October 16, 2001
What is your response to Texas Tech beating Kansas State?
"Well, I don't think it really makes a whole lot of difference. I feel like we'll get there best shot regardless. I think our games with them have been very competitive ones and this one shouldn't be any different. Every coach does everything they can to get their team ready each week, so I am sure Bill Snyder did everything he could do to get ready for Texas Tech. For one he had to play without his starting quarterback and there is not a whole lot you can do when that happens, but just play the next game. I think sometimes we feel like we have our backs up against the wall, but I like to look at each week like it is a challenge to show what a good team we have. We went up to Colorado and I thought our team played good and played hard and we were in it up until the last minute of the game to win it. We just came up short and just have to come out and play hard again this week."
Did you take a step forward as a team against Colorado?
"I thought our team went up there an competed well against a very physical Colorado team. They have a very physical offensive line and they have tough running backs. I though we competed well in the game. We had some mistakes throughout the ball game that we as coaches need to work to minimize. As far as playing hard I think it is exciting to see a sophomore (Jamaar Taylor) and a true freshman (Terrance Murphy) making great catches and another true freshman (Derek Farmer) running the ball strong. I am very optimistic on our progress and thought it would have been a huge win for us but the bottom line is we came up short. We had a bad series of plays before the half where we got backed up into a hole and got a penalty, which after the punt gave them incredible field position. To me that was easily the most disappointing part of the ball game next to the fumble. If you play the rest of the game without that mistake then we really have a chance to win. The play at the end, I was very confident we were taking the ball down the field for the win. We had a deep vertical route on that play, but we had a mental error by a true freshman (Jami Hightower). I have talked to him about it and there are guys on Monday Night Football that make the same mistake."
Are you playing more true freshman that you even thought going into this season?
"Really the guys that I thought we signed at receivers would help us. I knew Hightower would be a factor. Derek Farmer was a guy I wanted to look at early on, because I knew he had the ability. Randall Webb by far has to be the biggest surprise since he starts on all of the special teams and can contribute at outside linebacker. You would prefer to have older guys, but it is encouraging to see younger guys in your program that will be with you for the next few years. We do notice a lot of mental errors in those guys on tapes that you just cannot see during the game."
Can you talk about Seth McKinney?
"He means a whole lot to us because he is so reliable. He will do everything he has to do, he is smart and he makes all of the calls on the line. I never have to doubt him and what he calls, because he is smart and reliable."
Can you talk about the offensive numbers from the game?
"At one point throwing for 300 yards at A&M would take 3 games, but now we are doing it fairly regularly. I do not just want to be a team that goes out and throws the ball for 300 yards and runs it for 50. I think it is important to run the ball for much more yardage. It is a good feeling to be able to get into the passing mode late in the game like we did in Colorado. I just want to get to the point where we can run the ball out of the i-formation and then line up and then change things up and line up and throw the ball."
Do you like the long throws down the field like you had?
"I really liked it. Even though sometimes we throw long passes and do not complete them it still has an effect on those defensive coordinators. Now all of a sudden they are thinking that you have the ability to go deep on them. I am always encouraged when we take a shot at them deep. I like to see it especially when we run that out of a run formation. That particular play came out of the I formation. Those are all things we will be able to do more consistently in the future. We are still developing and that is what makes it fun."
Why do you not want to talk about injuries with Kansas State and Bill Snyder?
"I feel that since it is Coach Snyder's policy to withhold his injury reports that is it only fair to our team that I do likewise. They are not going to tell us who we have to prepare for so it would be unfair to our guys if I told them who we were missing."
Do you feel restricted in the kicking category?
"We are asking (Cody Scates) to do something that he has not done a whole lot of. He has strong leg and he is getting better, but in the game situations we have to weigh our odds of getting the points or of pinning the ball deep with a punt. There is no question that a kicker is a critical weapon."