Darian Mensah on Elija Lofton None Touchdown, Interception, and Reaction to Notre Dame loss

What was your view of Elijah's catch, non-catch, as they called it, in the end zone? Yeah, I didn't even see him knock the ball out at the end, so I thought it was a touchdown. But, yeah, you can't leave it up to one play. You can't leave it in the hands of the officials. I've got to play better. Look at the ups and downs of the game, you guys were struggling a little bit in the first half, they took a three touchdown lead and after that, the lead, you know, obviously you're probably going to end up being proud of the way you came back, but you know, what made the difference, what changed? Just backs against the wall, you know, we didn't have any other option but to go and, you know, I'm proud of our guys, the way we fought back. Obviously, it wasn't enough, and it hurts, but we've got to use it going into next week. Obviously, losing Mally is really tough in the middle of the week. How did you see the team respond to that? Yeah, I think it inspired me to take charge of the team and just come out and meet these boys. It was, um... It definitely hurts losing a guy like Mally. He's a great kid, and everybody's rallying around him, so to see him go down in the middle of the week hurts. Um... At the end of the day, you know, it's the next man up mentality. And so, yeah. And Ryan said he spoke to you guys before you left. Just what did that mean to you? What did it mean to the team for him to try to encourage you guys while you know he couldn't be here? What did you say? Ryan said that Mally spoke to you guys before you guys left. Oh, yeah. What was it like to see him talk to the team and try to encourage you guys? Yeah, he's a leader. He told us to just come out here and bring it back. And so I apologize to him for not being able to do that. Cut it to Notre Dame, they played a good game. Is there any consolation you can give us that everything is so out there for you? Everything you guys would want is here for you? For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, this one definitely stings. And we've got to, like I said earlier, we've got to use it. And yeah, like you said, there's everything we want is still in front of us. And we've got to just stay positive and be ready to come to work on Monday. Gary, considering the way the first half did unfold offensively to see how you guys were able to get things going in the second half, how encouraging is that moving forward, knowing that you guys are able to do what you guys normally do even when Maui isn't out there? Yeah, it's definitely encouraging, but at the end of the day, we've got to start faster. I've got to play better. We can't turn it over in those situations, and I'm really just hurting for our guys right now. What do you think of Cooper? He stepped up in that effort. Did he do that tonight? Yeah, he did. You know, that was expected of him. You know, he's my guy, and I'm proud of the way he played, proud of the way, you know, our offense battled back, going down 24-3. Um... But at the end of the day, you know, it just wasn't enough. And so I've got to regroup and be ready to come to work on Monday. Now, Delaney Lofton played in the fourth quarter. You ran to the end zone, and you said something to Delaney Lofton. What did you say? What did you say? Delaney Lofton played in the fourth quarter. I feel like it dropped. You ran to the end zone, and you said something to him. I was celebrating. I thought it was a touchdown. So I didn't even see him drop the ball at the end. And then his, like, reaction told me that, oh, ----, he dropped it. Sorry for cussing. Darren, thank you. Appreciate you guys. Thanks, Darren. Thanks, everybody. That's all for tonight. Safe travels.