By Ryan Barry
NEFJ Staff
UMass head coach Don Brown took to the podium at his opening week press conference to discuss Saturday’s 34-3 loss to Buffalo, as well as their upcoming home game against Central Connecticut State.
Brown on if he thinks they took a step backwards in their loss to to Buffalo
“No, I don’t feel like we took a step back, but I don’t think we took a step forward. We were talking about it today, but the difficult part is right around 5:51 in the third quarter, it’s anybody’s ballgame, it’s 13-3 at that point. That’s when we kind of, all of a sudden, punt, penalty, short field, 20-yard scoring drive, and then we get the interception for the touchdown, and now you’re fighting uphill big time. Those kinds of scenarios are kind of difficult to overcome.”
Brown on the hardest parts of learning how to win and taking that next step
“Not as severely, but when we had the punt problem and the penalty, that resulted in the drive starting on the 20-yard line, that’s a killer. Then, we’re driving the ball down the field showing great signs of life and we’re almost home and we throw an interception which is returned for a touchdown. You’re on the verge of something good, and then it doesn’t pan out.”
Brown on the most frustrating part of being so close but unable to turn the tide
“Take a look..Toledo beats Mississippi State 41-18, and we’re really, for intents and purposes, in that game as well. You just keep working, that’s it. Kids are giving me effort, guys are going about their business the right way, and as long as they do that, we’ll have a chance to continue to improve and get better, and that’s what I’m looking for.”
Brown on the kids who’ve stuck around, particularly the Massachusetts kids, and what homecoming means to them
“In this day in age that just doesn’t happen all that often as you pointed out. First sign of a tough scenario and some guys just check out. For those couple of guys, they’ve stayed and battled and done everything we’ve asked of them. That’s a beautiful thing in this day in age.”
Brown on the emotion he puts into these games and how he processes difficult games
“This is my life’s ambition of which I’m still trying my tail off to make UMass great again. It’s the only reason I’m doing it. The good thing is, I still think I’m reaching the players, I still think that we’re able to connect from a concept level and from a competition level. I still think they’re listening. As long as the message is there and I still feel like I’ve got my health I’m going to keep battling. In this day in age that’s a hard thing to do, so we’ll see.”
Brown on Brady Olson, a former UMass quarterback, returning this Saturday
“Great kid. Looking forward to seeing him and looking forward to the challenge. I know we’ll get his best shot. He’s a great young man, and he did everything I asked him to do.”
Brown on the challenge that Central Connecticut brings this week
“They do a good job of running the ball in terms of the spread run game. Number seven, their tailback (Elijah Howard) is a very good player. I think he’s got good shake, can change direction, and has good all out speed. He’s 5’11, 175 pounds, but I’ll tell ya, he plays behind his pads and he’s a tough guy.”
Brown on the challenge that the Central Connecticut State offensive line brings with their size
“It’s so hard to tell when you’re evaluating tape. You can evaluate movement, but it’s hard to evaluate their size. They’ve done a good job of controlling the clock and making things happen. Coach Lichtenberg has done a good job.”
Brown on the need for a win, even if it’s against an FCS opponent
“We don’t worry about those things. It’s why you play the game, to win the game. That’s an important piece for our guys. We’ve just got to provide them with the game plan and then they’ve got to go out and execute the game plan and finish the game.”
Brown on whether or not he pays attention to milestones, with a potential win this Saturday against CCSU being his 100th ever
“Not really. Thank you though for bringing it up. You people have brought it up to me in the last couple of months. At the end of the day, when you’re all done you step back and kind of look at that and it’s all good.”
Brown on the defense getting more pressure and a takeaway this week against Buffalo
“We actually had two sacks. Sahnai (Swain-Price) had his first sack, so that was good for him, and a forced fumble all in the same play. We’re working at it. We did a good job chasing the quarterback some, we did a good job keeping him in the pocket, so there’s some good things to take away from that perspective for sure.”
Brown on the improvements made Saturday against the more mobile quarterback
“What we’ve done is we’ve made it a real point of contention that you don’t go behind the quarterback. You’re not allowed to go behind the quarterback. Everything you do is in front of him. That’s one coaching point. The other coaching point is as you’re getting to the level of the quarterback, you throw your outside hand so it allows your hips to flick, and keeps you from going behind the quarterback. This is right up my alley. I kind of enjoy this conversation. The important things are staying in front of the quarterback and finishing on them with your hips so you make sure you don’t lose your mind and go behind him, because you just created a run lane for him to go through.”
Brown on the key to getting the offense going this week, particularly the run game
“We can’t be one dimensional. You can’t just run it. You can’t just throw it. We need to get to a point where we’re able to do both. I know coach (Montgomery) is working hard. This is a big preparation week for him. He’s working hard trying to get us multi (dimensional) in terms of the run and pass.”
Brown on one thing he wanted to point out in particular, without being prompted
“The one thing I wanted to point out. Out of the four quarters, three of the four quarters they had eighteen, ten, and eleven yards. Fourth quarter we gave up 90-yards. So we showed a little wear and tear there. We’ve got to make sure we finish the game.”