November 09, 2004
Audio from Tuesday's football media luncheon is available through the links to the right. Files can be downloaded and are in MP3 format.
Here is the transcript of Coach Fran's comments:
THE QUESTION: When did you get a sense that the Texas Tech game mattered as much as it seems to a good portion of A&M?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I don't know. I hadn't been here very long. There are maybe two or three games, I think, that the Aggies bring up. This is one of them.
THE QUESTION: Do you sense that this means as much as the Texas game to your basic average Aggie supporter?
COACH FRANCHIONE: No, I don't think so. I mean, I think both kind of have their individual characteristics but I don't sense it's quite the same. I don't know if I'm right.
THE QUESTION: This might be getting a little ahead of ourselves here but I know last year's recruiting class brought in a bunch of guys who are athlete-type guys. Might we see some of those offense guys end up on defense? Is that something that's going to have to be taken into consideration?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Are you talking about the guys we're recruiting or the guys already here?
THE QUESTION: Guys already here. The true freshman you have here with the two senior corner backs graduating after this season.
COACH FRANCHIONE: I don't have anybody in mind when you ask that question, but we really won't talk about that until we get closer to spring practice. I think one of the areas that you try to always address in the spring is to put your best 22 on the field then your next best 22. Obviously, if you have more depth at one position than another, then you might do something like that.
THE QUESTION: With the way the North division is in the Big 12 this year, do you think about the idea that you can find yourself in a position with the win or two here to go to a really attractive bowl game? Is that something you have considered?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I haven't found any unattractive bowl games. I've never been to a bad bowl. Yet there are some that I haven't been to that I would like to go to. But, I haven't given that a lot of thought. Our guys know you need to put all your focus and energy into the next game and the results of the games will determine what's going to happen. We have this security of knowing we're going and that's a good feeling. So now we can focus just on this game. If we were at five wins trying to win six here in the last two, I think there would be maybe a little more concern about that than there is right now. We have six and we know we're going to the postseason. We just don't know where we're going.
THE QUESTION: Especially with all the returning players you're going to have this year and next how excited are you to get those extra weeks of practice and one more game for all those kids?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think that the biggest disparity we have in college football is the extra practices (that bowl game participants receive). The winners get extra practices and the experience playing in a bowl game. Yet, the teams that need those extra practices aren't getting them. We've balanced the playing field, in regard to NCAA rules, as much as possible. But, I've often said a team that doesn't get to go to the bowl, ought to get three or four more days of spring practice. Because that's what they've lost out on, not having that opportunity to go to postseason like the teams that do. I think it's a real bonus to be able to go to a bowl game. It's a great team building experience and you can keep your younger players a little longer each day and work with them and just a lot of pluses.
THE QUESTION: Talk about the allure of a New Year's Day bowl game as opposed to a middle of the week type of thing? New Year's Day games are special...
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think there always is but by the same token that's not what our focus is on right now. You guys are getting a little ahead of things, I think.
THE QUESTION: What is it about Texas Tech that they've been able to have such successful second halves--games where teams that have jumped ahead of them, suddenly it's a blow out the other way.
COACH FRANCHIONE: I don't know if I have a feeling for that. I think sometimes some teams start slower than others and finish stronger. Maybe you get a better feel for the pace of the game or the changes in defensive or offensive alignments. Watching the tape it's hard to see why that is happening. Just from listening to Coach Leach's remarks, I don't think they've identified with what is happening either. I don't know.
THE QUESTION: Baylor had three sacks, three hurries in the first half next thing you know it's...
COACH FRANCHIONE: One thing that could happen is that there may be some depth issues that catch up with you. We need to have fresh pass rushers. We need to have as many fresh recovery guys as you can depending on how many plays they run. That could be part of the equation. I heard a number of times two years ago before I got here that in that game, that our defensive backs got worn out pretty bad in the end. I don't know if that's fact or fiction that's just what I heard.
THE QUESTION: Fran, a lot of teams have spread offenses now. You run the spread at times. Why does Leach's teams continually -- what's about his system that's different that continues to lead the nation in total offense?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think Mike is maybe out there as a forerunner in what he's doing. A little bit like the wishbone teams were when they first started. They were way ahead of everybody and they had to catch up. Mike, from an imagination standpoint offensively, is out there a little ways. I don't mean that negatively. I mean that positively when I say that. He's committed to what he's doing, and he has experimented with it and you know, there are not that many teams willing to throw the game 50 to 70 times a game like he is. They have complete commitment to doing that and the things that they do with their offense are unique to what you do with other teams and to prepare for it in a short amount of time is a challenge just like it was with the wishbone. For years you didn't want to play wishbone teams except for the first game or after an open day. That would probably be nice to have when you play Texas Tech. They're just a little more unique than anybody else you play.
THE QUESTION: Is your offense under as much pressure when you play Tech as your defense is?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think so. Just like Oklahoma, our offense is under as much pressure as our defense. Any time you play a good team that's true and I think that is true when you play Texas Tech.
THE QUESTION: Do you ever think about having to outscore Texas Tech?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Well, I don't think you sit around and dwell on that issue. I mean, you know they're going to move the ball and score some points probably. History tells you that pretty well. If you're going to have a chance to compete in the game, you're going to have to score some points.
THE QUESTION: What did Texas do when y'all watched that made them successful defending Tech?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think they did a great job of controlling the game with their offense. They rushed for well over 300 yards. They got a turnover or two. And they kind of got Texas Tech reacting to them. Defensively I don't know if they had any more novel approaches than anybody else. Carl (Torbush) might say different on that. I haven't studied them as much as Carl has. In this game, one team sometimes ends up kind of reacting to the other one and I think Texas had control and Texas Tech responded to them a little about it.
THE QUESTION: Would you say one of the best defenses against Tech is controlling the ball on offense?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Well, if they don't have it, they can't score. I am smart enough to figure that one out.
THE QUESTION: This is kind of the thing where you've got perspective two ways on this with Utah. Having played them this year and also having been in their shoes in 2000 with TCU? How hard is it to do what they've done? Do they right now in your opinion, having played them, do they belong in this echelon where they are?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Well, first off, it is hard to do. You have to go undefeated and we stubbed our toe (TCU's loss to San Jose State in 2000). We talked about crushing losses last week, and that was one. It was probably my most crushing. It's hard to do and there's a lot of pressure on your players, I think, because you all ask them all these kind of BCS questions all the time whether they want to not worry about that or not they have to. That becomes more focal and puts a little pressure on them as they go through it. They seem to be handling it very well.
THE QUESTION: Coach Stoops had said that he thought that fake field goal was coming, and you all still executed it. Talk about what it is that goes into that?
COACH FRANCHIONE: You decide what you're going to do early in the week and you work on it during practice and you know we come in to watch the tape and we watch the fake and look back at what they do defensively and I think you get a feel that -- there's a good chance this is going to work. Everybody wants to call it high risk. I think any time you fake on your 29-yard line it is a little bit dicey. I think we needed one yard the other day on the fake punt. I thought we could make the first down. I didn't think we would go 71 for a touchdown certainly, but I did think we could make the first down. I thought the odds were on our side, to do that.
THE QUESTION: Talk about Chad Schroeder's emergence in the offense...
COACH FRANCHIONE: He earned a lot of trust in practice. He's gotten better. Last year was his first year to be a receiver and by the end of the season you could see that he was start to gain an understanding, a feel for what he was doing, much like Jason Carter. He's been behind some guys that have played pretty well early in the year and didn't get as much time. He played a good bit he just so happened that he didn't get one thrown to him. It wasn't for any reason, because we just throw the ball where the reads are going to go. All of our coaches and players have confidence in Chad and he's earned more and more trust day in and day out.
THE QUESTION: Do you find that sons of coaches (like Chad Schroeder) are easier to coach?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Sons of coaches generally understand what coaches feel or think better. They've seem their dad go through difficult decisions and they've seen what he's had to put into them and the great thing about most sons of coaches is they are generally pretty team-oriented. They understand that concept better than anybody.
THE QUESTION: Four of your receivers were high school quarterbacks and two have thrown passes. Has L'Tydrick Riley asked about get his chance to throw the ball?
COACH FRANCHIONE: Not yet, but we haven't eliminated that thought.
THE QUESTION: Now Ty Branyon has gotten playing time in a pressure situation. How important was that for your trust in him?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think it's probably bigger for y'all and the fans because for us, Ty did just what we thought he would do. As coaches, we didn't back off an ounce because Ty was in the game. Obviously there are some strengths that Reggie has that Ty doesn't and vice versa. You always want to play your quarterback's strengths but none of us were going, oh gee, Ty's in the game. He's proven to everybody in our program that he knows what to do with the ball and he knows where to put it. I was really proud of him but our guys believe in Ty.
THE QUESTION: He seems have leadership skills and the ability to rise to the occasion...
COACH FRANCHIONE: He does have a great leadership. The thing about Ty is he cares about his team. He went in that game the other night to help his team succeed. He was willing to do anything that it took. And that's been Ty's position ever since the day I got here. Ty's worked hard. Spring practice was probably the time when Ty showed us all he could do. You guys needed the games to validate. Ty's done so much in practice and been out there enough that we've got a pretty good degree of confidence in what he can and can't do.
THE QUESTION: What are your general thoughts on Tech's offensive and defensive lines.
COACH FRANCHIONE: I think they're excellent pass protection guys and do a great job on their scheme and offensive line. They make it very difficult to get to the quarterback and they're really put in space sometimes, which for offensive line men is more difficult than being closer. Their defensive front is solid. I don't see any real weakness in any of their lines.
THE QUESTION: Ty Branyon was obviously disappointed after the OU game. Do you take him aside and remind him that did a really good job under difficult circumstances?
COACH FRANCHIONE: I don't know if Ty could have done much more. He gave us an opportunity to win. Ty was disappointed but I think he was disappointment was our team lost the game not in his performance. And there was a lot of emotion in that game for him. We've had three pretty emotionally challenging weeks to bounce back from.
THE QUESTION: Are you able to address how difficulty the decision was for Reggie to come out at that particular point of the OU game and he said it was his decision.
COACH FRANCHIONE: It was completely Reggie's call. Reggie McNeal is a tough guy. There's no doubt about that. He's tough. He's one of the tougher quarterbacks I've been around. Everybody here knows that. I think we all know that you know there's kind of saying at the end of the year, 'dead men got to walk' in football, which means we all play with pain at the end of the year. We trust his judgment on what he can and cannot do.