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

Scot Loeffler Press Conference

Nov. 25, 2024

Bowling Green, Ohio

SCOT LOEFFLER OPENING STATEMENT: Thank you for coming. [I] appreciate you guys coming early. Sorry I'm late. It's a short week, so every minute matters right now. [I] wanted to start by [saying] it was a great win down at Ball State. We were able to play a better second half. The first half was sloppy. [We] played better in the second half. I thought defensively, we played great. Offensively, we didn't run the ball well enough, but we found a way to win and threw it well enough. But, that's over. Now we get to go play a great football game versus a great opponent. They're the champs. They're an excellent football team. I've said this a thousand times. I think Chuck [Martin] does a ridiculous job. When you look at their roster on both sides of the football, you see names that you've seen forever. I think with our roster, you see the same. There's a reason that it's coming down to us and them to see who goes to the [MAC] Championship, and it's because they have good players that they developed and we have good players that we developed. I think Chuck does a great job. I think they're super athletic on defense. They always have some defensive linemen that just cause chaos, which they do. The defensive end [Brian Ugwu] is a difference maker in every aspect of the word, but the other three that are around him are excellent also. The linebackers are as good as they get. Matthew [Salopek] – [it] feels like he's played forever here, No. 15. He is a really, really good player. I think he was [MAC] Defensive Player of the Year last year. He's excellent. [There’s] Eli Blakey. We recruited No. 13 [Raion] Strader. I think he's a difference maker. They have a bunch of really good players on defense.

Offensively, I think they're as consistent as they get. I think the offensive line is tough, big [and] athletic. The running backs are excellent. [The] wide receivers can catch and score, and I think the two best quarterbacks in the league are going to be here on Friday at noon. I think both quarterbacks, our quarterback [Connor Bazelak] and Miami's [Brett Gabbert] are really good, and they're both playing at high levels right now. In any of these big-time games, it's going to be discipline, it's going to come down to three or four plays that’s going to dictate the game, and it'll be a slug fest for sure. [We’re] really looking forward to it. This is why all our kids stayed. This is what we've been rebuilding for – to have an opportunity in November to find a way to get to Detroit [for the MAC Championship]. [We’re] super excited to be a part of this game. I think it's two really good football teams getting ready to tee it up.

QUESTION: Is there any update on Harold Fannin Jr.’s status?
LOEFFLER: I don't know yet. That's going to probably be a game-time decision, and I'm not sure where that's going to go yet. We'll try to figure that out this week. It's unclear right now, and I don't want to say something I don't know right now.

QUESTION: Can you talk about what Harold Fannin Jr.’s injury was?
LOEFFLER: No, I'm not sharing that with anyone.

QUESTION: This is the shortest week of the season for the team. Miami has four extra days of rest since they played last Tuesday. How do you offset that advantage that they're have?
LOEFFLER: We had our long week last week, and we were able to get healthy. I'm sure they were just like us – beat up. They have the ability to get healthy. They have the ability to prepare, and I think it's an advantage for them, for sure, just because they get more prep time. The fact of the matter is, it is what it is. That's all excuses. That's all things that are out of your control. What we're worried about right now is we're treating this as a Monday still. Tomorrow will be our Tuesday practice, and Wednesday will be our Wednesday practice. That's how we're going to do it. Our kids are locked in on our routine. We were able to get healthy last week. They're able to get healthy this week. That's all irrelevant. It really is. That's an excuse, and we're not going to use an excuse of extra prep time and extra time to get healthy. It is what it is.

QUESTION: You mentioned a sense of staying disciplined in this game. How do you, as well as the leaders on your team, help keep the team level-headed knowing what's at stake?
LOEFFLER: At the end of the day, the pressure has to be at the beginning of the week. [The] pressure’s right now. Pressure is going to be on our Tuesday and Wednesday practice. It's the way we've always approached it. I'm generally not fun to be around early in the week. Our coaches are generally not fun to be around early in the week. When we get to the end, we put in the work. We generally prep really well here. We do a good job getting in the training room, [a] great job in the weight room, [a] great job of nutrition and [getting] sleep. That's going to be the emphasis, which it is every week. At the end of the day, whenever you're in one of these big ball games, you line up, you do what you've done all year long, and just play really, really hard, play disciplined, play smart, play together, play for each other, and [have] 100% concentration on just that play. It's the people that get in trouble in these big games [that] are worried about what happened in the past or worried about the future. They look at the scoreboard. They worry about the momentum ways. That's what we try to train our kids not to do. We try to train our kids to just lock in on just that play. At the end of the day, if you concentrate on just that play, we'll win enough plays. The scoreboard will take care of itself. There is going to be no pressure. We're going to let it rip. We are going to line up and let it rip, and so are they. It's going to be one great game. There's two really, really good teams up on the field, and we have to find a way to make one or two more plays than them. That's what it's going to come down to. These big games at the end, it always comes down to two or three plays. On both sides of the ball and in special teams, you can't panic. They're going to make plays. We're going to make plays. It's having great poise and concentration on that play, because you never know when those two or three plays are going to show up. At the end of the day, they make two plays, they win. If we make two plays, we win. That's how this game is going to go.

QUESTION: What does it mean to see Rahkeem Smith get recognized as the MAC Offensive Player of the Week?
LOEFFLER: Oh, was he? That's awesome. Malcolm [Johnson Jr.] and ‘Rahk’ [Rahkeem Smith] are two savages. The put their heart and soul into this. We're thin at wide receiver, and that's for another discussion at a different day, which I'm not happy with. What they do in practice [and] what they do on game day is mind boggling. It's like we have an NFL roster right now with wide receivers in terms of we don't have a lot of depth. All our wide receivers that are playing right now, what they're doing day in and day out is remarkable. My hat's off to them, and ‘Malc’s’ day’s coming too here now. Malcolm's day is coming. He's always been consistent [with] three, four, five catches, but his time is coming here soon.

QUESTION: What has Connor Bazelak’s progression looked like this season, as he is playing well as of late?
LOEFFLER: I think Connor [Bazelak] is excellent. You knew as soon as we got done … Actually, the big transition really occurred after this [Miami] game last year. We went down. We did not play well offensively. Connor made some poor decisions and missed a wide-open touchdown on the third or fourth play of the game. From that point forward, he became super disciplined. From that point forward, he bought into taking the right footwork with the right body position, getting his eyes where they need to be, and really, from that point forward, has really played at a high, high level. I think this year, he's improved even more. He's disciplined. He's tough. He's smart. He simply takes the right footwork with the right body position. He stays on rhythm. He goes from one to two to three to four to five [in his progression] and hits his first open receiver. He's going to have to be a tough guy in this game. Both quarterbacks are going to have to be tough, because there's two really good defenses that are going to be on this field here on Friday. I expect nothing less. Their quarterback [Brett Gabbert] is going to play tough as hell, and ours is going to play tough as hell. That's why it's going to be a great game. It's two defenses that are just savages. I love it. It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun to watch.

QUESTION: What has Joseph Sipp Jr.’s play been like this season and how the defense has tightened up the past few weeks?
LOEFFLER: I think the defense has played excellent. I think they've gelled well. I think our defensive front has played well. Obviously, when the defensive front is playing well, everything falls into place. I think our linebackers are very similar to their backers. [They’re] excellent football players. They’ve played a lot of ball. Joe Sipp is playing at a high level and [is] very instinctive. Whenever his eye discipline is on point, he's really good, and he has been. [Our] back end’s doing well, and we're going to have to play great defense. We have to match their defense. Their defense is excellent, and we have to match it. Then, the two offenses have to take care of the football. It's going to come down to who protects the ball the best and who makes the two or three more explosion plays to win the game. It's going to be a really fun game to watch.

QUESTION: The MAC Championship has been a goal for the team well before the season kicked off. What does it say about this program to put yourself in this position?
LOEFFLER: When I look back at it, it's really similar to what Miami's did. When I first got in the league six years ago, Miami was down and was down for a while. I think it was Chuck [Martin’s] sixth year that they found a way to … I think when we were playing them, they clinched to go to the MAC Championship game. Whenever we went down there, we were terrible. They beat our brains in. That was the goal. The goal was to find a way to put ourselves in position to give us chance to go to the championship game. We're here. Why not us? Let's go see what happens. We're playing against a good team. It's going to be a great football game. I want our kids to prep like heck and no pressure. Go let it rip, just like we've been doing. Play fearless and play smart, tackle well, block well and find a way to make two or three more plays than them.

QUESTION: In the past, you have talked about consistency. Have you sensed consistency with the team throughout each week during this five-game winning streak?
LOEFFLER: I think our team [in] Weeks 1, 2 and 3 were remarkably consistent. We played really good football Weeks 1, 2 and 3, and then I want to say [Weeks] 4, 5 and 6, maybe 7, it was pathetic. There's lots of reasons for that. At the end of the year, I'm going to give my opinion of why. It's preposterous. I think college football rules are ridiculous right now, and our kids felt it. We went through it. As soon as that period of college football, [when] the preposterous rules were over, we started playing consistent again. We started [going] back to our team ways and back to who we were. Some of the stuff that was done during that middle of the season, it not only affected us, it affected many programs, and we were off kilter. There's no doubt. We weren't very consistent, and there was lots of reasons why, and I'll share them with you later. I think it's gross in every aspect of the word, but we're back in terms of being a good team, being good teammates [and] consistent in discipline. Heck, if I was an 18-22 year old kid and the rules were laid out the way that they were laid out, I would be inconsistent, too. We have to get that whole area of football cleaned up, and people will be more consistent, trust me.

QUESTION: Having this game at home, how does that add to what is at stake?
LOEFFLER: It's great. What can you ask for? It's going to be cold as hell. It's going to be awesome. We're going to have a great crowd. I'm encouraging everyone after they eat turkey on Thursday to come out. Any time that we're able to get people in our stadium, we’ll be excited. I know the students will be out on break, but there's enough people in our community and around BG that love BG football that we can get people here. Why wouldn't you want to be here? This is going to be a great football game. It's going to be one of those great cold afternoons. It's going to be really fun.

QUESTION: With Thanksgiving coming up, do you have a favorite Thanksgiving dish?
LOEFFLER: I could eat Thanksgiving every day of the week. (laughter) That's why I gained 40 pounds during the season and lose 40 pounds because I eat way too much. If I could eat turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing every day, I would never get back into shape.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results