Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: North Texas

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point football head coach Jeff Monken met with members of the local media on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference inside Nowak Auditorium.

The Black Knights wrapped up their home schedule last weekend with a win over Duke to close out their home record with an impressive 6-0 mark. The Cadets will look to continue those winning ways on Saturday when they travel to Denton, Texas, for a contest with a familiar North Texas squad. The Black Knights met the Mean Green twice last season, with North Texas taking a road victory during the regular season before Army earned some payback in a thrilling overtime win in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Saturday's contest will be carried live on BeIN Sports with Mike Gleason, Sean Salisbury, and Michelle Gingras on the call.

(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good afternoon. It was great to get that victory on Saturday and be able to finish out our home schedule undefeated. I was really proud of our team. It was a tough game. Duke is a really talented football team and we knew that going in. Watching them on film and having played them the past two years we were very aware of how difficult of a battle it was going to be for us. I thought our guys fought and found a way to get the victory. It wasn't pretty and a lot of that had to do with Duke being a good football team. Fortunately, we found a way to get to win. I am very proud of our team. They were excited to be able to accomplish that goal and to get ready for this next one. Each time you win and especially when you've won several games in a row, they seem to get bigger each week.

"This is a big game for us. This is a team that beat the pants off of us at home last year. I remember it well. It was a pretty good lashing they gave us. They have so many good athletes, weapons on offense and guys who can run on defense.

"They're very difficult on us. Fortunately, at the bowl game we got a comfortable lead to start the game. We needed it because they came back in the second half to tie it up. But we found a way to win in overtime. This is an outstanding team. They've won their division already and are vying for a conference championship. What a credit to Coach (Seth) Littrell and their staff. What a job they've done in such a short time. They are an outstanding team. They score a lot of points and play people tight all year. They lost to Iowa, which was a close game, and that gains your attention because of what Iowa has done this year. It is going to take a great effort and hopefully we will get some of these guys that are hobbling around after Saturday back to complete health so we can go into this game at Texas as healthy as possible and give ourselves the best chance."

(Ref.: On what the team needs to improve on going into Saturday's game)
"Well, we did a poor job of not sustaining drives and not keeping things going on Saturday. We had the opening drive where we went 4-and-out and that's not something we've had trouble with. A lot of it had to do with Duke. We've got to be able to sustain a drive and keep the sticks moving. We had one of our lowest rushing totals of the year on Saturday. We turned the ball over and we can't do that. We have to protect our kicker when we get down there and have a chance to get points. At the end of the game, they blocked a kick and if they return that for a touchdown, they probably would have won the football game. There are several things that when we have possession of the ball that we've got to do better.

"Defensively, I think we've done a good job of keeping people in front of us. There hasn't been a lot of big pass plays over our head and that's a positive. Nobody likes to see those one or two play drives where they throw it over your head and the opposing team's band is playing. We've got to do a better job of getting ourselves into position to keep those intermediate routes from being completed. Not the 5-yard routes or the little bubble screens, I am talking about the 10 to 15-yard passes that hopefully we continue to get better at denying and being able to contest.

"I thought we did a good job covering our kickoffs to start the game. But, they had a long return on the last kickoff of the game. We didn't do a very good job fitting it. We had guys trying to do somebody else's job and poke their nose in where they shouldn't be at times when they are leverage players. There are some things in the kicking game that we have to improve. I promise there is plenty that we are looking at that we have to get better at."

(Ref.: On keeping the team focused throughout the season)
"I think it goes back to the philosophy of the program, which is having humility, and realizing who we are. We haven't won games because we are more talented, or because we're coaching better. It's because they play hard and tough and they execute the fundamentals. Every week we're trying to find a new way to do that even better. We have plenty of areas where we can look and see where we're falling short of our expectations. Particularly in sustained blocks, because we're using poor techniques; whether we're not bending our knees or have poor footwork. On defense we're not getting guys to the ground, or we're missing a tackle in space. There's things that we can do better from a fundamental standpoint, and we're going to have to do them better in order to beat North Texas and to continue to have success."

(Ref.: On the challenge of North Texas' offense)
"It's going to be a pretty big challenge. We feel like we've played some really good teams and some very talented teams. This is a very talented team. They have guys who play in their skill positions on offense and defense that run a lot better than some of the guys we have. We have some guys in skill positions that I think run really well, but, collectively, the speed of their team is different. They may be as fast a team that we've played all year, including Ohio State. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their ability and the job they've done coaching. To take the program where it was two years ago when Seth (Littrell) took over to where it is now, it's a pretty remarkable job. It's a credit to him and his staff, as well as his players. He has those guys playing really hard and believing."

(Ref.: On competing against a team who is also on a winning streak)
"They are undefeated at home and this is, I believe, their final home game. I think they play at Rice next week, and then will play in their conference championship game before going to a bowl game. So like our guys, I'm sure they take a lot of pride at winning at home, and they likely will be battling to defend their home turf. It's going to be difficult, as it always is, to go on the road and try to win, but hopefully our guys will prepare this week and be up to the challenge."

Army West Point Athletics

Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: North Texas

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