Miami 28, Florida State 22
MIKE NORVELL: You know, just to start off, for our fan
base, you know, our university, you know, I’m sorry for the
outcome. You know, I know how much it means, this
game means to our team, to the individuals, coaches,
players, everybody involved, past players, you know, to our
program.
And this is a game that there is so much excitement
around, excitement for. To come up short in this one is just
utterly disappointing in every way.
You know, I thought our guys, they battled. We just had
too many mistakes. Miami did a good job. They did what
they needed to do to win the game. They protected the
football. Hit some explosive plays.
You know, and then I thought our guys just we fell behind
early. Whether it was just untimely penalties, some
mistakes that we made that was just a little too much to
overcome there in the end.
Thought our guys battled in the fourth quarter. I believed
throughout that we would get a spark, that we would start
to put it together, and they did. Unfortunately it was too
little, too late.
Weren’t able to come out on top. But it’s a locker room that
is hurting. Been a lot of work and investment like I said
throughout the week. This is a 365-day-a-year game.
When you come up short in this one, it just — I mean, it
hurts.
As a coach I have to be better in helping continue to assist
our guys, eliminate some of the mistakes, that we’re better
in some of the key situations, and just continue to lift them
up and push them forward.
We will respond from this. Nobody want to have to go
through it, but these guys, they’re going to fight and they’re
going to continue to get better. We have an opportunity
here this next week to go make progress and showcase all
that we are. We’ve shown to be a talented team and a
team that’s very capable, but we made some mistakes
tonight that definitely cost us.
Q. The fourth and eight decision early on in the game,
can you reflect upon it? Obviously Miami turned
around on the next play hits a bang play for a
touchdown.
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, it was kind of on the brink of the
thought process of where to go with that. I mean, wanted
to be aggressive. Felt good about the opportunities that
we could have there. We been good on fourth down
situations. A little outside the field goal range. Potentially
trying to pin ’em. But it was just distance-wise felt good
about what we could accomplish.
Obviously don’t want to have the interception and the big
return and the next play they scored, so that didn’t go how
anybody wants it to. But these are decisions that are made
throughout the course of a game when it comes to what
you want to do, and it was one I made.
Q. How would you evaluate Tommy’s performance?
Seemed like he had to settle in for quite a bit of the
game. What wasn’t working early on and what did
work when it started to?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, you know, the game of football,
you go through the ebbs and flows. They did a good job. I
thought the first drive we were able to move the ball down
the field, couple good throws. Unfortunately not being able
to finish in the end zone there.
You know, kind of got a little off rhythm at times and there
were some opportunities. And you got give credit to them.
They created some pressures and it’s a challenging
defense in that regard. Thought they did a nice job with
what they were trying to do and accomplish to get him off
the point.
And then I thought he did settle down there later in the
game and he showed tremendous heart, tremendous fight,
was leading this team. Tommy, I believe in him. I believe
in who is and what he’s about. He went in and told the
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team right after that he takes ownership for all things that
he does and I respect him so much for that.
He’s going to be pushing with the response of this team,
but it’s not all on him in any regards. Everything we can
do, we can all push and be better.
He’s a competitor. He wants to do it all for this team. You
know, it was just some times where he wasn’t quite in
rhythm like he’s been. Some of that you got give just credit
to the opponent.
Q. You guys obviously did a pretty good job against
their running game, but how much of their big plays in
the passing game is a result of the emphasis on
stopping the run or is it not?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, obviously there is — we knew we
had to be aggressive in the run game. That’s something
that he wanted to establish. We also realize there will be
vertical shot opportunities. It comes down to discipline with
your eyes, trusting technique. Had a flicker that we were
pretty confident we would see at some point there tonight,
but unfortunately just they were able to execute and they
made the play.
But you can’t — in a game like tonight, I mean, you know,
you look at turnover margin, No. 1, something we talked
about throughout the course of the week. When you’re
minus three, 14 points off turnovers, it’s a killer. We knew
the run game, that was something we had to try to
establish. We had to try to stop it.
Then obviously the explosive play component of it. We
didn’t have enough of them and they got — they had two or
three that were kind of daggers throughout the night when
you look back upon it.
But it’s things that we expected we would potentially see,
but just didn’t do a good enough job of stopping.
Q. Two straight games you mentioned with the
self-inflicted wounds in some of the turnovers. When
you talk about response, what do you expect to see
from the group when you guys go into practice and
throughout the rest of the regular season?
MIKE NORVELL: It’s something that’s being emphasized.
With emphasis there has to be application. We can’t lose
the turnover margin. Two straight games we’ve had three
turnovers; got get that fixed.
It was clearly a clearer understanding and expectation for
what we needed to get done, but unfortunately that didn’t —
we didn’t apply that well enough. Yeah, there is a lot of
things that can show up, and especially when it comes to
an interception. There is a lot of different factors that go
into that. Just protection, it’s location, it’s route sometimes.
It’s all different aspects that come to what — any time there
is a pass intercepted.
We had a couple balls that got to the ground. One that
was a fumble that was a turnover. And then another one
that got to the ground. So we got to be better there. It’s
the — it is the application of the things that are being
emphasized. We have to take a step there.
Q. The impact of losing Micah, I guess how difficult
that was to lose him and do you have an update on
whether that’s short-term, long-term?
MIKE NORVELL: Don’t have an update. Not excepting
anything long-term when it comes to that. Obviously you
don’t want to lose anybody, but we had a plan in place, and
in tonight’s matchup it was magnified that much more just
because of who you’re going against.
You got two of the better ends in the country that we were
able to create a little bit of pressure. I thought Adrian did a
good job being able to go out there and fight and compete
and obviously Rizy coming in.
But that was — it definitely added to the challenge of what
we were trying to do. You know, we’ll see where it all
progresses with Micah.
Q. How much of the I guess the moment do you think
impacted the offense in the first half? Just seemed
like out-of-character mistakes, whether it was a
personal foul or interceptions or Duce trying to fight
for extra yardage. It’s a good thing, but seemed like
mistakes that hadn’t been happening. Any attribution
to nerves or the game, the moment itself?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, this game carries a great deal of
weight. Everything you do is to prepare you for this. You
got to be able to manage and handle that. I can’t sit here
and say that’s why this or that happened, but I thought like
even with the first drive, we moved the ball down the field,
put ourselves in position. I thought there was opportunity
down there, but unfortunately got held to a field goal.
Then there were some spots within each of the next drives
that, like I said, there were plays for the taking and just
things that we didn’t — we weren’t just good enough. There
is obviously things I’m sure players, coaches, everybody
involved would like to have back.
That’s why you practice the way you practice, train the way
you train. So within those big moments, in those times with
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great pressure or playing against talented opponents, that
you rise above that.
So you can figure — try to find a million different reasons of
why. It’s our job to get it fixed. There has been — there is
a heavy push for expectation here, and that’s every day.
That’s on practice field, the weight room, nutrition,
classroom, everything; social life. All things are
challenging guys so in these moments our best shows up.
Unfortunately that didn’t happened to the level it needed to,
and so we just got to get better.
Q. You mentioned turnovers. Three today, three last
Friday. Common theme in these close games. Tommy
was in here and he mentioned that you guys haven’t
really had a team beat you. You guys have beat
yourselves. Is that something that you kind of — do
you echo that sentiment? There is a silver lining we
have for those losses?
MIKE NORVELL: I’m not somebody that ever carries a
silver lining for a loss. You win or you lose. Our guys, they
competed. They fought. We’ve come down to really where
it’s been one possession at the end of the last two games.
But, you know, at the end of the day we didn’t play well
enough or coach well enough or execute well enough to
get the victory.
So I believe in the talent and the ability this team has.
We’ve got to get better. So it’s there for our — for what we
do in our response and our preparation this week to go
apply the corrections so that we don’t have to have this
experience again.
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