Transcript: Everything Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett Said After 41-28 Win Over Western Michigan, Ahead Of Open Date

Everything Mississippi State head Coach Zach Arnett said in his postgame press conference following the victory over Western Michigan.

Mississippi State improved to an overall record of 3-3 on Saturday after a 41-28 victory over the visiting Western Michigan Broncos (2-4).

The transcript from head coach Zach Arnett's postgame press conference is as follows:

Question: "Any updates on the injuries to Will (Rogers) and Woody (Marks)?"

Zach Arnett: "No updates. We’ll get them back to the facility and do a thorough evaluation. Those guys are warriors, they didn’t want to come out. That’s why I appreciate coaching guys like that. They’re Bulldog mentality guys."

Q: "What did you see from your defense?"

ZA: "I think we gave up one conversion, started really good on both sides of the ball. We emphasized starting fast. Offense comes out and scores 10 points on its first two drives, defense is getting off the field. It’s 17-0, and then we give up a third-down conversion when we don’t tackle well. They throw short of the sticks, but then the momentum flipped on us. We had trouble getting in back until the end of the game. They brought a different quarterback, he found some things in zone coverage, and found some throws. The guys aren’t satisfied. We’ll utilize this bye week to highlight the ways we need to improve. We’re facing a lot of good teams in the second half and it’s time to make our run. We have a chance to get freshened up, really evaluate what we’re doing wrong on both sides of the ball."

Q: "What did you see from Brice Pollock and the defensive secondary?"

ZA: "Any time you get a true freshman significant snaps…the only way to develop at this game is to play this game. To have a true freshman show the promise to get on the field immediately, get a lot of reps, that’s the best thing for his development. He was in coverage on that fourth and short, and made several other plays. He’s made quite a few plays on special teams, we’re excited about his development."

Q: "What did you think of Mike Wright’s play?"

ZA: "Every time his number has been called, he’s answered the call. He’s provided a spark for our offense. We said he would get more opportunities, it allows us to expand the package for him, and he answered the call again. We had two quarterbacks do a lot to spark our offense today."

Q: "What are you seeing on those turnovers right before half?"

ZA: "You have to protect the football. That was a kickoff return. They’re kicking it different places because of our returners, and the threat they are, so other guys carry the ball. You can’t have poor ball security, particularly in that situation. Now, the opponent gets an additional drive deep in your territory before the half. Glad the defense forced a field goal attempt and missed kick. But you can’t give additional possessions."

Q: "What enabled Freddie Roberson to get in this position?"

ZA: "He took advantage of his opportunities. You create momentum in a game by making plays. The long touchdown catch where he went over the defender, that’s what you need outside receivers to do. You’ll be in tight man-to-man coverage and you’ve got to be able to go up and make plays. He had a few other good catches and runs after the catch. He’s seen increased opportunities because Justin Robinson has not been able to go the last two weeks. That’s good for our development as a team."

Q: "What did you think of Seth and Keyvone today?"

ZA: "There was a reason we were excited that Keyvone came here from Penn State. He’s a bigger, physical back, who can break tackles. Seth was an early enrollee and got a jump on learning the offense and getting carries. He’s kind of a slasher, he finds the seams in there, and accelerate out of it/"

Q: "What do you think of the way Mike has accepted his role?"

ZA: "It’s great. He’s a great team guy. He’s emblematic of a lot of our guys. He’s tough, physical and ready to do whatever he needs to do to help the team, no matter the role. Mike is one, and so is Will. Two guys who can push each other and bring different flavor to the offense, that’s really good because it makes the defense prepare for more."

Q: "Was Tulu (Griffin's) absence injury related or coaches decision?"

ZA: "Internal matter. Not going into specifics, but we have standards and expectations, and accountability is one of them. To his credit, he came out and provided a spark to the offense."

Q: "Did you sense any emotion from the guys in the locker room afterward?"

ZA: "They’re 18 to 22 year old guys, they’re not big on showing their emotions. But winning is hard. When you lose everyone is frustrated. These guys have put in the work. They’ve done what we’ve asked them to do. Came out and got a hard-fought victory. They deserve to enjoy this one. Go into the bye week, take advantage of it, get some guys rested up – bumps and bruises – and go into the second half of the season."

Q: "What do you think caused the flip in control?"

ZA: "The third down conversion and then let a drive get going, they go down the field and score a touchdown. That gets them a little momentum. They kickoff and you turn it over. That gets them a little more momentum. College football is a game of momentum. The only way to take it back is to make a play. We went through a stretch where we weren’t executing as well, and not making as many plays as they were. Credit to the offense, particularly. We get the second half kickoff and go down and score. We don’t stop them, and the offense scores again. There was only one other possession in the second half where we didn’t come out with points. The offense did a tremendous job of answering the call. That’s what good teams do. Struggle on one, the other side picks them up. Then we were able to get some stops."

Q: "Where are you most pleased and where do you need to see improvement?"

ZA: "I think we’ve been more consistent offensively. Depending upon how the other defense defends us…it’s about putting points on the scoreboard and we did that today. Defensively, it’s been a little feast or famine, but we have spurts where we play good defense. We need to improve our consistency. We need to give some guys more reps, and we need to do a better job of executing on a consistent basis. I’m very confident in this locker room...it’s full steam into the rest of the season. We’re in control of our own destiny."

Q: "What do you think about the consistency in the red zone?"

ZA: "When you’re in the red zone, it’s all about converting touchdowns. I do think there was one drive we got into the red zone, a penalty took us out, and then we missed a field goal. Turnovers are critical stats, conversions, and how do you finish in the red zone."