University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Todd Monken Weekly Media Conference
11/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Todd Monken
Southern Miss Media Conference
Opening Statement...
"We got out there Sunday after playing Rice on Saturday. We got our corrections in the meetings and had a spirited Sunday practice. We came out excited after the bye week and it showed this past weekend. They understand what is in front of them. It all starts this week with Old Dominion. I'm a big Bobby Wilder fan. He has done a great job since getting the job. They were great at the FCS level where they put themselves in a position to compete for a national championship. They carried that over to their first year in the league last year. They beat Rice and Louisiana Tech who competed at the end of the year for our division. They lost their quarterback and have gone between two different guys at quarterback. They are both good players and the team has won two in a row. Old Dominion is a very good young team who is getting better every week. You can see it defensively and with their confidence offensively. It will be a real challenge for us but we are excited."
Q: Do you feel like Saturday was as close as you will ever get to a perfect game?
"We played well in all three phases. We missed some chances early. I think at the beginning we scored once out of the first three possessions. After that we scored nine straight times. The one that started it was the fake field goal. It's always good to score on special teams and we were able to do that. I can't remember exactly, but I think we gave up 58 yards and eight passing yards defensively. We were just being very disruptive. We finished the half on a 95-yard drive so you aren't going to get much better than that. We just had a lot of skill guys make plays and get yards after catch. There were a couple of times when Mike Thomas was able to get free and take it in for the score. We had a big third-down play by Casey Martin right before the half that kept the drive alive. I thought our offensive line played well and Nick Mullens played well. It's a good thing when you can distract and disrupt the quarterback and I felt like our defense did that. Like I say every week stats don't carry over, so our jobs this week is to focus the guys for a very good Old Dominion team. Old Dominion is constantly getting better and looking to become bowl eligible."
Q: Was the passing to Ito Smith out of the backfield an in game adjustment?
"It really wasn't an in-game adjustment. We had a big play from Ito (Smith) on the wheel route where Nick (Mullens) was able to get out and make a good throw. One was a scramble check down and Ito is a very good space player. At the same time, Mike (Thomas) was able to get out and make some big plays for us. None of it was adjustments. I thought we would get some of those big plays earlier with how low their safeties were playing but we weren't able to execute. Again, when you have good space players you are able to make big plays. We got a turnover and were able to score on that. When we scored the fake field goal that gave our team a boost and deflated them a little bit. Plays like that happen that way. We were 8-of-16 on third downs and the last drive we were just running the ball so it's more like 8-of-15. We were 4-of-4 on fourth downs so really we were able to have all of those drives and only have to give the ball up three times. All the phases where you want to be good at we were this weekend and it worked out offensively and defensively."
Q: Was there any particular message that you gave your guys during the bye week that motivated your guys to come out like they did?
"I don't think so. The only thing was we should have the advantage because we had an extra week to prepare. Were we perfect? No. I do felt like our guys handled themselves well during the bye week. Like I told our guys it's like a playoff if you want to win the conference don't lose. We can win the conference without anyone else having to lose to help us. We just have to prepare and focus. There is no pressure this is where you want to be. Our job last week was to go out and prepare better than Rice. This week our job is to do it better than Old Dominion does it."
Q: Have you seen anything on film that intrigues you on how Old Dominion does things?
"I just think they have gotten so much better. I see their defense playing well, running downhill and making plays. Offensively they are a lot more confident. They went through a tough stretch of changing their quarterback but now they are moving the ball. Against Western Kentucky they did a good job at controlling the pace. We are going to need a big crowd Saturday to make it tougher on them. It's simple as that."
Q: After the game Nick Mullens had some high praise for Cameron Tom and the offensive line. How is big is it to have Cameron Tom as a stabilizing force on your offensive line?
"Just like Nick, they both started around the same time. The offensive line had good splits during the game and blocked hard in the run game. They blocked better on the perimeter and it showed, especially around the perimeter like on Jalen's (Richard) big run that really sealed it in the second half."
Q: The number, 1.4 sacks allowed by the team is 28th in the country. What has been a big difference this year from previous years?
"We are getting the ball out quicker. A lot of the same guys are playing around Nick (Mullens) but they have gotten better and evolved. To be successful, your quarterback has to play well but everyone else has to play better around him. We have protected (him) and run the ball better. That was our main offseason goal and that was how can we run the ball better within our league. Sure our running backs will be better getting Jalen back, but getting tight ends have helped keep Nick (Mullens) upright. When he is up he makes good decisions and is accurate. As long as we can run it and keep him upright then we are hard to stop."
Q: We got to see a lot guys play this weekend. Did any of those back up guys stand out to you?
"I was happy for Tyler (Matthews). He has only gotten to play a couple more times and we probably did him a little disservice at Charlotte. We really went into a shell and just said, `let's get out of here.' We looked back at it and said, `We need to let him play because if he needs to play then we are going to have to count on him to win games.' We were running the ball and some of those passes on that drive were called as hybrids. They made the choice to pressure our guys. I was happy for Tyler getting to throw it and run it some. When he threw, it he was accurate. At the end, I was happy for Jarell Aaron who was able to get a touchdown catch. He has put in the work for four years and deserved that. I was happy for all the guys. I don't care who you are everyone wants to make plays. Quarterbacks want to throw, running backs want to run and receivers want to catch. Defensively it was fun to get to see some of those guys fly around."
Q: What is your biggest takeaway form this weekend?
"Stats don't carry over and that's the main thing I take away. Sometimes thing go your way and sometimes they don't. You never want to overreact if either one of those scenarios happen. It still counts as one. It doesn't count as four because you beat them by so much. To me the biggest thing is human nature and how we react with human nature. How do you not get too down during the low time and not too high during the good times? Everyone gets in your ear and tells you how good you did but those are the same people that were in our ear when we weren't worth a darn. None of that extra chatter matters. Whether we won 11 or 10 or what we won by it all counts the same. You hope that the guys went into the meeting rooms and they looked at the things that we needed to correct, listened to their coaches and wanted to improve. They don't bring you back if you win a bowl, they bring you back if you win a championship and that's what I hope our guys understand. As of last week, there were 28 teams that controlled their own destiny and now there are less. We are on of those teams and we are focusing on (win number) eight."
Q: Talk about the 20 seniors and this weekend on senior day.
"It's a special weekend for those guys. They are fifth-year and fourth-year guys who have stuck with it. It is a true testament to them. We do something that most people don't have to do and that's put it out there for the world to see each and every week. It's been frustrating to those guys who came in with the understanding of how this program was so historic and what they were to how bad we have struggled the last couple of years. Not many guys stayed around. They didn't buy into this university or in us, but these guys did. They didn't know when it would turn or when the fruits of our labor would pay off. It's like when you are in sales and you go to a door and don't make a sale seven or eight times and how many people would throw in the towel and these guys didn't. So they will always be and should be special to this university. They will always be special to our staff and this fan base for sticking by it. I'm happy for them that they will have a chance to make a run at a conference championship or the very least end their career going to a bowl game. It will be special to their players but we will have to tune out that distracting because the best gift we can give them is an eighth victory."
