University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Coach Todd Monken's Weekly Media Conference
10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss football coach Todd Monken addressed the media Monday with his weekly media conference, previewing the UTSA game which will be played at this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at The Rock for Homecoming.
Opening Statement…
"We came out last night and had a nice practice. I felt that our guys were really engaged meetings wise. We got a chance to look at Marshall then put that to bed and move on to UTSA. I was hopefully that losing so many seniors that Coach (Larry) Coker assembled that put that team on the map that they wouldn't be as talented or as good a football team then they are. They played an awfully good opening schedule with Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Arizona, Colorado State who was a bowl team last year then finally Louisiana Tech who was picked by most people to win our division. There are a lot of teams in our league that would be 1-5 in those six games. We have our work cut out for us they have done a great job plus they are in the infant stages. It takes a lot of time to build up a program but they play tough and they are talented. However, we are excited for this weekend with homecoming. It means a lot to our player, our alumni and former players. This counts twice because it's in the division and whoever wins will win any tiebreakers. It's important to us and I anticipate that we will put our best foot forward this weekend."
Can you put any extra value on this weekend being homecoming and getting a win?
"Homecoming is part of the value but the value is this is a conference game and a division game. You have to put an emphasis on the division and conference games. They are 1-1 in the division and we are 1-0 in the division. Our goal is to be 2-0 and put them at 1-2 in the division. We want to be 2-1 overall in the league."
Anything jump out at you about the Marshall film after watching it again?
"I thought we played awfully hard. Our defense showed a good sign holding them under 300 yards on offense. There were a couple of big plays we gave up but I thought there were a number of big effort plays that we gave in defense. We are getting healthy there so I was excited about that. The good news is what I said after the game and that is that we are good enough. That's also the frustrating thing. Maybe a couple of years ago you go up there and lose 31-10 you look back and say ‘Hey man, we are getting better.' No, we are already there. We are good enough to where we can control our own destiny. That's what you always want. It doesn't matter if you are a player, a coach or student walking in a classroom all you ever want is a chance. The frustrating thing is we didn't play well in the first half. The turnovers weren't even the main part. The main thing was the blocked field goal, jumping offside on their field goal, getting the unsportsmanlike penalty that made us kick off from our 20 and giving them a 38 and a 50 yard drive. Those are thing that teams that aren't successful do. Those are things that we haven't done. We had actually done pretty well on special teams besides the kicks and we just have to get that cleaned up."
Some guys came back against Marshall. How do you think they played?
"Anthony Swain came back against Marshall. He played fine but nothing special. He will continue to get better and better as we go on. Our safeties came back and they were rusty. The 61-yard touchdown pass, which we got beat on, was when we put in the other safeties. That's not on them that is on all of us. That's on me and our coaches for not getting them ready but they will get better. We had to get them going Devonta Foster and Deshadrick Truly will be back this week."
The second quarter of the season is over. How do you associate where you guys are?
"You want a winning quarter so that's disappointing. We obviously won the home game and had chances at Nebraska and at Marshall, who are both good football teams. We just didn't get it done."
After a game like Marshall is it better to harp on it or just move on?
"You have to correct the things that you can correct like the unsportsmanlike penalty. That's silly. You can't decide when the officials will throw the flag. Have I seen worse than that? Yes. That doesn't matter. Just hand the ball to the official and come on back. Being cool is out; execution is in. That's just the way it is. When cool becomes more important than execution then we are all in trouble. That how it has become like a look at me type deal. Mike understands that and when it is over on Sunday then it is all over. We talked about it and it's time to move to UTSA, but you certainly have to correct things that stop you from being the team you can be."
Do you take any step back to evaluate the season since you have reached the half way mark?
"Not really. We don't have time. It's just moving from one week to the next. We have a good football team with good coaches and UTSA is next. We are looking for number four."
What is the biggest take away from Marshall?
"That is the best secondary that we have faced all year. They are very athletic and competitive. Up front, they were comfortable sending pressure and getting to Nick (Mullens) more. Even in the fourth quarter we still had a chance to score and that's what you have to do. Just get it to a two-score ballgame then make them make a move. Then you can cut it to one and throw the ball into the end zone. You are never really done unless it's four or five scores because we were moving it. We didn't run it as well in the second half. You can't turn it over like we did then go 1-for-6 on fourth down. We had three third and twos that lead to three fourth and twos and got nothing out of it. That's a bad deal and you won't win often. Then we get a field goal blocked and that's just the way it is."
Do you look at this loss any different than the first two?
"We lost to a good team. The hardest thing to do in football is move on after a loss no matter what. Every game counts for about eight percent of our record. It's not like in basketball when you lose one and it counts for three or four percent or baseball in college who plays fifty or sixty games then it's less than two percent. It stings more and wins are bigger because each game means more to most of your season. That stinks because you have to wait a whole week to play another game but we have a good team and it's time to practice like it and play like it."
What happened on the blocked field goal?
"There was a little bit on penetration but we kicked it right into his hand. The first one was a little low. Every day we talk about getting it up and elevated and we didn't do that."
What's the biggest point of emphasis going into UTSA?
"Playing better football on offense. You can't turn it over like we did if you want to win games. Don't turn the ball over. It's playing better football. Now, Marshall had something to do with that. The better the team the more you will get exposed. They played us and we are getting better on defense so it's not like they had 500 yards. We did get exposed on some things and as coaches and players we will have to clean it up and play better."
Two weeks in a row with good play from your defense, what is that a result from?
"I think we are getting better and healthier. That's part of it. We have a lot of new guys. If you look around a lot of the guys are in there first year and they are starting to play better together. That's probably the biggest thing. They have always played hard. Two weeks ago, everyone looks and says ‘It's going to be a high scoring game' now it's ‘They are playing good defense so look for a low scoring game.' It's just a week-to-week thing. We have good coaches and players we just have to find ways to score points and stop them."
What are some strengths of UTSA?
"I think one of their strengths is I think they do a good job defensively and they are very sound in what they do. I think they have good players there. Offensively, I think they have done a great job of weathering the storm. That is credit to Coach Coker and their staff. They have had a couple of quarterbacks quit so they are down to their fourth team guy and he came out slow. Right when they were probably thinking about pulling him he leads them to three touchdown drives and gives them a chance to win. That's a credit to their staff and to that young man. That amazes me because all the people they have lost they still find a way to score points and defend. That shows a lot about their coaching staff and players."
Do homecoming festivities and everything that goes on pose any distraction?
"I'm just really focused on today and having a good plan. I get the question. I'm just more worried about the game plan. The festivities are part to get people to come. Our job is to create memories when they come with a win. Our role is to find a way to win and make the fan proud of their university and their football team."
