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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Scot Loeffler Friday Press Conference Transcript (Buffalo)
Scot Loeffler Press Conference
Oct. 9, 2023
Bowling Green, Ohio
LOEFFLER: We’re at the halfway point and it’s quite obvious that our issue is consistency. We’re 2-4 right now and I would love to be 4-2 or 3-3, so we’re behind slightly of where we want to be. The teams that beat us were 21-2, but you’d love to have been able to sneak at least one more and be 3-3 and the halfway point, perfect world you’d love to be 4-2. I spent the last day watching all our cutups from the last six games and there’s no reason this team couldn’t have been 4-2. But that’s where we’re at, it’s inconsistency. The whole goal in these next six weeks is to find a way to become consistent. These next six opponents that we’re playing are all good football teams. They’re very similar to us and we need to find a way, week in and week out, to play our best football. When we play to our potential and we’re focused and unselfish, we’re a really good team. When we don’t, it’s quite obvious that it’s either feast or famine. I’m frustrated, but frustration isn’t going to get us anywhere. I have to get out of it, I will get out of it, and we need to take this one game at a time and find a way to have a really, really consistent next six weeks and it starts this week with Buffalo, who’s a good football team on the road.
QUESTION: How does the last six weeks of the season compare to the first six weeks?
LOEFFLER: The whole six weeks were a major stretch. There are times we played really, really well on that stretch and times that we played really poor football. That’s the difficult thing right now, and the most frustrating thing, for us and our staff. You go and play as good of football as you can play in this conference to playing that poor. That is an item I wish I could fix right. If so, we would be 4-2 right now. It’s a challenge right now and we have to get through it. We have to find a way to get through it plain and simple. We have six opportunities to see if we can. If we do, we’ll have a really good season. If we don’t, it will be a mediocre to poor season. We have a challenge. Let’s see if we can push this rock of inconsistency over the top. I’ve seen us play our best football in these last six weeks and I’ve seen us play our worse football and nothing in between, which is crazy to be quite honest with you.
QUESTION: With two losses in MAC play, is it hard to keep everyone focused and motivated?
LOEFFLER: We can’t control that, I’m concerned about these next six weeks. You can’t go back and change the past. I mean, we’re 2-4 here and just like I said, realistically should be 3-3, coaches and players of the year, we’re 4-2. That’s realistic. The teams we’ve played, just like I said, are 21-2, but I’m not worried about that. I already know the problem of the last six weeks. The last six weeks have been complete, one hundred percent, inconsistency. You can hear it in my voice, I’m not happy. The frustrating piece, just like I said, is I’ve watched us play our very, very best football that we’ve played here and turn around and play our absolute worst. That makes zero sense to me. So, I’m not worried about the losses in the MAC. I’m worried about Buffalo. I’m worried about getting consistent and everything else will take care of itself. That’s not our issue, our issue is consistency and we have got to get over the top of that issue.
QUESTION: What kind of challenges does Buffalo propose?
LOEFFLER: Oh, they’re good. They’re a good football team. I think they’re the same record as us, they’re 2-4. They’re a good team. They’re big, they’re strong. We have to go on a six-and-a-half hour trip on the road. Then after this last road trip we finally get into a normal schedule where we’re home and away and home and away, rather than being gone. Feels like we haven’t played a home game here in a century. This will be a challenge on the road. They’re a good football team, well coached, good scheme. Very similar to us, you watch them last week they played fantastic football and I’ve watched them play poor football too. They are fighting the inconsistent battle just like we are. They’re well coached, they’re a good team and we need to show up. We need to show up and do what we are capable of doing. If we do what we’re capable of doing, we’ll be just fine. That’s where I’m at.
QUESTION: Is there an aspect of this team that you’ve been happy with so far this season?
LOEFFLER: When we play to our capability, we’re good. That’s what’s frustrating. We played two of the best teams on our side. Self-evaluation, on offense in particular, whenever I go to play 25 and Ohio hasn’t stopped us at all. We’re on play 25, that’s the first time OU truly defensively stopped us. That drives you insane. There’s 24 football plays at the beginning of the game that are under your control and you’re not finishing and making the plays when they present themselves, it drive you absolutely insane. If we’re sitting here and Ohio has beat us the first 24 plays and just beat our tails all the way around the field, that’s a different story. I’m aggravated with out inconsistent play. We need to get it right because our staff and everyone else, we work too hard around here, 365 days a year, our players do the same, to not have consistent performances. We need to get that right in these next six weeks.
QUESTION: What are things you implement during the prep work to force that consistency?
LOEFFLER: Well, I’ve went through every self-evaluation piece known to man. We haven’t done one thing different. When we go to pregame meal, we have the same exact food, same exact setup, same exact this. We have to be able to walk into that stadium and do our jobs to our ability and we’ll be just fine. Not go into planet Pluto, unfocused, guys doing stuff we’ve never seen them do. That has to end. You can hear it in my voice, I’m not happy with it. I’m frustrated with it. I’m ready for it to end and I hope our team is too. I hope our team is. Just like I said, when they decide that they’re locked in and focused and they got their stuff together, they’re good. We’ve seen that. We’re at the point in the program where you either do it or you don’t and it’s time we start doing it these next six weeks. That is our focus. I don’t give a crap about being 0-2 during the league. Whenever you’re consistent all that other stuff will fall back into place. Our consistency is what I’m worried about.