Dec. 4, 2010

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SMU Head Coach June Jones

On the game...
"I'm proud of the kids. They played real hard. We had a lot of injuries during the game. They showed a lot of character to play as they did. I thought the defense really played well, enough to win. We knew we had a real challenge going against them, our offense against their defense. We just weren't good enough today."

What was UCF able to do against your offense?
"They are good up front with their front seven and we knew we were only going to have a few opportunities to make some big plays in the passing game. We had really three shots early and just came up a little bit short. I thought Kyle [Padron] hung in there and battled through some tough stuff. They didn't protect him very well. We kept trying to mix it up to keep them off balance. We dropped some balls and had a holding penalty on a drive that killed the drive during the game. When you are not doing it efficiently as you need to be against a good football team it is just not good enough to win."

On the effect that injuries had on the defense...
"I thought Justin Smart came in and played really well and Tom Mason [defensive coordinator] adjusted the game plan to do what he can do very well and that is blitz. I thought that we helped keep everybody going. I think the defense made enough plays. Even though we didn't get them off the field on third down as much as we would have liked to, I thought the defense played good enough that we probably had a chance to win the game. If we make a couple plays then they don't have them and it is a different ballgame."

On Jeff Godfrey...
"I like him. You are not the Dade County player of the year just being an average player. He is a good player. I think he is accurate with the ball and as he matures I don't want to see him anymore. He looks like he can run around. They are having him do right now what he can do to allow them to win. He is a good football player."

Were you thinking of attempting a field goal there late and possibly then going for the on-side kick?
"No."

On the fans...
"I really like coming here. I think the UCF fans are awesome. I like that music they play before kickoff. In fact I am going to steal it and take it home. I think this is a really neat college town and college atmosphere. I don't know much about your dynamics here as far as numbers and all that, but I think George [O'Leary] has done a [heck] of a job and you have got something really special I think."

On the stadium not being full...
"On a day like this I don't know. I lived in Jacksonville, Florida. There are a lot of things to do on a day like this and unless you have a tie to the program there are a lot of other opportunities here in Florida, from my time in Jacksonville."

What do you take positively from the game?
"I think the last two games in particular [it is] the character that they showed against East Carolina and the character today. Making stops at the end of the game against good football teams to win defensively. Kyle [Padron] is just going to get better and better the more he plays in what we do. I am just anxious for him to keep going because he is a good player and we are going to get better around him as we go."

What do you want to see between now and the bowl game?
"We lost a couple players again so we are going to be kind of scrambling again trying to get people, that is first and foremost. We are going to have to play another physical game again against Army, it looks like if that is where we are ending up heading. At least we have extra weeks to prepare for it, but they will be a real challenge for us. We haven't beat Army the last two years so that will be a challenge for us."

On Sterling Moore's injury...
"It wasn't as bad. He was walking, but obviously not good enough to come back."

On the job that coach O'Leary has done at UCF...
"Well I have known George forever and he is an old-school football coach that has done what he has had to do to win championships. He did the same thing at Georgia Tech when I was with the [Atlanta] Falcons and I followed him even when he went up to [the] Minnesota [Vikings]. George has done just a great job. He surrounds himself with good people. He knows what he wants to do, [and] things haven't changed. Their kids get a chance to get better because they really don't re-invent the game every week. They do what they do and you have to be better than them."

SMU Quarterback Kyle Padron

On what he saw from the UCF defense... "We didn't really see anything too much different from what we had seen from studying them on film throughout the week. They came out with more man than we thought they were going to play. I missed a few throws early that I usually wouldn't miss, and I just have to be more consistent."

On the interceptions...
"Like I said a big fourth down conversion and then I just threw it. You can't throw it, especially on the opposite hash behind the receiver. I just have to be more consistent and put the ball up front."

On having deep balls being batted down...
"It is frustrating but once it happens, [but] it happens. You have to move on to the next play."

On the UCF pass rush...
"Their front seven is pretty impressive. There were a few times where I held on to the ball too long just trying to make a bigger play than I needed to and not taking what they gave me. Their front seven is impressive and I think our offensive line did a great job all day and a couple of those [sacks] were on me."

On where the SMU program is at now...
"It was something we talked about at the beginning of the season in training camp [playing in the C-USA Championship Game], [and] wanting to be in this situation. Obviously we came up short but we did reach our goal. [We] didn't maximize the opportunity but I think we will be back next year and will set that goal again and learn from the tape. [We need to] learn from the mistakes we made and take it into the bowl game and execute there."