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UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 5, 2009

Chris Ault

COACH AULT: Congratulations to Charlie and Notre Dame. As I told him, I'm sorry we didn't give him a better game so we could see what his ballclub is like.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the pressure I think you guys wanted to get on Clausen and the inability to do so?
COACH AULT: Well, we had absolutely no pressure there. Their front did a great job. But more importantly, the breakdown was in our secondary. Manned coverage three different times, big plays, huge plays, in fact. The 99-yard drive and the touchdown there, so... The breakdown, the consistency or inconsistency of our secondaries full out pass-rush was adequate at best. They did a nice job.

Q. You had some nice runs up the middle, but they were able to keep you off the scoreboard. Can you talk about their defense and what went wrong with your offense?
COACH AULT: Well, I thought we moved the ball very well. I really do. But it's -- they kept us off the board, and that's what you do. It seemed like every time we started to move the ball, we'd make one critical mistake that they capitalized on.
They were well prepared and they did a nice job. But we felt comfortable with what we were doing in the first half. But you've got to put points on the board. And I'm not sure of what the difference was. We didn't have the ball very much. I don't know what it was.
And the one time in our first series we had the drive, we missed the field goal. Then we were out and we came back in and had a pretty decent drive and found a way not to get the first down and continue the ball. But at that time, you've got to keep your defense off the field, give them a chance to regroup and go out there and play some better football, and we just didn't execute.

Q. You played some pretty good games over the years. Where does this Notre Dame team fit? Can you get an idea of what they're capable of?
COACH AULT: I think they're a real sound team. Again, I don't think -- I've got to be honest, I'm bitterly disappointed in the way we played, in particular, on the defensive side of the ball. When you get shutout, you're not going to pat the offense on the back. But they just had the ball too doggone long on us. Made it tough for us to establish anything we'd like to do offensively.
Yet when the offense had a chance to score, missed field goal and the fumble down there on the 9 or 7, wherever that was, you've got to capitalize on that. So that's tough. I think they're a real sound team, though. I really do. I thought they played well.

Q. Can you talk about the challenges of trying to contain their skill guys in the passing game?
COACH AULT: Well, I don't think that's any news. They've got some nice skill. They really do. And they did a nice job protecting. They put some max pro in there and let those guys get down the field.
But when you're one-on-one and it's a receiver and defensive back, obviously, they made the plays and we didn't. Like the first touchdown. We've got the safety in perfect position. I know we're tied in 6-6 -- and we got a couple of those ourselves -- never looks up from the ball, never has an idea, next thing you know it's 7-0. Same with the deep one on the right side there when they took us downtown. So, you know, if you're locked up with your corner. Somebody's got to make a play, and they seem to make them every time.

Q. Adding to that question in particular, your thoughts on first Clausen and Floyd?
COACH AULT: Well, I thought Jimmy did a nice job. He kept his poise. He threw the ball very well. It looked to me he did, in my opinion, he had some nice pocket presence, some of the things we're trying to do. And I thought Floyd was outstanding.

Q. What are some of the positives, if any, you can take away from this game for your team?
COACH AULT: Well, it ended (laughing). I'll tell you, you know, the question about where's Notre Dame in all that, I really meant that. I told Charlie, "I'm sorry we didn't give you a better ballgame." Because he would have had a better shot at seeing what he's really got there. I just think we played very poorly, and that's a reflection on us as coaches. We've got our work cut out for us.

Q. Do you feel in any way that your team might have been a little over ranked going into this season, or was this more of a performance issue at this point?
COACH AULT: Over ranked?

Q. Got some points on the board.
COACH AULT: Yeah, well, that doesn't mean a damn thing. We have the nucleus to be a good football team. You know, I feel strong about that. Yet when you commit the same mistakes that you made last year that put you in the hole, especially against a team like Notre Dame, we know we're overmatched in terms of talent.
But the bottom line is you've got people in position to make a play and you don't make a play. Our tackling -- we've spent more time on on tackling this camp than probably any other camp, and it looked like we hadn't done it. They did a nice job breaking tackles and maintaining ball control.
The bottom line is if you keep that ball and you can't establish anything offensive, that's tough stuff.

Q. Do you see any changes with coverage plans based on what happened to on day?
COACH AULT: Oh, we'll look at the tape and go from there. There's a lot of things going through my mind at this particular time, and most of them aren't real pretty.

Q. Then one more, I know nobody else cares about this, but if you could talk a little bit about the new punt formations you've got set up there?
COACH AULT: No, I'm not talking about that. You guys don't care, do you? Thank you. I'll talk to you later. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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