Since I'm the king of carelessness, having left stuff in the press box before, I know Tulane is one of the only places that does not block access to the press box when it is not in use. The baseball stadium was open for practice this morning, allowing me access to Yulman Stadium, where the wheelchair entrance allows you to get to the press box elevator, bypassing the locked doors.
My tape recorder was on the floor next to my seat.
DARNELL MOONEY
Did you know going into the game you were going to have some openings?
"I feel good every game. It's just the normal. I go and catch the ball. They just kept playing the same way. Leverage wise, they kept on playing to the side and giving me the inside route."
So when you saw how when they were playing, did you have an idea you would be open?
"The first one they didn't play too much inside, but I knew I was going to get open. The second one I had to set up a little bit and veer outside and then come back inside. They just kept giving it to me. Even when I didn't get that ball when we ran that play, they still gave it to me."
You won the last two games with a dominant running game and won today with long touchdown passes. What does that say about this team on a day.
"It just shows that we're good in every aspect of the game. Running wise, passing wise we're good at everything."
ROD TEAMER
The defense played a ton of downs today and had to keep going back out there and ended up with 20 pass breakups. What was the mindset?
"Coming into the game we knew there goal as an offense was to run a lot of plays and air it out. They've gotten a spark in the last couple of weeks starting with a true freshman quarterback, and he's come in making plays for them. We knew we were going to be on the field. We like games where we drive it out and let our offense kind of run the clock. But they get on the field and go tempo and we're out there, we have to get stops. And if our offense gets stopped, we have to go out and make another stop. We are a team."
The last couple of weeks you've had a strong running game. Did you know coming in today this was how it would be?
"Yeah, their last two games they put up 400 yards throwing the ball, so we knew that's what they were going to try to come out and do. Typically in those type of games, it prolongs the game, more stoppages of the clock and things like that, so we knew we were going to be out there regardless of if our offense got going or not. We went into with the mindset we have to play a full four quarters. We went to overtime with those guys last year. We knew they had a strong team."
You looked like you had a pretty good bead on what they were doing on most plays. Did you have a pretty good idea where they were throwing?
"Yeah, our coaches do a great job of giving us tips and reminders, and as the game goes on and teams start making tendencies and getting into their habits, we can figure out what they are going to do."
Before the last time you had to make a stop, you made a terrific play downing a punt at the 2 in the final minute. How big was that?
"It was very important. Obviously they only had one timeout or no timeouts, I'm not sure (they had none), but we wanted to make them go as long as we could down the field. On the play coach Fritz told me just try to get down there and down it if I could, and the punter (Zach Block) did a great job putting it right on me."
What about the job Donnie Lewis did for much of the night defending the league's leading receiver?
"Donnie is a great cornerback. He (Trevon Brown) is a great receiver. He's going to make his plays. Donnie is going to make his plays. We always knew we had to have amnesia. Great players make great plays, and we have to come back and stop them. That's one thing I commend Donnie on. Donnie had to follow him around a couple of times in the game, and he made some catches, but Donnie made some plays as well and he made more plays than (Brown)."
You are one win away from bowl eligibility and also are right there in the AAC West. What are your thoughts about your positioning with two games left?
"It's playoffs. We know what we've got to do. Every week we have to come out and fight. We don't look past anybody. We're not even really looking forward to the bowl game or the conference championship. We are looking forward to playing Houston on Thursday night. If we get that win and get the next win, that's going to put us where we want to get."
What did you think of the targeting call on Patrick Johnson?
"Obviously I haven't had a chance to really look a the penalty or anything like that. We have a lot of guys at that position who can make plays. Carlos Hatcher has sacks this year. Juan Monjarres has sacks this year as well, so we are going to miss Patrick, but those guys are going to step up. I'm confident in them."
How much better is the depth now? You didn't have Cam Sample and played without Patrick Johnson down the stretch and you were still getting tons of pressure.
"You just answered your own question. We were still getting our pass rush, so there isn't too much to talk about there. Juan and Carlos and the rest of the D-line come in and it's next man up."
There quarterback went 21 of 67. I don't think I've ever seen a QB complete that few passes when he throws that many times. How confident is this whole defense right now?
"Our confidence level is increasing with the wins obviously and playing solid football. It's no secret now weeks into the season. Everybody knows that we are going to play man and we are going to try to stop the run. That's our game plan. I've got to commend those young like Willie Langham and Chris Joyce. You saw those guys play significant reps tonight in man to man coverage, and it was 21 completions out of 67. I'm proud of those guys, obviously Donnie on the outside, Jaylon (Monroe) out there, P.J. (Hall) locking up. That's just what we expect of our secondary. We knew they were going to try to throw the ball all around the yard. We had to cover."
JUSTIN MCMILLAN
You had 12 completions for well over 300 yards. What were you seeing?
"I was seeing a lot of matchups. My hat's off to that man right here (Mooney). He's a guy I like throwing to right now. He helps me a lot. He gets open and he's just making my job easy. I can give half of my yards to him for him just making plays and getting the yards after the catch like that. I thank my receivers and my O-line. We had a game plan and it really speaks to how our O-line did. Their D-line is really good. We've seen it on film, and they showed today they are a really good D-line. That's what they pride themselves on. They said they were going to stop the run, so we had to beat them in the air. Darnell did a great job. If I have him one-on-one, I'm going to get him the ball as quick as I can and let him make plays."
Can you talk about the touchdown by Terren Encalade?
"Like I said, my receivers helped me out and my offensive line pretty much gave me a clean, easy job. All I had to do was get the ball in the air and get the ball to my playmakers. It hurt to have Terren go down, but players like Jorrien (Vallien) have to step up. He'll be a great receiver for us."
It seemed like they were so keyed up to stop the run, they left the receivers in one-on-one coverage most of the time.
"Coming after the USF game we had, I probably would have done the same thing. Force McMillan to pass, stop Dauphine and Bradwell and see how well we can do. We're versatile. You can't lock in on the pass or the run. With how dominant our running has been and us not passing much, it's all game plan. If they want to go man, zero coverage, we'll beat them in the air. If they want to go high safety shell with a lot of space and gaps, we are going to gash them. Our offense did a great job today."
My tape recorder was on the floor next to my seat.
DARNELL MOONEY
Did you know going into the game you were going to have some openings?
"I feel good every game. It's just the normal. I go and catch the ball. They just kept playing the same way. Leverage wise, they kept on playing to the side and giving me the inside route."
So when you saw how when they were playing, did you have an idea you would be open?
"The first one they didn't play too much inside, but I knew I was going to get open. The second one I had to set up a little bit and veer outside and then come back inside. They just kept giving it to me. Even when I didn't get that ball when we ran that play, they still gave it to me."
You won the last two games with a dominant running game and won today with long touchdown passes. What does that say about this team on a day.
"It just shows that we're good in every aspect of the game. Running wise, passing wise we're good at everything."
ROD TEAMER
The defense played a ton of downs today and had to keep going back out there and ended up with 20 pass breakups. What was the mindset?
"Coming into the game we knew there goal as an offense was to run a lot of plays and air it out. They've gotten a spark in the last couple of weeks starting with a true freshman quarterback, and he's come in making plays for them. We knew we were going to be on the field. We like games where we drive it out and let our offense kind of run the clock. But they get on the field and go tempo and we're out there, we have to get stops. And if our offense gets stopped, we have to go out and make another stop. We are a team."
The last couple of weeks you've had a strong running game. Did you know coming in today this was how it would be?
"Yeah, their last two games they put up 400 yards throwing the ball, so we knew that's what they were going to try to come out and do. Typically in those type of games, it prolongs the game, more stoppages of the clock and things like that, so we knew we were going to be out there regardless of if our offense got going or not. We went into with the mindset we have to play a full four quarters. We went to overtime with those guys last year. We knew they had a strong team."
You looked like you had a pretty good bead on what they were doing on most plays. Did you have a pretty good idea where they were throwing?
"Yeah, our coaches do a great job of giving us tips and reminders, and as the game goes on and teams start making tendencies and getting into their habits, we can figure out what they are going to do."
Before the last time you had to make a stop, you made a terrific play downing a punt at the 2 in the final minute. How big was that?
"It was very important. Obviously they only had one timeout or no timeouts, I'm not sure (they had none), but we wanted to make them go as long as we could down the field. On the play coach Fritz told me just try to get down there and down it if I could, and the punter (Zach Block) did a great job putting it right on me."
What about the job Donnie Lewis did for much of the night defending the league's leading receiver?
"Donnie is a great cornerback. He (Trevon Brown) is a great receiver. He's going to make his plays. Donnie is going to make his plays. We always knew we had to have amnesia. Great players make great plays, and we have to come back and stop them. That's one thing I commend Donnie on. Donnie had to follow him around a couple of times in the game, and he made some catches, but Donnie made some plays as well and he made more plays than (Brown)."
You are one win away from bowl eligibility and also are right there in the AAC West. What are your thoughts about your positioning with two games left?
"It's playoffs. We know what we've got to do. Every week we have to come out and fight. We don't look past anybody. We're not even really looking forward to the bowl game or the conference championship. We are looking forward to playing Houston on Thursday night. If we get that win and get the next win, that's going to put us where we want to get."
What did you think of the targeting call on Patrick Johnson?
"Obviously I haven't had a chance to really look a the penalty or anything like that. We have a lot of guys at that position who can make plays. Carlos Hatcher has sacks this year. Juan Monjarres has sacks this year as well, so we are going to miss Patrick, but those guys are going to step up. I'm confident in them."
How much better is the depth now? You didn't have Cam Sample and played without Patrick Johnson down the stretch and you were still getting tons of pressure.
"You just answered your own question. We were still getting our pass rush, so there isn't too much to talk about there. Juan and Carlos and the rest of the D-line come in and it's next man up."
There quarterback went 21 of 67. I don't think I've ever seen a QB complete that few passes when he throws that many times. How confident is this whole defense right now?
"Our confidence level is increasing with the wins obviously and playing solid football. It's no secret now weeks into the season. Everybody knows that we are going to play man and we are going to try to stop the run. That's our game plan. I've got to commend those young like Willie Langham and Chris Joyce. You saw those guys play significant reps tonight in man to man coverage, and it was 21 completions out of 67. I'm proud of those guys, obviously Donnie on the outside, Jaylon (Monroe) out there, P.J. (Hall) locking up. That's just what we expect of our secondary. We knew they were going to try to throw the ball all around the yard. We had to cover."
JUSTIN MCMILLAN
You had 12 completions for well over 300 yards. What were you seeing?
"I was seeing a lot of matchups. My hat's off to that man right here (Mooney). He's a guy I like throwing to right now. He helps me a lot. He gets open and he's just making my job easy. I can give half of my yards to him for him just making plays and getting the yards after the catch like that. I thank my receivers and my O-line. We had a game plan and it really speaks to how our O-line did. Their D-line is really good. We've seen it on film, and they showed today they are a really good D-line. That's what they pride themselves on. They said they were going to stop the run, so we had to beat them in the air. Darnell did a great job. If I have him one-on-one, I'm going to get him the ball as quick as I can and let him make plays."
Can you talk about the touchdown by Terren Encalade?
"Like I said, my receivers helped me out and my offensive line pretty much gave me a clean, easy job. All I had to do was get the ball in the air and get the ball to my playmakers. It hurt to have Terren go down, but players like Jorrien (Vallien) have to step up. He'll be a great receiver for us."
It seemed like they were so keyed up to stop the run, they left the receivers in one-on-one coverage most of the time.
"Coming after the USF game we had, I probably would have done the same thing. Force McMillan to pass, stop Dauphine and Bradwell and see how well we can do. We're versatile. You can't lock in on the pass or the run. With how dominant our running has been and us not passing much, it's all game plan. If they want to go man, zero coverage, we'll beat them in the air. If they want to go high safety shell with a lot of space and gaps, we are going to gash them. Our offense did a great job today."