UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 14, 2023

Jeff Traylor

Press Conference

UTSA - 41, UAB - 20

COACH TRAYLOR: It took us six games but we finally put together our first complete game of the entire season so that was good to see. We were really good defensively. We gave up the reverse, the double pass. Other than that we were pretty spot-on solid.

They made some great contested catches, they're a good team offensively, and I was really proud of our defense.

Offensively we were very efficient all night. We got to play on a short field most of the night because our defense was so good and our special teams was fantastic.

So the triangle, after six games, it all kind of looked bright and that's a good feeling. That's a good football team we beat tonight. They've given us trouble.

Those guys were the champs before we showed up and we have a great respect for their program. And it's a good team win.

Q. You guys are 2-0 to start AAC play after a rough September. How does it feel to be undefeated so far?

COACH TRAYLOR: October, it was a lot better than September. I don't know if there's a song about that, Earth Wind and Fire or something like that, but it's been a lot better in October.

Q. What does it mean to see the offense score 40-plus in consecutive games after the slow start during nonconference season?

COACH TRAYLOR: We just had a little bit of identity. It helps to have certain players be there all the time. And we're playing good team football right now. And that's just good to see.

We're about the midway point, and what these kids have done all four years they got a little bit better every day. And they keep getting a little bit better every day. They like each other. They like coming to work every day. They're good people.

And when you get a bunch of good people together that believe in each other and they just work every day together, usually good things happen. Occasionally it doesn't. But I'll bet on the percentages on that and good people with good culture that have great work habits. They usually get better. And we're getting better.

Q. First time that you guys have received the opening kickoff all season. Also first time you scored on your opening possession. What was that offensive spark like right out of the gate like that?

COACH TRAYLOR: I actually contemplated taking the ball first instead of deferring. I thought my defense would not feel like I have confidence in them. So I said, you know what, I'm going to let you all do it again, boys.

So actually, I think they gave us the ball. I think that's how that thing went, actually. So that made it even better because I kind of got what I wanted. But I had to tell my defense.

It was really good to score. The third-down-and-7 call was big. Hitting the slant to Tykee, that's what got that drive going. I was really glad to see Tykee and Frank hook up on that.

Q. You got three takeaways on defense. What were your thoughts on -- y'all haven't again betting turnovers for part of the year and now they seem to be coming in bunches?

COACH TRAYLOR: That first one was a biggest one to get us up 14-0 that quick. We watched it happen the last time we were home. It just went the other way. They were up 14-0 because of turnovers.

I was really glad to see that happen. And what a really good catch by Josh, who I think he became the all-time leading receiver tonight in the history of our school. So I teased him. I said you had the all-time leading receiving record, but you also had the worst quarterback record in the history of our school as well. So I know you all are going to beat me up on that.

Josh can throw the heck out of the ball. He really can. There's nobody practices throwing the football more than Josh Cephus. I know I should have handed it off. Waiting for that question.

Q. I was going to ask if you saw this game as a sign of what your team is capable when you have a lot of your guys out there and healthy, what this bodes for the future with this group?

COACH TRAYLOR: I've been apologizing to y'all all year because I really wanted you to see this team. We're still not what I thought we were going to be. I just think if you put J.T. in the mix out there, we're as good as anybody.

But we've learned. We've maneuvered around that situation now. We can see how that's going to look and Devin McCuin has really come on as a true freshman to kind of take that spot. And Tykee has really stepped up.

And getting Frank -- he's getting closer to being healthy. He's not healthy as you can tell but he's getting closer. Getting our line more solidified. We're not far from getting Dan back. We're not far from getting Makai back. There's some pieces out there. We're chasing. We got Trey Moore back tonight.

Donyai had no knee brace on tonight. We got Brandon Matterson back tonight. It's funny how the players can make the coach look a lot smarter. We have a good football when I can get them all out there. And we have a very good opponent this week, a very good opponent.

Q. We saw the defense put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and in the backfield, lots of tackles for loss tonight. What did you attribute that to tonight?

COACH TRAYLOR: Just athletes getting off blocks. Getting Brandon Matterson back. You gotta double team him. Getting Trey Moore, gotta double team him. Booker-Brown is hard to block -- Syrus, Joe, Brandon Brown, we've got some dudes in there.

You haven't got to see us all together like I wanted you all to. But we're getting there. We're getting closer. Two down, one to go. Gotta go get the next one.

Q. What can you say about Trey Moore's efforts along those lines? He had three and a half sacks, had to limp off. Clearly he's playing through something.

COACH TRAYLOR: Yeah, he is. He can't get healthy but he's a tough kid. Came from a great program, Smithson Valley. Kid gives me everything he can. He communicates with me, lets me know, just certain times it grabs him where he can't push through it. It's not anything that can damage his career. We wouldn't let him be out there. It's just managing pain right now.

Q. Did you think coming into the night this was a matchup where the run game might be there for you guys? Seemed like you guys had a lot of success on the ground.

COACH TRAYLOR: I told my closest people, I thought we were going to have a really good night offensively. I felt good about that. I didn't know we were going to be able to stop them. I thought red-zone defense was going to be really huge, and could we get some turnovers. And both those things showed up.

One of the few times I've been right on anything I really thought this season. And I know my closest, my family and my friends that I talked to for real, not you and J.J., they always want to know how I don't know. Sometimes you just don't know. But we played better defensively, honestly, than I thought we were even capable of tonight. I thought we played at a really high level tonight.

Zeno was really good. I kept saying -- my defensive coaches kept getting tired of me saying. I kept saying 19 is really good. Dang, 17 is really good. Dang, 2 is really good. Dang, 1 is really good. Dang, 4 is really good. And my defensive coach is, like, we've got good players, too. And we do. We do have good players as you can see tonight.

But that's a good offense. And Coach Dilfer has done a fantastic job as has coach Mortensen. Those guys are really good offensively.

Q. I know earlier in the week you said you didn't believe in springboard games. But do you think you guys could build some momentum off of this?

COACH TRAYLOR: Anytime you win and there's stuff to coach off and you come out relatively healthy, those are good weeks, man. Those are good weeks. So that's kind of how you springboard -- health -- and I understand mood of the locker room.

But what I was trying to say I remember being 4-0 in Memphis and I can look back at (indiscernible). It's one of the worst practices we've had all week. And sometimes we're a desperate football team right now. We don't feel good. We don't want you all to be nice about us. We want you all to say bad things about us. We just want to be treated bad because we're desperate right now.

We've got a lot to prove right now. One of your opening questions, one of your, earlier September but we've got a good October. How about we just got a good October? No keep saying it -- bad September. We like the jabs, and it makes us better.

I like being desperate. I don't like feeling good. I like being grappy. I don't like smiling. I really don't. I enjoy this look right here. I just like misery. It's something about coaching.

But my team, we have a good time in there. I'm messing with y'all a little bit. But we've got a lot to work on still, too. I mean, our four-minute offense was garbage. We were terrible in the middle eight tonight. We didn't score before halftime. Terrible call by the head coach. We've got a lot to work on.