Middle Tennessee Postgame Presser Notes and Quotes

P.J. Fleck
Very proud of the resolve. Didn’t start fast on offense. Defense created energy, purpose, flying around everywhere. Said he wanted a defense that would inspire people by watching them play. Result didn’t matter, how they played mattered.

Have to clean up the undisciplined plays and penalties. Said it starts with him and it’s his fault. Said they will get it corrected.

Said special teams was one of the game changers. Noted the Rodney return, Santoso punts, and Carpenter FGs.

Thought all 3 phases played really well, except for the offense in the first half. Got the offense going in the second half.

On Kobe McCrary stepping up with a 100-yard game:
“Coach Mason said you have to have a pair and a spare. We had a spare tire, tonight. That wasn’t a spare tire, though. That was a monster truck bigfoot tire and he had to step in.”

Said Rodney got dinged up. Hasn’t talked to the doctors yet for a full update. Says the medical staff is the best in country. Shannon Brooks might have been able to play, but wanted to be sure so they held him out. Said he will never put a kids well-being at risk for a victory.

On how the momentum changed on the Huff:
Said he doesn’t believe in momentum. It’s one team playing bad on offense and one team playing well on defense. Momentum does not exist.

Phenomenal play by Huff on the pick six. Singled out Blake Cashman for the block down field to spring the return.

Thank you Travis.

Said he doesn’t believe in momentum. It’s one team playing bad on offense and one team playing well on defense. Momentum does not exist.
Interesting.

Here are some full quotes from the players provided by the Gophers athletic department:

Conor Rhoda

On his overall assessment of today’s game:
“On the first drive, we came right out of the gates, ran it down their throat, but had to settle for three. From there, we stalled for a couple of drives, but we really got it going after halftime. We weren’t pleased with the couple of penalties we had, offense stalled a few times, but after halftime we came out a lot better.”

On what the pick-six by Jacob Huff did for the team’s mindset:
“It definitely gave us a spark. We could be up by 20, we could be down by 20. When you get 37 points like that, it’s a huge lift. Jacob is a great player and he made a really great play.”

Kobe McCrary

On how much he enjoyed the opportunity to play with two other great backs on the team:
"All of the running backs are prepared. It’s always the next one up. Rodney, Shannon, all of us are good enough to play if somebody goes down.”

On the successful rushing attack against Middle Tennessee:
“We realized we were wearing them down on the first drive. Rodney had a great run on the first play, so we knew we were going to be able to run the ball. We came into the game and wanted to run the ball and that’s what we did.”

On the relationship of the running back group on the team:
“We all know we are capable to play, so during the game, the guys on the sidelines are looking to push and motivate the guy out there. We lean on each other. We all have a relationship. We are all very close. We laugh together and if one of us is down, we pick each other up.”

I wonder if it's from the momentum = luck mindset.

You know, you make your own breaks.
Lucky = preparedness and opportunity.
Etc.

Momentum seems to only last as long as the last play did.

That game was a game. It sucks that MTSU was missing their two best players, but oh well. That damn personal foul put us in a field position hole that took nearly a half of football to get out of. Hard to be upset with that game, I'm definitely optimistic at the moment. Maryland is going to be a huge test. Can't wait to see how we do