JAX STATE POST-SEASON MEDIA GUIDE AND NOTES

ON PLAYING IN THE FCS PLAYOFFS
“We are extremely happy and fortunate to be playing a home game in the playoffs, as well as finding ourselves as contenders for a national championship. We have said for quite a while that these are the traditions at Jacksonville State University. There were back-to-back playoff appearances in '77 and '78, and also '80 and '81. There were also appearances made from 1988 through 1992. We were also here in 2003 and 2004. I don't think, even in those efforts, that we set the tone that it takes to actually be a contender in the playoffs. To attend is one thing. To contend is something else. We are approaching this as contenders."

"People may find that the teams like Delaware or the one we're playing this week, Wofford, are schools that we played at a lower level. This is a great beginning. It will change everything that happens afterwards. I think that we, as a team, need to learn how to make this transition. There are teams that play for the playoffs, and then there are teams who have the right mentality to play in the playoffs. We have had to go through that transition."

"We probably don't have every mind focused just yet, but we're getting there. To me, my personal experience goes back to playing postseason bowl games. They were very important to how you recruited. The playoffs are different than bowl games. We've had a shorter time to prepare, even though we had a little bit more time than we needed for this one. When we've had extra weeks of preparation in the past, we did not handle it very well. However, this week was handled differently. The players responded positively. I think we'll line up a better football team than we've been all year. It's crucial to build momentum because everyone at the playoffs will be the best. If they weren't the best, they wouldn't be there. We did not finish the season with momentum. We have a stronger heart today than we did the day we beat Ole Miss. We've got to come to focus with who we're playing and play our best."

ON WOFFORD
"Wofford is a running team and is very physical. To be quite honest, I believe we play our best against that style of football. We should have everyone available. The next thing is that our fans and students are equally challenged to come out and support. Due to finals and the holidays, its going to take some forethought for everyone to come out like they did against Chattanooga. I told our players to get used to this. We took an academic Monday just like any other week. Finals start Monday, so there is a lot of compression. It takes a special mentality to take on the length of this season, the closing of a semester, and also a higher level of competition."

"We are going to be challenged probably as much when we opened the season. Once again, it's a new beginning and I am anxious to get it started. Since I've been here, when we've taken one step back, we turned around and took two steps forward. That is the result of tradition. I expect us to play better than we've played all year and make playoffs a familiar place. Also, we need to understand that championships are championships, but national championships are better than all of them. We have a chance to make a run at this. I think we can play anybody in the brackets."

"Getting this first win is so important. I think that our fans need to expect us to win as well. If history helps, we've played Wofford twice and we've beat them both times. I think it's the most important game I've coached since I've been at Jacksonville State. We will respond accordingly to what has to be done in the moment."