Opening statements: All right, good evening, everybody, and again, appreciate you guys for hanging in there. First and foremost, I just wanted to thank the crowd because they were incredible tonight. They certainly were a factor, and that type of a showing with so many, again, our players appreciate it, alumni appreciate it, certainly all the recruits here today got a chance to see what Hard Rock looks like in full force. And then credit to Florida State. They certainly, they played their tails off. And then credit to our guys, because I could sit here and rattle off a million mistakes and errors that we need to correct, but we just kept playing. We just kept battling, just kept on just finding a way until we finally got the momentum and then making a couple plays that were the difference in the game. So a lot to cover, so I won't even start. I'll just wait for questions.
On potentially being ranked No. 1 tomorrow: Well, I think we have a good enough sample size of 2026 to know that that's absolutely insignificant and irrelevant with the changing of the guard from week to week. It just has no value to our processes and whatnot. I'll focus on the real one that's important: the 1-0.
On Bryce Fitzgerald making the play of the night after going out with an injury: Yeah, we thought he was hurt pretty bad early in the game. He went in there and they checked him out, and he didn't want to be held back, came back out, and was all over the field. He gets us in the right checks, does a lot of stuff back there that's sometimes unseen, but almost came up with another big play as well, but found a way to get that ball, and that was one **** of a contested catch by him. So lots of love for Bryce Fitzgerald.
On what changed after a slow start to the second half: We had to be generic, but execution. You look at some of the blocks that could have been finished. You look at some of the holes that could have been hit. You look at some of the reads that could have been made more efficiently and on point. We were very out of character for a large part of this game. You've got to keep playing, and you've got to find your way back. You've got to regain your focus on what has allowed you to be successful, and it doesn't always just end up being perfectly synchronized. You got to just keep working until it does. And we found ourselves working our way back, and then we get hit with a play and go into overtime. That's when your pride and your strength and conditioning program have to take over. So a lot of stuff to fix and a lot of positives.
On fighting back in overtime: Yeah, I like to quote a great mentor of mine, **** Tomey, the late **** Tomey, who was an incredible, incredible mentor. He used to always say, when your team is right and the heads are right and the hearts are right, there's no bad play. There's no injury. There's no swing of momentum, no penalty. There's nothing that you can't overcome. And we created a lot of our issues tonight and Florida State made a lot of plays tonight as well. And we just kept coming, and the energy was changing bit by bit by bit. And everybody had a hand in it. There were lots of guys that most of them that have played a lot, but some other guys that got some more significant downs. I thought it was great to see Jordan Lyle tonight run hard the way he did. It certainly was a factor in the game, and Mallory as well, along with Mark. So, I could go on and on, but I'll just stick to the questions you guys got.
On Mark Fletcher status: Yeah, he got banged up. I think he's okay. He kind of finished. So, you know, Mark's as tough as nails, man. There's nothing gonna keep him out.
On the 1-0 culture: I know it's something that we don't have any slogans on the walls or we don't, create stuff just to create it. We really pride ourselves in showing up and going to work and doing the things that are necessary to keep our feet in the ground, mentally be grounded as well, just focus on getting better. And 1-0 kind of, it hits that directly. There's no looking past. There's nothing about looking ahead. And the bottom line is it's, you've seen enough this week and throughout the course of college football every year, and now even more so. And I'll be the transfer portal changes things, right? Everybody has good players. And if you think you're going to show up and just automatically win, you're going to get your *** beat, okay? We know they have good players, and everyone here knows when these two teams get together, it's a bloodbath. And they'd rather, you have to be carried off to quit before you give in a game like this. There's no tap button in a game like this. Again, and I love this game. This is a game that, again, best game in the country, my favorite game of the year. Don't know if I answered your question.
On the emotion in the locker room: In there, I think there was a lot of gratitude for the guys that laid it on the line. There's some guys that are missing now that would have loved to take part in this game, and they're sitting there with us, right? Some guys are on crutches. Some guys are in a sling. And when you get to play in this game, right, this special rivalry, it means a lot to everybody, and to find a way to win like we did, it just speaks loudly to the fact that this team has the confidence, despite errors made, despite issues that we caused ourselves, that we can find a way, you know? And we found a way.
On Darian Mensah overcoming a slow start: Yeah, we talked about their DBs. Their DBs close on the ball on film, probably, a bit better than the ones that we had been playing against. And there were some extended plays where he made some tremendous throws, and then another one where, they got us and they picked it. But I think this, and I think we've all seen it: Darian is about as resilient and as tough as it gets. The guy has football amnesia, he doesn't. He's not caught up in the previous play. Do his little thing with his boys and his little mini celebration. That's it. It's on to the next one. And I know you guys aren't privy to the things that are said, talked about in between series and whatnot—but this guy is, he's a special cat now. It's all, completely all focused on what's the next thing we have to do, whether it's a run or pass. He's just, how do we keep finding a way to move the ball and win the game.
On the last two plays: I mean, I saw the flag, so I thought there was, more than likely a hold. But as while they call a touchdown and we're waiting for the flag, it's just on their defending two and offense, hey, get ready because now it's all two-point conversion. So process-oriented. You just wait for them to talk it over, figure it out, then you go. But there's no drama during it for us. It's like, does it suck moment? Yeah, like it sucks, but it's like quickly processing and getting to the next thing necessary to move on. And that's the way we roll.
On potentially being ranked No. 1 tomorrow: Well, I think we have a good enough sample size of 2026 to know that that's absolutely insignificant and irrelevant with the changing of the guard from week to week. It just has no value to our processes and whatnot. I'll focus on the real one that's important: the 1-0.
On Bryce Fitzgerald making the play of the night after going out with an injury: Yeah, we thought he was hurt pretty bad early in the game. He went in there and they checked him out, and he didn't want to be held back, came back out, and was all over the field. He gets us in the right checks, does a lot of stuff back there that's sometimes unseen, but almost came up with another big play as well, but found a way to get that ball, and that was one **** of a contested catch by him. So lots of love for Bryce Fitzgerald.
On what changed after a slow start to the second half: We had to be generic, but execution. You look at some of the blocks that could have been finished. You look at some of the holes that could have been hit. You look at some of the reads that could have been made more efficiently and on point. We were very out of character for a large part of this game. You've got to keep playing, and you've got to find your way back. You've got to regain your focus on what has allowed you to be successful, and it doesn't always just end up being perfectly synchronized. You got to just keep working until it does. And we found ourselves working our way back, and then we get hit with a play and go into overtime. That's when your pride and your strength and conditioning program have to take over. So a lot of stuff to fix and a lot of positives.
On fighting back in overtime: Yeah, I like to quote a great mentor of mine, **** Tomey, the late **** Tomey, who was an incredible, incredible mentor. He used to always say, when your team is right and the heads are right and the hearts are right, there's no bad play. There's no injury. There's no swing of momentum, no penalty. There's nothing that you can't overcome. And we created a lot of our issues tonight and Florida State made a lot of plays tonight as well. And we just kept coming, and the energy was changing bit by bit by bit. And everybody had a hand in it. There were lots of guys that most of them that have played a lot, but some other guys that got some more significant downs. I thought it was great to see Jordan Lyle tonight run hard the way he did. It certainly was a factor in the game, and Mallory as well, along with Mark. So, I could go on and on, but I'll just stick to the questions you guys got.
On Mark Fletcher status: Yeah, he got banged up. I think he's okay. He kind of finished. So, you know, Mark's as tough as nails, man. There's nothing gonna keep him out.
On the 1-0 culture: I know it's something that we don't have any slogans on the walls or we don't, create stuff just to create it. We really pride ourselves in showing up and going to work and doing the things that are necessary to keep our feet in the ground, mentally be grounded as well, just focus on getting better. And 1-0 kind of, it hits that directly. There's no looking past. There's nothing about looking ahead. And the bottom line is it's, you've seen enough this week and throughout the course of college football every year, and now even more so. And I'll be the transfer portal changes things, right? Everybody has good players. And if you think you're going to show up and just automatically win, you're going to get your *** beat, okay? We know they have good players, and everyone here knows when these two teams get together, it's a bloodbath. And they'd rather, you have to be carried off to quit before you give in a game like this. There's no tap button in a game like this. Again, and I love this game. This is a game that, again, best game in the country, my favorite game of the year. Don't know if I answered your question.
On the emotion in the locker room: In there, I think there was a lot of gratitude for the guys that laid it on the line. There's some guys that are missing now that would have loved to take part in this game, and they're sitting there with us, right? Some guys are on crutches. Some guys are in a sling. And when you get to play in this game, right, this special rivalry, it means a lot to everybody, and to find a way to win like we did, it just speaks loudly to the fact that this team has the confidence, despite errors made, despite issues that we caused ourselves, that we can find a way, you know? And we found a way.
On Darian Mensah overcoming a slow start: Yeah, we talked about their DBs. Their DBs close on the ball on film, probably, a bit better than the ones that we had been playing against. And there were some extended plays where he made some tremendous throws, and then another one where, they got us and they picked it. But I think this, and I think we've all seen it: Darian is about as resilient and as tough as it gets. The guy has football amnesia, he doesn't. He's not caught up in the previous play. Do his little thing with his boys and his little mini celebration. That's it. It's on to the next one. And I know you guys aren't privy to the things that are said, talked about in between series and whatnot—but this guy is, he's a special cat now. It's all, completely all focused on what's the next thing we have to do, whether it's a run or pass. He's just, how do we keep finding a way to move the ball and win the game.
On the last two plays: I mean, I saw the flag, so I thought there was, more than likely a hold. But as while they call a touchdown and we're waiting for the flag, it's just on their defending two and offense, hey, get ready because now it's all two-point conversion. So process-oriented. You just wait for them to talk it over, figure it out, then you go. But there's no drama during it for us. It's like, does it suck moment? Yeah, like it sucks, but it's like quickly processing and getting to the next thing necessary to move on. And that's the way we roll.
