University of Massachusets Athletics
Mark Whipple Quotes From MAC Weekly Teleconference (Sept. 22)
September 22, 2014 | Football
Listen to Whipple's MAC Weekly Teleconference (Sept. 22)
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts football head coach Mark Whipple spoke to the media during the MAC Weekly Teleconference on Monday, Sept. 25. Whipple discussed the outcome of the game at Penn State, preparations for Bowling Green and the upcoming home game at McGuirk Stadium during the conversation. Below is a full transcript:
On how the team played On Saturday at Penn State:
"After watching film and what I saw on the sideline, Penn State blocked and tackled, and UMass didn't. It was pretty simple. They have a good football team, really good defense and a great quarterback. We really did not play, or compete like I would have liked to see, but I think Penn State had a lot to do with it, so hats off to them. Their coach is tough."
On what he's learned from the team after one month of the season:
"We're not ready to play in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC or the PAC 12. We've finished a couple shots out. We'll see if we can play in the MAC now. We have a huge test this week against Bowling Green. Our guys have gotten better and other than that, we are psyched to go out there and score Saturday. We just try to move forward."
On Bowling Green's struggling defense this year:
"I think playing Wisconsin caused them problems. They rose up and turned the ball over against Indiana and took it away, and I thought the defense did a good job in the first quarter against Wisconsin, when they took the ball away. They can make plays against the conference preseason favorites. They have good athletes and they have a good front, so we are just trying to find a way to block somebody after last week. We are really concerned about ourselves."
On if he thinks they have an advantage playing in the renovated McGuirk:
"I hope it will be. It's another new scenario for us. Most of our players haven't played a home game there, and most of our coaches haven't coached a home game there, so I hope it will be an advantage. It seemed to be an advantage when I was here the first time. I think not having to get on a bus and go two hours to play a home game will help us. We'll have meetings at home for the first time, so it will be all new. I hope that will be the one advantage we'll have. We're hoping for a good crowd and I think it will be a positive atmosphere."
On the difference in the program from the first time he coached at UMass:
"We have to play four Division I-A power conference schools, and I think that is a big change. The facility here is the new facility, the football performance center, and it will give us a chance to compete. It's a great building. The people are great, the school is a much higher profile, academically. The kids are the same. We're just a young team. We really just have a couple seniors. We just try to get over the hump. Our first four games were kind of like preseason in the NFL. We've got the real deal coming here with Bowling Green."
On Trey Dudley-Giles going down to the ground at the end of the first half:
"We kept him out. He was fine and he ran around. He'll be alright. At a certain point it became a lot like the Boston College game. We are not going to win that game against Penn State's defense, so we wanted to take a look at some other people."
On his expectations of the offensive line going into MAC play and what they learned facing Penn State's defensive line:
"We just didn't block them. We had a lot of good plays. They watched it last night and I think Penn State had a lot to do with it. I hope it was more them than us. I believe it was we had thirteen plays over the game we received zero yards on runs, so that makes it all very, very difficult, especially when they did a great job kicking the ball in the field position. We kind of wanted to have a little bit of balance, but they took us out of that. We have to get five guys on the same page, put a helmet on, and give everyone else a chance to get to that second level."
On what stood out at the Penn State game:
"We had our guys in and they had their second string in. So, it is what it is. I'm sure they wouldn't change the game whoever we put in there. We just keep trying to get better. We had a good scrimmage last night, so we are just trying to get better, get some more guys to bring to Saturday afternoon, and I think that is a positive."
