|
Auburn Falls To Texas A&M, 63-21
Recap and Quotes
AUBURN, Ala. - Jonathan
Wallace connected on touchdown passes to C.J. Uzomah and Emory Blake
and threw for 122 yards but it wasn't enough to overcome No. 21/22
Texas A&M's 672 yards of total offense as the Auburn football team
fell to 1-7, 0-6 SEC with a 63-21 loss on Saturday night.
Both of Wallace's touchdown tosses covered 27 yards and both came in
the third quarter after Auburn went down 49-7 at the half. Auburn's
lone score in the first half was a Tre Mason one-yard run on Auburn's
first possession of the second quarter.
Wallace finished the night 6-for-9 from the pocket and also ran for 71
yards on 13 attempts while Mason rushed 12 times for 80 yards and his
fifth touchdown of the season.
Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC) quarterback Johnny Manziel threw for 260
yards on 16-for-23 passing with two touchdowns and also ran for 90
yards and three touchdowns on nine carries.
Emory Blake finished the night with five catches for 106 yards and
moved into fifth in the Auburn record books with his 16th receiving
touchdown catch. Uzomah had three catches for 90 yards.
Auburn Head Coach Gene Chizik Quotes
"I think it would be accurate to say that we couldn't stop their run
game. We couldn't stop them from throwing the football. Obviously, they
punted one time all night so I think that pretty much tells the story.
It was a very poor performance defensively. Offensively, we sputtered
early in the game. We never seemed to get on track. Against an offense
like that, we have to be able to get some first downs. You have to be
able to move the football some and take a little bit of pressure off
the defense, but early on, we certainly weren't able to do that either.
So, it is pretty evident why we got beat. Again, my job is to continue
to lead these young guys and again go back to work and try to get a win
next week. But again, I think it was very obvious why and how we got
beat tonight and the way we did."
What did you tell the team after the game?
"I don't think there is a whole lot you can tell them other than that
everybody is hurting the same amount. Just like I told them, I said, `I
love you guys for what you are trying to push through, and the
adversity that comes with being 1-7.' It's tough. It's tough. Again, we
are just trying to continue to push forward to continue to try to
encourage them when everything doesn't go exactly like you want it.
Your job is to continue as a man to push through and continue to go to
work so we will do that again tomorrow, but it's a locker room that is
very disappointed and they are hurting. They are used to winning, and
they like to win and that just hasn't happened near enough obviously in
the last eight weeks. So, we will continue to forge ahead, and we will
continue to give them the same message, and we will continue to try to
work and improve."
How do you explain how far things have fallen?
"Well, I think you just said it. I don't think there is a simple
explanation. I think that a lot of times in football, things happen
with momentum or lack of momentum both in games and as seasons unfold.
It has been a season where to this point I just feel like there is
really not been much momentum gained anywhere to be able to build on
what comes with momentum. And so, again, there are several factors in
that. It would be hard to put your finger on one, but it is a tough
place to be in. There is no question about it, but again, we are going
to continue to keep forging forward and trying to work ourselves out of
it."
Do you think the season is indicative of the program taking a step back?
"I don't know if I would assess everything in terms of that. I think,
again, there are individual battles at individual positions where you
have a lot of different dynamics going on whether it is youth or
different things. I don't think that is the case. I don't really feel
that at all. I feel like we are in a spot that is really rough, and we
have to try to pull our way out of it."
Does it get harder to lead the team with each loss?
"I think that in the game of football, I think that you experience a
lot of different things. We've experienced a lot of great things here.
The challenging part becomes when you experience a lot of lows, which
we obviously have experienced here lately. I think it is difficult for
anybody no matter what you are facing whether it is a football game or
something very difficult in your life. I think it is very challenging
for anybody, particularly when your job is to lead people and so, sure
it gets challenging, but that is my job, and I am responsible to lead
18- to 22-year-olds through good times and some bad. So again, it has
been very challenging and difficult, and I as the leader will not stop
forging ahead leading these young guys to the best of my ability."
On Jonathan Wallace and why did he not play earlier in the season?
"I have said it pretty much weekly that Jonathan has been taking bits
and pieces of the offense, and I think he has been digesting them for a
young guy pretty well. He got in at a point in the game tonight where
it was really, really good to see him do some things that really show
flashes and signs of him maturing some. But again, you can't throw
everything at a young guy and expect him to be able to execute at all.
That's number one. Number two, at that point and time in the game, it
had calmed down a little bit with a lot of the blitzing and pressures
and things of that nature. Not to take anything away from what Jonathan
did because I am very proud of him, but when you are asking a guy to
take on the whole game plan and all of the things that come with it, it
is just not that simple. But I think as everybody saw tonight, you saw
flashes of a guy that again, has an opportunity to keep getting weaned
on to the different parts of the offense that he can succeed at. I
think he showed that tonight."
Does Jonathan Wallace have a chance to start next week?
"Well, we are certainly going to look. I think the film tells a lot,
obviously, but there is nobody that could argue he was very productive
tonight. It was really good to see that, and I think the players caught
a little spark. He is a very confident young man. We will evaluate this
upcoming week, and we will see where we are at. Again, the packages
that he has had from week to week have been smaller. Even tonight as
much as he played, we didn't really vary off of all of the things that
we have slowly been feeding him. But for the most part, he executed the
things that we asked him to do and in a lot of ways, very well, it
appears until we watch the film."
On the problems of the defensive front seven...
"I don't know that I would limit that to the front seven. I would say
that was the front 11. I didn't think that we could tackle. I didn't
think that we could cover. I didn't think that we could rush the
quarterback tonight so I think that is pretty self-evident. I don't
think that you can every pin that on one group. I think that you could
argue that it was whatever 11 we had out there tonight were pretty
ineffective, but I do have confidence that they will come back and go
back to work and try to improve."
What is the difference between Auburn vs. Clemson in the season opener and Auburn vs. Texas A&M with their offenses?
"Well, that is a good question. I think that this is a different type
of offense. They are different. They are spread, no huddle offenses
that are obviously difficult to defend. Some are very different than
others. This one is very unique. It is not exactly the same thing that
we saw the first week, but until we go back and look at the film and we
see why we couldn't stop the running game, it didn't matter what they
were running. We couldn't stop it. Whether that is missed fits or guys
mis-aligning, I think there was probably a lot of that in there, but
this is a different type of spread offense than we faced the first
week, and obviously we never slowed it down."
Do you think it is harder on the guys who played on the National Championship team to go through this?
"I don't think you can date back to the successes that you had and to
say it hurts any more now because you won 22 games the last two years.
It hurts. Nobody likes to lose. I know nobody in that locker room likes
to lose. I don't know that if I can qualify that it hurts those guys
more than anybody else. You have a lot of young freshmen in there that
came to Auburn to win so it hurts them, too. I think it is all around
very disappointing for everybody in the locker room."
What would you say to the fans that left at halftime?
"I really wasn't focused on that, but if they emptied out at halftime,
it's obvious why, and I can't blame them for what they saw. Again, it
was just a very poor performance."
Do you move up the timetable to evaluate the program?
"Well, here is the thing. I've addressed that before, and I understand
that that is your job. That's everybody's job to ask those questions,
and I respect that. But again, I've got one concern. I've got one
concern, and my concern is those guys. It is those guys in the locker
room and us trying to improve to get a win. So, I am not going there. I
understand that it is your job to ask that question. I respect it. I'm
not going there, and we are going to keep forging ahead and trying to
win."
Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin Quotes
On the importance of a road win...
"Anytime you're on the road, that's important. I think coming off last
week, which was really taxing for us physically and mentally, to come
out and play with that kind of energy and excitement on the road is
extremely important. We wanted to have some success early. We talked
about it all week as a team---offensively and defensively, be good on
special teams pretty early in the ballgame. Whenever you get on the
road, that really helps your chances of winning."
On the three running backs getting involved...
"We were able to get those guys going. Ben [Malena] has been steady
through the whole year. It's probably [Christine Michael's] best game
this year. He was extremely effective. It was good to see Trey
[Williams] do a lot of work tonight. He's been patient, and he's done a
good job on kickoff returns for us. He's really been coming along in
the playbook learning what he's supposed to do, and the guys put in
that kind of work. As I said at the beginning of the year, we're going
to need all three of them to go down through this stretch, and they all
three were productive tonight."
On keeping momentum following a fast start...
"You hope there's no lull. Your people make adjustments, you adjust. I
think the ability to be consistent is important. I think the big
difference between us tonight and the last couple of weeks is we took
care of the football. When you do that, and you're moving the chains
and not giving the ball to the other team and turning it over, that's
how you have this kind of success and you're able to score like that.
We've put a big emphasis on that at the beginning of the year, but like
I said, penalties and turnovers the past couple of weeks have been a
thorn in our side, but tonight we were pretty good at that."
On coming back to the state where he was born to coach...
"We had a lot of people here. Anytime you win in this league, it's
good, but it's always good when you have a bunch of family and friends
around."
On the first of a three road games...
"We said we wanted to be 1-0 at the end of this week, and then we will
reset that and enjoy this for 24 hours, then we'll say the same thing
next Monday. We want to be 1-0. We can't get past anybody. We're new to
this league, we're in new environments playing different teams and we
really have to stay focused one week at a time. As I said, we're
getting great leadership out of the seniors right now. Coaches do so
much, but during the week, players have to stay focused and these guys
are doing a great job."
Auburn Player Quotes
QB Jonathon Wallace
On tonight's performance...
"Overall, we have to find a way to win. We can't go down early. We
can't win that way. We need to find a way to come out on fire."
On scoring his first touchdowns...
"It was great. I thought that play really lifted some guys' spirits. It
gave us some momentum and got us back in the game. It was great to
score, but it wasn't enough."
On his touchdown pass to Emory Blake...
"It was good, but it wasn't enough to win."
DE Nosa Eguae
On tonight's performance...
"It was a tough one. We just fell into situations where they did great
things and we didn't. You have to give Texas A&M all the credit.
They came out here and played a great game and we didn't."
On what the team needs to improve on...
"We just have to go out there and communicate better. We have to go out there and expect to win football games."
WR Emory Blake
On the game...
"They came out clicking. We got beat today. Nobody quit, but I feel like they played a very good game today."
On the passing game...
"We've been working on it all year. [Jonathan Wallace] came in and did
a really good job for us. As receivers, we're expected to make plays
and the O-linemen started protecting pretty well. That's what happens."
On moving forward in offense...
"We need to just keep pushing. Keep getting better at protection. Keep
getting better at running routes. Keep progressing at the quarterback
position, and we'll get better. There's no quit in us and we're just
going to keep fighting."
RB Tre Mason
On the game...
"They were a great team and we just got beat."
On the rushing game...
"I'm not really sure, but between me and Onterio, we do what we can do when we get the ball in our hands."
On moving forward in offense...
"Run the ball."
CB Jonathan Mincy
On the game...
"It was a physical game. We were prepared for it. We just couldn't
execute the way we wanted to. We just have to get back at it this next
week."
On rebounding from this loss...
"We need to just learn from our mistakes and continue to work."
On what was taken away from this game...
"This is just going to be motivation for when we play them next year."
TE CJ Uzomah
On the game...
"We played together and fought to the very end, that's what the coaches
asked for. We fought and played for each other tonight. Obviously, the
outcome wasn't something we wanted, but we fought to the end."
On personal performance...
"The touchdown catch was fun, but I still had a lot of mistakes
throughout the game. The catch was a positive, but I also have things
to work on."
On what to improve going forward...
"We just have to keep fighting. The players are there. We had
opportunities to convert on the plays the coaches were calling today.
We just have to convert and keep fighting."
Texas A&M Player Quotes
LB, Jonathan Stewart
On being a defensive player in the league...
"It's great. It's a lot easier because it's predictable. On our
offense, when they keep scoring like that, we know that their offense,
they have to put points on the board. They are going to have to score
quickly, because our offense every time they're out there they're
scoring in five or six plays, so it makes it a lot easier."
On taking the crowd out of the game...
"It's great. Their fans were rocking at the beginning of the game. Our
offense went down and scored, and then we stopped them. I think in the
first quarter they had three series that were all three and outs.
Defensively we came out fast. We're playing great and the offense is
playing fast."
On setting the tone for the upcoming stretch...
"It was important, but we don't play attention to the stretch, we paid
attention to this one week. We have the 24-hour rule. We'll enjoy this
win for the plane ride back, and when we wake up in the morning we'll
get ready for a very good Mississippi State team."
WR, Ryan Swope
On key to their quick start...
"I think what it really comes down to is our preparation. We practice
all week, and coach emphasized we have to come out and start the ball
game with tempo. We did that. We took the ball down the first drive and
scored. From there on out, we were rolling. The offensive line did a
great job tonight of giving (quarterback) Johnny (Manziel) protection.
Johnny was really spinning the ball great tonight and did some good
things on his feet. Just a great overall performance tonight."
On consistent scoring on opening possession...
"That's one of our main things we come out to do, to set the tempo and
score in the first drive. We take pride in that, so we are going to try
to keep doing that as much as possible. Coach has really emphasized
just to set the tempo of the game. We've done really well the past
couple of games of doing that."
Importance of the game being the first of a series of road games...
"It's very important. It gives us a lot of confidence. We'll enjoy the win and get back to work this next week."
On what it's like to play when the offense is clicking...
"When everything is clicking, and everything's working, it's a lot of
fun to be a part of. It's hard to stop at the speed that we go at. We
left a few plays on the field that I think that we can get better. It's
a scary thing, but we'll take a look at the film. We'll build on that
and be real critical, but we're excited about tonight. We did some good
things out there."
On whether Johnny Manziel's performance is surprising anymore...
"He's just one of those kids that can go out there and perform at a
high level. He makes plays on his feet that I've never seen some
quarterbacks do. It's just something really special that he has. He's
getting better and better. He's just got to keep focusing during the
week, the preparation. You've got to keep practicing hard, can't get
complacent. The rest will take care of itself. Overall, he had a good
game tonight. His leadership really stood out to me tonight."
DL Damontre Moore
On defensive impact early in the game...
"We just really executed what we had practiced and what we had been
taught. We played hard from the first snap and things just fell our
way."
On crowd noise...
"We got up early and that crowd really started to get quiet; the fans were starting to leave."
On TAMU QB Johnny Manziel...
"I don't want to say I'm surprised, he's a great play-maker. Every week he does something; never ceases to amaze me."
On good start of three-week road trip...
"Every week is a new week. It's nice to get this win, but now we've got to just get ready for next week."
|
