Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights

Opening statement:
"Last Saturday was a disappointing loss for our team. Going back and watching the film, there were a lot of things that attributed to that. We weren't able to stop the run defensively like we had hoped for. Offensively we weren't able to establish the run like we had hoped. When you go back and look at the film, there are just too many mistakes against a quality opponent to be able to have an opportunity for victory. We had 12 penalties that really hurt us and set us back in quite a few drives. We had the four turnovers and then we ended up having eight dropped passes that really hurt our momentum in a lot of different situations. There were some really good individual performances, some guys that did play at a high level. Our guys competed but it was a chance for us to see that if we don't play a clean game and if we don't execute the plan without those setbacks, it's hard to beat a good football team. That Tulsa team is a very good team that was able to establish the line of scrimmage and they forced us into a lot of mistakes and things that we weren't able to overcome."

On the team's effort:
"I don't think the effort was the issue. We got it to a 5-point game at 35-30 and our defense had a couple of really nice stops throughout the third quarter but we found just about every way that you could stump your toe. Whether it was penalties that put us in extra-long yardage situations, dropped passes and just about everything possible showed up. These are things that we have to get corrected. We turned the ball over at the 10-yard line and we gave them the ball inside our own 20 twice that contributed to 14 points that they had. There was a personal foul penalty on the first drive, that was something where we were off the field defensively. That extended a drive where they ended up scoring a touchdown. Those are all mistakes that we made, so we are accountable to those and we have to get those corrected.

I am looking forward to seeing our guys come out. We talked to the team and we have to rise up. We have to rise up as a football team and as a coaching staff, we all have to do a better job. The biggest thing that we need to do is go play a game at the level that I believe we are capable of playing. If you look throughout the season at a variety of different moments in games, I think our guys have played at an exceptionally high level. The last two weeks we have made mistakes and whenever we have had opportunities, we haven't capitalized on those. I know our guys are going to respond. I believe in the young men that I get to coach each and every day. We just need to put it together and our focus is to be 1-0 this week. We have to go on the road and play a very good, very confident SMU club. SMU has won the last two games. They were completely dominant in their win against Houston two weeks ago and then they went on the road and had to kind of rally back against Tulane. They had jumped out to a big lead and then kind of gave it up and had to rally for a last-minute victory. They are a confident team, playing at an exceptionally high level so we know there is a tremendous challenge in front of us."

Any frustration after the two losses?
"I think there is frustration anytime you come up short of your goal, and our goal was to win Saturday night. I was frustrated and the team was frustrated. I think that we have a smart football team. You can turn on film and see that if you make routine plays look a lot more difficult than they need to be with mistakes or pad level that gets frustrating. These are all things that can be corrected. All things that to a man, we just need to improve on. As a coaching staff we need to continue to do a better job of putting our guys in the right position to make plays and the players have to go out there and execute that at a high level. I believe in every one of the young men and every coach that I have on our staff that we are going to get that done. The last two weeks were frustrating but you can't do anything about them today. All you can do today is focus on being 1-0. You have to rise up, focus on the details and the preparation that we have had up until this point and go execute it on Saturday."

What stands out about SMU?
"It has been impressive to watch and see their confidence and growth. Their opening game of the season they were playing a talented Baylor squad and its 6-3 at halftime. The defense played extremely well. You look at the TCU game, same story it went all the way to the fourth quarter and kind of got away from them at the end. Those were two early season games and now as the season has progressed you see that growth and finish. The last two games have been monumental wins for their program because they dominated a good Houston team and they came back last week and responded to some adversity. We know we are getting a confident bunch that is coming to play. They have goals in front of them that they are trying to accomplish and we have goals in front of us that we are trying to accomplish. Its going to come down to who can execute the plan, who can physically dominate the ball game and who can play the game without those self-inflicted mistakes."

University of Memphis Athletics

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