(Opening Statement)
“Well, we’re definitely looking forward to this week. Our guys understand it’s a rivalry game; it’s a game we haven’t won in quite some time, and we’re going to have to play well to win. So, you can throw out any records for this game—you’ve got to show up ready to play. Kentucky is a very talented team. They have a lot of the same guys on defense they had last year, and they can hold people to a small amount of points. They’ve got very capable athletes on offense as well. We’ve got to continue to improve and eliminate some silly mistakes we’ve made in the past and be as clean as we possibly can in offense, defense, and special teams in order to win. We’re looking forward to going on the road and playing in this rivalry game this weekend.”
(On what the rivalry means for the state of Kentucky)
“Well, I think the fans love rivalry games without question. The Louisville-Kentucky matchup in football, basketball, and other sports is huge around the state—it’s huge in this city. Everybody wears their red and blue, and you want bragging rights for the year. These games are fun for fans, it’s fun for players that know each other. It’s one of those games where, just like at any level, it doesn’t matter what your record is—you want to win the game. It’s an important game on your schedule. You circle it, and you make sure that you come prepared and ready to play, and you hope to play your best. Without question, we haven’t been able to win the game in the last so many years, so it’s time for us to step up and find a way to play better.”
(On Kentucky’s QB situation)
“Well, they’ve played multiple quarterbacks, and they have capable quarterbacks. Obviously, the experienced veteran they brought in from Georgia can play football and has played. I think they brought in the young man from the state of Kentucky who’s athletic, can run around, and make plays with his feet as well. I think they possibly found their quarterback of the future this past week, who’s a true freshman. That’s three different guys that they can put in at different times to give the team a spark. We’ve got to prepare for all three of them. I’m sure behind the scenes they know what they’re going to do, but all three of those guys can play, and we’ve got to be ready.”
(On challenges of other things going on now—Signing Day, portal, etc.—at the same time as this game)
“Well, there are many things involved that you have to keep track of throughout the year. Now, first and foremost is our team and winning football games every week, so I always concentrate on that. But yes, focusing on the roster for next year has to be done during the season. There’s behind-the-scenes work of where we’re going to go and what route we’re going to take. Obviously, we have a smaller collection of high school commits that we want to get signed and get here with us, but we definitely have room for transfers as well. We want to bring in guys that can help us win right away and, for the most part, guys that have played football. That takes a lot of research and work behind the scenes, which has been done, watched, and discussed. The plan will be ready once the last regular season game is over to go full speed on that. Yes, there’s a lot more involved, but that’s where we’re at now. Your roster can change as well, so you’ve got to be on top of that and make sure you’re managing it. It’s kind of a constant deal, and you hope to build good relationships with your players so you have an idea of what could or may happen, even though it’s not always perfect. Communicate that as much as you can and adjust accordingly. So yes, there’s a lot more involved with that.”
(On finding consistency)
“Well, it’s important to do. You only have so many plays in a game, and you have to take advantage of them. The main thing we do is try to identify all the mistakes we made and not shy away from them. Talk about it in detail: Why did it happen? What caused it to happen? Why would it happen again? What are we doing wrong as coaches? I think we work hard to try to fix that, and you hope you can get over the hump and have fewer of those as the year goes on. That’s the goal. Occasionally, it might pop up again—things you didn’t think of, or possibly reoccurred. It’s up to us as coaches to try to get better at that as the year goes on, eliminating mistakes that we can help eliminate. Of course, our players have to buy into it as well. There are certain silly things that happen on their end that we’ve got to be better at. We must ensure we’re lined up properly, know the call, communicate everything, and when the ball is snapped, we’re all on the same page. We’re flying, tackling, hustling to the ball, getting back up, and recognizing little tendencies in the formations. All those things are important. Then you’ve got to create some havoc—get some turnovers, create big plays. All of those things add into it. Obviously, every team plays better, especially us, when you’re winning and able to do things the way you want a little more. That was a strength of ours last year. It’s hurt us a couple of times this year when we weren’t able to do that. We were able to fight back a few times but not enough to win, so it’s a different game every week. In the end, it’s talented people playing against talented people. You’re not always going to win every rep, but you must win more of them than the other team. There’s a small margin for error. We want to try to be as clean as we can, continue to play hard, improve, play with great energy, and have fun doing it. We hope to play well this week.”
(On Kentucky’s defense)
“Well, they’re very talented, and the defensive line is the exact same as last year. They’re big, athletic, and productive. This defense has produced all year long. They shut Georgia down, they shut Ole Miss down, and they know how to play football. They just haven’t scored as many points as they’ve wanted to this year, and sometimes that happens. But the defense is well-coached with really good players, and they have a lot of experience. We will have to really be sound in our attack, try to create some points, and try to get a lead because that will be important. But yes, this is a really talented defense.”
(How much does he hear about the rivalry from people)
“I hear about it a lot. Anytime you go out among the people, they’re going to talk about this game and want this win. It means a lot to them. I’m used to it. Obviously, it makes you prepare a little harder. It makes you put in a little extra effort to make sure that when the game is over, you can look in the mirror and say, ‘I don’t know what more I could’ve done.’ You hope to come out on the winning end. That’s what it’s all about. These are great games for everyone to participate in. It’s great for fans, which is really what provides the excitement at games. I know it’ll be a packed house. People want to knock each other off, and I’m sure Kentucky is going to play to knock us off to end their season on a great note and ours on a not-so-great note. They’re very capable of doing that. You go on the road, you’re playing in a hostile environment, and they will be into the game. These are fun games to play, and you just hope to come out on the winning end.”
(On keeping emotions in check Saturday)
“We’ve had some penalties, so yeah, we’ve got to talk about it. We have to make sure our players are playing between the whistles and not allowing that to happen. For the most part, we’ve been pretty good on that, but we’ve had some things pop up every now and then. When they do, they’ve been costly. That’s why it cannot pop up. The rare one you can deal with, but it can’t be a recurrence. We have to make sure that we play between the whistles, it’s clean, it’s talked about, and we’re communicating that we aren’t going to beat ourselves on this. We’re going to play with class, play in between the whistles, make sure we’re respecting the game and our opponents. Yes, we have to make sure we do the best job with that.”
