Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Meet With The Media
November 10, 2008 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and members of the Cowboy football team met with members of the media Monday at Boone Pickens Stadium to wrap up last week's game at Texas Tech and to preview this week's contest at Colorado. Here are some of the highlights of what they had to say:
Head Coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement:
“Back to work this week. That's the good thing about our profession. Sundays are always a tough day when you have a loss but you get through it and Monday you get back to work. I'm looking forward to getting the players over here this afternoon. The coaches have recovered and at the end of staff meeting this morning we had some smiles on their faces. This is an interesting week for us. Other than the Missouri game, Colorado has played well in our opinion. They're very good defensively: they run to the ball well and they tackle well. They have physical guys up front. We'll have to be very well prepared. We'll have to get the team's frame of mind back in order this afternoon and put the last game to rest and get ready for the next one."
On players frame of mind:
"I haven't seen the team. I won't see them until later on this afternoon. But I'm going to guess that they're going to be fine. Anytime when you're playing for a lot and you lose a game, it's going to be very difficult. But they have to understand that we still have Saturday's game and more to play. They have to be mature enough to come back and prepare this week to go to Colorado and play a good game."
On team's goals changing:
"Well obviously winning the conference is difficult at this point. I think the most important thing for our team now is to win number nine. That's a good question and it got brought up this morning in the staff meeting. You start out the season with certain goals and then as long as you can keep your sights on those goals and stay focused and in the right frame of mind, if the goal changes, it's not what you wanted but it's okay. The new goal for us is to win nine games."
On Colorado's altitude being a factor:
"I don't think so. I'm sure there is some scientific reason for that question. When I played up there I don't really remember it being much of a factor. I didn't really run around though. I turned and tossed the ball to one or two guys and threw a few passes to a big guy and that about wrapped it up for me. So I don't know if I'm a good example. But I don't really remember it affecting our team that much. But I'm sure there's something about it's harder to get air and adapt to it. But it's not going to change before we get there. So our guys need to prepare like normal and get ready to go play. "
Defensive Coordinator Tim Beckman
On the Texas Tech game:
“Well, I'm extremely disappointed in the way we played and the way we coached. Some credit has to go to Texas Tech. They are a fine football team. Coach Leach has done some outstanding things with them, and they have some great athletes. Basically, it comes down to not making plays in space and just not playing up to the caliber that we need to play at.”
On conditioning to play in high altitude:
“I think it will be a little bit of a factor. It's a late game for us. Both teams have played a lot of football this year. I think it will be OK. I have never played in Colorado, so that will be a new situation for me as a coach. I'm sure it will be a factor, but Rob Glass has those guys in great shape. The kids will be ready to play.”
On knowing there is still something to play for:
“There is a lot to play for. You have two opportunities to play with your seniors. I think that is huge. It is great to have those opportunities to play some more with your Jacob Lacey's and your Ricky Price's and those lifelong relationships that you build. Also, we have the opportunity to win nine games this weekend. That's a huge thing for these kids. There are not many teams out there right now with nine wins.”
Quarterback Zac Robinson
On playing in the high altitude:
“You see teams go up there every now and then who struggle with the altitude and things like that. I think we are in great condition as a team. It seems like every time we are in the fourth quarter, it is the other teams that are huffing and puffing, yet we are pretty fresh. I'm not really worried about the altitude for the team. We've done a great job conditioning up to this point. I don't think it will play too big of a factor.”
On Colorado's defense:
“They are not giving up a whole lot of big plays. Missouri did a good job against them. They have a sound defense, and they do a lot of different things with mixing up coverage and blitzes to try to confuse the quarterback and offenses. We are going to have our hands full this week in preparation to try to get a good feel for what they are going to do.”
Punter Matt Fodge
On the importance of special teams:
“If you talk to many of these guys, they will tell you that their first play in college football was on special teams. People take pride in that. We have always emphasized special teams since I've been here. We have been successful at what we do. We have a great group of guys who work really hard.”
On his role as captain:
“It has been a huge honor to be able to go out for the coin toss every game. I take a lot of pride in that. The reason that we have rotated captains every week is because there are more than two or three guys on this team that are considered to be leaders. I think that is a great thing for a team to have. It has shown in the success that we have had this season.”
Linebacker Deron Fontenot
On preparing for Colorado's offense:
“We are going to prepare just like we do every other offense. We take every team serious. We take every offense serious, because you never know what is going to happen on any Saturday.”
On playing on the road this season:
“There is always a little bit of concern. We can only play our game the way we play it. And so far we have been pretty successful. We just try to have fun every game.”
On the defense recovering from Texas Tech game:
“I think the biggest thing is assignments. They had a lot of good receivers who read our defense. I think if we focus on our assignments, if we find those receivers, it will help us out.”
On moving on from the loss:
“Every team has a tough game. Nobody is perfect in college football. That is why we are amateurs. We just had an off day. We are going to bounce back. We have had a lot of good games against some good teams. The only teams we have lost to were ranked one and two in the nation, so we are still feeling pretty good about ourselves.”
