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CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF GAMESeptember 1, 2018Gus MalzahnJarrett StidhamDarrell WilliamsAtlanta, Georgia Auburn - 21, Washington - 16 Q. Talk about the experience in the Chick-Fil-a Kickoff Game and what this start means to your program. GUS MALZAHN: First of all, it was a great experience. I really appreciate the Chick-Fil-a. It's a first-class event. We are real pleased that we beat one of the better teams in the country. We faced some major adversity, and our team found a way to win. A couple things really stand out to me. That last drive offensively I think that we scored, we had a big 3rd down and 10 where Jarrett hit Chandler Cox. We were stalled, I think, two series before that. Our defense, I think, they got inside the 10 or 15 I think three times, held them to three points. I thought that was huge. Probably zero turnovers, as many young guys as touched the ball, real impressed with that, and the fact that our defense forced two turnovers. Having some penalties is really uncharacteristic. We've got a lot of things that we can correct. But I'm just proud of our team that the way that we won -- and sometimes it's how you win a game that can help you later in the season. So real proud of our guys. Q. Coach, you guys had five chances in the red zone, converted on four of those opportunities, led by your quarterback there. What was your assessment of his overall game today? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, you're talking about offensively? Yeah, I mean, I was pleased. We ran the football, I think, for 147, threw for quite a few yards, too, against a very good defense. They were a top-10 defense last year, I think they had nine starters back, and they were as good as advertised. Q. Gus, you guys weren't able to kind of put it in the end zone a couple times when you got into the red zone. What was Washington able to do on defense to stop you guys from -- GUS MALZAHN: I think what they were able to do, they dropped eight, I believe, twice, and there wasn't a whole lot of seams right there. They just did a super job, and I thought Coach Lindsay made a super call with that very last drive when he ran the zone; I think it was 3rd down and 7 or 3rd down and 8, just ran the zone in five-man box, and I thought it was one of the better calls of the game. Q. Jarrett, for you, was it kind of some week 1 jitters not being as crisp in the red zone, not scoring touchdowns like you would like to be? JARRETT STIDHAM: You know, I think any time you're playing a top 10 defense week 1, I mean, I think you're definitely going to have some things when you look at the film on Sunday that you're definitely going to have to work on. But overall, I thought we played really, really well for week 1. Obviously a lot of things to correct. But I really like where this football team is at, and I like where we're going. Q. I know one of the areas of concern for your team was the offensive line with the new guys in there. Could you talk about how well they came together for you today? GUS MALZAHN: I thought they did a good job. Their defensive line is extremely well-coached. They're very, very talented. So I thought overall -- here's the deal: It was a great experience for that group, especially the new guys that are starting for really the first time against a defense like that, and it'll be great experience. I think it really can help us moving forward. Q. Coach, of the questions you had coming in to game 1, what answers do you think you got from game 1? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I would say this: We've been talking about overcoming adversity. You look at last season, we didn't win hardly any, if any, close games, and we knew this was going to be a close game. We knew it would come down to the end. We were talking about that, and leaders like Darrell and Jarrett, they seized the moment. Even when it didn't look super at times, they just kept believing and just willed us to win and found a way to win. Q. What did you think about Whitlow's performance in the game? GUS MALZAHN: Well, Whitlow has done that in practice, it's just a matter of him -- he runs hard, and I think he got -- that touchdown run, I think he ran over a safety, and then of course that last time, we're in the wildcat and everybody in the building knows he's getting the ball, 3rd down and 2 for the game, and he got it. I think that'll help him moving forward with his confidence. Q. A practice and a A-day game is one things, but Noah was out there with live bullets today. Without watching the film, general impressions about how he played? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, Noah is a great competitor. I think these two guys could tell you that. The moment is not too big for him. Yeah, I thought he played extremely hard and did a good job, and I think it showed. They didn't kick it to him on the kickoff runs, I think that showed a lot of respect. Q. Darrell, how do you feel your defense did today? There were six red zone chances but they had three field goals, and you stopped them. How do you feel the defense played today? DARRELL WILLIAMS: We got a lot of things to work on, but I feel like we did good on the things that we talk about all the time like red zone and 3rd down, like you just mentioned we did a pretty good job of stopping them in the red zone. That's just things that we continuously work on in practice, and we take seriously and try to make like a game as much as possible, so when we get in those situations we know we can come out on the right side. That's what we did today, and I feel like we did a good job, and we've just got to continue to get better. Q. Obviously you haven't had a chance to look at the film of the game, but from what you saw live, what are some of the things that you think your team needs to correct going forward? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, like I said, I think the penalties. That's real uncharacteristic. I thought last year we were either leading the league on one of the leaders in penalty yards. We had some uncharacteristic things happen that we've got to clean up. I think there was one big punt return that was really tough. Ryan Davis was dynamic, but the great thing is when you win, you have -- you can correct things a little bit easier, but hey, like I told our team in the locker room, I'm just proud of -- I wanted them to enjoy this. Came back against -- this is the third time we've been here, and got the victory, and beat a top-10 opponent. I don't know if we've done that in a long time. So real proud of these guys and the rest of the guys. Q. Jarrett, talk about having to be a dual-threat quarterback today, using your legs to get out of some tough situations. JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, I'm not going to be Cam Newton busting 80 down the sideline by any stretch of the imagination, but I think when my legs come into play is when they do drop eight or I can get outside the pocket and there's guys running down the field with their backs to me, I can pick up a 1st down. I think -- I wouldn't want to say I'm a dual threat, but I definitely want to use my legs when needed. If that's one time a game or if that's 20 times a game, I'll do whatever it takes to win. Q. Jarrett and Darrell, how good does it feel to finally get a win in this building after three tries? DARRELL WILLIAMS: It feels great. Like you said, man, we came here two times and we came up short, but the team just had a different vibe from the day we stood on the field, down on the field yesterday. Everybody came in and was focused. It was just different. Everybody had a goal, and we all came together and we achieved it. We just came together and said we won't let that happen again, and that's what happened. JARRETT STIDHAM: You know, I think when you look at the last few times we came here, we just didn't execute, and we just didn't win. We don't care if it's here or if it's in a parking lot. We just want to play football, and we just want to find a way to win. Darrell is right, I was actually telling Coach Malzahn this during pregame, it just felt different this time. For whatever reason, I think this team, the chemistry is unreal in my opinion. We're all so close. I think at the end of the day, we just want to win for each other, and we want to win for these coaches. Q. Jarrett, to follow up on that, how much more comfortable were you in this afternoon's game in comparison to this time last year? JARRETT STIDHAM: Way more comfortable. Obviously I didn't really know what I was getting myself into this time last year, but when you go through the grind of the SEC and then the SEC Championship and New Year's Six game, you gain a lot of experience and you mature really, really fast. And so fast forward to now, I feel like just myself as a person, I feel like I've grown a lot, especially as a leader, and also as a quarterback, and just trying to make the right play at the right time. Q. Coach and Jarrett, I know a question about the offensive line has already happened, but specifically at center, Kaleb Kim, if you could, I remember there was a 4th down conversion play that went right underneath him that opened up that big hole. If you could both evaluate what you thought of Kaleb Kim's performance? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah. Of course snapping the ball is the first priority, a guy making a new start, and I think the snaps were good, and like you said, that 4th down was right behind him. JARRETT STIDHAM: I thought Kaleb fought as hard as he possibly could, and especially when you go up against a guy like Derrick Brown in practice every day, it's going to do nothing but help you. So whenever you get into situations like this, big games like this against nose tackles that are as good as 99 was today, you know, it's just like practice. I thought he played extremely well, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he progresses the rest of the year. Q. You guys, your biggest plays at the end of the game were made by guys that go by Booby, Big Kat and Smoke. If everybody gets a nickname, can you win a National Championship? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, if they keep playing like that, we'll have some more nicknames. I didn't even think about that. Q. Gus, the two-point conversion late in the game, you go to Chandler in the Cox cat to throw the ball. Was it just shock and awe trying to take them by surprise? What were you thinking there? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, we were thinking it was going to work. It worked against our defense, and our defense is pretty good, and it worked against our defense in practice. So yeah, we just kind of threw it at it. I figured you'd like that first two-point conversion, too, that was failed. But we're going to be aggressive -- I'll tell you right now we're going to be aggressive this year. That's just how it's going to go down. Q. Gus, the past few seasons, going back to the two Clemson games starting off with a top-10 team and dropping those two games and coming in today and beating a very good Washington team, do you think this is the shot in the arm this team needs to get the season off from previous seasons being sluggish, now to a better start? GUS MALZAHN: There's no doubt it can give us momentum when you beat a top-10 team. They're well-deserving of that, so it definitely gives us momentum, as far as before we get into SEC play ^ check. But hey, it's just one game, but we're excited to get the victory. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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