Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript
October 12, 2008
Opening Statement
Knowing how the team played, is this loss harder to take than the other defeats?
“I don't really think that. I don't think it's harder. We got beat. Fortunately, we think, in a lot of ways we could have won that game. I don't know if it's any harder. You can see clearly how we could've won that game. I felt the same way in a lot of cases in the way that I looked at the Pitt game, but maybe more so in this one because it was closer to the end of the outcome that we really felt like we were in the position to win."
How much do you think your team grew after yesterday?
“I think it was apparent in watching the film that from the Pitt game to this game that we were improved. There were a number of things that looked better. It's kind of what I've been saying. This team has the makings to become a good football team. As I talked about our defense in training camp, I told you, eventually this was going to be a good defense. I just didn't know when. I think they're growing and becoming a good defense. Offensively, I felt like, yes, we had a lot of things in place in the sense of we knew who was playing what, but we were still part of a new system. We still had growing to do in that sense. I think that we've made growth on the offensive side of the ball. I'm becoming more and more comfortable with the receiving corps. On the defensive side, I think that the secondary has played much more solidly during the last two games. There are things that lead you to believe the team is getting better against good football teams and getting very close to winning football games."
Can you talk about how the (Noel) Devine run transpired?
“(When I saw it on film) It was exactly what I unfortunately would thought happened. We had somebody get out of position, I'm not big on talking about who was out of position or who did this or who did that because this is not the NFL and these players are not professional players. We had a guy get of position and we had 10 guys who were in really good position. When you are trying to stop a group in a reduced offense with all the gaps closed up, you're attacking it and all of a sudden, the ball pops out and it becomes a foot race. Unfortunately, we were unable to get an angle on him and catch him. It really came down to the first two plays. We played the plays exactly to what we expected to happen. I expected the same thing to happen on that play, and they were going to have to punt."
Do you have any regrets not kicking the field goal on fourth down (in the fourth quarter)?
"No, I don't regret it. I felt at that time that we had an opportunity to try to take the lead. It's easy to always look back and question it. The logic I had at that time was that the score was 10-6, we had driven the length of the field and had a really sustained drive – we really pounded them. I felt like if we could get down there and score the touchdown and put them in a position where they're behind and they have to go into more of a two-minute mode, I thought we would be in control. I also thought that if we were unable to score a touchdown right there, I thought that leaving them at the five-yard line, with the amount of time that was left, that we could stop them, use our timeouts and still get the ball back. We hadn't used our punt block and I figured, hey, if we have them backed up there in the end zone, we might have been able to put some pressure on their punter and maybe either get to the ball or get him to maybe punt something that wasn't a really long punt. He was punting into the wind. We were looking to get the ball inside midfield, somewhere around the 40-yard line, probably, and now we again with about four minutes to go in the game. That was the thought process. We discussed it when we made the first down near the nine-yard line. That's the way I look at it and I don't regret it now."
Were you pleased with the progress of the team on third-down situations?
“Yes, we're getting better. I think we just have to keep working on it. As a younger football team, with an offense that's growing and a defense that's kind of finding themselves, that area, on both sides of the ball, wasn't getting it done. The other day, it was much better."
What do you have to say about the defensive effort overall?
“I commend the effort. I think it's unfortunate that the last long touchdown run occurred because we were still right in that football game. If we stopped them right there, and let's just say that was the end of the game with the defense, what a defensive effort. It was an outstanding effort. There are a lot of young players out there who should be credited for it. It was a very, very good effort. They had only four total explosive plays. They had the 92-yard run, a 24-yard play, a 21-yard play and an 11-yard play. Everything else was less than that. That's good. They need to build on that."
Running back Doug Hogue was not used…what is his situation?
"He tweaked his ankle again late in the week, and really Curtis (Brinkley) was rolling. Antwon (Bailey) had been working in and out of there throughout the week. When Delone (Carter) went down toward the end of the week, we were committed to give Antwon those back-up repetitions."
Why was safety Bruce Williams not used in the game on defense?
“For what we were trying to do against that kind of offense, the people who we were working with was the way that we decided to go."
Will you utilize the same weapons against USF?
“I don't know if we'll be able to utilize everything we did against West Virginia. They're (South Florida) different. It might look the same, but it's not. They're two different offenses."
Are you going to be using Bruce Williams on the punt return?
“We'll talk about that later in the week. It was unfortunate on Saturday because Ryan (Howard) has the ability to be a very good punt returner, but it just wasn't happening out there on that day and Bruce got in there for one play and did a nice job of moving the ball upfield."
Can you measure if the bye-week helped before West Virginia?
“I think it really helped us just getting better. There was West Virginia preparation during the bye week, but it might have only been one-third of our practice each day. I think the bye week just helped us to get better. We're growing and that's really what I thought the bye week was good for. The additional preparation for WVU surely helped."
What is the biggest difference between South Florida and West Virginia?
“I think their passing game is a little differently style than West Virginia. They're more conventional at times with their offense in the sense that they'll play two tight ends. You don't want to give the impression that South Florida is the same as West Virginia. Even though they spread the field out, their attack is different."
Do you have a better idea on running back Delone Carter's time frame for a return?
“We'll know more today as we go back out. Obviously, a little rest was helpful to him. I thought he was looking pretty good early in the week. Quite frankly, on Wednesday, he didn't feel great, and then Thursday, it was apparent to him that he didn't feel like he could burst and go all out. We'll know more here as the week goes on."
Did any of your feelings on running back Curtis Brinkley change after you saw the film of the game?
“I thought that he played very well. Not every run was perfect. There was a time or two where he might have started to dip outside really before he saw what was happening. All-in-all, I loved the way in those short yardage situations, the way he gave up his body to get over the pile. He's been playing that way all year. It's really what he's been about. I just think it was a really fine effort on his part."