Scot Loeffler Friday Press Conference Transcript (Miami (OH))

Scot Loeffler Press Conference 
Oct. 2, 2023 
Bowling Green, Ohio 

LOEFFLER: I'd like to begin by congratulating our team it was a great weekend. Specifically, I'd like to congratulate Terion Stewart and DJ [Dashawn Jones Jr.]. I think they were the MAC players of the week and I think our team received some award [FWAA Cheez-It National Team of the Week], but it was a great weekend. Congratulations. I thought they played finally to their capability and all the things that we've been talking about when this teams focused and their minds clear and they're unselfish and they're just doing their jobs or good football team. So, we need to continue that, and we will and excited to get ready versus a super opponent.

QUESTION: On the week leading up to the Georgia Tech game
LOEFFLER: There was nothing different between any of our preparation whatsoever. Same old, same old to be honest with you.

QUESTION: On following a good game with another one
LOEFFLER: I just believe that our players. We're finally older, more mature. They believe that they're good and they are good and everything's just right now about us. We just got to make sure that we're right and that's a challenge in college football right now. It's the same everywhere. That’s why you we're seeing the ups and downs and arounds in college football, the challenges is to go into games and have your mind right and do all the things that it takes mentally to get ready for a game. And I think our guys are, I know our guys excuse me are ready to do that and it will be a big challenge this week as we're playing a really good team.

QUESTION: On Georgia Tech being the most important game for BGSU
LOEFFLER: No, I think they are all huge, you only get 12 of them. Every game means something. It is week to week, game to game, take it one step at a time. Every game is big, you only get so many shots, and you work 365 days for those shots.

QUESTION: On Michigan crowd preparing the team for Georgia Tech
LOEFFLER: No, not at all. I’ve played at Georgia Tech a couple of times and there is never a crowd noise problem just because of the number of people. They’ve got great fans there that support their team but there is nothing like walking into Tennessee, Michigan, next year Texas A&M, Penn State, those are just different animals, you can't hear two feet in front of you. So, crowd noise has never been a problem at Georgia Tech, it just hasn’t been, just because the number of seats in the stands.

QUESTION: On consistency for future games
LOEFFLER: They just need to do what they did last week. I thought we walked in very confident. I thought we walked in very focused, some swagger to be quite honest with you after what happened the week previously. We need to be able to walk into stadiums and be carefree just because we know we are confident we put the work in during the week and that our minds are right walking into the stadium. If we do that, we will be competitive.

QUESTION: On getting the players mind right
LOEFFLER: Just like I said, our job is to try to get them in that framework of having a really clear head. It’s a little bit of coaching, it’s a little bit of them. Our coaching staff had to worry about three major newspapers that they were hearing the noise from and a little from your parents and your family. You didn’t have a cell phone so you can't talk to them every day. There is so much noise that are around these kids. That’s the challenge is to put all that to the side which is really difficult. Don’t worry about social media for 12 hours, don’t worry about what this person is saying, what that person is saying and just focus on your job. When we do that, we are a good team.

QUESTION: On Miami (OH) as a team
LOEFFLER: Yeah, they are, they are a good team. I think Chuck has done a great job. They are a consistent football team; I think it is a good matchup on paper. I think their talent is equivalent to our talent. It’s going to be about which team takes care of the ball the best, that’s what they are living on. They live on playing great defense, they snap the ball extremely late on the snap count, they don’t get a ton of plays in, and they really don’t beat themselves. So, our mindset is that we have to go in and do very similar to what we did at Georgia Tech. We have to protect the football, make our plays when they present themselves, understand that Miami is going to win on some plays because they are going to. It’s going to be whoever makes the least amount of mistakes, plain and simple. That’s their game, that’s their M.O., and we have to do one more snap better than them, one more snap.

QUESTION: Hogan and his development
LOEFFLER: He’s going to be a really good player, we are going to get him, when it's all said and done, to about 240 pounds and he’ll be that hybrid position that we play with that has chances of going on to the next level just because of what we do with him, and we generally attract that type of player here. That kid is awesome, it’s not just his play, he is a great team guy. He does every single thing, on and off the field, the right way. He’s so grateful to be here, even before his breakout game two weeks prior. He wasn’t playing a lot, and he came up and he was really grateful for the opportunity. He likes our culture, he likes our team, he likes our coaches, he’s just grateful. Normally those people are going to be successful, and it proved out on Saturday for sure. It’s not going to be the last time you’re going to see Finn Hogan’s name; he’s going to be a good player.

QUESTION: On that game boosting confidence going into MAC play
LOEFFLER: I think it’s a great win, but I think any win is a great win. It is hard to win these days, it’s tough. It doesn’t matter who you are playing, you’ve always got an opportunity and any win is a good win, it’s a heck of a lot better than losing.

QUESTION: On the time spent on the psychology of the game compared to game planning and schemes
LOEFFLER: The longer I've been a head coach the more I love the schematic part of the game. I love calling plays, I love putting game plans together. But I'm learning slowly but surely. I don’t call plays anymore; I'm involved in game planning. That will always happen, but that other stuff with the head coaching job in today’s world in particular is really important. To answer your question, I think about it as much as I think about how we are going to attack cover 4. I’ve made some mistakes with it, no question about it. You always want people to think the same way you think and that’s not always the case. Yes, with time, I understand that more than that all those other things are just as important as beat and bear defense.

QUESTION: On Connor and how he played
LOEFFLER: I thought Connor played equivalent to how he played against Eastern Illinois except against better competition. I thought he took care of the football, had a really good grasp of the game plan, and he executed really well. I think he had 66 completion percentage. We don’t want to be that organization that is throwing for 400 yards, we want to be that 250-yard throwing team, 200-yard throwing team and be able to run the ball the way that we ran it and be really good on third down. This is probably the first game; I don’t know the statistics of the Toledo game. This is the first game that statistically we want to be. We want to rush for 150 to 200 yards and if you take out the penalties, we rushed for over 200 yards. Throw for 250 yards. 10 of 17 on third down. The defense was two of eight on third down. 44 minutes to whatever it was time of possession 16 minutes or 43 minutes to 17 minutes something of that nature. Our defense only played 58 snaps, that’s how we want to play football, that’s team football, that’s exceptional team football. That was probably one of our best team games in terms of how we wanted to look.

QUESTION: How are you feeling now that you only have to focus on MAC play?
LOEFFLER: I love the MAC play. I think the coaches in this league are exceptional. I think we are all the same, there are a couple of teams that have more talent than others, but for the most part we are all the same. You’re scratching and fighting, it reminds me of the NFL in terms of just so many people are equal. Each week you have to show up, you have to have a great mindset, you better be prepared. If not, you’re going to get your tail kicked in. It doesn’t matter who you are playing. Doesn’t matter if you are playing a one and seven team in the MAC, you better show up because your talent is the same> I think last year how many games came down to three points or less. It's an awesome league, it’s a fun league we got good people in the league, good coaches, good players, good kids and I like it, I really do, I like MAC play, it’s fun.

QUESTION: Big wins on the road, do you have to refocus the team?
LOEFFLER:  We do the same thing. Yeah, over, and over and over we were done talking about Georgia Tech at 220 yesterday and. Very few times do I ever go back to a performance I did last week. I was made it quite clear that what we did against OU was unacceptable, but you know you it's on to the next. That's the best way. I mean it and it doesn't matter most of the time, even with a a loss like we had against OU, you're on to the next. You can't change it. You can't. You can always learn from it, but normally you got to learn from it. You know that Sunday morning to Sunday afternoon, and then you got to put in all every effort and all your concentrations got to be under your opponent. If not, you're going to get your tail knocked in. So having a big win, having a big loss, it really doesn't matter. I mean, it doesn't. I no one's going to remember the Georgia Tech name here, and five weeks, three weeks, 2 weeks, one week. Most people you know, I go play, go to the next

QUESTION: How do you read the psychological factors of the players and what are the approaches as a Coach?
LOEFFLER: I'm learning that. Yeah, like definitely learning. I've learned a lot. And, the positive things. I've been around these guys a ton, like I probably should say this off the record. I knew we were going to beat Georgia Tech on Wednesday. I just, I know these guys. I know how they think. I know how they act. I would have never said that publicly, but I knew that we were going to beat Georgia Tech, and I knew it was not going to be close, to be quite honest with you. I knew that we would walk in there and we would play our tails off, and so I'm learning that, and I just like I said, I've made mistakes with them. Normally, can figure things out with the little bit of air in there too, so I I'm starting to figure them out and it's good.

QUESTION: What did you see that gave you that confidence going into that game?
LOEFFLER:  I have just been around them, like I just know how they act. It's like being around your kids for five years. You generally know how they're going to respond. I knew how Darren was going to respond. Just did it, you know, and I just know. I just know our team, so if I set it to a few people that are very, very close to me that we're going to go down there, we're going to win and it’s not even going to be close.

QUESTION: Have you ever had that feeling and then been wrong?
LOEFFLER: Yeah, not too many times, though. I usually only get one a year at Virginia Tech, Ohio State. One year I normally get one a year, Minnesota. That was one that I shut the laptop on Friday, and when the game now and I thought we'd win barely but thought would win the game.
QUESTION: So, check with you when you're on Thursday to see how we're going to do in Oxford?
LOEFFLER: Yeah, I'm not going to tell you that.

QUESTION: How much of a spark did Camden Orth provide?
LOEFFLER: He's got to be in the game. He brings some juice, some energy spark to our team and he's a really, really important part of our football team. He's got some old school leadership where he can get guys around him to rally and uh Cam Orth is not our starter right now, but we need him in the game and one day he's going to be a great starter here. And but he's really, really critical when he is so unselfish. I mean, not a lot of guys can handle. The way that he's handling this and just like I said. One day he's going to be a great starter here. He's got juice. He's got energy. There's a few things we need to clean up in his game, but there's something about that guy, and it might be 5 snaps. It might be 25 snaps.
I don't know and we get into a game and we get a feel for what's going on, but he is absolutely pivotal to our team and my opinion.

QUESTION: On Orth sitting out the second half of Michigan and the Ohio game.
LOEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, it was I wanted him in there. I mean, he just like I said, he brings a spark. We've got two really good quarterbacks right now and but there unselfish enough to both manage it just like I said, there might be a game where the next thing you know, Connor plays 15 snaps and Cam plays sixty. I just you just never know how it's going to go, but. We got two guys that are very, very good and they both bring a different dynamic to our team. And they're both unselfish enough and smart enough. To feed off each other and they just know that whatever it takes to win the game, we're going to do so I'm. I'm impressed with those two just from the mindset of what type of team guys they are. I could never do that way. I wasn't that way, Brian and I hated each other. Now we're best buddies. Competition. But those two are awesome. Much better than what I could never handle it that way. They're awesome.

QUESTION: Don't you think that game with one and lost to the trenches?
LOEFFLER: Oh, not even close. Not even in the hemisphere. I thought defensively our defensive line was a bunch of savages, plain and simple. They were awesome from our starters to our backups to guys that just played two or three snaps that they played relentless. I thought our defensive line, our defensive line was maybe the best it's been in a long time. And then offensively, I thought it was one of our best performances at the offensive line position. I mean, we're playing, I mean, we're still playing ACC dudes here. Yeah, I mean, we're not playing just guys that are average and yeah without a doubt it's not even close. It's always fun, just the guys that are where, where in the single digits most of the time they get all the praise, but those guys up front were stallions. I loved it. I mean, I was so happy for it was, uh, there were some. There are some clinic tapes on the defensive line that took place, and I thought our offensive line got it together and played well. I really do mean anytime you that you play the way that we played, it's up front just like I said, those guys in the single digits, they just get all the parades.

QUESTION: On Finn’s catch
LOEFFLER: It was impressive. Yeah, it was. It was impressive. They came with a 0 pressure. And finish the man beater on that. On that play, they had a late they late, we actually picked the blitz up and then the guy that had the tail back green dogs. That basically means when they block, they blitz. The guy blitzes that has the back, so he's the free hat and he was the free hitter on. Connor drifted away and Finn didn't create the separation that you would like on the route, but he's so damn big and kind of was able to put it up and give him a chance. And the second read was OJ and OJ was tackled on the play. Like literally it was it was a P.I all the way or defensive holding and UM, Connor gave me a shot. And then went up and made a play. But Finn made that play. With his attitude and what he's been doing here. I'm just telling you he is. He is our poster child for what we want in terms of people in this program. He has never complained. One ounce that he wasn't playing a lot and uh, we finally got a role for him and at one time to see in my office complaining about playing time and all that other stuff. He just kept working and working and working and working, and we finally became smart to get him a role and we got him a role and he took advantage of it but exemplifies what we want in this program.

QUESTION: Is that the best catch you have seen in college football?
LOEFFLER: Oh, I don’t know, I've seen some freaky ones, actually. The best one I've ever seen was in practice. And on an interception, Tom Brady, and the Rose Bowl practice 1997 were getting ready for Washington State. Charles Woodson's the nickel playing quarter half, he turns the wrong way.

Brady steps up, throws a sail route. Which Charles is supposed to be covering. He falls down. He sprints. He dives. He catches the ball like this, catches himself on his hand and scores. The whole place didn't say a word. Yeah, I've seen some freaky catches. So no, not to downplay Finn’s. That was a hell of a catch, but I've seen some stuff that you say – ‘ Wow, ridiculous.’ Top 10 for sure. Top ten.

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