Oct. 25, 2014

Recap | Final Stats

Head Coach Terry Allen
Opening statement …
"We had our chances in the first half. The only time we scored in the dang game was when we drove in 90 yards. When we had the good field position we just came up with a mistake here or there and didn't get any points on the board, and then we had a field goal blocked. In close games like that you've got to score on every opportunity you get."

Is that a consistency issue?
"Absolutely. I mean, how do you go 90 [yards] and then can't get a first down when you get the ball on their side of the field on a couple different occasions?"

On moving forward on the two-game road trip …
"We've got to see who we got, put them back together - I know there are some frustrated people in there - and I'm right there with them. These kids have shown nothing but resilience and character throughout their careers and we expect nothing but that this week."

Senior Quarterback Kierra Harris
What happened on the 13-yard sack?
"It was just a screen pass. They sniffed it out, they were spying on us and it was just a good play by them."

On next week versus Indiana State …
"We have to take it one week at a time. We just have to go in after a great week of practice and get back on the field next Saturday and play smart, fast and just execute."

Senior Linebacker Andrew Beisel
On playing shorthanded on defense for the second half …
"Our problem today was first just down. They creased us a couple of times and we had a lot of second-and-mediums, so that opened up their playbook a lot. If we would have fixed that, it would have been a lot easier of a day."

On Illinois State quarterback Tre Roberson …
"He was definitely a threat. We knew he was going to be a threat running the ball, which he scored a touchdown [doing]. He's a lot like Kierra, actually. He made two perfect passes, too, it's hard to defend that. He played a good game."

Is your back against the wall as far as postseason goes now?
"We need to [win]. We're going to pull out everything we've got. It's the Valley, though, so any team can win on any given day."

Senior Wide Receiver Julian Burton
On the level of frustration …
"It's definitely tough. I mean, our defense played great, like Kierra said. We have to, as an offense, finish some plays off, finish some drives, stop going three and out so much and make more plays. … Our defense had a great strategy and held them down as long as they could, but they are going to eventually make plays, and that's what happened."