"You watched the game and it's exactly what you see when you watch it on film. We were our worst enemy and we talked about that after the football game, and I've talked about it with the football team yesterday. Again, costly penalties that kept drives alive, turnovers that scored points. It was not an effort thing. I thought we got better at tackling, I thought we got better offensively trying to do the things that we needed to do to be successful, in running the football, playing different tempo, doing the things that we need to do. We did not get better at protecting Nathan [Scheelhaase] and that's very, very important, and we continue to try to strive to do that better, but as it comes down to it, it's a loss. And the bottom line is we didn't score enough points and we gave up too many points, and they won the football game. We've got to continue to fight, which is what we talked about doing and we continue to do. I know this group of football players that we have want to win as badly as anybody wants to win. And they'll fight and continue to practice, and we're going to continue to practice hard and do the things that we think can help us win a football game."
What have you done to try and help protect Nate [Scheelhaase] and what are you going to do to try and get the passing game going?
"We've probably got to get off the ball a little bit quicker and do some more movement-type passing. With protection-wise, we've kept backs in, we've kept tight ends in to chip and help protect, but we've got to continue to strive to do better. It still comes down to a one-on-one battle when they're blitzing, so you've got to win."
What's it going to be like for you to be a visitor at Ohio State and also coaching against Urban [Meyer]?
"Been there, done it. I've coached there a couple times as an assistant and as a head football coach. It's a great environment, there's no question about it. [I] coached there as an assistant for the Buckeyes. Coaching against Urban, Urban's considered one of my close friends and we're very, very competitive, and it's one of those things that the uniqueness of college football has is that you have two friends that get to compete against one another."
How good is this Ohio State team in his first year?
"[They're a] pretty good football team. It's a lot of familiar faces that we played last year. Braxton was just getting started, didn't play a bunch against us when I was at Toledo, but a lot of offensive lineman that you've seen before, wide receivers, defensive players. You can see there's eight back that we played against last year on defense and seven that are back on offense."
How important is it to go over there and put on a good performance?
"Well, I just want to improve each and every time, and, yeah, of course, it is going to help in recruiting, but we're going to win a football game. You go into every game to be a winner and this football team is going into every game to win. We practice hard. They've been practicing as hard as what we've asked them to, so there hasn't been any lacks or anything of that nature happening. We've got to win a football game."
What is the injury update?
"Nathan was beat up after the game, but he's progressing well. He'll be out there on the practice field tomorrow. We'll see how Steve Hull with his shoulder progresses throughout the week. Justin Staples was dinged up a little bit, but he's getting better. So, yeah, it's good to have all those guys back from the (preseason schedule) poster for their first game last week. We've got to continue to have those guys out there on the football field."
You said Saturday that you felt like you learned a lot this fall. Could you talk about some of the things?
"Well, I guess you learn how to take defeats in a row. I hate losing, but how to react to the players after continued defeats, I think, is very important. The motivational part is very important and that's what I'm proud [of] about this football team and how they've responded, because they don't like to lose and I understand that, but they've worked extremely hard and they've done things right on and off the football field, and if they don't, they know that that's not acceptable. I guess learning how to continue to motivate and to continue to push your football players to be the best they can be. Those are things that you learn from a winning way and a losing way."
What do think about OSU quarterback Braxton Miller?
"He's a special football player. I saw it in high school. He was fabulous at Wayne (High School) and won a couple state championships, and you knew he was going to be an outstanding college football player. We're going to need to know what Braxton is doing at all times. He's very important to their offense. I know our players are excited about playing against Ohio State and what they've done offensively the last couple weeks. I think they're averaging close to 40 points a game in the last couple weeks and he's been a big part of that, so we're going to need to have awareness of where he's at and be able to put some pressure on him, because he can beat you with his feet and his arm."