DALLAS - All 11 Conference USA teams are in action in Week 1, including six who will take the field for the first time in 2022. There are a trio of games on Thursday night, one on Friday night and a seven-game slate is on deck for Saturday.

Every week head coaches take to the podium to answer questions from the league's media members - let's see what they're saying this week:

CHARLOTTE
Head Coach Will Healy’s Quotes from Tuesday’s Press Conference
  
Opening Statement:
“Excited to be able to get back to work. One of the blessings of playing on Friday is that it’s a short week and you didn’t have a whole lot of time to moan about the poor performance we had on Saturday. Excited to be able to move on, excited to be back at home. This past year we created an amazing home field advantage and an incredible environment. I think everybody is excited to get our students to come out in full force again. There’s no place better, every time we go on the road we understand our students are the best of the best.”
 
“Excited to back at home on a Friday night. Our guys have responded really well. I’m proud of our leadership. I think that we compare our best to our best with how we practice every day, and we’ve done some good things this week. It’s been a hard week. We had to put our head down, go back to work, and create some new habits. Proud of [these guys] and excited to have an opportunity to play a good football team on Friday. 
 
On William & Mary:
“Well coached, play hard and are a really good challenge. I think when you start talking about teams that are in the top-15 or top-20 at the FCS level, perennial playoff teams, they have outstanding talent. That’s what we’ve seen on film from these guys from last year, and I know they have been able to add to it. A great matchup and a great test for our football team”.
 
“Disciplined, well-coached, excited - this is a big football game for both teams with it being their opener and our home opener. I think they will be physical, they run the football extremely well. They have a really good offensive line. They have two really good quarterbacks – make you have to defend the entire length of the field. I think defensively that they have some very talented defensive linemen that can rush the passer and stop the run. Their linebackers are physical and they have a couple of cornerbacks that were all-conference performers and they are a complete football team.”
 
On his team’s response:
“I think the biggest question is what are we going to see out of this Charlotte football team. That’s the only thing that I am concerned about. I know that we are playing against a great opponent who will be a great challenge. These guys have been professional about how they have been able to handle it.
 
WR VICTOR TUCKER
On Receivers Responding 
“Doing the same things that we’ve been doing. If you come out to any practice I promise you will see Me, Elijah, Grant, Taylor, and a few other guys getting catches. It's not about our process, it's just that one day we weren’t catching the ball. We can’t go away from our process because you didn’t get the results you wanted that day. Just keep going and having more attention to detail and we will be fine”.

LB DEREK BOYKINS
On What He’s Seen from William & Mary 
“I see a lot stretch. I see a tough and physical football team that can run the ball whenever they want to. So, we have to play hard and we have to be nailed down on the run fits so we can do what we need to do and get the win”.

FIU
Head Coach Mike MacIntyre’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Video available here: Monday Press Conference
 
On the passing of Luke Knox:
“When something like that happens to you, it makes you look inside. Retrospect … I think that that makes you look and kind of put things back in maybe the right categories, the right perspective. And I think a lot of the young men on our team have done that and understanding that life’s fragile, life’s precious, take handle of every moment you can. And so I’ve seen that.”
 
On FIU experience at the helm of program leading up to Bryant:
“There’s always great excitement. I can’t say enough about what Scott Carr and his whole staff has done and also our alumni association with Sarah and how they’ve gotten everybody behind that. And Ken Jessell and Elizabeth Bejar and Javi and all the people with now the tailgating and all the different things that we’re doing. We have to be in line for us to be successful. It’s not just me doing it. It’s not just Scott Carr doing it and it’s not just the administration. We all have to be in line and we are in line.
 
“They had us come speak at all the freshmen gatherings and doing different things. We had a huge freshmen gathering they’ve never done before that was phenomenal out here.  All our players were out there and there were over 3,000 students so all of those type of things I think generate campus loyalty. Loyalty to the programs, to the teams and getting them more involved.”
 
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Head Coach Willie Taggart’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference

On preparing for the first road game:
 "I think that's another challenge that we have to overcome. I thought in the first ballgame, one of our challenges was to overcome adversity when things happen to us in the game. This is one of those challenges that we have to overcome in order to become a championship football team. I think any championship football team finds a way to win on the road. That's what this football team's going to have to do, be able to go on the road and play smart and play tough, physical football and not beat ourselves. I like our team. I like our mindset. I think our guys are going to be up for the challenge as we talk throughout the week of the things it's going to take and then the guys are going to go out and get it done."
 
On Ohio:
"They've got a lot of experience back. I know on defense, there's a lot of guys that have played a lot of football and started a lot of games. They have some guys back on offense as well. I know they have a new defensive coordinator, so for our offense it's kind of similar to last week where we really don't know exactly what we're going to get, so we have to be ready to adjust when we get into the ball game. Offensively, I think you'll see a lot of similar stuff that they did last year. I do think with them all being back, that usually helps, but we can't go off of last year. We have to go out there and play the team that we're going to have to face this year."
 
On players stepping up with guys out:
"It was really good to see our guys go out and play the way they did knowing that we had some guys out of the game as well. When you have depth, you can do those things and it has made everyone better. It's so important to have that depth because injuries are going to happen. If injuries don't happen, you need them just to be able to stay fresh. We have to stay fresh throughout the season so we can finish games in the season the way we need to."
 
On the next step for the offense:
"We left a lot of points out on the field. We threw the ball down the field quite a bit and didn't execute as much as we would like to. We have to be consistent with our execution when throwing the ball down the field. I think we have some guys that can run and take the top off of defense, so we want to be able to execute on those plays more often than what we did this past week. I think in the run game, there are some things we felt we could have done a lot better in the ball game that we need to correct. There are a lot of fundamental and technical things that we can do better and just like any other first ball game, just minimizing missed assignments."
 
On Morgan Suarez going 3/3 on field goals:
"Our kicking position went from a concern to being a weapon for us. It was good to see Morgan come in and step up. We all knew what Morgan was capable of doing. The one thing I love about the kid is he never gets rattled. He is a mentally tough individual, and you have to be that being a kicker. As much as I try to make it a competition in practice, he was staying the same, he was hungry. He was very competitive and you love that because he has the same competitive edge as his teammates that are playing other positions. If you go back and watch that game, you can see how excited all of his teammates were for him to go out and execute the way that he did on Saturday. That was big for Morgan, but more importantly that was big for our entire football team."

On the packed student section:
"Even before we got on the field, when we drove up from the hotel, the vibe that we had on campus was totally different. You saw tents everywhere. We were over by the students tailgate, and that was packed like it was a concert. Then you walk out for pregame and you start to see the student section pile up and then seeing how many students we had over there before the game started was big time. To me, that's where it's going to start. We want to pack the stadium, and it starts with the students. That environment and that energy that they brought in that stadium, that's what brings everybody else back. I think it played a big factor in our football team in the way they played. That was one heck of a student section that night, and we hope to continue that throughout the year."
 
On challenges of playing on the road:
"I think part of it is just believing in each other and believing in the plan. I think experience plays a factor as well. We have a team with a lot of experience now. They've been on the road, been at home, they've seen the highs and lows. It's just playing winning football. We can't help other teams beat us."
 
On QB Willie Taggart, Jr, taking the final snap:
"It was pretty cool watching him play. He's had a good offseason and he's really developed and gotten better. It was great that he was able to get in and get some reps along with some other young guys out there."

LOUISIANA TECH
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie’s Quotes from Tuesday’s Press Conference
 
Opening Statement:
“It is good to be here. I am excited for our program. Since our staff was hired back in December there has been a lot of momentum on Louisiana Tech’s campus with what our baseball, women’s basketball and softball programs have been able to accomplish. There is a lot of positive momentum going on at Louisiana Tech and we really hope that our football program can continue that from how we play and how we represent Louisiana Tech and the city of Ruston. I am excited to see what this football team has in a couple days against a great opponent like Missouri. I am really appreciative of Louisiana Tech and Ruston for the reception of our family and coaching staff. We want to try to pay it back in how we coach and how we play. We are looking forward to the challenge of Thursday night. Our players have done an unbelievable job to earn our trust. We are excited to see how the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs look in 2022.”
 
The progression of building his team:
“I think we always yearn to be a little bit farther along but we will have our first real test to see where we are at. In terms of X’s and O’s I feel comfortable in where we are at in all three phases. There are things mentality-wise that we would like to see our guys approve on. We are still working on that and educate our players on that. Overall, I feel good on that when it comes to x’s and o’s but we are still striving on improving our mentality.”
 
On QB Matthew Downing:
“Matthew has a lot of talent as does Parker McNeil, Landry Lyddy and all of our quarterbacks. I am excited for Matthew to just go out and play and do his job. He is a super football smart kid. He loves the game and studies it. He is comfortable in our offense and he is comfortable asking us what we need to do.”

On Mizzou’s defensive scheme:
“It has been a challenge preparing for them. They have a lot of new pieces in place in terms of Blake Baker their defensive coordinator and their defensive staff. They have about eight transfers and they just added one today. We have been able to piece together some stuff from when he was a coordinator and we are also focusing on their personal in terms of their pass rushing and safeties.”

MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Head Coach Rick Stockstill’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Opening Statement:
“Thank you guys for being on, exciting week. A lot of energy, a lot of butterflies, a lot of nerves, excited about opening up the season. As I've said throughout the summer, we had a good summer, we had a good August camp, we had a good week last week, and today's our day off, so we'll start preparations for James Madison again tomorrow. 
 
“I'm really excited about our team, I like the leadership of our team, I like where we are. We still have some question marks that we've got to get solidified in the next couple of days. But I like where we are and our players are excited for this opportunity. We're playing a really talented James Madison team that went 14-2 last year, got beat in the semifinals by the eventual national champion. They've got an almost 1,000-yard rusher returning, he had 975 yards. A 1100-yard receiver who caught 83 balls and had 13 touchdowns. They've got a transfer quarterback that threw for 2500 yards, and then their offensive line, all those guys have all started for a long time. They're an experienced, talented offensive unit that's had a lot of success.
 
“Defensively, they led their conference in takeaways, I believe they had 32 last year. No. 1 in third down defense, in the top three in rushing defense, pass defense, total defense, so it's a talented team. Really good in the kicking game, they had maybe two, maybe three kickoffs returned for touchdowns last year. 
 
“This is their first game as a full-fledged FBS team. I know they're going to be excited about opening up at home. It's a great challenge for us, we've got to be ready to go.”
 
On how smooth he expects JMU's FBS transition to go:
“I think it'll be pretty seamless for them, because they've had so much success at the FCS level. Winning national championships, playing in the national championship game, going to the playoffs on a consistent basis. I like their transition, a lot like App State and Georgia Southern in the sense that they've been playing for a long time and now (they're) making the next move to FBS. 
 
“Unlike other teams, and I said this earlier today, when Charlotte came into Conference USA, I think it was in 2015, they had just started football. Maybe 13 and 14, 12, 13 and 14, they had just started. Any time a program is just now starting college football or restarting college football back, their transition's a little bit harder than what an App State, a Georgia Southern and now a James Madison is going to experience, because they have all the foundation in place. The stadium, the facility structure, all of those things are in place, and they'll just build on top of that moving forward.”
 
On the challenges of a Week 1 scout due to transition:
“Any time there's an opening game, there's always a lot of concern because you don't know what changes they made schematically with their team. You don't know who's replacing who from a talent standpoint. But they've got seven returners starting on offense. They lost a receiver, they lost a quarterback, so they've got a lot of guys coming back offensively. 
 
“But defensively, you don't lead the league with only 11 people playing. A lot of those guys who may not have started last year played a bunch of snaps. They got a transfer from Marshall, a defensive lineman who's played against us and played very well against us. We're familiar with him. But they've got a very good program, with good players. They may have lost a couple of guys on defense, but I promise you the guys they're replacing them with are very talented young me.”
 
On the challenge of hitting the road Week One for a game that's going to be emotionally charged: 
“When you go on the road, you've got to pack an extra bag of toughness. And probably the mental toughness is as important if not more important than the physical toughness. This is the first time a lot of these guys have gotten on a plane. You're going to a different hotel. You're going into a different venue where you're not going to be cheered, you're going to be booed. And you've got to be able to handle the noise and the distraction. 
 
“We know they're going to be amped up. It's their first game, and on top of it, for their fans, it's their first game that they can say they're an FBS fan. The mental toughness is the thing we've got to be as cognizant about in handling this environment.”

NORTH TEXAS
Head Coach Seth Littrell’s Quotes from Tuesday’s Press Conference
 
Video available here: Tuesday Press Conference
 
On young DB’s stepping up due to injury: 
"JD [Davis] went down on the perimeter and Ridge [Texada] came in and focused and stepped in and had a really good game," Littrell said. "That's what you have to do. In college football, each week there's gonna be battles and guys go down. It's a physical game, and other guys step up. Febechi [Nwaiwu] did a great job against one of the most talented teams in our conference with a great defensive line. He graded out really well. Obviously, there's room for improvement with every position but nothing was too big for him. He stepped in and did a great job. He's been excited to get in there, and he did a great job."
 
On OL Jett Duncan’s performance:
"He played really well," Littrell said. "He did his job. It's one of those positions where, with the front we played, it's not an easy task. You're on an island on your own a lot and he did a great job. He's very competitive. I felt great about him going in because he's going to do exactly what he's coached to do every game. He's put in a lot of work and we all have room for improvement, but it was a great start for him."
 
QB AUSTIN AUNE
On playing a rivalry game against SMU:
"It's the team across the street," Aune said. "Still, the goal each week is to go 1-0, no matter who it is across from us. We have our game plan and have worked hard throughout the week and we just have to execute one play at a time. We know there's a big rivalry between fans with Denton and Dallas being close. It should be a great atmosphere and we're excited for it."
 
On whether playing a game last week provides an advantage for UNT:
"You can look at it both ways. We have a game under our belt and we can look back on film and they can watch a game of ours. It's a balance. It's great that we're 1-0 and they're looking to come in and go 1-0. We just have to execute and fix mistakes from the last game and keep rolling."
 
RB AYO ADEYI
On whether playing a game last week provides an advantage for UNT:
"For sure, it definitely does give us an advantage. Getting a game in early helped us make our mistakes early, and I feel like we're learning from that. Going into SMU we can learn from that and hopefully come out better than we did last year."
 
RICE
Head Coach Mike Bloomgren’s Quotes from Tuesday’s Press Conference
 
Video Available here: Tuesday Press Conference
 
Opening statement:
“I’m really pleased and I’m really excited. I’m pleased about the training camp that we had. I’m pleased about the way the guys continue to work day in and day out. There’s a lot to be happy about. I’m excited for the season that’s in front of us and I’m excited for this first game in the historic Coliseum against the USC Trojans. We’ve talked about a lot of things that have changed in our program this offseason. We’ve talked about a lot of the additions to our program. But we’re in game week and it’s about time.”
 
On How everybody is feeling physically and mentally as the season is about to start:
“I think (the team) is as excited as I am. I think everybody is in a great place mentally. I think everybody is fired up and everybody is excited about the opportunity to play this game with each other. To go back to the reason that I’m pleased, I’m pleased with the level that we’re playing at. I’m pleased with the intensity that we’re practicing at. I’m pleased with the knowledge and expertise that our players have for our systems. Again, everything is a lot of fun right now. If you ask them where they are mentally, I think they would tell you that they are in a really good place. Training camp is not quite training camp anymore. It’s more like training camp lite. But we make the most of it and have worked our butts off. It’s 25 days with a lot of different restrictions and I think we made the most of those this year.”
 
On the defensive line:
“The d-line is right where you would have expected them to be. Obviously, losing Elijah Garcia to the NFL is a big loss. But you bring back guys like Trey Schuman, Iknenna Enechukwu, Izeya Floyd is playing at the highest level that he ever has. Blake Boenisch is a name that I think people will know by the end of the year. And, oh yea, we bring back De’Braylon Carroll. That’s really exciting. On top of that, at the rush position, you’ve got (Kenneth) Orji and Josh Pearcy, who have taken another step. You see how much his teammates respect him by the fact he was named our special teams captain.”
 
On what he thinks the key matchups are going to be:
“I think both lines are going to be really interesting. I think our offensive line is the best that it’s ever been. I’m not surprised by where the (defensive) line is. You see what we’ve been able to do on the offensive line and the experience factor there. Shea Baker’s about to break 2,800 snaps in this game. That’s a lot of football. I’m really glad to have the experience of guys like Shea, guys like Issac Klarkowski coming back at really full speed right now, and Clay Servin. As well as Braedon (Nutter) who played a good bit for us last year. Then the inexperience, which is a fun thing that we’re learning through with Ethan Onianwa as well as John Hughes coming in from West Virginia. John has played well whether he’s been at guard or at tackle. It’s a solid group there. So with the matchups, up front is going to be really fun to see on both sides of the football. Our defense secondary is going to be challenged. It’s Lincoln Riley and the Air Raid. It’s all of these great receivers and Caleb Williams. So there’s going to be these challenges up the field. One thing you can never sleep on with a Lincoln Riley offense is how well they run the counter play. You look up at the end of games and they have 200-250 yards rushing. So it’s a great challenge for our defense.
 
Offensively, Coach Tuiasosopopo has put together an unbelievable plan with the staff. I think we’re prepared to put people in great positions. I think Wiley (Green) knows exactly where they are going to be and when they are going to be there. I think it’s going to be a fun college football game.”
 
UAB
Interim Head Coach Bryant Vincent’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Video available here: Monday Press Conference
 
Opening statement:
“Game week, right. Game week. We’re all excited its finally game week. It’s finally here. I’ve got a lot of respect for Alabama A&M and Coach Maynor, everything that those guys have done. We’ve played them before here in the past, they won a 2020 conference championship in the short COVID year, then they come back and go 7-3. If you go back and you look at the history of the teams that Coach Maynor coached, obviously with him being a former quarterback and an offensive guy, they’ve scored a lot of points. They’ve got a lot of tradition, a great fanbase, great alumni, and we know they’re going to be bringing a great crowd and loud band coming into Thursday night at Protective Stadium.” 
 
On expectations on the Alabama A&M quarterback:
“That kind of goes back to Coach Maynor’s history. If you go back and look at the history of his quarterbacks in his program, they’ve been very good offensively. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to play. They’ve got a lot of speed on offense, they’ve got a good receiving core coming back, they’ve got Quarles at the running back from Alabama that’s more of a 5-9 180, 190 pound running back, then they’ve got a big back at 5-11, 220 pounds. We fully expect those guys to be prepared and be very good offensively.”
 
On the difference between this year and years past:
“It’s game week. At the end of the day, our kids have went through another fall camp, they’re excited to play, I think our leadership has grown. You know obviously, just being the offensive coordinator here the last several years, it is different when you step in the head coaching position, but it’s football. We’re getting our team ready to play, we’re excited, we get to play at home to open the season this Thursday night. It’s a lot of the same, but just a little bit different. We’re excited, I’m excited to lead this team this Thursday night, for this university, for this town, and excited to kick off the 2022 season. [We’re excited] to get started, to start this journey with a football team that has a lot of pride and a lot of passion for UAB, for each other, and for this town. I’m telling you, our team’s excited, our kids are excited, and we’re ready to kick it off.”
 
On coaching his first game as a head coach:
“I’m a routine guy, everybody’s different, but I’m a routine guy all the way up to the night before the game, how we play out the game in our minds as a staff going into it, like a rehearsal going into it. So, not really, everything’s kind of on point, just staying in our routine of what we do here, what we’ve done here, all our standards, all of our traditions, all of our routines here, it’s the same.”
 
On taking over for Bill Clark:
“Something that comes to mind, when you say Bill Clark is, I don’t know if there’s any one player or any one man that’s done more or is as important to UAB football as Bill Clark. I think his legacy here is cemented, his leadership, all the things that he’s done for this football team, and lead this program and this town through, it’s unprecedented. Bill Clark is UAB football and to be able to replicate that is just not going to happen. Bill Clark will always be one of the founding fathers, one of the guys that got UAB to where it’s at now. I’m Bryant Vincent, I’m not Bill Clark. Bill is a mentor of mine, he’s a close friend of mine. I wake up every day and attack this job with the emphasis on trying to make him proud, being able to follow after his footsteps, but I am going to be Bryant Vincent. I have a lot of pride; I have a lot of passion for this football program and these players. I was here in 2014, I was here for the first championship in 2018, I was here for the first bowl win in 2018, to the second west [championship] to the third west [championship], to the second conference championship in 2020. My goal and my passion is to continue everything that Coach Clark built in this city, in this university, and to continue to raise the standards, and to elevate the standards, and to go out and chase a conference championship.”
 
QB DYLAN HOPKINS
On opening the 2022 season:
“We’re all ready to play someone else, we’re tired of hitting ourselves. I think this team is super excited about this year with everyone coming back and a lot of new people coming in too. I think this year is going to be special.”
 
On this camp versus years past:
“This has probably been my best camp. I know with the quarterback room, just the level of competition, it’s definitely boosting everyone in the room each day. That’s definitely been a huge part of it, but I think just how high the bar is this year for us, the expectations for us, that’s been part of the really big push so far this year.”
 
On preparation for Alabama A&M:
“It’s definitely different going in, just from watching last year’s film, but I think them not having played a game, them being our home opener, it’s definitely different. [We have to] be ready for anything, especially with all the new transfers, don’t expect the same team as last year, just expect them to be ready to play.”
 
CB STARLING THOMAS V
On covering their top receiver:
“We just go into the game really respecting these guys, even if they play in the FCS, we still have to come into the game with respect, knowing that they still can play football. Even though they’ve lost their quarterback, I’m pretty sure they’re going to have a good one. Number 82, we really haven’t seen much film of him because he’s a transfer, but we’re ready to play regardless.”
 
On how far he has come heading into his senior year:
“Since I’ve been here at UAB, I’ve been through some things, and I grew a lot throughout the years, but it’s been fun for me, even though I had to go through all those tasks. Now I’m in a leader position, and the guys that came before me like Brontae Harris and Broderick Thomas, they taught me how to be a leader of this team and show guys the right way and I’m just trying to bring the guys along with me. That’s how I’m coming into this year.”
 
On being a leader:
“It’s pretty natural to me. I’m not much of a speaker as much as I am a leader, but when I speak, I expect people to listen, and my team does. I just want to show them the right way to do things and show them that we’re here to win and bring the UAB way to them.”
 
UTEP
Head Coach Dana Dimel’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Audio Available here: Monday Press Conference
 
Opening statement:
“Obviously, there was a little different twist to the start of the game with weather, which kind of caught us off guard a little bit. We weren’t expecting the 10 percent chance of rain (to happen), so I’ve got to talk to ‘Doppler Dave’ about that. We got out, had a short warm-up and got ready. I thought we played pretty well early in the ballgame. I liked how we were playing in the first drive. They won the toss and deferred so we got the ball first. I thought we moved the ball well on that first drive and then came up empty with missing the field goal. Then we got the next drive and went all the way down there and had the chance to get the ball in the end zone and get the 7-0 lead, but we just didn’t execute the last two plays that we ran very well as a unit. The reason I’m hitting that is because I thought it was a big part of the game. Obviously, we had a chance to take the next drive and move down the field and execute on a 4^th and one on a really nice pass that was pulled down by Tyrin (Smith) to get a 7-0 lead in the game.
 
“At that point in the game, I felt really comfortable with how we stood and were playing, but the gist of it was that it could have very easily been 17-0. If it’s 17-0 there, we probably have a very different outcome to the game because what happened is we allowed them to stay within the rhythm of what they were doing. They like to just run the ball, throw RPO’s off the run game and get some naked (looks) and that’s what they did. It’s hard to come from behind against big leads when you have that style of offense, but by not scoring we kept them in the game. Then they got the ball and went down and got a field goal after they matched our touchdown to go up 10-7.  They scored late in the half when, but we got the opportunity to get that turnover there at the end. Again, we were in the red zone.
 
“We were a little bit limited on time, which was a factor there as well and weren’t able to punch the ball in the endzone. I think if we were able to punch the ball in the endzone there, we’re going to get a lead going into halftime and I think it completely changes the game. Our lack of ability to score touchdowns in the redzone was a really critical part of this ballgame. We should be good at that. We spend a lot of time doing that, we have good schemes and the type of people that can execute those schemes, but we have to do better. That would have changed the whole game, it comes down to that. They’re going to do some things. Offenses are going to score some points. We can’t move the ball and get in the redzone and come up empty. We could have had easily 24 or 28 points at the end of the first half and again, it’s a different game.
 
“A big play of the third quarter was when we stopped them and got the 15-yard targeting penalty after the good defense on third and long when they would have punted. We would have gotten the ball back with a one-point difference. Then they go down and score and make it an eight-point game. Then we come back and continue to drive the ball and then have a mishandled snap and a fumble that happened because of that. Then they went down and put it in and now the whole game changes because now we’re facing drop eight and we’re in more of an urgency type of a situation because of the way they control the clock offensively.
 
“They were going to eat up time when they had the ball, so we were having to try to throw the ball quite a bit more. We couldn’t establish the type of consistency or mix in the run or the play-action pass in because obviously the play-action pass wasn’t going to be paid much attention to since they knew we had to try to score quickly. So that was kind of the gist for the rest of the game. We were trying to play catch-up and were moving the ball, but we weren’t scoring. They’ve got a good football team. I knew they were going to be one of the best teams we played in conference all year. I feel like they played a really good football game. They did a great job, and I feel like we left a lot of things out there on the table which leads to us being upset and angry about that. It’s something we have to respond to. It’s game one, none of us like to play a conference game on game one because you like have a warm-up, but I see a lot of potential on this football team. I see a lot of talent. I thought our new guys played solid.
 
“None of the new starters played great, but they played solid and there’s a ton of potential and growth for them so I’m really excited for where they’re going to grow in their roles and how they are doing. I’m pleased that we had a really good practiced today. Like I mentioned earlier, we’ve got a really good football team. We can handle adversity, I promise you. We’re not afraid of that, we can handle that. So, we will respond to this and get better.
 
“The story of this season will be how we improve and get better after an opening-season conference loss. We don’t get a chance to rebound with an easy game as we segue into the next game. It’s not like we have a bounce-back game. You’ve got a game against a preseason top-10 football team (No. 9 Oklahoma) in a fun place to play. That’s what it is for us, an opportunity to go out and enjoy why you play these games, why you want to play these types of opponents. We want to go out and execute well our brand of football. We have quality enough caliber of players to play good in this atmosphere. So now we have to have really good preparation. They’re a difficult preparation because of the things they do on both sides of the football. They have great schemes, and we’re going to have to rise to the challenge.
 
“It’ll be a great venue to play in at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon at Oklahoma. It’s a fun place for these guys to go into. We’ve worked on the crowd noise and have put on some things in spring ball and in camp to (help) handle that. I think we’ll be prepared for that, it’s not like we just started preparing for that. They’ve got a lot of talented players. Obviously their quarterback, I’ve followed his career from when he was as at UCF. He was one of the best players in college football. That’s their number one weapon, he’s been with their coordinator before previously at UCF so they have a history together. They’ve got talented wide receivers, a big physical offensive line, a running back that has had really good production.
 
“On defense they have some front guys that have quite a bit of experience. Their secondary and linebackers are the most experienced units. There’s a lot of guys who have played in the secondary that are coming back. It’ll be a difficult test for us, but a fun test. As you know, you never know when your team is going to rise up to the challenge after not playing as well as we know we can in week one. Maybe we put our best game out there on the field on week two.”
 
On being Oklahoma’s season-opening opponent after already having played a game:
“The disadvantage is the fact that they are brand new. They are playing their very first game as a group. Obviously (head coach) Brent Venables will have a lot of influence on the defense, so that’s what we’re expecting to prepare for is Clemson’s defense. So, we’re studying Clemson’s tape for that side of the ball. Their offensive coordinator was at Ole Miss, so we’re studying Ole Miss’s offense for that side of the ball. Their special team’s coordinator was at Eastern Michigan, so there’s a lot of film that has to be gathered. We’ve watched a bunch of game tape of Oklahoma (from) last year to evaluate each player that’s coming back. This is a really unusual preparation for us as far as new coordinators are all coming from different schools. We still had to do an evaluation on their players as well.”
 
On North Texas trying to take away UTEP’s run game:
“They were playing eight guys to the front and trying to keep us out of the run game. That’s what everybody is going to do against us. The first time their defensive coordinator and I went against each other was 1994, so he understands if he gives us a box to run into, we’re going to run into it. He knows you can’t do that, that you better box up with lots of pressures and force to throw the ball on early downs. We’re good enough to do that, it’s not like we’re good enough not to do that.”
 
On how to improve the running game:
“Just get more physical with what we’re doing, more than anything. I think we have an offensive line that is equipped to run the football, I really do. I think we just stay to what we do and work with better pad level and physicality. We’ve got good running backs, we’ve got good fullbacks, good blocking tight ends and a good offensive line. The ingredients are all there. We just need to get it cleaned up and have better execution. I’m not alarmed that we’re not going to be able to run the football this year. I think it was a game that really we should have done a better job of taking advantage at what they were giving us. There will be games that if people allow us to run the ball, then we’ll run it well. Then, if they take it away we’ll hurt them more so in the passing game.”
 
On having a nothing to lose attitude:
“Anytime you play a top-10 team like this and you’re a group of five team, that’s part of the mentality that you take. No one is expecting you to win the game, but if you can win the game, it would be a really big step for your program. So, you do go into it with a mentality of hey, if you can pull off a victory, it would be really big for us.”
 
UTSA
Head Coach Jeff Traylor’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Video available here: Monday Press Conference
 
On the excitement level he (and the team) is feeling toward the 2022 season:
“You’d like to say that it’s no different, but, obviously as we talked about that last night as a team … you know, just the natural response of emotions that go through your body. You know, you get a little more butterflies, your hands get a little more sweaty. It’s just …getting closer. That’s the way the lord made us, and we need to understand that. So, the excitement level is very high in the building and we have a great opportunity coming Saturday.”
 
On what it’s like for his team to be the hunted (no longer the hunters):
“It’s a level of respect and we’re proud that we’ve gotten our program to that point. But … it’s a new season, it’s a new team. So, we can rest on the laurels of what the first team did, what the second team did or the third team. So, it’s their chance, we have an opportunity Saturday with a top-25 team in Houston coming in here. Most people predict them to be in a New Year’s Bowl, you know, Cotton Bowl. And what a great opportunity in the Alamodome. But I will say, there’s no way we beat WKU, there’s no way we beat UAB without that crowd we had last year and we’re gonna need them again Saturday.”
 
On Houston’s defense and why its successful:
“Well, Coach Belk does a fantastic job … they have a great scheme, and they have great players who believe in that scheme. They’re very physical, they run to the ball, they play with a great confidence and that’s pretty much the sum of all great defenses, right? … and that’s what they are.”
 
WKU
Head Coach Tyson Helton’s Quotes from Monday’s Press Conference
 
Video Available here: Monday Press Conference
 
On this week’s opponent, Hawai’i: 
“Hawai’i week, big week for us. Looking forward to it. It’s going to be a quick week. We’ll actually start practice today. Usually, the players would be off today, but we’re going to get on a plane later this week and fly over there. Looking forward to the trip and looking forward to a highly competitive game. I think we’re going to face a really, really good football team in Hawaii. I think they match up well with us. I think it will be a four-quarter game and we better show up and play our best game if we want to win.”
 
On returning to Hawai’i, where he began his coaching career:
“It will be neat. Unfortunately for me, all I’m focused on is trying to win a game. I was there for four years and it’s a very special place. We were there at a great time. June Jones was the head coach and we were winning. Timmy Chang was the quarterback, Nick Rolovich was the quarterback and I think of some other great names. It will be special to go back there and be on campus. I hear it’s a great venue.”
 
On reviewing the Austin Peay game and looking forward to this week’s matchup:
“I felt like we lot of yards out there offensively. I felt Austin Reed in his first start did some really, really good things. We had a couple drops that could have been explosive plays that could have changed some things. For us defensively, they’re a big offensive line, so we’ve got to be able to stop the run.”