Scott Frost on the 27-20 loss to Kansas: "That's heartbreaking"
Scott Frost expressed disappointment following UCF’s 27-20 home loss to Kansas, a game that saw the Knights squander a 14-point lead and come up empty on three goal-line chances late in the fourth quarter.
Here’s everything he had to say in his postgame press conference:
Opening statement
“Disappointing, proud of the way the guys kept battling. I don’t think we have anybody in the locker room that’s going to quit. We’re awfully close to where we need to be to win some of these games. We haven’t done it yet.”
On not being able to score with three chances from the 1-yard line, and whether he thought Cam Fancher scored
“I don’t know if he got in or not. The two replays I saw, someone was blocking it. It looked like the ball landed in the end zone, but I’m on the field, I don’t know.
“Did a great job getting the ball down there to the one. We got to be able to punch that in and if I need to get more creative, then that’s what I need to do. So that’s on me.”
On what happened to Tayven Jackson, and how Cam Fancher responded
“Nothing major on Tayven, x-rays were negative, so feel good about that. For being out for a while and coming back off injury and not getting many reps, I thought Cam went in and played well.”
On what happened to the offense in the third quarter, being held to -1 yards
“I’m going to have to answer that at the (Monday) press conference this week. I thought the whole game turned on our first drive of the third quarter. If we’d have got something going there and went and got points, the whole thing’s different.
“We made mistakes. Offensively, we played about as well as we could play in the first half. Other than finishing a drive or two, well one drive with a touchdown instead of field goal, but we had four possessions and I thought we executed really well.
“We came out in the second half and the first downs were bad. We missed a block on a counter, we missed a block on a wide zone on the first down and set us back. We got to be better than that in the third quarter.
“It felt a lot like the first quarter last week and you got to play a complete game to win.”
On how UCF’s defense contained Kansas QB Jalon Daniels
“If you’d have told me they’d have had 27 points, I would have felt good about our chances, especially having 20 at halftime. I don’t know if I’ve been a part of one like that where it changed so drastically. We ended up playing a lot of guys that are good players, haven’t played a lot.
“I really respect (tight end) Dylan Wade for trying to be out there. He just couldn’t reach for the ball because of his shoulder. A lot of young guys, at tight end and receiver are playing.
“The frustrating thing is we ran the ball really well in the first half. I thought the offensive line did an unbelievable job and just wasn’t there to start drives in the second half.”
On whether Kansas did anything differently in the second half
“Again, I’m always going to give the opponent credit. I thought they did a really good job. They played harder in the second half, I thought.
“Their defense, you get something different on every play. It isn’t like they’re in one scheme and they made adjustments to that scheme. You never get the same thing two plays in a row from them.
“It’s quarter, quarter, half. It’s cover three. It’s man. It’s blitz. It’s cover two. We had a lot of stuff in that could handle all of that. We didn’t handle it as well in the third quarter.”
On Kansas’ rush defense in the second half
“No, I thought we just blocked well in the first half. Popped a couple plays open. That’s why the first drive of the third quarter was so vital, in my opinion.
“Because if we go down and get points and stay ahead, we can stay in some of our bigger sets and run some of the things that we’re working. Once there was a little pressure on us to keep moving down the field and some of the schemes that we were running early on weren’t as easy for us to access.
“It’s a lot like the first quarter last week. You’ve got to get first downs and get drives going and get more opportunities to snap the ball and run some of those things.”
On the injury status of DT Horace Lockett
“Yeah, Horace tore his pec muscle and he had surgery Friday. So that’ll be season ending for him. He’s been great at the beginning of the season. So I feel terrible for him.”
On when Horace Lockett’s injury occurred
“Kansas State game, we didn’t know what it was until later in the week.”
More on the defense containing Kansas QB Jalon Daniels
“They do a good job on offense. They run a lot of things and he’s able to make them work. You’ve got to expect that some of their little wrinkles are going to hit you. I thought we did a pretty good job shutting that down. What’s frustrating is quarterback sneaks for a lot of yards and split zones for a lot of yards.
“Just like if I had to point to two things tonight, it was the offensive first drive in the third quarter, and when you get a team down in the first quarter by two scores, man, if the defense can get a stop, you can put yourself in control of the game.
“And we’ve got to step up in those situations. And it feels like at times when momentum’s on our side that we’re a really good team, and then at other drives it just feels like we’re clunky and false starting and not getting stops. And we’ve got to play complete games.”
On the defense holding teams scoreless in the first quarter during all 5 games this season, and what changes after that
“Yeah, I don’t know if I can answer that. I think that’ll even out over time. I would point to the assistant coaches doing a good job getting guys ready to play on defense.
“We’ve got to sustain it for fourth quarters. We can’t be really good for three drives and then not good for another. Same thing on offense. It’s just more consistency.”
On how he’d evaluate QB Tayven Jackson’s performance prior to his injury
“He did everything we asked him to do in the first half, but we stayed ahead of the chains. We put him in good situations that first half. In the second half, we had a lot of third and longs, and you’re just not going to convert on as many of those.
“So we’ve got to do a better job around whoever’s playing quarterback to make sure we put him in a good situation.”
On where Cam Fancher was in terms of preparation, and if he was taking all the #2 reps during practice
“Yeah, he took the two reps this week.”
On the frustration of two straight losses
“I think so. Yeah, I’m careful to compare things. This feels a lot like 2016 to me, and some of you guys were around for that. Some of you weren’t, but we were a good enough team to beat a lot of people, and we lost to Maryland out here in overtime, and had Temple on the ropes and didn’t get it done.
“The next year, we got a little better, and we won all those games. I don’t want to wait until next year, though. This team’s good enough to win some of these games, and we just got to be this much better in all phases and more consistent.”
On the play-calling decisions at the goal line and whether he considered calling an outside play
“Yeah, honestly, I thought we could get it in running it. We got to be able to get a half a yard. On first down, I thought we could sneak it in. We didn’t. I want to get the ball in Myles’ hands because he’s a guy that I trust, and we didn’t get it there. We tried to run an off-tackle play with our quarterback. I don’t know if he was in or not, but that’s heartbreaking for the kids. I feel terrible for the kids.”
On the offense only coverting 4-of-16 on third down
“Again, in the first half, we stayed ahead of the chains, and third downs are easier when it’s third and medium to third and short, and particularly when we’re in their half of the field. Sometimes we’re running plays on third down to go for it on fourth down. The entire third quarter, it was third and short.
“At some point there, we had a lot of young receivers on the field, young tight ends, and a new quarterback. We got to keep working with these guys and make sure we can execute because that’s not good enough.”
On costly penalties, including false starts
“Yeah, again, first half, I thought we played discipline and penalty free, and that’s two weeks in a row right when we get down. I think the first drive of the fourth quarter, we had it rolling. Had a second and eight. Liked the play call we were in, and we false started. That killed that drive for all intents and purposes. We had a lot of chances to at least send this one to overtime or have a chance to go for two.”
On how the offense worked with Cam Fancher
“Well, he created some things with his legs, and one thing I know Cam’s going to do is make the right read and the correct play with the ball. We had a really close quarterback competition with three guys, and they’re all three capable. So we’ll see where we are next week.”
On playing younger receivers in this game
“Yeah, if I’m being honest, I need to do a better job. I put a lot of this one on me. We got to find ways to create points in the second half.
“That being said, we’re just going to have to work through this and keep pushing and working to get better. Waden (Charles) was out there as a freshman, and Carl (Jenkins) was out there. Speedy (Duane Thomas Jr.) was gimpy. D-Wade tried to go and just couldn’t. The running backs are one thing that’s been stable for us through this thing.
“But we’re going to have to fast-track those young guys, and they’re really good players and capable. Really, they’re just lacking game experience. They got some tonight.
“I just wish it would have turned out different.”
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