Cincinnati Bearcats College Football Pregame Quote, 10/26/2021

Well, I’m glad that week’s over. Always a unique week and I say that with obviously triple option and things, but, you know, it’s different, it’s obviously something you do, we do during spring, something we do during fall camp, there’s always going to be some adjustments they gave us a lot of different things, you know, I would say defensive, not going to say we weren’t prepared for but hadn’t practiced as much, but all and all, no matter what, on both sides of the football you do find out a lot about yourself after a game with an academy, especially the Naval Academy, and on the road. You find out what you’re really made because someway somehow, it’s going to be very difficult and we got a false sense of security a couple of years ago, just with how the game went and got out of hand and got lopsided quick and maybe we didn’t find out as much about ourselves, and I mean that in a discipline and our ability to fight and finish because of what it was three years ago.

But nonetheless, an incredibly challenging game that as we look at it now is something’s really going to help us because where we have been challenged before, we really hadn’t been put to a test in the fourth quarter when really, it’s uncomfortable and you got to be able to perform in those uncomfortable situations.

Whether it just gets down to a seven-point game and they get an onside kick, all those different things just you know, hopefully, we really look at it as an opportunity for us to grow and you know we found a way to continue to finish things and went out got a really great example from a guy like Arquon Bush who probably practiced, maybe five, ten, fifteen snaps, the whole week, played only on field goal block in the game, I think maybe we subbed him in a couple of times on field goal block, but stay locked in and his ability to be ready when his number was called, that’s kind of that competitive spirit we talked about and went in there at the end of the game and kind of sealed the deal for us, and so an incredible lesson for us as a program, us as coaches, an example we’ll use for a lifetime, to be honest with you, and now it’s time to move on.

We got to continue to do a better job of handling all the things that come along with the successes, the wins, the attention that we are getting, maybe as an individual and as a program. So, for me, we’ll continue to stay humble and stay hungry.

On what he learned from the fourth quarter:

I mean, you learn that obviously, it’s about finishing, but really no matter what, whether it is there and whoever, when it comes down to that last two minutes of the game, you really are going to find out can the guys perform at the highest level when it’s really tough, you know, you really say you learn more about yourself in those adverse situations and we hadn’t had to play in some of those uncomfortable situations, I’m not saying we didn’t, but obviously Indiana was a tough game, not well in the first twenty-eight minutes, and Notre Dame was an incredible challenge, but when it gets into the fourth quarter when those situations are like they are, you got to find the guys that are going to be able to be comfortable, and I mean, play and perform in those really uncomfortable situations, and that is what we kind of found out about ourselves and a lot of different guys.

On what gave UC trouble:

No, it’s always a unique week, I think the thing that they, more than anything, when you’re playing a triple-option team, and they limit possessions, and kind of like we saw with a little bit with Murray State, I think you really got to play complementary football, and if there’s one thing that I don’t think we did a great job of is playing complementary football. When you have opportunities to get three in outs, you got to capitalize when you have opportunities that have short fields, you got to capitalize, and for, you know, defensively when they’re going to run eighty-something snaps, you got to capitalize on some turnovers and getting the ball in the ground. Those are the things that we did not do a great job of to kind of you know make the game, you know, what we would have liked to have. Those are things we have to learn from and we will.

On handling Navy’s rushing attack:

Well, I’ll tell you what, our inside guys, Marcus Brown, Curtis Brooks, those guys have played well, and they did an unbelievable job and it is for a lot of people who don’t understand and don’t know, I won’t get into the officiating of things, but it is a really nasty game inside there and those guys, as much as anything, were the difference, you know, obviously the rushing attack, and even a lot of those mighty short-yardage plays, those guys were phenomenal. Really, really proud, I mean you find out a lot about yourself. You continue to fight when you have eighty-five snaps, when defense gets a triple option, that’s not what you’re looking for. Those guys did a really good job and to be honest we were sound, much different than we were three years ago, even different than it was five years ago, you know, I think we played more sound, obviously, the game was much more difficult and much more challenging just because of the score, but nonetheless those guys really, really played physical and strong inside.

On expectations for onside kicks:

They call those surprise onside kicks for a reason because they are a surprise. Again, after the game, I told the guys, or on Sunday, not saying an ambush, I’m not sure I did a good enough job at really preparing our guys for maybe what we were going to see, and I don’t mean the triple option, we prepared for the triple option, I mean we prepared for what we were going to see for the offense, what they were going to do. Maybe we didn’t play as much, work as much four down stuff, but just not recognizing you know, this is the highest-ranked team to come in since 1984 when they beat South Carolina and all of those things started to kind of recognize and realize that come Friday night ‚Ķ there might be some things that you know, I’m not saying prepared for, but maybe I didn’t pound into their heads well enough, that’s where I am trying to look at for myself, so some of those situations and some of those things, they did three onside kicks, I’m sure they had a couple of fake punts ready for us, give them credit, they had a great game plan and they were going to let everything go.