Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes: Week Eight (Game Seven)
October 15, 2007 | Football
Oct. 15, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University football team heads to Northeast Ohio this weekend, for a Saturday (Oct. 20) game vs. Kent State University. On Monday (Oct. 15), Falcon head coach Gregg Brandon and several student-athletes met with the media ...
HEAD COACH Gregg Brandon
You said you needed to look at the film on Saturday to evaluate things. What has that brought to your mind?
`It was a game of missed opportunities. We start the game with a great kickoff return and then we go take a sack. We had an open receiver and we didn't get that done. I think there is a confidence thing right now that we have to get our swagger back, so to speak, like we had in the first four games. I think that is lingering and we are struggling through that right now. When things started to go bad Saturday, the doubt started to creep in, and I think that's why it turned into a rout. You look at that game, it was 14-0 and we drop an interception that should have gone for a touchdown. Now it's 23-7 and we are still fighting. We kick off they fumble the kickoff and we don't get it, and then we give up a big play. To me (if) we go in 23-14 in the half instead of 30-7 ... to me, that is the game. We didn't capitalize on their mistakes and they did on ours -- that is the game in my opinion. I think they slugged us in the chops early and we didn't respond."
There was also a key drop there in the first half.
"Third and 10, they blitzed it and we didn't execute. We handle that, we keep a drive moving and maybe it's a different game. They made the plays and we didn't; that's what it came down to. After watching the film I did realize that we just got blown out and got dominated. Miami played well, I'll give them credit, but we didn't exploit their mistakes like they exploited ours."
Last year you guys went on a five-game losing streak at the end of the season. What did you learn from that, that you can apply to this team maybe so that it won't happen this year?
"I think last year was a completely different deal than this year, aside from the confidence. We need to get our confidence back, but last year we were just fighting to figure out how to score some points. This year we have demonstrated that we can score points. We didn't get that done Saturday, but we can do that. The thing that we have to do is stay focused with the kids, stay positive with them, and make sure that they understand the reason we lost the Miami game was critical errors and we didn't take advantage of their errors. Like I said if we do that it's a different game."
One bright spot that comes out of the Miami game is Roger Williams continues to show that he's a big threat in the kick return game. When did you realize he had that kind of potential?
"When we put him back there last year we knew he had a burst. In camp this year he was struggling at times to field the ball; that's why you didn't see him early. We just worked him and worked him and worked him. He kept handling kickoffs and handling kickoffs until he got comfortable back there with it. He has really emerged back there as a force for us. I think with the kickoff being from the 30 that has helped a kid like him because he gets the ball and gets going now. He's a load; he can break an arm tackle."
Is he just a kickoff returner?
"He is a back up defensive back and we are going to continue to use him there. He has played some at corner; we are going to continue to bring him on there. He's a good athlete."
Temple beat Akron on Saturday, and it seems that everyone is trading wins. Does that help you remember that, even though you lost to Miami, there is still a lot to play for?
"We can't be discouraged. It was a tough loss, but coming off the Boston College game and going on the road to Miami is going to be tough anyway. We didn't get it done down there, but we've got to understand that we are on the road again at Kent and anything can happen. It has been demonstrated in this league, anybody that shows up on Saturday that plays well has a chance to win. There is no dominant team right now."
This question has been asked quite a few times. You have felt that you could pass on anyone; obviously, Miami stopped that a little bit. (Dan) Macon ran on them a little bit. Is there going to be a little more balance?
"I think we will do what we need to do to score points. Running the football -- if that is what we need to do to take a little pressure off of Tyler (Sheehan) as he gets through this slump right now, then that's what we will do. He has been effective for us and he has to fight through it and we have to help him fight through it. If running the football is the way to do it, then we can run the football. We know how to do that and we have the ability to do that."
You mentioned that Kent likes to run the football and (KSU's Eugene) Jarvis is pretty good at that. Is that their main focus?
"Well, I think their quarterback (Julian Edelman) is the guy. He's a run-around guy, a little playmaker, he's a fighter. A very competitive guy. They're just struggling with some untimely turnovers right now. They can move the ball; they can run the ball. They ran the ball against Ohio State. He's the guy I think, he's effective."
How about their defense?
"Their defense is very good. They're first in the conference in rush defense, and in total defense. They are built for speed, they run well."
After a game like the Miami game, what do you try to do to keep the kids from getting discouraged?
"You just have to keep stressing that if we play fundamentally sound we have a great chance of winning a game. Usually errors occur when guys forget their fundamentals, or just don't do their responsibilities or techniques -- that happened Saturday. When Miami jumped up on us, some guys were trying to play outside of the system, and that is when you give up big plays. We just have to settle down and play a fundamentally sound football game. Play our techniques, play what we are coached to do, play the call. Don't try to put a cape on your back or an 'S' on your chest. If you play within the system, the system has worked. We can stop people defensively, we can score points offensively. I think the thing is, when some bad stuff happens, we have to remember to play fundamental football and do what we are coached to do. If we do that, we can get it back."
You mentioned that you are looking for 11 fighters to get on the bus. Do you think there will be problem to find that?
"No, we talked about it again last night. There are enough kids on this team that were embarrassed by that loss that they will respond."
BGSU PLAYER QUOTES
Tyler Sheehan
What's your overall impression of what happened on Saturday?
"I think mostly the overall impression is, we just lost an opportunity to get on top of the MAC. I think we may have lost a little bit of our confidence over the past two weeks, and that's definitely something we need to get back. But, overall we just missed an opportunity to establish ourselves in the MAC."
Did that game change the perception you have of yourself or the team's perception?
"It humbled us a little bit, because we've been riding high all season with a couple big wins. I think that game showed us that winning is fragile, and there is a fine line between being a winning team and a losing team. So in that aspect, it humbled us, but we just got to learn from it and make sure it doesn't keep happening. I don't think practice went as well this past week as it has in the past, and we've just got to go out and be more prepared for the upcoming weekend."
With Miami in the driver's seat in the East now, how do you approach the rest of the season?
"We can only control what's going on with our own team and we can't go there worrying about what other teams are doing. The college football season this year has just been crazy, and things happen out there every week it seems. So we can't really worry about Miami and what they're doing. No matter if we were on top of the league or if we were behind, we know we've just got to go out and prepare like we normally would."
Pete Winovich
How big is this game against Kent State?
"It's going to be one of the most important games for us this season, especially coming off a loss. We definitely have to win this game. It's a MAC East game on the road, the Anniversary Award will be on the line and everything else, so it's definitely a very important game."
What was the attitude of the team like on Saturday?
"It just seemed like we had a lot of guys getting down on themselves early in that game. You know coming in that every game you're going to have some kind of adversity. Something is going to go wrong or something is going to happen, and we just shut down when that happened Saturday. So going into this week, we need to focus on sticking together when those tough times come up and really just focus on keeping each other positive and in the game."
John Haneline
How do you feel about the 2007 season to this point?
"We've had some highs and lows. We came out and had a big win over Minnesota to start the season, and we were playing very well. Then, the last two weeks, we made way too many mistakes. We just haven't been executing like we were. The last two weeks have been very humbling, and we have to get back and practice well this week, and prepare to win."
You have a big game at Kent State Saturday. What are your thoughts on the Golden Flashes?
"They are a good team. They can run the ball very well, and they've got some great skill at the offensive positions. We've just got to get the game plan and prepare for them."
You have led the team in tackles all year. What do you attribute that to?
"I put in a lot of work this offseason, as did the entire team, and I've gained some confidence through those workouts and everything else. And, when we all do our jobs -- when the defensive line is in the gaps, and we all are where we need to be -- it makes it easy to make plays."
