Football Press Conference

Head Coach Chip Lindsey

Opening Statement
I was very disappointed that we didn't get the win. Offensively, I think we played probably about bad as we could have. With that being said, we did have a chance to win the game at the end. We never got into a rhythm and put ourselves in poor positions on first down which made for a lot of long second and third downs. Overall, it was a missed opportunity for us on the road. We need to coach better and play better. It's my responsibility for us to play better offensively. I was really disappointed in how we executed what we were doing. It's something that we're working hard to correct. We did that starting on Sunday night, so hopefully we'll get a chance to redeem ourselves this week.

As the quarterback, you got a lot of the credit when things go well and a lot of the blame when things don't. It was a combination of things. Jacob [Free] didn't play his best game and he knows that, but we have to play better around him. We need to make sure we commit to all of the little details. We need to protect better up front and at the running back spot.

It seemed like all day we were hurting ourselves. Give Georgia Southern a lot of credit, they played extremely hard, but we missed a lot of great opportunities. When you make mistakes against a team like Georgia Southern, it can really hurt you because they do such a good job of limiting the other team's possessions. We need to figure out how to get better on the offensive side of the ball.

On the defensive effort
I was really pleased with how our defense played on Saturday. Our guys had a great plan. We held them to just 20 points and only two touchdowns which was great. And then we scored another touchdown on defense which was unbelievable. We held a good football team to just 20 points despite being on the field way too much. We tackled well in space and did a good job of playing disciplined. We need to continue to take steps each week and continue to get better on that side of the ball, but I'm really pleased with the effort.

On the missed field goal
We were solid overall, but we missed another easy field goal. We have to get that corrected and figure out what's going on there. In practice we evaluate our guys and we put the guy out there that we feel has the best chance to make them. Some guys kick it well in practice and it doesn't translate to the game. It's not always the kicker's fault. It's also on the kicker and the holder, but we've got to figure that out because we've missed some opportunities this season by missing kicks.

On Jack Martin
Jack was really solid Saturday, and he was named Sun Belt Special Team Player of the Week. He did an unbelievable job of punting the ball with good hang time and kicked off well too. Jack is very talented and has brought a lot to our program. It was exciting to see him get rewarded for his efforts.

On Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina is a very solid football team. Jamey Chadwell is in year three now and you can see him doing a good job of adding pieces to this team. They're very talented and undefeated for a reason. They're playing really sound football in all three phases and complimenting each other well. They really don't have a lot of weaknesses.

On defense, their front sticks out. They're very big, athletic and disruptive. They play six guys that cause a lot of issues for the opposing offense. We'll have to have a really good plan to handle them.

They're a tough offense to handle because they're very multiple. They make you play sound football and can hurt you with their wide receivers. To me, the biggest difference is their new QB Grayson McCall. He can run and throw and is a good player that is playing with a lot of confidence. He's having a great year and is a fantastic player. And then they have three really good backs.

They have a very solid football team and have picked up two big road wins already this season at Louisiana and Kansas. It's a great opportunity for us, and I know our guys are extremely excited to play these guys at home. We'll need to play really well in three phases and have a great week of practice. If we can do that and our guys are able to refocus, we'll have an opportunity to do something really special.

On Gunnar Watson
I wish I knew how close he was to coming back. We're hopeful, but we were hopeful last week too. I don't want to play him until I'm convinced that he can protect himself and he's comfortable. Gunnar would have played two weeks ago if we would have let him. Now he's going to need to prove to us on the field that he's ready. Again, we're hopeful that he'll be ready to go. It's a tough injury because it's an area that's difficult to make a call on. We'll see how much practice time he'll get this week and make a decision. At the same time, we need to figure out our backup spot. Whomever plays at quarterback this week will need to be prepared and ready to play well and do what we're asking them to do.

On the backup quarterback spot:
Anytime you don't have the performance that you want you evaluate everything. We're going to get several guys reps this week. Again, we're hopeful that Gunnar will be back this week, but we need to be ready in case he doesn't. Last week we were in a similar situation. All of our quarterbacks will get reps this week in practice and then we'll decide on which quarterback is our best option this week. That will be based on practice performance which is how Jacob won the backup quarterback spot in the first place. Jacob made some good plays against Georgia State and played really well at Arkansas State, so we felt really good about him going into the Georgia Southern game. Overall, we need to do a better job as an offensive unit regardless of who is at quarterback.

On what's impressed him about the defense
They continue to improve and are play really good team defense. Everyone is doing their job more consistently. We're doing a great job of limiting the explosive plays. Through seven games I'm really pleased with the progress that we've made. And then we have a few guys that are making an impact that weren't here last year that are making a difference. And then we have some guys who played last year who have gotten better and matured some. They understand the game better and what Brandon Hall and his staff are asking them to do. Assignment football is where it starts, and you're seeing those guys play really good assignment football.

Troy University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jack Martin

Gunnar Watson

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