Will Hall on 31-20 Loss to K-State: Missed Opportunities Doom Tulane

Sign up for the weekly On Si Tulane Newsletter here.

Tulane coach Will Hall spoke before the media after Saturday's 31-20 loss to Kansas State. The Green Wave is now 1-2 on the season.

Hall's Opening Statement

Obviously, good start for us. The 91-yard drive to drive it and score and take the lead was big. We had some other opportunities right there before the half.

You know, hit a guy in the hands right there on about the five-yard line that would have got us down to the three. You know, we get that ball in the end zone right there that could have made a big difference in a game like this. You know, I thought the difference in the game was the explosive plays, their ability to make them, specifically their quarterback, and our inability to make a lot of explosive plays.

We had our opportunities. We just didn't come down with the ball a few times. And when you look at the overall stats, that's pretty much the difference, was they had about six real-deal explosive plays off the top of my head, and we didn't have that many.

And, you know, when you look at the total number of first downs, you know, third-down conversions and those things, I want to give Cooper Helmke a shout-out for a school-record 58-yard field goal and then two 50-plus yarders in one game. Really proud of that young man and everything he's had to overcome with his injuries to bounce back and his first college opportunity to do that. He's got a bright future.

There were some things we did good. Like I said, the 91-yard drive early. On D, I thought we settled in and really kept them out of the end zone for a long time. We played good red zone defense.

And then in the second half, they drove it and scored to create that two-touchdown lead. And we had our opportunity right there driving it to midfield. We had a third and one and did not convert offensively, which is inexcusable, to not be able to get a third and one right there.

I mean, we got to dadgum bow up and make those blocks and get that one yard because if we get that right there, we're at midfield with a chance to get it back to a one-score game. So I'm disappointed in those things. We've got to continue to improve.

They're a really good football team. My hat's off to them and Coach Kline. They play football the right way.

They play great, complimentary football. You know, that's why going into this game, they had dismantled both of their opponents. And we had our opportunities to make it closer than it was, but just didn't make the plays to do it. And I certainly accept responsibility for that.

The third down, that's been a problem. You played a lot better today, obviously, then you used to, but the third downs have been a consistent problem in three games. What is the key to that?

I think two things. Number one, we've got to tackle better and we've got to do some things to get off the field ourselves and control what we can control. The other two things is we played two experienced, really good, mobile quarterbacks that have gotten a lot of those third downs with their feet.

And we've got to find a way to solve that issue as this season goes on because those two aren't the last two we're going to play. I do want to give Avery Johnson, their quarterback, a lot of credit. Great, great football player. He's been a good football player for a long time. He made some crucial, crucial plays. I thought we got off the field better in the first half. In the second half, you know, we just couldn't find a way to do it right there. He made some big-time plays. We had him corralled one time and he hit the sideline.

I thought our guys played extremely hard, but we've got to continue to get better.

Their first possession in the second half, it looked like a guy was stopped short on a catch near your sideline on the third down. I know there are no coach's challenges, but did you expect the replay review to look at that and what was your view of that?

Yeah, we certainly thought he was short. They (the officials) didn't, you know, when I asked them about the review, they told me that they were looking at it upstairs and verified the spot, so, you know, I mean, it is what it is on that.

Passing game, you had the one big play early, then struggled for a while after that. Running was pretty effective, but what do you think were the big issues early?

I think they were giving us the run. You know, they were playing too high and playing bracket defense, and, you know, like I said, we had a big play wheel route that we didn't come down with. We had a big play seam to the three. They hit us right dead in the hands, so you get those two. You know, those are two explosives right there in the first half that give you a chance to bust that thing open a little bit, so we got to make those plays when they hit us in the hands. Outside of that, we were kind of doing what we do offensively, which is taking what they give us, and they were giving us the run. I was pleased with the run except for the negative runs. We had a few outside zones where we got tackled for a loss, and that put us behind the chains, and we got to obviously not have those.

You mentioned Cooper (Helmke) helping most teams would take a sack on the third half. In that situation, in the third half, was there any hesitation all of a sudden out there for that 58-yarder?

I just felt like at the time in the game with the way the game was trending, I also knew they got the ball to start the second half. I felt like to give the ball back to them right there without points could have been a critical turning point in the game, and I thought Coop, I see him do it every day at practice.

I knew he had the wind behind him, so he was just going to be able to (have) nice and easy hit it as strong as his leg is, and obviously I believed in him and had faith in him. I just thought the risk was worth the reward right there because we get it back to them at midfield, you know, with the amount of time left, maybe we can get it back because I knew they got the ball to start the second half. If we got the ball to start the second half, I might punt it right there, but I just have a lot of faith in Coop and was excited for him. That was big for Coop and big for our (Jason) Arredondo, our snapper, and our holder, and the whole unit, but just really excited for Coop because he's a young man that loves Tulane. He's battled through some injuries, and for him to get his first opportunity and it to be that opportunity, him to take advantage of it, man, just couldn't be happier for him.

(Linebacker) Dalton (Hughes), got hurt early. He did come back. That left you a little short at linebacker. How much did that help you to turn it up?

Yeah, it was huge, you know, Makai (Williams) and Dickson(Agu) and Dalton and then J.C. (Jean Claude Joseph III) right there with losing Chris (Rodgers). We need those guys, and I was excited that Dalton was okay.

Maurice (Mo Turner) had some big days today. You said just the opportunity had arisen. You may be getting Jamari back next week, certainly by the confidence, but how much confidence you have in all of them?

I do. I've got confidence in all of them. You saw Maurice. You saw Johnnie (Daniels) making some plays today. Of course, Jaylen (Lucas) never got loose today. They were keying on him pretty good. Obviously, he got loose last week, but all those guys can play, like we've been saying, and we've got to continue to accentuate those guys and what they do well.

You mentioned Avery Johnson and just facing a couple, like, mobile quarterbacks early on in the season. What will it take to contain that better? Because, obviously, he had 152 yards on the ground today.

Number one, we've got to win a one-on-one within the trenches when we're getting hatted up. You know, obviously, he has space, so to get leverage on a quarterback, we've got to win a one-on-one. We've got to get off blocks better. We've got to restrict space better, and we may have to put our DBs more in one-on-one situations to get another hat down there to do that. Like I said, I thought early in the game, we were doing a good job of it. As the game wore on, I thought he made more and more plays and got a little bit more space, and he made one great play down their sideline where he kind of sucked us all in, and we had him corralled, and then he hit the sideline. And he's a great player, but certainly we have ownership in that. We've got to win more one-on-one blocks. We've got to get on edges more, and we've got to restrict space more.

Add us as a preferred source on Google