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WKU Football
Postgame ODU
October 25, 2014
Opening Statement
"Obviously it was a very exciting game for us - never a dull moment. As you guys know, that's how it is going to be this year. I'm excited that we won and I'm happy for our guys. I'm happy for our coaches, our players and everybody that put in a lot of hard work to find a way to win. We talked at halftime about going out and giving it our all, believing in ourselves, not second guessing ourselves, playing hard and finding a way to slightly improve and get better."
"While we had our moments where it looked a little hairy, we did. We improved slightly. A few guys stepped up and made plays when we had to. We had a key turnover that got us a touchdown. Our guys fought hard. Obviously it's not the way you draw it up but we found a way to win and I'm happy about it."
On being a part of a wild game such as that
"Yeah, last week. The week before and the week before. I haven't been a part of games like this back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Every game is tight and close. There's never a dull moment and the game is never out of reach, so it is very interesting. I think our guys did improve. I think our defense did improve. Was it a great performance? No, but I do think they played hard. We didn't tackle well, we gave up some big plays so there are things we have to correct."
On defensive performance in the fourth quarter
"They did a very good job. As you guys noticed, they came out in the second half and took the play clock almost to zero every time to slow the game down and not allow us to score as much. Once we got a lead a little bit and had a little control, we worked the clock to try and slow the game down as well. That definitely helped. We've got to do things as a team, as an offense, to help both sides. We wanted to come in the game and establish the run. For a lot of reasons, but one of them is to control the clock a little bit and keep some time of possession. In the first half we didn't have that much time and we still scored fast. We tried to come out in the second half and establish the run and we did a very good job of running the football."
On high-scoring, fast-paced game
"In the second half, they purposefully slowed it down. Once we got a little bit of a little lead, we purposefully slowed it down. That helped shorten the game, shorten the possessions and that helped us win the game."
On comments to Juwan Gardner after his pick-six in fourth quarter
"He did a great job. We had a hard time getting a pass rush. The quarterback stood back there a long time, made a few plays with his feet and had way too much time to throw. Our guys continued to fight through. I think the ball was batted, Juwan was in the right place at the right time and he made a very good run. We had guys hustling down the field to help block, which is great to see. You had guys not giving up on the play. It looked like he was going to get run down from behind but we found a way to score. I think it was a great effort by them and I'm happy they found a way to get better in the fourth quarter.
On confidence win gives team going forward
"It's definitely going to help. We kind of all know it's going to be like that this year. It is what it is. That's what we say all the time. We've got to deal with it and make small strides. I think our offense came out and played very well in the first half. Our defense hung in there. We had some shaky moments early in the second half where it looked like `okay, what's going on here.' But like you guys just said,in the fourth quarter we found a way to make a few plays. They did drive the ball still, we did force them to punt once, which was a key stop. It gave us a chance to get the ball and work the clock."
On Doughty's performance in the first half
"Tremendous performance. We talked before the weekend and said hey `let's just go back to getting completions.' It's hard to say that to someone who is completing at such a high percentage but I think at the end of the last game he got a little greedy here and there trying to force a few plays, which is normal. This game he definitely took care of the ball. He made excellent decisions, he got the ball out of his hand, he made good throws up the field and did a very good job. If the game wasn't slowed down in the second half, he probably would have thrown some more. A very, very good job not only by him but also by the receivers. They made plays. The offensive line, they protected well and run blocked very well also."
WKU Players Press ConferenceRedshirt senior QB Brandon Doughty and redshirt freshman DB Juwan Gardner
On interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter
Gardner: "First off, I want to credit the defense on the interception. It wouldn't have been possible without them. Brandon Leston tipped the ball and it came into my hands. Forrest Coleman and Rico Brown threw key blocks that allowed me to get to the end zone."
On what was going through head during the play
Gardner: "Nothing was going through my mind, I was just thinking about making a play for the team and I had the opportunity and made the most of it."
On scoring 66 points
Doughty: "Well it's a bonus when you've got guys like Juwan Gardner that can make plays in critical times. I think that was a key moment in the game that really turned us around. Having that kickoff return was pretty unbelievable too. It got us pretty hyped up on the sideline. When you don't have to score as much as you need to in the second half, when you're doing it in other ways, that's awesome. I think we made some good run checks. We established the run and that was really key for us."
On envisioning success offense had in game
Doughty: "From the beginning of the season I thought we had a heckuva squad as an offensive group. Our goal was really to score every single time we got the ball. I think it's a realistic goal. We have the talent to do it, we just hurt ourselves sometimes. Tonight, things were clicking. Credit (the defense) for helping up the scoreboard because (Gardner) had that pick-six and special teams also scored so it's a blessing to have those guys on our side."
On setting single-season passing yards and touchdowns records in the win
Doughty: "I think my Dad was more keen on the record than I was. He was talking to me about and saying `you need five touchdowns' - I don't really care. I just want to win the game, you know? I'm really happy we were able to persevere for all four quarters. Our goal this game was to finish. We put up huge numbers in the first half and not finishing in the second half is something that's kind of cursed us."
On establishing the run in the second half
Doughty: "The running game is the quarterback's best friend. You're able to do different things and keep the defense on their toes. When you're throwing 60-70 times a game it's hard. Those guys are just looking for the pass. When you have the threat of the run and we're able to pick up yards, it really helps me out and makes it easy. When you've got receivers like we do, it's like baking cakes back there."
On whether back-and-forth game helps keep offensive rhythm
Doughty: "I think so. I was trying to stress today on the sidelines, the last two games we've gotten a little tight and a little complacent at halftime. My goal tonight was to keep us loose, keep moving around. To be honest, we didn't even have the ball much in the second half because we had the special teams touchdown and we sat there for a while. I don't think we got the ball back until like eight minutes left in the third quarter. That was kind of hard with sitting at halftime and doing all that. We tried to stay loose on the sidelines, stay positive and keep looking at what we had to do to get better."
On how many points he thought it was going to take to win
Doughty: "At one point we were going back-to-back-to-back and going up and down. But like I said, we always try to score the ball as much as we can and not hurt ourselves. I think that's what we did a good job of tonight, not really biting ourselves in the butt and moving the ball a little bit."
ODU Head Coach Bobby Wilder
Postgame Quotes
On the interception return for a touchdown...
There's no question. It was 56-51 and we're about to score and I think that was the turning point in the game. We had battled to get it from 12 points down to five. I think we had done that twice already in the second half. Finally, we got a huge play from our defense with a turnover on the fumble recovery. We thought we were in position to take the lead. Taylor hit Zach Paschal on a big one down to the four.
On that play, the play where the ball slipped out of Taylor's hands, we had a run-pass option combination called. Coach Scott saw the leverage on the corner down here and it was hard inside leverage so he called out and changed it to a fade to Zach and Zach ran a perfect route. It was going to be an easy touchdown. I don't think it would have even been a contested throw.
We were going to score and make it 57-56 and go for two. Unfortunately, the ball slipped out of his hands. I don't even know how to explain it. I don't even know how to explain what happened. I'm at a loss for words about it. It's just one of those freak plays.
On what he told the team in the locker room...
I told them that I was proud of the way we continued to battle in the second half. We've been behind now at the half for four straight games but we just have to keep battling, keep playing, keep trying to get back in the game. We did it against Middle Tennessee, we did it against UTEP, and we did it again today. We put ourselves in a position in the fourth quarter. Our lack of tackling today is what did us in. Our inability to make tackles did us in. I was proud of the way we kept battling. Everybody was playing well today on offense. I'm really disappointed for the kids. I'm sick to my stomach.
On where the team stands heading into the Vanderbilt game...
This is a good team right now, but there are times we get overmatched. That's going to happen though. We are working our way into this league. When you see the size differential, particularly in the lines up front, those things are going to happen. The way we kept battling and competing, just gives me the utmost confidence we can win the rest of the games on our schedule.
