University of Massachusets Athletics
Weekly Don Brown Teleconference
October 26, 2004 | Football
Oct. 26, 2004
Question: Can you talk about your game at Rhode Island on Saturday?
Brown: You want to get up to speed, up to par with the option scheme and they came right out of the blocks and hit us with a big play action for 43 yards and a touchdown. We stopped them on the second drive, they went in and had a nice long drive and went up on us at the 14 minute mark of the second quarter, only one minute into the second quarter they got their second touchdown and from then for the next six series we really played darn well.
The only negative I saw out of our offense was we had six penalties during six drives and we could only overcome one of those scenarios. We had a field goal blocked, we missed a field goal and we made a field goal but put it all together and we're down 19-10 at the half.
We come out in the late third early fourth and we take a 24-19 lead. The disappointing thing is we're in the five minute mark and make a first down to the 23, they call us for a penalty and we have to go all the way back and it really changed the field position from the red zone all the way back to the 30, minus 30 because it was a really long run for Steve Baylark and that gets negated and the last drive of the game they go down and score, credit Rhode Island we held them to 375 which they've been averaging 419 and did a decent job on them defensively. We ran the ball like I like to see us run it, the only blemish was the four interceptions which is a problem and throwing a pick for a touchdown. It was a hard fought football game, it was a great football game and our guys fought to the end.
Question: Your defense has played well the last three or so weeks, can you talk about how they have matured?
Brown: We're rotating four or five redshirt freshmen up front in the front four and then with out Charles Walker as linebacker, Brandon Freeman has been playing corner, is a true freshman - so we're young but the guys have been playing hard and they are learning.
They haven't backed down one week in terms of going out to practice and getting things done even though we've struggled. So that is a positive, we're staying the course and practicing hard and we're getting better. That's the goal, to improve every week. I think our offense has improved every week also, we just needed one more play this side of the ball and we just didn't get it to get the "W".
Question Is your biggest challenge now to keep every bodies moral up because you've been in these games and just fell short in the end?
Brown: No, we've got good kids, they like to play the game. I think our youth helps us. The guys like to play and we're playing so many young guys, we're trying to get them to mature each and every Saturday and we're working hard in that area.
Question: Tell us about Steve Baylark and why he has had success
Brown: He's a very positive guy. He got tackled with a tough tackle around the face mask and we didn't know if we'd have him back but it kind of motivated him. He came back with a sense of purpose and played extremely well when you look at his yards per carry and we're doing a better job up front taking care of him and giving him his opportunities to run. He's only in his second year here so we're excited about that piece. I thought Rich Demers played pretty well in front of him as did Wysocki, the two fullbacks as well.
Question: What about the game this week with Maine?
Brown: Maine is a great football program and Coach Cosgrove does a great job and they do a tremendous job with their formation base making you hustle on defense to handle all the formations they give you. Marcus Williams is a premier back in this league. We have a lot of respect for Ron Whitcomb. You were talking about Periera, I think he's one of the best receivers in our league. They just do a great job on defense, totally. Brandon McCowan is a good player, I think Stone is a real good player, he played really well, I thought, last week. So we've got our hands full, they are physical up front on both sides and just a solid football team.
Question: Why has Maine had trouble against your teams?
Brown: It's always been competitive on both sides. Coach and I both have a philosophy about running the football and every thing else comes off of that. We have similar styles and how we'd like to go about it and attack on defense, there have always been tremendous battles that's for sure.
Question: Nice to be home for a change?
Brown: Yes, we spent a long four weeks on the road, we haven't been home since September and we are looking forward to playing at home.
