Mike Jacobs press conference transcript -- Temple

Mike Jacobs postgame press conference

Mike Jacobs: How about those Rockets, guys?! Listen, we got a saying around here. It’s, “Whatever it takes for as long as it takes,” and it took every second and every last minute of this game to accomplish the outcome that we work for. I'm incredibly proud of the fortitude that our kids showed, the resilience that they played with, the fact that they stuck together.

And then they found a way to execute in the last, really, three minutes of that football game at an extremely high level. We finally put all three phases together simultaneously, right? Like, there are pockets of like really good offense, there are pockets of some decent defense. There were some great special teams today. But we put it all together in the last three minutes, and we were able to win a football game that, my guess is a lot of folks turned the channel before that one was over. But what a ton of fun.

I haven't had one of those in a really long time. I'm on too much blood pressure medicine to have too many of them. But I'm just incredibly proud of our players, their effort, their togetherness.

And again, I get the most joy watching them enjoy this and seeing that group celebrate together in the locker room. I just think something special is happening.

Question: How often do you guys practice onside kicks?

Jacobs: Several times a week. There are days we have designated for situational football. And we kind of cycle through the four core special teams: punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return. And each time we're doing kickoff, we'll work an element of the onside. And there's so much that goes into it, right? Like the kick has to be perfect, essentially.

I thought Reese did a great job. He struck it just hard enough that it stayed in-bounds. It spun appropriately. And man, Isaac Prince just went after it and attacked it. It was really well executed.

Question: You mentioned the resiliency. Why is this team capable of having that adversity and fighting?

Jacobs: Because I think we're all right being uncomfortable. I think we put them in hard situations. Like, this isn't by any means like a country club to play for. We probably tackled more than most folks do throughout the course of spring football and training camp to put ourselves in good positions.

And I think we talk about wanting to be physical. We talk about wanting to do certain things. And I just think your practice habits have to emulate that. And I think we try to put them in situations where it's really tough, and we're challenging them mentally to not wilt, to not falter, but to defer back to the basics and to execute at a high level, even when everything around them is helter-skelter.

Question: I saw you nodding when Connor said there’s a lot to clean up. What do you think needs cleaned up?

Jacobs: Anytime you have the element of a running quarterback, you have an extra body that you have to account for in every play. Obviously, we had seen a bunch of two quarterbacks. It looked like Smolik went out early in the game. I saw him kind of trot into the locker room. You guys may have seen a different replay. And then the other kid did a good job.

Almost similar to that Michigan State game in the first half. We were scoring on offense, but I think we only had four possessions, right. And so they just did a good job controlling the football, making the reads. That's how some of those – they're not an option team, but those option elements, they see what you do, and they adjust pretty quickly.

And I thought the kid that did play quarterback did a pretty nice job in there, and the running back's a good player, Keveun Mason's a good player.

Question: What can you say about the defnese? Obviously, it wasn’t their best night, but they got the stop at the end of regulation and overtime?

Jacobs: Yeah, I think that's just the fight that they possess, and then I think the understanding that like, listen, there's moments where all three levels didn't get the job done. And then there are moments where they played really well. And when we needed a stop, when we needed a takeaway, they got it done for us.

And again, we have to be more consistent. I thought we were on our heels a bit on some of those read-option fits with the quarterback, and we'll get all that stuff cleaned up. But those are the big things, knee-jerk reaction, not seeing the tape at all.

I thought we were on our heels a bit with some of that stuff. Not in a second-guessing, just kind of letting it sort, and then trying to tackle as opposed to being as aggressive as we needed to be on some of it.

Question: What can you say about John Alan? Was there any doubt you were going to score at the end of regulation?

Jacobs: No, to be honest with you, I mean, you look at it again, we had four possessions in the first half. I promise you we're not working on starting the game by fumbling it. I promise that's not a practice scenario that's been done. But other than that, I mean, we were down in there.

I went for it once on fourth down. I was trying to be aggressive in all scenarios. We had moved the ball pretty consistently all day, and I thought, if you watch the Penn State film, I thought for as good as I think their front is, the boxes for them, I think that the area that needed the most work was their corners and their DBs. And I felt we were able to take advantage of that.

I thought our offensive line, I don't know that we had a sack today. And so they did a great job protecting him.

He's an extremely intelligent football player. And again, what we've kind of known in this building for a while, you're seeing just how accurate he is and how well he reads the defense. And I just think he's a special talent.

Question: What was your reaction just seeing that they were going for two, and when the ball hit the ground, and you look up at the scoreboard and you somehow won this game?

Jacobs: It's excitement. We had a game last year that we needed a little help. There was a little bit of wind at the end that pushed a kick far right to win at the end of regulation. I prefer that they're non-contested like that.

But again, typically, I guess that's kind of most people's M.O. when you're on the road and it's in overtime. When you score, a lot of times, people will be aggressive and go for 2, and so that’s obviously what they did.

They had us on our heels some that day. So I kind of figured that's what we would get. But again, we were able to come up with a stop right there at the very end.

Question: Were you surprised at that call that they decided to throw it at all? I mean, they'd been running it so well.

Jacobs: No, I mean, a couple of the big plays they made, unfortunately, were in the pass game, right? There were a couple long runs, but again, there were too many six- and seven-yard gains throughout the course of the day, right? Where, again, from a technical standpoint, we gotta do a couple things better when playing the ball in the air.

But I thought when we needed it most, we bowed our neck and we got a stop. It wasn't pretty, but we got it done.

Question: You talked earlier in the week about this being a measuring stick game. Where does this team measure now that this game's over?

Jacobs: Yeah, I mean, I'm happy to not just be up here talking about our effort, right? Bad teams talk about their effort and their grades, right? I'm happy that we're talking about a win. But certainly, the good news is that we won the game, and we can come in and be hypercritical of ourselves tomorrow. It starts with us and the coaching staff.

I'm gonna enjoy this thing. We got a 24-hour rule around here. Won't quite be that. I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of it for 12 hours. And then it's right to work because we have a massive game, and we need all of Toledo here next weekend at noon, early, right? Kegs and eggs style for the San Diego State game. Next week is gonna be a big one.

Question: The way you describe the team, it doesn't sound like you're surprised. What were you
surprised about today?

Jacobs: I've told you guys before, sometimes it's like pulling teeth. We found a way to win over the last decade because I think we do stuff the right way, right? But this team is really fun to coach, they enjoy being around each other. And I really think if you're around this building, or if you're around these guys on Friday night when we're getting our minds right in our own way with family game night and some of the things, man, they are connected, they enjoy each other.

And I think the surprise for a lot of people is how quickly that it feels authentic. Listen, man, we like to be around each other. We like to play for one another. We don't like letting each other down. And I can't say enough about them, they found a way to win.

Question: The way you guys used Connor today, so many different ways, very versatile. When did you guys know, whether it was in the spring or the summer, that he was capable of so much more than maybe he showed last year?

Jacobs: Cris has got a pretty diverse playbook, Coach Reisert. And I think that great coaches utilize the skills that their players have. And you try to find different ways to get them involved. And the one thing that we know we can do with Connor is we can trust him. And you can put a lot on him because he's super intelligent, right?

That's a young man that's going to med school. Hopefully we'll defer it one year for him, but he's a med school kid. And so you can put a lot on his plate from a football capacity standpoint. So you're seeing us being able to use them in different ways.

But again, the rest of that running back room, super talented. It just happened to be the way the game flowed today. We felt like we had a better opportunity to move the football by throwing it. And our quarterback showed up and played lights out.

Question: After games like that, what are those one-on-one embraces with your players like?

Jacobs: They're meaningful, right? I won't share all of it, but it's just with Zock, we expect to win every week, we really do. We go into every week, I'm just not wired to be like, we're gonna go give it the old college try, the attaboy. I'm wired to win.

And I think you have to always think that way. You gotta understand that you're never out of it. And when you have people that you're so close to, and it's not just him, it's really all of them, but those moments matter. We've been through trials and tribulations. So to see it continue and just know that there's a high level of trust between everybody, it's just special. I love those guys.
They're like family to us.

Question: Mike, you mentioned some people might have turned the channel. I know there were some fans who left the game.

Jacobs: They won't admit it, but they did. What'd you say, 99.9 percent? I told you, it was like Dumb and Dumber – there's a chance.

Question: Obviously, for the fans who stuck around, what is guess your message to them?

Jacobs: Listen, there's a reason we chose to play at that end, man. Our band was down there, they were awesome throughout the entirety of the game. Our students that were there, and even some started coming back into the game, They were brilliant, and when we needed them, just like our team, they showed up and were super loud, and they got to enjoy a special moment, right?

That's what college is about, man. Life's a holistic deal. And how we play is a part of what their college experience is like. And those are things that they'll remember. And again, I'm excited for everyone that was a part of it. We're just happy to be a small piece of it.

Question: Do you feel like having this three-game stretch of all home games in a row is a pivotal part of the season?

Jacobs: Yeah, I do. Obviously, we had the huge test at Michigan State. But it allows us to sort through some things. It allows us to get into some rhythm. I think Temple's gonna win a lot of football games in the American Conference. Again, I think that's a well-coached, pretty darn good football team. And so, again, we'll put this one to bed. We've got a massive game against San Diego State next week.

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