Photo by: © Dakota Hawxwell Photo
Tre Lamb Press Conference - FCS Playoffs First Round vs Mercer
November 21, 2023 | Football
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Every Tuesday during football season, Gardner-Webb Head Football Coach will hold a weekly press conference over Zoom at 9:30 AM EDT/8:30 AM CDT to discuss the Gardner-Webb football game each week. This week, Coach Lamb met with the media to discuss Gardner-Webb's FCS First Round Playoff game against Mercer on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3:00 P.M.
OPENING STATEMENT
"I'm just proud of our seniors. We had a five-game winning streak down the stretch. We started off 2-3 with a couple of FBS losses. We play a lot of FBS games, which has been good for us. I think it makes us better down the stretch. I'm also proud of our freshman quarterback (Jaylen King) stepping up and winning five straight. We got it done down the stretch. I think our league deserves a lot of credit. Top to bottom, it is very strong. The bottom teams could beat you any week, so you have to be ready. I think it's only going to continue to get better as we continue to play each other more. I think we play seven league games next year, and then eight the year after that. I'm very thankful for this conference for adopting the Big South, and us merging with the OVC. It keeps the playoff hopes alive for these teams. I also think UT Martin deserved to get in. I talked to (UTM Head Football Coach) Jason (Simpson) and I thought they were the best FCS team we played this season top-to-bottom. And we played Elon and Eastern Kentucky who were ranked at one point, and Austin Peay who has won nine straight. I think UT Martin was a more complete team and they showed it with eight wins. I'm disappointed for them, but I'm happy we got it done in the head-to-head with a win."
"I'm happy for our coaches and our administration. There's alignment from the top and a belief that we can get this done, and now there's an expectation to win. And our players feel that. There's a lot of credit deserved to a lot of people. This doesn't happen by accident. I didn't want to be the flash in the pan and do this one year. I wanted us to back that up with another winning season, which hadn't been done here in 20 years. We're happy to be in, and we have a good challenge this week with a quality Southern Conference opponent."
Q1 – Are you disappointed to not be hosting a playoff game this weekend?
"Yeah of course, but that's beyond my control. I'll just leave it at that. I would like to be at home for sure. We're 10-1 in our last eleven home games, and have won eight straight at home. Credit to our fans and the environment we've created here. I would love to be hosting, but it is what it is. It's tough draw. But we'll try to get one on the road and then try to go up to #1 South Dakota State. You can't win the whole thing until you win the first one. We're playing with a lot of confidence right now. And I think we'll play well down in Macon, and we're playing our best football right now.
Q2 – Talk about your familiarity with the Mercer football program
"I love those guys. I worked there for four years. My wife and I got married when I lived there. It's a special place to me. Macon is a beautiful town. I'll have a lot of buddies there, hopefully wearing red and black. But there is familiarity with these guys. This is a team we played last year, and I was disappointed in that result. We were missing a few guys. Narii Gaither and Jayden Brown, our best two players, didn't play. We were missing our center, and Matthew Caldwell had his first career start last year. And defensively, we played below our standard. We have a lot to look at from last year, and then compare our body of work to there's from this year. That was our last loss at home, and we did not play well in any phase. And we want to be better than that at their place this year. Our kids will definitely be motivated. It's win or go home, and that will be in the back of our minds."
"But Mercer is a really good football team. Coach (Drew) Cronic has recruited really well. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Joel Taylor is a star. I think he will be coaching at the highest level very soon. Defensively they create a ton of issues. They know where they're going to be. They play blocks as well as anybody. Their front is really good. We have to throw the ball 40 or 50 times because that is what they're going to make you do. No one can run on them. It's a seven-man front. They play blocks well. They're going to pressure us a ton because we've struggled with that. They'll blitz us away from the back to prevent our QB runs. But they know where to be at all times. Their blocks on the perimeter are as good as anybody we've played. We're going to have to air it out, see if we can get some big plays, and score some points. Every game we have scored over 30 points this year, we have won. We're 7-0. So, we have to find a way to score 30-35 points to win this game."
"Offensively, Coach Cronic does a great job. It's a unique offense. You don't see it very often. It's a lot of motion, ton of trade. Try to get the ball to the three-man surface. They want a soft edge for the jet sweeps, and their best two players are the wideouts. It's easy to stop one good wideout. You can double him or bracket him. But when you have one on each side and can run the ball in the C gap, it's not easy to stop. We have to have a great plan on both sides. They've recruited phenomenally. They develop their players. You can tell their strength program and nutrition program do a good job. It's a lot of the same guys we saw last year. And they're excited. It's their first playoff appearance ever like it was for us last year. They'll be fired up. But we're very familiar with these guys."
Q3 – What will be the keys to win this game?
"They're very advantageous in the turnover game. They create a lot of turnovers. They forced five against Western Carolina. In all the games they've won, they've forced turnovers. The only game they didn't was against Chattanooga. When they force turnovers, they win. And we've awful in the turnover department. We're ranked 102 in turnover margin and yet we've somehow won seven FCS games. That tells me we're talented. But we have to create some turnovers. We didn't force any last week against Charleston Southern. We have to try to create some in the special teams game. And we absolutely have to end every drive with a kick. If we give them a short field with these two wideouts, it's going to be a long day. I think it is a very evenly matched game. Them being at home is an advantage for them. But we're going to see what we can do, put our best foot forward, and we're not going to play to lose. If we lose, we're going to go down swinging and we're going to shoot our shot."
Q4 – What can you take away from your first year in the FCS Playoffs last year that Mercer might be learning this year?
"There's a lot of meetings and rules. And you have to cover up all your logos on the Gatorade bottles and the tents and play with Wilson footballs. And you only get 64 players to travel and 50 sideline passes, there's a lot of stuff. But once the ball kicks off, it's the same. Gardner-Webb is a place that had never made the playoffs. I don't know what the ceiling is here, but we have raised the expectations here, and that's a lot of credit to our staff and players. But when we make the playoffs, I feel like we're playing with house money. Why not go all the way and win the whole thing? There's no reason to be nervous, cautious, or play close to the vest. Last year against Eastern Kentucky, we went all out. We played hard, we threw it, we ran it, we played to win. We played good defense and special teams at times. Every team we play in the playoffs is going to be good. There's not going to be many blowouts. Why not go play to win and shoot your shot? It's house money at this point."
Q5 – How do you feel about your team's momentum going into the playoffs?
"We're really healthy. We've been lucky with injuries. The only position that's been hurt has been quarterback, and I think we've got the right one for us down the stretch. And we've won five straight. Some of that has to do with our schedule. It was very front loaded. Scheduling is everything at this level. We've played seven group of five teams since I've been here. We've played really good FCS teams. Scheduling is everything. Fortunately, we've been able to win down the stretch. We have stayed healthy and our offseason program is strong to get us into this position late."
For media interested in joining Tre Lamb's weekly Zoom call, please contact Richard Martin for more information.
Gardner-Webb travels to Macon, Ga. face #17 Mercer in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. Kickoff is set for 3:00 P.M on Saturday, Nov. 25.
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