2022 SFRB Postgame Coaches Quotes
2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Postgame quotes
Dec. 27, 2022 – Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield
Opening Statement…
“I want to thank the city of Dallas and what gracious hosts they have been. It has been a wonderful trip for us and a great way to cap off a season filled with ups and downs. It was a great moment for our program. I am so proud of our resiliency today and leading up today. We are going to celebrate this and be proud of the moment. I am proud of our guys, and our seniors. That win was for them. Thanks to all of the great fans from the city of Memphis. I am honored to coach this team. There are bright days ahead of us.”
What do you see out of this locker room…
“I can tell you every single moment the way it went against Miss State. And then against Navy, and against Houston. The game didn’t go the way we wanted against EC. Throughout the season, this team has never given up. That locker room is full of high-character guys, and I have their back for life. There was no doubt in my mind that they were going to come out ready to play. Utah state is a heck of a ball club and they have done a fantastic job. Our resiliency just hasn’t wavered.”
On ending the season with a win…
“I can finally exhale. I don’t try to hide from it. College football is quite different. The job is different year to year. To get a bowl win and end as a champion, there are only so many teams that can end the year as champions. The guys in the locker room know that we have bright days ahead. We are going to enjoy this for the next couple of hours and then I’m sure we’ll be back preparing for the 2023 football season.”
How did it feel getting that first win of the season…
“It is about our ball clue and the program. You think about the covid year, and the cotton bowl game and the end result of that, it was a great moment in program history. In the Covid year we lost in the last second. You think about the last time in this stadium and that is the story of our season. I think the bounce back by guys like Seth shows you what the resiliency is all about. It is all about the team and it is an honor to be their head coach.”
Looking ahead to 2023…
“That is such a unique thing. There is no way I can portray the bond that we have in that locker room. They understood how close we are and what we are capable. My job is about getting across that finish line and compete for championships, because that is what we expect. The guys on the roster understand that there are bright things ahead. We are looking forward to 2023 and beyond.”
On the interception in the second half…
“I had a big lump in my throat. He had two picks where one bounced off his facemask and you wonder what you did wrong. But the guys knew we aren’t letting this happen again. We tightened the ship and made sure we’d sure the win.”
About the physicality today…
“That is one of the things we want to hang our hat on. Was it perfect? No. It is about showing up down in and down out. The way the guys showed up, was it perfect, heck no, but we are going to hang our hat on a team that is going to come after you. We have to build off that physicality.”
Utah State coach Blake Anderson
Opening Statement…
First off, thank you to the folks that ran this bowl. The kids had a blast this week. You can tell that they put a lot of time and energy to make sure it was a great experience. It was an awesome week for us. Thank you to the first responders that are listening or paid attention this week. We get to play ball because of so many that put their lives on the line for us. We talked so much this week how much we need to honor that.
“I am disappointed in the outcome. I would have liked to play better. We had a terrible second quarter and couldn’t overcome it. I was pleased in how we came out in the second half and were able to get back in the game to some degree. We got into the endzone and did some positive things. We did not play our best ball. We could not create enough offense to give us a chance to win. I am proud of this group to battle back from 1-4 to get bowl eligible.”
On the teams overall play…
“We did not cover well. They had some explosive throws, and we could not get anything generated at all, especially in the second quarter. We gave up explosive throws and didn’t cover well in one-on-one situations and couldn’t get anything offensive going at all.”
What do you attribute to the play against Memphis…
“Just the inability to create anything. Other than the first drive, and the one we got the touchdown there just wasn’t any rhythm. We looked confused at times. We struggled to protect at times and there was no consistently. We have to get better to compete at the level that we want.”
On what to take from this season…
“There were a lot of young guys that got reps this year. We will learn from those. They weren’t fun to watch at times. It was forced reps, forced experienced, hopefully that pays big dividends next year. Most of the team is going to be back. To go from 1-4 to 6-6 takes a lot of grit. There was a level in there in the middle of the season where there was a lot there. We have 16 new bodies in January to add to the team that we have coming back. This team can be exactly what they want to be. We have to attack it in some areas, but we have to play better ball than we did.”
On playing against Memphis…
“They have a well-built football team. We knew that coming in. they recruit big. They got big in the area. They are long outside, and we knew that was going to be a challenge and it was a challenge we couldn’t overcome. In spurts we played really, really well. Offensively, there wasn’t a lot of positive. We struggled up front to sustain on the run and a lot of that comes back to the size and power they are built with.”