ECU's press conference today

[LANDMAN]

Coach Skip Holtz's quote on the SMU game today. He is at least giving us a fair amount of respect, which has not been common around the leage the last few years. So we have that going for us, which is nice!!!

On SMU:
"Things don't get any easier for us. SMU is 4-3 and has won four of their last five football games. The only game they've lost in their past five was the one they suspended their quarterback. Defensively they're first in the conference in stopping the run. Everybody else in the league is giving up four yards per carry or more and they're only allowing 2.8. I think they're the best defensive team in the conference and obviously the statistics prove that.

"They're led on the offensive side of the ball by their quarterback. He's smart and very athletic and when things break down he's running around and making things happen with his legs. It's important for us to have a great week of practice this week, especially being in the midst of fall break right now. We have to overcome some injuries so we're going to move some people around. We've got some challenges this week with SMU and a conference game. I think this team is embarrassed by the way we played Saturday and we need to worry more about the type of game we play rather than the SMU team, because if we don't play our best we can't beat a team like SMU right now."


On SMU's Defense:
"They play a base defense and they're very talented. They are very big, strong, and physical. They have given up a lot of yards passing but again they only give up 80 on the ground. This is also the first real four-down lineman football team that we've had the opportunity to play."


On ECU's Kicking Game:
"I don't think Robert Lee is playing poorly, it's just not going into the uprights. One a couple weeks ago hit the upright and one this past Saturday was a couple inches outside of the upright. He's hitting good kicks it's just getting a little turn on it. Just as we did last week he'll turn and compete this week against Ben Hartman. Competition is a great thing and I'm going to kick the guy on Saturday that does the best job during the week of putting the ball through the uprights."


On ECU Injuries:
"I'm hoping Aundrae is back this week. The injuries have really had an impact on us. When you take an Aundrae Allison and a Jamar Bryant out of the lineup it makes a difference. Also Bobby Good has a broken foot and he is out right now from an injury standpoint. He broke it during warm-ups and played the entire game with a broken foot. Right now he's out so I'm hoping Aundrae's back."


On ECU's Passing Game:
"You always want to be able to hit the homerun, but with the receivers out right now we don't have a whole lot of speed on the field. I can throw it deep but I don't think we can go run and catch it. I don't think throwing the ball deep is the best chance right now for success. Tulsa defends the deep ball very well so we were trying to throw more screens and underneath stuff. With SMU we'll just have to look and see what they give us but again we have to have a guy that can go get it because you're not going to find a guy wide-open down the field."


On Being At Midpoint Of The Season:
"It's hard to play six weeks of emotional, spirited football. Seasons are long when you're not finding ways to win. In sports you learn to keep grinding when things don't always go your way. This season has been a grind but we've come a long way and still have a long way to go. We're playing with a lot of young players right now and the future is very bright."

[mrydel]

He is defintely Lou's boy. Vintage "poor us" Holtz.