Scot Loeffler Monday Press Conference Transcript (Kent State)

Scot Loeffler Press Conference
Oct. 14, 2024
Bowling Green, Ohio

SCOT LOEFFLER OPENING STATEMENT: Thanks a lot for coming. [I] appreciate you following BGSU football. Like I said at the end of the [NIU] game, we did not play particularly well up front on the offensive side of the ball. I think nothing has changed up front. We have the same group of kids, really good kids, kids that played unbelievable football, in my opinion. [It was the] strength of our team, weeks one, two and three, and for some unreason, and I have to do a great job with this, is we lost some confidence, and I can't figure out why. [We] have not played to the standards of our ability, and we're playing really hesitant, to be quite honest with you. We need to get back to having some confidence and letting it rip and not worrying about making a mistake, because I honestly believe that's what's occurred these last three weeks. I said to our defense, it's the first time, in my opinion, that we played BG football up front and on defense. I thought we were exceptional, and it's all mindset. Against ODU, we did not have that mindset. Against Akron U, we did not have that mindset, and we did against Northern Illinois. The message to our team is quite simple. We're going to play with the guys that want to play. We're going to play with the guys that we did weeks one, two and three, and have tremendous confidence and letting it rip and playing with tremendous energy and confidence and not be afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are going to be made in football. They happen all the time. We want to minimize them. There's no question about it, but whenever you're at two positions, in particular, when you're at the quarterback position and you're worried about making a mistake, you're going to fail. Whenever you're at the O-line position, because I think it's as complex as the quarterback position, and you're afraid of making a mistake, you're going to fail. We need to coach that really hard, really well. I have no question in my mind that this team, if they get the confidence back, could be one of those special teams at Bowling Green. Right now, of course, it's ‘Doom and gloom, 2-4 [record], all the world's falling apart.’ That's not true. We played some really good football teams. We've lost our confidence a little bit. We'll get it back, and we're going to let it rip. We're good enough. We're as talented as [anyone] in this conference. [If] we play with great confidence and do the things we're supposed to do, we beat a Northern Illinois, but we just didn't, and that's my responsibility. I'm going to coach it really hard. Our coaches are going to coach it really hard, but it's evident on tape. As we all know [with] this great game that we coach and play, the tape doesn't lie. When you watch weeks one, two and three up front, that was the strength of our team, and still is the strength of our team. We just have to get back to that mindset [and] mentality and play that way, and we will. I'm confident in these kids, confident in our coaches [and] confident in myself. There's a lot of football to be played here. There's anywhere between six and eight games left. There's a lot of football. We just have to get back to who we are, do what we're supposed to do, be great during the week, have super habits, coach our tail off [and] believe. Our actions need to equal what we believe, and [if] we do that, we're going to be just fine.

We have a Kent [State] team, and just like I said, you could take all those logos and all that crap and take them off. Anyone can beat anyone. I know they're struggling right now. They're in a rebuild. [We’ve] been there [and] done it. [We have] the t shirt. But also, when I was in a rebuild, we beat Minnesota. We beat Toledo the first year. So, I understand what they're going through, and I understand that if they have the right mindset and we don't, anything can happen. That's college football these days. I'm hoping, and I knew and I foresaw the craziness that was going to happen [in] weeks four, five and six – all this redshirting, transfer portal, all this nonsense that's going on in college football. It's distracting, and hopefully the distraction’s in the past and we can concentrate on being who we are and doing what we're supposed to do at a very, very high rate and walk around with a little swagger and have a little confidence. That's been the message. That's the truth. I've always said the truth. But to sit here and say, ‘This is a bad football team,’ it's not. It's a really good football team that did not play well [in] weeks four and five defensively [and] played excellent [in] week six. We lost a little bit of our swagger up front on the offensive side of the ball for the last couple weeks. We just have to put it together and be consistent for the next six weeks and let it rip. [If] we do that, we'll have a chance.

QUESTION: Despite the 2-4 record, is there positivity knowing the team has been able to finish seasons strong in the past?

LOEFFLER: We've typically gotten better over the season, and this was a little bit of backwards. [In] weeks one, two and three, we were playing as good a football as anyone in the country, and that was in all three phases. Then, the distractions that are occurring in college football because of how many games you can play in, all this red shirting, getting ready for next year when you should be concentrating on this year, is preposterous. It's a distraction, and we have no one else to blame but ourselves. We've created this mess, and we have to deal with it. Everyone in the country is dealing with it, and hopefully it's over. I'm not saying that that's our team's problem, but there's a lot of chatter, and there's a lot of noise going on. When you have a team that was playing at such a high level, there's distraction somewhere. The mind is a powerful thing. We're a really talented football team and a good football team. We haven't played offensively up front the way that we were capable these last couple weeks, but these kids will get it together. I'm very confident. They played a lot of football, and I think they're intelligent enough to understand that being hesitant and being not confident doesn't work. At the end of the day, mistakes are going to be made. There is no pressure. Just go do what you're supposed to do and have some fun doing it. We have not done that these last couple weeks. I'm happy with what we did on Saturday defensively. I think that is really our complete game defensively over the whole year. That's the way that we need to play defense. We did not do that against ODU. We did not do that against Akron U. So, we have to maintain that on defense, get our confidence back on the offensive front in particular and go out … I'm not saying play carefree football. There's an intensity that you have and a focus that you have, but we played extremely tight, in my opinion. I've watched guys rock off the football weeks one, two and three – I mean, rock off the ball, flat back, coming off like a maniac. I've watched these last two weeks. Guys stand up, look around to see if there's a [defensive] twist, and then try to come off the ball. That doesn't work. It never has worked, and [it’s] not going to work. I've had a quarterback, [and] not too many of them had one that literally had to wait for the wide receiver to be wide open, [and] then he'll throw it. That doesn't work. You have to trust your eyes. You have to throw to spots. You have to have extreme confidence. It's our job as coaches to bring that back. It's my job, and [if] we get that piece handled, we'll do really well these next six weeks. But, let's obviously worry about this week.

QUESTION: Is there any update on QB Connor Bazelak’s injury he sustained against NIU?

LOEFFLER: He'll be day to day. It's better than anticipated, but I don't know where he's at right now. We'll know more towards the end of the week [about] his availability. It's unfortunate with the Cam [Orth] situation. You walked in with two veteran quarterbacks, and now you're walking in with a veteran quarterback and one that's learning right now. It was not pretty with Lucian [Anderson III]. He did not play particularly well in a very tough situation, and I think that might have been one of his best learning situations that you could possibly ever get. I think he got a good taste of, ‘If you're not doing it day in and day out and day in and day out and practice consistently, it's really, really hard, particularly whenever you're playing against an exceptional defense.’

QUESTION: Last year, the team led the nation in turnovers forced. This year, they have only had two forced through six games. How critical is it not being able to get a game-changing turnover?

LOEFFLER: It has been different. The fact of the matter, besides the strip interception that occurred [in the NIU game], we've been taking care of the ball really well. It's a team game. Last year at the beginning of the season, offensively, we took care of the ball terribly, and our defense made up for it. Right now, our defense is not struggling, but we just haven't got the ball. We haven’t had the opportunities to get the ball back that we had last year. Football is crazy. The last half of last year, we protected the ball like a savage and we continued to get the turnovers. Now, hopefully it's a role reversal. The offense continues to do a great job of protecting the ball this last half of the season, and then we start creating some turnovers. It's a team game, but we would like to continue to get to do a great job protecting the ball, and we'd like to continue to get back on that track of getting the ball back.

QUESTION: John Henderson pulled off another fake punt in the NIU game. How valuable has he been transferring into the program?

LOEFFLER: I think he's one of the best punters in this league. I think he's great. We had absolutely the perfect look. We were going to do it [on] the first punt, but we waited to make sure that we were getting what we wanted, and we got it. We needed some momentum at that time. Unfortunately, you fake the punt, you get down to the two [yard line and] you can't run it in. We try a spider pass, which should be the most protected pass in the history of football, and we take a sack, which should never happen. It's like one of those things that it's an absolute no-no in football. I believe that's the one where we missed it first. It was either we missed it or we made the field goal, had the penalty [of] too many guys in the backfield and then missed it. When you have a game-changing play like that, you have to be able to get points.

QUESTION: What led to K Jackson Kleather coming out of the game?

LOEFFLER: He had an injury. He'll be day to day also. We'll know more about him later this afternoon on his status. That's why Zach [Long] took over the field goal kicking.

QUESTION: This past week was the first week where TE Harold Fannin Jr. didn’t do too much on the offensive side. Was that more of lack of execution on the team’s side?

LOEFFLER: I said this after the game, and it was the truth. The first drive of the game was our game plan. The second drive of the game, we moved the ball extremely well. We were able to call the plays that we really wanted to attack the defense. We moved the ball the first two drives exceptional. Then, what really hit us was the lack of ability to stay on schedule and even to get into your game plan. I'm looking at my call sheet … If we ever get the other opportunity to play them again, there's a lot on that call sheet that never even got remotely even touched that attacks what they do. We couldn't get into it just because we were behind schedule. We'd run an inside zone play and be backed up. We throw a ball on the strip sack that should have been a plus-25 [gain]. Harold Fannin is screaming down the field wide open, and we can't get the ball to him because [of Connor Bazelak] getting hit in the back by a defender. We never even got into even scratching the surface of being able to attack them because of protection problems and not staying on schedule in the run game. The game is crazy. We had a play right down there on the 25-yard line going in. The one or two times that we actually block the play as well as you can block, it's a walk-in touchdown. Unfortunately, the back went the wrong way. Winning and losing is a fine line. We're in a dog fight. You score another touchdown there – who knows [what happens]. Winning is a fine line, and you have to do what you're supposed to do on a consistent basis. To answer your question, we had a really good game plan for Harold, maybe one of our better to get him the football, and we just really never could touch it [and] never could get into it. Whenever Lucian [Anderson III] had to go into the ball game, we had to really change what our thoughts were, just because Lucian is different than Connor. That's nothing to do … I think Lucian is going to be a great player. I'm not down on Lucian one bit. He's a young football player that is still learning and still developing. His football is coming soon, but he got thrown into the fire in a very tough situation. His preparation in practice is still at a sophomore level, and it showed. He's going to be a really good player. I have a ton of confidence in him. I like him, but I also know that the majority of those quarterbacks out there, it takes time to develop into what you want to be.

QUESTION: WR RJ Garcia was active for the first time last week. Will there be a full workload for him next week?

LOEFFLER: We’re hoping so. He's been cleared to play, so we'll see if he can play on that injury. We have a couple other guys that have been cleared that we hope are able to come back and help our football team. At the end of the day, we're going to play the guys that want to play that are all locked in and having confidence doing what they're supposed to do.

QUESTION: How do you coach confidence, and where do you think your team lost that?

LOEFFLER: I don't know where. That piece is mind boggling to me, and I can't figure that out. Whenever you're playing … Week one was week one. It is what it is. Week two and week three, and your offensive line is playing that way against that type of competition, you're jumping up and down. Literally after the Texas A&M game, [I] go, ‘We're going to have a great football team, because our offensive line is coming off the ball with a flat back and playing like savages,’ and then I don't know what happened. I don't know if it was lack of focus. I don't know where it went. How we coach it [and] how we bring it back is showing now like, ‘Come on. Look at what you just did against number 11 [Abdul Carter] at Penn State.’ I think this is a great conference, unbelievable. There are some really good players, and there were some really good defensive linemen on that field against Northern Illinois, but they're not number 11 and they're not number 0 [Scooby Williams] and they're not number 8 [Jaydon Hill] at Texas A&M. So, showing them and encouraging and showing them what they've done, I think is critical. Hopefully we can get back into that and also how you practice.

QUESTION: If for some reason QB Connor Bazelak is not able to go, is Lucian Anderson III going to be able to play with confidence?

LOEFFLER: Absolutely. We'll put him in a position to have success. He walked into a juggernaut. He walked into a championship-type of game against a championship-type of defense. He walked in with a handful of things that he could do. He was limited, and he got put in a situation where we had to do some things that he's not necessarily ready for. We will make sure that if Lucian [Anderson III’s] our quarterback, that we put him in a position to have success, and we'll do that. He got caught into a deal where you're late in the game, and you have to throw it, and you have to do this, and you have to do that. I'm not saying he can't throw because he can, but there's certain things that he's ready for, and there's certain things that he's not right now. We will put him in the best position and our team in the best position to give ourselves a chance to win.

QUESTION: What do you say to the community after some disappointing performances? Is there anything to add about family weekend this week?

LOEFFLER: Nothing has changed besides [that] we had a little adversity. We got caught in it these last couple weeks. Adversity doesn't last forever. You have to fight through it. This is going to be an exciting half of the year if we play with confidence, do what we're supposed to do, not get caught up in the craziness that's going on right now [and] lock in. You’re plane here. You're not worried about the next school or the next opportunity and not worried about the NFL. Let's worry about Bowling Green. Let's worry about getting back to who we are. Let's have some confidence. We're a good team. We've shown it, and let's just get the ball rolling. We will get it rolling. There's no doubt. We have good kids and great character kids. I'm happy that the defense was able to crawl out of it. I think they played really, really well, and I did not think they played really well against Akron, and I know they didn't play well versus ODU. Offensively, we were hesitant slightly in the ODU game, completely hesitant in the Akron game and completely hesitant out here up front. We need to get back to who we are, have some confidence [and] coach confidence. Fear of failure is an unbelievable thing, and if you don't control it the right way, it'll bite you. So, no fear. Prep all week, line up [and] let it rip. We just haven't done that these last couple weeks, and it's evident. [If] you watch the tape, you see guys with flat backs rocking off the ball. The guys haven't changed, it’s just the fear of making a mistake, I think. We just need to come off the ball and do what we do and have great prep. You're going to make a few mistakes, and it is what it is, but being hesitant doesn't work.

QUESTION: With QB Connor Bazelak banged up, do you have a timeline when QB Camden Orth can be available?

LOEFFLER: The Camden Orth thing is … I've been through that surgery, and I've had five guys that's been through that surgery. I've been through two of them, actually, and they're different with everyone. I've watched a guy come back in six months and be completely healthy. You'd have never thought that he ever had one. I never came back from it whatsoever. The first one, [I] definitely didn't [or from] the second one. I've watched a couple other guys that it’d take a whole year. I've watched guys take 18 months. I watched another guy that never came back, just as similar to me. That's a touchy one. When you start having those type of surgeries on your shoulder, the skill guys, the linemen in particular, it's pretty simple. There's something with that surgery with a thrower that is, I think, hit or miss a little bit. I'm praying and hoping that it comes back for Cam, because Cam is a great, great kid. He loves football. He loves Bowling Green. He's selfless. Hopefully for his future, this thing gets back to where it was at before he got hurt. So, there is no time frame, and I think that's a time frame that we might see him at the last half of the year. There's a chance that you're not going to see him. It's one of those ones that the doctor says, ‘Hey, yes, you'll be back in seven months. You'll be great.’ There hasn't been one time that I've seen in the five times and two times me doing it, that that's ever been the case – never. I mean, ever. Good people have done these surgeries. I'm talking elite doctors, and that's a tough surgery. It really is. For a thrower – quarterback – it's tough one.

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