Travis Lewis unloads
Published: 9/25/2011 12:11 PM
Last Modified: 9/28/2011 3:06 PM
Travis Lewis. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
"Horrible. Disappointing. We relaxed. That's what happens. Everybody's disappointed, coaches, players. We gave up 530 yards. We played like a 25- or 30-ranked team. We're not the No. 1-ranked team in the nation right now...
"Maybe players relaxed a little bit. They thought they were better than they were. They started hearing all of the great things, and they started believing them. This is a reality check. It's great that it happened at the beginning of the season, and that it came with a win. But we should have lost this game...
"I thought we had a better maturity level than this. I'm happy that it happened. We'll go back to work starting tomorrow and rebuild...
"We didn't carry that same mentality that we had last week. I don't know why. A team that killed us last year and knocked us off the mountain when we were No. 1… I don't know why players wouldn't prepare the same. I'm disappointed in myself as a captain and a leader of the defense, and disappointed in the guys. The coaches put us in great position. We need to go out there and play, and we didn't tonight...
"It's fortunate that we won. We shouldn't have won that game. They outplayed us. Our offense carried us. We played good for two quarters, but the first and fourth looked like a totally different defense...
"They came out and put up 14 points right away, and we responded. For 2½ quarters, we responded and played lights out. And then the fourth quarter, I don't know what happened. We started giving up stupid plays, speed options, runs… Plays that should go for negative yards went for touchdowns...
"We've got to pound it in their heads that when you're off a little bit and you're the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, everybody's giving you their best. Maybe some guys weren't ready for that. Some guys were feeling like they played great last week and they're going to do it every week. They learned the hard way today...
"I thought we were better than that. I watched just as much film this week as I did last week. I'll watch just as much film this week for Ball State. I'll try to set an example. I don't know. It's very disappointing...
"We gave up 530 yards. We gave up 200-something rushing yards. I don't care what kind of defense we're playing or what the gameplan is, we weren't physical enough. We let them run, we let them throw, we let them get whatever they want. No disrespect to Missouri, but we're a way better defense than that...
"Everything leading up to the game was disappointing. I'm disappointed in myself. I'm disappointed in my teammates. It was an all-around bad game for the defense. The offense saved us tonight."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
