MONROE, La. – ULM head coach Todd Berry, running back Centarius Donald and linebacker Ray Stovall met with members of the media in advance of Saturday's Sun Belt Conference contest against UL-Lafayette.
ULM Head Coach Todd Berry:
Opening Statement…
“It's difficult to continue to come up here and talk about the same things. This group continues to go to work, and they continue to prepare. I'm very pleased with their energy and their attitude towards this. We're not where we want to be right now. We've got to finish some games. After the last three games that we've played, we could be sitting there 6-3 very easily.
Someone asked me this question earlier: is it better to lose by a large margin or is it better to lose in the last seconds like we have basically lost the last three? The last second-ones, as I have said multiple times I'm not a good loser, are the ones that just rip at you emotionally. This last week against Appalachian State it rip at us emotionally. Very similar to the previous two games, we had some opportunities early on to put the game away. Something we have got to learn how to do is finish.
Offensively, we scored a few more points than what we have been scoring. There has been some work there, and I am pleased with the fact of where we are along those lines. It's a little more frustrating defensively. The two minute drives here of late have caught up with us. Appalachian State had one right at the end of the half and then on at the end of game. We work on that extremely hard. Very few teams in the entire country probably spend as much time on it as we do in preseason camp, in spring practices and on a weekly basis. Those are the things we have to learn how to fix.
We also could have recognized who we can be. It is very important to know what we can do and what we are capable of. We have chosen to focus on that right now instead of focusing on what everyone else has decided to focus on. We are excited about this game. It's a big game for us because obviously it is the next game and a conference game. Any time you are playing your in-state rival, you have to live with this one a little longer on a day-to-day basis. That's what makes rivalry games more special.
This one has continued to be even more intriguing because of the past ballgames and how close they have been. We recognize that Lafayette has a really good football team. We have tremendous respect for them as a team and where they are at right now. They have continued to improve over the course of the season. They started off slow, but they have really picked it up in that time frame. We have to respond accordingly knowing that they have momentum at this point and time and go out and play really great football. I know I say that every week, but that's the key. If you go out and play great football, everything else seems to take care of itself. We need to go out and play great football this weekend.”
