Lincoln Riley postgame transcript
Opening comments:
"I first want to congratulate Coach Fritz, Tulane [on] the magical year that they've had. We knew they were a tough opponent, and no surprise to us they kept swinging throughout the ebbs and flows of the game. So, really well-coached football team. Obviously, it's a huge win for them and their program and just want to offer congratulations to them.
"Yeah, as tough a loss as I can remember in my entire career. We had the momentum a couple of times, obviously didn't do a very good job finishing there at the end. I told the guys in the locker room, obviously a very disappointed locker room, losses like this are always just tough to digest, man. They really are. I thought our guys really laid it on the line, played really, really hard, prepared hard, really wanted to win this game and we obviously put ourselves in phenomenal position to get it done. And then all three sides right there at the end with the dropped kickoff and then safety and then obviously not getting the stops that we needed defensively down the stretch, I mean all three sides contributed to this. Now that the season's over, I've rarely at the end of a year felt so conflicted. On one hand, I'm sick about the way that we finished the season, particularly the fourth quarter of the last two ballgames. We lost three games this year -- we lost two of them on the last play of the game and we lost one in the fourth quarter of the championship game where we had a chance to go to the College Football Playoff. The competitor in you, the competitor in us, that's a tough pill to swallow, man, because those opportunities are not easy to get.
"Now, the flip side of it is we were in those positions, and those positions are very, very real. We're in this locker room, we're here at the Cotton Bowl in a New Years Six game, and again 12 months ago I don't think many people on the outside believed that was even possible. So I think getting through this first season, there's a ton of great momentum in this program, and today's result -- as sick as it is -- does not change that. The reality is that we're here and we're not going anywhere. We know what we need to get better at as a program. We have to finish better, and we didn't get that done enough this year. We were really, really close, and the line to do that, the line to finish and win these big games like we have here at the end is so thin, man. It's a fine line. It's one play here or there and it changes everything.
"That's how close we are, but we've got to go get that as a program. And we will, we will. We in a lot of ways were further ahead in so many areas than I would have thought, but we clearly have a lot of work to do and this one won't be easy to get over but we'll get over it and the journey for next season starts tomorrow. I can't wait to get up and go back to work and figure out what we've got to do as a program to finish better, continue to put ourselves in these opportunities that this team did a great job of this year and then when we get there finish them. We will get there, and we will get there sooner rather than later. Like I said, we're not going anywhere. Tough one today, but we've got to own it as a team and that's what we're going to do. We'll see you back in 12 months."
Tulane QB Michael Pratt said going into this game you guys could be exposed on a lot of big plays and that happened. Why do you think that is?
"We missed tackles in the run game. You know, the completion percentage wasn't great -- it was less than 50 percent -- but obviously the big plays in the pass game and then he had some really nice scrambles against us at some key times, obviously there on that last drive. A couple fourth-down scrambles that were obviously big plays. Yeah, out of position a couple of times, but again our tackling hurt us, and against a good back -- because that was the story, their ability to run the football, 300 yards-plus rushing, I mean that's the entire game right there and we didn't do a good enough job at it, obviously. If you don't tackle good players and a good running back, that's what happens."
You said it's a fine line between this and being on the other side of this game, what do you do tomorrow and moving forward to close that gap and take the next step?
"Obviously, it's a long answer to that. You come in here Day 1 and you're trying to in a lot of ways just start to teach these guys how to compete and what championship habits look like, and you're starting from the complete ground floor on everything. We've learned a lot of things, we've grown in a lot of ways, and that's why we're at this games and why we're an 11-win team and we're two plays different from being who knows where. But there's still so much more to go to be in that position where you close out a conference championship game or you win a big bowl game like this or win a semifinal game or win a national championship, a lot of us in that staff room have seen it, and when we've won it's been a lot of times we've made just a couple more than the other one and at times when we haven't won it's been right there.
"So, yeah, that's what's painful about it is the margin's thin. I think we've made a lot of big jumps this season to get over that hump, is equally as challenging as just getting this thing started like we all did this year. So it will be a big challenge, but we know what we're doing. We know the areas we have to get better. We know the things that we have to address. We'll spend a lot of time on it, get some clarity, let this one kind of soak in and then get past it and we'll go back to work.
"We didn't come here for a one-year deal. We knew that it wasn't when we signed up to come to USC. This is gonna, this one hurts, but also it gives complete clarity on what we need to do next, which is go back to work and keep building and developing our program."
What is your assessment for why the defense fell off so precipitously in the final games, and you've been so supportive and aligned with Alex Grinch, what is your confidence in him leading the defense at this point?
"We just got done playing a game 15 minutes ago so I'm not going give any big picture assessments. We didn't play good enough today. ... The big plays are obviously, and the lack of, just not tackling to the level we would expect are very, very alarming and something we've got to do a much better job of. But listen, I mean, to play great on offense or defense or special teams, to have any success, everything has got to be clicking. Every single part of your program. So we'll take a deep dive into every part of it here over the next couple of weeks. We'll lay out a plan, just like we did when we landed in LA 13 months ago -- you take a deep dive of it, you assess what you got and how can we make it better and then you go to work. Now we just repeat the process knowing a little bit more about this roster and a little bit more about where we're at and what we have coming back and what we're going to add. You know, we made a pretty good jump in Year 1, and I wouldn't bet against us to make another big jump next year."
Opening comments:
"I first want to congratulate Coach Fritz, Tulane [on] the magical year that they've had. We knew they were a tough opponent, and no surprise to us they kept swinging throughout the ebbs and flows of the game. So, really well-coached football team. Obviously, it's a huge win for them and their program and just want to offer congratulations to them.
"Yeah, as tough a loss as I can remember in my entire career. We had the momentum a couple of times, obviously didn't do a very good job finishing there at the end. I told the guys in the locker room, obviously a very disappointed locker room, losses like this are always just tough to digest, man. They really are. I thought our guys really laid it on the line, played really, really hard, prepared hard, really wanted to win this game and we obviously put ourselves in phenomenal position to get it done. And then all three sides right there at the end with the dropped kickoff and then safety and then obviously not getting the stops that we needed defensively down the stretch, I mean all three sides contributed to this. Now that the season's over, I've rarely at the end of a year felt so conflicted. On one hand, I'm sick about the way that we finished the season, particularly the fourth quarter of the last two ballgames. We lost three games this year -- we lost two of them on the last play of the game and we lost one in the fourth quarter of the championship game where we had a chance to go to the College Football Playoff. The competitor in you, the competitor in us, that's a tough pill to swallow, man, because those opportunities are not easy to get.
"Now, the flip side of it is we were in those positions, and those positions are very, very real. We're in this locker room, we're here at the Cotton Bowl in a New Years Six game, and again 12 months ago I don't think many people on the outside believed that was even possible. So I think getting through this first season, there's a ton of great momentum in this program, and today's result -- as sick as it is -- does not change that. The reality is that we're here and we're not going anywhere. We know what we need to get better at as a program. We have to finish better, and we didn't get that done enough this year. We were really, really close, and the line to do that, the line to finish and win these big games like we have here at the end is so thin, man. It's a fine line. It's one play here or there and it changes everything.
"That's how close we are, but we've got to go get that as a program. And we will, we will. We in a lot of ways were further ahead in so many areas than I would have thought, but we clearly have a lot of work to do and this one won't be easy to get over but we'll get over it and the journey for next season starts tomorrow. I can't wait to get up and go back to work and figure out what we've got to do as a program to finish better, continue to put ourselves in these opportunities that this team did a great job of this year and then when we get there finish them. We will get there, and we will get there sooner rather than later. Like I said, we're not going anywhere. Tough one today, but we've got to own it as a team and that's what we're going to do. We'll see you back in 12 months."
Tulane QB Michael Pratt said going into this game you guys could be exposed on a lot of big plays and that happened. Why do you think that is?
"We missed tackles in the run game. You know, the completion percentage wasn't great -- it was less than 50 percent -- but obviously the big plays in the pass game and then he had some really nice scrambles against us at some key times, obviously there on that last drive. A couple fourth-down scrambles that were obviously big plays. Yeah, out of position a couple of times, but again our tackling hurt us, and against a good back -- because that was the story, their ability to run the football, 300 yards-plus rushing, I mean that's the entire game right there and we didn't do a good enough job at it, obviously. If you don't tackle good players and a good running back, that's what happens."
You said it's a fine line between this and being on the other side of this game, what do you do tomorrow and moving forward to close that gap and take the next step?
"Obviously, it's a long answer to that. You come in here Day 1 and you're trying to in a lot of ways just start to teach these guys how to compete and what championship habits look like, and you're starting from the complete ground floor on everything. We've learned a lot of things, we've grown in a lot of ways, and that's why we're at this games and why we're an 11-win team and we're two plays different from being who knows where. But there's still so much more to go to be in that position where you close out a conference championship game or you win a big bowl game like this or win a semifinal game or win a national championship, a lot of us in that staff room have seen it, and when we've won it's been a lot of times we've made just a couple more than the other one and at times when we haven't won it's been right there.
"So, yeah, that's what's painful about it is the margin's thin. I think we've made a lot of big jumps this season to get over that hump, is equally as challenging as just getting this thing started like we all did this year. So it will be a big challenge, but we know what we're doing. We know the areas we have to get better. We know the things that we have to address. We'll spend a lot of time on it, get some clarity, let this one kind of soak in and then get past it and we'll go back to work.
"We didn't come here for a one-year deal. We knew that it wasn't when we signed up to come to USC. This is gonna, this one hurts, but also it gives complete clarity on what we need to do next, which is go back to work and keep building and developing our program."
What is your assessment for why the defense fell off so precipitously in the final games, and you've been so supportive and aligned with Alex Grinch, what is your confidence in him leading the defense at this point?
"We just got done playing a game 15 minutes ago so I'm not going give any big picture assessments. We didn't play good enough today. ... The big plays are obviously, and the lack of, just not tackling to the level we would expect are very, very alarming and something we've got to do a much better job of. But listen, I mean, to play great on offense or defense or special teams, to have any success, everything has got to be clicking. Every single part of your program. So we'll take a deep dive into every part of it here over the next couple of weeks. We'll lay out a plan, just like we did when we landed in LA 13 months ago -- you take a deep dive of it, you assess what you got and how can we make it better and then you go to work. Now we just repeat the process knowing a little bit more about this roster and a little bit more about where we're at and what we have coming back and what we're going to add. You know, we made a pretty good jump in Year 1, and I wouldn't bet against us to make another big jump next year."
