October 03, 2000
Head Coach R.C. Slocum
Talk about this week's opponent, Colorado.
"I think we're probably playing the most talented team we've played for a while. Top to bottom, if you just look at athletes, I think they're the most dangerous team and the most talented team. They've got a huge offensive line, excellent receivers and a good defense. You look at the games they've lost, three of the four losses have been to teams ranked in the Top 10 when they played them. Three of those games, they could have easily won."
Do you think they're better than Notre Dame?
"Yeah, just looking at the athletes, they are."
When you look at Colorado, do you think they're the type of team that has to win a game sometime?
"They've been in three of the four games they've lost. There are a lot of teams that if they had played the same four games, they might have lost two or three or won all four. I thought Kansas State controlled the game. You can't really say they (Colorado) should have won that one. They came back a little bit when they put that other quarterback (Ochs) in. They could have just as easily won all three of those other games. Just like in our Notre Dame game, I know that in the third quarter if we make a play or two, that game's going to be 17-7, and we feel like we would have had a chance to win the game. But we didn't, and they haven't. Every week's a new week. Two weeks ago, LSU loses to Alabama-Birmingham, and then they beat Tennessee this past week."
What's going on with the evolution of your defense which allowed you to do the type of things you did so successfully on Saturday, specifically blitzing more, and applying more pressure?
"We've got some young, athletic guys (in the secondary), and my intention with them is we're going to grow them up doing that. We're going to lock on with guys and get used to it. I think you have to do that. With the offenses you're facing now, it spreads you out all over the field. You better have a great pass rush if you're not going to blitz, because the quarterbacks are a lot better right now. I think you see more and more guys who are capable of throwing the ball. The receivers are better, and they're spreading the field out. To combat that, I think you have to put pressure on the quarterback. We hit Tech's quarterback (Kingsbury) 19 times by Coach Hankwitz's count. That starts affecting guys - I don't care how tough they are. When you do that (apply pressure), you're going to give up some plays, but you give up plays when you sit back in a zone, too."
Some fans said that looked like the old Wrecking Crew defense against Texas Tech. Is that a valid assessment?
"We pressured more in that game than we have in a while. That was our plan going in, to blitz that much. I committed to it."
How much easier is it to get ready for an 0-4 Colorado team than is it to get ready for a Wyoming or a UTEP?
"Looking at their athletes on film, the players realize they have talent. They see their huge offensive line and a very athletic tight end. I don't anticipate it being a problem for our team to respect this Colorado team. This young quarterback gives them a spark. He's a guy we looked at in high school. We thought he was a really good player. He has an excellent arm and great mobility. He's a dangerous guys running with the ball."
Do they give you a more traditional offensive look than Wyoming, UTEP or Texas Tech did?
"Not really. They will run a little bit more "I", but a lot of the time they're spread out with an empty backfield. It's crazy; it's a racetrack out there now."
Do people like ESPN and USA Today pay too much attention to the polls and other ranked teams this early in the season?
"You have to live with it right now, but not the whole year. We've got teams on our schedule to where if we keep winning, that will take care of itself. In my mind, I haven't worried about it because playing in the Big 12, you get enough opportunities. If you look up there right now with teams like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State and people like that, if we win we'll be in there. The polls would be better if you waited till about now or a week or so from now. If you wait till a team's played three or four games, the polls would probably more accurate. When you do them during the summer, every team loses guys. You don't know how the new guy's going to play. It's total speculation. It's just fan stuff you take with a grain of salt. I think if it were up to the coaches, you wouldn't have a poll. A playoff would give more credibility to the national champion, but the polls are just part of the game. I don't worry about it."
Talk about Greg Porter, and where he fits in for you guys.
"I think he's a guy that has an interesting future for us. He could end up being a guy that's a factor. He can flat-out catch the football. He can catch as well, probably better, than anyone on our team. He hasn't really spent much time with football in the offseason because of baseball. I think he's a talented athlete, and there's a place for a big receiver who's athletic. He has a future in football. I think if he really focused on football, he could be an NFL prospect as an H-back/receiver type."
One of the question marks coming into the season was special teams, especially after losing an All-American punter. Have things gone about as well as expected so far?
"That's been a positive part of our team. I think our special teams overall has been pretty good. I think the punter (Scates) is going to be an excellent player. I'm pleased with him, for a true freshman to come in here and punt the way he's punted. His kickoffs are getting better. I think we're going to be solid there, and I think Kitchens has done a good job. We had the one kick blocked, but that wasn't his fault."
How important is it for Scates to bang the kickoffs into the end zone?
"I think that's great. Kickoffs are such a dangerous play the way they matchup sometimes. Kickoffs scare coaches, because it's almost an accident when you get those guys down. When you kick that thing off and they start on the 20, I'd sign on right now and take that every time. That's as good as having great coverage every time. That's (kickoffs) one area we haven't been good at in some time. Even Shane (Lechler) was not a good kickoff guy. He was very sporadic. Scates did it (kicked into end zone) both ways, whether we were kicking into the wind or with it. That's a big plus."