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What Charles Huff said after the loss to Boise State
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- What Charles Huff said after the loss to Boise State
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Following Memphis' 38-20 loss against Boise State , Charles Huff met with the media to discuss what happened in the loss. He spoke about the issues on both sides of the ball, but he did add that the team would be able to learn things from the loss.
The Tigers jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first half before being outscored 35-3 the rest of the way.
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Memphis came out flat in the second half, and the Broncos took advantage of it and had two momentum plays on special teams.
In the first punt return of the second half, Boise State's punt returner muffed the punt, and after several players pounced on it, Tylon Nash came out with the ball before it was ruled the Broncos' ball. On the next punt return, returner Cam Bates took it back for a touchdown to give Spencer Danielson's team a 31-20 lead.
When asked about the muffed punt, Huff made a face that looked like he was biting his tongue and opted to not discuss the play.
Here's what Huff said after the loss at Boise State.
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Message to the team:
It was the first loss of the season for the Tigers, and Huff was asked what the message to the team was after the game. He said that the team never discussed being perfect, but they will need to learn from the mistakes in this game to improve for the rest of the season.
"What's delayed is not denied," Huff said. "We still have a long road ahead. No one in our building talked perfection. We all talked about getting better each week. Although the scoreboard doesn't reveal us getting better, we can learn from how we played today. The mistakes we made, how we can coach better, how we can practice better, how we can train better, how we can train our players better, how we can put a better plan together."
While he talked about some of the negatives, Huff also mentioned the positives he saw in the game, and he said it's up to the staff to put players in better situations to succeed.
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"We saw some positive things from our players," Huff said. "Saw some guys make some plays in some areas. Saw some guys miss some opportunities. So, now we've got to go back as coaches and figure out how to put them in better position next week to build on the positives and minimize some of the negatives."
Missed tackles:
Huff said one of the biggest issues on the defensive side of the ball was missed tackles. Before the game, the head coach talked about the Broncos' physicality, and Danielson's offense flexed their muscles, rushing for 357 yards.
"Just running through our tackles," Huff said. "We didn't tackle well. We probably missed 157 tackles today. We've got to tackle more at practice or put our guys in better position."
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According to Pro Football Focus, the Tigers missed 11 tackles, but they were given a tackling grade of 65.3, which ranked No. 62 in the country.
Huff said the defense did a better job tackling in the first half, which helped build the early lead, but they didn't have similar success late in the game.
"We tackled decent in the first half, which put us in some positions in third down to get off the field," Huff said. "We didn't tackle well enough in the second half, and if you don't do that in college football, you're going to struggle, especially with teams that run it."
Marcus Stokes and Hunter Tipton :
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In the first half, Marcus Stokes and Hunter Tipton connected early and often. The quarterback finished the half with 246 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 6-for-9 passing.
"I thought he made some critical plays in some critical moments," Huff said about his quarterback. "I thought he stood in there and took some big shots. Obviously, there are some plays down in the red area where we've got to get him in a better position. Without looking at the film, I thought he battled."
Tipton was the best player on the field for the Tigers, and he finished with 229 yards on nine receptions, including an 87-yard touchdown. The tight end left the game in the second half with an apparent injury, but he returned to the field on the next drive.
He was Stokes' favorite target, and he was the only player to record more than three receptions for Memphis.
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"Really good job, man," Huff said. "Kid has been busting his tail. Obviously, it's a big piece of our offense. Made some big plays, battled through some bumps and bruises. Just tough football. He stepped up when we needed him to. We're going to need him to continue to do that throughout the year."
