West Virginia University
Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
October 26, 2015
TCU Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 26, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
Let’s get started. We have Texas Christian. It’s always a fun game with TCU. These guys are pretty good. Obviously, they came into the league at the same time as us. They have put themselves into position where they are pretty hot here lately. I thought they were pretty good last year. Defensively, they were outstanding. They could have been considered as good as anybody, finishing 12-1 last year. Their only lost was at Baylor early in the year. It was a really good football team, and this year they picked up right where they left off. They don’t look any different to me this year. They have some new bodies on defense, but they don’t look any different to me. The bodies that (TCU head coach) Gary Patterson coaches defensively are all going to end up doing the same stuff. It will be a huge challenge for our team. It is one that I know our guys are looking forward, too. Like I said, this game is always exciting and entertaining, and this year it is not going to be any different.
Offensively, they have everyone back from a year ago led by (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin. I thought he was the best player in college football last year. This year, he is not doing a whole lot different. He has great people around him. A lot like Baylor, all their o-line guys are back from a year ago. They have a lot of seniors up front, led by their center. The (senior center Joey) Hunt kid, No. 55, is potentially the best center in the country. He’s a really good player. There are a lot of good seniors up front. They’re big. They’re experienced. They have played a lot. When you have a quarterback and an o-line like that, then that’s a good place to start. (Senior wide receiver Josh) Doctson is playing as good as good as anybody. He is his favorite target. He has 12 touchdowns already, so it is going to be a chore to hold him down and contain. The problem with them, much like it was a week ago, if you start focusing on one, they have a lot of other guys that can hurt you. (Senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee is playing well. The (senior tailback Aaron) Green kid is playing well. The new kid (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin, No. 25, is extremely fast and incredibly shifty, so they put him anywhere from slot to running back. They have a lot of weapons and everything goes with that quarterback. He is a heck of player, and he is fun to watch. It is going to be challenging for us to contain.
Defensively, (TCU head coach) Gary (Patterson) has been doing the same stuff defensively for the better part of the two decades. He has a great scheme. They are sound and well coached, but they had some great bodies that they had to replace. One of their safeties and both of their corners last year are all in the NFL. They were really good players, and they replaced them with a lot of young kids who don’t have much experience, but they are good athletes and are ready to play. Their defensive front is what really stands out. It is the same guys as last year. They have about four or five of those guys left. I think they only replaced one from last year’s team. Their captain, the safety (senior safety Derrick Kindred), is a heck of a player. He is a downhill type of guy that makes sound tackles as well. They are a group that is getting better and better each week. With that kind of experience, they lost some kids to injury at the beginning of the year, but you can tell that this a group that continues to improve. Especially coming off of a bye week, I would anticipate these guys to look fresh and ready to play.
The special teams is always solid. Their kicker is a heck of kicker. He got us last year in the last few seconds. Their team speed on coverage units is spectacular. The speed that they have at returner is something as well. The (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin kid, the freshman, is a little bitty guy that is as quick as can be. He’s back there at kick return with one of the fastest kids in college football with (senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee. It’s going to be a challenge for our cover units. I have been happy with our coverage units, but it’s going to be a challenge containing some of the better guys out there. We want to continue to improve.
It should be a fun week. We are already half way there. We have a practice here tonight. With the short week, we have to utilize Monday as a practice day. The problem is that we schedule all our classes on Monday, so all of our players are in class all day. We will get out there later on under the lights tonight when all these guys are finished with their class schedules. We will have a Wednesday practice tonight, do some stuff tomorrow and practice a little bit on Wednesday, and then we will travel Wednesday afternoon. We are looking forward to the game on Thursday night. I will take some questions.
On how senior wide receiver Josh Doctson compares to the other elite receivers in the Big 12
He’s big. It’s a neat story. He was under recruited out of high school, and he signed with Wyoming. I thought he was better than that, and he transferred back to TCU as a walk-on. It would be nice to get a walk-on or two like that around here, but he has that relationship with the quarterback. He reminds me a little bit of Kevin (White) last year. He is bursting out onto the scene. He is an under recruited guy making a name for himself. He is developing into a great, physical receiver, and he is establishing that kind of rapport with the quarterback that allows you to those kind of stats that he has. He is there No. 1 targeted guy. Again, you know what (senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee can do, and you know what (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin can do. I think we are running the ball pretty good. They are running it more than we are, and they are averaging more than we are. You have to be able to contain what they do in the run game, not only from their backs, but their quarterback as well. His relationship with (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin is very evident. That’s why his numbers are as good as they are. He is a really good player.
On if the way TCU handled senior quarterback Trevone Boykin influences the way he is going to handle freshman quarterback David Sills
Maybe a little bit. I haven’t really thought of it that way. I am tired of seeing (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin, I know that. He came out here as a freshman, and he played quarterback at a really high level. Then we saw him as a receiver when they were trying to figure out what to do with him. I know when (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers Doug) Meacham received that job, he called, and we talked. I told him whatever you do, don’t put (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin back at quarterback. I really haven’t thought about it that way. I want to recruit quarterbacks that have athleticism, and I want to recruit guys like (redshirt freshman quarterback William) Crest and (freshman quarterback David) Sills that love the game of football. I will recruit as many of those guys as much as I can. I don’t care what position it is. I’m telling you right now, (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin is that same type of guy. The dude loves to play football. It just shows. He gets out there on the field, and he love to play football. Those are the kind of guys I want.
On how senior quarterback Trevone Boykin has grown over the years
I think having (co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) Sonny (Cumbie) and (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers) Doug Meacham there for two years has done them a bunch of good. (Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) Sonny (Cumbie) is a good friend, and he was a good quarterback, and now he is a good quarterback coach. Having the individual attention that he does has helped him a lot throughout the years. With a guy that has gone from a freshman to a senior, his maturity level has probably grown tremendously. He has played in a lot of games. Switching positions probably gave him a better knowledge of the overall game. Then (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers Doug) Meacham came in with a system and a plan that he believed in. He had a plan, with not only him, but the overall offense. He’s definitely benefited greatly from it.
On if it is hard to recruit within the state of Texas
Yes. We don’t have the man power to be able to cover everywhere, so we made the decision that there is good football on the east coast in all of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the time that we spend in Florida. We would have to take guys out of that area to send them to Texas and recruit really good players. There is no question. I am a huge proponent of Texas high school football, and I am a huge proponent of the coaches and the job that they do. I think you have to be realistic in what your odds are in order to get players. Baylor and TCU used to be afterthoughts in the state of Texas when it came to recruiting. I was at Texas Tech for eight years and Houston and Oklahoma State. They were going elsewhere, but now, they are going there, so it makes it even harder to recruit. The SEC is going in there a lot more too with Texas A&M going into the SEC. A lot of the SEC west schools are recruiting there a bunch as well. It’s difficult to recruit there.
On how senior quarterback Trevone Boykin has evolved over the past two years
He looks the same. The last two years is the same stuff. It’s the same players. They are just getting better. They got better from game one to game 13 last year. Have they gotten better? I’m sure they are better, but the numbers are the same, so how much better can they get? He’s a good football player. I thought he was the best one in the country a year ago. He looks like the same guy to me.
On if junior quarterback Skyler Howard has any extra motivation with returning back to his hometown
I hope not. It shouldn’t mean anymore to him. I’m quite certain it probably means a good bit to him anyways. I kept my eye on that a week ago. It was the same deal 10 days ago. We stayed in Fort Worth, and he had a lot of family members come to the hotel. Then we drove an hour down south. It’s the same thing this week. He’s a Mountaineer. He just happens to be from there. I think it’s important to him to go up against any team in the Big 12 regardless of who it is or where it is. He has a job to do, and he has been working hard here the last 10 days. I am happy with where he is at this point.
On if the current rise from TCU gives hope to West Virginia once the team works out the kinks with its transition into the Big 12
I think so. It’s a good measuring stick with where we are at. We had identical records in year one and year two. Both times that we played against them, they were overtime games. Last year, they won some close games, and we lost some close games. A year ago, we were sitting here at 6-2, and we were up 10 points in the fourth quarter against TCU, but they figured out a way to win. I think that shows how close we are. With that said, we are not finishing close games as well as they are right now. I think they won 19 out of 20. It’s pretty dang good. I think we are close, and we are not fair off. They have a ton of seniors on offense right now, and we have a ton of seniors on defense. Offensively, we have to continue to improve to the point where we can affect some games at the end like they did a year ago. That is my job to get our guys to that point offensively as soon as possible.
On if he plans to attack the defense the same as last year
You have to watch the video and use whatever gives you the best opportunity to win clearly. We did some good things defensively against them last year. You’re not going to stop these guys. These guys are averaging 50 points and 600 yards a game. We knew we weren’t going to stop Baylor either. Last year, we did a good job of doing that against both of those schools. When you go to their place, they have a little bit more motivation due to the fact that we played decent against them a year ago. That means, offensively we have to do a better job of matching the scores. If we want that game against Baylor to be any different, we have to be able to match some scores. We are not quite there yet offensively. Hopefully, with a little bit more practice, we’ll get a little bit closer. TCU is going to score some points. We know that. Offensively, we have to be able to match them, and then defensively, we have to do what we can to get as many stops as we can.
On the continuity that they have with the same system and how unusual is it to have
It’s fairly unusual. It’s nice to sit here a year later with some pretty good continuity on both sides of the ball. It helps. (TCU head coach) Gary (Patterson) has been doing the same stuff there. I commend him for changing what his thought process was offensively. That’s been the difference with their first two years in the league and where they are right now. You have to have that in all three phases of the game. If you want to develop real consistency and real improvement, then you have to keep things relatively the same and continue to get better at it.
On if the bye week helps with some of the bumps and bruises
It always does.
On what the offense should expect from TCU’s defense
It’s all about becoming familiar with your opponent. Its video. They still can only play with 11. They’re going to have tendencies, and they’re going to have the unknown of what they’re going to do from week-to-week. That exists in every game. You have to get as familiar as you can with it through video and practice against it. You have to get your teams to do the looks, and then you have to be ready to adjust with what they do in games. I’ll tell you what sets him apart more than anyone. It’s really not the scheme as much as you all would like to think it is. It’s more the technique that these guys play with. They play with tremendous effort, and their technique defensively is really good. Their pad level is really good, and their technique is really good.
On TCU beating the team up front on offense last season
Yes, they did. Defensively, they were really good up front. Defensively, they were really good last year. Again, they were a senior team. Their three linebackers were the best set of three linebackers I have seen in a long time. Their d-line is very physical. They play with great technique, and unfortunately for us, most of the guys are back. We have to do a good job of protecting (junior quarterback) Skyler (Howard). We didn’t do a great job with that last year with Clint (Trickett). He got rattled a little bit. He would be the first to admit that. We have to protect them up front. We have to run the ball effectively, and I think we ran the ball effectively early on last year. That’s the key, but doing it over the course of the game would have been nice as opposed to shutting things down in the third quarter. Offensively, they’re going to try to run the ball. They’re averaging 225 yards a game, rushing. They have a big, physical o-line with some quality backs and a quarterback that can run it as well. It is our job to contain that defensively. We contained Baylor in the run game with the exception of the quarterback keep, and we have worked hard on that, because we know he’s going to do the same stuff.
On the Minnesota game
No. They were physical upfront. They tried to run the ball, and that’s good Minnesota Big 10 football. They were going to try to run the ball, and then defensively, they were pretty decent at defending the run. You can take bits and pieces from everything, but you have to do what you do, and have it fit with what you do, as opposed to overhauling the entire defense.
On outscoring TCU
I would like to get to a point where we can. I’ve been involved in some games where it’s been fairly high scoring games. We just haven’t been there yet. Yeah, me too.
On if he behaves differently
I’d like to be able to do that. I think it was drive three against Baylor where we took 14 plays in a six minute drive. We could use about four of those in this game if we can move forward and get some first downs. Yes you can, but if you go back to a couple years ago, I tried to do that a good bit. We weren’t worth a dang. We were bad. We have to be able to find a good level of control with the ball, but not let it disrupt us. It can disrupt us if we go too slow. If I’m just trying to kill clock, we’re going to be punting pretty quick, and I don’t think anyone’s interested in that.
On Thursday night games and the preparation
I like it quite a bit. It’s a nationally televised game. There will be a lot of eyes on the television set. That’s always good for the program. The exposure is good. It should be a live environment in Fort Worth. The Big 12 does a good job with their scheduling of Thursday night games. Both teams will never play the Saturday before a Thursday game. That’s always been the gripe, especially if you play a Thursday night game with just five days of preparation and the team that you’re playing didn’t play on that Saturday. That’s not good. I’m not a big fan of the five day turn-around. I think the Big 12 does it right. If you’re going to play a Thursday night game, don’t play the Saturday before. We’ll have ample time to get ready for this game. More time to get ready for this game then we will for the remaining games.
Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
October 26, 2015
TCU Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 26, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
Let’s get started. We have Texas Christian. It’s always a fun game with TCU. These guys are pretty good. Obviously, they came into the league at the same time as us. They have put themselves into position where they are pretty hot here lately. I thought they were pretty good last year. Defensively, they were outstanding. They could have been considered as good as anybody, finishing 12-1 last year. Their only lost was at Baylor early in the year. It was a really good football team, and this year they picked up right where they left off. They don’t look any different to me this year. They have some new bodies on defense, but they don’t look any different to me. The bodies that (TCU head coach) Gary Patterson coaches defensively are all going to end up doing the same stuff. It will be a huge challenge for our team. It is one that I know our guys are looking forward, too. Like I said, this game is always exciting and entertaining, and this year it is not going to be any different.
Offensively, they have everyone back from a year ago led by (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin. I thought he was the best player in college football last year. This year, he is not doing a whole lot different. He has great people around him. A lot like Baylor, all their o-line guys are back from a year ago. They have a lot of seniors up front, led by their center. The (senior center Joey) Hunt kid, No. 55, is potentially the best center in the country. He’s a really good player. There are a lot of good seniors up front. They’re big. They’re experienced. They have played a lot. When you have a quarterback and an o-line like that, then that’s a good place to start. (Senior wide receiver Josh) Doctson is playing as good as good as anybody. He is his favorite target. He has 12 touchdowns already, so it is going to be a chore to hold him down and contain. The problem with them, much like it was a week ago, if you start focusing on one, they have a lot of other guys that can hurt you. (Senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee is playing well. The (senior tailback Aaron) Green kid is playing well. The new kid (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin, No. 25, is extremely fast and incredibly shifty, so they put him anywhere from slot to running back. They have a lot of weapons and everything goes with that quarterback. He is a heck of player, and he is fun to watch. It is going to be challenging for us to contain.
Defensively, (TCU head coach) Gary (Patterson) has been doing the same stuff defensively for the better part of the two decades. He has a great scheme. They are sound and well coached, but they had some great bodies that they had to replace. One of their safeties and both of their corners last year are all in the NFL. They were really good players, and they replaced them with a lot of young kids who don’t have much experience, but they are good athletes and are ready to play. Their defensive front is what really stands out. It is the same guys as last year. They have about four or five of those guys left. I think they only replaced one from last year’s team. Their captain, the safety (senior safety Derrick Kindred), is a heck of a player. He is a downhill type of guy that makes sound tackles as well. They are a group that is getting better and better each week. With that kind of experience, they lost some kids to injury at the beginning of the year, but you can tell that this a group that continues to improve. Especially coming off of a bye week, I would anticipate these guys to look fresh and ready to play.
The special teams is always solid. Their kicker is a heck of kicker. He got us last year in the last few seconds. Their team speed on coverage units is spectacular. The speed that they have at returner is something as well. The (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin kid, the freshman, is a little bitty guy that is as quick as can be. He’s back there at kick return with one of the fastest kids in college football with (senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee. It’s going to be a challenge for our cover units. I have been happy with our coverage units, but it’s going to be a challenge containing some of the better guys out there. We want to continue to improve.
It should be a fun week. We are already half way there. We have a practice here tonight. With the short week, we have to utilize Monday as a practice day. The problem is that we schedule all our classes on Monday, so all of our players are in class all day. We will get out there later on under the lights tonight when all these guys are finished with their class schedules. We will have a Wednesday practice tonight, do some stuff tomorrow and practice a little bit on Wednesday, and then we will travel Wednesday afternoon. We are looking forward to the game on Thursday night. I will take some questions.
On how senior wide receiver Josh Doctson compares to the other elite receivers in the Big 12
He’s big. It’s a neat story. He was under recruited out of high school, and he signed with Wyoming. I thought he was better than that, and he transferred back to TCU as a walk-on. It would be nice to get a walk-on or two like that around here, but he has that relationship with the quarterback. He reminds me a little bit of Kevin (White) last year. He is bursting out onto the scene. He is an under recruited guy making a name for himself. He is developing into a great, physical receiver, and he is establishing that kind of rapport with the quarterback that allows you to those kind of stats that he has. He is there No. 1 targeted guy. Again, you know what (senior wide receiver Kolby) Listenbee can do, and you know what (freshman wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin can do. I think we are running the ball pretty good. They are running it more than we are, and they are averaging more than we are. You have to be able to contain what they do in the run game, not only from their backs, but their quarterback as well. His relationship with (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin is very evident. That’s why his numbers are as good as they are. He is a really good player.
On if the way TCU handled senior quarterback Trevone Boykin influences the way he is going to handle freshman quarterback David Sills
Maybe a little bit. I haven’t really thought of it that way. I am tired of seeing (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin, I know that. He came out here as a freshman, and he played quarterback at a really high level. Then we saw him as a receiver when they were trying to figure out what to do with him. I know when (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers Doug) Meacham received that job, he called, and we talked. I told him whatever you do, don’t put (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin back at quarterback. I really haven’t thought about it that way. I want to recruit quarterbacks that have athleticism, and I want to recruit guys like (redshirt freshman quarterback William) Crest and (freshman quarterback David) Sills that love the game of football. I will recruit as many of those guys as much as I can. I don’t care what position it is. I’m telling you right now, (senior quarterback Trevone) Boykin is that same type of guy. The dude loves to play football. It just shows. He gets out there on the field, and he love to play football. Those are the kind of guys I want.
On how senior quarterback Trevone Boykin has grown over the years
I think having (co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) Sonny (Cumbie) and (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers) Doug Meacham there for two years has done them a bunch of good. (Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) Sonny (Cumbie) is a good friend, and he was a good quarterback, and now he is a good quarterback coach. Having the individual attention that he does has helped him a lot throughout the years. With a guy that has gone from a freshman to a senior, his maturity level has probably grown tremendously. He has played in a lot of games. Switching positions probably gave him a better knowledge of the overall game. Then (co-offensive coordinator/inside wide receivers Doug) Meacham came in with a system and a plan that he believed in. He had a plan, with not only him, but the overall offense. He’s definitely benefited greatly from it.
On if it is hard to recruit within the state of Texas
Yes. We don’t have the man power to be able to cover everywhere, so we made the decision that there is good football on the east coast in all of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the time that we spend in Florida. We would have to take guys out of that area to send them to Texas and recruit really good players. There is no question. I am a huge proponent of Texas high school football, and I am a huge proponent of the coaches and the job that they do. I think you have to be realistic in what your odds are in order to get players. Baylor and TCU used to be afterthoughts in the state of Texas when it came to recruiting. I was at Texas Tech for eight years and Houston and Oklahoma State. They were going elsewhere, but now, they are going there, so it makes it even harder to recruit. The SEC is going in there a lot more too with Texas A&M going into the SEC. A lot of the SEC west schools are recruiting there a bunch as well. It’s difficult to recruit there.
On how senior quarterback Trevone Boykin has evolved over the past two years
He looks the same. The last two years is the same stuff. It’s the same players. They are just getting better. They got better from game one to game 13 last year. Have they gotten better? I’m sure they are better, but the numbers are the same, so how much better can they get? He’s a good football player. I thought he was the best one in the country a year ago. He looks like the same guy to me.
On if junior quarterback Skyler Howard has any extra motivation with returning back to his hometown
I hope not. It shouldn’t mean anymore to him. I’m quite certain it probably means a good bit to him anyways. I kept my eye on that a week ago. It was the same deal 10 days ago. We stayed in Fort Worth, and he had a lot of family members come to the hotel. Then we drove an hour down south. It’s the same thing this week. He’s a Mountaineer. He just happens to be from there. I think it’s important to him to go up against any team in the Big 12 regardless of who it is or where it is. He has a job to do, and he has been working hard here the last 10 days. I am happy with where he is at this point.
On if the current rise from TCU gives hope to West Virginia once the team works out the kinks with its transition into the Big 12
I think so. It’s a good measuring stick with where we are at. We had identical records in year one and year two. Both times that we played against them, they were overtime games. Last year, they won some close games, and we lost some close games. A year ago, we were sitting here at 6-2, and we were up 10 points in the fourth quarter against TCU, but they figured out a way to win. I think that shows how close we are. With that said, we are not finishing close games as well as they are right now. I think they won 19 out of 20. It’s pretty dang good. I think we are close, and we are not fair off. They have a ton of seniors on offense right now, and we have a ton of seniors on defense. Offensively, we have to continue to improve to the point where we can affect some games at the end like they did a year ago. That is my job to get our guys to that point offensively as soon as possible.
On if he plans to attack the defense the same as last year
You have to watch the video and use whatever gives you the best opportunity to win clearly. We did some good things defensively against them last year. You’re not going to stop these guys. These guys are averaging 50 points and 600 yards a game. We knew we weren’t going to stop Baylor either. Last year, we did a good job of doing that against both of those schools. When you go to their place, they have a little bit more motivation due to the fact that we played decent against them a year ago. That means, offensively we have to do a better job of matching the scores. If we want that game against Baylor to be any different, we have to be able to match some scores. We are not quite there yet offensively. Hopefully, with a little bit more practice, we’ll get a little bit closer. TCU is going to score some points. We know that. Offensively, we have to be able to match them, and then defensively, we have to do what we can to get as many stops as we can.
On the continuity that they have with the same system and how unusual is it to have
It’s fairly unusual. It’s nice to sit here a year later with some pretty good continuity on both sides of the ball. It helps. (TCU head coach) Gary (Patterson) has been doing the same stuff there. I commend him for changing what his thought process was offensively. That’s been the difference with their first two years in the league and where they are right now. You have to have that in all three phases of the game. If you want to develop real consistency and real improvement, then you have to keep things relatively the same and continue to get better at it.
On if the bye week helps with some of the bumps and bruises
It always does.
On what the offense should expect from TCU’s defense
It’s all about becoming familiar with your opponent. Its video. They still can only play with 11. They’re going to have tendencies, and they’re going to have the unknown of what they’re going to do from week-to-week. That exists in every game. You have to get as familiar as you can with it through video and practice against it. You have to get your teams to do the looks, and then you have to be ready to adjust with what they do in games. I’ll tell you what sets him apart more than anyone. It’s really not the scheme as much as you all would like to think it is. It’s more the technique that these guys play with. They play with tremendous effort, and their technique defensively is really good. Their pad level is really good, and their technique is really good.
On TCU beating the team up front on offense last season
Yes, they did. Defensively, they were really good up front. Defensively, they were really good last year. Again, they were a senior team. Their three linebackers were the best set of three linebackers I have seen in a long time. Their d-line is very physical. They play with great technique, and unfortunately for us, most of the guys are back. We have to do a good job of protecting (junior quarterback) Skyler (Howard). We didn’t do a great job with that last year with Clint (Trickett). He got rattled a little bit. He would be the first to admit that. We have to protect them up front. We have to run the ball effectively, and I think we ran the ball effectively early on last year. That’s the key, but doing it over the course of the game would have been nice as opposed to shutting things down in the third quarter. Offensively, they’re going to try to run the ball. They’re averaging 225 yards a game, rushing. They have a big, physical o-line with some quality backs and a quarterback that can run it as well. It is our job to contain that defensively. We contained Baylor in the run game with the exception of the quarterback keep, and we have worked hard on that, because we know he’s going to do the same stuff.
On the Minnesota game
No. They were physical upfront. They tried to run the ball, and that’s good Minnesota Big 10 football. They were going to try to run the ball, and then defensively, they were pretty decent at defending the run. You can take bits and pieces from everything, but you have to do what you do, and have it fit with what you do, as opposed to overhauling the entire defense.
On outscoring TCU
I would like to get to a point where we can. I’ve been involved in some games where it’s been fairly high scoring games. We just haven’t been there yet. Yeah, me too.
On if he behaves differently
I’d like to be able to do that. I think it was drive three against Baylor where we took 14 plays in a six minute drive. We could use about four of those in this game if we can move forward and get some first downs. Yes you can, but if you go back to a couple years ago, I tried to do that a good bit. We weren’t worth a dang. We were bad. We have to be able to find a good level of control with the ball, but not let it disrupt us. It can disrupt us if we go too slow. If I’m just trying to kill clock, we’re going to be punting pretty quick, and I don’t think anyone’s interested in that.
On Thursday night games and the preparation
I like it quite a bit. It’s a nationally televised game. There will be a lot of eyes on the television set. That’s always good for the program. The exposure is good. It should be a live environment in Fort Worth. The Big 12 does a good job with their scheduling of Thursday night games. Both teams will never play the Saturday before a Thursday game. That’s always been the gripe, especially if you play a Thursday night game with just five days of preparation and the team that you’re playing didn’t play on that Saturday. That’s not good. I’m not a big fan of the five day turn-around. I think the Big 12 does it right. If you’re going to play a Thursday night game, don’t play the Saturday before. We’ll have ample time to get ready for this game. More time to get ready for this game then we will for the remaining games.
