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UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2019

Philip Montgomery

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Houston 24

Tulsa 14

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Disappointing game. I thought our defense played extremely well. Offensively, we couldn't get out of our system own way. You can't turn the ball over four times or whatever it was. We get things going and then shoot ourselves in the foot. You get the touchdown there, and then you know you can't give up a kickoff return for a touchdown.

So you have a chance to kind of grab a little bit of momentum, didn't take advantage of it and it flips back to the other side of it and you're continuing to fight uphill. You know, really proud of our seniors and what they have done and continue to do.

We just didn't execute at the level we need to execute against a good Houston team. So you know, got one more left, and got to do a much better job in all three phases of playing together and getting it done.

Q. You mentioned 98-yard touchdown drive by you guys and the kickoff return ensuing. You talked a couple weeks ago against UCF about how you would coach the guys and this is a big moment and we've got some momentum, you know what I mean. To have it not happen?
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, it's one of those things that's hard to explain. Things we talked about, talked about it, you know, throughout the bye week. Talked about it all week. Talked about it today. Talked about it during the game. You know, these are opportunities for us to go capture, and just didn't do a good enough job executing today to make that happen.

Q. I think you probably thought it would be tough sledding running the ball, because of their defensive front, but it was kind of extreme the way it ended up, was there anything you guys could have done, from your vantage point?
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: They did a good job. Their D-Line, that's the strength of their team. You know, we knew it would be tough sledding coming in. Didn't think it would be that tough. Give them credit for that part of it.

We've got to do a better job of creating some holes and giving those running backs some opportunities, and you know, you just got to pick up positive yards when you're doing it. You know, not asking for ten-yard runs every time. Just consistently picking up yards. You know, it was tough sledding in the run game tonight.

Q. I don't know what the yardage was exactly, but down in, down out, you guys were winning a number of battles, but it's just those key moments.
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah.

Q. Early on, could you feel for some reason, that was difficult tonight, early on? Like in those big moments?
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I didn't feel it really in the big moments till late. But you know, early in the game, you know, just the difficulties running the football. Didn't have a lot of consistency in that part of it. But had opportunities in there. You know, we've got Keenan for a touchdown on the first interception that he gets hit as he's throwing and the ball comes up.

I mean, they bust coverage and Keenan is running down the sideline. He's the primary receiver on that route, and you know, it was just things like that that consistently happened throughout that, you know, you've got to overcome, and you know, I think our guys, they were juiced up to play. I think our emotions a little bit, they were trying so hard, instead of just relaxing and letting some things come to them and started pressing a little bit. We really had not done that all year.

We've been able to face adversity throughout and keep battling and working our way back. Tonight you felt them, they were juiced up wanting to get it done for each other and for our last home game for these seniors that have meant so much to us. I think that emotion played a little bit into that part of it.

Q. Cooper leading the team on tackles on Senior Night, can you talk about, he came into the game leading the conference in tackles, what he's meant to this program?
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, Coop's been just a solid rock for us. He's a guy that through the last several years, he's had over a hundred tackles every year. Last year he had all the turnovers and things that went along with that.

Coop has been a great linebacker, but more importantly, just been a great leader. He does it in a lot of different ways. He's not as vocal as some of those other guys, but Coop is steady. Coop gets his job done and you can always trust on Coop to his level of play. There's no ups and downs to it. He's very consistent about what he is and what he does.

Q. What did you make of Zach's play tonight?
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I thought he had some really, really great throws. I thought he was seeing the field extremely well. I thought early, you know, made some really key throws that maybe didn't have our eyes around quick enough that could have led us to some other things.

Obviously we've got to protect him a little bit better, but we got into that circumstance where we've got to throw, they know we've got to throw. We have to do a better job of protecting him right there. But he made some big-time throws in there, and you know, he's continuing to get better.

Q. On fourth and ten, the two time-outs on that second time-out, you were talking to the referee after.
PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I thought they should have reset the play clock part of it. Nobody gave us any warning that we were coming out of that part of it. So one of them deals.

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