Ball State Football Postgame News Conference Quotes, October 12: Game 6 vs Kent State
Coach Neu
Opening StatementÂ
A: "Obviously, great job by our guys just fighting all the way to the end to get a win on the road. It's easy to point to a few mistakes that were made at the end that gave [Kent State] an opportunity. But most importantly, we played good team football when we had to. We picked each other up, and it was a great job finishing with a win on the road."
Q: "Did it feel like there was an uptick in confidence today?"
A: "Yes, no question about it. [The team's] focus has been we've gotta be the best version of us, and I think, without question, the confidence is certainly going to get a shot in the arm, which is awesome."Â
Q: "How are you coaching the guys during a situation like the final two minutes?"
A: "That fourth-and-long conversion was tough, but they converted on it. Obviously, they didn't have to use any timeouts, so we knew when we came back out on the field we were not in a situation after they attempted the onside kick. We weren't in a situation where we could take a knee. We knew we had to get a first down. I need to educate Vaughn Pemberton and any running back in that situation to go down inside the five. I know it's tough, because you want to score a touchdown, but go down inside the five, and we're not in that situation at the end of the game."
Q: "Â Do you feel like the offense is catching their stride?"Â
A: "Yeah, but I feel like we went through a stretch there. [Kent State] challenged us more today in man coverage than what we had seen, so we went through some stretches there where we didn't really make any plays in the passing game, but we came back in the end there. When we had to step up and deliver, we did."
Vaughn Pemberton
Q: "You've got to be happy with the 41-yard touchdown run, but what was going through your head when you first got the ball in that play?"
A: "Well, me and Taran [Tyo] were kind of begging for that play to be ran, and then I got it. Once I got into open field, I just ended up scoring, obviously not thinking that [Kent State] was gonna go down and score. Right after I came off the field, I was like, man, I probably should have went down."Â
Q: "What did you see leading up that made you want to call that play?"
A: "Whenever we run that play, we get a great push on the O-Line up front. That play was working for four [yards] plus just about every time we ran it today and the past couple weeks. I just think we were begging for it, and when we got it, we both had smiles on our faces."
Q: "Do you feel like the team in general needed this win?"
A: "100%. We definitely needed this one for our confidence, especially going into Vanderbilt. You know how they just did against against [Alabama]. I'm not sure how they're doing this week, but we needed a big confidence boost, and this was a perfect game for us to get that confidence boost offensively and defensively."Â
Brandon Berger
Q: "What did you like from the game plan and just from what Kent State's pass blocking was giving you to get three sacks today?"
A: "I liked the looks I was getting. I mean, they had some short edges, and I was able to win with hands and get around them and get the quarterback down. That's really all comes down to."Â
Q: "What's the feeling like to have that productive of a game on defense?"Â
A: "It's great. I mean, obviously this year, I've gotten to play more snaps than I've gotten to play my whole career at Ball State. I got my opportunity this year, and it felt really good for it all to come to fruition this year, like today, and get three sacks. I really should have had a couple more that I missed on. So, I definitely felt really good today."
Q: "What does it mean to you to sing [Ball State's fight song]Â with your teammates after a win?"
A: "That feeling in the locker room, everybody's just smiling because we got that win. Just singing the fight song together in the locker room after a win definitely does hit a little different than it does normally, just whenever we're out on the field or anything like that. Knowing we got the job done for the day, and we can proudly sing that song is a great feeling."
Coach Neu
Opening StatementÂ
A: "Obviously, great job by our guys just fighting all the way to the end to get a win on the road. It's easy to point to a few mistakes that were made at the end that gave [Kent State] an opportunity. But most importantly, we played good team football when we had to. We picked each other up, and it was a great job finishing with a win on the road."
Q: "Did it feel like there was an uptick in confidence today?"
A: "Yes, no question about it. [The team's] focus has been we've gotta be the best version of us, and I think, without question, the confidence is certainly going to get a shot in the arm, which is awesome."Â
Q: "How are you coaching the guys during a situation like the final two minutes?"
A: "That fourth-and-long conversion was tough, but they converted on it. Obviously, they didn't have to use any timeouts, so we knew when we came back out on the field we were not in a situation after they attempted the onside kick. We weren't in a situation where we could take a knee. We knew we had to get a first down. I need to educate Vaughn Pemberton and any running back in that situation to go down inside the five. I know it's tough, because you want to score a touchdown, but go down inside the five, and we're not in that situation at the end of the game."
Q: "Â Do you feel like the offense is catching their stride?"Â
A: "Yeah, but I feel like we went through a stretch there. [Kent State] challenged us more today in man coverage than what we had seen, so we went through some stretches there where we didn't really make any plays in the passing game, but we came back in the end there. When we had to step up and deliver, we did."
Vaughn Pemberton
Q: "You've got to be happy with the 41-yard touchdown run, but what was going through your head when you first got the ball in that play?"
A: "Well, me and Taran [Tyo] were kind of begging for that play to be ran, and then I got it. Once I got into open field, I just ended up scoring, obviously not thinking that [Kent State] was gonna go down and score. Right after I came off the field, I was like, man, I probably should have went down."Â
Q: "What did you see leading up that made you want to call that play?"
A: "Whenever we run that play, we get a great push on the O-Line up front. That play was working for four [yards] plus just about every time we ran it today and the past couple weeks. I just think we were begging for it, and when we got it, we both had smiles on our faces."
Q: "Do you feel like the team in general needed this win?"
A: "100%. We definitely needed this one for our confidence, especially going into Vanderbilt. You know how they just did against against [Alabama]. I'm not sure how they're doing this week, but we needed a big confidence boost, and this was a perfect game for us to get that confidence boost offensively and defensively."Â
Brandon Berger
Q: "What did you like from the game plan and just from what Kent State's pass blocking was giving you to get three sacks today?"
A: "I liked the looks I was getting. I mean, they had some short edges, and I was able to win with hands and get around them and get the quarterback down. That's really all comes down to."Â
Q: "What's the feeling like to have that productive of a game on defense?"Â
A: "It's great. I mean, obviously this year, I've gotten to play more snaps than I've gotten to play my whole career at Ball State. I got my opportunity this year, and it felt really good for it all to come to fruition this year, like today, and get three sacks. I really should have had a couple more that I missed on. So, I definitely felt really good today."
Q: "What does it mean to you to sing [Ball State's fight song]Â with your teammates after a win?"
A: "That feeling in the locker room, everybody's just smiling because we got that win. Just singing the fight song together in the locker room after a win definitely does hit a little different than it does normally, just whenever we're out on the field or anything like that. Knowing we got the job done for the day, and we can proudly sing that song is a great feeling."