UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 10, 2022

Philip Montgomery

Press Conference

Tulsa 38, Northern Illinois 35

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Really proud of our football team. I give Northern Illinois a lot of credit. It's a team that's got a lot of tradition behind it. Had an outstanding year last year. Started off the season with a win.

Those guys play a physical brand of football. Did a nice job changing some things up on us today, but I thought our guys were resilient. I thought our guys really battled throughout this game.

The first half and the second half are just completely different sides of the coin. Felt like we had all the momentum in the first half. Come out in the second half, let the momentum kind of slip by.

That being said, I thought our guys really stayed together on the sideline. I thought our guys believed in each other, stayed locked in, understanding we have been in these situations before. We understand what it's going to take, and you've got to find a way to go win. Our guys did that tonight, so I'm extremely proud of them and the effort that they put out there.

Extremely proud of our coaches. We've got some things to fix, but it's a whole lot easier fixing those after a win than it is a loss. Extremely proud.

I want to say the administration did a great job of really sprucing everything up out here and creating an unbelievable atmosphere for the tailgating side of it, during the game. I think the kids had a lot of fun, and the fans stayed. We had a great crowd. I thought they really helped us win this game, finish this game.

Very grateful to our administration. Very grateful to our city for coming out and supporting our football team and our program. Hope you keep coming back.

We kept it exciting for you tonight to keep you around and watch the fireworks, so hopefully you'll keep coming back and being a part of what we've got going on.

I'll take questions.

Q. There are nine different guys or things I could ask you about in just the final four minutes. Keylon, to muff the punt. Had had a big night and made a bunch of big plays, but to muff the punt and bounce back the way he did and make that play on the final drive.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Keylon has been one of those guys throughout his career here that has always stepped up in big moments. He did that again tonight. He had a mistake. That being said, you know, he is always going to battle back just like our football team is always going to battle back.

We believe in each other. We believe in him. That part of it I think holds us together. So it wasn't ever a doubt that those guys were going to step up, do something big.

I mean, a couple of really big plays in those last two drives to make things happen. Not just Keylon, but other guys throughout. Isaiah had a big catch in there. J.C. had an unbelievable first half, did some things in the second half. Malachai, a big catch on third down, a couple of them in there.

It was good to see those guys continue to step up, and I thought Davis really handled all those situations extremely well.

Q. Of all the things that went on, I'm sure the thing this bothered you the most was that penalty at the 1-yard-line and then he makes the interception at the end. So maybe talk a little bit about that, him not going in the tank. And then also what kind of coaching goes on on the sideline because it's so quick. I don't know what can be said to these guys, what their position coaches can say, but how do you coach them up after a mistake like that?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I think more than anything -- yeah, you're going to say some stuff to them on the sideline to try to fix those things, but that starts in January and that starts over the summer and that starts through fall camp. That starts in practice.

It's a mentality that I think that our football team really carries onto the field, which it's next play, next drive, next series.

At the end of the game we're going to look up and see where the scoreboard is, but right now we have to focus on our job. We've got to let whatever just happened -- you've got to put that away. I have to correct it in my mind. Then I have to be ready to play the next play.

I thought he did a good job of that. I know how upset he was when that part happened, but for him to be able to end the game like that on a great play, had three guys converging on the ball, and then him obviously coming up with it to seal the game. Just a huge, huge play in that game.

Q. Just talk about, it seems like over the past few years so many close games. It seems like just about every game here just always comes down to these types of finishes. Talk a little bit about that.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, trust me, I'm not trying to make that happen. I would like to be able to finish those out in a much more convincing type fashion, but give our guys credit. Just continue to stay locked in, stay focused, stay believing in each other and finding ways to get wins.

Again, I tell our guys all the time, don't care if we win 3-0 or 50-49 as long as it's a W. We got our first win of the season tonight, and we've got to continue to keep building on that part of it.

That locker room felt good. That's a good taste in your mouth, and we've got to understand how important that is and how we continue to keep building and growing because we've got things to grow from in this game. We've got to continue to keep growing as a team because I think we've got a chance to have a really good year, but it's going to be about the work that we put in though make that happen.

Q. Could you talk about the development of Davis? Overall, the first two weeks played really well and that final drive, that gutty drive for the whole team, and Davis was --

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I thought he really handled situations well tonight. The interception that he had, I put that a little bit on me trying to be a little too aggressive when I didn't need to be.

He got a little leak there inside, and he got some pressure, got hit as soon as he threw it or as he was throwing it. So really didn't get anything on that ball.

You take that out of it, I thought he really saw the field well. I think he is doing a really good job of taking what the defense is giving him. He is spreading the football around. Those guys are getting open. You had, again, a number of guys.

I don't know how the breakdown happened, but I know all of those guys contributed in big ways. We had a couple of more that we just missed that I think could have been really beneficial for us, but staying locked in, staying poised, handling situations.

They brought a lot of different pressures again tonight. I thought our offensive line did a better job in that sense, and I thought we ran the ball better to help in keeping us balanced.

His play right now, he is on a good path. We still have work to do, but we've got to stay hungry and focused about those things.

Q. Philip, what are you going through in that final two minutes? What are you physically feeling like? How do you keep composure for yourself knowing that?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Again, we've been in a few of these. I talk to our coaches all the time about guys are going to react the way we react, and if you are losing your mind, they're going to probably respond that same way.

Trying to stay calm in those situations, keep pumping belief into them, keep pumping confidence into them, and then giving them opportunities to go out and do what they do and compete and getting them in places where they can go make plays. We had a lot of guys step up tonight and make some big plays.

Q. Going into this game you were down two of your big backs at running back position. Just how Steven Anderson was able to play out of his mind tonight for you.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I thought Steven did a really nice job moving chains for us. Really battling through some runs in there and picking up some good yards for us. I thought Bill had a couple of good carries. I thought Tahj came in there late, had a really good series in there.

It's always going to be running back by committee, but it was nice to see Steven really the last two weeks really take over that side of it and really do a nice job of continuing to find ways to improve our running game.

I thought our offensive line did a better job of coming off tonight and creating some space in there. Then Steve just being big and running through things.

Q. I was just going to ask how concerned are you about some of the special teams issues, muffed punt?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Some of those things right there, I mean, the muffed punt part of it -- "Sleep," or Keylon, is in a great position to field the football. If you noticed, wind was blowing pretty hard at that particular time, and that one got way up in through the air.

Sometimes those things happen. That wasn't a technical thing. That wasn't a coaching thing. That was just it was a mistake, right? Mistakes happen.

We knew going into it after looking at their tapes from last year their kicking game as far as their kickoff unit, they would kick the ball anywhere at anybody at any time. So talking those things up on the sideline, everybody is alert to it.

Again, I think that's a good play by them. Mitch is right there to take control of that football.

Obviously, you would like to see a little bit more conversion on that part of it us being a little bit more aggressive about going in and attacking the football, but that's a flip of the coin play, right?

Everybody was alert to it. Everybody knew. We've just got to execute it a little better.

Q. Everything the university did and just kind of the energy that was out there and then Wyoming being the game, just a coin flip, is it more relief even than joy tonight to put this thing in the win column?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: (Laughing), you know as a coach, I just want our guys to feel success. When they get to feel that feeling, that's important for me and for our coaching staff because I know how hard they work, I know how much they put into it, I know how hard they play, the passion that they play with.

More than anything, I just want them to have that joy and that feeling. From the coaching side of it, there's a little bit of relief to that, to be real honest. We know that we've got a tough schedule in front of us. Every game matters.

This week we went 1-0. Next week we have to do the same thing. For us it's about week by week, game by game, and really keeping our focus on that part of it and continuing to grow as a football team.

Q. You thinking about making some shirts called "Cardiac Kings?"

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I think that was a thing here for a while. Absolutely after the last three years, I don't know that anybody else across the country fits that persona more than we are. I would like to not have to do that, but I think we probably fit into that category. I know it's given me more gray everywhere but that side of it, we're going to take those wins any way we can get them.