CINCINNATI - Head coach Scott Satterfield, redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby, redshirt senior offensive lineman Gavin Gerhardt, and redshirt senior cornerback Logan Wilson spoke with the media ahead of Saturday’s Homecoming game vs. Baylor
The Bearcats and Bears will kick off at 4:00 p.m. ET at Nippert Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Head Coach Scott Satterfield
Opening Statement
“First of all, going back to last week, I’m proud of our guys. On the road in the Big 12, and it's always hard, but I thought our guys were very resilient that game. They went out and played hard, played physical, all the way to the end. I thought the second half of the game really could have gone either way. I’m proud of our guys and how we finished the fourth quarter, getting a couple of turnovers, including the pick six finishing it off. It was a great environment out there at Oklahoma State, I’m really proud of the way that we finished out that game. Looking forward to this week, playing Baylor, a very talented team. Coach [Dave Aranda] has done a great job with this team. Last year when they won six in a row to finish the season, and this year they have been in every game, lost some very close games as well. Outstanding offense, number one passing offense in the country. The quarterback, outstanding player. They have some great talent on the outside with some wide receiver play, good running back. Aggressive defense, that has done a really nice job on that side of the ball as well, and I think the special teams are very, very solid. They’re a complete team. It'll take a great effort out of our guys this week in practice to be ready to go play this team.”
On Dontay Corleone’s playing time
“We’re trying to work him back in. Obviously he's not 100%, I think if you watched him, you can see that. Having his presence out there and being around our guys is huge for us. I think if you go back, he's probably not playing more than 35 snaps anyway. So normally, we rotate a lot of guys up front. We'll rotate a lot of linebackers. Anytime there's a change for offensive personnel, we're going to rotate. So we're always going to continue to do that. But hopefully, each and every week, as we go through remainder of the season, he hopefully is healing up better.”
On Oklahoma State’s offense
“Offensively, they were more sound. I think offensively, they have some unbalanced personnel. A couple of plays that got us, I thought they had a crack replace where we didn't replace, they had a 41-yard run on that. A couple of times we didn't spill the blocker on the interior and they popped a couple runs. So really, a couple runs we didn't fit right. But again, give them some credit. I thought the running back ran hard, the offensive line blocked well, and then the quarterback presents problems because he's very athletic. Once he got out, got loose a few times, picked up a few rushing yards and scored a touchdown. I do think they were a lot more sound in their game planning for this. This is the first time that the new play caller was calling and he played a good job.”
On Brendan Sorsby sharing the ball
“He's done a really good job with that, just because it comes back to taking what the defense gives us. I think in the past, I've had maybe one or two guys we want to get the ball to. So we just keep calling the plays for those one or two guys. That's not been the case this year, I feel like we were blessed to have a bunch of guys that can make plays. This year, it's more about calling the play because we like the way the play looks against that defense, and then not really care where the ball goes. What is the defense doing? Who are they covering? Get the ball to the to the uncovered guy. I think that's why you've been able to see the distribution of the ball. A bunch of different guys making some great catches. Our running backs can make plays for us. You got the tight end making plays. I think it's very difficult to defend that when you have so many guys that are making plays. The great example is Cyrus Allen, had one catch last week and in this past game, he gets three touchdowns. So just never know when the ball is going to find you, but when it does, you have to be prepared and ready to go make a play.”
On enjoying the six-game winning streak
“These guys are fun to be around. They're just hanging out in the building here. We've been saying this all summer, how we love being around the guys, and then they love being around each other, sitting in this awesome building that we're in here. As you start playing and winning, obviously winning is fun. But what's fun about our guys too is the week preparation. It's fun on Tuesday's practice and Wednesday’s practice and getting the Thursday and Friday. it's just fun being around because they're so intentional in their work about what they're putting in and their routine. That's what's fun, I think Saturday is just showing the fruits of all the labor they put in throughout the whole week.”
On winning the turnover battle at Oklahoma State
“It’s outstanding. To finally get an interception was very joyful. It felt like you had a chance to score, which is great. I think a lot of coaches have talked about it. Sometimes it's the law of averages, and sometimes, if it doesn't go your way, eventually it will. We finally got some this past week. We got one Saturday with the bad snap. Getting the interception was huge in the fourth quarter. That game was back and forth in the third, and then we had to blow it open in the fourth quarter because of those mishaps.”
On the defense being able to create pressure on the opposing quarterback and generate sacks
“We're picking and choosing when we're going to get to the quarterback. There's a fine line in there where if you bring pressure, they get out on you, then it's probably going to be a touchdown. But if you don't, then you can keep everything in front of you, it's just a fine line. Obviously, we'd love to shut them down every play and hit sacks and turnovers. But you have to be calculated on what you're doing. Saturday, one time we brought a bunch of pressure, the quarterback got out and he launched one 55 yards in there and hit it on the side. That was a big play for him. Great play by the quarterback and receiver. We tried to get after him right there. But other times we do not. We just rushed three and then have that linebacker spot, we've been able to get some pressure that way. I do think we have to continue to mix it up. We do have to get some pressure on the quarterback. They can't sit back there all day. These guys we’re playing, especially the next five quarterbacks who we’re playing, are really good, as we finish out this season. So it'll be a big test for us this week playing this offense.”
On the difference between Baylor’s offense compared to UC’s last two opponents
“I think it's a difference for sure. Central Florida's quarterback could really run, and last week, he could run as well. This quarterback at Baylor is looking to throw the ball down the field. They do get rid of the ball pretty quickly. They have some really good weapons on the outside. You have to defend it a little bit differently. So that defensively, you don't have to worry about the quarterback taking off and running and getting yards from you. There's different things that we have to worry about, the accuracy that he has, the strong arm that he has, the ability to throw the ball down the field in tight windows, where maybe the last two opponents couldn't do that. There are just some differences that you're going to have to defend more than if you run.”
On Baylor’s defense
“I'm looking at the film, and I’m watching their defense. I think their defense is very good. I'm trying to find the yards that they're giving up, because you start watching these cut-ups and they're not really giving up a lot, it doesn’t look like it to me. I think they're very sound. Their D-line is good, and number zero [Jackie Marshall] is a really good player. Number 11 [Keaton Thomas] is an outstanding linebacker, All-Big 12 linebacker. They're athletic in the back end, but they have given up some points. However, they're in every game. Like last week, you're watching that game. It was three minutes to go. They're down 21, and you think now this game is over with, but TCU fumbles. They pick it up, run it in, they get an onside kick, but they're really right back in the game, it’s incredible. A lead is never not good enough. Especially against this team, the way they can move the ball, and the way they can score. It’s a scary team.”
On if his team is playing with a chip on its shoulder
“They're absolutely playing a chip on their shoulder. I think every time we go out on a practice field or game field, we have something to prove. That's the way they're preparing, and that's what they're trying to do in the games. They're trying to prove something where, anytime you have that mentality, then you're going to give yourself a chance. We talked about this every week; it's all about our process, how we prepare, how we take care of our bodies throughout the week, and it's about Tuesday's practices. It’s like game day for us today. There are so many things I think this team has done a great job of the preparation throughout the week, which is showing up on game day.”
On how this team compares to last year’s team
“I don't know if there's one key difference. We're playing really good as a team. It's not just one side of the ball. All three units have made some great plays for us this year. I think we have each other's backs. If one side needs to pick me up, maybe the other side will pick them up. Special team-wise, it has been very solid this year as well. To me, it's just great team play. We talk about playing clean. We've been a much cleaner team this year, and that's showing up in the way we play on Saturdays.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby
On the approach against Baylor
“Every week has been the mindset of, let's go score as much as possible. Not that this week is necessarily any different. We know the offense that's on the other side of the ball, but every week's the same goal. We have to put up points, and obviously you have to score more than them. So the attention to detail this week in practice will continue to elevate like it has every week, but we definitely have been on our A-game.”
On being able to spread the wealth on offense to several different players
“Whenever you can get the ball to your playmakers, and they can do a lot with it after the catch, that's the end goal. Everybody always wants to see the deep shots as a quarterback, though you can just kind of just sit back there and they can go get you a lot of yards that way. That's definitely fun to see. And we got a lot of talented guys. They can make a lot of plays for us, whether it's our running backs, getting the ball down to them, or receivers with some short routes and then doing extra with it. We have a really talented group of guys, and it's fun out there.”
On Cyrus Allen’s three-touchdown game at Oklahoma State
“He doesn't have too much to say, as long as he's got that going for him. Like I told the media on Saturday after the game, I said I think we probably bought ourselves two more weeks until he'll be back in my ear. He usually never has anything to say, I just usually make it up and give him a hard time. He's a sweetheart, and he's been really good to us.”
On bouncing back after getting sacked
“It's definitely run the play and see what happens. Just trust your guys, is what it comes down to. If you take a sack, just flush the play before, and see what you can do. I think one of the things we've been really good at this year is taking care of the football. We just need to continue to stop putting it in harm's way. But, we have to take some chances on the way there. We need to continue to convert.”
On getting the ball to Jeff Caldwell at Oklahoma State
“It was definitely not what the reader told me to do. I just kind of saw Jeff with some grass, and I said, here goes nothing. Jeff made a great catch on it. They don’t have any questions when it works out, they usually just praise you, but we have to keep having fun out there.”
On if he’s able to feel the team’s rhythm early in the game
“I think it goes back to preparation and trusting your guys as well, and knowing that not everything has to be, you know, a pass on third and long necessarily. We had a couple third and long conversions throughout the game, which ended up being huge for us. Preparation and trusting your guys is all it comes down to. Seeing the defense is film studies throughout the week, and they're going to do different stuff throughout the game that you might not be prepared for. Just trust what you’re seeing out there, and let it rip.”
On the gratification of becoming bowl eligible and seeing the success of this year’s team versus last year’s
“It's great to see more wins than we had last year. But like you just said, it's not the end goal, and everybody in the building knows that. It's a huge stepping stone for us as not only a program, but just as a team. Last year we were 5-2, and then lost five straight. We were 5-1, and we end up winning that one to get over the hump. We should keep this momentum going. Keep taking one game at a time and see where we are within the year. But we're definitely not satisfied in this building. We're ready to get back out there.”
On if he keeps up with the rest of the league
“I'm always going to keep up with the league, but it's really just about us. I think we control our destiny the rest of the way, so we have to take it when we get the time. And that's really all it comes down to. I have some buddies on some other teams, just watching them, nothing too crazy, but keeping up with it. We have to focus on ourselves.”
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