Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gundy, Cowboys Preview Tulsa Game
September 13, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 13, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and selected members of the team met with members of the media at Boone Pickens Stadium Monday to recap the Cowboys' 41-38 win over Troy last week and to look ahead to this week's game with Tulsa. The highlights:
Mike Gundy, Head Coach
Opening Statement:
“Troy was a good win for us. We need to limit penalties and do a better job of taking care of the ball. Defensively we have to defend the pass down the field better and tackle better in space. But we're happy that we won the football game and now we're looking forward to a great week of practice. Tulsa is very explosive and they get a lot of yards per game and score a lot of points. Defensively they're playing a lot of man coverage. That's much different from what we've seen this year so we'll have to spend a considerable amount of time preparing for man coverage. We need to have a great week of practice. I know our players are excited about this game. So we're looking forward to a great week's work and playing on Saturday night.”
On having any advantage from Coach Holgorsen having played Tulsa with Houston:
“Well you can look at it either way. They've had the same opportunity to go against his offense. That discussion has been brought up but I think it's pretty much a wash.”
On the team coming together:
“They've taken the first step. This is a new group of players and it takes time to develop a unit like that. But they certainly took a big step last Saturday night achieving some of the things just mentioned: coming from behind and the defense making big plays at the right time during the game. They've got a ways to go but I like the way this team practices. I like the way they work together. Over the last few years you've heard me mention the team is close and they care about each other a lot. It takes time to be able to say that.”
On his history of playing Tulsa and playing them as a head coach:
“I don't really have much. I just play the games that are scheduled. I don't really think a lot about it. We had a discussion a few years ago of starting a new series against Tulsa. We came to the conclusion that it'd be good for the state and for Oklahoma State. Obviously Tulsa felt the same way so we scheduled them.”
On Tulsa's quarterback G.J. Kinne:
“He's a good player. Kinne, Charles Clay and Damaris Johnson make a lot of plays for them. They're very explosive. They do a good job of mixing things up and doing multiple formations. They're good at playing with speed, a lot of what Troy did and what we try to accomplish on offense.”
On Brandon Weeden's performance so far this season:
“Brandon has played fairly well. He turned the ball over on Saturday night and we'd like to limit those. As I mentioned in the summer he is going to go through some growing pains. That's just the way it is. He made some mistakes. I think Coach Holgorsen and the offense in general understands exactly where he's at and we're bringing him along. But I thought his poise and composure Saturday night was very good. He handled things very well. When he made a mistake he didn't hang his head. He got back in there and made the corrections. He made some big plays in the third quarter to get us back in the game.”
On how important it is to score touchdowns instead of field goals:
“When you're playing at home and you get a chance to build momentum, you'd like to score a touchdown there. If you get two field goals, all they have to do is score a touchdown and they're back in the game. You really don't gain a lot of momentum with field goals. At times when you're playing at home, you go down the field as fast as we did and then if they hold you to two field goals, they gained more momentum than you did. It's important to be able to score. And we understand that. We've addressed those issues and we have a plan for that. Looking back at the tape, we should have. We had guys who were in a position to score and we didn't execute the offense and run it the way it was supposed to. We'll correct those mistakes.”
Dana Holgorsen, Offensive Coordinator
On if OSU will operate from the shotgun when taking a knee at the end of a game
"I don't think so. We will if we have to, if we are fumbling snaps we will. I have talked to people about it and some people use it and some people don't. We will practice it this week. It is the funnest play to run in football so we need to be able to do it correctly."
On the Troy game
"The game was up and down. We moved the ball okay and we found a few other guys to go with the ball. Cooper played well and Chelf played well. Tracy Moore made two huge plays on third downs. We are finding some other guys to throw the ball to. We didn't have any three-and-outs, which was an area of emphasis from last week. That was something that we wanted to get better at. We played a better opponent and we want to be able to play smarter."
On getting ready for Tulsa...
"I've watched them all morning. They are very similar to how they have been the last several years. I coached against them the last two years while I was down at Houston so I'm pretty familiar with how they run their program and their defense so we are going to keep watching film and come up with a plan to execute."
Bill Young, Defensive Coordinator
On the game against Troy
"We forced some turnovers and we played pretty well, we were pretty excited about that part. But we also missed some tackles and allowed them to make some big plays. They were much more athletic than Washington State."
On the Tulsa game
"Tulsa is going to be very similar to Troy in the way that they have a quarterback that throws the ball extremely well. Damaris Johnson is a very elusive guy. I used to coach at Tulsa so I already know the mindset going into this game. A lot of their players are guys that maybe should have been recruited here, but weren't. So we'd better be ready."
On preparing for the Tulsa game
"We started Sunday. We looked at the tapes and looked at some of the issues we had and figured out what we needed to focus on."
Brandon Weeden, Quarterback
On the game against Troy
"We had a lot of penalties, a lot of pre-snap penalties. I put the ball on the ground. We gave them the chance to get into the game. But I think that shows the character of this team to fight and win the game."
On this week preparing for Tulsa
"They are just an hour away. A lot of the guys that play at Tulsa were recruited by Oklahoma State and vice versa. So there is a lot that goes into this game and into this week. I know that they are going to come in fired up and ready to play and we have got to do the same. Every game is big. We only get 12 games in the regular season and we have to make the best of them. Every week is a big game. Offensively speaking, we are ready to get back out there and correct our mistakes from last week and get back on the right track."
Kendall Hunter, Running Back
On playing the second game of the season
“I was just happy to get back out there. I came out the best I can and tried to help my team.”
On his touchdown
“I knew I wasn't down. When we made contact I landed on his back and just popped right back up.”
On if being Big 12 Player of the Year is a specific goal of his
“Whatever the team needs I'll do. It would be a good goal to have, but I'm not thinking about that right now.”
Tracy Moore, Receiver
On his improved attitude:
"It's kind of like I've been reborn. During the summer, I was all energized. Once two-a-days started, my energy level started going down a little bit. But after talking to coach and talking to some of the players, it was stuff that I had to do. I kind of got that hunger back, so I'm ready to play now."
On Josh Cooper in the locker room
"Josh is a funny guy. He's one of those guys that, every time you look at him, he's smiling, and it's kind of that sneaky smile. You never really know what he's done. You're checking your locker to make sure he hasn't played any jokes. You just have to watch out for him."
Richetti Jones, Defensive End
On Troy's quarterback changes
"We were ready for it. We had talked about it all week. We knew that when No. 7 was in, he would run the ball, and when No. 6 was in he was going to throw the ball. Whenever they would come in and switch we were ready."
On Troy receiver Jerrel Jernigan
"He is a great player and a great athlete. I feel like he would be an asset for any big-time program."
On preparing for Tulsa
"We will do the same thing we do every week. We will go over their plays and see which blitzes and plays will work best against them. We will just play hard."
On the game against Troy as a whole...
"It was a dog fight. If you want to see the definition of a dog fight, that is what you saw Saturday night."
Dan Bailey, Kicker
On his feelings before kicking a field goal:
"It's pretty relaxing. I get a little excited, but honestly, your mind just kind of goes blank and you kind revert back to muscle memory and let it take care of itself."
On his career at OSU:
"It's been a lot of fun. I couldn't have done it without good holders, good snappers and people blocking for me. I think that's been real important over my career. It's important to have those people blocking for you to be consistent. It's been a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to finishing this season off and ending my career on a good note."
On if he thinks about his place in the OSU record book:
"Honestly, I really don't think about it too much. I'm just here to go out there and kick field goals and kick some extra points. It would be nice to be up there with names like Barry Sanders, but it's definitely not something I think about too much."
Grant Garner, Center
On the fumbled snap on the kneel-down against Troy:
" I just didn't get it up there far enough, so it's my fault. I think that's why we went to shotgun. I just didn't do what I needed to do."
On Brandon Weeden playing through his thumb injury:
"I think it's huge that he's willing to play through that injury because that's a tough injury. It's just a nagging thing that you can't really know unless you have to deal with it. I think, the offensive line, we're definitely pleased with what he's doing. You know it's important to him because he's out there giving it his all, doing whatever he can, getting treatment three times a day and doing whatever he can to get on the field. It's really exciting to see."
On opening holes for Kendall Hunter:
"He's huge. He kind of forces defenses to play six guys in the box, even though Troy was able to not do that with things that they were doing. All of our running backs are really good, but Kendall, he's really special and it will be something to say later in the years that we got to play with Kendall Hunter."
Colton Chelf, Receiver
On different receivers making plays:
"Obviously Justin Blackmon has had two great games so far and we have a number of guys who can go out there and make plays . I think it's just a matter of time before each one of us has our own time.”
On his long reception against Troy:
"On that play, I was kind of surprised. It was a little play action play and right when I took off the ball, the corner shot in three or four yards and I was kind of like, 'What's he doing?' I was running down the field and I was just hoping Weeden saw me and he did."
On playing Tulsa:
"I'm sure they're all fired up. My brother was actually committed to Tulsa, so I'm sure he's got a little thing going on. There are two guys from Enid on the team, so I'm happy to see them out there. I'm sure it's going to be fun."
