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DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: YOUNGSTOWN STATE VS JAMES MADISON

December 29, 2016

Mike Houston

Frisco, Texas

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us, and congratulations on James Madison advancing to the 2017 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

If you can give us an opening statement, just talk about how preparations are going and what this means to the University and what it means for James Madison to play in the National Championship Game.

COACH HOUSTON: I think first off, certainly I think we're all blessed to have the opportunity to play this time of the year.

Certainly every college football program that started back in August has the goal of playing in this game and I'm proud of our young men and the way that they have competed and improved and persevered all throughout the year. Just proud of the effort that they put on the line each Friday or Saturday in order to get us to this point.

They are certainly excited to be here. I think it's a special moment for James Madison University. I think it's our second Championship Game appearance in school history, first one in 12 years, and I think everyone around the Harrisonburg community and everyone here at James Madison University is certainly about the opportunity to go down to Frisco, Texas and compete against a very good Youngstown State team for the National Championship.

We started preparations with our first practice back yesterday. Had a good first practice. Kids are very excited. We are going on the field right now for our second practice preparation, and expecting to be able to have a full week of preparation before we fly down to Frisco.

Q. You guys had a huge win over North Dakota State, a team that's won it the last five years. Was it good to have a break after that game to let your kids enjoy that for a moment and then focus on finishing the season and finishing the goal?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think certainly after a win like that, it helps you kind of get past that win and be able to fully focus on Youngstown State for more than the couple of days that you would have it back when the championship was the next week.

So I think from that perspective, it gives our kids just a little bit of time to enjoy that win and to enjoy some time with our families for Christmas before getting back to work for the next opponent.

Q. I think in the beginning of the season and probably at the beginning of the playoffs, not a lot of people would have picked James Madison against Youngstown as a championship game. What does that say about how competitive it is at this level and just how hard it is to get here?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think it's very hard to get here. I think that it is very competitive to them, the FCS level.

I will say this: You have two teams from the hands-down, two best conferences in the nation, so it does not surprise me. We fully expected to have an opportunity to do this and I'm sure Youngstown State did, as well.

Over the last probably two months of the season, there's probably a lot of argument to be made that these are the two hottest teams in the country.

Q. When you look at Youngstown State's stats, the defense jumps out. What hits you about that team, that defensive team they have got?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, when you first flip on the film, the thing you notice right off the bat is just how very, very good they are up front. They have two long, extremely athletic, talented defensive ends that are great against the run and can do a great job rushing the passer. They have two big, strong interior players that do a great job inside of just occupying space and making plays in there.

And so it all starts up front and they are very, very good up front. They are very good at the linebacker level, especially at the Mike position. I think their corners are good man players. And I think the two safeties have done a good job of stepping in and being guys who are very, very good against the run against Eastern Washington.

I think it's just a very solid unit. I think they believe in the same things I believe in. I think they are going to be very physical when they play us, and they are going to do a great job of stopping our run game and they are going to create a lot of challenges for us.

Q. You said after the semifinal game, that seven players were suspended for that one. Can you say what for, and will that number grow for the Championship Game?
COACH HOUSTON: I will say this about the personnel and it will be the only comment I'm going to make about personnel.

We do have seven players that are suspended indefinitely. They have been suspended for about three weeks now. They will be suspended well beyond the Championship Game. Everyone who played versus North Dakota State is expected to play on January the 7th in Frisco.

Those seven young men are good kids. They made a mistake. They are paying for that mistake. There have been a lot of rumors, there's been a lot of speculation. I will say that none of them were arrested. There was no performance-enhancing drugs or anything like that. They made a mistake and they are paying the consequences.

So as has been my policy, anywhere I've been, I really don't get real deep into personnel issues and so that's going to be the only statement that I will make on that issue from now until after the Championship Game.

Q. No clarification on what their problem was?
COACH HOUSTON: I just gave you some clarification.

Q. Are there similarities between your game plan for North Dakota State and what you'll bring against Youngstown State, two teams focused on the ground and two physical teams.
COACH HOUSTON: Well, really I think that you look at any team that I feel like is best prepared to win a championship, and they are going to have the similarities that North Dakota State, Youngstown State and James Madison has.

I think that they are a very, very physical football team. They are very good defensively. They are very good on offense and the offensive line. They do a great job of running the football. They have an experienced, poised quarterback that does a great job running the offense. Very accurate passer and makes very, very few mistakes and that allows them to make a lot of plays in the passing game.

Sound on special teams. I think that you look at teams that make it to this game, and in my opinion, most often times, you're going to see teams that resemble those two teams right there.

Q. Your players have said all season, the consistency of each day being the same, each week being the same, has been a big part of their success. Them coming back off this break and facing a National Championship, how did they come back into the fold?
COACH HOUSTON: They came back in, and of course, having ten days off, or whatever it was since the last time we were together, you had to knock a little bit of rust off yesterday. We ran pretty good and practiced pretty hard, and I think got a lot of the kinks out, and I would expect us to be pretty far advanced today.

We are going to have a very similar schedule for the next week that we had during our bye week schedule during Thanksgiving break, and you know, they are familiar with that routine. Then next week in game week, will be very similar to any other road game that we've had all year long.

Q. Looking at Bo Pelini's offense, does he bring some of the old Nebraska stuff with him when you look at his offense?
COACH HOUSTON: I didn't play Nebraska when he was there, but what I think he does bring is that same kind of mentality that those teams had. They are going to use a lot of formation and motion, a lot of personnel groupings, to try to get advantages with angles and numbers at the point of attack in the run game.

I think they are going to be very downhill and they are really going to try to attack you with it, and they are going to have a good playaction game off of that.

I just think that they are a very, very good, multiple-pro-style offense that runs the ball very effectively.

Q. And what are you going to look for in practice? I know a lot of the players went home for the holiday, took time off after their big win, what do you like to see in practice before coming down to Frisco?
COACH HOUSTON: The big thing I told our kids, we talked about it yesterday and again this morning, before we went out this afternoon, is we have been a pretty physical ball team all year long, week-in, week-out. We played at a pretty high level all year long, and we have done that because of the way we practice.

We cannot expect to play in Frisco the way we have all year unless we have the same demands that we had in practice all year. I expect us to have a very physical few days of practice, here at the end of this week and the beginning of next week before we get down there; ones that we'll have a lot of good-on-good in those practices, because we have to make sure that we are ready to face a very good, a very physical football team next Saturday the 7th.

Q. I don't know how far back you guys have watched of Youngstown State this season, but just in terms of what you've seen, if you have, in terms of when Hunter Wells took over and became the quarterback for them, what do you see the difference with him at the quarterback?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, we've watched the entire season, and I think that that was probably the turning point. I think that's probably, you know, just a very experienced coaching move there in making a change when you knew you had to. Because I think that there was a lot of inconsistency and the offense was not performing at a real high level at that point.

And I think since the change, I think Wells has done a great job of bringing that consistency from a leadership standpoint. Again, he's a great operator. He is good with the ball. He does not put the ball in harm's way. He runs the offense efficiently. He makes good decisions in the passing game.

So I really think that that change and the stability that he's brought to the quarterback position has been the key to their run that they have made over the last month and a half, two months.

Q. You touched on it a little bit, but their two pass rushers, Rivers and Moss, how do you neutralize what those two guys can do off the edge?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think the big thing is we've just got to be really, really good in our fundamentals and our technique and our protects, from our tackles, we have to do a good job of mixing up for our protections as far as how we account for those guys.

We just have to be prepared, and Bryan has done a great job all year long of being able to extend plays and make things happen when he's got to get on the move.

Q. Can you talk about maybe a characteristic of your team that's been overlooked this year?
COACH HOUSTON: I think probably the biggest characteristic of our team is they are unified. This is a tight locker room and I've had some pretty tight ones on some of the better teams I've had.

But this is probably the tightest locker room I've had from the standpoint of there's no division, there's no cliques, and there's no selfishness. It's very much, I'm going to do what is needed from me on a daily basis to help this team win. And that's comes from the wide receivers; that comes from the running backs; that comes from the O-Line, that comes from the quarterback; it comes from the defensive players.

It's just whatever each guy has to do to help us win; whatever role I need to play on each given Saturday, I'm going to go out there and try to do my job and do it at a very, very high level. I don't think you can ever underestimate the value of a family that's tight-knit when it comes to college football.

Q. Is Mitch Kirsch scheduled to play in the Championship Game?
COACH HOUSTON: I've already made all the comments I'm going to make regarding personnel.

Q. Is he eligible to play in the Championship Game?
COACH HOUSTON: You must not have heard what I just said.

Q. There was a pretty good article yesterday about how Mickey Matthews and you interacted following the win over North Dakota State. Have you gotten any similar correspondence from either Everett Withers or from former coaches or staff that you work with at the Citadel on the victory?
COACH HOUSTON: I have not heard from Coach Withers or any part of his staff. But I have heard from the vast majority of my staff at the Citadel and they have all been very excited.

I got well wishes before the North Dakota State game and certainly we've talked since then. I'm really excited for them and what they have got going down there and I think they have very high expectations to be able to make a run at this game next year.

Excited for them and excited for the guys here in Harrisonburg.

Q. You mentioned how tight the locker room was. If you can take me back to when you were hired and give me an idea of the foundation of that Coach Withers and Matthews had built for you to make this run?
COACH HOUSTON: When I got here it was a very divided locker room, and it was one where there was no confidence and no cohesion defensively. And the attitude of the offensive players were that the only reason was that there was any success was because of them.

So it was not a good situation. And I think that's probably one of the key factors that led to poor performance in the post-season the last couple years.

And I think it's a credit to the seniors, the older players in this program, and the kind of character that those kids have in them, that they have bought into us and they have done virtually everything we have asked them to do from day one, and they have changed themselves completely in the locker room.

They have changed themselves completely on the field. We are a different style of team from what they have been in the last couple of years. And really, I do credit Coach Matthews and some of the players that he brought in his last year because those guys, those are the leaders of the football team and those are the ones that I'm the most proud of.

Q. What's the best way to describe the offense you run?
COACH HOUSTON: We are a spread offense that has a very physical, downhill run game, and a potent vertical and horizontal pass game.

Q. What's your offensive background, how you decided to come up with a scheme that you run, and second of all, the quarterback, how does he fit into running that offense for you?
COACH HOUSTON: I think that my philosophy of building championship program goes all the way back to when I was a young high school coach in my 20s. I believed even back then that you win championships by running the football effectively and by stopping the run on defense and then your passing game has to be built to complement off of that.

So when I took this job, I was coming from an institution where I had run the flexbone triple-option. Here, I just did not feel like the personnel that I had inherited fit that. I feel like, you know, really here, you had personnel that fit the spread offense and then I think you can recruit personnel here that fits the spread offense.

That's one thing I really wanted to transition to, anyway and in watching college football over the past several years, there were a few teams I identified that I liked what they did because I don't believe you can win championships being a finesse football team. Not at this level and not in the type of system we have in FCS.

You've got to be a physical football team and I think that's also how you build great defenses. You build great defenses by really challenging and attacking those players and that unit during spring practice and during fall camp.

So I knew that I had to develop a very physical offensive run game in order to make the improvement defensively that we needed in order to have a chance to make a run like this, have a chance to win an NCAA Championship.

It was all of those things that kind of went together that when I hired Coach Donnie Kirkpatrick, he and I had some long talks and discussions about what we wanted to be, and I credit him; that he has taken the vision that I kind of presented to him, what I wanted to be offensively, and he has done a great job of doing exactly that and building that kind of offense.

And Bryan Schor, you were asking about? Bryan Schor, I think is really, for us, the perfect quarterback in that offense. He's a young man that is extremely intelligent. He knows the game well. He's a great competitor. He's going to be the hardest worker on the practice field and the weight room. You go out there, he's above average build. He's faster than anybody gives him credit. He has great accuracy and solid arm strength and he makes very, very good decisions with the football.

It's a guy that can do a lot of different things: He can run the ball; he can throw the ball. He's going to get everybody lined up and he's going to put the ball where it needs to go and he's not going to put the ball in jeopardy. So really, he's the perfect guy for this offense.

Q. You mentioned some teams that you admired and wanted to emulate. What are some of those teams that come to mind?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, the biggest one or two playing this weekend, Clemson and Alabama. And being in the State of South Carolina the past several years and having close friends on the Clemson's staff; I've been able to concur (ph) with Coach Sweeney, have great respect for the way he runs the program.

But also, just their style of offense is what I was talking about, when I was putting this together. Alabama is a little bit different offense but still the same philosophy and foundation.

Q. Finding linemen on both sides of the ball to do what you want to do, I think that's probably challenging. Everybody would love to have the kind of linemen that Clemson and Alabama have. Has that been one of the challenges at the FCS level, to find those guys, or are there guys out there that just need to be developed?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think that we can recruit at a high level here, certainly. But at the same time, to your point, I think we've got to find kind of somebody that we think fits that mold that needs to be developed. And then we've got to develop, whether that's a defensive lineman that steps slow or an offensive lineman that's a little thin, where he's not going to be picked up by an FBS or major Power Five program. Those are the kind of guys that we can get.

I think we can compete with a lot of mid-majors, and I think that we have a lot to attract those players here. I think certainly the success of the program will allow us to do that.

Q. Do you see more similarities between you and Youngstown State? You talked about culture and physical nature, do you see similarity between the two teams?
COACH HOUSTON: Yeah, I really do, and I believe that's the winning formula in this playoff format. So I think that there is the same foundation for what it takes to win and win at a high level on both teams.

So I do see a lot of similarities.

Q. When Coach Pelini came here, he talked a lot about culture, even after the North Dakota State game, that we weren't doing the little things and there may have been teams in the last five or six years more talented that didn't get to the playoffs. Did you have a similar situation where there needed to be a shift in the culture of the program?
COACH HOUSTON: Yeah, I mean, I thought that was the key things. I think there was no doubt that there was talented players here, and there were good kids here. But the culture here was not what we described on this call, and not what I think Coach Pelini believes in, as well.

It's the culture of -- the mental toughness, the physical toughness. We want to come and work every day at a high level. There will be no excuses. The weather will never be a factor. We're going to do what we do, day-in and day-out. We're going to be us and we're going to do things right on the field and we're going to do things right off the field and we're going to play and work together and we're going to have each other's back.

Q. Going back to the last game against North Dakota State, how do you feel your team played in the Fargo Dome in that situation, in that kind of playoff atmosphere and how do you think it will translate?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I don't know if anybody can ever prepare for what you face going into the Fargo Dome with the noise and the intelligence of their fans to use the noise to try to impact the game, which I think certainly they do.

So I think that it took a tremendous amount of sticking together. It took a tremendous amount of mental toughness and a tremendous amount of resiliency on the part of our kids to overcome all of that and find a way to win that ballgame.

And so certainly, I think that that experience, the thing that would win them towards having success on the 7th, would be just that no matter what the factors, no matter what the outside distractions or things around them, they have got to focus on what's taking place on the field.

We've talked about that; about handling the stage. And the way you handle the stage is by going out and treating it just like you do every other ballgame and focusing on what's right in front of you, one play at a time and focus on doing your job.

Q. Looking at Youngstown State's offense, is Jody Webb someone that you can't let beat you, and how do you contain someone who can do everything like he could?
COACH HOUSTON: Certainly he's a dynamic playmaker. He's got the ability to make a difference in the ballgame in a matter of one snap. We've got to do a great job to try to keep him from getting going, whether it's running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield or whatever. He's certainly a dynamic playmaker.

Q. You talked a little about expecting a very physical game from Youngstown State, particularly trying to stop the run and that won't be the first opponent that will try to stop the run. For your team, what is key against an opponent that is going to try to stop the box or try to stop the run?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think we've got to do a great job as a coaching staff of making sure that we try to put them in situations to give us an advantage and. I think that with our offensive line, tight ends and our receivers, we've got to do a great job of matching Youngstown State's physicality in trying to play with great pad level and great technique, limit our mistakes and really try to sustain blocks to give our backs and quarterback and everybody else a chance to make plays with their feet and be who they are. So I think we are going to have to be really, really good at doing what we do.

Q. Now another question on that, going back to the North Dakota State game, some new personnel that you had to bring in in that ballgame, youngsters that went through adversity in that environment, will that be a benefit going down to Frisco, if they indeed have to play again?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, I think certainly the greatest thing for a player is experience. And as soon as you have experience, that's something that you kind of have in your back pocket to serve you the next time out.

I think that all of our players that played and competed up there in North Dakota State in the Fargo Dome and played and competed in the playoff run, they have the experience of being in a playoff-style atmosphere. I think all that experience is going to serve them well come January 7.

Q. You mentioned that Youngstown State is going to bring a very physical front seven to try to stop that running game. How would you compare that to the one you just beat at North Dakota State?
COACH HOUSTON: Well, they are probably a little bit bigger. I think the five technique from North Dakota State is very comparable to the two that Youngstown State have. I think Youngstown State may be the better front, just from the standpoint, I think they are better across the board.

Not to take anything away from North Dakota State, I think they are a great front up there. But I just think that this is a very talented group and I think that their success on defense starts with that group up front.

Q. John Miller comes in in that North Dakota game and catches a big touchdown pass. We know about your balance on offense, but the ability to plug in athletes in anywhere, does it give you an advantage going into this game?
COACH HOUSTON: I think that John is a kid that has got significant playing experience for three years and he's a guy that's been -- he was injured a little bit midseason and missed a little bit of time but he's been a very productive player for us all year long.

I think that all you saw there was a guy just making the plays that we expect him to make, and certainly had the opportunity to make that catch during the fourth quarter, and he and Bryan executed the play to perfection.

Q. That North Dakota State win, keeping in mind the Virginia Tech win, of course, where does that rank in the annals of JMU history?
COACH HOUSTON: I've only been at JMU for a year so you would probably have to ask somebody else that. I think given the history and the legacy and just the run that North Dakota State was on, and them being the one seed, I think it certainly has to rank up at or near the very top of wins in JMU football history.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. We wish you the best of luck and we look forward to seeing you in Frisco.

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