Oct. 5, 2013
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Gallery | GT Photo Gallery
Head Coach Paul Johnson
Opening remarks
That was a tough game. I think our guys played hard. We got off to a pretty good start. We couldn’t have scripted a better start. We were holding the ball, keeping the ball away from them. Got a couple turnovers early and felt like we had a lot of momentum then we turned it back over which really hurt us. We were up 17-7 in scoring range, at least we were in field goal range. if we can go down and go up 24-7 maybe we put them behind the eight ball and we can run some clock. Didn’t happen. We still had a chance in the second half. Got a couple possessions and great field position and couldn’t do much with them. Have to give them credit, they made plays. When they had to have big plays, they made them. When they tried to keep the ball away and run the clock out, we had a hard time tackling the backs.
On the offense
Overall it was better. We were able to control the clock a little bit. We missed some chances to pitch the ball, they would have been big plays. But we talked all week about make yourself be a runner, get turned up and make somebody take you. We probably emphasized that a little too much. We had a hard time cutting them off. We lost two offensive linemen in the first half. After that we had a hard time in there cutting them off.
On the defense giving up more plays than they usually do
They’ve (Miami) got good skill. I said going in that this is the best team that we’ve played offensively from the skills standpoint. And we missed a ton of tackles. Their running back is really good. Both of those little running backs are good. The other one’s pretty good too. And early on we didn’t get much pressure on the quarterback. And he was throwing some deep outs, deep crosses and we had a hard time covering him.
Was the missed extra point a major cause for team deflation?
Yeah, you hope not. You try to keep everybody pumped up on the sideline. I was trying to say hey it’s just a score and a two-point conversion. Because you fight so hard to get it back. Got a break, they dropped the punt. We go down there and nothing was coming easy so we had to grind it and grind it. We finally get it in there and you think, man we’ve got this thing tied up. Not so fast. No we don’t. And we had a chance to in special teams in the first half, second half. Man we must have had two, three, four chances to pin them down inside the ten.
On being 2-2 in the division now
Well I think we played probably the two teams that we were picked to win in division. I think we played really poorly on Thursday night. I think we’re better than that. Today we didn’t make enough plays to win. Could we have won this game? Yeah, if we made a few more plays we could. But we weren’t going to be able to win a game making mistakes. Not turning the ball over and missing opportunities and those kind of things.
Was this the most disappointing game against Miami?
They’re all disappointing when you lose. I don’t know about more disappointing than last year. Last year I felt like we gave that game away. It’s disappointing when we lose any time. Nobody wants to lose. That’s not why you work 80 hours a week and the kids bust their a** in practice and do all the stuff. I promise you nobody in that locker room is not disappointed.
Senior B-back David Sims
Assessment of offense …
“In the first half we were moving the ball. The only time we stuttered was when we were stopping ourselves with turnovers or just missing a couple of plays. I think it is a step in the right direction. Even in the end, we didn’t give up.”
On playing better than Thursday night …
“We wanted to come out and show we were a better offense than we were last week, and I think we did that. Unfortunately, we came up two plays short. Hopefully we can build off of that and keep consistent during BYU next week.”
On losing to Miami two straight years …
“It’s frustrating. The last couple years we felt like we’ve had them on the ropes, and we let them up each time, and that’s what happened again today.”
Sophomore QB Vad Lee
On turnovers …
“I just have got to hold on to the ball.”
On a frustrating loss ..
“This is the second loss in a row, so obviously we feel devastated right now. We are going to continue to work to get things better.”
On getting into rhythm…
“I just couldn’t get in a rhythm all game. It just is what it is.”
On the loss…
“We came out fast. They just finished better than us. They’re a good team, so we know we have got to play four quarters for us to win. We didn’t”
On starting out quicker offensively than last week …
“We tried to put emphasis on that. Make sure we didn’t start slow this game. Make sure we get to a fast start. Miami never went down all year, and that was another thing. We wanted to get on them early. But we just didn’t finish.”
On missed extra point …
“I try my best to keep guys up because I knew that the score wasn’t going to win it anyway. I wouldn’t say that it killed us but it, obviously, has something to do with it cause it’s a tie game and we’re still losing. We felt like we were doing something positive. It kind of hurt us.”
On losing to this specific team …
“It’s real hard to swallow because they are a strong, fast team and they played four quarters. We just got to find a way to play all four quarters, the way that we are capable of. We’ll be fine. We just have got to settle down.”
Senior DE Jeremiah Attaochu
On what’s next after the loss…
“We have got to get back to work as a team and a unit. We need to really bring ourselves out of this hole, that we put ourselves in early.”
On seniors staying strong for young guys…
“Our demeanor has to be strong because there are a lot of young guys on the offensive side of the ball who look up to us and things like that. So our demeanor in moments like this adversity is important. We can’t hang our heads. We have to push through. It’s a long season.”
On recovering fumbles …
“It was definitely a big turning point. You have got to take advantage of the opportunity. We had a lot of opportunities in this game. I think we won the turnover battle, 4-2, I”m not sure. You have to take advantage of those opportunities where you play a team like Miami and the great skill players that they have. No excuses. You just have got to take advantage every time you get the ball.”
