Opening statement:
"Okay, first of all, disappointing loss to say the least. That's a really good team.
"They exposed some things. You look at it, first quarter I think we had four plays, maybe five plays they had the ball most of the first quarter. We cut it to seven right there before half. I think there was a minute, 50 seconds, something like that. And they had the big pass play for the touchdown. They got the momentum back.
"Third quarter, we didn't play good in any phase. Fourth quarter, put in Dylan Rizk and he gave us a little bit of boost, a little bit of life right there. But overall, disappointing loss.
"Hats off to them. They're a good team, but we didn't play our best football and that's what disappoints me."
You thought that Jacurri Brown, having a full week of practice with the ones, was going to play better. What did you think of his performance, and talk more about that decision to put in Dylan and what you thought of his performance?
"Yeah, JB, they took away the quarterback run, which that's what teams will start doing now. We weren't real successful. We were okay with RPOs, but we missed some things, obviously, turning the ball over.
"And so put Dylan in there and he gave us a spark and did a really good job with his progression and all that. We didn't want to put EJ in there for his redshirt and all that. You start thinking about that this time of year with two games already played.
"But Dylan seized the moment. He did a good job, gave us some life right there, and I think he led us to what, two touchdowns right there."
Is Jacurri your quarterback still moving forward?
"Right now what we're going to do is we're going to figure out, watch the film, and we're going to figure out whoever gives us the best chance at every position. I mean, we're in the same situation we were last year, and we've got to figure out a way to finish the same way we did last year. So we'll watch the film and we'll decide."
And how frustrating is the quarterback position for you guys? I mean, obviously you've got four guys who've seen action this year. How frustrating is that for you guys?
"Yeah, I mean, it's frustrating the fact that we didn't play good football today. That's what's frustrating. I expect us to play better, and we didn't. That's very disappointing. Like I said, Dylan at the end, he gave them some life."
Kobe Hudson went down early. How do you feel like the wide receivers around him stepped up to the plate?
"That was one of the positives, the guys around him, that they stepped up and made plays when they had to. I mean, Jacoby (Jones) had a big game. He's a really talented player. I don't know exactly the severity of Kobe and all that, but obviously he's one of our best players."
Jacurri's moving the team down the field and then had that taunting penalty. How disruptive was it?
"Yeah, I didn't see exactly what happened. I mean, I'll watch it on film. I mean, I was thinking about the next play and all of a sudden saw a flag, and any time a guy hits a quarterback, you think it's on them. But I don't know exactly what happened. I'll look at it. We'll see."
You've lost five straight after going 3-0. Emotionally, does it feel different? Is it more disappointing considering that you kind of stressed that it wasn't going to be the same?
"Yeah, I mean, I'm disappointed in the fact that we didn't play good football today. That's what I'm disappointed in. What we got to do, we find ourselves in the exact same situation where we were last year, and we got to figure out a way to finish like we did last year."
Like you say, just put together a good game with good football. What needs to change?
"Well, what you saw today, there's quite a few things that need to change, and what we got to do is we got to look at the film. We got to evaluate it. We got to figure it out, and we got to finish, you know, like I just said, like we did last year."
What about this locker room and the guys you have make you believe that you can rattle off three or four to finish this season?
"Yeah, I mean, I've said it all along. I mean, our guys, they're going to keep battling. They'll come ready to practice next week, and they'll give it their best. And like I said, we got to play better. I mean, you know, any time you play a really good team, certain things get exposed. And, you know, like I said, we didn't play good. Give them credit. They're a really good team."
Coach, it's another 100-yard game for RJ Harvey, another two touchdowns as well. How does he kind of play to provide a foundation for you to be able to bounce back every time?
"Yeah, I mean, RJ is one of our leaders in our locker room. He's got everybody's ear. He's a wonderful person, wonderful player. And, you know, another really good game for him."
What's the status as far as your secondary is concerned? Mac McWilliams, Ladarius Tennison didn't play.
"Yeah, Tennison had vertigo before the game, and he was dizzy. It was just a tough deal. And then Mac, his hamstring, he wasn't ready. You know, he wanted to play, but we felt like we needed to have another week. Obviously, he's a really good player. Braeden Marshall went down. You know, we were playing a bunch of young guys. It's the next man up at this time of year. That's what happens. You've got to have the next guy ready."
Do you still know what happened to Braeden?
"I'm not for sure. He's been battling some different ailments and all that."
Jacurri Brown got a taunting penalty after a great run that saw him mow down a defender. What did you tell him after that, you know, celebrating over his defender?
"Yeah, like I said, I mean, I was fixing to call the next play. He hit the quarterback. I thought it was on them, so I was thinking we had the ball at the five and all that. And all of a sudden, I see him, ask him what happened. He didn't. I mean, we'll watch it on film. I mean, obviously, it was a mistake. It cost us 15 yards, you know. And we really, I think we had a field goal on that drive, but that would have been nice to have the ball on the 10 or the 12 yard line."
What did you see from your defense tonight?
"Yeah, we've got to get off the field. I mean, they had two 90-yard drives. You go first time, it's a fourth and about a yard, maybe a yard and a half early in the game, and you've got a chance. Hey, do you go for it, or do you try to pin them? We pinned them, and then they drove the field and scored a touchdown. I mean, we've got to correct that. I mean, we've got to correct that. Got to get off the field.
"The quarterback, he had a long quarterback scramble. Our emphasis was we've got to do a better job in the pocket. You know, the second half, our defense did better. I mean, they had some TFL, strip sack, all that. But the first of the game, you know, that was a tough time."
Kobe Hudson, is there an indication of how serious his injury is?
"I don't know. He was on the sidelines. I really don't know. We'll have to talk to the doctor and figure that out."
Some challenges for the tackling in this one. That must be frustrating as well.
"Yeah. We didn't tackle our best, and, you know, we tackled pretty good this year, especially against the run. They broke probably more tackles than any other team that we played against."
What are your thoughts on fans' reactions to this team? These losses, obviously, the stadium looking a little bit more empty earlier on in the game. What are your thoughts on that?
"Well, I mean, my thoughts are we've got to play better football to keep them in the stadium. I mean, that's really the bottom line. We've got to play better."
Gus, when you lose four or five in a row, how do you keep the guys believing?
"Yeah. I mean, that's what you've got to do. You know, we have a staff that's close. We have a team that's close. Our guys, we've got good leadership. They know we didn't get it done tonight. We've got to figure out a way to get it done.
"We've got to finish this thing, and there's no doubt in my mind we have the leadership that those guys will keep fighting, and they'll keep it together."
Jacurri Brown, what you saw from him at times, did you like some of the things that went on for him? The passing game seemed to work a little bit at times during the first half. Did you like some of that?
"Yeah. The RPOs I thought were really good. You know, our straight drop back wasn't. You know, we've got to continue to improve that. Like I said, they had a good scheme. They decided to, you know, stop him. They clogged it in the middle. They pushed the ball in the perimeter, and they got some good players on the outside. You know, daring us to throw it, and, you know, we've got to be able to do that when it presents itself."
Coach, being in this situation last year, and now, again, back to the same situation, but you did finish last year where you did become goal eligible. What are some things that you did last year that you may be trying to implement this year so you guys can finish strong?
"Yeah. I mean, we'll evaluate things. You know, each week's a separate week. We've got to find a way to win that first game. I mean, really, that's the bottom line. Next week we need to win the game. I mean, that's your approach, and that's what our guys will be striving for."
