Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Coach Lennon football press conference transcript
10/13/2014 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Rico Cruz
SIUSalukis.com
Opening Statement
It is another big week coming up and another big challenge on the road. We are in the middle of it right now. This is what we have been preparing for and this is what we have to get ready for. We are excited about getting back on the horse, getting another shot here, and see if we can take that next step.
Q: What did you learn from the loss on Saturday?
A: The challenge was steep, and we knew that going in. Watching the film, it was not a physical thing or an athletic thing. We needed to be in that type of game to know what that atmosphere feels like. It comes down to making plays at critical times. You make a play here or there and things could definitely have turned out differently. We were battling to stay in it. Going into the fourth quarter, we were still in it and had a chance to go. We just did not quite have the ability to finish the game, and that is what we learned. We have to give ourselves more opportunities to have the finish that we want against probably the best team in the FCS.
Q: What are the differences between Youngstown State’s quarterbacks?
A: It is very similar to the other schools that we have already played. One is more of a passer and the other is more of a running threat. It is not anything that we have not seen. Both of them have their strengths and both are very capable, otherwise they would not be starting for Youngstown State. Both of them have had success over the course of the season. You always have to be ready for both quarterbacks. That is the nature of any game. You really start defending situations more than you do quarterbacks. If it is a formation that is more pass friendly, that is how you defend it. You are aware of who is in at quarterback. They change up their offense of style a little bit too, which allows you defensively to make a natural adjustment without having to rearrange anything.
Q: Will this be a game where your secondary will be tested pretty good?
A: I think that we have been quite a bit. Eastern Illinois was going to come out and throw the ball. Western Illinois is another passing-type offense. We have been challenged. I do not think that it is going to be anything different than what we have been doing. You still have to defend the run. If you don’t stop the run, you are in for a long day. They have four receivers returning from last year as starters, so their talent is pretty deep at the receivers. They like to take shots, but every team likes to take shots. That is just something you are going to just have to hold up against the deep ball. You just have to find ways to get pressure on the quarterback so those shots don’t come back and hurt you. It really goes back to a team concept, especially defensively. We have to make sure that the pass rush is there to create some pressure and the coverage is sound, where you are not giving anything up that is easy.
Q: How confident are you right now of you pass rush?
A: I think that we are pretty good. North Dakota State only threw the ball 13 times and we have two sacks on the day. Pass rush is something that we have been pretty good at. We have some good athletes up front. That is usually dictated by what is happening in the game, too. If we are playing from behind, the teams are not going to be throwing as much. They are going to be running the ball at you. If you are playing with the lead, that is really when you can pin your ears back and let the guys up front go.
Q: What kind of vulnerabilities have you seen with their offensive line?
A: I wouldn’t say any. We are going into game eight of the season; and in my mind, that is a full season under their belts. They have had good success. Watching their game against Illinois in their first game of the season, they had 450-plus yards on offense. They ran the ball and threw the ball. They pretty much did what they wanted against a Big Ten team. Then they played some teams that they should dominate and they did. This past week, Western Illinois got on top of them and they just had a bad start to the game. Their game with Missouri State was very impressive if you want to talk about a physical battle.
Q: How different are their running backs?
A: They are pretty similar. Their speed guys have good quickness. They rely on those two pretty much completely. There are times when both of them get into the backfield together. They do have a fullback that comes in that is a big horse and will use him most of the time as a blocking back, but will also give it to him in short yardage. That is where he is a really good and hard-nosed north-south runner. If you remember last year, that is where we struggled with, stopping them in short yardage downs. That will be a big challenge for us.
Q: How do you get LaSteven (McKinney) and Tay (Willis) more involved?
A: That is always a challenging part, putting together a game plan, making sure it is adaptable, and having ways of getting the ball into the players' hands. At the same time, you are trying to establish other components. The thing that we needed to do was get some north-south run game going to try and compliment a few things. That is always the challenge when you are facing a good defense. You need to take your shots too. If you take your shot and don’t get it, then it is second-and-10 and now you are making a different play call. We have to be more successful with some of the conversions on first down which will allow us to be able to do more with the offensive game plan.
Q: What did Western Illinois do to hold the ball for so long against Youngstown State?
A: I think that was more of the catch-up mode that Youngstown State was in. They were more passing, so I don’t see it as a dominant factor. Western Illinois got off to a 14-0 start. That was the key for them. They basically maintained that margin through the game. Youngstown did a great job battling back to give themselves a chance to close the gap, but whatever they did, Western was able to answer with a score of their own. Big plays were a big part of that football game.
