Texas Tech University Athletics
Football Press Conference Recap
September 22, 2003 | Football
Player/Coach Quotes
Linebacker Sione Havili
On if the defense seems to be correcting the problems each week only to have new ones come up:
"I think it's a matter of execution. In the first two quarters of every game we have only given up 10 points and we ran the same plays in the second half and obviously there have been more points scored and more yards, so its just a matter of executing, being more mentally tough and physically conditioned."
On what the team's confidence is like:
"We are still very confident. I think personally as a team we felt that physically we were a lot better than the last team we played but there were just a lot of things that didn't go our way and the only people to blame were ourselves because we had two weeks and we were ready in regards to planning and the fact of not overcoming adversities and the ball not going our way and us not reacting to it, that is just our own fault."
On whether it was frustrating to see the offense drive so much and not score:
"Yes in a sense, but we knew there would be a time when the offense wouldn't score and that is our time to step it up and we didn't do it at the time. We felt good in the first half; we only allowed seven points and in the second half we had the same plays, but a lot of mental breakdowns and mental mistakes."
Linebacker Mike Smith
On whether the game against NC State was reminiscent of the Colorado game:
"In a way it was. Our defense played really well the first half but we had problems with the second half. We just need to get that taken care of and right now we don't know if it is mental toughness or just getting tired from being on the field so much. Its something we need to work through, we have a great defense and some great players but we need to work through that and be a better defense."
On if it was frustrating to hold one of the top offenses in the country to seven points in the first half:
"It is really frustrating. We had two weeks to prepare for them and they didn't do anything we haven't seen before and we just had a couple of package mistakes. We have stuff we need to work through; we are a young defense and they have to learn to stay with their responsibilities and it's going to take some time to work things out."
On whether they are defensively expecting a similar offensive team in Ole Miss:
"It will probably be around the same thing. They are probably going to do the draw that NC State did, but they have some very quick backs that aren't that big; they are very shifty. It should be a great game for our defense."
On the defense and their performance:
" I feel like every week we are getting better, we have problems in the second half right now, but in the first half we played really well and we are a really good defense, but we need to learn to play like that all four quarters. Each week we are doing better and as the season continues we should become a really great defense."
Quarterback BJ Symons
On whether this Saturday can come quick enough:
"I don't think so at this point, I wish it would, but at the same time we have a big week of preparation ahead of us. It was a tough loss but after watching the film and getting to work out a little bit, it's pretty much behind everyone."
On how frustrating it was to get down in their territory and not score:
"Its very frustrating, especially when we were pretty much doing things at will in the middle of the field and had eight possessions inside the 30 and didn't score. It was really frustrating to not take advantages of opportunities we had, but you learn from mistakes and hopefully in the future we will be able to take it all the way."
On how frustrating it was to do things in this game that the team doesn't usually do, e.g. punt return, dropped balls, etc.:
"If you look all the way around the game we really hurt ourselves and when you play on the road against a tough team you really have to create your own breaks and we did the opposite of that. If you want to win on the road, you can't do those things; you have to be very sound when it comes to turnovers, kicking game, and special teams. I had a crucial fumble, interception, punt block - things like that you can't do and we did. The penalties in the red zone, sacks - we really hurt ourselves and that is what hurts the most. We had the opportunities there and we didn't execute ourselves, but we have to move on."
On whether he imagined throwing for 586 yards and the outcome of the game:
"No, I didn't. I always said the biggest key stat is wins and losses and what's on the scoreboard and that was evident in this game. All the yards are just window dressing if you don't win the game and that is what happened. It is kind of hard to fathom that that's the way the game went. We were getting the ball on the 20 or even farther back than that most of the game and pretty much finished most of our drives towards the other end of the field which shows you we were moving the ball every time we got it, we just weren't scoring. The yards were there, but the key stat is the points weren't there."
Head Coach Mike Leach
On the NC State game this weekend:
"It was a strange game. You have one of the nations most powerful offenses and you manage to hold them to 162 yards in the first half and then all that production on offense without getting paid, that was a surprise. Ultimately, the biggest thing that hurt us was ourselves with penalties and turnovers."
On taking a lot of the heat for the outcome of the game this weekend:
"I am ultimately responsible for our preparation and playing tight together and all three sides rising together and we really didn't do that. We play well defensively for a while and then we play well on offense and we just never really brought it together. I think part of it is that we need to learn to overcome adversity. We hit adversity early and we need to learn to over come that, and to play better and to weight it out."
On whether this was the curse of the non-conference road game:
"I'm mystified by the whole deal. We did some things that I don't think most other teams could do but then we self destruct to the point that we lose, so it was a strange game."
On how uncharacteristic it was to see some of the mistakes that were made:
"All we need to do is make routine plays. I don't know if there are guys out there trying to do too much or trying to make more out of a situation than there is. All we have to do is make routine plays. If we had made routine plays each time, we would have won. They deserve a lot of credit for how they play and how they coach. You can't go in there and try to make more happen, you just need to make the routine play and if you can make the routine play every time you are going to be a hard team to beat."
On whether anything sticks out in his mind about Ole Miss:
"They are physical and fast. They are a good team, a good solid SEC team."
