FRB: UTSA Postgame Quotes
Postgame Quotes
No. 19 Louisiana vs. UTSA
Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Barry Lunney Jr., Offensive Coordinator (Acting Head Coach)
On what he told the team after the game…
“I told them that we were proud of them. We have a lot to be proud of. It could have easily gotten out of hand with as good of a team as we were playing. Our defense rose up and got a turnover that switched the tide of the game and sustained the momentum for a bulk of the third and fourth quarter and changed the momentum of the game.
“We did just enough in all three phases to be in the game. Hats off to Louisiana to their coach and staff. They have a 10-1 record and nationally ranked team, and there’s a reason they play those games. This is a great test for this program. We went toe-to-toe with some great teams this season.”
On the change of momentum in the third quarter…
“We all sensed we could have. Everyone in the stadium could sense that. We were playing with a lot of energy and things came to life. Those are ones to be fun to be a part of. We got down there and just got a field goal and it kind of petered out the momentum. For us to take the next step we have to finish those drives with touchdowns and not field goals.
“One thing that has never wavered is our effort. We play tremendously hard against a good opponent in a tough situation. We had some difficult situations, including not having our head coach and we were proud to be where we were at.
“We were out 15 to 20 guys out today that weren’t available today. That is a rough estimate, but I don’t know the exact number. It was affected to some degree. Our stand is that we were going to play, we didn’t mention anything else to our players. I am proud of the fact that we played. We are all disappointed to come up short, in a game that we had chances to win it.”
On the added effort from the team…
“It was definitely not a lack of effort. When you play a team that is a running team with a veteran line, that was going to be a big challenge for us, and that it was a four-and-a-half-week break and that is typical for a bowl season. The two turnovers were detrimental to the game.”
On the absence of the head coach…
“This is a team that loves their head coach and respects what he brought to the table. There was a lot to play for today. There were several people that couldn’t be with us today. We had a lot of motivation to play today; National TV, ranked opponent, family and friends, if you can’t get ready for a game like this something is wrong with you. The players wanted to make him proud in the way they played.”
Rashad Wisdom, UTSA safety
On the team’s feelings after the close loss…
“Everyone was pretty disappointed. We felt like that we could have won that game multiple times. We felt like it was our game and we let it slip out. We are going to have to go back in the offseason and try to come back strong next season.”
Was there any rust from the long time off…
“Early in the game for sure. Things like tackling and stuff like that. We were down for three to four weeks so rust was definitely a factor early in the game, but it was knocked off and we started to play like we normally play.”
On the change of momentum.
“The play that Demarco made was huge for us. It was something we needed. We talked about it on the sideline before the series that we really needed a turnover and momentum to shift. We figured we would ride the momentum as long as we could. I felt like the momentum made us feel that it was our game to lose.”
On what they changed in the second half…
“We just kept at it and played the same defense and started playing like we normally do. The play that Demarco made was a big factor for us to rally around.”
On securing the running game…
“Wrapping up and tackling. Fundamental stuff was key for us. Their offensive line was really good and running backs running really hard, which made it really hard. Things like tackling and getting off blocks really helped us.
On the playing the game against a ranked game…
“It was big for us. It gives us a lot of exposure that we can play with whoever we go out on the field with. We just need to play with the pillars that we are big on in the program.”
Frank Harris, UTSA quarterback
What was the mood in the locker room after the game..
“We were sad. We didn’t come out on the winning end and were disappointed. We just have to build off of this and know what this feeling is right now. We just have to build on that and be ready to come out again next year.”
On the team’s momentum in the second half…
“We had a great chance of pulling it out. We got down to the red zone, got stopped and kicked a field goal and just need to learn from it.”
On the changes in the second half…
“Coach called my number a few times to run the ball. He believed in me and the line did a great job protecting me. It came out in our favor but we still came out short.”