Huskers Talk Texas Tech Tuesday

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005
Texas Tech Week

Opening Statement
"We’re in the midst of our third day of preparation for Texas Tech. They are certainly a fine football team. They are excellent in not only one area, but several areas. They pose a lot of challenges for our football team. They are very sound and very athletic in all phases, especially on offense and special teams and on defense. We see a lot of improvement of their football team across the board, especially on the defensive side. We really think they’ve improved in their defensive line and their secondary play. They’ve shown more consistency in their play this year, but they are an outstanding team. It’s going to be a great opportunity and a great challenge for our football team this Saturday."

On playing at home
"I haven’t studied [Texas Tech’s] history of being on the road. I’m just glad we’re at home. This is our fifth consecutive home game of the year. Last week’s game into overtime ? I can’t say enough great things about our fans and the noise they generated throughout that game. We’re certainly going to need our fans again to do the same. I know that atmosphere was electric in so many senses. It is stifling for a quarterback to be able to audible, and it’s tough for linemen to pick up calls and communications and sequences that have to be addressed at the line of scrimmage. If we can have the same type or we can even increase the same type of noise level against Texas Tech that we had last week against IowaState that will really play into our favor."

On using last year’s game against Texas Tech as motivation
"I think every year is different. Every game, every opponent is different. Texas Tech is an explosive team. I look at this team as another challenge. It’s a new week, a new set of match-ups, new players, new schemes, new plays, a new environment, and a different atmosphere. I take one game at a time, and I’ve always approached it in that manner. I’ve never varied from it. I look at each game as its own separate entity, and I’ll never come off that mark.

I think you learn from every situation. All I know is this: all the Knute Rockne pep talks before a game go out the window when that ball is kicked. Your focus has to be intact. You have to be prepared for contingencies and complimentary adjustments."

On putting games in the past
"Is it harder? It is what it is. We didn’t perform well [at Texas Tech in 2004]. I think that’s well-documented. We weren’t at our best, and they were. When those two forces collide, things can happen. I take full responsibility for that, but again, I think we’re a different football team this year. I live in the current and don’t really look back at what happened. It happened. We learn from that, and we try to improve from our off-season studies and try to focus in where we are in this week’s preparation. Now how we play this week will all be predicated on how prepare and how we execute. It comes down to that factor every week."

On Kansas limiting Texas Tech to two touchdowns last week
"Kansas has a good defense. It’s pretty well-documented and noted throughout the conference that Kansas has had defensive success. They have a lot of playmakers. They have an excellent defensive line. They use a lot of different change-ups and fronts to generate some rush, create problems. They’re very good, very athletic. I thought Kansas, even last year; they had a 21-point lead on Tech at the half. Tech is the type of team - if you track what they’re about offensively - they come on strong in the second half. They’re a very strong second-half team. We’re going to have to be at our best on Saturday, not only for the first half coming out and attempting to start fast, but it’s going to be really key that we’re finishing strong in this game. The finish in the third and fourth quarters is going to be imperative for success."

On Texas Tech quarterback Cody Hodges
"He is different. He’s a different guy. He’s extremely versatile and creative. He can pull it down and create plays and create positive yards on the move. You have to be very careful when you use man-to-man coverages because he’s smart. If he exhausts and progression and he sees a lane to tuck the ball and scramble, he can hurt you. He won’t pick up just four, five or six yards. He can pick up 10, 15 or 20 if you’re not careful and contain him with proper fundamentals."

On the emotional impact the 2004 Texas Tech game will have
"The focus has really got to be sharpened.  It comes down to playing hard, but playing smart.  If you’re smart, obviously you’re going to be faster in terms of your decision-making and if you’re faster it’s going to allow you to play more physical.  We’re more in tune into that phase of our performance than we are to jump up and down and get mad about something.  I know this is a different year and this is a different team.  It’s a whole different dynamic than it was a year ago.  Every situation is different and I think this week it will come down to the intensity of preparation. I truly believe that."

On what he personally thinks he did wrong against Texas Tech in 2004
"I just think putting guys in bad positions.  I think I can do a better job as a coach to put players in better positions to execute and make plays."

On Texas Tech’s success in causing turnovers this season
"Well they’re physical and they’re opportunistic.  If you have a chance to watch them you’ll see they play the ball every day in practice.  When you’re defending an offense like that on a daily basis, you’re defending a team that puts the ball in the air so their pass rushers are getting a lot of work and their secondary is getting a lot of repetitions.  Consequently, they’re pass defense has more opportunities for pass breakups and tipped balls, and they do an excellent job of stripping the ball and trying to create turnovers.  And then a little bit of it is having good opportunities and having good fortune as well.  It goes hand in hand."

On Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach
"I don’t know Mike.  I don’t know him personally.  But I look at his system and it’s a system that’s been around for a long time.  Guys have decided to manufacture that type of offense revolving around consistently throwing the football often.  It’s a lot of draws and screens and layer passes and a lot of things that they do with mesh routes and crossing routes; trying to isolate the back one on one.  They’re well-versed and they distribute the ball well to their people.  They do a good job.  I don’t think they’ve revolutionized the game of football, but I think that they do an excellent job at what they do.  They practice what they do.  They emphasize what they do on a daily basis and they go out and execute it, so they’re calling what they do in practice.  I think he’s got a good approach to what he does, it’s an excellent approach.  I say that because of the players that he has.  If you look at their skill players on offense and you look at their wide receivers and the production that they can create, you know why.  I would get the ball in their hands too every down because they’re playmakers, and they’ve got the ability to separate and get you a lot of yards after the catch.  It’s really well thought out.  It’s well conceived."

On the importance of time of possession
"I think any time that you can control the ball it’s a crucial factor in football.  You love to control the ball as much as you can and kill the clock.  How that plays out, I don’t know."

On the pass rush of Wali Muhammad and Barry Turner
"They give us a rotation that allows guys to stay fresh.  I think that’s the first factor.  Secondly, they’re athletic enough to generate the speed and power and the moves and elusiveness to escape a block and get to the quarterback.  But I think more important than those two factors is that collectively as a unit, they complement and they feed off of each other well.  As I look at Texas Tech, they have an outstanding front.  Last week we talked about one individual who stood out. This week we’ve got four of them that stand out.  So we’ve got to be at our best in that matchup.  They present more challenges this week than we’ve seen so far this year." 

On the importance of rushing yards against Texas Tech
"I think that as the game lays itself out you try to do what you think is best for the team.  It really doesn’t come down to X-amount of yardage in anything.  You do what you think is best.  I don’t know what the situation is going to be like on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.  I don’t know if it’s going to be a quagmire out there, if the wind is going to be at 35 or 40 mph or if it’s going to be 85 and humid.  I don’t know.  So sometimes the environment and the weather and the conditions dictate where you’re going with your play selection.  So we’ll just have to wait and see."

On benefiting from recruits who signed before he was hired
"I would just tell you that, when I came here, this became my adopted family.  I have taken these kids under my wing and I have welcomed them, and I have really embraced them from the onset.  It was a transition, but I think we’re over that.  This is a team and it’s all about team and how you come together.  And there’s a lot of facets and dynamics that come into the construction and development of a team.  These kids come from all over the country.  They come from coast to coast, border to border.  It really comes down to them playing for each other.  And that’s what I was most excited about in our victory over IowaState because it was a game where there was a tremendous amount of adversity and pressure and they won for each other.  That’s the essence of team.  I don’t pay any attention to who recruited, or when and how they did it.  I have other things to worry about."

On if the Huskers are learning how to win
"I think that learning how to win comes down to wanting to win.  It’s more intrinsic than extrinsic.  I think that as you build that belief system and as you have a sound foundation that players can draw from, that’s what lends winning.  It’s coming together and winning for each other.  There’s a lot of circumstances that surround that; players staying healthy and working hard, and the progress and improvement of the team."

On team trust and reliability
"It got a little bit tense there in the fourth quarter against IowaState, but nobody panicked.  We just talk about pressure situations and performing under pressure is one of the foundational blocks that we talk about constantly in our preparation, and we try to put our players in those types of situations so that when it occurs we’ll already have handled that.  So there’s a contingency plan for that.  That’s why, for us, preparation is so key and the detail of everything we do is so important.  We’re maturing as a football team and we need to continue to mature."

On Zac Taylor receiving Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors
"I think that’s great.  I think it’s a real extension of our team and what we’ve accomplished as a team, and I think he’d be the first one to tell you that.  I think that at the end of the year we’re all vying for that Big 12 Championship trophy and on that trophy it says that it’s a team championship and it doesn’t state whether a guy was an MVP of a game or was the leading punter or the leading sacker."

On the ability of Nebraska’s offense to answer Texas Tech touchdowns
"We’ll just do the best we can.  That’s a part of football. You’re attempting to come back from a touchdown and answer that score.  We’ll do the best we can.  I think there’s a confidence in our football team, but there isn’t an arrogance about it.  We know and understand that we have to improve and we have to work harder than we did last week.  If we are going to be the team that we want to be at the end, then we’ve got to continue that progress.  Again, like I said, I think this game will be a result of what we do during the week."

On where Nebraska is at as far as recruiting
"We’ve had a number of players in thus far for the home games.  We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had five home games to allow that to happen.  We’re getting several commitments.  We have a number of commitments right now.  We’re very close on others, but we may have to wait on others we’ve brought it.  When you bring in the top players in the country, you’re going to be in a battle with a lot of other programs.  Some of these kids will go down to the wire and others will make early decisions.  Each guy is different and each family situation is different.  You really have to juggle a lot of things in terms of factoring in committed players and who you’re targeting and who you’re going to continue to go after and who you’re going to drop." 

On his confidence in kicker Jordan Congdon
"I’m real confident.  I just get a little emotional now and then.  I think Jordan (Congdon) is doing his best, but he’s a young guy.  He’s under some pressure.  For a high school kid coming out of San Diego and try to crank field goals in pressure situations is a task.  But I think it will only help him improve his play as we move forward.  Those are tough, crucial situations to be in and, let’s face it, he bailed us out earlier in the year and I’m confident he’ll do it again." 

On the affects of playing a double overtime game
"Texas Tech played Saturday night too, and I think we have an advantage that we’ve got an opportunity to take advantage of playing at home where we don’t have to travel after a double OT game.  I think it’s an advantage being at home to begin with but coming off the double OT game I just think the opportunities and situations like that just help your team grow, mature and get more confidence."

On his thoughts on overtime rules in college
"I like it.  We understood the situation that was going to transpire and we had the strategy to compete in that situation.  We practice it.  We talk about those situations with our players.  I like it.  I enjoy it.  It’s good for college football."

On Grant Mulkey’s fearlessness
"I think he’s a brave player.  He’s a selfless player.  When he takes the ball he sacrifices a lot of his 172-pound body.  He’ll go over the middle and he’s got a defined toughness about it.  As the fans have watched him over the past two years, he’s taken some real licks inside.  A couple of them, he’s been about decapitated on.  But he continues to exemplify and display the type of tenacity that you want out of your receiving corps.  That’s the guy that’s going to go inside and make the tough catch, get yards, get pounded and get the first and 10.  I love Mulkey.  I love the way he plays.  He’s relentless.  He’s fearless.  And that’s the type of guys you have to have in your receiver corps."

On what Nebraska needs to do defensively against Texas Tech
"I don’t think that I can go right on down the line because that would be talking strategy and I don’t think it’s fair for me to talk strategy.  I wouldn’t want to do that to our team, I don’t think that’s fair.  In layman’s terms, I think we’ve got to generate a pass rush in this football game.  I think we’ve got to do that and we’ve got to play the ball well in flight.  Like I said earlier, their ability to change you up and run the football is pretty good, whether it’s the draw game or the zone game or the fly sweep game.  They’ve got all of those components.  They give you a full agenda to defend.  You have to have the ability to do all of that.  It’s going to be a real challenge for our defense, that’s for sure."

On Zack Bowman’s performance against IowaState
"He’s improving.  This was the largest amount of reps that he’s had in a game so he’s continuing to improve.  I don’t think there’s any substitute for experience, and I think he got a full repertoire and a full game in him of game experience coming off of injury.  He’ll only get better.  We’ve got that kind of confidence in his play.  He’s going to make some errors.  He’s going to have some errors that he’s going to have to correct and improve upon but generally speaking he’s getting better as a football player.  We’re glad to have him."