I'm the same person every day. I don't change just because it is game day. I try to stay on an even keel. Probably the biggest difference was for a home game the team stayed in a hotel, so I wasn't with my family the night before the game. I had my family in, as well as (wife) Sarah's family in for the game, so it was a relaxed atmosphere. I don???t shut people out just because it???s game day. My family talks to me before a game. I think coaches sometimes blow that out of proportion that you can't talk to the coach on game day. Family is number one to me so they can talk to me anytime they want.

Leading up to the opener, I thought we had a really good and productive preseason camp. We lost a couple of guys to injury that we haven't gotten back but I think we had a good camp. I thought their attitude and work effort was really good leading up to the game against Florida International. The game with FIU was important because we hadn't won an opening home game in four years. On top of that, being a conference game made it even more important. We played well on defense, winning the game 7-6. We also played well on special teams but we were inconsistent on offense. The big thing is we protected the ball and didn't put our defense in a difficult situation. Most important we got the win, putting us 1-0 in the Sun Belt. Our crowd was outstanding. We had a great turnout, over 20,000 in the stands, and we had a great student turnout. They were loud and it was an electric crowd. It was a good atmosphere for our players. We got our first win as a coaching staff here and that was important.

The following week we went up to Maryland and didn't play very well at all. We performed well on defense but overall we struggled in key areas. It was not a very productive game. Offensively, I thought we improved and protected the quarterback. We dropped a couple of balls that could have been touchdowns. We didn't quit, the guys fought until the end, and I am proud of their effort.

We left the ball on the 5-yard line with three or four minutes left in the game. If we could have knocked that in it would have been 24-17 and we could have attempted an onside kick and then you don't know what happens there. I thought we had a chance; we were in it until the end. Again, I was proud of our effort, but we didn't play well enough to win the game. Maryland played better and they deserved it.

Our team bounced back with a big win, 44-0, against rival Tennessee Tech the following Thursday as we started 2-0 at home for the first time in a while (2001), and it was another great turnout by the community and our students. We had another electric crowd. Our defense was outstanding, forcing five turnovers, and collecting the shutout.

I think as a coach when you play a game, when you win, you are more relieved you won as opposed to the excitement of winning. When you lose a game, it is such a depressing feeling, it is a sick feeling you get in your stomach. You can't wait until the next game to redeem yourself, or prove yourself. The losses outweigh the wins a ton and that is probably a sad thing to say but it is the reality.