
"That's a call for him to roll out. We get a lot of internal pressure and it's a really good call because he's great at it. Australian guys grow up kicking the ball on the run. He did a really good job."
SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK Jeremy Winchester
On muffed punt recovered for touchdown
"It was just as surprising to me as it was for everybody else. I just capitalized on an opportunity where somebody didn't catch the ball and it ended up rolling in our favor. Once I dove on it and saw the referee's hands go up I was like 'that's good.' I went to the sideline and it was better than I thought. I was so happy."
On the punt game
"It's always going to be a battle for field position. Our game plan revolves around it. For us to be able to capitalize and make sure they have a hard time driving the ball down the field, it puts us in a better situation. We want to be able to get three-and-outs. We want to make sure they're not able to flip the field on us. For us to be able to take advantage of pinning them inside the 10-yard line twice was great for us."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Tyus Bowser
On how he feels after his first game back and his mindset going into the game...
"I feel good. It's been five weeks, so my legs are fresh. I can just go out there and do whatever I have to do, whatever the coaches tell me. I had that mindset that I wanted to come out here and dominate. Being out for the last four games, I felt like I needed to come back, do my job and just bring back that energy that we had when we first started the year out with Oklahoma. Just coming out there and doing what I have to do, it felt great being out there with my team."
On going down as the school's most winningest class...
"It's great. It's an honor. My last four years here have been with these guys and the guys before. You know we all did it together as a team and as a family. Just being able to say that you are the most winningest senior class is a great honor, especially at this school. I feel honored."
JUNIOR WIDE RECIEVER Linell Bonner
On getting back on the field
"After sitting out for three weeks I was anxious to get back out there and play with the fellas. Greg (Ward Jr.) we know he is tough and he is going to play if he is hurt. If he is good he will try to play unless he cannot play."
UCF HEAD COACH WILLIE FRITZ
Opening Statement
"The University of Houston football team did what they needed to do to win the game. We played great on defense. We gave up the safety at the end, and dropped a punt that resulted in a touchdown; but other than that we played really well. Defensively, we only gave up about 50 or 60 yards in the second half. It was a great job by the defense, but we have to find a way to manufacture points offensively. We were having a difficult time moving the ball. As I've mentioned to our squad, the margin of error is very small. We have to do things correctly. We had opportunities to score touchdowns. We dropped a ball that would've been a nice play for us and we moved the ball well at times between the 30s. But when we get down in the red zone we don't get the big touchdown to put the pressure on them. There were a couple times on third down and short we were blown up on a play to make it fourth and six. We had to punt the ball. We just have to play smarter. It's something we have to work on in the last two weeks, in spring practice, and in the summer. We have to increase our football IQ, and that starts with me.
On the play of the defense
"They played really well. We knew coming into the season that defense was going to be one of our strengths. Niko Marley played well. I don't know what the stats show, but he was all over the field. Donnie Lewis also played well in the second half. Tanzel Smart was just as good as he always is. The University of Houston has a potent offense. Defensively we did a good job of stopping them and we were successful in the second half. The defense played well. We have to do better with the mistakes in the kicking game and manufacture points offensively.
On the momentum of the Cougar offense
"There was a first down and 25 at one point and they ended up getting points out of it. That hurt us. We should have gotten a stop. They're an explosive team with a great quarterback and big receivers. We did a good job stopping the running game and limiting them to only 66 yards. Obviously, defense wasn't our problem."
On the Green Wave offense
"There were some times where we didn't get the protection we needed. Our receivers, at times, made some nice catches. We have to do a good job of playing smart and manufacturing explosive plays."
On the onside kick attempts
"They have a great return game and we were kicking into the wind a couple times. We needed to do a lot of things right to win and sometimes that involves taking chances. Sometimes it doesn't and the team is put at a disadvantage. Sometimes it works, we're being aggressive, and we stay in the ball game."
On the tone after the dropped punt was returned for a touchdown
"It's tough. It's our fourth dropped punt of the season. I don't know if I've had four since the year 2000. We work on it a lot. We do every drill imaginable, and we've amped it up. Those are costly plays. We have to find an answer back there. We'll do what we need to do"
On the running backs
"We play all four. It's our deepest position, and they all play. That's probably why they're all healthy at this point in the season."
TULANE SENIOR RUNNING BACK JOSH ROUNDS
On the success of the running game
"We had success, we just ended up playing from behind. We had to pass more than we wanted. We had a few successful runs but not as many as we wanted."
On the game plan against a tough run defense
"We like to run a lot, but we fell behind. We had to change our game plan as the game went on. That's it as far as the run game. We knew we were playing a good defensive team, so we game planned as best as we could."
On how the run game progress throughout the game
"As the game goes on as a running back, your vision begins to widen and you get a feel for how the defense plays."
On the troubles of the offense after a first quarter turnover
"Just a young team making the same mistakes. It's a little bit demoralizing. You make a good stop on defense then you have a muffed punt. That's hard for a young team to overcome. We're going to keep fighting and try our best to overcome things like that."
On the difficulties of getting a first conference win
"Recently we've been our own worst enemy. We have to get over ourselves first, then we can focus on our opponent. Right now, we're beating ourselves."
