North Dakota State Head Coach Craig Bohl

Opening Statement

First of all, it was a hard fought game. I would like to think we came away unscathed by injuries, but that is not the case. I thought our players played hard and Missouri State did some really nice things. I can remember last year their quarterback was a tremendous competitor and he certainly showed that tonight. We are pleased with the effort of our guys but the execution is not where it needs to be. There were some turning points in the ball game where we get down at the tail end there, and we have the opportunities to stick it in and we need to get that done.

Big plays were tough to come by in the second half. 

I thought Missouri State has made significant improvements on defense, there personnel looks significantly better than last year.  Last year we struggled with them offensively, but made some big plays.  This year, we didn’t come up with nearly enough big plays in the second half.  It’s disappointing because our field position at the end of the game did not even require us to make really big plays. 

Thoughts on Jose Mohler.

Jose went out there and competed hard.  There are some things that he did really well and there’s things he has to improve on.  He threw the long ball extremely well.  He showed good mobility.  There’s nothing that can replicate game experience.

Talk about having a losing season.

We have a lot of young players that are out there.  I think game experience is really helpful.  We have an opponent on the road in Western Illinois.  We need to be positive and correct our mistakes.  We’re going to come up with a great game plan and go down there and have the attitude to win the football game.

Do you feel snakebit out there?

As a coach, you have to stay focused.  It’s disappointing when the ball isn’t bouncing your way, but that’s college football.  We have to keep our focus.  Our players are working hard and our coaches are working hard. We’re in every game.  The margin for victory and defeat is very small and right now, we’re playing just well enough to get beat.  It’s not going to take too much more for us to turn things around and start winning games.

Did the quarterback change (from Nick Mertens to Jose Mohler) make the difference you were hoping?

For a redshirt freshman [Mohler] to go out there in that situation, that’s hard to do.  I was pleased with his composure and how he handled the team.  You never saw a time when the clock ran out and that’s what can happen to a freshman quarterback.  I thought he did a nice job with that.  Nick Mertens has been a team player.  There were times during the game when he was coaching and encouraging Jose.  He’s been phenomenal during this week of practice.  He came here because he loves NDSU and believes in NDSU.  I can’t say enough about the attitude and character of Nick Mertens and what he means to our football team.

North Dakota State quarterback Jose Mohler

How do you feel you played today?

I thought I played alright.  We came up short, so I need to put on a better performance.   Hopefully, next week, we can put together a full game.

What was it like playing your first full college game?

It’s a lot faster.  There’s 11 division I athletes on the field at all times.

What were you thinking on that last drive?

I wanted to win it for our team.  I wanted to get the ball to our playmakers, but we came up short.  Things didn’t work out for us.

How much confidence do you gain having a running back like Pat Paschall?

It’s great.  It’s always a great feeling when you hand the ball off to someone like that.  You never know if he’s going to break one.  It takes a lot of stress off your shoulders.

North Dakota State running back Pat Paschall

It was another close loss.

We have to keep working.  The school has a rich tradition and we’ve never been the type to lay down.  We’re going to go out hard these last three weeks and try to get some wins.

Talk about how it feels when the team isn’t getting the breaks.

It all comes down to execution.  You go out there and execute the plays and if the offense is clicking and the defense is in the right positions, you generally don’t come up short.  Like Jose said, I think we need to go out there and put a full game together.  I don’t think we’ve done that yet this year.   We do have a lot of young guys on the field and they are getting a lot of experience.  We have to make sure we go out there next week and put a full game together.  I’m not worried about winning, but I worry about keeping the team’s spirits up.  Everyone needs to know that we are going out there and working hard and trying our best.

How tough is it to keep the team spirit up?

That’s hard to do.  You look at the 10-1 years and we didn’t have as many injuries, so maybe luck hasn’t gone our way this year.  We’re very cohesive; the guys lean on each other.  I can’t remember a week where the team has come in depressed.  Everyone is looking to get the job done.  I think if we keep coming with that attitude, something will fall our way.

Talk about facing another team [Western Illinois] that’s having a rough time.

It’s definitely about pride.   When you go out on that football field, know what you are playing for.  Just go out and play for the love of the game.  We can’t underestimate our opponent, even if they’ve been on a downslide.   We will prepare for them just like any other opponent.

North Dakota State wide receiver Warren Holloway

Talk about the blocked punt.

Coach told me to move around a lot.  I was trying to give them different looks.  I knew my team needed a big play and I made it for the team and put us in a good situation.

You caught a pass at the Missouri State 39-yard line on the last drive.  What were you thinking at that point?

I was trying to break a couple tackles.  I knew we had to score a touchdown, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way.

Talk about losing close games like you have this year.

You just feel bad. We come here every day and work hard and we know what we have to do.  We’re just coming up short on the scoreboard.  We’re learning from our mistakes, so hopefully we don’t make the same ones in the next game.