Oct. 29, 2007

USU head coach Brent Guy and senior tight end/fullback Jimmy Bohm recap the Louisiana Tech game and preview the Fresno State game.

HEAD COACH Brent Guy

Recap of Louisiana Tech game:

"Like I've always said, you see a few things different when you see the film that maybe you didn't quite realize its impact that it had on the ball game. Without question, when you look at the first half stats and compare with the stats at the end of the third quarter, the third quarter was the problem with the football game. There were some penalties that we incurred at times that caused us some problems and obviously continued some drives for them, and on offense twice that caused us to have to try to kick a 50-yard field goal early in the game when we were penalized and we would have had a third-and-three instead ended up with a second-and-16."

"We've got to solve our third quarter woes. That's one of the things I talked to the players about yesterday in our meetings and after the game. I've already gotten a few suggestions but we've got to come out and perform and play in the third quarter. Really, when you analyzed it, it is the beginning of the first quarter and the beginning of the third quarter. For whatever reason, we seem to play better from behind the cue ball. We get down 14-zip to Nevada and we score 21 unanswered. We get down 10 really fast to La Tech and make a play, we spark and start coming back and then miss a 50-yarder, then get one blocked right before the half that would have at least tied the football game going into half. Then we come out in the third quarter and don't play well on either side of the football. That, to me, was the whole difference in the game, as well as the Nevada game. Those are the things we'll concentrate on this week."

On the Fresno State game:

"We know we're going into a hostile environment. It's a great place to play at Fresno State. I've already had a lot of questions about the revenge factor and all of that, but I really don't think that is as big of factor for the Bulldog football team as what people want to make it out to be. We weren't the only team to beat them last year, there were several other teams besides us. I think what we probably did was that they may have hit bottom at our place and starting changing what they were doing and started building from that point on to where they are today and started playing some younger players and trying to get back to what has always been their style of play which is very good on special teams and just tough-nosed defense, not real complex but they just run and hit you and power football on offense with play-action passing game. That's pretty much what they've done. I think they'll be as irritated as losing to Boise State last week at home as they will thinking about last year's football game with us. Obviously they are still trying to get bowl-eligible which is something that is probably just as important to them as who they're playing the next game. They want to get into position where they can go back to a bowl game, which they did not do last year. It will be a tough football game, I think our kids will be energized and they'll be ready to play because of the environment that it's in. It's a fun place to play. They're going to holler and yell at you, I told them that on Sunday, that as soon as you start heading down that ramp stuff will start flying. That's just the way it is and that's part of the Fresno State environment."

On matter of opposition changing things or what happens in third quarter:

"No, I think we've got to find a way to be ready to make plays. On the opening play of the third quarter, we zone-blitz into a run play and have two players unblocked with the ability to make the play and both miss the tackle and then they (La Tech) have an explosive (20+ yard play), on the first play of the quarter. I think that set the tempo for the whole quarter. We made two yards on eight plays on offense and they made 230 yards. That is hard to overcome. I don't care what football team you're on. We just can't get ourselves in that kind of hole or deficit. The points that we gave up were all in that quarter as well when it was all said and done. When it got to be 24-7 we played much better, made more plays to get back in it. We've got to learn to play like that all the time like we've played when we're in a deficit. That's what I've told the kids.

I don't know what it is that we're doing. If it's something that we're doing as coaches tell us and we've got to correct it. If it's something that you're doing in your mind, stop and just play. Just let loose and just play and don't worry about the score. One of the coach's analogy was it would be interesting what our football team's record would be if we didn't have a scoreboard and a clock, if we just played football for 60 minutes and then we called it and we see what the end result was. I think sometimes we have a tendency to look up and play a little tighter or not quite as loose, whatever it is. We've done that at times. Then, like we saw at Wyoming that we came way back to catch up and take the lead. It's happened to us quite a bit through the years. With these last four games, it's something that we're going to talk about and make sure the guys know that, `hey fellas, just cut it loose and go play, don't worry, let's not look at the scoreboard, let's not worry if it's zero-zero or we play differently because we're behind 14-zero or ahead 14-zero.' We've just got to play and execute and that's the inconsistencies that bother me as head football coach because I saw it happen two weeks in a row. In the Nevada game, where we got behind the in the first quarter, caught back up and then came out in the third quarter and basically let the game get away from us."

On changing procedures at halftime:

"We've talked about everything. There's one coach on my staff that didn't go in at halftime because they had the same problems, so they stayed out there and made corrections on the field, and went back out and kept playing and didn't even go in the locker room. We've talked about a lot of different things. We're going to do some different things just to try and get them re-focused right before we kick off. If you want change, you have to address it. You can't just suggest it and hope it will happen by itself. As a coach you always have to recognize, ok this is an issue, and talk to the kids and the coaches about it and make changes and make sure everyone agrees to try this and let's see what happens."

On playing younger players:

"They are playing quite a bit on special teams, especially. I think you can start mixing them in a little bit. You're always nervous about putting them in there in a game that's real close and the guy makes a mistake so you're asking yourself why you put that guy in there, he wasn't ready to play. Now we've only got four games left so there's only a third of the season left to play. Most of those guys have played 100 snaps now. If you look at the snap totals for the year, a lot of that is special teams, not much of that is on offense or defense. But I think you keep playing those guys. This is the time of year where we've been real fortunate. We've only had two surgeries and we've only lost two players so far, Ben Childs and Robert Turbin, are the only two players that we've lost for the year to injury or surgery. So I think as we keep injecting the young players and getting them as much experience as we can, it's going to help keep us healthy through the end of the year. It's a long, long season. It's tough on these guys emotionally because they keep worrying about the (losing) stretch and getting over the hump. The one thing that I keep saying is that this team has been so much easier to coach as the season goes on and the season has gone by so much faster because they come out and they practice hard, they listen to us, we've just got to get it done in the third quarter especially, and then start faster in the first quarter in these WAC games. That is what's showing up vividly to me in these last two WAC games at home."

On early first half and second half struggles:

"We've got to focus on those things and have more intensity at those times. We've just got to do things to help our guys have success early and to make sure that we have success early in the third quarter, and figure out ways to do that and get that going. It is almost like we wait for the spark to happen. Two examples were when Jase McCormick came in on the fourth-and-two and made a great play on the option play and we got a little spark to get going. We stopped them on fourth-and-two at the goal line and all of sudden there was a spark and we play a little bit better. We've just got to play with that spark all the time. We can't wait, it seems like we're waiting too much for somebody else to do it. I told them on Sunday, `just cut loose and play, really cut loose and play all together.' That fourth-and-two goal line stop was as good as we've had in a long time as far as playing a defensive run play. We've got to do that all the time. Where was that the first play of the third quarter? We had several guys on that, Darby Golden went in and spilled the play, took two guys out. Then Kyle Gallagher stepped up and knocked the fullback right back into the running back and Roy Hurst made a great tackle. That was what we needed to have happen the first play of the third quarter, not when it's fourth-and-two at the goal line and we're behind 24-7. Those are things that I've talked about and addressed to them and tried to show them the good with the bad and point out that we're not playing awful all the time. We're playing really bad in spurts especially at bad timing. A bad time to give up a big play is the first play of the third quarter."

On quarterback situation:

"I fell the same way after talking with (USU offensive coordinator) Darrell (Dickey) and some of the offensive staff and personnel, is that we've created a good situation for both Jase (McCormick) and Leon (Jackson). It's going to be competitive. We're going to be able to play both of them. Both of them do something a little bit different and are a little bit different style of quarterback. We'll keep practicing and both guys will play and see who moves the team. I don't think you take the guy out when he's playing well and the team's moving, scoring some points. But then you do put the other guy in if we're not moving the sticks and see if he can make something happen. Kind of like what happened last week. You saw Jase come in and move the team on the fourth-and-two and Leon came in and threw the ball to Jacob Actkinson and then Jase came back in and threw the touchdown pass to Kevin Robinson. Both guys bring something to the table and it makes the other team adapt, because Jase is the best guy we've got in the option game, as far as the reads and knowing when to give it, when to tuck it and when to pitch it. He's pretty good at it, he did a lot of it in high school. So that makes the other team defend a little bit different style of play."

On being confident about being able to turn things around with a third of the season remaining:

"That's what I've talked about with the team. Life is hard. Some days, some weeks, some months, for us it's been quite a while. We've had a tough stretch to go through. We're learning lessons, some of these guys won't realize it until later in life, but it is such a small part of their life that seems so big right now. I think back on my four years playing at Oklahoma State and I can't remember half of my teammates' names, unfortunately, which is embarrassing now 25 years later. That's what I've tried to tell them, is that you need to take advantage of the opportunity you have right now because it is such a small window in your life that is very, very special and you're going to cherish it the rest of your life. Don't take anything for granted.

I'm really, really proud of this group of seniors. These are the guys that I inherited, that were here when I got here, that could have gone somewhere else. There was one of them that left but the rest of them stayed. I think they're really a credit why this team is still really fun to coach. I don't dread going out there and trying to motivate them on Tuesday for practice because they come out ready to practice. They've got a smile on their face and they want the game plan and they want to know how we're going to win. I've just got to figure out a way for them not to get into bad situations where we lose the third quarter like we have the last two weeks. I've got a lot of older guys that are playing that are saying and doing the right things. We go 0-8 right now, but I don't have any problems out in the community, I haven't had to kick any players off (the team) during this long stretch because of behavior out in the community or something else that you read about every week all across the country. These guys are trying to do things the right way. It's just my job to get them through the third quarter and not to let us get in such a hole in the first quarter, and get them to play like that all the time. That's what we want to do these last four games. We had three home and three away, but we couldn't win either of the two home games, now we've got to go on the road and do it. That's the challenge, to learn and play and do these things that we have to do to win on the road."

SENIOR TIGHT END/FULLBACK Jimmy Bohm:

On La Tech game:

"To go along with what Coach Guy said, I didn't realize the third quarter was that big of a frenzy until watching it all again on tape on Sunday. I did realize that they got a bunch of points on us. We've just got to figure out a way to come out of the locker room at halftime and have that intensity ready to go, like we do on any other big situation plays, like those fourth-and-two's, either offensively or defensively. We've got a third of the season left to go and we're going to try to win some games in my final season."

On Fresno State game:

"It's always a lot of fun to go and play at Fresno. We've got a lot of guys from California. A lot of guys have been anticipating this game for a long time. I know guys started trading their tickets for this game the first week of the season so they could get as many people at the game as they could. It is a great environment to play in. I'm just anxious to get back out there and get another shot at victory."

On being anxious to play and having smiles on their faces:

"I'm generally an upbeat kind of guy, not much brings me down. These last two Saturday's, these losses are some tough losses. The Nevada game was real tough, followed by this La Tech game, are some real hard losses to take. Keeping guys mentally excited about the game is pretty much, what us seniors and leaders on the team are trying to do, keep guys excited about getting out there."

Is beating Fresno State last season an advantage:

"Each week in college football is a different week. Every team has a chance to beat every team. This is the year of the upsets, it's crazy out there. It's been pretty exciting to watch. I go in with that mind-set to leave last year in the past and focus on this year."

On big part of offense in playing different roles and trying to get running game:

"I think right now we're one guy away from making that big run. Everybody is on their block and there's just that one guy open. That's the good thing about college football, it's a team sport, everybody's got to do their job and got to do their job well to get it done. You go out there and pancake your guy and somebody let their guy slip through and it's a five-yard loss. That's why we've got to keep working at it and keep going."