Eddie George Monday Press Conference Transcript (CMU)

Eddie George Press Conference 
Oct. 13, 2025
Bowling Green, Ohio 

Question: How do you refocus the team on CMU after beating a rival? I mean, a prep rally was held 45 minutes ago.
Coach George: Just that. I mean, it was 45 minutes ago. We had that discussion on Sunday. It's exactly what it is. It's a great win for our community. It's a big rivalry that our school takes very seriously and our community takes very seriously, but we still have the meat of our schedule that we have to play, and in the MAC, every week is tough. We've got another opponent that we have to get ready for here, hopefully we can use that same momentum, excitement and joy that we shared last Saturday and bring it to this game coming up against Central Michigan.

So, this is a part of the deal, and we understand that. We know what we have to do. We've got to get better. We're very fortunate to walk away with a victory, but on paper, we got outplayed and we got to figure out ways where we can get better in all three phases. We have to be able to score points. We have to be able to stop the teams. We need to stop them and that's it. I mean, we got to find a way to get better each and every week. Thee's definitely room for improvement.”

Question: Analytically speaking, how did you guys win last Saturday’s game?
Coach George: We made some plays. It was obvious, we won the turnover battle. We didn't give up big explosives. Once our defense settled down in the first half, we were able to put some drives together. Offensively, it was inept at times. It didn't look like we were going to get a yard, but we were able to put a few drives together. We hit on a couple of big plays and certainly the big play before halftime was huge for us because that trimmed the lead down to a two score game and we were able to settle down and say hey, we just got to come back out and live what we what we preach every day in terms of our culture, our ethos and so forth.
We were able to make plays and create turnovers and we did just that. I'll say this too; the crowd had a big part in that. When you have a crowd behind you and they can build up that energy, the kids feed off it, the coach feeds off it, and it shifted the momentum tremendously in the second half. I thought we were going to give up another 21 points to that offense, but our defense made some plays and didn't give up a score at all in the second half.

We shut them out in the second half. Very good offensive unit. Really pleased of how we responded collectively and didn't panic. We stayed the course, we continued to believe, and the ball bounced our way in the second half.

Question: Gideon Lampron, MAC Defensive Player of the Week, what have you seen from him this season? What did you see on Saturday?
Coach George: Looking at the first half, he wasn't a good player at all. His eyes were everywhere. He was undisciplined, didn't make the right fits.

There were some things he could have done better, but again he settled down, just relaxed and allowed the game to come to him. He made some big plays for us. He had tackles for loss and showed up. Was pretty much an eraser throughout the whole deal.

Gideon's been that way since he's been here. I really felt good about our linebacking room, certainly with Pringle, with him in there. It was a really good duo, but Caden Marshall's coming along as well. Coach Joe Bowden does a phenomenal job with getting those guys prepared no matter who's stepping in.
We believe in the power of the unit, making sure each and every guy is ready to step in. Gideon, again, is now the captain of our defense, the middle linebacker making the calls, quarterback of our defense, and he's just done a phenomenal job.

Question: What’s the quarterback situation looking like?
Coach George: Lucian has to get better. First start, understand the situation. It wasn't a game plan where we could unfold our entire deal. We had to really play to his strengths and try to limit the amount of mistakes that could have been made to keep his confidence and keep everything going. He did a phenomenal job, but what we didn't do well was support him in terms of an efficient run game, being we were hoping that we would get more yards out of our run game. Especially on 1st and 2nd down, so he can then have a decision to say, hey, you can either throw it or run it. Kind of take the game out of his hand a little bit.
But they were emphatic on the stop and the run. They had nine men, 10 men in the box at times. They would say if you're going to beat us, you're going to beat us by throwing. So, we had that stress to feel a little bit, take some deep shots and got some fortunate calls for us and we were able to capitalize on those. When it counted, he made some big-time throws, you know the fade down here to Joshua Harris and then to Kaderris, another big play.

So, he's coming along. His eyes are going to settle, and he's got to get better this week. There were some missed opportunities where there's some reason that he should have handed it off or he shouldn't have handed off the ball, shouldn't have thrown it. He's got to grow in that capacity. So, we'll see.

Drew is day-to-day still. We're still not clear on his status, but over the next couple of days we'll find out and we'll know.

Question: Did you come up with the crossed-out Ts on campus?
Coach George: No, I had nothing to do with that at all. I don't have time for that. I think it's cute.

It’s something that Ohio State did, certainly with our big game against the team up north. But I can't get caught into that trivial stuff and it's fun for the rivalry. But that's something our marketing team came up with. I wish I came up with the idea. I got to focus on getting my quarterback ready, and his team ready, to play against some really good football teams.

Question: Another first-year head coach in Matt Drinkall. What do you make of that?
Coach George: A formidable opponent. I mean, they're very tough, well coached. He has a background that comes from coaching at West Point, at Army, so they're going to come in very disciplined.
This is a team you got to be mindful of. You look at the MAC; I think it was Ohio that we played two weeks ago. They beat us and then they lost to Ball State the following week. On any given Saturday, somebody can be beat and that's what you have to be prepared for. Yes, we beat Toledo. Great. Next up, we've got to come with the same intensity, the same passion and turn it up a notch because this is October football. This is bloody October. This is the moving point. It sets it up for November when you got to win championships. Can you close the deal?
So, we've got work to do. We're by no means our finished product. We haven't even scratched the surface on what we can do as an offense, as a defense. We're still talking about the same things over and over again and once we begin to close the gap on those things, we can be a pretty good football team. We just have to be more consistent and that's what I'm focused on.

Question: Did you or Coach Fisher say much or say anything at halftime?
Coach George: No, I didn't say much at all, honestly. I think in those moments, it's not a win for the Gipper moment. I think it's what we preach every day. What's been established since I got here in in in the spring has been talked about, and I just kind of reinforced that message. Fish did a great job of getting all their guys settled, telling them to get out their feelings, to play ball, to get violent knock back. It was for me to say, hey, you know, let's go out here and take it one play at a time, focus on one winning one battle, one play, one moment at a time and take it to them and empty your clip, you know? That was it. It was nothing grandiose. It was nothing flowery. It was nothing like the Al Pacino speech.

Hey, in those moments, speeches don't win your games. Inspiration does. So, you have to remind these kids, hey, trust your training, trust you're ready for this moment. Trust the brotherhood, because that's what it comes down to. Trust the culture, because culture and toughness win those types of games. Those kids believed in it, and they found a way to win the ugly way. That was it.

Question: That was an emotional win. How does it compare as a coach versus as a player? It seemed you were emotional after the victory.
Coach George: I was. I was excited for the kids and how they fought for each other. I watched the team really grow in that capacity. During the course of the season, you want to get tested. You may have a big lead. You may have to hold on to that lead; you may be behind. You will go through the ebbs and flows of a season, and it's how you respond in those moments. That's what matters. So, we found out who we were a little bit, to see them really embrace and live what we're talking about, living the standard in such a short period of time, it's pretty phenomenal and kudos to that.

They really have taken every word that we preach, that we talk about every single day and are not buying in, they've taken ownership of that. That's a big difference. You know, we talk about buying in, buying in is a rental mentality. If you rent a car, you're not going to treat it with the same care if you own it. You own it. You want to get the oil changed on time. You want to wash it. You want to keep it clean. You want to do everything you can to maintain it.

These kids are treating this program like that, because it's their blood, their sweat, their tears. We grind like that, we think that like that, and we live it. We breathe it. It's not just words on the wall. It's not something we visit every now and again. It's something we talk about every single day, every single moment you walk in this building. They've embraced it and we're going to continue to grow in that capacity.

Question: What have you seen from Central Michigan in terms of their physicality?
Coach George: It's just that they're very physical and this conference is physical.
That's something that we believe as well. We have to be a physical ball club to win ball games. That's the first brick that's laid. I believe that you have to be able to run the football to win in this league and that's how they're built.
We expect a physical match up and we’re going to have to go out there and put our best foot forward.

Question: What’s your evaluation of CMU’s two quarterback system?
Coach George: Well, I just got my eyes on them.

One is a thrower; one is a more of a runner like you talked about. They’re using them in different situations. I really hadn't gotten a true read on their tendencies just yet. They both run effectively. You’re going to see quarterback run game, you’re going to see them line up and run A gap power, come downhill a little bit. They mix it up a lot, but we got to be conscious and have a game plan for both of them.

Question: What’s your message to fans?
Coach George: Let's keep the party going. Let's keep the momentum going. I think it was awesome to see a packed house here at the Doyt on a game like that, a great day. I mean, it was beautiful outside, and they were the reason why we were able to make that comeback. There was no question in my mind, no doubt about that loss.

I’ve played and coached in front of stands where there's maybe four or five people in the stands and you have to generate your own energy and it's a big difference when you have 24,000 fans supporting you, screaming for you, and urging you on. That's when you know you're playing for something greater than yourself and that's a wonderful feeling. So come on out, let's keep the party going and keep the momentum going in the right direction.

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