Southeastern Conference
What Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher Said After Facing Alabama
Jimbo Fisher, who was on Nick Saban's coaching staff at LSU, was his first former assistant coach to pull off a win against him.
Saban had been 24-0 against them.
Here's what Fisher had to say following the 41-38 victory at Kyle Field:
Very proud of our players, the way they competed in the game. We knew it was going -- that's a great football team. We played number one in the country. They've got a great program. We knew it was going to be a great game. He had to play well, compete well. And my hat's off to our players. We've had a couple of tough weeks and guys growing up, getting in positions. The experience is starting to show again in the games. They completed played their tails off. Great job to our assistant coaches for keeping our kids in it. Being able to get them prepared, have the right mindset going in it after two tough weeks and what we did. All three phases affected the game: Offense, defense, special teams. We had the points. There was ups and downs and swings in that game. You knew they were going to come back in the second half after our first half after the things we did. I thought our defense was outstanding. Even though they gave up yards, they had some outstanding -- four straight trips right there that either they missed -- got a field goal, got an interception in the red zone. Even though we didn't let them have touchdowns, did a great job there offensively. First half did a good job. Then we had four drives we didn't score. We had three and out. Then we got a penalty. Then we had a high throw and a drop right there on one. Then we had another -- they tackled all three of our receivers, so it's hard to throw the ball to somebody when they tackle all three of your guys and won't call it. So that's a hard one to convert on. And then we had two straight drives that we scored. To get down 38-31, to be behind after being up like that, and to respond back and Zach stood in there and made throws. He got hit in the mouth. But our guys made plays. Our young offensive linemen. I'm talking about [Reuben] Father (Fatheree). He's blocking great players. 64 (Layden Robinson) did a great job. [Bryce] Foster did a great job. Blake Trainor came in and started. Kenyon [Green] back at tackle did a great job. Our backs were chipping and helping and giving protection and giving Zach [Calzada] time to throw. Our receivers got open. We made plays at critical times in the game. Had a great two-minute drive. We worked two-minute to death. Zach getting back off the canvas and taking a hit right there. Didn't know that play was a touchdown. When they said that play was a touchdown, he smiled and went back in and he was fine. That's what it is. That's what football is. You get up off the canvas. You get the heck knocked out of you. You got to go play. You got to go play the next play. People don't care. And that responds to your team. But our whole team did that all night. They stayed in the game and do it now. We got to enjoy this and then right back to work Monday. We have to understand the preparation. We have a very tough place to go play in Missouri and get ready to play this week and next week. Got six more games. Got a lot of football left.
Q. Jimbo, happy birthday, by the way. How did you keep your guys believing that they could pull off something like this after the last two weeks and all the disappointment?
COACH FISHER: Eliminate all the clutter. Eliminate the clutter and win your space. Guys, there isn't no secret to this. Ain't no magical formula. They got to believe in what you tell them. They got to eliminate -- I don't mean this -- all the social media, all the media, good, bad, indifferent. Knock it out. Don't read it. I wouldn't even read it. I don't unless there's something there. You've got to line up and play each and every week. You write your own history. You believe in your own self. And there's going to be trials and tribulations and you're defined by how you respond to adversity. Now you are defined by how you respond to having success. And that's what they got to understand. There's a growing curve in there. They believed in what we were telling them. And our coaches did a heck of a job with our players. Our assistant coaches and our players did a great job of believing and the leadership of the team did.
Q. Personally, your thoughts on how proud of the way Zach [Calzada] specifically played after all he's been through the last couple of weeks.
COACH FISHER: He has. Like I told you, playing quarterback is a lot of saddle time, man. It's the hardest position to play in sports, period. There's not a harder position in any sport to play than quarterback. To be put in situations he's put in, things that are happening, and not with a full team around him, with three receivers missing, two linemen missing, backs, timing, people hurt everywhere, it's hard to go in there. When you're expected to clean up -- you've got other young guys in there, all those linemen, they all had to do it. And they're all growing up the more they play. We had some unfortunate injuries. People don't care, and I don't care. That ain't an excuse. But at the same time, that's reality. And you have to understand there's a difference of what your results are and what the reality of why those results are there, and then you coach through them. We're doing that, and we're still in the process. Just because we won this game don't fix everything. We've got to learn -- prepare and learn to grow from this and understand what we've got to do next week. But very proud of Zach. He's a high-character young man, man. It matters to him. It means something to him. And he's gotten better each week he's played. Each week he's done something. And he's preparing. He's learning how to play the position of quarterback.
Q. First, can you just put into words what this win means for your program after all the work you've put in.
COACH FISHER: It means we're 4-2. We played two games we shouldn't, and we've got six left. And I mean that. It's a great win. It shows you what you're capable of. Now, can we respond and understand how to go prepare like that on Monday and forget this thing and learn the things we did well correct the mistakes and move on and go play a good Missouri team? We'll find out what it means in the future of how we respond to this.
Q. I know you're focused on your guys. But what does it mean to you to be the first of [Nick] Saban's assistants to ever beat him?
COACH FISHER: It doesn't mean anything to me. I don't mean that in any disrespect. Nick is one heck of a football coach. I have known Nick for years. I consider him a great friend. Coached with him, have a lot of respect for him. He has got great teams. The thing that means something to me is our football team is learning to play against other good football teams and have success. That's the important thing to me. It was inevitable. Somebody was going to do it in time. Hey, it happened to be us. That's great. But that doesn't mean anything to me because that's not a goal that I'm trying to talk about or do. I want our organization, our program to do well. That's the only thing I care about.
Q. Jimbo, you mentioned how you guys respond next week in Missouri. But in this game in particular, you guys respond to a special teams touchdown with a special teams touchdown. You also lose the lead and then you come back and have two great drives to win it. What does that mean to how you guys respond?
COACH FISHER: It goes back to what I say: Play the next play. Don't worry about the scoreboard. I say that. I know that sounds crazy to people. Eliminate the scoreboard. The scoreboard will say what you want when you win your job more times than the other guys does. You've got to understand to do that. You've got to keep playing. This game is tough, man. It's a tough game when you play it that way. You've got to play the next play, the next play, the next play. They believed in it, and they did it. It shows a lot of character. But more importantly, it shows a lot of belief in themselves. And it shows a lot of belief that they have in their teammates, which is more important, and then the organization and the structure we're trying to build.
Q. Jimbo, we've kind of been talking a little bit about the offensive link for the past few weeks and how to probably get right. What went into the decision to play Blake [Trainor] inside at guard instead of playing him at tackle this game?
COACH FISHER: We moved in and we had a guy that was not available that we -- violated team rules, and we made a change. Did this morning.
Q. Jimbo, is this the potential that you always knew your team could have this season?
COACH FISHER: Well, we can if we play well. Every team does. Like I say, when you execute, it's amazing. When you're mentally locked in and things go well and you learn to persevere and you learn to push through things, you know, you quit -- when you're young and you make mistakes, like happened in the last two games, they would dwell on them because they were -- not scared but just didn't want to mess up. You can't look that way. You got to live in vision or circumstance. Which one is it? And they're learning to live in vision.
Q. I know we talked a little bit about the mental aspects of Zach [Calzada] overcoming what he had to overcome. What did you see from him technically that made him so successful?
COACH FISHER: He got on top of the ball. He got his feet right, got his shoulders back in place. He pushed the ball back three or four inches which changed the angles of his shoulders and let his hands get on top of the ball and let him drive it. And the one ball he missed he threw a little high. He was sitting on his back foot a little bit with pressure. But like I say, the one he threw for a touchdown, he stood up and got hit right in the chops and fell down and took it. Almost hurt his knee because they fell into it. That's part of it. He grew up. Listen, you're going to get hit either way. So you might as well throw it and make it a good play.
Q. And the pass to [Jalen] Wydermyer at the very end, was there a design in there to try to get --
COACH FISHER: It was going there. Listen, we got into field-goal range. They had to go knock us out of field-goal range. They were going to come in an all-out blitz. They couldn't sit back and not play because we were already in field-goal play. So they had to try to get a negative play, which was going to be a cover zero, which is going to blitz. And we got our tight end -- I knew man-to-man on a 6'5" guy on a safety which is going to have leverage. When they go zero, they're going to be inside leverage. So we had two on each side. We had something on the other side for it. He made the right read going where to we wanted it on the matchup. They had to. That was the name of the game. You've got to knock the other team out of field-goal range and not let them have it.
Q. Coach, can you talk about just the 12th Man and the 106,000, second-largest crowd in the history of stadium.
COACH FISHER: Yes, let me tell you something. That atmosphere and the environment tonight, if you don't want to play in that, there's something wrong with you. That right there, the recruits and the people and the love, that's as good an environment and atmosphere in college football, bar none. I don't care where it's at. Those people were behind you. And I'm thankful we won the game for them, and I mean them. And I mean that, for our players, for everybody who believes in us and especially our fans because, listen, this place deserves a great football team. We're doing everything in our power to make it that way, and we're going to try to get it there. We've got a lot of work to do, and we're growing. This fan base is tremendous, and the atmosphere and environment is the best in college football.
Q. Coach, congratulations. What was the locker room like after the game with the players and the celebration and all that?
COACH FISHER: Very happy, very elated. Very fun. I mean, letting that energy out but also very rewarding in that they -- also understanding why they had the success. They did. After we got down, we danced and that. And everybody was happy and all that good stuff. But when we sit down and talked, they understood why did we do this. We prepared each week. We believed, how we didn't look at the scoreboard, how we played, how we did things. And we got to go right back to that Monday. They understood that and regurgitated that to me. It's important. Winning, if you don't understand why you win or have success, it's wasted. If you don't understand why you make a mistake, why you do it, it's wasted. And you can understand why you had success because you paid the price. You had the preparation. Then you went and played and you overcame. You didn't pout every play. You played every play and you did it. And they were regurgitating. Hopefully, we'll find out if we can do it again.
Q. How did it feel to roll the tide and fulfill your promise of beating [Nick] Saban's ass you made in May?
COACH FISHER: Well, that was more the competitor in me coming out when someone says you can't do something. I have a bad habit of that. I get a little competitive sometimes. But, listen, it doesn't. For our team, it goes back that our team understood and beat a really good football team who was a well-coached, well-played, very talented, good football team and that's what's important to me. I have the upmost respect for Nick Saban, always have, always will. I consider us friends, and I think he does, too. But we're competitors. Like he said, he didn't think he was going to lose to me either. I don't think I'm going to lose to him. That's ball, and I respect him for that. We grew up in the same neck of the woods. We think a lot of the same water.
Q. [Zach] Calzada was receiving quite a bit of negative feed on social media. How did it feel to have him live us to his potential and to actually hear the 12th Man cheering for him tonight?
COACH FISHER: It was great because I understand who he is. I understand his preparation. I understand the mistakes he made, he didn't make on purpose and he's learning. And more importantly, I hope he doesn't read anything on today's. I hope he shuts the old one off and I hope he shuts the new one off. You've got to live in the moment and understand what it is. The social media is the damnation of this world right now. I don't believe in it. I don't buy in it, and I don't think it's good, bad, indifferent. I really do. I understand it's part of here to stay. But as an athlete, it's hard. You've got to block it out. And he can't embrace it all now by blocking it out. He's got to do the same thing he did next week. I'm happy for him as a person because he's a very high-character, quality young man.
Q. Coach, two years in a row Seth Small with a crucial kick to win the game. What has he meant to your program? And what about that kick today?
COACH FISHER: Mr. Consistency. Like I said, he trust the process. When I went out there to him, he said, Got you, Coach. I said, I love you. We're good. That's what I always say to him when he misses it in practice. Trust the process. Go back to fundamentals. He did it and he was very calm and cool. And that was a big kick, man, in a big situation. Very happy for him. Very well deserved.
Q. Coach, in a game with as many swings as this one had, how do you keep the confidence on the sidelines up and make sure the guys --
COACH FISHER: They were ready. They understood what they had to do, and they were challenged. They were coming out to show what kind of character they had. I didn't have to keep -- just go back and remind them, one play at a time. When we were down, I said all we need is one drive, one play at a time, and they did it. [Devon] Achane, he was off the chain. Achane was awesome. And Ainias [Smith] was awesome. [Jalen] Wydermyer. [Isaiah] Spiller is so -- I mean, he's such a good player. I mean, all those guys. You've got [Demond] Demas going again tonight. You had Jalen Preston making big plays. Moose [Muhammad] almost got in there. Of course our quarterback and our line. Defensively, the guys did it. They just kept playing. Achane on the kickoff return, I mean, the guy is a special guy now. He can run, catch throw. And [Isaiah] Spiller. We got them. We just got to get them in the position to keep getting them the ball.
This story will be updated with video of the press conference
