8.24.24 Post-Game Press Conference: Nevada Football Head Coach Jeff Choate

e e e e e e and uh they found the matchup that they wanted and they got us in the exact same call twice once when we had had them backed up on a third down and on the last touchdown of the game there were similar calls and uh you know they got the matchup they wanted and they exploited it so you know it's one thing to to to call the play it's another one to execute it and so I give them credit for executing it in that situation but uh really proud of the way our guys came out and fought typical first game you know a lot of penalties on both sides uh a special team's misc on both sides that was impactful in the game and that usually shows up but I thought our tackling was very good for the most part in this game which is always something you pay attention to and uh you know I'm looking forward to getting to Troy happy to take any questions I know that competitive matur something you've been really trying to address was it just guys be a little excited yeah in particular the Texas guys that have a lot of history with some of the guys on the other sideline and um you know there was they had their issues as well and so um you know it's something that will definitely be addressed tomorrow you had told us Monday you weren't going to worry about the scoreboard but sure enough you had it right there I mean ultimately when you look at this one from 30,000 is this a pretty good effort for you guys you know I have a really hard time with moral victories I have a really hard time with that and um this was this was an opportunity early in my tenure for us to make a statement and have a statement win and uh right now like I said there's there's a lot of a lot of disappointment about the fact that we weren't able to to make that happen uh not just for the young men in the locker room but for our staff and our fans and uh we'll grow from this I mean that's the biggest thing I mean I've told these guys from day one we got five preseason games what we got to do is identify who we are and what we do well um we've got to consistently improve right and you know we got to stay healthy and so those things are uh still in front of us and we've got kind of a short week with the long travel to Troy and so um it'll be interesting you know we'll see how these guys respond tomorrow SMU last year really proved themselves to be a first quarter team why was this first quarter different for you guys and keeping them off the scoreboard in the first 15 well I I think Kane one of the things that he did really well in this game was we we kind of we had a Rolodex of calls for their tempos series and so they weren't getting consistent looks and I think as the game wore on they started to get a feel for more what we were doing to their Tempo and so uh kind of Rolodex and those calls I think created some confusion on their part and and one of the reasons why teams run Tempo is to to get a consistent look and find the matchups that they want and so we were able to to do that and kind of get them off schedule a little bit and uh you know we we had a takeaway too I mean we had really two if you count the the the punt situation right so those are kind of two turnovers for us that were were impactful early in the game and gave us momentum how important do you feel like that type of momentum early on or just be important to carry over now yeah we always want to start fast but there's not there's going to be games that we don't and so finishing strong is going to be the the answer that to that question right and that's going to be my message tomorrow ashle on that kickoff return I'm sure he's kicking himself just what did you see in that situation yeah well it's ironic that we actually had just gone over that last the last week of of fall camp we have a deal that we do call situational Masters and we went through exactly that scenario but and he had the right idea but what he forgot was all I got to once I shut it down all I got to do is pick the ball up and go back in the end zone and it's going to be a Touchback and his knee hit the ground when he went to pick the ball up and so that's that's football questions I guess just on offense uh 17 in the first half just seven in the second half what kind of changed yeah you know I mean I think there were some circumstances that that led to that too you know we ended up back up on the one drive and obviously did you know gave them the the the safety um you know it's it's hard it's hard to say sometimes you know we were able to hit some explosives in the first half and that's really a big part of this game and if you're not able to get those explosives that kind of has a tendency to shut the defense down but these guys this is a heavy pressure team they brought it a lot on First and 10 to get us off schedule and so that was a that was that was an issue right and their dline is talented and they're big in physical group um I thought we had some matchups on the perimeter but but sometimes you can't get to those if you're not able to protect and that was a big concern going in the game I thought Brennan Lewis did a really good job of operating the offense didn't turn the ball over um you know I think he matched his season total for touchdown passes in week one against a power five opponent and so I think there's a lot to build on in that regard I think you can see that that Cortez and Jaden can be really effective on the on the perimeter and give us some options there and that stable of backs is just going to get better and better as our Union gets better and better and uh as the competition levels out I think we're going to be able to run the ball pretty effectively all right thanks coach thank you everyone you bet e e e e e e e e initial reactions after that Gamez all right um I would say um my initial reaction was I feel like we made a step forward really because uh the team that that had that we had last year would have gave up and I feel like we we fought all four quarters and that's something that coach Cho really honed on and really told us to do each and every play and I feel like that we did that uh yeah to just kind of piggyback on uh this this is it was a horrified battle and it kind of came down to the little things that we talk about and uh snu did a great job of just executing those little things down the stretch and uh making plays when it mattered and we just got to go in next week and just work on those little things and come hard next week I know feel sour right now Drew But ultimately will you guys look back on this one as a good start to the year all things considered oh yeah we look at it as a good start but this don't Define us we're not going to hang our hats on this one game cuz we played a a top probably a top 25 top 20 offense a nation upon the good you know we're on to the next week we're on DET troit but it just shows where we're at and where this team has improved and how we've taken those next steps from the past two years and we can look at and use this film a lot on those little things we need to work on CZ what were your impressions your first game in silver and bl uh I really uh I feel like that we feel like we did a really good job like we we did what we expected to come out there and do we just it just ain't ended how we wanted to but we going to come out next week and we going to really uh we going to really put more effort and more uh technique and just hone down on the little stuff just so that that beat that stuff that beat us tonight so we can get the W next week P walk us through that touchdown catch towards the end of the half there really good moment in the game for you uh definitely definitely uh real it was a important moment for me you know I did that for my uh for my cousin but um walking through the play um I had a go and I knew Bel was gonna come to me if we went one uh they went man one on one and that's what they did and then I had I just had to go up make a play for belu how good was it to see that you got you got some explosive plays out there considering the struggle that was last year with this team to create this exposive uh I feel like I feel real good about it I feel like that we we it we set like a big step out here tonight like we really uh achieved a lot of stuff tonight and that we going to come out next week and we going to be even better Dre you guys managed to shut down a pretty no high profile um offense with three quarters uh what kind of challenge was it to go against that that motion and Tempo oh it was a big challenge you know ASU throws a lot at you and they're very explosive offense and they go a lot of tempo but I think we did a great job for three quarters like you said you know we started fast and we played strong for three quarters and you know in the fourth quarter you got to finish and we we didn't finish and it it was a great job by us when you just finishing the game and they came out the dub and and the little things like I always say they they showed up in the end the little stuff corz coach was quick to bring up competitive maturity and he kind of put the spotlight on some of the Texas guys and maybe getting a little too chippy I guess how do you guys reel that in uh really just in a moment like you know sometimes it be in a moment but at the end of the day like being the older guy on this team and like just showing them no showing the younger guys and people the people that's under me like no emotion really just going out there staying relaxed and just showing them that we got this each and every play like each and every down and that's what I that's what I try to do do and that's that's what coach CH try to emphasize and make sure that we all home down on that do and do that exact thing j your message to the folks that came out today and especially the ones who kind of stayed and lined the U you know the barricades for you guys as you walked off uh my message was it's not over as you can see this is our new team we're here Nevada is here we're here to compete we're here to fight in this conference and we want more people to come out because it's gonna be a show every night and we're gonna win some games here in Nevada we're gonna it's gonna be a turnaround as as people probably saw today it it's exciting game games are going to be exciting they're gonna be explosive we have an explosive offense we have explosive receivers have one sitting next to me our defense is going to create turnovers we're going to have fun and keep coming out because we're going to win some games and we're going to be a force in this m West any more questions for Cortez thanks