South Florida - 18, Florida - 16
Q. Devin, last season started out rough too. It's not going to get any easier starting next week, but what's kind of the rallying cry for this team right now?
DEVIN MOORE: You know we're brothers. We put in blood, sweat, tears, a lot of time, and we can't help but stick together.
I done see guys in that locker room cry. I done cried with guys in that locker room. There's no choice but to stick together. We're family.
Q. The undisciplined penalties and stuff. Last week flawless, no penalties. This week 11 and some real costly ones. How do you explain that? Did you get swept up in the moment? What do you think that was?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, we just got to put the team first. Sometimes your emotions can get high, but you can't jeopardize the team. Then also take accountability for your actions and just clean it up when we see it on film and just address it. That's the most important part.
It shouldn't be the coaches that have to address it. It should come from your brothers holding you accountable because that's the strongest form.
Q. How frustrating was it, the near pick there you probably should have had at the end? Do you feel like that's one you normally catch?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, for sure. I had my hands on it, and then I felt like the receiver got a little hand in there, but I got to come down with that if I want to be the player I want to be.
Q. It gets overshadowed by the loss, but the defensive performance the last two weeks has been obviously pretty good. Is that kind of the championship level defense you guys expected to play when the season started?
DEVIN MOORE: Not at all. There was a lot of point of attack plays out there as a defense that we could have made, including myself. We definitely have more to clean up on the film. We could be better as a whole defense. I believe anybody on that defense will tell you that -- players, coaches. We got to get back tomorrow and clean all that up.
Q. Brown obviously broke and gained a few times. Just curious on your thoughts about him and what made him kind of difficult throughout the game?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, their whole offensive structure, the tempo, that was something you had to take into account, and he's a good player. He made some plays tonight that were crucial for their win.
We've just got to go back tomorrow and see how we can contain him more. That's with the whole defense, not just on our edges and our D-line. It's DBs, corners included. We've got to come together as a defense and better contain running quarterbacks.
Q. Next week starts your SEC Conference play. You talked about preparation through this whole off-season. What does it mean to start SEC play next week, especially on the road against LSU, a team that you guys have a lot of history with?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, it means everything, just like this week meant everything. I like to say, we're all on a one day contract. We treat every game the same. Every day of preparation is so important because those plays out there, our point of attack plays that slide the game one way or the other, when the opportunity comes, we've got to have the preparation behind the scenes to make those plays.
So it's very important. Every game is important, the most important of the week.
Q. The spitting penalty, how do you as a senior leader kind of handle something like that when it happens, especially on a game-winning drive like that?
DEVIN MOORE: For sure. Address it, hold my teammate accountable. There's no place for that as an individual and certainly representing the University of Florida. There's no place for that here. This is a prestigious program, and that will be addressed for sure.
Q. As a veteran on this team, how much responsibility do you feel to impart that message to the young guys who may be motivated or feeling like this is going to be a setback that could splinter? I know you said it's not a problem, but as the veteran leadership, how motivated do you feel to lead that charge?
DEVIN MOORE: Extremely motivated. Like I said earlier, these guys I've bled with, cried with. There have been a lot of long nights. So I'm very motivated, me and other people on the team. You can't be -- everyone can hold everyone accountable. Even the young guys who haven't experienced as much, they should be holding me accountable and other leaders.
I'm ready to get back to work, clean this film up, and just improve.
Q. How much can you lean on what happened last year? You guys go into the bye week and take more accountability and turn things around? How much can you lean on how things went last year in this current struggle?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, having that experience definitely helps just -- it's just like a wakeup call to everybody. Every rep in practice matters. Every rep in the film room matters. We got to take it to the level of extreme. Everything matters. Nothing goes unnoticed.
Q. How do you guys show your belief and backing for Billy? Like last year, he's going to start just taking tremendous heat right out of the gate again.
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, Coach Napier, he's a great coach and even a better person. He's changed a lot of people's lives on the team, and we believe in him 100 percent, 110 percent. He's going to put us in the right position to make plays, and it's up to us as players to make those plays.
From a fan's view or just from an audience view, it might discredit Billy when really it's just a player who has to make that play and he's in the perfect call.
Q. Earlier in the game there was an illegal substitution penalty on the defense that allowed them to keep the drive alive and get a field goal. You could have had them off the field there. How do you guys clean that up and how tough is that with the substitutions when you guys are filling in and out like that?
DEVIN MOORE: Yeah, that was a big penalty. We've got to watch it on film and figure out what we can do better, not only as players, but talking to the coaches, communicating with them, and just take a step in that area.
Q. Devin, obviously the orange and blue, the Gators, the Gator fans, they see, they come out, they sell out, and they've seen you guys lose against USF. Can you talk about what does it mean for you to play for the orange and blue, and what message do you have for the fans?
DEVIN MOORE: It means everything to me. This program has changed my life, made me a better football player, but even more important, a better man. I know my teammates can say the same for that. I feel like as a team we owe it all to this program.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports