Oct. 31, 2015
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Russell’s Photos 
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Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening Statement
“First and foremost, I’d like to give the University of Houston and Coach Herman what’s due for playing a heck of a ball game. I thought they were persistent offensively; they found ways to extend some drives. I thought defensively they did a great job of stopping the run and getting us in third down situations. They were bringing pressure, and we didn’t handle the pressure very well; we didn’t move the pocket enough. We didn’t do enough things offensively to stay on the field.
For us, special teams wise, it was a subpar day. I thought it was average all around. This group has got to continue to grow. The positive coming out of this, if there is a positive, is that these kids have to continue to know and understand that you cannot continue to turn the ball over; you have to make better decisions with the football and you have to play cleaner overall with special teams and on defense in order to have a chance to win games like this, especially in someone else’s house. I apologize for the bad ball tonight; we had to eliminate it and we didn’t but we will come back and we will get this thing fixed, that’s what I see.”
Whether or not he was surprised by the score of the game
“Yes. Everything surprises you when you are in a struggle. You look at us and we were a 3-4 team; that’s tough. We have to be able to stay on the field, but bigger than that turnovers. I thought we had a couple of errors, 12 men on the field, penalties – that’s happened to us and we have to better. We have to get our guys on and off the field. We talked about substitutions; the first one was a missed hand signal and the second one wound up being a coach getting a guy on the field and everyone was just going fast. We beat us. We blocked us. We had a rough night at the office. What I would say looking at this game is that we didn’t do enough and they played really well, so we will go back and look at it and we will get it fixed.
“I thought they were very optimistic, made plans, had some things happen for them, things went their way and they made some great plays. The interception return was a great play. We had pressure on the QB, the QB throws the ball up, the ball flutters in the air and the receiver still catches it and we were in a man-to-man coverage. That was an opportunity to get a pick, and hopefully take that thing to the house or get it on the field for our offense. I think we missed a lot of opportunities tonight. We didn’t eliminate the bad ball and they played good ball.”
On playing well defensively but not offensively
“When you lose you lose, whether its 3-0 or 34-0, I hate losing. I always have, and I always will. The thing that we have to do is balance this out, because right now there is an imbalance in terms of production. We will look at it, we will continue to get better and we will clean up the phases that we need to clean up.
“We have to get better play out of the QB position, and not only that, we have to give him a better platform. We have to be able to move the pocket a little bit. I believe the platform for the QB was the same all night, and they kept coming with seven and eight man pressure, bringing it up the gut and going zero coverage. I would love to do that too, but you can do that when you have someone behind the chains.”
On the injuries his team sustained
“As of right now, I haven’t had the chance to talk with our training staff. I’ve always said the same thing: it has to be the next man up. We are off to the University of Florida. We will get back tonight, and I will be in the first thing in the morning to assess exactly where we are at and what we are doing, and we will move forward.”
On the possibility of fixing the offense with the current roster
“I don’t know. I believe that if we are properly managing the game, properly putting players in position to make plays, I think it gives us a chance to gain some confidence. Anytime you are dealing with a young team, you seem to take two steps forward and one step backward.
Here’s the deal: they are going to continue to compete and give me exactly what I need and what I want. We are going to find a way scheme-wise to get us to the other side. We will scheme it out. I don’t care if we go wildcat, I don’t care if we go spread, back to pro, back to spread, back to pro. There are ways to attack these teams that we are playing against, because they are attacking us the same way and keeping us off balance. We have to move forward with that and have a little more balance and continue to find ways to be successful.”
Vanderbilt Linebacker Darreon Herring
On difficulty of the game after turnovers
“It is always a tough situation to be in, backed down in the redzone like that. We were, going into this game, ranked No. 1 in the SEC in the redzone, so we should have stopped them like in previous games, when the offense turned the ball over down there, we got stops and held them to a field goal, but that wasn’t the situation today.”
On the outcome of the game
“We are definitely surprised. The coaches prepared us well. I know that Coach (Derek) Mason probably came in here and said that this one was on him, but at the end of the day it came down to the offense, defense and special teams playing with more heart, and we just didn’t come out there and play with enough of it. It was definitely surprising to come out here and get beat 34-0, but it happened, and we just have to start looking at film tomorrow and making corrections and move on to Florida.”
On the effort of the team
“At certain times you could see us high, and at certain times you could see us low. We have to stay at that high point all the time. We can’t drop down to a low level and start playing bad and losing our technique. We have to stay within the game.”
Vanderbilt Linebacker Zach Cunningham
On the momentum after forcing turnovers
“Both of those recoveries brought us a little momentum, and we thought that we could come back and have a chance to win the game.”
On frustrations with offense not being able to score
“Every time you see that it’s always a little frustrating, but you have to get back on the field, and do your job and get them the ball back.”
Vanderbilt Center Spencer Pulley
On outcome of the game
“We obviously came into the game expecting to win. The way we played obviously wasn’t surprising. We played good enough to have that outcome.”
On turning the ball over on offense and putting the defense in a tough spot
“It is hard to win a game when you basically score 21 points for the other team. That is what we did. It wasn’t anybody’s one mistake. It was a whole offensive thing.”
On the offenses issues
“One person is only as good as everybody else around them. We all have to be playing on point for the next person to play well. It doesn’t matter how well I block if the guard next to me misses his block. Tonight we just didn’t play 11-man football. We had some guys playing really good football at different times, but we didn’t have everyone playing well at the same time.”
On moving on to the next game
“This game hurts, and it should, but we are going to watch the film and judge ourselves hard and make sure to find the mistakes. It is easier to see the mistakes when you lose, so we will definitely fix the mistakes and go onto the next game.”
Vanderbilt Running Back Ralph Webb
On the outcome of the game
“It definitely surprised us. We didn’t expect to turn the ball over as many times as we did. It is hard to play with four or five turnovers, or with however many we had, but it is hard to get the offense going when you are struggling to move the ball.”
On the defense forcing turnovers
“Definitely missed opportunities out there, those two and plenty more, but we just couldn’t get over the hump or get the offense started. It was a rough night.”
On finding an answer on offense this season
“We have to find ourselves and take care of the ball. That is the most important thing. We are beating ourselves, and that is really where we are losing games. We turn the ball over a lot. We have to focus on taking care of the ball.”
On the defense’s performance against tough offense
“It is very tough on the defense. We kept them out there on the field way too long. We have to do a better job of controlling the ball with clock management and keep drives alive by getting first downs.”
Houston Head Coach Tom Herman
Opening statement
“A really good job by our defense. Obviously pitching a shutout is huge, and we knew we were going to have to lean on them quite a bit due to the fact that I don’t know anybody else in America that’s starting two true freshmen on the offensive line. One of those being Kameron Eloph, who was a defensive lineman just three weeks ago, and a redshirt freshman in Mason Denley at the other guard, who was a defensive lineman in June. Hats off to the defense for keeping us in that game. Then, obviously, the offense with some short fields because of the turnovers and the really good punt returns, found a way to put some points on the board when it counted and really closed the game out there towards the end and took the air out of the ball. Great team win. Best part about being 1-0 this week is that another opportunity presents itself next week. So we have to come back and get ready for Cincinnati.”
On shutting out Vanderbilt
“In college football, that’s a pretty hard thing to do in today’s day and age. Again, there was not any fire and brimstone. I just reminded them before we went out to do their job to the best of their abilities and to play with a purpose. That purpose is for the love and success for the guy next to them. The defense certainly responded and played at the level they’re capable of.”
On how the linemen played against Vanderbilt’s bigger front lines
“Our culture is that, when faced with adversity, the only thing we know how to do is revert back to two things, and that’s fanatical effort and your training. We have, in my opinion, the best coaching staff in America, and they train these guys. They should feel very confident. They’re the best-trained outfit in the country, and that certainly includes the offensive and defensive lines and their technique and effort definitely showed that tonight.”
About the defense forcing interceptions
“Everybody wants to know ‘what’s the secret to turnovers?’ and really the answer is fanatical effort on defense and swarming to the football. Anytime that you can get multiple hats near or around the football and keep swinging away and hitting these guys on offense, the chances are that the ball is going to pop out, cause fumbles. And obviously, you get pressure on the quarterback and force him into some ill-advised decisions in order to throw some interceptions.”
On Greg Ward’s touchdown pass to Demarcus Ayers
“That was maybe the best throw of his career, or at least since we’ve been here. He stood there like a bona fide quarterback and delivered the football while he was getting hit. It was a hell of a throw and a hell of a route by [Demarcus Ayers]. They did a really good job of containing him on the perimeter and making him be a vertical threat.”
About Greg Ward and his growth as quarterback
“Obviously, we have to correct the two turnovers. They was really bad ball security on his part. That’s something that certainly sticks in my craw. We were driving on both those series, and he turned the ball over, which is unacceptable. But he did make some really good decisions. We put a lot on his plate because of how multiple their defense was. They do a really good job when the offense looks to the sideline, they check their defense. So we couldn’t rely on a lot of the things that we do, in terms of looking to the sideline and letting Major [Applewhite] call the right play. We put a lot on [Ward] in terms of two or three play checks to get us in the right play, and he did a phenomenal job of that. If I had to put a number on it, somewhere he was around 90% on getting us into the right play.”
On the defensive performance
“Again, I go back to the way they’re trained. Our defensive staff is the best in the country, and we train really, really hard during the week and even in our practices. We started August 6, and it’s the first of November right now, and we’re still going as hard now as we did in training camp. These guys have responded to the way that we prepare in account of our culture, and like you said, it was a buildup. The last three quarters of the UCF game we played really good defense. For the most part, against Tulane, we played really good defense, and obviously tonight we really played a complete game.”
On playing on national TV
“Anytime you get an opportunity to play on national TV, and to showcase what you’re all about and showcase, the things that you’ve been working so hard to achieve and instill in our guys, it’s nice to let the whole country see that. It was a great advertisement for the University of Houston.”
On Colton Freeman not playing tonight
“(He’s) Dealing with some stinger issues. He had a stinger in the game against UCF and thought he could go. He practiced on Tuesday and was just not himself, so we had an MRI, and it doesn’t appear to be anything permanent, but he had a lot of weakness and tingling in his arm and in his shoulder, and just could not go tonight.
“Hopefully with that kind of rest and treatment, the signs point to us getting him back next week, but we have to make sure, because those things if you come back too soon just reoccur and reoccur and reoccur and eventually it’s going to take an entire offseason to rest those nerves. The nerves don’t heal like the other parts of the body. It takes a while, so we have to be smart with him. But not playing tonight certainly helped speed up that process.”
On what happened with Demarcus Ayers shoulder
“Yeah a shoulder contusion. We sat him out for a little bit and got it rubbed out. Then he came in at halftime and got some treatment on it. I’m sure it will be sore for him tomorrow. He finished the game and I don’t expect any long-term effects from that.”
On what it means to be 8-0
“Nothing. That’s not to be coy or stand-offish. It really has no bearing on how we prepare for Cincinnati, because the culture we have instilled in our program is that we’ve got 14 one-game seasons, and we went 1-0 this week. We have another opportunity to go 1-0 again against a conference opponent next week.”
On the defensive play tonight
“Oh unbelievably impressed. Four turnovers, a shutout, & 185 total yards. There’s a lot to be impressed with, and we held them to 44 yards passing and twelve first downs. That’s a pretty good day at the office.”
On second half defense
“I was a little bit worried on that first drive. They picked up a few first downs on that drive, but as was indicative of most of the night, and a lot of the season we rose to the occasion when our backs were against the wall, and we were reeling a little bit so they made a play. I don’t know who caused the fumble, but I know we recovered it, and that was a big play. We pride ourselves on being great in the first and second downs so that we can turn the guys loose on the third downs, and they did a hell of a job. That got us back in rhythm a little bit after rattling off a few first downs coming out of half time.”
Houston Safety Adrian McDonald
On defense’s efforts tonight
“Statistically I felt pretty solid all around. Turnovers are a big part of our identity. I felt like we proved that tonight. We had a tremendous amount of turnovers and effort. The guys played hard. That’s something you can write about the defense for sure. Sideline to sideline. Defensive line and backs. They all swarmed.”
On getting the shut out
“Pretty solid performance right there. At the nine minute mark in the fourth, Coach (Todd) Orlando said ‘if we slip up and give them a cheap touchdown or field goal, you can consider that great performance down the drain.’ The way we finished and stayed at it shows a lot of maturity on the defense that we didn’t let it go.
“I brought up in the locker room about the bowl game a couple of years ago, that we were down 21 going into the half, and we made that 21 point comeback, so we need to keep our foot on the gas.”
On playing Vanderbilt again after losing to them in bowl game two years ago
“It was solid for sure. It was something I felt we had to do. When we went out to practice, the graduate assistants would have big cardboard signs with the score from the last time we played them: same thing with Tulane. It was motivation in practice. That was what we were working towards.”
On defense ability to create turnovers
“(On the fumble recovery) Elandon Roberts filled the hole and got the ball out and Nick Thurman jumped on it. That’s just part of our identity. We cause turnovers whenever it’s time and maybe when it’s not time. You never know. We were solid all the way around and I’m proud of my guys.”
Houston Linebacker Steven Taylor
On how the team was able to win game
“We just came out and executed the game plan. We practiced hard throughout the week, and Coach Orlando put out a blueprint that we followed and executed.”
On how the defense was so effective on creating turnovers
“Our willingness to get to the ball and execute our defense helps us get turnovers. It also helps our offense capitalize off of those turnovers. We run and make big plays.”
On energy with in the defense
“There is definitely momentum, energy, and competitiveness within the defense to make plays and create turnovers. We compete to get to the ball and make tackles, and if we have 11 guys trying to accomplish one goal, then we get good results.”
On how fun it is to play right now
“We are having a lot of fun. We grind every day throughout the week, put in the work and just prepare. We have a ball on game day.”
On the Houston defense
“We showed the world how aggressive we are, and that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Houston Defensive Back William Jackson III
On his interception and touchdown
“This whole week I knew they were going to run that play just from watching film, and coach bringing me in late at night. It just was a play to be made, and we’ve got teammates that play for each other, and they got me in the end zone.”
“We watch film a lot. It kind of just says that with what we were running. We already knew for our concept, that’s what we were getting out of it. So we just executed the play.”
Houston Running Back Kenneth Farrow
On seeing the improvement of the defense
“I remember back in 2011, they could get a couple of stunts and it would be okay. Now they’re going out there and getting multiple turnovers. If they don’t get a turnover, it’s like ‘what’s going on?’ They played lights out tonight, and they’ve been doing that all season. Not only are they getting turnovers, they’re capitalizing and putting the ball in the end zone, which is huge for us.”
On the balance of the offense
“I think that’s the trend throughout the season; we come out in the first half, toss the ball around and get a couple runs here and there. We use that tempo to our advantage, and we come out in the second half and most of the guys (on the other team) are sucking for wind. Once we start going downhill on them, and it’s hard to stop us when you have that many options in the backfield to run the ball.”
On the motivation that comes with an 8-0 record
“To know that we really are the top defense in one of the best conferences in the country gives everybody a little chip on the shoulder. Coming out during the preparation this week, we were able to get out there and show what we can do.”
