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NATIONAL FUNDING HOLIDAY BOWL: MINNESOTA VS WASHINGTON STATEDecember 27, 2016Luke FalkParker HenryMike LeachShalom LuaniGabe MarksSan Diego, California Minnesota - 17, Washington State - 12 COACH LEACH: Questions. Q. Mike, what was the issue offensively tonight? Seemed like you guys never got in a rhythm. COACH LEACH: I didn't think we played well offensively at all. I think it's accurate we never got in a rhythm. I think that we were frantic. I think whether you can say rusty, the time off, whatever it is, you know. I think we go out there, we try to adjust what our jobs are, we tried to make too much happen and when it didn't work out I thought we got frantic, I didn't think we were mentally tough as far as allowing ourselves to get discouraged and, you know, we unraveled. The worst thing I saw, worst thing I saw is we had a certain number of people pouting on the sideline. All of the sudden something doesn't go our way we're entitled to put on in some fashion, and then, of course, Minnesota gets credit for playing the way they played. They had to be very proud of that. Q. Talk about the play of some good plays of C.J. Dimry today he made a very tough incomplete catch and two good receptions, what did you see in him today? COACH LEACH: He's getting better all the time. Hopefully we get his year back because he's done a lot he had a good week of practice down here. I wish we would have gotten him the ball more. I thought we had him quite a bit and I thought we should have thrown it to him more. Q. Luke, did you think there would be a team defense that could keep your offense out of the end zone the way they did? LUKE FALK: We did that to ourselves today, shot ourselves in the foot, nothing special they did, obviously they got the win, credit to them, but we just didn't execute. Starts with me, getting the guys around me going and, you know, we just left a lot of stuff out there on the table and got to do better, be better at quarterback position. Have to be better at quarterback position so things like this don't happen. Gotta be better. Q. Gabe, I know you often think the questions asked in the post game press conferences don't give you the opportunity to say what you want to say, what went on out there? GABE MARKS: We sucked, our offense was horrible, our defense played good our special teams played more than good enough. We didn't do anything offensively, that's how you lose, you don't score points you lose games. Q. Mike, what was your take on the tipped play for a touchdown? The one that went off Marcellus's hand. COACH LEACH: That happens. It's unfortunate for us, it's too bad for us, we're in position to make a play, and you could make the argument that you should have picked it, but by the same token if somebody tips it you probably ought' to catch it which he did. Q. Luke, on some of those sacks were you not seeing anybody open or were they just getting in the pocket more than you were anticipating? LUKE FALK: As a quarterback you gotta get the ball out of your hands, gotta do something with it, put it in play, keep my eyes down field. We were getting a little pressure, but ultimately I have control, I can get rid of it and I gotta do a better job of that. Q. What were they showing you guys defensively that made it so tough to get anything going on offense? LUKE FALK: Just basic stuff, really, we just didn't execute. We didn't play like we practiced all week long, all year long, do the things that we do that make us successful on offense, we didn't do those things. It's on me. I think at some point in the game I need to bring guys together and get my body language better and get me going and then that will rub off on other people. Starts from the quarterback position and just really unfortunate. Q. You had a poor start to the season and a poor ending to the season, but a terrific middle of the season. Now that it's over how would you characterize the whole year? COACH LEACH: I thought we had a good year. I mean, going into this year, you know, if we told people that we would win as many games as we did, they would have laughed me out of the room, but we got upset five times and that's our fault, you know. Q. Talk about the good defensive effort on **Darren molten. He made some good tackles today for your squad? COACH LEACH: Molten did some good things today. I haven't seen the whole film, but it looks like molten played pretty good. Q. Gabe this is a follow up to the question asked previously. When you lose the final three games of the season does that put a sour note on what you guys accomplished earlier or do you still take pride in your record this year? GABE MARKS: We won eight games, that's not bad. Not bad, but we lost the first two games, because we weren't ready to play, and we lost the last three games because we weren't ready to play. I don't know how that happens. I don't know how you can go and win eight games in a row against top competition and then just I don't know. Yeah, I mean, we left a lot on the table. Q. Luke, have you made a decision regarding next season? LUKE FALK: I'm not focused on that at all. All my effort has been toward the team. Q. Still a chance? LUKE FALK: Next question. Q. Mike, did you feel like there was a lack of respect for the opponent given the stuff they were going through, that your team was overconfident heading into this one? COACH LEACH: I don't know. I wondered that. I hope not. If that's the case, if that's the case, you know, somehow it's a total dereliction on our part as coaches that we have to address. I mean, I'm searching for that, if there is some element of that there. The most important thing you do as a coach is you create a sense in your player that they respect all opponents, no matter who they are. I can't help but wonder that, despite what you guys write because you guys go willy nilly on nearly every subject, but we have to have the discipline to keep our head, our mind and eyes out of there, and we've got as coaches we've got to make that happen. I'll be honest, there is a part of me that wonders if we did successfully. Q. Gabe, you came back for one more season. Now that your career has ended, can you put into words what your time at Washington State has meant to you? GABE MARKS: My time at Washington State has meant a lot to me personally. I've grown as a person in the five years that I've been at Washington State and all the other years I've been on the earth. It was big. I've met a lot of people that I will know for the rest of my life. I helped build something here, and I did what I could. Not feeling too good about anything right now, so it's hard to give you a good ending to my life right now. I don't know who to say. COACH LEACH: All right, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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