Tulane made enough early mistakes that it would have been in trouble against a better team, but you have to start somewhere to end a skid and the Wave dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage. If it cuts out the mistakes and wins at East Carolina next Saturday--requiring better pass defense than we have seen to this point-- running the table is possible. Army's strengths play into Tulane's strengths. Tulsa is good but hardly great and not nearly as sophisticated in the passing game as Houston, SMU and UCF. Memphis has one of the worst defenses in AAC history in what could be a very high scoring season finale.
WILLIE FRITZ
"This is the first time I've looked forward to coming in here and talking to you guys. It's not your fault. It's my fault. We didn't play great, but he kids kept fighting through. We had some unforced turnovers and some silly penalties at times, but we needed to get back on track and get the W and feel good about things. Any time you hold anybody to three points, I don't care if the quarterback's out or not, that's doing a good job. We played poorly in the kicking game early and then we kind of calmed down there a little bit, and offensively we were able to run and throw. What put us behind the chains once in a while was getting a sack or a holding call. If we could clean those things up, I think we could have put up 60 points on these guys. The big stat for us was 7 of 11 on third-down conversions and they were 4 of 16 on third-down conversions and also 0 of 2 on fourth. Good job by our team on third downs and doing a much better job than what we've done the last few weeks."
On defense bouncing back after three bad games:
"It was very refreshing. I realize their quarterback did not play today and he's good, but this day in age it's hard to hold anybody to 3 points. It's very difficult, especially at the college level. They have had some good players over there. They have a couple of pros. Scouts called me this week and were talking about a couple of their guys. I think it's good back, No. 13 (Re Mahn Davis, who had 15 yards on 10 carries). No. 1 (Branden Mack, who had three catches for 54 yards) is a big-time receiver. They had a good solid offensive line, but our guys really dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I don't know if anybody's said this or not, but this is the first time Tulane's beaten Temple since 1934 (season) in the Sugar Bowl, so a couple years. I always find these stats out every once in a while and I'm like, 'Oh, God almighty.'" I'm glad nobody told me before the game."
On Michael Pratt's poise after offense's early miscues:
"He's got tremendous poise. He plays way beyond his years. There were a few plays early on he would probably have liked to have had back, but he really plays with a lot of poise and he's into the game. It doesn't surprise me because he prepares all week. It's really interesting. The guys that really put a whole lot into it and prepare, they seem to play well when you get there on Saturday. The guys you have to get up there, they sometimes struggle, so it doesn't surprise me that he plays extremely well."
On defense getting stops after two early turnovers:
"Huge, because we haven't been doing a good job of that, particularly on third down. I think they started seeing midway through the second quarter that if we did a good job of tackling and playing with leverage, they got us a couple times on speed sweeps and quick screens through the perimeter that we just didn't leverage as well as we needed to. I think our guys started seeing that hey, man, if we do a good job on these few plays, we are going to have a chance to really get after them. I was happy with the defense. We've had a couple of tough games against really good offensive teams in SMU and UCF. They bounced back today in a big way."
On Duece Watts going over 100 yards:
"He's getting better and better each week. The big thing for him is his sophomore year over there at Jones (Community College), he got banged up a little bit. I think they had some quarterback difficulties and didn't really throw the ball much, so this is really the first time he's been in an offense that's running pro routes. I really like what we do. I don't get to watch much pro football, but when I do I'll see different route concepts that we're running. He's starting to understand what he needs to do and prepare during the week. He's got all the talent in the world. He's tall, he's long, he's fast, he's got good hands, and when he knows what to do, he can be an excellent receiver in this league."
On having dominant game on tape to show team what it is capable of:
"It's big for us. We love having a win. I love having a win where we can show mistakes we made that are correctable, and we had a bunch of them. We're going to get better, and in order for us to keep winning, we can't make mistakes like this, and our guys know that, but it sure does feel good to have a win. We needed it, and it's been a little while. We've had some tough, heartbreaking losses, so it's great to have the W and learn from a win rather than learning from a loss."
MICHAEL PRATT
On connection with Duece Watts:
"Just the game plan going in was big. I love having him backside X. I know he's capable of making big time plays, and we work all day in practice and the chemistry between us has grown every day. That's just built a lot of confidence and opened up a lot of opportunities for us."
On getting first win:
"It feels great. We've had a lot of adversity in a lot of different ways. Today, just coming out and competing and executing our game plan was huge. A huge shoutout to the defense just getting a ton of stops and giving us the opportunity to get out there and do what we're capable of doing. It was huge for us and it all just came together."
On his improvement:
"Every week just the comfort level has gone up. Coach (Will) Hall has done a great job of preparation. I definitely think every week the game starts getting easier and easier and it really starts to slow down for us and allows us to make blitz checks, things that I can see, that coach Hall doesn't necessarily have to signal in. Just every week we get more on the same page. We talk about things on the sideline and it's just all coming together."
Bouncing back from offensive mistakes early:
"Just confidence in our guys. That's football. That's how things go. You know you're not going to make every play that you have. I'm not going to complete every ball that's open. Receivers aren't going to catch every single ball, but you've just got to keep your composure and that's what we did. We got a lot of opportunities and we just started capitalizing on them. It came together and we were able to execute really well."
TDs last three series:
"It was great. It build a lot of confidence and just the character of our guys. The defense was getting stops. We'd score and then we were quick to get back out there. We'd have the momentum going and we executed all our plays and that was it was. We had a lot of fun doing it. That's was the biggest thing. Once we get in our groove and start executing and doing the things we're supposed to do every time, we just have a lot of fun out there. The game takes care of itself."
On play of defense:
"It was awesome. I have a lot of faith in these guys. The energy that we give them and they give to us. When the offense plays well, the defense tends to play well. We just have to mutually stay on the same page and feed off of each other. The defense was just out there balling. We had some struggles early on and the defense didn't let off the gas. That was really gave us the opportunity to start making some big-time plays and boosting our confidence."
On students at game:
"It was awesome. Hopefully we can keep getting more people in and just having more of a game experience."
On comfort factor growing:
'Like I said, every week the biggest thing is the game just slows down. Just building experience and getting in the film room and seeing the things I could have done better or if we had a play that might get 4 yards on a run but if we would have checked to this, we could have scored. Something like that. Those are the things that we see on film, and coach Hall does a really phenomenal job of implementing those things into our mind and speaking over and over and over that when you see it, it's oh, we do this every single day and it makes everything really easy for us."
I will transcribe Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson a little later.
WILLIE FRITZ
"This is the first time I've looked forward to coming in here and talking to you guys. It's not your fault. It's my fault. We didn't play great, but he kids kept fighting through. We had some unforced turnovers and some silly penalties at times, but we needed to get back on track and get the W and feel good about things. Any time you hold anybody to three points, I don't care if the quarterback's out or not, that's doing a good job. We played poorly in the kicking game early and then we kind of calmed down there a little bit, and offensively we were able to run and throw. What put us behind the chains once in a while was getting a sack or a holding call. If we could clean those things up, I think we could have put up 60 points on these guys. The big stat for us was 7 of 11 on third-down conversions and they were 4 of 16 on third-down conversions and also 0 of 2 on fourth. Good job by our team on third downs and doing a much better job than what we've done the last few weeks."
On defense bouncing back after three bad games:
"It was very refreshing. I realize their quarterback did not play today and he's good, but this day in age it's hard to hold anybody to 3 points. It's very difficult, especially at the college level. They have had some good players over there. They have a couple of pros. Scouts called me this week and were talking about a couple of their guys. I think it's good back, No. 13 (Re Mahn Davis, who had 15 yards on 10 carries). No. 1 (Branden Mack, who had three catches for 54 yards) is a big-time receiver. They had a good solid offensive line, but our guys really dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I don't know if anybody's said this or not, but this is the first time Tulane's beaten Temple since 1934 (season) in the Sugar Bowl, so a couple years. I always find these stats out every once in a while and I'm like, 'Oh, God almighty.'" I'm glad nobody told me before the game."
On Michael Pratt's poise after offense's early miscues:
"He's got tremendous poise. He plays way beyond his years. There were a few plays early on he would probably have liked to have had back, but he really plays with a lot of poise and he's into the game. It doesn't surprise me because he prepares all week. It's really interesting. The guys that really put a whole lot into it and prepare, they seem to play well when you get there on Saturday. The guys you have to get up there, they sometimes struggle, so it doesn't surprise me that he plays extremely well."
On defense getting stops after two early turnovers:
"Huge, because we haven't been doing a good job of that, particularly on third down. I think they started seeing midway through the second quarter that if we did a good job of tackling and playing with leverage, they got us a couple times on speed sweeps and quick screens through the perimeter that we just didn't leverage as well as we needed to. I think our guys started seeing that hey, man, if we do a good job on these few plays, we are going to have a chance to really get after them. I was happy with the defense. We've had a couple of tough games against really good offensive teams in SMU and UCF. They bounced back today in a big way."
On Duece Watts going over 100 yards:
"He's getting better and better each week. The big thing for him is his sophomore year over there at Jones (Community College), he got banged up a little bit. I think they had some quarterback difficulties and didn't really throw the ball much, so this is really the first time he's been in an offense that's running pro routes. I really like what we do. I don't get to watch much pro football, but when I do I'll see different route concepts that we're running. He's starting to understand what he needs to do and prepare during the week. He's got all the talent in the world. He's tall, he's long, he's fast, he's got good hands, and when he knows what to do, he can be an excellent receiver in this league."
On having dominant game on tape to show team what it is capable of:
"It's big for us. We love having a win. I love having a win where we can show mistakes we made that are correctable, and we had a bunch of them. We're going to get better, and in order for us to keep winning, we can't make mistakes like this, and our guys know that, but it sure does feel good to have a win. We needed it, and it's been a little while. We've had some tough, heartbreaking losses, so it's great to have the W and learn from a win rather than learning from a loss."
MICHAEL PRATT
On connection with Duece Watts:
"Just the game plan going in was big. I love having him backside X. I know he's capable of making big time plays, and we work all day in practice and the chemistry between us has grown every day. That's just built a lot of confidence and opened up a lot of opportunities for us."
On getting first win:
"It feels great. We've had a lot of adversity in a lot of different ways. Today, just coming out and competing and executing our game plan was huge. A huge shoutout to the defense just getting a ton of stops and giving us the opportunity to get out there and do what we're capable of doing. It was huge for us and it all just came together."
On his improvement:
"Every week just the comfort level has gone up. Coach (Will) Hall has done a great job of preparation. I definitely think every week the game starts getting easier and easier and it really starts to slow down for us and allows us to make blitz checks, things that I can see, that coach Hall doesn't necessarily have to signal in. Just every week we get more on the same page. We talk about things on the sideline and it's just all coming together."
Bouncing back from offensive mistakes early:
"Just confidence in our guys. That's football. That's how things go. You know you're not going to make every play that you have. I'm not going to complete every ball that's open. Receivers aren't going to catch every single ball, but you've just got to keep your composure and that's what we did. We got a lot of opportunities and we just started capitalizing on them. It came together and we were able to execute really well."
TDs last three series:
"It was great. It build a lot of confidence and just the character of our guys. The defense was getting stops. We'd score and then we were quick to get back out there. We'd have the momentum going and we executed all our plays and that was it was. We had a lot of fun doing it. That's was the biggest thing. Once we get in our groove and start executing and doing the things we're supposed to do every time, we just have a lot of fun out there. The game takes care of itself."
On play of defense:
"It was awesome. I have a lot of faith in these guys. The energy that we give them and they give to us. When the offense plays well, the defense tends to play well. We just have to mutually stay on the same page and feed off of each other. The defense was just out there balling. We had some struggles early on and the defense didn't let off the gas. That was really gave us the opportunity to start making some big-time plays and boosting our confidence."
On students at game:
"It was awesome. Hopefully we can keep getting more people in and just having more of a game experience."
On comfort factor growing:
'Like I said, every week the biggest thing is the game just slows down. Just building experience and getting in the film room and seeing the things I could have done better or if we had a play that might get 4 yards on a run but if we would have checked to this, we could have scored. Something like that. Those are the things that we see on film, and coach Hall does a really phenomenal job of implementing those things into our mind and speaking over and over and over that when you see it, it's oh, we do this every single day and it makes everything really easy for us."
I will transcribe Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson a little later.
