Head Coach Scott Frost
Opening Statement:
"There's not a lot to say about that one. We had them where we wanted them. At halftime, every message every guy was talking about was finishing them off. We just didn't do it. They made a bunch of mistakes in the first half and gave us opportunities. The last thing you want to do against a good team is return the favor. Between negative plays, sacks and turnovers in the third quarter and early into the fourth, we let them back into the game. We can't make those mistakes."
On talking to the team after a disappointing loss:
"I was searching for words to talk to them about. I don't want anybody on our team hanging their head. If you look at the teams we played the last two weeks and the scores in comparison to UCF's program last year; it isn't even close. We beat UConn on the road, then came down here and had Houston on the ropes. These guys can't forget what they've accomplished. Do we need to get better at finding ways to get things done? Absolutely. But I don't want our guys hanging their heads on the way back home. I want them to understand how much this coaching staff cares about them. We believe in them. They're fighters. We're looking forward to pushing the reset button and getting excited for the Tulane game."
On the difficulties in the second half:
"Turnovers killed four drives. It seemed like we had a negative play on every first down in the second half. I love these kids that are out there fighting for us, but we don't have enough of them right now. We ran out of gas today in the heat. There were a couple injuries, and we only have so many guys we can put in the football game right now. Their depth wore us down a little bit. Still, we can't fumble the ball, we can't throw careless balls, and we can't make some of the mistakes we did."
On if quarterback McKenzie Milton was rattled:
"McKenzie doesn't get rattled. If you're back there and there's that much pressure, it's hard to stand in the pocket. He's trying to survive. We are beat up a little on the offensive line. There are injuries on every team, so that's not an excuse, but there are only so many guys we can put in the game. They rotated quite a bit on the defensive line and it wore us down."
On the team's youth and inexperience:
"It's all those things. After the same kind of thing happened against Temple, we looked at it as a coaching staff to find out what we could do better. We were trying to call plays in the second half to stay in front of the sticks. The safest short passes and runs to stay ahead of the sticks and keep ourselves out of situations where McKenzie would be back there with the rush coming at him. First down blew up in our face, so that didn't start well. On one drive our defense got off the field on a fourth down, then our offense gave the ball right back to them. It's the mark of a young team. We need to grow up."
On all the captains being freshmen:
"Those guys deserve to be captains. They contributed as much to this team as the older guys. Most of the older guys, who are playing a lot, have had a chance to be captain. If they haven't, they'll get a chance. Those four kids have been important to our football team, and I want to give them an opportunity to represent the team."
On if quarterback Justin Coleman was going into the game:
"It was dependent on McKenzie's health."
On the effort from Shaquem Griffin and the defense:
"Shaquem and Shaquill (Griffin) are awesome. Our defense is a group of fighters. The first half they played was unbelievable. The first drive of the third quarter was unbelievable. Our offense just put our defense in too many bad situations. Turning the ball over and giving a team like that, with a quarterback like that, a short field means it's only a matter of time before they start moving the ball. Depth on that side of the ball is still a little bit of an issue. We need to address that."
On quarterback McKenzie Milton's demeanor after the game:
"McKenzie's a competitor, so he's disappointed."
On if there was a moment the momentum changed:
"When we got that turnover at the beginning of the third quarter, a veteran team would have put it in the end zone and made the margin potentially too big to come back from. When we got something started, we turned the ball over or gave up a sack. It was just a slow death in the second half. We were on the head set scrambling and trying to come up with ideas to avoid it. Our kids continued to fight. I'm proud of them for that, but you can't make those mistakes against a team like that."
Junior Linebacker Shaquem Griffin
On the feeling after loss:
"It's hard to explain, knowing that this same thing happened before. As a team, we have to finish. We came out and fought hard. Second half, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. We can be upset, we can cry, we can throw a temper-tantrum all through the locker room. But it's our choice, and that's not the way to do it. Our whole thing is, like coach said 'forget about this one and move to the next one.' That is what we are doing."
On defense feeling gassed late in second half:
"We felt gassed just being on the field a little longer, but that is not an excuse we should make. The offense is going to do what they do, and the defense is going to do what they do. We as a team have to hold our own and being gassed, that is all a mental thing. We can choose to give up, or we can choose to keep fighting. It was little mistakes we made that turned into two big plays. That is one thing we have to work on. Are we tired? Let's focus on the little things. One guy and a gap and then touchdown. That was our biggest thing: one guy moving out of the way, it just creates big plays. Being tired, it makes you unfocused and keeps you from being mentally prepared for anything they throw at you."
On being an inspiration to Julianna Linton and other people with prosthetics:
"It's a feeling that everybody can't have. I'm blessed to have that type of feeling. Being able to be that face and inspiring person for others, not just young people, but older people as well. It's just a blessing for me, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Tre'Quan Smith
On the turning point in the second half
"The offense had too many turnovers by far, and not being able to finish. We have to come out the same way we did in the first half, and when we don't do that with a team like Houston, they can come back easily. For the offense, we have to do our job and stay on the field as long as possible and give defense some time to rest up. I say it hurts more because you have been through it once. You know how it feels, and you don't want to go through that again. It really hurts, but we have to come together as a team and bond together and just forget about it and move on to the next week, because the next week is going to come regardless, so we have to come together and get ready as a team."
On the struggles in the second half:
"Being able to execute and being able to communicate. By far, that's all it was for us. And the biggest by far is being able to finish."
On whether the second half was because of what they did or what Houston did
"That's all on us. We have to be able to finish. No matter what Houston does, we have our game plan. We have to stick to our game plan."
On the Houston defense:
"They have a pretty good defense. I know if I do my job and run as hard as I can, and my offense does their job we should be good. That's the biggest thing. Everyone has got to keep doing their job as we did in the first half. If we do our job, everything goes smooth. On offense, if one person isn't doing their job, things can get tough."
