Scot Loeffler Monday Press Conference Transcript (Toledo)

Scot Loeffler Press Conference
Oct. 21, 2024
Bowling Green, Ohio

SCOT LOEFFLER OPENING STATEMENT: [I’d] like to thank you guys for coming. Thanks for covering BG football. [I’d] like to begin by [saying] we lost a Falcon today. Ed Phillips was part of the [1959] national championship team. [He] was a great player [and was] super close with Coach [Jack] Harbaugh. He passed this morning. [He] had a great life [and was a] super successful businessman. [He was] one of the first guys that I met when I got here. [He was a] really great player, [a] better person, and he'll be missed. [I] wanted to recognize him, and if I missed anyone in these last couple weeks or anything, I apologize. Ed is a super special guy.

QUESTION: How has your respect and admiration grown for this rivalry with Toledo over the last six years?
LOEFFLER: I've said it since I've been here. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, the games that I used to watch were obviously the Michigan-Ohio State game [and] the Notre Dame-Michigan game at the beginning of the year. [I] always watched and always went to the Kent [State]-Akron game growing up so close to Akron U. and Kent, and I always followed the Bowling Green-Toledo game. It’s an honor to be a part of it. I think it's a great rivalry. I think both schools are passionate about their programs. It's 20 minutes up the road or down the road, however you look at it. It matters where you're at, but it's a great rivalry. I think any time that you're able to be a part of a rival game, it's special. I've been very blessed to be at some really, really good places and been a part of some great games. The exciting thing about this game now is it was so lopsided here a few years ago. Now it's really turned into a really, really marquee, awesome game two years [ago] up there. [It] was an unbelievable game last year here. [It] didn't go our way at the end, but that was an unbelievable game. I think this has the making to be the same. I think this is going to be a great football game. I think both teams are very good. [I have a] ton of respect for them. Obviously, we have to have our best preparation, and we have to have a great week of practice. We need to go out and play our very best football on Saturday to give ourselves a chance to win. That's what you want in a rivalry game. I think they probably feel the same.

QUESTION: How do you make sure to keep TE Harold Fannin Jr. involved all game?
LOEFFLER: I thought last year's game, we started out hot, and then we had a hard time blocking them in the second half. They were able to chip back. We had a pretty good, significant lead, and they were able to chip back. It came down to the last play, just like they're supposed to. It was a really good football game. Obviously, we would have loved to have won the game, but it was a great rivalry game, and it's the way that game's supposed to look now.

QUESTION: How critical is it having a mixture of veteran leaders and younger players stepping up in pass defense this season?
LOEFFLER: We're an older football team, so we should play well, and I think we have. These last two weeks, we've played really well on defense. We walked into a situation [where] there were two [Kent State] wide receivers [Chrishon McCray and Luke Floriea] that had a total of like 280 yards, and we shut them down. [We] stopped the run, and were able to pressure the quarterback, force the quarterback out of the pocket and made him throw the ball away. I thought we played well on defense, and having older guys that have been experienced that helps, especially whenever you're walking into this type of rivalry game. There's not too many new faces that will be on the field. There'll be some, but not too many.

QUESTION: Is there an update on the health of your receivers, like WR Malcolm Johnson Jr. and WR RJ Garcia?
LOEFFLER: We're hoping that they all play. That's what we're planning on. When we get closer to the end of the week, we'll know for sure, but we're planning on all of them to play.

QUESTION: What are some of the strengths and biggest challenges that you think this year's Toledo team poses?
LOEFFLER: They're always good. Similar to the past, I think they run extremely well on defense. [They’re] very athletic in the back end. [Their] linebackers are athletic. [I’m] always impressed with their defensive front. The two inside guys are big, powerful guys that can move that causes challenges. They always have long, rangy guys on the edge. Defensively, whenever you flick on the tape, it's pretty similar to what it's been in the past. Offensively, I think both quarterbacks are very good. They both throw the ball well, and I think the backs are excellent. [Their] offensive line is generally big and physical, which they're again, big and physical. [I’m] super impressed with their skill. I think their wide receivers present challenges. It's not too different than what it's been over the last six years. [They’re] always physical, always well coached, can run [and are] athletic. The fronts are good. The quarterbacks are good. It's a good Toledo team, just like it's always been these last six years that we've played them.

QUESTION: Does your game plan change at all, depending on which Toledo quarterback plays? How do you prepare for possibly having other?
LOEFFLER: They both throw the ball extremely well, and their skill guys are excellent. [We have] to be able to stop the run and then control the explosion plays, because they're wide outs can create them pretty quick. We have to stop the run and limit the explosion plays. That's always been the formula in this game. It's going to be whoever wins the turnover battle [and] whoever wins the explosion battle is going to win this game.

QUESTION: Bowling Green has not won back-to-back games at Toledo since 1992 and 1994. How important would it be for this program to have two wins in a row at Toledo?
LOEFFLER: I had no idea of that. That's an unbelievable stat. I had no clue about that statistic. [I’m] really not focusing on that. Obviously, this is an important ball game. It has huge ramifications for the Mid-American Conference run, and it's a rivalry game. We're going to concentrate on having a great Monday, a great Tuesday, great Wednesday, great Thursday, Friday, and then go out there and let it rip, and we'll see what happens.

QUESTION: How does it feel to have this Toledo game back on Saturday as opposed to a weekday?
LOEFFLER: Oh, it’s the best. I'm sure Jason [Candle] would attest to this. I think this game should always be on a Saturday, and I would play it at noon, but 3:30 [p.m.] will work. I think it's great. It's great for the Toledo community. It's great for the Bowling Green community. You're not fighting with a Tuesday or Wednesday, worrying about work. I think their stadium will be sold out as ours would be if it was down here. I think this is what a college football rivalry is supposed to look like. It’s supposed to be on a Saturday. I believe the next one's here, and then it's MACtion. I'm not sure how they're doing it, but I know it's two Saturdays, home and away, and then a MACtion [game]. I don't know how they're doing it, but to have it on a Saturday, I think is excellent for everyone involved.

QUESTION: How cool of a storyline is it that OL Cade Zimmerly and his brother, Graham, are facing off against each other in this game?
LOEFFLER: They're a great family, and [they’re] both great kids. One chose one path, [and] the other one chose another. I would love to be a fly on the wall on Thanksgiving to listen to those two battle it out and the trash talking that's taking place. They're a great family [and are] two good kids. One just chose one way and the other one chose the other. They're great kids.

QUESTION: Considering how well the team has played in tough noise environments this year, how much confidence do you have in that regard of being able to go into a tough environment?
LOEFFLER: Whenever you're at home, you have an advantage, but we have to just concentrate on doing our jobs. I think our kids have played enough football and in enough big environments. You notice it when you walk on the field for the first time, but as soon as that foot hits the ball, things change really quick. You block out the crowd, you block out the distractions and concentrate on doing what you're supposed to do. They played in big stadiums. We played in big stadiums. I think both teams will handle it quite well.

QUESTION: The defense forced three turnovers against Kent State last week, something that has been a missing piece for the unit. How important is having that momentum going into this week?
LOEFFLER: We hope it starts a wildfire, to be quite honest with you. We've done a great job protecting the ball. [We] need to continue to do that, but we just haven't had the turnovers that we had last year. Hopefully that streak starts and starts fast. I think protecting the ball in this game is going to be imperative. The team that protects the ball the best, I think, will have the best shot along with whoever stops the explosion plays. We have explosion players. They have explosion players. Whoever protects the ball, runs the ball the best and avoids those critical shots, because the team [who does that] is going to win.

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