University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower's Weekly Press Conference
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2005
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -
Opening Statement:
"I'm disappointed that we put ourselves in a position to tie the game up, we had two chances at it and didn't get it done. I was pleased with the way we came back and got ourselves back in the game. Every time you lose a close game like that, you can always go back and look at some plays in the game. The blocked extra point was huge in the game. We had some mental errors on that. We don't split right, we step wrong with one guy and move an outside foot with the other guy. We really shortened the corner. It's something that you'd think after we work on it every day, would be so simple. We lost our techniques and our fundamentals and it cost us.
"I thought we did some good things in stopping DeAngelo Williams. He had 36 carries and three and a half yards per carry. He's going to make plays, and when he did, sometimes we just lost our gaps. The touchdown pass to him, we were in man coverage, we don't burn our eyes with our linebacker on him, which freed him up. They completed a few long passes, where we were in three-deep coverage. One time our corner doesn't get back, the other time we didn't play our techniques well. In the second half, after that opening drive, we buckled down and played a little better. Offensively, we came alive in the fourth quarter. We're still having problems running the ball. We are not doing a good job there. We've got to get ready for this week and win."
Players Of The Week:
"On offense it was Dustin Almond. He had 69 snaps and graded 87 percent. He was 21-of-39 for 283 yards and two touchdowns. I thought he did a good job for us. The first interception was a bad throw; the second one was caused by pressure. He had to get rid of it quick. He really competed and made some good throws. He avoided pressure, and we only had one lost yardage play for two yards, and that was a running play. He competed very well, kept his poise and got us going in the fourth quarter making some plays. He did a good job. We had a few drops early in the game, that if we don't make, could spark us. We had an offsides penalty on third and short. On defense it was Kevis Coley. He played 80 snaps and graded 88 percent. He had 15 solos, five assists, a big play, a big hit, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. He played a heck of a game and was very productive. Luke Johnson was our special team's player of the week. He had four kickoffs into the end zone. He did a heck of a job there. He kicked a very nice onsides kick, we didn't get it, but the ball was loose. He punted four times for a 47.6-yard average and completed a pass for 14 yards on a fake punt. He had a really good game."
On Injuries:
"Hopefully we will get Caleb Hendrix back this week. Travis Cooley tore his knee up last Wednesday, and he will be out. On Thursday, Mitch Craft, a starter on three special teams phases, pulled a hamstring and was unable to play. We had to do some shuffling there. We need to get Caleb Hendrix and Chris Johnson back. He wasn't healthy enough to play in the game. Hopefully we'll set Tavarres Williams back closer to full speed, if not full speed. He's still playing with a bad knee. We've got some guys, just like everyone does, that will just have to play banged up with some nagging injuries."
On Tulane:
"I know they've had a rough stretch losing seven in a row. They have the potential to be explosive on offense. They have good receivers and an experienced offensive line. Matt Forte, their running back is a good player. Lester Ricard came in last week and threw the ball well. I don't know who they will start, I assume Ricard. He's got a big arm and throws a good ball. Defensively, they have a lot of seniors. They are experienced in the secondary and at linebacker. Anthony Cannon is a very good player at linebacker. They have some good players in the secondary. It's a very important game for us, trying to get bowl eligible and a winning season in the last game for our seniors at home."
On How Ricardo Clark Played In Place Of Travis Cooley:
"I thought he did a pretty good job. He actually pass protected better than he ran blocked. We thought it would be the opposite."
On The Starting Running Back:
"We're going to start Cody Hull at running back. Cody had the better game and we're going to give him the nod."
On One Or Two Plays Being The Difference In Several Games:
"We've talked about that. We're not doing the little things right, just like on the extra point protection. If you don't concentrate and do the little things right, big things won't happen for you. We've got to be mentally tough, put it behind us, see what's ahead and what we're playing for. We've got to focus on a good week of preparation. That's all you can do."
On How Important It Is For The Seniors To Go Out On A Winning Note:
"I think it's very important. They've never had a losing season since they've been here and I think it's very important for them, playing our last game here. This will be a game they'll remember for a long time."
On If He Thinks 6-5 Gets A Bowl Invitation:
"I feel fairly confident that it will. There's no guarantee with six wins that you'll get one, but I feel fairly confident. There are three other schools that have a chance to get six wins. There are some other bowls that probably won't have enough eligible teams for a tie in to the bowl. There will probably be some additional bowls open."
On Chris Johnson's Injury:
"He's got a bruised knee. We watched him in pregame and he wasn't ready. He was limping. We were hoping after being off with the Friday rest and Saturday that he'd be ready to go, but he wasn't."
On The Timing Of Receivers Going Down:
"You always want your best players on the field. We lost Courington, and we lost Tavarres for two weeks, and he hasn't been near 100 percent. Then we lost Chris Johnson, another starter, for the Memphis game. It affects you, it really does. This was a week you wanted your best guys on the field. You were going to get blitz man and you need to make big plays and we didn't make enough big plays. When you get blitzed, you've got to protect, win one-on-one and get the ball to them. We didn't win one-on-one enough. I thought at the end of the game, Josh Barnes made a nice touchdown catch on a blitz. As the game went on, he played better and got a better feel for the mental and technique. He made a heck of a move on that guy."
On How Close Cody Hull Was To Scoring On The Two-Point Conversion:
"He was fairly close. We missed a block, and if we make it, we score."
On The Fourth Down Play In The First Down Play In The First Quarter:
"Larry Thomas has to make that. We've got to make that first down."
On Using Cole Mason On That Play:
"We had that in the plan, but I held Bobby Weakley out of the game for disciplinary reasons. When we did that, Cole was the only fullback we had."
On The Team Bouncing Back:
"I think they will. They know what they're playing for. I know it's important to them. I don't have any doubt that it is."
On If Tulane Will Blitz A Lot:
"They have at times. Sometimes they blitz quite a bit. Certain teams, they play more man coverage than they do others. They do a lot of different things up front with their defensive line."
On What Tulane Has Been Through With Hurricane Katrina:
"I can't imagine how tough it is. My junior and senior year we were on the road a lot, and it's hard. Being displaced and going to another school, I'm sure it's been difficult. Considering the circumstances, I know they're on a seven game losing streak, but they continue to play hard and get good effort from their players. But mentally, I'm sure it's difficult."
On Another School Contacting A Tulane Coach Asking If Players Would Be Interested In Transferring:
"It's totally unethical. I don't know if it's illegal. If they contacted players, it was illegal. But contacting a coach, that's very unethical and you don't do something like that. That's pretty low."
