Mike Bloomgren Press Conference Quotes
9/6/2022 4:28:00 PM | Football
Opening Statement
"Looking back on the game, I thought it was everything that we thought it was going to be. It was as advertised in terms of a great college football atmosphere and a really cool venue. We played an outstanding and well-coached football team. Lincoln (Riley) had his team ready. It was an outstanding football performance by their football team. It was something that I haven't seen from the quarterback position, in terms of efficiency, probably since I was on the sideline with Andrew Luck.
With that being said, the result is disappointing. We put a lot into it. I thought that our players prepared incredibly well. I thought they did everything that we asked them to do through training camp. As we know, all that guarantees you is your best chance. Unfortunately, we didn't really give our best shot. That's what I wanted from these guys. I wanted them to go out and perform and do their best. Looking back I don't think that's in any way their best effort.
We had the score tied 7-7 and there were a lot of good things. Then there were some calls that maybe didn't go our way. But that's a part of football. Then there was a play that really changed the composure of the game on the pick-six. Again, it was our best players. One throwing the ball to another one. It's a catch that we normally make that, unfortunately, got tipped up in the air and went back. As we know, the football is a weird-shaped ball that bounces funny. That day, it bounced funny for us. The thing I told our team is that we have to learn from it. We have to continue to prepare the right way and do things the right way and be able to go forward.
We all know, that the biggest growth that you have as a football team is between game one and game two. We've got to make that our reality this week. That's what I think our team is completely committed to doing. The guys had 6:15 a.m. meetings this morning and they didn't come in like a bunch of 18-to-23-year-old college kids. They came in ready to learn. They attacked it the right way and I think we're going to have a good practice this afternoon. That's what I'm looking forward to as we prepare for this opportunity this weekend.
It's our home opener in historic Rice Stadium celebrating the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's speech and getting to play the game we love in front of our friends and family. There's a lot to be excited about. We learned from the film yesterday and we've moved on."
On playing McNeese:
"We're playing a good team. That's what we can't look past. I think Coach (Gary) Goff in his first year has brought in 58 transfers. They went up there and played the FCS team that played in the National Championship game last week in Montana State. They had a chance to tie it right before halftime, and then that game got away from them. Coach Goff has done great every place that he's been. I look at what he did at Valdosta State last year, taking that team to the National Championship game and then a day later he takes over as McNeese's head coach. I can only imagine that he hasn't had a chance to breathe since that day. In any case, he's building a great program and we're excited to have them come into our place this weekend."
What did he like best from the USC game?
"I liked that we went in there and we weren't big-eyed. I like that we went in there from the start and we played good football. (USC) scored a touchdown and they're a dynamic offense. They go down the field and they score. I walked over to the offense and said 'It's our turn. Let's go get one.' And they did. So I think the ability to do that and not have the moment be too big for us was huge. Now, again, when things started snowballing, it was really tough. One other thing that I thought was really good was our ability to run the rock. Especially in the first half when we were able to keep them honest. I think any time you play a Power 5 team and you go goal-line, and you pretty much walk into the end zone, that's a good thing. That's guys doing their job and being very physical. There's a lot of positives. Another thing is that it is as well as we've played on special teams in recent memory. To the point where you'd say we beat that talented team on special teams. At least that is really good to see Tim Horn kick two balls that were touchbacks and then the one they chose to return, we tackled them at the 16-yard line on a great play by Litchfied (Ajavon). Punting the football, we did a great job. Our coverage unit did a great job on that. We averaged 40.5 yards a punt. Just unbelievable effort on all phases of special teams. Juma (Otoviano) had two really good returns. I'm really pleased with the progress we made on special teams. We need that to continue and then we need the offense and defense to play the way we're capable of."
"Looking back on the game, I thought it was everything that we thought it was going to be. It was as advertised in terms of a great college football atmosphere and a really cool venue. We played an outstanding and well-coached football team. Lincoln (Riley) had his team ready. It was an outstanding football performance by their football team. It was something that I haven't seen from the quarterback position, in terms of efficiency, probably since I was on the sideline with Andrew Luck.
With that being said, the result is disappointing. We put a lot into it. I thought that our players prepared incredibly well. I thought they did everything that we asked them to do through training camp. As we know, all that guarantees you is your best chance. Unfortunately, we didn't really give our best shot. That's what I wanted from these guys. I wanted them to go out and perform and do their best. Looking back I don't think that's in any way their best effort.
We had the score tied 7-7 and there were a lot of good things. Then there were some calls that maybe didn't go our way. But that's a part of football. Then there was a play that really changed the composure of the game on the pick-six. Again, it was our best players. One throwing the ball to another one. It's a catch that we normally make that, unfortunately, got tipped up in the air and went back. As we know, the football is a weird-shaped ball that bounces funny. That day, it bounced funny for us. The thing I told our team is that we have to learn from it. We have to continue to prepare the right way and do things the right way and be able to go forward.
We all know, that the biggest growth that you have as a football team is between game one and game two. We've got to make that our reality this week. That's what I think our team is completely committed to doing. The guys had 6:15 a.m. meetings this morning and they didn't come in like a bunch of 18-to-23-year-old college kids. They came in ready to learn. They attacked it the right way and I think we're going to have a good practice this afternoon. That's what I'm looking forward to as we prepare for this opportunity this weekend.
It's our home opener in historic Rice Stadium celebrating the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's speech and getting to play the game we love in front of our friends and family. There's a lot to be excited about. We learned from the film yesterday and we've moved on."
On playing McNeese:
"We're playing a good team. That's what we can't look past. I think Coach (Gary) Goff in his first year has brought in 58 transfers. They went up there and played the FCS team that played in the National Championship game last week in Montana State. They had a chance to tie it right before halftime, and then that game got away from them. Coach Goff has done great every place that he's been. I look at what he did at Valdosta State last year, taking that team to the National Championship game and then a day later he takes over as McNeese's head coach. I can only imagine that he hasn't had a chance to breathe since that day. In any case, he's building a great program and we're excited to have them come into our place this weekend."
What did he like best from the USC game?
"I liked that we went in there and we weren't big-eyed. I like that we went in there from the start and we played good football. (USC) scored a touchdown and they're a dynamic offense. They go down the field and they score. I walked over to the offense and said 'It's our turn. Let's go get one.' And they did. So I think the ability to do that and not have the moment be too big for us was huge. Now, again, when things started snowballing, it was really tough. One other thing that I thought was really good was our ability to run the rock. Especially in the first half when we were able to keep them honest. I think any time you play a Power 5 team and you go goal-line, and you pretty much walk into the end zone, that's a good thing. That's guys doing their job and being very physical. There's a lot of positives. Another thing is that it is as well as we've played on special teams in recent memory. To the point where you'd say we beat that talented team on special teams. At least that is really good to see Tim Horn kick two balls that were touchbacks and then the one they chose to return, we tackled them at the 16-yard line on a great play by Litchfied (Ajavon). Punting the football, we did a great job. Our coverage unit did a great job on that. We averaged 40.5 yards a punt. Just unbelievable effort on all phases of special teams. Juma (Otoviano) had two really good returns. I'm really pleased with the progress we made on special teams. We need that to continue and then we need the offense and defense to play the way we're capable of."
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