Oklahoma State University Athletics
Monday Football Press Conference
November 01, 1999 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 1, 1999
Head Coach Bob Simmons
On the probability of Tony Lindsay playing against Texas
"I'm hoping. I have not seen him today. I'm assuming that he is. The
trainer hasn't told me otherwise."
On why he didn't play against Texas A&M
"He couldn't get loose. That had been a problem all week. He would
throw early, and the longer he would throw, the more stretch that he
would lose in his arm. We talked about it on Friday, and we came to the
conclusion that if he was going to play in the game, he would need to be
100% in the passing game. I said OElet's do what's best for you, first
of all.' So we chose on Friday to talk about going with B.J. (Tiger) to
start the game."
On what he will tell the team going into the Texas game
"It is the home stretch. You've got four games left in your season.
Coaches try to divide the season up. Obviously, one of our goals is to
try to get to a bowl game. To do that, you go four-for-four or
three-for-four. So that's the scenario. You've got two home games here
at Lewis Field. We've really set the stage for winning those two games
and trying to come up with a six or seven win season so you can put
yourself in a position to go to a bowl. That's the nuts and bolts of
it. You hope that your team will respond and start playing a little bit
better."
On the win over Texas two years ago
"Different time, different team. We went down there last year and I
thought we had a great game plan. I thought we played well enough to
win. We came up short in the kicking game. This Texas team is a good
team. I told the staff that they're the best team that we've seen to
date on both sides of the ball, athletically. They have two inside guys
that anybody in the country would want. They have speed on defense.
They have tremendous size on offense. They have playmakers all over the
place. It's complete football team."
On the lack of a defense being a problem for OSU
"We aren't putting points on the board. When you get in the red zone
and you go down the field and you get a penalty here and a penalty there
and you start marching backwards, you have to be consistent enough on
offense so that we can get in the red zone area. It's not just a
problem in this ball game, it's been there all season. For the majority
of the year, we have not been a productive offense."
On the defense's recent performance
"People are smart now. When you get into the Big 12 and you play a
pressure defense, they know exactly what you're doing. They will max
protect. They will run two man routes. When they do that, it's very
difficult to get home. What they're depending upon is that their
receivers run good routes. What we're depending on is our defensive
backs to cover them. We have to make the plays. Are we less effective?
I think that people are attacking us very differently. It's very
similar to how they attacked us last year, and it's what we try to do
when we play people that send a lot of people in."
On catching teams at bad times
"I don't look at that. We catch them when we catch them. Of all the
teams that you're talking about, the one common denominator is that they
find a way to win football games. They have won on the road. You're
looking at a Texas football team that that doesn't phase them. They're
very confident in their own abilities. And for us to have to have the
edge, we have to do the things to put points on the board, hold the ball
on third down and on the other side of the ball, defensively we have to
get ourselves off the field and make plays. That's the nature of this
league."
On the remaining games
"I think it's the same stretch that we went through last year. It's
just the nature of the conference. For us, the teams that we have
played have all been good football teams. We knew that going into the
season."
DT Courtney Mallory
On playing Texas
"We know we have to come out prepared. They're just another team. We
have to be ready to go. They are a good Texas team who is coming off a
win, so we know we'll have to go out and have a good week of practice so
we can go out and get a victory Saturday."
On the defensive mission for the Texas game
"We know we have to come together and try to get some pressure on those
guys so we can get them to make bad decisions. That's the biggest thing
we're working hard on our pass rush."
On being below .500
"I think the attitude is still good. We still have some of our goals to
accomplish. We can still go to a bowl game with these next four games.
The attitude is really good. I think everybody this week is going to
have a gut check and look at each other and say OEwhat are we going to
do? We have to go out and win these next four games so we can get to a
bowl.'"
On being a senior
"This is my last year here at Oklahoma State, so that's why I'm taking
it personally. I want to go out on a high note. I want to go to a bowl
game and win that so I can leave here saying I was one of the guys who
went out my senior year with a bowl game."
On the defense's performance
"I think we are playing well, but we are still giving up the big plays.
We're not getting done on the field on third down what we need to do."
