Ball State Football Postgame News Conference Quotes, September 21: Game 3 at Central Michigan
Coach NeuÂ
Opening statement
A: "That's MAC football. It's never over until the clock hits zero, and it was just a battle back-and-forth there at the end. You've got to give them credit. They executed a two-minute drive there. We left just under a minute, and they had three timeouts there, and you've got to give them credit for going down the field and executing. I told our guys there's no finger pointing here. We win together, we lose together, and we've got to get back to to Muncie. We've got to work on us."
Q: "Last week Keionte, told us that there were a lot of communication issues with the defense. Do you think that was an issue today?"
A: "Yes, I do. I think there are some communication challenges that we have, but it wasn't all that. Again, we gave up some big plays, and when you have a chance to make a tackle in the open field and we don't finish the deal and get them to the ground, that results in big plays, and those are things that we've got to get cleaned up on our end. That just simply can't happen."
Q:"Kadin looked really sharp offensively. Today he had a really great day throwing the ball, and he made some really nice throws. What did you like about what you saw from him?"
A: "Ultimate competitor. Obviously, [Kadin] led the team 95 yards down the field there and just took what the defense gave him, and he trusted his guys were going to make plays after the catch. I think he's seen his hard work pay off. You learn a lot about a quarterback, especially in those situations when that's the most pressure you can face, and I think he did a good job of executing there."
Q: "What have you seen from Koziol so far at the start of this season?"
A: "Yeah, I credit Tanner because obviously, we all know that back in in the spring or back late fall he made a decision to enter the portal and was headed to Louisville, and that takes a lot of guts to to call somebody three days before you're gonna go and and tell him that you want to go back to Ball State - You want to play with your teammates, and I think a big reason is because his rapport and connection he has with Kadin. Those guys work tirelessly together on the practice field. They work tirelessly together off the practice field. They watch film together. I think it's just a belief. I think you're seeing two guys that invest a lot of time together in the offseason. Their hard work's paying off, and that has to be the case if you want to have a chance to be a great player. It's those types of things that are necessary off the field in order to be able to have a chance to get that done."
Q: "With two back-to-back losses, how hard is it to keep up that positive attitude?"
A: "It's football man. We've got one game at the end of the week. You you spend six days preparing for one game, and you want to go out and you want to play as good as you possibly can. I'm not worried for one second about our team. I fully believe those guys. Sometimes the game is 10-7, and sometimes it's a game like this. They take different shapes the way they go. It's not always going to be a shootout every week, and it's not always going to be a defensive battle."
Elijah DavisÂ
Q: "What do you think kind of went wrong for the defense, especially in that second half there?"
A: "I feel like we came out really on fire and getting in the backfield. It's a simple thing. It's football. Just a lot of misfitting gaps, and they expose that, especially from the safeties myself. We've got to fill gaps a lot sooner."
Q: "What does this defense has to have to do next week to put together a complete game?"
A: "All four quarters. Second quarter we had 20 unanswered points, so all four quarters. If we attack them how we did the first and the third, it's a big W."
Q: "Mike told us that the big thing he was telling you guys is there's no finger pointing, and just guys have to be accountable for yourselves and for your teammates. How have you embraced that in the past? And how do you kind of plan on embracing that?"
A: "Just coming together as a team. We're a very well put together team. A God-based team. We have a team Bible study that's player led, and we're just a family. Like, I couldn't do it without those guys. It is no finger point. We're all together. We grind it from the winter all the way into this point. So if I fall down, they're right there to pick me up. If they fall down, I'm picking them right back up so regardless, we're going to attack. We're a family."
Kadin SemonzaÂ
Q: "You played probably your best game today, but unfortunately came out with the loss, How do you move forward after playing so well, but still taking the L on the record?"
A: It doesn't matter how well I played or how well anybody played. We lost, and we've got to deal with that. There's no finger point here. We're gonna be alright. We're gonna keep our heads up and get it rolling next week, but you know that's a tough loss for sure."
Q: "Take me through that last big offensive drive. You guys went 97 yards in just over a minute."
A: "It was nothing new to the offense. I mean that stuff we rep and practice every week, almost every day. So it was familiar territory for us, and we just went out there and did our thing, but at the end of the day, it still wasn't enough, though."Â
Q: "As a redshirt freshman, what's the confidence level like when you're put in the game with two minutes left, and you know the games in your hands, and you have to manufacture 90 yards of offense to get down the field?"
A: "My confidence will remain at an all-time high at all times. I mean that comes from years and years of preparation, practice, film room study. At the end of the day, my preparation each and every week - I'm going to rely on that, and I'm not going to be afraid of any moment at all."
Â
Coach NeuÂ
Opening statement
A: "That's MAC football. It's never over until the clock hits zero, and it was just a battle back-and-forth there at the end. You've got to give them credit. They executed a two-minute drive there. We left just under a minute, and they had three timeouts there, and you've got to give them credit for going down the field and executing. I told our guys there's no finger pointing here. We win together, we lose together, and we've got to get back to to Muncie. We've got to work on us."
Q: "Last week Keionte, told us that there were a lot of communication issues with the defense. Do you think that was an issue today?"
A: "Yes, I do. I think there are some communication challenges that we have, but it wasn't all that. Again, we gave up some big plays, and when you have a chance to make a tackle in the open field and we don't finish the deal and get them to the ground, that results in big plays, and those are things that we've got to get cleaned up on our end. That just simply can't happen."
Q:"Kadin looked really sharp offensively. Today he had a really great day throwing the ball, and he made some really nice throws. What did you like about what you saw from him?"
A: "Ultimate competitor. Obviously, [Kadin] led the team 95 yards down the field there and just took what the defense gave him, and he trusted his guys were going to make plays after the catch. I think he's seen his hard work pay off. You learn a lot about a quarterback, especially in those situations when that's the most pressure you can face, and I think he did a good job of executing there."
Q: "What have you seen from Koziol so far at the start of this season?"
A: "Yeah, I credit Tanner because obviously, we all know that back in in the spring or back late fall he made a decision to enter the portal and was headed to Louisville, and that takes a lot of guts to to call somebody three days before you're gonna go and and tell him that you want to go back to Ball State - You want to play with your teammates, and I think a big reason is because his rapport and connection he has with Kadin. Those guys work tirelessly together on the practice field. They work tirelessly together off the practice field. They watch film together. I think it's just a belief. I think you're seeing two guys that invest a lot of time together in the offseason. Their hard work's paying off, and that has to be the case if you want to have a chance to be a great player. It's those types of things that are necessary off the field in order to be able to have a chance to get that done."
Q: "With two back-to-back losses, how hard is it to keep up that positive attitude?"
A: "It's football man. We've got one game at the end of the week. You you spend six days preparing for one game, and you want to go out and you want to play as good as you possibly can. I'm not worried for one second about our team. I fully believe those guys. Sometimes the game is 10-7, and sometimes it's a game like this. They take different shapes the way they go. It's not always going to be a shootout every week, and it's not always going to be a defensive battle."
Elijah DavisÂ
Q: "What do you think kind of went wrong for the defense, especially in that second half there?"
A: "I feel like we came out really on fire and getting in the backfield. It's a simple thing. It's football. Just a lot of misfitting gaps, and they expose that, especially from the safeties myself. We've got to fill gaps a lot sooner."
Q: "What does this defense has to have to do next week to put together a complete game?"
A: "All four quarters. Second quarter we had 20 unanswered points, so all four quarters. If we attack them how we did the first and the third, it's a big W."
Q: "Mike told us that the big thing he was telling you guys is there's no finger pointing, and just guys have to be accountable for yourselves and for your teammates. How have you embraced that in the past? And how do you kind of plan on embracing that?"
A: "Just coming together as a team. We're a very well put together team. A God-based team. We have a team Bible study that's player led, and we're just a family. Like, I couldn't do it without those guys. It is no finger point. We're all together. We grind it from the winter all the way into this point. So if I fall down, they're right there to pick me up. If they fall down, I'm picking them right back up so regardless, we're going to attack. We're a family."
Kadin SemonzaÂ
Q: "You played probably your best game today, but unfortunately came out with the loss, How do you move forward after playing so well, but still taking the L on the record?"
A: It doesn't matter how well I played or how well anybody played. We lost, and we've got to deal with that. There's no finger point here. We're gonna be alright. We're gonna keep our heads up and get it rolling next week, but you know that's a tough loss for sure."
Q: "Take me through that last big offensive drive. You guys went 97 yards in just over a minute."
A: "It was nothing new to the offense. I mean that stuff we rep and practice every week, almost every day. So it was familiar territory for us, and we just went out there and did our thing, but at the end of the day, it still wasn't enough, though."Â
Q: "As a redshirt freshman, what's the confidence level like when you're put in the game with two minutes left, and you know the games in your hands, and you have to manufacture 90 yards of offense to get down the field?"
A: "My confidence will remain at an all-time high at all times. I mean that comes from years and years of preparation, practice, film room study. At the end of the day, my preparation each and every week - I'm going to rely on that, and I'm not going to be afraid of any moment at all."
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