Jimbo Fisher and select players met with the media on Monday to look back at Alabama and ahead to Ole Miss at the weekly football press conference inside Kyle Field.
Coach Fisher transcript is below along with video of both Fisher and players Anthony Hines, Jhamon Ausbon, Keldrick Carper and Kellen Mond.
After evaluating the film the other day, looking at the offense, defense, special teams, I thought offensively in the beginning we came out very strong, that we started very fast. A great job with a 17 play drive. Scored two of the first three drives, did a nice job. I thought we had a good balance. Thought the offensive line played better in this game. We had some substantial runs and things they did, and even a couple pulls that Kellen had late where he scrambled, could have been really good runs the other way. So I think they improved very well over the break. Got some continuity. Pass blocked decently well in the game. Got some sacks at the end, but a couple of those are from when you have to throw as much as we did. We had a 3-and-out and then that critical fumble there and then, of course, had a great two-minute drive before the half. I thought the two-minute before the half was very critical, going down, getting points. That's two weeks in a row we've gotten that. Then we come out, got a three and out, missed one throw and then got a touchdown drive. Then we got that critical penalty on that drive. We're going in the fourth quarter, down two scores, and got the ball and your moving. Had a critical first down, did a nice job. Then we got that and they scored and then got it out. Then they got the blocked punt. We come back and score again, but moved the ball well, I thought we did what we did. Not a lot of missed assignments. Missed a throw. Maybe drop a play you could have made, got beat on a block, physically got beat or from technique, but not from assignments. Communication was good, guys' hats were in the right place, making the right calls, doing the right things. From that standpoint, I thought we improved greatly, but against them, a team like Alabama who's scoring at the rate they're scoring at, there's no lapse for anything. You've gotta make plays and they've got good players. We scored 28 points and could've scored a little more. But it wasn't enough.
Defensively, gotta do a better job. They didn't have to punt till the fourth quarter. They got the ball with some good field position, but still the same time. We gotta do a better job of getting off the field on third down. They had some critical third and longs and we didn't tackle in space as well, but they've got good skill guys. It has a lot to do with people and the personnel which they have. Listen, nobody gets those guys on the ground very well out there in those situations. But we got to keep leveraging the ball, practicing those things, working on the pass rush. Gotta get better in the pass rush. Some things we did, created one turnover, got the big interception. Got to get a little bit better in getting off on some of the third down situations. We had some momentum when we were going on offense, could've got a couple stops, would have been critical. Just like offensively, your object is to score every drive. We scored 4 of the first 8, ended up being 5 of the 1st 11 in that regard. But defense has got do a better job that way and just clean some things up. Keep on the blitz pressures. We were bringing pressure, we're almost getting there. But you've got to make sure that coverage stays locked up long enough so that quarterback just has to hold that ball a split second longer so you can get that hit. So it's a combination of things.
Kicking game, very disappointed in how that went. We've been very good in the kicking game. Kick placement, our hang time and kick placements were not where we needed to be. And that's a big part of how you gotta cover kicks. We weren't getting as much hang in our punts or kick offs, which we normally do, but then at the same time on the kickoff coverage we got out of lane discipline had to cut across and what we call 'knife' a couple times and we didn't. We stayed outside, which created the lane. When you fit all those gaps it's just one lane and then the guy's got to criscross over. They did some schemes, we tried to pick and rub him and did that, but then one guy would always get just locked out of that lane. We didn't do a good enough job, and we have to do a better job there. But also, if you can kick it higher, we get more depth and get more height and have a big effect on where we're at and also pin him in the corner with the punt. One of the big ones was in the beginning, a punt placement. Kicked it in the middle of the field again, we were kicking it deep right but we kicked it in the middle, which is very critical for us adjusting because that adjusts the whole coverage over. Then you get pinned when you release certain ways about where the ball is going and that allows you to get pinned and your blocking, which creates lanes going back the other way. We've gotta do a better job of exploding as we block our way out, sometimes not just blocking and absorbing it. You've got to explode as you're going out and getting the block on the run, which allows you to cover how you fan and get to your places. So we'll work on those techniques. That was disappointing because field position in that game was critical. I think we averaged starting on the 22 and they averaged starting on the 47, 48. That was very critical. They did a really good job in that regard. I thought Seth again had two nice kicks in the game, had two field goals. His field goal was a big one before the half.
So we had some opportunities in the game. I thought our kids competed hard in the game. We played hard. Again, Alabama is a very good football team. They're number one, and they can affect you in all three phases and their skill guys—their space guys--do a really good job. You have to get those guys on the ground and that is a big difference. When you look at the numbers, we had good, solid drives defensively. Their skill guys, we had them in position, we just didn't get them on the ground and they would pick up first downs. And they have quite a few of them. They do a good job. They're well-coached. So we'll improve on that, get ready. But again, I thought we improved over the bye week in a lot of little areas. We'll get the special teams part of it cleaned up and get our kickers going back, because we have excellent kickers, cover a little better and get things going.
What can you do during the week to try to fix some of those issues? Can you put more starters in special teams?
There are a lot of starters in there. We keep rotating them, but also how they fit in what they do. And, as I say, there's over half starters on both. We've always believed in playing the best players on special teams. I don't believe that you don't play your starters on special teams. We play the best guys which we have. We rep guys in those positions all year long and in the off week, repping guys that can handle that position, and what that guy's talent level is. So if you look, there are quite a few starters, probably…trying to think on punt…it's seven or eight. I think it's something that range of our starters are on special teams. So you put your best players on special teams, no doubt.
How do you split up your special teams duties and have you always done it that way instead of the dedicated coach? And why is that?
Yeah, because each guy has one time and he can specify. If you take one coach off then you lose a complete position coach from what you got. We overlook it as a group and then each guy is specified. I'm the kickoff specialist, I'm the kickoff return specialist. Guys have done that in the past. We've had three guys on our staff that have been special teams coordinators. So we all sit there as a group when we do, look at it, how we're gonna cover, what we're gonna do in those situations. We spend as much time on special teams as anybody. Actually a lot people don't even practice it on Mondays and we spend over 30 minutes on Monday on special teams getting our schemes in. And then on Thursday, it's about 30 minutes, and it's about 18 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday. So we spend plenty of time, plenty of scheming. It's not that because we've been exceptional in our special teams as far as coverages and things we've been doing. And you know, we didn't do one game, so we're gonna make sure we're doing things right and got the right people in the right places.
With how effective Kellen's been running the ball as of late, how do you balance with him pulling, running the ball, getting those extra yards and being able to protect himself when he takes more hits?
Well, usually when you're running the ball out of the pocket, you don't take the hits you take in the pocket. Because you know when those hits are coming. You may get hit, but you've gotta play the game. If it's committed that you run it, you run it. If you throw it, you throw it. If you hand it, you hand it. Those are all dictated a lot of times by the defense. Certain schemes you can control that moreso on, which we do. You gotta have guys be able just hand it and make your plays, but at the same time it's about what they do on defense. Because that's the way the game's being played now. Now he had some nice throws and we had some really nice runs on RPOs. That's just the way this game is being played now and you have to do it. It's a decision-making game for the quarterback. And the punishment you take out of the pocket I've always said is usually not as drastic is what you take in the pocket. Because those are sometimes the hits you do not see and are confined in a tight area.
Y'all had some struggles last year, and then it changed, and y'all finished the season really strong. So if you think back, what changed? And are you seeing any indications of that this year?
Nothing changed. We just got better in what we did and understood the scheme, and guys being in the system. And like this year, we played some really good football teams. We've got a pretty good football team too, you can see in spurts in which we play. We've got to play more consistent. We've got to get more experience. As you get comfortable and your guys know their roles, and there's a lot of young guys in roles right now that are really growing that I think are getting better. And I think as you practice during the season, you get better. You should get better. You don't practice to endure. The way we practice, we should be getting better each week, and that's what happened last year as we continued to go. We won some really tight games and learned to get over those humps, as our players understand the schemes and what they're able to do.
Following up on the improvement and that sort of thing, when you're evaluating your team, how difficult is it when you look at the three losses that have come against teams that are 17-1 in terms of gauging improvement, gauging consistency, gauging breakdowns, all those things?
To everyone in the public, and coaches too, it's still wins and losses. You gotta win games, but at the same time you gotta be able to see how a young man is getting better and more consistent when you're grade him out. Because each player gets graded out individually. I grade the whole team. I grade the plays. Are the plays there? Are they not there? Can they be executed? Is it something that we're running I call into a dead play? Sometimes the defense has something called or the offense has something to get you. But the things you grade, how much more consistent is he? Then you look at the guy he's playing. Sometimes guys are playing against first-round draft picks, sometimes the guy's not a draft pick. So you've got to judge who his competition level is, how his consistency is, how his steps are, and you've got to stay the course. Because you can see a lot of things that other folks don't and that other folks don't care about. And I don't mean that in disregard. Because listen, fans and people want wins. They want results. They want success. We all do. Coaches do, too. But we have to keep things in perspective of how we're looking at the film and what we see on the film as guys are growing and getting better, and that's how you do it as a coach.
How significant is it to this offense and for this offense moving forward that Jalen Wydermyer's really started becoming a big part of the vertical attack?
It is because you attack the middle of the field. You get third down throws, you get first down throws. And it's another weapon which can take pressure off your wideouts. Those things are always getting there, and he's getting much better, not just in the passing game. He's learning to block better, because he was always a guy that was flexed out. He's learning to put his face on blocks, just like Jace (Sternberger) had to learn. Jace was basically a wide receiver when he came here that was not involved in blocking. By the end of the year he'd become a good blocker. He's evolved into that. You know, we're in that same process as he keeps coming and where he's going, but he's got a chance to be a really, really good football player.
Almost half your rushing yards came in two games against Lamar and Texas State. Are there any guys on the bench that you might look at and put in the rotation other than the two guys you're using?
There's not many other guys there. Cordarrian, that's about it. And also the game, I thought we ran the ball the first three or four drives really well. The game got where it became a two-minute drive. Then we got behind. They scored the first drive of the second half and the game dictated things. I thought we ran the ball much better in that game. If you look at the film and study the film on the runs, he pulled a couple RPOs that he hit Quartney one for about a 14-yard gain. He pulled one and ran down there on the goal line to the one when we scored first, about 12 yards, where if he hands off the counter that was blocked well. I think our running game actually has gotten better in the last two weeks. It doesn't always show as far as by the backs or what's going on, but how the game dictates with the RPO game, sometimes it was gonna get thrown or get ran because of what dictates on defense also. But it's getting better, and we just keep repping these young guys in what we've got because the backs we have right now is him, Kibodi and Cordarrian. That's the tailbacks we have.
Could Cordarrian see more playing time?
We'll see. He missed a week of practice a week ago, he had a family issue that he wasn't involved in practice because of just a family thing he had to take care of. That was nothing on his part. And he missed a week.
How close do you feel like this team is to kind of flipping that switch and righting some of these wrongs to make these plays?
I don't think there's as many wrongs as it is some of the people we're playing, but we've got to get more consistent. We're getting better each week. We got better this week than we were the week before, and we'll hopefully lineup and get better this week. We'll see. We'll keep practicing, sawing wood, and putting them in a position to be successful and coaching them up.
Last year, you had the good game against Clemson to get everybody confident, then had the victory over Kentucky. This year, you struggled a little bit. Where does this young team get its confidence?
Well, you've just got to keep playing. Hopefully, this week we'll play well, and the next week we'll play better, and the next week we'll play better. You just got to keep playing and getting to where we've got to go.
At Florida State when you won a national championship wasn't one of your assistants just specifically special teams?
It was done exactly the same way. The same structure we had at Florida state is the exact same structure we have here.
Looking at Ole Miss, what do you say about the way they're really running their offense with the two quarterbacks and then the run game especially?
One can really throw it and run well, and the other one can really, really run. I mean, he's fast. He's 4.4, 4.5 fast. And they're doing a good job of just putting together what they have to do. Young backs, they can throw it, keep you spread, and go no huddle. But they're dynamic players. They had a couple of big runs in that game against Missouri last week from that quarterback. He came in and did a real nice job.
You've faced a lot of these offensive guys that do QB run, but they all do it kind of a little bit differently. What's unique about the way Rich Rodriguez does it?
One, They rotate quarterbacks. You gotta be careful, because you think one runs, one throws. Then all of a sudden they switch it up on you, so you know that part of it, But it's still counters, it's powers, it's stretches, it's zone reads. It's still the same kind of runs. They're doing a lot more no-huddle and from a lot more spread looks in what they're doing, but they just do it and do it well. And that's their identity.
Playing such a run heavy team, do you feel like it's to your advantage preparing for a team like this rather than Tua and Alabama?
Well, it is as far as, I mean, you say a run team, but they still throw it. They still make plays. You look, they're still throwing a couple hundred yards a game and they make enough plays that way. That's why I say they run to throw. Alabama throws to run. They're backwards. So that's just their emphasis. But both of them have balance, and they both know how to throw it. They'll do it, so I hope it will match up well. But it is tough. And the way they do in the end, with so much quarterback run. That's a totally different run because that adds another blocker and evens the numbers up.
Seems like it wasn't that long ago, people would say, let's see where the program is in year three or four. Do you ever feel like sometimes reminding people that you're a year and a half into this deal right now?
No, I don't. Because listen, I mean, we've got work to do and we go to work and we're gonna get better each and every day. And I'm the same way, man. I want fans to have expectations, and to want to be good, and to want to win. And we do too as coaches. But we've got to go to work each day, coach what we have as far as what we're trying to get better at what, we're trying to improve on, what we're trying to create, and just keep doing what we're doing knowing that I still feel very good about what we're at, what's going on and the direction we're going. Kids are playing very hard. Like I say, I can watch the film and watch us get better. Recruiting is going well, so I feel very confident in what we're doing.
How much of taking the next step is seizing the moment? It's 34-20, your defense just got a stop, you have a chance to get down the field and make it 34-27 against Bama. Those big moments like that, how do you better seize those moments?
You got to understand them and be in them. Just like, you know, when you score and go up 7-0, coming out, getting a stop. Make sure you get a stop. You could get it back and go up two scores. It's both sides. The team's just gotta understand how to do that and understand the other team, that when you play good people, good people are gonna make plays. It's not that I don't think they want to. I think they understand. It's you've got to keep doing it and keep sawing wood. It'll be there. We'll keep improving our players, getting them better, coaching them better, getting bigger, faster, stronger. Keep recruiting, coing the things we've got to do and building the depth which we've got to have.
Coach Fisher transcript is below along with video of both Fisher and players Anthony Hines, Jhamon Ausbon, Keldrick Carper and Kellen Mond.
After evaluating the film the other day, looking at the offense, defense, special teams, I thought offensively in the beginning we came out very strong, that we started very fast. A great job with a 17 play drive. Scored two of the first three drives, did a nice job. I thought we had a good balance. Thought the offensive line played better in this game. We had some substantial runs and things they did, and even a couple pulls that Kellen had late where he scrambled, could have been really good runs the other way. So I think they improved very well over the break. Got some continuity. Pass blocked decently well in the game. Got some sacks at the end, but a couple of those are from when you have to throw as much as we did. We had a 3-and-out and then that critical fumble there and then, of course, had a great two-minute drive before the half. I thought the two-minute before the half was very critical, going down, getting points. That's two weeks in a row we've gotten that. Then we come out, got a three and out, missed one throw and then got a touchdown drive. Then we got that critical penalty on that drive. We're going in the fourth quarter, down two scores, and got the ball and your moving. Had a critical first down, did a nice job. Then we got that and they scored and then got it out. Then they got the blocked punt. We come back and score again, but moved the ball well, I thought we did what we did. Not a lot of missed assignments. Missed a throw. Maybe drop a play you could have made, got beat on a block, physically got beat or from technique, but not from assignments. Communication was good, guys' hats were in the right place, making the right calls, doing the right things. From that standpoint, I thought we improved greatly, but against them, a team like Alabama who's scoring at the rate they're scoring at, there's no lapse for anything. You've gotta make plays and they've got good players. We scored 28 points and could've scored a little more. But it wasn't enough.
Defensively, gotta do a better job. They didn't have to punt till the fourth quarter. They got the ball with some good field position, but still the same time. We gotta do a better job of getting off the field on third down. They had some critical third and longs and we didn't tackle in space as well, but they've got good skill guys. It has a lot to do with people and the personnel which they have. Listen, nobody gets those guys on the ground very well out there in those situations. But we got to keep leveraging the ball, practicing those things, working on the pass rush. Gotta get better in the pass rush. Some things we did, created one turnover, got the big interception. Got to get a little bit better in getting off on some of the third down situations. We had some momentum when we were going on offense, could've got a couple stops, would have been critical. Just like offensively, your object is to score every drive. We scored 4 of the first 8, ended up being 5 of the 1st 11 in that regard. But defense has got do a better job that way and just clean some things up. Keep on the blitz pressures. We were bringing pressure, we're almost getting there. But you've got to make sure that coverage stays locked up long enough so that quarterback just has to hold that ball a split second longer so you can get that hit. So it's a combination of things.
Kicking game, very disappointed in how that went. We've been very good in the kicking game. Kick placement, our hang time and kick placements were not where we needed to be. And that's a big part of how you gotta cover kicks. We weren't getting as much hang in our punts or kick offs, which we normally do, but then at the same time on the kickoff coverage we got out of lane discipline had to cut across and what we call 'knife' a couple times and we didn't. We stayed outside, which created the lane. When you fit all those gaps it's just one lane and then the guy's got to criscross over. They did some schemes, we tried to pick and rub him and did that, but then one guy would always get just locked out of that lane. We didn't do a good enough job, and we have to do a better job there. But also, if you can kick it higher, we get more depth and get more height and have a big effect on where we're at and also pin him in the corner with the punt. One of the big ones was in the beginning, a punt placement. Kicked it in the middle of the field again, we were kicking it deep right but we kicked it in the middle, which is very critical for us adjusting because that adjusts the whole coverage over. Then you get pinned when you release certain ways about where the ball is going and that allows you to get pinned and your blocking, which creates lanes going back the other way. We've gotta do a better job of exploding as we block our way out, sometimes not just blocking and absorbing it. You've got to explode as you're going out and getting the block on the run, which allows you to cover how you fan and get to your places. So we'll work on those techniques. That was disappointing because field position in that game was critical. I think we averaged starting on the 22 and they averaged starting on the 47, 48. That was very critical. They did a really good job in that regard. I thought Seth again had two nice kicks in the game, had two field goals. His field goal was a big one before the half.
So we had some opportunities in the game. I thought our kids competed hard in the game. We played hard. Again, Alabama is a very good football team. They're number one, and they can affect you in all three phases and their skill guys—their space guys--do a really good job. You have to get those guys on the ground and that is a big difference. When you look at the numbers, we had good, solid drives defensively. Their skill guys, we had them in position, we just didn't get them on the ground and they would pick up first downs. And they have quite a few of them. They do a good job. They're well-coached. So we'll improve on that, get ready. But again, I thought we improved over the bye week in a lot of little areas. We'll get the special teams part of it cleaned up and get our kickers going back, because we have excellent kickers, cover a little better and get things going.
What can you do during the week to try to fix some of those issues? Can you put more starters in special teams?
There are a lot of starters in there. We keep rotating them, but also how they fit in what they do. And, as I say, there's over half starters on both. We've always believed in playing the best players on special teams. I don't believe that you don't play your starters on special teams. We play the best guys which we have. We rep guys in those positions all year long and in the off week, repping guys that can handle that position, and what that guy's talent level is. So if you look, there are quite a few starters, probably…trying to think on punt…it's seven or eight. I think it's something that range of our starters are on special teams. So you put your best players on special teams, no doubt.
How do you split up your special teams duties and have you always done it that way instead of the dedicated coach? And why is that?
Yeah, because each guy has one time and he can specify. If you take one coach off then you lose a complete position coach from what you got. We overlook it as a group and then each guy is specified. I'm the kickoff specialist, I'm the kickoff return specialist. Guys have done that in the past. We've had three guys on our staff that have been special teams coordinators. So we all sit there as a group when we do, look at it, how we're gonna cover, what we're gonna do in those situations. We spend as much time on special teams as anybody. Actually a lot people don't even practice it on Mondays and we spend over 30 minutes on Monday on special teams getting our schemes in. And then on Thursday, it's about 30 minutes, and it's about 18 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday. So we spend plenty of time, plenty of scheming. It's not that because we've been exceptional in our special teams as far as coverages and things we've been doing. And you know, we didn't do one game, so we're gonna make sure we're doing things right and got the right people in the right places.
With how effective Kellen's been running the ball as of late, how do you balance with him pulling, running the ball, getting those extra yards and being able to protect himself when he takes more hits?
Well, usually when you're running the ball out of the pocket, you don't take the hits you take in the pocket. Because you know when those hits are coming. You may get hit, but you've gotta play the game. If it's committed that you run it, you run it. If you throw it, you throw it. If you hand it, you hand it. Those are all dictated a lot of times by the defense. Certain schemes you can control that moreso on, which we do. You gotta have guys be able just hand it and make your plays, but at the same time it's about what they do on defense. Because that's the way the game's being played now. Now he had some nice throws and we had some really nice runs on RPOs. That's just the way this game is being played now and you have to do it. It's a decision-making game for the quarterback. And the punishment you take out of the pocket I've always said is usually not as drastic is what you take in the pocket. Because those are sometimes the hits you do not see and are confined in a tight area.
Y'all had some struggles last year, and then it changed, and y'all finished the season really strong. So if you think back, what changed? And are you seeing any indications of that this year?
Nothing changed. We just got better in what we did and understood the scheme, and guys being in the system. And like this year, we played some really good football teams. We've got a pretty good football team too, you can see in spurts in which we play. We've got to play more consistent. We've got to get more experience. As you get comfortable and your guys know their roles, and there's a lot of young guys in roles right now that are really growing that I think are getting better. And I think as you practice during the season, you get better. You should get better. You don't practice to endure. The way we practice, we should be getting better each week, and that's what happened last year as we continued to go. We won some really tight games and learned to get over those humps, as our players understand the schemes and what they're able to do.
Following up on the improvement and that sort of thing, when you're evaluating your team, how difficult is it when you look at the three losses that have come against teams that are 17-1 in terms of gauging improvement, gauging consistency, gauging breakdowns, all those things?
To everyone in the public, and coaches too, it's still wins and losses. You gotta win games, but at the same time you gotta be able to see how a young man is getting better and more consistent when you're grade him out. Because each player gets graded out individually. I grade the whole team. I grade the plays. Are the plays there? Are they not there? Can they be executed? Is it something that we're running I call into a dead play? Sometimes the defense has something called or the offense has something to get you. But the things you grade, how much more consistent is he? Then you look at the guy he's playing. Sometimes guys are playing against first-round draft picks, sometimes the guy's not a draft pick. So you've got to judge who his competition level is, how his consistency is, how his steps are, and you've got to stay the course. Because you can see a lot of things that other folks don't and that other folks don't care about. And I don't mean that in disregard. Because listen, fans and people want wins. They want results. They want success. We all do. Coaches do, too. But we have to keep things in perspective of how we're looking at the film and what we see on the film as guys are growing and getting better, and that's how you do it as a coach.
How significant is it to this offense and for this offense moving forward that Jalen Wydermyer's really started becoming a big part of the vertical attack?
It is because you attack the middle of the field. You get third down throws, you get first down throws. And it's another weapon which can take pressure off your wideouts. Those things are always getting there, and he's getting much better, not just in the passing game. He's learning to block better, because he was always a guy that was flexed out. He's learning to put his face on blocks, just like Jace (Sternberger) had to learn. Jace was basically a wide receiver when he came here that was not involved in blocking. By the end of the year he'd become a good blocker. He's evolved into that. You know, we're in that same process as he keeps coming and where he's going, but he's got a chance to be a really, really good football player.
Almost half your rushing yards came in two games against Lamar and Texas State. Are there any guys on the bench that you might look at and put in the rotation other than the two guys you're using?
There's not many other guys there. Cordarrian, that's about it. And also the game, I thought we ran the ball the first three or four drives really well. The game got where it became a two-minute drive. Then we got behind. They scored the first drive of the second half and the game dictated things. I thought we ran the ball much better in that game. If you look at the film and study the film on the runs, he pulled a couple RPOs that he hit Quartney one for about a 14-yard gain. He pulled one and ran down there on the goal line to the one when we scored first, about 12 yards, where if he hands off the counter that was blocked well. I think our running game actually has gotten better in the last two weeks. It doesn't always show as far as by the backs or what's going on, but how the game dictates with the RPO game, sometimes it was gonna get thrown or get ran because of what dictates on defense also. But it's getting better, and we just keep repping these young guys in what we've got because the backs we have right now is him, Kibodi and Cordarrian. That's the tailbacks we have.
Could Cordarrian see more playing time?
We'll see. He missed a week of practice a week ago, he had a family issue that he wasn't involved in practice because of just a family thing he had to take care of. That was nothing on his part. And he missed a week.
How close do you feel like this team is to kind of flipping that switch and righting some of these wrongs to make these plays?
I don't think there's as many wrongs as it is some of the people we're playing, but we've got to get more consistent. We're getting better each week. We got better this week than we were the week before, and we'll hopefully lineup and get better this week. We'll see. We'll keep practicing, sawing wood, and putting them in a position to be successful and coaching them up.
Last year, you had the good game against Clemson to get everybody confident, then had the victory over Kentucky. This year, you struggled a little bit. Where does this young team get its confidence?
Well, you've just got to keep playing. Hopefully, this week we'll play well, and the next week we'll play better, and the next week we'll play better. You just got to keep playing and getting to where we've got to go.
At Florida State when you won a national championship wasn't one of your assistants just specifically special teams?
It was done exactly the same way. The same structure we had at Florida state is the exact same structure we have here.
Looking at Ole Miss, what do you say about the way they're really running their offense with the two quarterbacks and then the run game especially?
One can really throw it and run well, and the other one can really, really run. I mean, he's fast. He's 4.4, 4.5 fast. And they're doing a good job of just putting together what they have to do. Young backs, they can throw it, keep you spread, and go no huddle. But they're dynamic players. They had a couple of big runs in that game against Missouri last week from that quarterback. He came in and did a real nice job.
You've faced a lot of these offensive guys that do QB run, but they all do it kind of a little bit differently. What's unique about the way Rich Rodriguez does it?
One, They rotate quarterbacks. You gotta be careful, because you think one runs, one throws. Then all of a sudden they switch it up on you, so you know that part of it, But it's still counters, it's powers, it's stretches, it's zone reads. It's still the same kind of runs. They're doing a lot more no-huddle and from a lot more spread looks in what they're doing, but they just do it and do it well. And that's their identity.
Playing such a run heavy team, do you feel like it's to your advantage preparing for a team like this rather than Tua and Alabama?
Well, it is as far as, I mean, you say a run team, but they still throw it. They still make plays. You look, they're still throwing a couple hundred yards a game and they make enough plays that way. That's why I say they run to throw. Alabama throws to run. They're backwards. So that's just their emphasis. But both of them have balance, and they both know how to throw it. They'll do it, so I hope it will match up well. But it is tough. And the way they do in the end, with so much quarterback run. That's a totally different run because that adds another blocker and evens the numbers up.
Seems like it wasn't that long ago, people would say, let's see where the program is in year three or four. Do you ever feel like sometimes reminding people that you're a year and a half into this deal right now?
No, I don't. Because listen, I mean, we've got work to do and we go to work and we're gonna get better each and every day. And I'm the same way, man. I want fans to have expectations, and to want to be good, and to want to win. And we do too as coaches. But we've got to go to work each day, coach what we have as far as what we're trying to get better at what, we're trying to improve on, what we're trying to create, and just keep doing what we're doing knowing that I still feel very good about what we're at, what's going on and the direction we're going. Kids are playing very hard. Like I say, I can watch the film and watch us get better. Recruiting is going well, so I feel very confident in what we're doing.
How much of taking the next step is seizing the moment? It's 34-20, your defense just got a stop, you have a chance to get down the field and make it 34-27 against Bama. Those big moments like that, how do you better seize those moments?
You got to understand them and be in them. Just like, you know, when you score and go up 7-0, coming out, getting a stop. Make sure you get a stop. You could get it back and go up two scores. It's both sides. The team's just gotta understand how to do that and understand the other team, that when you play good people, good people are gonna make plays. It's not that I don't think they want to. I think they understand. It's you've got to keep doing it and keep sawing wood. It'll be there. We'll keep improving our players, getting them better, coaching them better, getting bigger, faster, stronger. Keep recruiting, coing the things we've got to do and building the depth which we've got to have.