Mark Stoops Monday Press Conference
Mark Stoops News Conference
Post-Georgia, Pre-Ohio
September 16, 2024
Opening statement …
“Another difficult weekend for us. Sunday, going in and watching film and throughout the evening Sunday. I guess equally as difficult as last week, but in different ways. You feel like you had a great opportunity to get a victory against a great football team, and just came up short. As I mentioned postgame, I still feel the same way, very proud of our team and the way we responded after a tough week the week prior. I really appreciate the resilience of our team and our coaches to put ourselves in position to win that game. I firmly believe that we had a great plan and we executed the plan very well for the majority of the night to put ourselves in a position to win the game.
“I felt like there was great improvement that we obviously needed to see. I feel much better about the growth and improvement of our team. It just again comes down to finding some ways to make plays in critical moments to pull off a victory. if we can continue to have that attitude, continue to work, then good things are in store for us. One day at a time, one week at a time, and really excited to get our team in here today, review that film, the positives and the negatives, and everything in-between, and move forward to Ohio University.
“It’s a team (Ohio) that is a very good team. Most of the time when I say that most fans don’t believe me, but I think this year you can tell by looking at the MAC (Mid-American Conference) and the very big victories that they’ve had this year, they’re not a joke. People think it’s coach-speak when you sit there and say they’re very – it’s just a good league, good teams, good coaches, this staff has been together a long, long time. This head coach (Tim Albin) I think is going into year four but he’s been there forever. There’s a lot of continuity and they play very well. Extremely balanced on offense, almost 200 (yards per game both rushing and passing), right around there, so very balanced offensively. Defensively, very, very tough. They play very hard. They mix it up up front, play both four down (linemen) and three down, and they make you earn every yard.
“So, it goes back to what I always say, it’s about us. Just like last week, it’s about us and our preparation and what we do throughout the week to put us into a position to win and have confidence by our preparation. It’s back to work and we are looking forward to the opportunity. Again, the crowd that was here last week made an impact and put us in a position to win that game, I wish we could’ve done it for them, we were very close. I look forward to coming back here this weekend.”
On the awareness of fumbles…
“Yeah, we work on all of that. I think I’ve told you before, you realize that. I think in year one or year two we were not very good, we led the country in fumble recoveries. So, seven footballs have been on the ground the last weeks, we haven’t gotten one.”
On the offensive line protection…
“Protection did improve. And I really have to commend the offensive line because the way we ran the ball and play-actioned, you know that’s where we’re going live in that world, right? Straight dropback pass, predictable pass, predictable pass against Georgia is not pretty for anybody. Not only with the way they pressure but they cover as good as anybody in the country. And a lot of times it’s too high, it’s difficult. You could play with split safeties and have the corners that they do, the matchups that they do, there are very short windows in there. We tried, and people think, we were very balanced and we attacked and we tried to hit them a lot and to their credit they take it away. We had some, but we obviously didn’t have enough explosive plays but it’s not for a lack of effort. So, overall the protection was better, not perfect. Again, living in that predictable pass situation, there’s still too many sacks and the balls bouncing all over the place, and that’s something we have to get cleaned up.”
On when Courtland Ford is going to be available…
“No, I don’t.”
On the conversation about Brock Vandagriff running…
“I think if you watch every press conference, which I’m sure you don’t have time to do, but if you watch every press conference in the NFL or in college, somebody probably gets asked that question about their quarterback, right? NFL, they’re constantly talking about protecting them and doing that and so are we. It’s part of the game. I think if you tell them to be too cautious or don’t do this or don’t do that, they’re not going to play the game. They have to play the game. Of course we want our quarterback protected and smart but we want them to play ball. In that game once again, he showed great awareness, very good pocket presence and really was tough as nails, ran for some really tough yards.”
On having some success in the run game…
“I think it just mixing it up, being creative in the run game. Obviously you’ve seen us, trying to hit the perimeter a lot, you see us in zone schemes but gap schemes have been effective for us and being creative in formations as well. So, just not being predictable and that’s what we go back to the week before and winning the pre-snap of all the different eye candy — shifts, motions, you could tell we were much more efficient in this game than we were the week before. And that’s part of the things I keep on harping on, was our focus, our discipline, our execution. It’s focus, disciplined execution that’s going to put you in position to win those games. And we did that much better in this game.”
On third down execution on defense…
“Yeah, I thought we mixed it up good, Coach (Brad) White really did a nice job. We mixed it up, we were much more effective in getting off the field in some tough ones, in some third-and-threes, third-and-fours. They converted one on third-and-four, we were in man, had a great back shoulder (throw) against Max (Maxwell Hairston), that’s a tough play, but we did win some good matchups as well, got some really good pressure on them. We made him uncomfortable, (Georgia quarterback) Carson Beck is, I would expect him to be one of several in New York (for the Heisman ceremony). He’s that kind of player and he’s just a really good player and we made him uncomfortable at times and I think that’s key.”
On the importance of the offense finishing drives with touchdowns…
“Well, I think it’s super important, to finish, get some touchdowns. You have to do it however you have to do it, we’re one field goal away from beating the number one team in the country too, so you know however we have to get it done, we have to get it done.”
On what the staff saw in Demie Sumo-Karngbaye as a running back…
“He definitely had to put in some work because he was a little bit in-between a year ago. We had Ray (Davis) and we used Demie in the slot some, we used him in a variety of ways, and this year we knew we needed a full commitment from him to be a great running back and I think you’re seeing growth there. Jamarion Wilcox also ran very hard, you saw a guy that has the talent that you’ve heard me talk about, and you know we’ve been leaning on him for the accountability piece and doing things right all the time. He really improved, had a great week of practice, and I’m proud of him the way he stepped in and competed as well, but Demie had some tough yards and really played well. Again, give the o-line credit because I think there was a lot of improvement in that area.”
On facing a big running back in Anthony Tyus III and the problem that causes…
“Yeah but they still, they spread it out quite a bit, I think they want to get rid of it and throw it quick and also run it from spread formations. They’re either spread out in two by two, three by one or they bring the ‘Y’ in and attach him, but they’re balanced. I think it’s like two hundred, two hundred (200 yards per game rushing and passing), so that’s pretty good, that’s pretty efficient. Defensively, again, they make you earn it, they play extremely hard and they’re sound, so the MAC has done very well this year. This team (Ohio) has won back- to-back bowl games, if I’m not mistaken, and 10 games for two years in a row, and beat a heck of an Iowa State team a year ago, so we have to go play good football, but that’s what we want, right? We play great competition every week and we want to continue to build on the good things that we did a week ago, even in the loss. I saw growth and I saw guys, you know a lot of positive behavior in practice and they responded, I challenged them, and they responded in a good way, so hopefully we’ll continue to grow. I told them in the summer, preparation doesn’t guarantee you results, but it guarantees you growth, and I think you saw that.”
On player leadership after a tough loss…
“I think it is very important, that is the response we are looking for and the leadership we are looking for. I’ll be honest, let’s not kid ourselves, it was a challenging week (last week) I think I said that postgame. It was a challenging week, none of us were very happy, we’re still not happy, we’re not happy because we lost by one. Make no mistake about it, but again we’re happy with growth and happy with the response. I’m happy with the improvement that we made, that’s what I’m looking for. Yeah, I wanted to win the game, heck, that’s what we are here for. I am pleased and if we continue to take that attitude and have that leadership and that growth, we’ll find the results we are looking for.”
On if any plays will be submitted to the league office…
“Absolutely.”
On if there is any clarity on those plays…
“I get very frustrated but 50 grand is 50 grand (laughter). I get pissed enough I can afford it (laughter). It doesn’t do you any good because honestly we are having fun (at the press conference). When people see the whole content of our conversations and when I say things tongue-in-cheek and having fun that is one thing but then everybody grabs it out of it and just takes that little blurb, right? Say I’m whining and crying about calls and everything so nah, it is what it is. No really, after 12 years I did realize that. I can completely lose my mind if I just hang onto every little thing. Just like the ball bouncing around seven times and we can’t get an interception that we have that leads to a field goal. We just have to make the plays. There are no excuses, the officials are going to make mistakes as well. We have to overcome those things. It is what it is.”
On if you have received an explanation on the pick six being reversed…
“I have not received that back yet, and when I do I am just not allowed to share that with you. I had to learn that the hard way early on. I’m not even allowed to give you the explanation they give me.”
On the chemistry between Brock and the receivers…
“They are playing hard and the opportunities are tough when you are playing great teams like that. You have to make the most of every one of them. I think yes, clearly both of those passes could have been catches, and should have been, but they are working hard and doing some really good things. It is not easy for those wideouts either right now. There are times when they are open and busting their tail and running as fast as they can, time and time again, and not getting the protection or can’t get it to them. That happens in football. You just have to stay the course, you don’t know when that one opportunity will present itself.”
On play of the safeties looking cleaner…
“Yep, a little cleaner. Zion (Childress), he played a very good game. The nice thing about him, is we’re putting him in that position at the medium where it really triggers, he sees things, he trusts it, and is playing good there or at safety. Just an instinctual guy that’s making some plays. The defense in general played extremely hard. There’s still a lot of little things are going to happen with how precise we want certain movements, certain games, getting that all in, getting it all communicated, getting checks to all the different formations. There’s a lot, and we have to continue to grow. We could’ve even played better. That’s what’s crazy. Just being a little more precise with certain things. But, our guys care, and I like the way they really prepared and dug back.”
On the importance of Jamarion Wilcox with only two scholarship backs available…
“No doubt, no doubt. We had to put that pressure on because we needed him, so he had to respond in a positive way. I think he has. It’s consistency we’re looking for. He has the ability, and he’s got to continue to grow, so he knows all the protections, all the nuances. Again, there’s a ton that we do pre-snap. There’s a lot going into it, and he’s just got to continue to be in tune with those things. But I’m happy, I’m proud for him and happy for him, that he responded and really had some tough runs against a very good defense. So, I was happy for him.”
On the coaches keeping up the confidence of the offense…
“Well, we’ve got to continue to do that. And here’s the thing, we’re a team, right? And we have to complement each other. The offense did some amazing things, starting with the first drive of the game. They’re on the half yard-line and go 10 plays out to the, darn near midfield. By the way, we do get sacked and fumbled, we just recover it, but we punt, get that field position, it leads to three points.
“I don’t take offense to the criticism on not going for it (in the fourth quarter). Again, I told the coaches on the headset on first [down], I had every intention of going for it. I wish we would’ve gained some yards and had a manageable third down, a manageable fourth down. But, you’ve got to realize, in that same zone, on the plus 48 (yard line), I want to say we had two sack fumbles—one sack and one sack, and then the next one went back from the plus…think about if we get three there. Think about if Coach Stoops goes conservative and we just run it three plays in a row and kick the field goal there, right? Again, if you’re going to report this, report the whole damn thing, you know what I mean? (laughter) But, if we would’ve just went… how many people are saying ‘Hey Coach Stoops, you’re dumb. We had the ball on the plus 47, why didn’t you just pound it three more times?’ We’re moving the ball really good against a good defense, what if we’d gotten those three, instead of gotten sacked, instead of gotten sack fumble, and went all the way back to the 22 on the other side? Think about that swing. Nobody talks about that, do they? You know what I mean? So, when I had the ball three times around the same zone, went negative, negative, and on second down damn near had a fumble, third down damn near had a fumble, we got to that point by playing field position and playing defense. We had a chance to win that game just the way we played it. We came up a play or two short, I stand by that.”
On if Coach Stoops regrets not running the ball on the late drive…
“Yeah, I do. I do. And again, I don’t put handcuffs on the play caller. I want him to feel good and feel comfortable. I’ll say this, before the one that went back to the 22, I said on the headsets prior to it beforehand, ‘Hey, this is going to be one of those games.’ You know what I mean, those are tough yards, man. Don’t take negative yardage plays and turnovers. And, it’s not his fault, but that’s who you’re playing. That’s where you’re getting in the danger zone. So, the recipe was right, especially with the way we ran it. And again, we took our shots. It’s a lot like NFL football. You watch NFL football, they make hay on first and second down. You give those beasts time to bear down on you in predictable pass, nobody’s comfortable, especially with the situation we’re in right now. And so, we only had three explosive plays out of 78, so all of a sudden we’re just supposed to convert a fourth and eight like it’s nothing? I mean, second and third damn near were disasters. So, yes, in hindsight, what if we’d of grinded it out there and got it to a manageable third down? We were very efficient, extremely efficient, in third and short and third and medium. Really, the only one we made, we made one really nice pass to Dane (Key), and then the completely ad-lib scramble, fluke, that’s not going to happen all the time. So, that’s where we needed to live, live in that world. I think we were three for three, sorry four for four, in third and two or three or two or one, which is pretty good against that defense. And again, I’m not trying to be defensive, I’m just trying…when you just see one play…watch the game, watch the whole game, like we watch it on film, and what you’re in, the situation you’re in, that’s all I’m going to ask, watch it.”
On if Chip Trayanum is available…
“He’s not available this week.”
Is he close?
“Not available this week.”
On if Jager Burton is available…
“He’ll be listed as the same as last week. I think he wanted to play and was working hard. So, he’s on the depth chart this week. It’s not a league game but we’ll do the same probably. He’ll be probable to be questionable. Last week we really did have two guys that went down to the game-time decision. I don’t think we want to make a living out of doing that, but we really did, we had two guys that went to game time. I’ve got to give a shoutout to (Gerald) Mincey for playing, I was very unsure whether he would play and he played his tail off, gave it everything he has. And the same with Maxwell Hariston, wasn’t feeling great with his shoulder and just played through it, and really played good. So, I appreciate the effort. We aren’t ever going to let anyone play injured but they were banged up.”
On punting game…
“Yeah, that’s one of the best punters in the country (Georgia punter Brett Thorson), if not the (best). So, there was a little discrepancy there but we still held up with our field position, with the offense being efficient. Like I said, in a game like that, we are not
getting the explosives we want, not getting in the end zone. But I mean those are massive plays when you get from the negative-1 (UK’s own one-yard line) to fifty and flip that. So, I think that has helped. The fact that we had 23 first downs against that team, it’s helped. Again, going back to my other point, to that point in time we were very efficient in getting first downs if we don’t get any (when) we’re backed up, we aren’t built in a predictable pass against Georgia to go the length of the field. We are not built for that at all. But getting 23 first downs (is) a heck of a deal and holding them to that point, I think 10. So I am playing percentages, I thought that was the way to win the game. Had it gotten third-and-three, third-and-four, fourth-and-three, fourth-and-four, different story.”
On making your own luck…
“No, you trying to make me insane, more insane? (laughter) Should say more, let me clarify. No, you know, it is what it is. You have to make your own luck at some point in time. So, the ball will bounce your way eventually and you just have to keep on believing and grinding. If we put ourselves in position and do the things we did a week ago, and continue to build on that, and then ball will bounce our way eventually.”
On Coach Hamdan’s teams at Boise State being one of the best in the nation at fourth-down conversions and communications with him about going for it or not…
“It gets down to the situation, everything is different and manageable. No disrespect at all, I don’t mean this in any way, but we are playing Georgia. You know what I mean? Not somebody from the Mountain West. There’s a difference there, so you just have to know what the situation is.”
On the defense not think and react but just playing the game…
“Well, I was really proud of the response. Because again, as I keep going back, but we have to learn. Right? We have to learn. We have to grow. We always do and I am very proud of the way they responded and played extremely hard. If we are a little more precise, we have a really good chance to win that game. Those are the plays we have to make. So, I am very proud of them but I am hanging on to the one or two that we didn’t play right. And that bothers me.”
