Ball State University Athletics
Pete Lembo Press Conference - Georgia State Week
October 13, 2015 | Football
On the offensive execution at Northern Illinois ...
Making plays doesn't mean you have to have an 'S' on your chest. It just means you have to be consistent, and you have to fall back on your fundamentals, do what you are coached to do and the plays will come to you. Some of the big plays we got on offense throughout the game really weren't that special, it was just good execution.
On the defensive performance at NIU ...
Really, the type of game that it was, as well as you felt about how we were moving the ball offensively, really just two or three stops and this thing is going to be really interesting. Even two or three field goals, holding them to field goals in the red zone, you felt like it was going to be really, really interesting. It was a tough day defensively and we have to regroup from there.
On having fall break this week ...
Our guys haven't had class yesterday and today, so we have a little more time to rest up, heal up, get caught up on academics. It was a good time for it. We've been through several physical weeks here and a lot of guys are banged up. A little bit of extra time to stay off their feet and a little bit of extra time in the training room has been helpful.
On the Georgia State coaching staff ...
They've got a very, very experienced coaching staff. You look at some of the guys on their staff and there's NFL experience, there's 'Power 5' experience, there's head coaching experience and quite a bit of it. They are obviously all in to making this a very competitive FBS program at Georgia State.
On the challenge of playing a quick-strike offense ...
It's a big challenge for our defense, but it's also a challenge for our entire team. When you have an offense that has such quick-strike capability, you need to make sure your entire team knows that. It's not just the secondary. It's not just the defense, it's your entire team understanding these guys can strike quickly and how are we going to respond if and when that happens.
On dealing with injuries ...
If a guy goes down in practice, we don't stop the drill. We turn around and keep moving. There's no insensitivity about it whatsoever. It's to train the guys that this is part of the game. You can't get distracted by an uncontrollable. Next man up and you keep going. That doesn't matter if it's the quarterback, or the tight end, or the defensive tackle or whoever. The other thing that goes hand-in-hand with that, every guy wants to play. Every guy wants their opportunity. Every guy, in some cases somewhere along the way, thinks, 'Hey, I should be playing.' You hope they do. You hope they have that mindset. Well, when an injury occurs, here's your chance to step up.
