UCF head coach Gus Malzahn reviews the loss to Navy and talks about this week's final War on I-4 in Tampa.
Opening statement:
"Obviously coming off a tough home loss in the game that I really felt like we should have won. Any time that happens, that is my responsibility. Got to do a better job with that. The good thing for us is we're moving forward. We've got a rival coming up. Chance to win nine games. We go on the road. Our guys after our meeting yesterday, they flipped the switch. We've got great leadership. We bounced back twice earlier in the season from these things. I really expect us to do the same thing. Our guys are looking forward to playing these guys."
We saw a couple different quarterbacks that played last week. You said John Rhys was banged up a little bit. Is there some clarity this week of what the plan is with who is going to play and could both play?
"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Like I told you after the game, he wasn't 100 percent. I think you could see that towards the end of the half. Felt like Mikey would give us a lift. He did there in the first drive. Obviously we had the big turnover there. It was uphill after that. John Rhys is our starting quarterback. We're fortunate enough to have a guy like Mikey right there ready to go. We'll see how practice goes. Obviously if John Rhys is ready to go he'll be our starter."
What do you know about this USF team?
"They've been scoring a lot of points. They're very creative on offense. Defensively, they've had some injuries that's definitely hurt them. They've been in some games against some real quality opponents and haven't been able to get over that hump. If you remember last year, they were in a similar situation and they gave us their best. We're expecting to get their best. They're playing at home. Last regular season game. We need to play good quality football. That's really been our message."
You were talking about bouncing back. How much is it helpful to have a rivalry?
"There's no doubt. We were disappointed. We should have been. 24 hour rule and we put it behind us. They flipped the switch. I expect us to come out and have a really good week of practice to be ready to play these guys."
On Sunday night, Coach Lindsey indicated Mikey came in to provide a bit of a spark. Was that also a factor in the decision to bring Mikey into the game?
"Yeah, like I said afterwards, it looks like John Rhys wasn't completely healthy right there. We felt we needed a spark. He provided that spark. We got close a couple times and just couldn't get any points on the board in that third and fourth quarter after that first drive."
Looking at the film, what was the biggest deficiency that you should have done better? No. 1 for Navy, John Marshall, was terrorizing your offense.
"We had trouble protecting. We had a lot of RPOs that looking back we could have ran the football probably a little bit more. Like I said, from my standpoint, I've got to do a better job with those types of situations."
What did you like about the defensive effort in the second half?
"They made really good adjustments. That's a hard team to prepare for. That first drive, you're adjusting and seeing how they're going to attack you. You're adjusting to the speed. After that, our guys settled in and thought they did a really good job, especially in the second half."
More on the War on I-4, obviously you were here last year. Are you recognizing even more how important this game is being it's the last scheduled meeting with these two teams?
"I can tell how important it is to our fans and our players, especially the older guys that have been around. Of course, experienced it one time and going down to the very end. I get it. There's no doubt about that. We know we're going to get their best. They're going to get our best. We'll see what happens."
You said you hoped to run the ball a little bit more. Did Mikey struggle with RPO reads in the second half?
"There was a couple things that everyone could have done a little bit better as far as that goes."
USF has had lineup and staff changes. What stands out?
"Last year, I think they got rid of their defensive coordinator the week before we played them. The same guy is calling the defense that we went against last year. So we're familiar with that. They don't have their regular head coach. It is what it is. It's the last game of the year. It's a very, very important game for us. Our guys understand that. We're not getting caught up in who's coaching and who's not."
With UCF going to the Big 12 and USF has some games scheduled, but in a perfect world is that a rivalry you'd want to keep alive?
"I don't know. Me and Terry will get together and we'll figure out what's best for us moving forward. Hard for me to answer that question right now."
There's still a chance to make the conference championship. You've got to win first and foremost. Do you understand the tiebreaker rules? A lot of us have been trying to figure out the scenarios.
"We need to win the game. We win the game and I like our chances. That's really about it."
What's dangerous about a 1-10 team?
"You would normally say overlooking them, but we're not overlooking them. Especially with that happened last year and they were in a similar situation. We're going to get their best. They're going to get our best. We'll put the ball down and see what happens."
On those things that have to happen for you to get to your ultimate goal, how do you keep the guys from thinking about that stuff?
"They're thinking about this game. They're thinking about this game and this game only. We'll worry about that stuff after the game. Like I said, I like our chances but we need to win."
