Opening Statement:
“I don’t know how to start other than to tell you that that wasn’t the way it was planned. When I’m out there on that football and it’s late in the game, I begin to say to myself, ‘Wait a minute, is this the players fault or is this coaches or what is it?’ I don’t have the answers right now, but I’m going to really look. We have to assess. We come out of block and we’re moving and getting things going then all of a sudden we give up a big, giant pass – third-down pass when we have them third-and-long. We turn a guy free and we have a problem. On offense, it is a lot of the same things. And, I give Rutgers credit. At the same time I say, we need to really evaluate.”
On the game after Syracuse went up 14-0:
“They get their score and the punt block for a touchdown and we worked particularly on that block. We didn’t do a good job of recognizing and we worked on it. All of a sudden it’s a 14-14 ball game and from that point it’s hard for me to pin-point exactly what it was. I felt like we went dormant a little bit on offense there in the second quarter. On the defensive side, I’m trying to remember how they got their next score. Anyways, it wasn’t flowing like it was earlier. I have to wait and see watch the film before I make a statement – I don’t have a play-by-play and it’s all running together right now.”
On why coaching is a problem:
“I’m seeing the same things happen and when I see the same things happen, that’s what worries me. When I see the same things happen, is it the players, is it the coaches or maybe it’s both – I don’t know that for certain. I want to see what we are doing. I want to see why we’re not executing and why we’re breaking down in different areas. It gets to a point where, all of a sudden, we’re starting to get guys banged – that’s the thing that bothers me – all of a sudden guys are leaving the field, because they are just getting beat up. I’m not going to say all the same things. I’m just going to tell you, I really need to assess what are we asking our players to do and whether they are capable of doing it. If they are, then they need to be held accountable for what they’re not doing right. I’m not going to sit here and tell you we should have done this and we should have done that or we could have done this. I don’t know that and I want to see it.”
On a different assessment this time around:
“I’m disappointed as all get out about what transpired today. I felt we put ourselves in position to definitely win the football game – early in the game. We found ways to let it get away from us and didn’t find ways to get back into it. The score was 24-14 and we had the ball right there before the half – to go down and get a field goal right there and then it’s 24-17 and we’re a touchdown away and then we get the ball back in the second half. We have to score. We have to score to win. We got an interception on defense and they weren’t going to give the ball up that easy. We have to score and we all know it and it wasn’t happening. I’m not certain why.”
On two failed drives inside the 40-yard-line in the second half:
“We have to score and that’s the bottom line. I don’t care how we do it, but we have to score. Of course I’m very disappointed. We have to score points though. The score was 24-14. 24-14 and we have to come back. And it was 24-14 in the second quarter. We have to do something to make something happen – we didn’t make it happen.”
On the pass protection:
“We’re going to assess that. I was very disappointed in the pass protection today. I’m not going to say it was just players. It’s easy to say these guys aren’t good enough – I don’t know that. I’m going to say it starts right here (pointing to himself). Are we really putting them in position where they can be successful? I’m going to look at it and when I watch it, if there was an opportunity for a guy to really do a good job with something and he didn’t do it, then that’s what we’re going to show him tomorrow and that’s what we’re going to get fixed. If that’s not the case, then we need to fix it and we need to be accountable – we as coaches.”
On what he tells sophomore quarterback Andrew Robinson about handling the pressure:
“I tell him he is one tough son of a gun. I tell him that I am sick of watching him get hit like that. I’m sick of it. It’s not fair. He’s too darn tough, hanging in there and doing what he’s supposed to do. We have to find ways to protect him better than what we are doing.”
On playing freshmen Jonathan Meldrum and Tucker Baumbach:
“We played Jonathan and Tucker Baumbach. We are going to work those guys in. They’re young – they’re not perfect – and they have some physical skills that we have to develop. They have to play because they have physical skills, but they have to learn how to play. I know of no other way to really to play other than to go into the game and play.”
On what can change with five games remaining:
“All I think about right now is Buffalo. We better figure out what we’re doing with them. We have to figure out what the best way to help our guys be successful to win. If it means coming out of our comfort zone or whatever – I don’t know. I know as humans we can get in a rut and we can get stuck thinking this is what we are – wait a minute, not if it’s not working. That’s where I’m at right now. Five games is an eternity. I’m looking at tomorrow and I’m thinking Buffalo.
“We need to find some answers soon. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I didn’t like the answers that I think I saw out there today – I don’t think. I’m not certain of it and I want to watch it.”
On Rutgers game compared to West Virginia game:
“Those kind of questions are very difficult to answer – they really are. They are very subjective and I don’t really think about those things right now. I’m just very disappointed about the loss to Rutgers.”