2021 Chattanooga Mocs Football
Austin Peay – Sept. 2 – Finley Stadium
Postgame Quotes
 
Head Coach Rusty Wright
 
On the penalties in the first half:
"You can't anything going. Just stupid penalties. I mean we got a guy blocking a guy whose helmet comes off, you got to turn him lose… You can't keep blocking him. That's credit to [Austin Peay], they got after it up front and played hard. They got after those guys and played like you're supposed to play."
 
On Austin Peay responding offensively after each Chattanooga score:
"We knew it was coming. I did a poor job at practice helping these guys understand what we had to do throughout the course of the game. We didn't do some basic football things defensively to handle situations and take care of plays."
 
Positive takeaways from this game:
"We've got guys that can play. We have a good football team. We can get so much better, it's not even funny. We were close a couple times to being in the right play and having things go our way. They fumbled two punts and they got them back. We were right there, and we need to find a way to make those things happen."
 
On accessing this team vs. the team in the spring:
"Austin Peay made us play. There were a lot of differences in us and they played in a way we don't see a lot in our league. We didn't play well enough to get it done."
 
On the offense following Dowdell's second interception:
"There were a couple times I wish we were more aggressive. In the first half we go from third and three and getting the first down to getting a penalty and it goes to third and eight, that changes the dynamic of that drive. We were in a position to get points. When there were seven or eight minutes left and I was already thinking about being able to kick a field goal, but they did what good defenses do, they stopped you. They found a way to get it done."
 
Brandon Dowdell, Sr.-DB
On the defensive mindset after interceptions and the offense was not able score: 
"We always have a mentality that we are one of the best defenses. We go out there and believe we can stop them and we have trust in our offense that they can put points on the board. It's just our first game and better games are coming."
 
On the tiredness of the defense during the final possession:
"We were pretty exhausted. With it being the first game, you have the nerves. Now we have the first game out of the way, we still have our goals in mind. It's a long season and we have plenty of games ahead."
 
On bouncing back from this loss:
"As veterans and leaders on the team, we have to hold each other accountable. Great teams with great leadership and good players don't lose two games in a row. That's our focus, take it one step at a time, one practice at a time and get back in the film room."