As one of the senior leaders, linebacker Nate Evans feels a sense of personal responsibility for how the defense performed in the 35-34 loss at Pittsburgh.
"For us, the mistakes we made, we've got to get them corrected," Evans said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. We didn't play to our level of playing on defense, special teams or offense. I kind of put the blame on me. Myself and the team captains, just for allowing that throughout the week. In practice, not thudding up. We had a lot of missed tackles. No communication. They beat us with mesh routes that we communicate in practice since summer.
"What frustrated me the most is how I played. Like I said, I wasn't mad at something that happened. I was mad at how I played, how No. 44 played on the field. I didn't step up in that leadership role when I needed to. That frustrated me. I punch myself in the head. Come on, Nate. You've been practicing this since last year and you got out of your zone. That's the thing that frustrated me the most. I wasn't focused like I usually am.
"It was a hard one for me, but I can't dwell on that. I still have eight, nine games left to play. Just put it behind us. We've got to keep moving."
How did the team react after suffering their first regular season defeat since 2016?
"A lot of guys were angry after the loss," Evans said. "Not angry at the team or the coaches. Just the outcome of the game. We were upset. Upset with how we played. Like today, a lot of guys were communicating. Everybody was running to the ball. We were thudding up. Talking to each other, letting each other know. I got this, you got that. So it can be easy and we can just play fast."
Evans said they've put Pitt in the rear-view mirror though and are fully focused on Saturday's game against UConn. He said they're "back to having fun in the locker room" again.
He's anxious to get back inside a sold-out Spectrum Stadium this weekend.
"We love Knight Nation," Evans said. "When we go out there and we hear those doors rocking before we walk out of the tunnel, that just brings the energy. Just having those guys still behind us, our fanbase, the support system that we have, it just uplifts us in the locker room to just keep pushing. We still have something to fight for."
