Transcript from Montana State's October 27 Football Press Conference
10/27/2009 3:11:49 PM | Football
BOBCAT QUARTERBACK CODY KEMPT
What does it feel like to get nearly 600 yards and not get the win?
CK: It's a feeling of disappointment, obviously, but also a feeling of some type of accomplishment. Just to be able to have 600 yards of offense, I can't even recall the last time we've done that here. So that by itself is a tremendous feat, but not to come out victorious is very disappointing. But I feel like we still have a lot to build on from that performance. Just because we didn't come out with the win, we still did a lot of great things out there on the field and we still have a lot to be proud about.
How long do you let yourself feel sorry after a game like that?
CK: I'd say right after the game you've just got to drop it. Maybe in the locker room you can feel disappointed or what not, but once you get on that bus ride back home your thoughts should be on the following week. It should be on what I can do personally to help this team get better to make sure we don't put ourselves in situations to lose the game. You can't let those things bother you, you've just got to let it go and prepare for the next week. It's in the past, so you just gotta move on.
Does the second conference loss change the team's mentality?
CK: I think definitely it's got to change. I think we've got to start playing with a chip on our shoulder, we've got to start playing pissed off. These next four games we have to win out, and definitely (there's a) lot of frustration, a lot of anger built up inside. We just have to come out every week and play like it's a championship game. These next four weeks have to the championship game for us, they're must-win games. I just think we need to come out with a chip on our shoulder and just play pissed off these next four weeks.
Does having been in this position last year help?
CK: I think it does, because we have experience from the past so we know kind of what we need to do to get those wins. It's also nice being backed up in the corner, you know? You kind of feel like something's trying to be taken away from you, so obviously you're going to go in there and make sure it's not taken away.
Have the coaches talked to you about the QB situation this week?
CK: We haven't really discussed a lot about that. Mondays are our day off, and Sundays we just watch the film from the previous week. So we haven't really discussed it, and I'm just going to prepare like I've been doing the whole season and let it play out from there.
Does the improvement by the receivers help?
CK: Definitely. Just having that great confidence in your skill players, knowing that they're going to make huge plays for the team, they're going to catch the ball, they're going to get yards after the catch, it's tremendous not only for myself but for the entire offense and the entire team. Just to have that confidence in them, knowing that they're going to get the job done and knowing that they're going to make a big difference in the game for us is huge.
What do you know about
CK: The Big Sky Conference, I'd say, is one of the toughest conferences in the nation, so every team each week is going to be a tough battle. I feel like
Have you seen film on them?
CK: Yeah, I've seen film on them. (They play) cover two, cover one, a little zone pressure. They look good. There's really not a lot to say about them. They're a great team, they're in the Big Sky Conference, every team's a good team. We're going to come out and play hard like we always do.
When you threw the fourth down pass at Eastern did you think
CK: I thought he could go up and make it. I was kind of throwing while I was getting hit so it was kind of a blind throw in a way, but I was putting it in a spot where I knew somebody could possibly make a play on it. He made a great play and unfortunately it didn't come out the way we'd like.
Have you ever been in a position where you have to go for two every time?
CK: No, I can't say that I've ever been in that situation. It's just one of those things, it's part of the game, every game you're going to be faced with adversity and so you've just got to be able to push through it and fight on.
How have you been staying healthy with the flu stuff going around?
CK: Actually I was sick last week, too. I don't know if I had the flu but I definitely had something, I'm just kind of getting over it now. I'd say the people that have been doing a good job (staying healthy) have probably been staying away from the people that are sick, taking their vitamins, drinking lots of water, and getting lots of sleep.
BOBCAT SAFETY
What was it like to play with so many guys suffering from the same illness?
JC: At the game I didn't think too much of it, you're just out there playing. But thinking back, man, I've never seen this happen to a team before, with this many guys sick, or injured, or what not. It was kind of crazy that it all happened that one week.
What's it like playing while you're sick?
JC: I was pretty tired after the game, I guess you can say that. I was pretty happy to have my pillow and my blanket on the bus and just kind of lay there the whole seven hours home, or whatever. During the game your adrenaline's going, you don't think too much about it.
Any idea where you picked it up?
JC: (laughs) There's about 50 guys sick on this team, so I'm sure it's flying around this Fieldhouse somewhere.
How frustrating was it to try to stop
JC: That guy's pretty fast. I mean, you don't see too many guys like that, especially in the Big Sky Conference. Not only was he fast, but he could make moves. I think he's underrated as a power back. I mean, he ran hard. It's something that fast guys don't necessarily do, run hard, so I'm relieved that we're done with him and we move on to somebody else.
Is this a game you look forward to every year, being from
JC: I guess it's kind of like a cross-town rivalry. I'll know all the guys on that side of the ball, playing against a lot of friends, so it's almost a high school feel going into the game. I always look forward to it, it's kind of a fun situation.
As a veteran, do you see this team growing up, with all the young players?
JC: Yes, I do. There's still always going to be those freshman mistakes, and older guys are going to make mistakes, also. It's just a matter of getting those plays and learning a little bit more about the game each game every week. I think those young guys are stepping in. I don't see them as freshmen, I see them as veteran guys, also, because they're out there making plays, and if you're making plays you are a vet. There's nothing more to it. I don't separate the freshmen from the older guys. Their expectations are just as high as ours are. I think that they're doing just fine, they're where they need to be, and they're always getting better.
Have you talked to anyone there?
JC: I haven't talked to them for a while. They're kind of having a tough time, and I don't want to bother them too much down there. But I know they're a good team and they're going to come out and play hard. We're definitely going to have to bring out 'A' game for those guys.
You talked about Holt Arena being underrated, how tough is it to recruit to
JC: I don't know if it's necessarily underrated, I said I enjoy it, it's my hometown, it's my spot. It has become harder in recent years with Boise State exploding, the University of Idaho's actually playing pretty good ball this year, so it makes it real difficult, especially then just south you have Weber State, Utah State, Utah, BYU, all those other schools right there to take the top pickings from that area, so they have their job cut out for them.
Do you recognize any names from
JC: I know they've had a ton of freshmen playing. In the NAU game at one time their offense had five true freshmen on the field at one time, which is obviously saying that those guys can play. There's Skylar Morgan who's playing running back, I've played against him. There's a few different guys – their receiver that got hurt, the big return guy – they have pretty good athletes, it looks like they're doing a good job recruiting.
Is it tougher to prepare for a team coming in without a win?
JC: I think we take that out of account. When we break down tape it doesn't say wins here, losses here, it's just 11-on-11 football. You break down the tape, you see what they do, and you go from there. You don't really take into account what their record is.
You mentioned Skylar Morgan, were you surprised he signed at
JC: When I played against him he was a sophomore and I was on the offensive side mostly, so I didn't really know as much about him. Once he signed I looked into seeing what he did and all that kind of stuff. I saw him running the ball, he runs hard.
With two conference losses, does the team's mindset change?
JC: Yeah, I kind of think we all change of mindset, especially after last week. Last week was really frustrating, especially when we had opportunities defensively. The offense gave us a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter, and giving that up is pretty uncharacteristic of us. Just different things like that, we let the game slip away. We have to take that mentality, with the frustration, and almost let it get us more focused going into the week and the next four (games).
Do you feel like the pass defense took a step forward this past week?
JC: Yeah, I do. I think it helped. I really commend Darius Jones for stepping up, I think he played really well being a true freshman stepping out there after two weeks of barely even playing in the games and this last week he just stepped right in. So I think we made great leaps, but the reason they had so many yards was we had so many missed tackles. So maybe our pass defense is better, but our missed tackles was horrible, so we have to improve that.
We've talked about the depth at safety, was there a time when you thought you and Anthony Cosme-Peko would both miss that game?
JC: I pretty much knew I was going to be OK to play. I didn't know how long I was going to be able to last out there, but I was pretty convinced that one of us was going to make it through. We weren't going to let the sickness thing keep us from going and doing our thing out there.
