Appalachian State

Head Coach Scott Satterfield

Opening statement

First of all, I'm just really proud of our guys, the way they came out and played this week, you know we had the open week last week so a couple weeks off. If you look back to when we have had an open week off, we've done pretty well, especially defensively and I think our defensive staff did a great job and our players, putting together a great plan to stop them. Offensively, we were moving the football, but then to go down and get two turnovers, and get them out with no points early in the game was huge. Got to play a lot of the guys there at the end. Some of these seniors who don't play a lot, proud to get those guys in the game. We are feeling really good right now at 9-2, going to finish it off next week. 

On the sacks and defense stopping McGuire

That was a huge point of emphasis stopping McGuire. We think he is a really talented player. We wanted to get pressure on the quarterback and disrupt the passing game, but the main objective was to stop the run and I think our defensive did a great job. We mixed it up a little bit more today to disrupt the pass and the run. 

Was this the best you've done all year at stopping third down conversions?

We did a great job on offense and defense. They were 6-17 and we were 8-12. Those two stats are really huge. Third downs were huge for us, We've been pretty good in that regard all year. 

On getting back to the simple things

It really is a simple game. If you can run the football and stop the run, you have a great chance of winning. We built out team toward that and have been very successful when we've been able to do that. The one game we didn't was the Arkansas State game and we lost.

Do you worry about being as amped up as you need to be for next week?

They have something to play for at South Alabama. For us, we have a lot on the line, we have a chance to win ten games in the FBS and that's huge in itself. We are still playing for a championship. We are still going to tell our guys we're playing for a championship because that's what we are doing. That's a team that really blew us out last year, South Alabama, so that'll be something our guys remember a little extra heading down next week. 

RB Jalin Moore

Talk about your long run

I just give it up to all those guys blocking for me up in the front. Started out a little rocky. I was kind of frustrated about it and I congratulate those guys for keeping my head straight, saying just be patient. Once I saw the hole, I just hit it and they were right. 

Did Marcus give you a little assist?

I was glad to have him back. He did a good job setting me up and he gives me a push. I feel good going in the game with him. He told me 'I told you it was going to come' because like I said, I was frustrated. The leadership and the veterans were teaching me about what to do when the game doesn't go your way. The more carries I get, the more comfortable I get. Play your own game and it will come to you, just be patient. 

DL Ronald Blair

Talk about during the game and what is was like coming off the field for the last time.

It was a crazy experience. I really had to pep talk myself to get my emotions handled, but once I got out there, I said 'okay, we're good' and then when I walked off the field, it hit me that this was the last time you'll ever step off this field during a game, it really sunk in. It was a great experience to end against a great team.

Have you heard from Coach Moore? What does it mean to have him around?

I talked to him earlier this week. We were just talking and you know him, he is just one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth. I can say nothing but good things about him. He just adds a positive light every time he's around. He said 'you still have a lot of football to play so get ready'. It's big to know someone that legendary remembers the little things and cares. He used to say it's all about people. 

LB Eric Boggs

You two account for four of the six sacks. How were you able to get in there so easily? 

We had a little package that we put in this week and it opened things up for us. We had a couple blitzes and they were having trouble picking it up, so we kept doing the same thing. 

LB John Law

You two account for four of the six sacks. How were you able to get in there so easily?

A lot of it was the coaches doing a good job of game planning. A lot of times, the offensive line would account for me and he [Boggs] would get the sack and then they would account for him and I'd get the sack. We knew exactly what they were going to try to do to us from the pass protection standpoint. 

Does the sack mean more to players than the hurry?

A sack feels great for you. When you get back there and don't get the sack, it's like almost scoring a touchdown, almost catching the ball. It's like you can see them, they're right there. It's always a big boost for us to get sacks and get the quarterback thinking about us coming for him. That changes his delivery and read, makes them go a little quicker. 

What does it mean to have your defensive coordinator nominated for the Broyles Award?

To me it means everything. It speaks volumes to the effort and time that he puts in along with the rest of the staff. They throw a lot of stuff at us. Coach Woody really trusts us to go out and run the plays he puts together for us. He has put us in the toughest possible situations in practice, so when we get out into the games, it is a lot easier. It is really the trust between him and us. They're very creative and they trust us to go out and execute whatever they draw up for us.

UL Lafayette

DL Taboris Lee

Turnovers and defense in first half

We held our own defensively. We came in and stopped the run.

On third downs

We've got to learn how to get off the field on third down. We just seemed to shoot ourselves in the foot. We still played as a team. We just have to keep working.

On losing bowl eligibility  

We've just got to worry about the next game. We're now worried about Troy. We'll start prepping tomorrow.

QB Brooks Haack

On not capitalizing on turnovers

Very frustrating. When you have a defense that comes on and forces two turnovers, you've got to, as an offense, expect to put that in as 7 points. We didn't capitalize on either.  We couldn't get anything good going. We just got stuffed.

On losing bowl eligibility  

It's definitely hard, especially for those seniors. I really feel for them, but we can't worry about that too much. We've got to worry about Troy now.  We've got to get better offensively. We've all got to be pulling the same way and if not, we're going to get crushed like we did.

On sacks

They had to have had one of the best fronts that we've faced. They did some things on third downs that they haven't shown. I give the credit all to them for stepping up and playing.  But it's one of those things that we've got to put on our backs.

On third down sacks. Was it pressure?

It was a little bit of pressure. They were just really fast and had a lot of twists.  It's just one of those things we've got to get better at.  We knew they were going to bring a lot of pressure and they did.  It's tough because you want to score every time you get the ball, and when you don't, you take it hard upon yourself.  But they played really hard.

Head Coach Mark Hudspeth

Opening Statement

I'll tell you, that's just one that you don't feel good about because you feel like your defense played well enough to win the game.  Offensively we weren't able to respond at all. We got down into the red zone and could not find any points.  Special teams wise, defensively, we played really good against an outstanding offense.  To hold them the way we did was pretty good.  Offensively we've got to find some answers. As soon as next week is over, we're going to evaluate what we're doing offensively and there will be some changes to what we're doing.  We've got to be way better.  We're going to get some things fixed, but more importantly, in the meantime, we've got to get ready for Troy, who is to me an extremely improved team.  It's going to be another challenge. Penalties hurt us early and those are things that we can control.

On what changes will be made

We're going to evaluate offensively to see how we can be more efficient and utilize our talent to best fit them. This is going to be one of those times where we hit the reset button. 

On sacks

This is two years in a row where I felt like they have a better plan than we did protection wise.  We've got to do a better job in our protection plan. They out-schemed us and I give them credit.  They've got good players. 

Not capitalizing on turnovers

It's heartbreaking. To come up and get two big turnovers, that's one thing we've needing all year long and we didn't do anything with it.  We're doing a lot of things right on offense. We didn't have any turnovers.  We haven't had one fumble by a running back all year.  So that's pretty strong.

On losing bowl eligibility  

We've got another home game. We want to win every home football game and send our seniors out with a good win. This senior class is going to be defined by how they respond to adversity.  We've also learned a lot about our team's strengths and deficiencies.