Tuesday Press Conference Quotes

Head Coach Frank Solich

Opening Comments
"We are looking forward to this weekend.  It should be an exciting matchup.  History would indicate that would be the case.  There have been many great games between Nebraska and Missouri over the years.  Missouri being 4-1 would indicate that this is going to be a great game.  I think they are creating excitement for it.  Warren Powers is being brought back, the third winningest coach in the history of Missouri.  He coached there for seven years, coached here and played here.  Along with him, I think 70-plus players are coming back for the game.  The atmosphere will be exciting for everyone.  We are looking forward to it and preparing well. I was pleased with yesterday's practice.  I think our guys remain focused, and I think we need to continue to do that as we go through this week in order to play good football on what would be our second road trip."

"If you look at Missouri, what you see is a very balanced team on offense.  Right now, they are sixth in the country as far as yards per rush, 5.2 average.  That comes from I-back and as well as their quarterback position, so they are very balanced on that end of it.  In the passing department, Brad Smith's passing percentage is right at 67 percent.  They are coming from an offensive attack that is able to get it done on the ground against people and through the air.  That is what you look for, and it is a good combination.  It will be a test for our defense to stop both areas of their attack."

"Defensively if you look at them, they use many of the same schemes that we use.  So they have changed a bit in their defensive thinking.  They have hung onto a little bit of that old thinking, but have virtually changed to a new scheme this year that incorporates much of what we are doing right now also.  It will be interesting for us."

"Special Teams:  I think both teams have the ability to play well in the special teams area, and it will probably be critical to win that phase of the game."

On MU giving up points
"If you go through their films, you will see that there have been times that people have been able to do things against them.  But I don't see them as being a defensive team that is much different from the great Missouri defensive teams.  They are very physical.  If you look at us, we are struggling with the run, and we have not really run the ball well in the last two ballgames. We have been able to create some big plays in the air.  I think they have shown the ability to be very solid against the run, so that will be a true test for us.  I see them as being a good defensive football team, even though they have given up some points against some earlier opponents.  One that is capable of putting it together and being very sound really against the run and the pass."

On whether he anticipates things he has been successful with will work in the same manner against Missouri or will he put those aside:
"I don't think you throw them out.  I think you look at what other teams have done against your upcoming opponents, just as they will look at what other teams have done against us.  If it fits within what you are trying to accomplish offensively, you try to utilize some of those things to move the ball.  If it is completely out of whack of what you are doing, then you maybe you throw it out.  We will try to build on what teams have done against us, just as they will build on what some teams have done against us.  A little bit of a concern is that they have had two weeks to prepare. They will have an opportunity to get healed up within those two weeks.  They will have their guys healed up that have been banged up a little bit.  Or at least, they will go into it healthy with those guys who have been playing with minor injuries.  They will be able to zero in on us offensively and defensively for the extra week.  That is usually a big benefit for a team.  That part of it worries you some.  We certainly have enough time to prepare and prepare well.  It will certainly be a game that will come down to how well both teams execute."

 

On Nebraska's health

"A lot of guys are on the mend. Andy Birkel is the one guy definitely ruled out of the game at this point.  He will be out for a couple weeks.  Hopefully, we will get him back within two or three weeks and get him involved again. No one else at this point is ruled out of this game.  It will be important for some of these guys to make some progress as we move toward the middle of the week.  It is important for some of these guys to get back on the field and get some practice time."

On the offensive line's health:
"Last week, we played Greg Austin a fair amount and took him out of the redshirt season at the guard spot.  Darren DeLone at the tackle spot played more than he has ever played for us.  If you look at our center spot, if Josh (Sewell) is not able to go, then that may cause us to make a movement.  Richie (Incognito) is capable of playing the center spot, yet you would like to leave Richie at tackle.  There will be some decisions to be made if Josh cannot go.  From what we are hearing and what we are understanding, he has a good chance of being ready to go and a few of our other players also do."

On shuffling personnel in the offensive line
"It does make a difference.  As you go through a season, there are very few teams who are able to keep that unit together for an entire year.  We are just in that part of the season right now where we have accumulated some things, and it has some effect in our offensive line.  Hopefully, we will get to that point where we are playing well enough as a unit that we will get the ball moved on the ground the way we would like.  That will be critical for us to establish some kind of running game."

On Jason Lohr
"He has gotten some snaps in the last two games.  That is not only benefited him and given him great confidence, but also benefited our team.  I would expect as this season plays out he will continue to get playing time and be of help what we are trying to get done on the defensive side of it.  He was a starting player for us earlier in his career, and he showed great strength.  He is a very smart player, and one we would like to have back operating at full speed."

On Nebraska being 5-0
"I felt we had a chance to be 5-0.  Although, I wasn't looking at it at the beginning of the year that far down the road.  As we were preparing to get the season started, I definitely felt we had a chance to open up against an excellent Oklahoma State football team and win the game.  But we needed to be playing on a very high level.  We needed to create turnovers and not give turnovers away.  I have kept coming back to that, but it has been about as an important stat as we have or anybody has as they go through the year.  This matchup now shows you that Missouri is ranked number one in the country in only giving up two turnovers - just two fumbles that both came in the Eastern Illinois game, and they have taken great care of the football.  They have not thrown an interception up to this point.  Creating turnovers this week will be a real challenge for us, but it is something that we have to get done.  On the opposite side of it, we have to take good care of the ball.   We have had 15 balls that have been on the ground in five games, and we have lost six of them, but that is letting the ball lay around way too much and there is work to be done."

On the Big 12 North race
"I think the North has certainly opened up.  Oklahoma, of course, has a great football team and is undefeated.  Texas came off of a big win against Kansas State.  Texas Tech is playing very well and Baylor wins.  As you look throughout the conference, there is excitement for every team.  Kansas had a big win last week.  I certainly think the race is wide open and certainly in the North, there is a reason why Kansas State got picked as the favorite and the reason is still there. They have excellent athletes, but they have been beaten and will be challenging for any team to get it done.  I think we are there as well as other teams, challenging them to get that thing done."

On the success of Nebraska's secondary
"It is how they are being used.  It is a mixture of man and zone.  Sometimes, we will bring them to help in the running game from the corner spot.  Usually it is always from the safety spot and generally, there are a lot of things that we are doing different.  I think these guys have responded well to the games they have been brought into.  They are very confident in what they are doing and that adds into it, a great deal of confidence.  And then you have great quarterbacks in the Big 12. I think if you look throughout the Big 12 last year, you have a lot of great quarterbacks.  A lot of great quarterbacks, probably better served not sitting in one look in the secondary.  To mix it up gives your guys their best chance and that is what we have done."

On the pass rush up front
"We have been able to get a pass rush with just our front people, but we have used our linebackers where we have put Demorrio (Williams) on the edge.  We have brought some secondary people on some pass rushes, and that really leads to pressure on the quarterback.  It also leads to the ability to produce turnovers.  There have been a combination of things help our defensive secondary be what they have been."

On the Nebraska and Missouri series
"It will be a very physical contest, but Missouri has had two weeks to prepare.  I am sure we will see some things that are a little different, and they will throw some wrinkles in there.  We try to prepare each week to throw a few wrinkles in, and we won't certainly go into specifics.  Hopefully some of things we want to do will work."

On the challenges of the road
"It is challenging to go on the road to begin with especially early on in the year.  I think we did answer some questions as to whether or not we could be a team that travels and plays well.  We have proven that could be the case, but the problem is that you have to prove it every road game.  There are always different challenges with different road trips, and this one will be huge, as it is a great matchup.  We will need to go down very, very focused in order to get it done.  Our team has been all about being very business-like, and I expect us to travel like that this week."

On Jammal Lord in practice during the last three weeks
"He has thrown the ball better the last couple of weeks.  In fact, it is the best that I have seen him throw since he has arrived on campus here, and that is very encouraging.  I think he is competing.  He wants to improve, and he wants to be a complete quarterback.  He has worked very hard leading up to this year.  At times, he has shown excellence in being a complete quarterback.  Then at times, he has had some setbacks, but the great thing is that he has never let those setbacks take him out of competing and wanting to be the best.  I have been real pleased with what he has been all about, and it has shown on the practice field."

On the I-backs
"We were glad to get Cory (Ross) some reps.  He has shown the ability to be a great I-back for us, and he has been hampered throughout his career by injuries. He has come through a stretch of time where he has been healthy, and it is showing in his practices and on the football field.  But you know, Josh (Davis) has been a battered force, and he has gotten yards after contact for us.  He has been a guy who has been extremely reliable, and of course he is going to get his reps.   And David (Horne), I think he is the kind of back who can glide and do some things.  I don't think we have seen his best football yet.  Sometimes it is difficult for an I-back.  If you look at the number of carries our I-backs got in the last ball game, those were not significant.  It wasn't like the earlier games where they had a ton of carries - 23 or 24 carries at the end of the game adding Robin's (Miller) carries, and that is not a lot.  When you start to split that up, it doesn't give those guys enough opportunity to show what they can show.  Ideally, an I-back would like to have 23, 24, 25 carries in the game, and then some good things along the way are going to happen.  It has been tough on I-backs lately, and what we need to do is get the running game going to the point where we can sustain ourselves on drives.  If you look at the scoring drives we had in this last ball game, the most plays that we ran in any one of those scoring drives was nine offensive plays.  You can go back to some of the earlier games and we were running 10, 12, 13, 14 play drives.  We need to get back to that, and we need to extend those drives and then we will have more I-back carries."

On the passing game getting off to a fast start
"People won't get out of the box.  They are going to be in the box.  Everybody has a way to put people in the box.  We are going to have to prove every week that we can throw the ball in order to get them out of the box.  The thing you don't want to do is to say, 'well they are in the box then let's throw it,' because they will be in the box all game long and you can still throw it all game long.  All you will have is nothing but throws and no runs.  You have to have ways of getting to people in the box.  I think that is the thing that frustrates me the most, when I hear announcers saying they've got the extra guy in the box.  You can account for the extra guy sometimes, and you want to block the guys who are critical to the point of attack and play the area so you can get at least five or six and break a long one.  We do it with formations, motion and zip with our wide receivers.  We do it by getting one back and letting our quarterback be our ball carrier or letting that I-back or fullback be in that one set back be our extra back in their blocking.  There are ways to move the football with the extra man in the box.  That doesn't mean that is what you want to do all game long. What we tried to do, for instance, in our last ball game was to make sure that Troy State understood that just because they had the extra man in the box we were still going to run it.  We were still going to run it, and make them stop it with the extra man in the box.  That can set you up for some big plays offensively in the passing game, so you have to be able to do both.  You want to be able to run the ball when they have an extra guy or two in the box, but you would like that to be a situation set up where you could throw the ball."

On the play calling in the red zone
"I think we are 19 out of 27 opportunities in the red zone.  We have missed four or five field goals, and I think that percentage should be up.  It is critical for us to do very well in the red zone.  Missouri has shown that they are 20 for 22 in the red zone, as far as their efficiency is concerned.  We still need work on getting things done in the red zone. Our running game and passing game both have to improve inside the red zone. Overall, we need to improve as an offense.  We need to get some things coordinated with the young players we are using up front.  Our timing needs to be good with both the running and passing game.  We need to do what we can to make ourselves a better red zone team."

On being more wary of a team who is coming off a loss
"I think the matchups with Missouri and Nebraska have been so special over the years that it probably doesn't matter whether or not a team is coming off of a loss.  We are going to get both teams' best effort.  There are so many things that could happen, and you could look at it from the standpoint that your back is against the wall because you don't want to extend a losing streak ever.  You are going to battle to get it done.  If you are coming off a win and you are 5-0, are you going to be excited about extending your winning streak?  There are several ways in which it could work, and I think this game no matter what you are talking about is going to be a physical matchup and excellent game."

On winning with defense
"I am all for winning with defense.  If you look at the history of Nebraska football, generally that has been the case.  I think when Turner (Gill), Irving (Fryar) and Mike (Rozier) were here with the scoring explosion, we tried to win with offense and we almost got it done.  But we didn't have a great defense at that time, and I think they were ranked something like 80th in the country at that time. If you know you only had one working for you, you would much rather try to win with defense.  Not saying your defense can't score points for you.  On the other side of it, we can be a good offensive football team, and that is what we need to be.  If you want to try and win week after week after week, then you need two of your three operations working well.  We are doing OK on special teams, and we are doing OK on offense.  We are finding ways to put a few points on the board, and we aren't turning the ball over ridiculously.  Field position in the earlier games has not only been from defense and special teams, but from the offense being able to move the ball.  So we are doing some decent things.  We need to get better offensively, but having a great defense is a great place to start in trying to win games." 

On the 1997 game against Missouri
"I don't think back on it too much. I do know it was a great game that came down to us being down with seven seconds on the clock by a touchdown in regulation time. I do remember the pattern.  I do remember the play unfolding and how it worked.  I do remember us all being a wreck up in the box.  As coaches, everybody was exhausted at the end of that ballgame.  It went into overtime. Along the way, you are going to have some great things happen and some strange things happen for you and against you. It was a great moment for us and enabled us to go on and have the season that we did."