Steele: "It was about as ugly as it gets"

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jan 05 09:21:47 GMT-04:00 2012

MIAMI, FLA. – The numbers for Kevin Steele Kevin Steele
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
View Full Profile ’s defense weren’t pretty following West Virginia’s 70-33 demolition of Clemson in Wednesday night’s Orange Bowl.

The Mountaineers rang up 31 first downs, amassed 70 points and an astounding 589 total yards of offense on 89 plays for an average gain of almost seven yards per play.

The Mountaineers threw for 401 yards and rushed for 188 yards and converted a whopping 10-of-16 third down conversions.

Steele didn’t mince words in his postgame press conference in the Clemson locker room, and simply said what almost anyone who watched the game already knew as he was asked what emotion he was feeling.

“Ass kicked [was the emotion he was feeling]. In a nutshell, it was about as ugly as it gets,” Steele said. . We didn’t execute very well. We didn’t tackle very well and I think that’s indicative. They had one pass for 37 yards and threw for 400 and something. You have to tackle the catch and we just didn’t do that. Hats off to them. They are fast, fast. One [Tavon Austin] and three [Stedman Bailey] are fast guys and we just didn’t handle them very well.”

Steele said a 35-point second quarter by the Mountaineers caused the team to start pressing.

“It just got off track,” he said. “Guys started pressing and didn’t execute very well. That’s on me. It is what it is. It’s on me. It’s my job to get them ready and get them to execute well. We practiced well and thought we had a good play. We just couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. We had some situations where there were turnovers. I thought the guys were focused into it- probably too much sometimes just trying to make every play.”

He said he didn’t have answers for what he should tell his defensive players right now.

“It’s a little bit quick for that answer right now [what do you tell the team?]. It’s a new year and a new team,” Steele said. “Everything is new. We start over. Six weeks ago didn’t have anything to do with next year and this won’t either. I’ve been around long enough- I’ve lost the Orange Bowl and won a national championship the next year. Lost an ugly Orange Bowl and won a national championship the next year.

“It will be a different team. Those guys there, they are 18-22 year olds. The coaches will be a different deal. It will take a little while to get over it coaching wise. I’m not saying that because of these guys. That’s just because I’ve been there and done it before. I’ve been around bad losses. I’ve been around bad bowl losses. When you start back with the team meeting, the off season work, and the spring practice, it will be a totally different team.”

He was asked if the loss was the most embarrassing he has been a part of.

“As a coach, I don’t know that [embarrassed] is the right word,” he said. “We have to do a better job and that’s my responsibility. I take responsibility for it. In this business, you stand in the paint, you take the shots, and you get better. That’s what you do.”

He also said there were no positives to take out of the game.

“No. BCS game and they’ve learned how to get here, but out of this tonight, no.”