Oklahoma State University Athletics
Football Coach/Player Media Luncheon Quotes
April 18, 2003 | Cowboy Football
On whether OSU has a better defense than Southern Miss "I don't know the national rankings, but I like our defense. I'm going to put them against one another. That's going to be my theme going into this week. The advantage is that we have them here at home."
On Southern Miss's defense "When you look at their defense, the front three are predominantly seniors. I think that with that and their secondary they have enough seniors to really make it a strong defense. Their asset is their speed and their quickness. You can run a reverse and they can run you down before you even get started. They play a multiple front kind of defense. They stem around and jump a guy over here, and that makes it very difficult to really get into a man-blocking scheme because it can really confuse the offensive line. We have to be really smart about our pass protection as well as what we do in the running game."
On what OSU has to do to be successful this weekend "The bottom line is that the offense is executing. If we move the ball like we did on Saturday and then got in the red zone and executed, that's what we have to do. I sat there and watched film. I use the terms uninspired and flat, but the major problem was a lack of execution. We have to be better prepared to make sure that we can execute what we want to do."
On OSU needing to not turn the ball over "I don't think that we can afford to have any turnovers at all. The other side of that is that we have to create some opportunities by what our defense does."
On the crowd at Lewis Field "I like that (the sea of orange in the stands). We're going to need to see that same sea of orange this Saturday. We really want the crowd to get into this ball game. They will be very much a factor. Here's a team that has played on the road and has played in big crowds, but we can make a statement with our fans."
On opening up the offense "There are some things that I think we have to do. I think that what Coach (Del) Miller has done in the first two ball games is right on schedule in terms of what he felt that we had to show. Our bottom line is to win this ball game, and we are going to do what we have to do offensively to win the ball game."
On his offense in the redzone against Southwest Texas: "My biggest disappointment was the lack of execution in that area. Just from the standpoint of No. 1 making the right decision and No. 2 the kind of turnovers we had. We have young receivers and we had illegal procedure penalties because we had two guys going in motion. The penalties showed a lack of execution and discipline.
On the defense and the upcoming test against Southern Miss: It's going to be a bigger challenge this week. They have one of the better backs we are going to face in Nix as well as some talented, big receivers. Our defensive backs are going to face the challenge of some really tall receivers. This means our defensive front has really got to be a factor in the pass rush as well as the run because we can't let them get their running game going.
On his belief if the secondary improved from week one to week two: I thought it did. One of the things we did as a staff is mix and match: zone, man, zone blitzes. Southwest Texas first play of the game they threw it deep and Cooper (Michael) was in good shape so I thought the mixture in coverages helped us this last ballgame.
On good things he sees in the special teams: What I see good is Seth Condley. He has done a good job and not missed a field goal. He was the difference in the Tulsa game because he put points on the board. In other areas, our punt coverage team is solid. Our return game needs to improve, I have been spoiled since I have been used to having a guy average 10-15 yards a return. Our kickoff team hasn't been tested but we are constantly looking for ways to improve. Southern Miss can expose you in these areas if your aren't prepared.
Defensive Lineman Zac Akin On the Southern Miss defense: "They want to hype up a defensive battle as much as we do. Whenever we look at the defensive standings they are right there with us in the top ten so we have a lot of respect for their defense. We saw their film last year against Nebraska, they are pretty impressive, they have some big guys and they run. I really like their defense."
On Southern Miss offense: "I haven't seen a lot of film on them, but I know their quarterback is an experienced player and I know Derrick Nix is a solid running back. I don't know the names of their offensive line yet because I haven't seen a lot of film on them, but I know they are a good team. They have good ball control, they move it little by little. It is not a real powerful offense but it is a good offense, and obviously they did well against Alabama, well enough to win."
On Southern Miss's first two opponents (Tennessee and Alabama): "They have played some good teams. Anytime you go to those two schools you are going to a national powerhouse that everybody talks about competing for a national championship. To come out of those two games, playing a tough game in the first one and winning the second one going 1-1, they have to be pleased where they are at right now."
On being an underdog "I'm not really surprised. They are nationally ranked and we haven't played a team that has been able to prove ourselves yet so that is probably expected."
On keys to the game "I think our offense not turning the ball over is one of the huge keys and that is what they thrive on. They don't have long sustaining drives. They get the ball on a turnover and they score on defense more than anybody in the country the past two years. we just have to control the ball and get field position and play really good defense."
On the goals against Southwest Texas "It was very important getting a shutout, because there were some question marks with the Tulsa game as far as with the secondary and how many yards we gave up."
On what the defense needs to do against Southern Miss "Anything like getting a turnover or a good special teams play to give our offense a short field. And if we can keep them from doing that to us and do it to them as well. Anything to give our offense an upper hand."
On the defensive game plan against Southern Miss "This a huge game, our biggest game to date and I know Coach Cassity likes to throw in a lot of wrinkles. Hopefully he can come up with a game plan that will shut them down."
On the advantages of them playing their first two opponents "I think it's been a team advantage for us. I know our offense hasn't been tested and they have had to pull out all the stops. So we have seen a lot of film on them and they haven't seen a lot of film on us."
On respecting Southern Miss: "We have to respect them because they are nationally ranked. I know our defense respects them as well as their defense because they are nationally ranked. They have athletes who run around and make things happen. They may not be the most talented team, but they make the plays and get things done."
On being tested against Southern Miss: "This is our measuring stick. This is a huge game for us against a nationally ranked team coming into our house. This is it if we want to establish ourselves as a team to be reckoned with. We have to make a statement right here. Going into Big 12 play 3-0 would be huge for us."
On filling the stadium "It will be real important. Crowd noise is huge for us on defense. Just to see all of the orange there, it's just a real boost for your team to get everyone excited and lift your team to a whole new level."
On homefield advantage "I think the crowd can give us an edge. I've been to alot of places, and our crowds are really loud. I like the way our crowd gets into it, they do as much as they can. I'm not a big believer in the home team having a huge advantage. I'm a big believer in the noise level against the offense. It is just noise level that they are going to have to deal with."
On the importance of the defensive line "We have to be physical. I know they are a real physical team. If they practice against that defense all the time, then I know they are a physical team up front without even seeing film. It is going to be on us (defensive line) to get pressure on (Jeff) Kelly so he can't throw good balls to his receivers. And, it's going to be on us to shut down (Derrick) Nix and make them a one dimensional team.
On whether week one and two performances will be enough to beat Southern Miss "Probably not. We have got to improve every week, I mean, they have played two defenses that are just as good as ours. We have to continue to improve and continue to get better and make adjustments and just stop people."
On the D-line rotation "I think one guy who has taken a lot upon himself is Kevin Williams. I think against Tulsa he played 67 snaps and he played 30 of them at defensive end and the remainder at defensive tackle. Just the mental aspect of having to know all of the tackle calls and the end calls is a huge thing. For him to just know both positions, it says a lot of him as a player mentally and he's done well. He's been a really good mover for us. We have a good rotation going and everything is going well up front."
Offensive Lineman Bryan Phillips On the preparing for the Southern Mississippi defense "I think we got a pretty good look this week with Southwest Texas. I really haven't got to see any film, we will watch a lot of film today. The best thing we can do is practice, practice, practice."
On the defense "I think this week we will be facing the best two defensive tackles out of the whole year. I am really going to have to focus hard this week."
On proving how good the offensive line is "Definitely, definitely. Southern Miss is a very good team and if we don't come out ready they are going to get after us. I think we do have a lot of things we need to prove this week, but we are prepared to do it."
On Southwest Texas "I don't think we were into it emotionally against Southwest Texas, but we're definitely going to be ready to go against Southern Miss."
On opening up the OSU offense "I'm real excited. When we open up our offense, it's going to be an exciting thing. You all are going to be really, really happy to see what we have got in store for Southern Miss. But until then ..."
On the toughness of the Southern Miss defense "We have got to have a running game going. I wouldn't mind running the ball 12 plays in a row on the first drive to show them who we are. I think we have a darn good offensive line and showed ourselves against Tulsa. With (Jeff) Machado, (Josh) Lind, (Kyle) Eaton and all of those guys, we are really good. We could be one of the top offensives lines in the country. We are trying our hardest to get Reggie (White) a rushing record or something this year. "
On how much of the offensive playbook has been run "I think we've run more than 10 or 15 plays the past two games. We've got quite a bit more, I'm not sure how many, but we've got quite a bit more plays than that."
On the game plan "Overall we are going to start out with our running game. We are definitely going to open it up a lot more with our passing game than we have so far this year."
On being the underdog "I love being the underdog. I love being underestimated that makes it all the better. I wouldn't mind be underdogs all year long."
