September 05, 2000
Head Coach R.C. Slocum
On Comparisons to the 1998 Season (when A&M lost the season-opener to FSU, but rebounded to win the Big 12 title):
"I think it's hard to make those comparisons, but we have been here before. We did go on the road that year and play a good opponent on the road. We came back and built on that experience and made it positive and I sense some of that attitude among the players. They were disappointed in the locker room but it wasn't a feeling of just getting kicked around and leaving with your head tucked between your legs. It was more of a feeling of frustration that we didn't make some of the plays we should have made and feeling that we were good enough to win the game. I don't think our guys have a feeling of despair or think they're not any good. They just know they have to make some of those plays they didn't make if we're going to win those kind of games."
On Some of the Questions Being Answered:
"I was really disappointed in the loss, but I was encouraged by some of the performances that were turned in by some of the inexperienced guys. I came out of that game with some feelings of optimism about the potential of this football team. I still have concerns, but I was encouraged some of our positions. The running backs did a good job, we have a solid receiving corps, we have a steady quarterback that will make some plays for us, and I thought our kicker and punter did a good job."
On Wyoming's Offense:
"This is about as big of a challenge as we could face in terms of concern about our young secondary. We facing a team that is good at throwing the football and they are going to throw it a bunch of times. They will run a few options in there to keep you honest, but most of their attack is going to be to try and spread you all over the field and throw the football."
On Concern of Not Being able to get the Backup QB's in the Game:
"It's not a concern right now. I would have liked to have had a situation where we took a good enough lead where we would have been able to get one of the other guys in there. I'm glad we didn't put another guy in because we were hopelessly out of the game. The guy we played was playing well enough and the game was competitive enough to where we didn't need to run somebody out there."
On Concerns About the Defensive Line:
"My major concern right now is to try to keep the guys we have playing healthy. I think it's important that we keep Lonnie Madison working some with the defense and keep him ready if we need him. We would like to keep both the redshirts on the freshman. I think Ty (Warren) is continuing to make progress with his ankle."
On the Number of Offensive Formations:
"That is part of our package. We're trying to take advantage of the talents of the individual players and try to get mismatches in certain situations. If you line somebody up in the same position every time it's easy to do some things to shut that particular player down. If you move some guys around and line up in some different formations it makes it more likely you'll be able to create some mismatches that the defense doesn't want."
On Wyoming:
"I know that Wyoming is capable of coming in here and making a couple of big plays and all the sudden we're in a dogfight. I just have to do a good job of convincing my players of that. I think most of them understand it. Wyoming will not be in awe of playing here at Texas A&M. Their program has played in a lot of big games. These sort of games worry you as a coach because although they don't have the national perception as some other teams, I know they have the ability to come in here and give us a run for our money."
On Injuries:
"Michael Jameson is doubtful again, he won't practice today. Hopefully he'll be ready to go on Saturday, but right now we're planning to be without him. I expect Chris Taylor to play, I think he'll be fine. Right now Michael is the only one we're not sure about."