	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 12, 2019

Phil Montgomery

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Navy - 45, Tulsa - 17

PHIL MONTGOMERY: Hats off to Navy. I thought they played a really nice game. Option is always difficult to defend. And we knew it was going to be a really tough ball game coming in, they're very talented. And we had opportunities early in the game to really try to establish something, get a lead, we get the great play there on the kick off and have an opportunity to score there on the very first get and just don't connect.

And then we miss that field goal. And then the play to Sam, I thought that was a huge play in the course of the game. It's a 98-yard touchdown that's called back. And so we'll have to see all of that part of it. But this game kind of got away from us a little bit. And when you're playing somebody like Navy, in the first half, you get down and it makes it very difficult to come back with the way they are doing things and controlling some tempo parts of it, and obviously the time part of it.

But give credit to our guys, I thought they continued to fight throughout, I thought they continued to work extremely hard. And for now we have got to move past this one. It's one game. Got an extremely tough schedule in front of us and know next week it's going to be another tough one. So got to get back on the practice field, learn from what we did, take away some of the good things. Defensively, you can really throw this one out because you don't face this again. But offensively, you got some things to learn from, obviously. Got a chance to get better. So with that I'll take questions.

Q. You mentioned that Sam Crawford touchdown. That did seem like one of the that's when they went on their run after that. Was that a big let down for the team?
PHIL MONTGOMERY: Well it's pretty big. It's a 98-yard touchdown pass and obviously I'll have to wait and see the film and see it all. But it was a great play by him and Zach. And Sam made a great catch right there and finished it off and that's a huge momentum deal for you. Like you said, right after that we're fighting the field position part of it from that point on. We had too many times where we were backed up and trying to just dig our way back out of it. And that would have been a big factor right there. And once they established the lead, it allowed them to kind of change some of their philosophy of things and do some things differently and felt like we had some advantages on the outside that we could have taken advantage of.

Q. It looks like you guys have something, that touchdown earlier in the game like you mentioned that missed field goal, the fumble, does that weigh on you when you have those opportunities and all of a sudden --
PHIL MONTGOMERY: Well you got opportunities like that. I mean, we have got, we got a good call into a look and we just don't connect on the third down part of it. He ran a really good route right there and we got to finish that off. And then like you said, the 98-yarder is a big play of it. We had other opportunities in there for plays like that. Once they extended the lead on us then we knew it was very difficult -- what they're doing defensively they're doing a good job and everybody's doing a great job coordinating it and giving you a lot of different looks. And didn't want to fall behind the chains too much. They have been difficult to run the football against and knew we were going to have to throw it to do it and they're giving you a loft of different looks. So it will be a good chance for us to study and see what we can do better off it have.

Q. You mentioned how hard they are to run the ball against. Your struggles, was it a lot to their defense or was it some things that you didn't like that you saw as well?
PHIL MONTGOMERY: Once we fell behind early you got to start throwing it. So for us to get back in it, we knew we were going to have to put the ball in the air and that takes away part of those options of things. So when you're in that situation you're doing everything you can to continue to fight and find ways to win and I thought our guys continued to battle.

Q. You lost Sam in the second quarter. First of all, how is he doing and then how much did that affect you guys, because it looked like he got no call on a helmet to helmet.
PHIL MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I'm glad you said it because I really can't say it, but it's a big loss losing Sam. Sam's an integral part of what we do and what we have planned and other guys have got to step up. I thought some guys came in and did some good things. JC ended up with nine catches or something like that. But Sam has been really consistent for us, obviously he had the big catch there early in the game.

And as far as where he's at right now, we'll just have to wait and see we'll get with the trainers and the doctors afterwards and hopefully he'll be okay.

Q. Malcolm tonight, 200 something yards rushing tonight. Was he one of those guys, you see him out there, just kind of shake your head because he's having one of those nights?
PHIL MONTGOMERY: He had a great night tonight. We knew he was very, very talented coming in, he's very quick, he's got a great first step, did a nice job of running it tonight. A couple big runs in there. He's slippery around the tackle parts of it, you feel like you got some things played and then all of a sudden he just puts a foot in the ground and he's jumping back and here he comes. And so he's a good player, very talented, and we knew that coming in, we knew we had to really do a good job of wrapping up and making tackles in those situations. The counter option kind of hurt us a little bit, especially in the first half, I think he got quite a few yards just on that part of it.

Q. Struggles with the kicking game as of lately just how do you address that and move forward?
PHIL MONTGOMERY: Well, the one that we quote missed actually got tipped and blocked and I think it would have went in. I mean I think after that Jacob did okay. Just got to do a better job of sealing some things up over there on the side. But with kickers -- and this is whatever level you're working with -- it's all about confidence and those guys have got to feel confident about what they're doing, trust their technique and continue to work and I know they're working extremely hard every day in practice and so are we trying to make sure that we got them in the best situation they can be in.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297