Bowling Green State University Athletics
Gregg Brandon Press Conference Quotes
September 28, 2004 | Football
Sept. 28, 2004
Q: One of the things you said after the (Northern Illinois) game was that `we have some work to do, that is evident. A veteran team on both sides of the ball, and that veteran element didn't show up. We have got to find out why.' How do you address that?
Gregg Brandon: Well, we have talked about it as a staff and with the players. That was something I overlooked. Just assuming that the veterans would get us through that, and I needed to step up and help them with that. So that was my coaching error."
Q: When you say `help them,' do you mean, help them to focus?
GB: Yeah, and here is my take on that game. We lost that game late in the third quarter when we couldn't score a touchdown on the 1-yard line. At that time it was 17-7. We kicked a field goal, so it is 17-10. Then they turn around and score. That wasn't a touchdown, that was a touchback. So as a result it is now 24-10 and they're kicking off, and in all actuality it should have been 17-14, with our ball on the 20. So that is where that football game was lost.
And you can say what you want about them rushing the ball, but those rushing yards didn't occur until the 16-play drive in the fourth quarter, where we never stepped up. And that is where I needed to grab my defense and say `we are still in this thing, don't flinch and stay with it.' But we flinched, and we never stopped them again, and that's disappointing. It's a combination of us not doing a good job of coaching in the fourth quarter, and Northern Illinois doing a great job running the football with timely throws. That was a team that was very efficient against us. They never turned the ball over, I don't remember any penalties that they got on the offensive side, they didn't drop any throws, and they made some circus catches. They made all the plays and we didn't make any plays other than Keon (Newson) popping that ball out on the touchdown that should have been ruled a touchback. I think that took a lot of wind out of our sails. We just went into the tank in the fourth quarter, and you can't do that in big games. And that is where my comments after game came from, about the veterans. I thought the veterans didn't step up at that time. But after re-thinking it and reviewing it a little bit, that was my fault, too. I needed to help those kids in that situation. I didn't realize it was a touchback. I didn't realize until one of you guys asked me about it in the (post-game) press conference. `Did you know that was a touchback?' Well, that's what my guys were screaming from the press box, but that was three plays later (when the television replay was shown), so I'm moving on, coaching and doing my thing. But then, I went home and watched the replay.
Q: Have you heard anything from the conference office?
GB: Yes. They sent us an apology.
Q: Along those same lines, you talked about needing to become more disciplined. Was that in focusing on the game, or are there some other things, like penalties, that could be construed as (needing to be) disciplined?
GB: Yes, there were some things that were drive stoppers. There were some problems there, though, with their play clock. We had to call a timeout early in that game. Omar (Jacobs) looked up and the (play) clock was at 3... 2... 1, and he called a timeout, and then boom, it says 25. That happened on the delay (of game penalty) on the goal line, for whatever that's worth. It was a big game and everybody involved needed to bring their "A" game. The refs didn't bring their "A" game, we didn't bring our "A" game, obviously, and Northern Illinois brought their "A" game and kicked our butts.
Q: Will you talk about stopping the running game? Obviously, you struggled against two good teams. How much of that was struggling against Oklahoma and Northern, two good running teams, and how much was it Bowling Green struggling to stop the run?
GB: Well, I think a lot of people will struggle to stop Oklahoma, so I kind of dismiss that one. But this one was disappointing because we didn't fit well defensively, and we weren't gap sound. I think the defenders in the fourth quarter of the game didn't trust each other, that's what I saw. They felt like `hey, I've got to make a play so I'm going to make the play' and as a result they got blocked and kind of left their buddy hanging. That's what coach (Tim) Beckman and the defensive coaches and myself have addressed. That is what we are working on in practice.
We've got five seniors on that defense and a lot of other guys like (Mitch) Crossley, (Mike) Thaler, (Matt) Leininger, Brad Williams, and Jelani Jordan who have played a lot. That's a veteran defense that should not flinch in a big game, they should not start questioning whether or not a guy is going to be in the right gap or doing the right things.
The reason we are good here is because we play team defense and we take care of the ball offensively. We don't have big stars. All you need to do is look at the NFL draft. How many guys get drafted out of Ohio State, 14 last year. How many of our guys got drafted, one. And you look at the history of our conference and the Big 10 or whoever. We don't have marquee, big-name players here. We've got darn good players that weren't heavily recruited that we have made great players. Through work ethic, coaching, kids growing up and maturing. Maybe they weren't big ten guys when they were 17 years old but now they are 18-19 they are pretty good players for Bowling Green. That is what we need our guys to understand. That is why we have won at Bowling Green, because we have played great team defense and make good team decisions on offense. You play Oklahoma and you can see the difference. We are not going to out talent those kind of people and even in our league, we have to be sound, we have to take care of the football and we have to tackle. We didn't tackle (at NIU) and that was evident in the fourth quarter.
Q: So, it doesn't sound like you are planning a lot of defensive changes in terms of scheme or personnel, it's changes in execution.
GB: Exactly. The play they continually ran on us that we could never stop was a simple one-back power. They just pulled the guard around and our linebackers were out of position, they weren't spilling the ball like they were coached to do, and our defensive line was getting hammered off the ball on the double team. We stopped that play effectively at Oklahoma at times. Our defensive line was much more stout with the same blocking scheme. It makes you scratch your head but that's college football. They're 18- to 20-year-old kids. We can't assume, `we stuffed that play at Oklahoma, so we are going to stuff it against Northern Illinois'. We have to continue to prepare and stress that these people are going to run the ball up your butt if you're not ready.
Q: Are there any injuries coming out of that game?
GB: We have the usual bumps and bruises but nothing major.
Q: Nothing that will keep someone from playing at Temple?
GB: No.
Q: On offense, outside of those two strong drives (the first two drives of the game), you had a good drive in the third quarter and then when you were behind. Just some general thoughts on the offense's execution.
GB: We were erratic. I think we had too much offense for that game so we pared that down a little bit, to try to make things easier on Omar. More importantly, I think, on our offensive line there were some key breakdowns in that game that got us. We had a third-and-two on that second drive and the play that was called was a reverse. The guy blew up the field and disrupted the pitch to Steve Sanders or whoever was coming around for the reverse. Omar made a great decision and kept the ball, but it was a six-yard loss. And then, we get the field goal blocked. Those kinds of things offensively... we can't take negative plays. We have to continue to be efficient. We are excellent on third down. We are 54% (conversion) on third down. But we didn't get the ball in the end zone, and that is what hurt us. We need to get more touchdowns instead of kicking field goals.
Q: How much did the struggles of the offense, especially in the third quarter, play into the struggles of the defense?
GB: I hope none. But, I have got to think after what I said earlier that it was a team thing. That's why I was disappointed in the veterans, that they didn't respond to that. Our team needs to understand that we won 11 games last season, we won the Motor City Bowl and we won the MAC West but it was hard. It was hard to do that. We need to let them know it is hard to win in our league and I think we went in there a little bit fat, and we got knocked in the mouth by a physical football team.
Q: Can you talk about Temple?
GB: Temple is just good enough to scare you. They don't appear that way, obviously, with their record and their scores. But, they have some speed, and I like their quarterback. He's a Josh Harris type. He's a good guy for our offense, and they're running a lot of stuff that we're running. He struggles a little bit with his accuracy, but they are struggling protecting him right now, I think. But, he is a good runner. Defensively, they are fast and athletic. They are a Big East team and you can see some of that speed on their roster. So, we have to get after these people. Our guys can't wait for somebody to make a play. We have to make plays on them early. They are a team that has just enough fire to burn you.
Q: They have a lot of junior-college players that they have brought in over the last few years. Is it hard to actually know what they have?
GB: Yes, there are some unknowns. They have a lot of two-year guys, you see them on tape and think `Who's that guy? He's pretty good.' They are struggling with some discipline things that you can see on film. They have a protection breakdown or they get a penalty or whatever. Those are things that beat you as we all know.
