Postgame Quotes vs. Akron
9/23/2023 11:45:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Akron at Indiana
September 23, 2023
Akron at Indiana
September 23, 2023
Tom Allen | Indiana Head Coach
Opening Statement
TA: Opening statement. About midnight, you guys are still here, so congratulations. Appreciate your perseverance and grit you're showing. And as ugly as it was, we found a way to win. Really frustrating in a lot of ways. But proud of our defense to keep us in the game. Three takeaways. Defensive score, obviously, the difference in the game. Offense was really, really out of sync and really, really performed poorly, but found a way to win.
Proud of our guys. And even offensively found a way to get that final 2-point conversion there, was a great call. But just not a lot to be too fired up about on that side of the football but, obviously, when you find a way, you got a bunch of players that believe and they battle and fight and claw and scratch to find a way to win a game. So winning is hard. And just get a chance to learn from it and get ready for the next one.
Questions.
On the team's confidence and mindset going into the game…
TA: Yeah. So obviously maybe look at changing some things we're doing. Our schedule, maybe change the personnel. You just find a way to make some changes to get a different result.
Obviously, didn't prepare poorly this week, but, at the same time, did have to remind them in an emotional way on Thursday about who this team is and who they can be and don't look at their record and other things and things of the past. I knew just from watching film how hard they were going to play and how much talent they had at key positions. But thought got their attention from that, but, obviously, not to the extent we needed to.
So, obviously, need to look at that and make some changes
On the teams struggle to focus and looking past Akron…
TA: It's huge. I mean, I think it's -- I was looking for opportunities and did not like at all how we practiced. We actually restarted some things on Thursday. And from what you're just saying right there, I just sense the lack of understanding who we were playing and their ability to beat you and so -- which is mind blowing because we don't have any right to think that at this point.
So -- but did sense it for sure. Didn't like what I was seeing. But at the same time didn't effectively get their attention for sure, especially not on certain areas of the game.
To me, it's a matter of addressing it and, like I said, making every change we got. Feel like we got to make the -- after four games getting us playing right out of the gate at a high level
On the team's short yardage in third and fourth downs and what you what you want to see unlocked from the team…
TA: Yeah. You know, up front didn't block well at all. Probably our worst performance of the season on the offensive line as far as running the football. There's more than just them that were affected. There are tight ends and the quarterbacks and the reads and different things we do. But, obviously, not near good enough.
You're at the goal line, you've got to score touchdowns and not have to kick field goals. Obviously, got stopped on the 1 before. We chose to kick a football from inside the 1. But, yeah, it starts up front. Got to block better.
If we have to make changes up front, personnel-wise, we'll do what we've got to do to get that fixed. That's where it begins. Puts a lot of pressure on third downs with, you know, a young quarterback that had a tough night. Just call it what it is. But, at the same time, we've got to do some things to help him as well. But definitely got to go back and evaluate everything we're doing on offense.
On quarterback Tayven Jackson and his demeanor in the second half…
TA: Yeah. It was a tough night. Definitely wasn't his best. And we didn't do a good job protecting him. There was guys in his face all night long. Our running backs did not do a good job blocking at all as well as our offensive line. So both of those groups really added to some of those issues. Caused maybe some high throws. We had some open receivers we didn't hit. We had three critical drops. One where it would have been a touchdown early on.
Just lack of focus. That's really what it is. So those three drops hurt us. And then just not being able to execute. So just growing pains, without question. But got to look at it very thoroughly and figure out where we need to be and what we need to do to get those things fixed because we've got a really good team coming up here in a week.
On how you would grade the offensive production through four quarters…
TA: Not good enough. Not even close. Below the standard. Below what's acceptable, for sure. Need to go back and watch the film to be able to evaluate the execution piece. And, obviously, can see the things I mentioned as far as the drops and not doing a good job. And, obviously, just evaluate what we're calling.
I think there's no question that some of these leading up to it causes you to be a little bit little more careful in some of those situations not to create a takeaway and put you in an even worse situation because defense was playing well and doing a lot of good things.
So that's even why we chose to kick the field goal from the one yard line. Just because, hey, give us a 7-point lead. Really wanted to have a double -- you know, two score lead, which is frustrating. But, at the same time, played that one just to be able to get enough points, which proved to be a pretty critical decision to give us a chance to go to overtime. So just looking at it live, like you all saw, you know, very frustrating, not good enough.
That's all I'm going to say.
On how extensive the process of making offensive changes is…
TA: Just go through -- we'll go through and evaluate all the times we broke down. You go through, why was it? If was it technique? Was it skill? From the talent of a person being able to make that -- whatever it is we're asking them to do. Is it the call? Is it the position we're putting the guys in?
So that, to me, is the evaluation. We had some things on defense, too, that we didn't execute at critical times and hurt us. That long run at the end was inexcusable to me. So shouldn't have even been to overtime. Defense did a lot of great things, but can't give up that long run. It was a wrong fit by one of our linebackers who is one of our better players. So it just cannot happen.
But, offensively, it is a thorough process. It will start here in a few hours. It will be a short night to be able to get back to work and figure out what we've got to do because, obviously, we're playing again here real soon.
On what led to Akron's quarterback DJ Irons success…
TA: They do a lot of things that put you in conflict with your eyes. So man is a better answer than playing zone. The negative of that is if your front doesn't contain him, then when he does break free, there's no eyes on him, which happened on the last run I thought that was in -- they kind of put us in the second overtime there when we had them on a situation to get to the quarterback. And so I thought that was part of it. Didn't think we had good edges at times, you know, defensively.
He's a very dangerous guy, without question. But just, you know, once again, even though the defense was on the field way too much, which they were, that puts a lot of pressure on them. But, at the same time, felt like we didn't do a great job containing a really dangerous quarterback, who we knew going in was a really good athlete, could beat you with his legs.
So that fine line between getting enough pressure on him and also having eyes on him so you can make sure when he does break free you can get him on the ground.
We were successful at it some of the time but not all of the time. Not enough.
All right. Have a great night. LEO.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Tayven Jackson | QB | R-Fr.
On what the back-and-forth overtime was like…
TJ: I've never been in that situation before, so it's new. But our coaching staff did a phenomenal job of keeping us calm, and everyone calm, so we could just go out there and execute like we did in practice.
On the offensive struggles and what needs to be done before returning to conference play…
TJ: We've got to execute better in practice. We play a Big Ten team next week, and what we did out there today is not going to cut it. So we've got to be better on Sunday and Monday and all of the rest of the week.
On what he feels can be improved within the offense quickly…
TJ: For me, it's seeing signals and being better at reading the defense. I was rushed a little bit, and I was trying to force things, and that is never good when I do that. As a team, we need to have better focus.
Louis Moore | DB | Sr.
Opening Statement
JM: You have to credit Coach (Tom) Allen and his staff on finding a way to win the football game in quadruple overtime. He is one of the good guys in the profession. I tip my hat to coach Allen. I told the guys that if we practice well during the week and play with fanatical effort, and we were very precise, we would luck up in the fourth quarter and have an opportunity to win the football game. I don't believe in moral victories. I'm heartbroken and devastated just like they are. It was not just one play, you could point to. [It was] four plays on the offense, defense and special teams that would have made a difference in the game. The margin for error against a quality Big Ten opponent is negligible at best. The bad part is that we didn't find a way to finish it. The positive thing is that it bodes well for where we've come and where we're going for the rest of the season.
On quarterback D.J. Irons' performance…
JM: DJ played like a warrior. He threw for almost 200, rushed for close to 200. We outgained (Indiana), we had more first downs, more passing yards, more rushing yards. It comes down to turnovers and explosive plays. DJ got banged up, went to the tent where the trainers looked at him. He got an I.V. in the locker room. He wanted to come back out and compete, and he did a hell of a job.
On the defense against Indiana to force a field goal late in regulation…
JM: I think that was a smart decision (to kick a field goal) to get it to 17-10 and make it a touchdown game. Our defense has really improved. We took positive steps last year, but it starts up front. Our interior defensive linemen and our ends are really playing well. The backs are flying to the ball. We are doing a good job in coverage. We did a real nice job containing the explosive offense. I'm not happy about the result, but I'm definitely excited about what lies ahead for us.
On the peaks and valleys of coaching college football…
JM: I didn't get this gray hair by accident. I'm in year 26 with a couple of stints in a bunch of power five conferences, including the SEC. You see just about everything for what we needed to do to build this program, and for what the kids have done in a year plus to have an opportunity to knock off a power five team. This one is as devastating as any loss as I have had in my career. You've got to deal with it and move on.
Opening Statement
TA: Opening statement. About midnight, you guys are still here, so congratulations. Appreciate your perseverance and grit you're showing. And as ugly as it was, we found a way to win. Really frustrating in a lot of ways. But proud of our defense to keep us in the game. Three takeaways. Defensive score, obviously, the difference in the game. Offense was really, really out of sync and really, really performed poorly, but found a way to win.
Proud of our guys. And even offensively found a way to get that final 2-point conversion there, was a great call. But just not a lot to be too fired up about on that side of the football but, obviously, when you find a way, you got a bunch of players that believe and they battle and fight and claw and scratch to find a way to win a game. So winning is hard. And just get a chance to learn from it and get ready for the next one.
Questions.
On the team's confidence and mindset going into the game…
TA: Yeah. So obviously maybe look at changing some things we're doing. Our schedule, maybe change the personnel. You just find a way to make some changes to get a different result.
Obviously, didn't prepare poorly this week, but, at the same time, did have to remind them in an emotional way on Thursday about who this team is and who they can be and don't look at their record and other things and things of the past. I knew just from watching film how hard they were going to play and how much talent they had at key positions. But thought got their attention from that, but, obviously, not to the extent we needed to.
So, obviously, need to look at that and make some changes
On the teams struggle to focus and looking past Akron…
TA: It's huge. I mean, I think it's -- I was looking for opportunities and did not like at all how we practiced. We actually restarted some things on Thursday. And from what you're just saying right there, I just sense the lack of understanding who we were playing and their ability to beat you and so -- which is mind blowing because we don't have any right to think that at this point.
So -- but did sense it for sure. Didn't like what I was seeing. But at the same time didn't effectively get their attention for sure, especially not on certain areas of the game.
To me, it's a matter of addressing it and, like I said, making every change we got. Feel like we got to make the -- after four games getting us playing right out of the gate at a high level
On the team's short yardage in third and fourth downs and what you what you want to see unlocked from the team…
TA: Yeah. You know, up front didn't block well at all. Probably our worst performance of the season on the offensive line as far as running the football. There's more than just them that were affected. There are tight ends and the quarterbacks and the reads and different things we do. But, obviously, not near good enough.
You're at the goal line, you've got to score touchdowns and not have to kick field goals. Obviously, got stopped on the 1 before. We chose to kick a football from inside the 1. But, yeah, it starts up front. Got to block better.
If we have to make changes up front, personnel-wise, we'll do what we've got to do to get that fixed. That's where it begins. Puts a lot of pressure on third downs with, you know, a young quarterback that had a tough night. Just call it what it is. But, at the same time, we've got to do some things to help him as well. But definitely got to go back and evaluate everything we're doing on offense.
On quarterback Tayven Jackson and his demeanor in the second half…
TA: Yeah. It was a tough night. Definitely wasn't his best. And we didn't do a good job protecting him. There was guys in his face all night long. Our running backs did not do a good job blocking at all as well as our offensive line. So both of those groups really added to some of those issues. Caused maybe some high throws. We had some open receivers we didn't hit. We had three critical drops. One where it would have been a touchdown early on.
Just lack of focus. That's really what it is. So those three drops hurt us. And then just not being able to execute. So just growing pains, without question. But got to look at it very thoroughly and figure out where we need to be and what we need to do to get those things fixed because we've got a really good team coming up here in a week.
On how you would grade the offensive production through four quarters…
TA: Not good enough. Not even close. Below the standard. Below what's acceptable, for sure. Need to go back and watch the film to be able to evaluate the execution piece. And, obviously, can see the things I mentioned as far as the drops and not doing a good job. And, obviously, just evaluate what we're calling.
I think there's no question that some of these leading up to it causes you to be a little bit little more careful in some of those situations not to create a takeaway and put you in an even worse situation because defense was playing well and doing a lot of good things.
So that's even why we chose to kick the field goal from the one yard line. Just because, hey, give us a 7-point lead. Really wanted to have a double -- you know, two score lead, which is frustrating. But, at the same time, played that one just to be able to get enough points, which proved to be a pretty critical decision to give us a chance to go to overtime. So just looking at it live, like you all saw, you know, very frustrating, not good enough.
That's all I'm going to say.
On how extensive the process of making offensive changes is…
TA: Just go through -- we'll go through and evaluate all the times we broke down. You go through, why was it? If was it technique? Was it skill? From the talent of a person being able to make that -- whatever it is we're asking them to do. Is it the call? Is it the position we're putting the guys in?
So that, to me, is the evaluation. We had some things on defense, too, that we didn't execute at critical times and hurt us. That long run at the end was inexcusable to me. So shouldn't have even been to overtime. Defense did a lot of great things, but can't give up that long run. It was a wrong fit by one of our linebackers who is one of our better players. So it just cannot happen.
But, offensively, it is a thorough process. It will start here in a few hours. It will be a short night to be able to get back to work and figure out what we've got to do because, obviously, we're playing again here real soon.
On what led to Akron's quarterback DJ Irons success…
TA: They do a lot of things that put you in conflict with your eyes. So man is a better answer than playing zone. The negative of that is if your front doesn't contain him, then when he does break free, there's no eyes on him, which happened on the last run I thought that was in -- they kind of put us in the second overtime there when we had them on a situation to get to the quarterback. And so I thought that was part of it. Didn't think we had good edges at times, you know, defensively.
He's a very dangerous guy, without question. But just, you know, once again, even though the defense was on the field way too much, which they were, that puts a lot of pressure on them. But, at the same time, felt like we didn't do a great job containing a really dangerous quarterback, who we knew going in was a really good athlete, could beat you with his legs.
So that fine line between getting enough pressure on him and also having eyes on him so you can make sure when he does break free you can get him on the ground.
We were successful at it some of the time but not all of the time. Not enough.
All right. Have a great night. LEO.
Indiana Student-Athletes
Tayven Jackson | QB | R-Fr.
On what the back-and-forth overtime was like…
TJ: I've never been in that situation before, so it's new. But our coaching staff did a phenomenal job of keeping us calm, and everyone calm, so we could just go out there and execute like we did in practice.
On the offensive struggles and what needs to be done before returning to conference play…
TJ: We've got to execute better in practice. We play a Big Ten team next week, and what we did out there today is not going to cut it. So we've got to be better on Sunday and Monday and all of the rest of the week.
On what he feels can be improved within the offense quickly…
TJ: For me, it's seeing signals and being better at reading the defense. I was rushed a little bit, and I was trying to force things, and that is never good when I do that. As a team, we need to have better focus.
Louis Moore | DB | Sr.
On what the team can do to get a better start to the game…
LM: Practice Monday through Friday, start practice fast, and play confident. People may not feel the same as they do from the start of the week to the end of the week. It's a long season, but you just have to love it and give it your all and it's going to show on game day.
On what he saw during two interceptions...
LM: On the first one, it was a zone coverage, and then I felt the routes. Like, my zone, I felt the routes that I'm supposed to match my key, I felt them coming towards me. I just [saw] the quarterback's eyes. So I matched off his eyes, and then the ball was in the air, so I just went up and got it. And then on the second one, we [were], I think we were probably in the same play, and then my key was there again. I was fixing to ride it down to the ball, because he did like a shallow [route], and it tipped off his hands, and I went and got it and took it to the house. I told the defense, I was like, "We gotta go win the game. It's on us, we're doing good." I was just blessed that I was able to make that happen for us.
Opening Statement
JM: You have to credit Coach (Tom) Allen and his staff on finding a way to win the football game in quadruple overtime. He is one of the good guys in the profession. I tip my hat to coach Allen. I told the guys that if we practice well during the week and play with fanatical effort, and we were very precise, we would luck up in the fourth quarter and have an opportunity to win the football game. I don't believe in moral victories. I'm heartbroken and devastated just like they are. It was not just one play, you could point to. [It was] four plays on the offense, defense and special teams that would have made a difference in the game. The margin for error against a quality Big Ten opponent is negligible at best. The bad part is that we didn't find a way to finish it. The positive thing is that it bodes well for where we've come and where we're going for the rest of the season.
On quarterback D.J. Irons' performance…
JM: DJ played like a warrior. He threw for almost 200, rushed for close to 200. We outgained (Indiana), we had more first downs, more passing yards, more rushing yards. It comes down to turnovers and explosive plays. DJ got banged up, went to the tent where the trainers looked at him. He got an I.V. in the locker room. He wanted to come back out and compete, and he did a hell of a job.
On the defense against Indiana to force a field goal late in regulation…
JM: I think that was a smart decision (to kick a field goal) to get it to 17-10 and make it a touchdown game. Our defense has really improved. We took positive steps last year, but it starts up front. Our interior defensive linemen and our ends are really playing well. The backs are flying to the ball. We are doing a good job in coverage. We did a real nice job containing the explosive offense. I'm not happy about the result, but I'm definitely excited about what lies ahead for us.
On the peaks and valleys of coaching college football…
JM: I didn't get this gray hair by accident. I'm in year 26 with a couple of stints in a bunch of power five conferences, including the SEC. You see just about everything for what we needed to do to build this program, and for what the kids have done in a year plus to have an opportunity to knock off a power five team. This one is as devastating as any loss as I have had in my career. You've got to deal with it and move on.
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