Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006
Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Neb.
Pre-Missouri

Head Coach Bill Callahan
Opening statement
“We’re getting along pretty good in our preparations for Missouri; we have a lot of things to get ready for against this team this week. I’m glad we’re home, and I’m excited about this opportunity. If you watch this team, they’re pretty good at everything, and balanced across the board. I’m really impressed by all phases of their game: offense, defense, special teams ? they show and exhibit good quality, good caliber play. This is a really competitive football team: good players, good coaches, good schemes. The thing that sticks out most impressively is that this is a tough football team, these are tough guys. So we’ve got a good test on our hands.”

On what the team has to work on defensively to prepare for Missouri
“We got back to working, just emphasizing everything relative to team defense. The pass rush, just getting to the passer better, tackling better ? you name it, we’ve got to get better at it.”

On the health of the linebacking corps
“They’re tough guys. They weather the storm. That’s part of the game; they have some nicks and bruises. Those are some tough guys, (junior linebacker Corey) McKeon, (Octavien, (senior linebacker Stewart) Bradley.

On this game being a crossroads in the season
“I look at it as the next game. I look at it as the most important game of the season because it’s the next game. I’ve been on record stating that every game is important, and we treat each one with a very consistent manner. This game definitely has implications, we’re well aware of that. It’s going to be a good game, it’s a divisional game against a team that we have a lot of respect for. We’re going to have to prepare as well as we ever have this week. It’s going to all go back to our preparation. It’s going to go back to how hard we work, how hard we study, and then of course how well we perform on Saturday morning.”

On whether this physicality that Missouri has is something that Nebraska lacked against OklahomaState
“We’ve got to improve in every area. We’ve got to improve team offense, defense and special teams. We’ve got to do better ? we’ve got to play better, coach better, practice better. You name it, we’ve got to get better.”

On the status of senior offensive lineman Greg Austin
“He has his MRI yesterday. It turned out positively if there could be a positive in a sprained knee. He should be back in two to five weeks. He could be back sooner, it could be later. It’s based on each individual injury, but we’re encouraged it’s not severe and career or season-ending. We’re encouraged that there’s a good chance we could have him back for the Colorado game, and that’s really positive news.”

On the replacement options the team has available for injured senior offensive lineman Greg Austin
“We’re going to use (sophomore offensive linemen) Andy Christensen, Mike Huff, (freshman offensive lineman) Jacob Hickman. (Junior center Brett) Byford has been trained at that spot, we’ve had Keith Williams trained at that position, so we have a lot of options in that position. We’ve moved them around all over the place, so it’s something that we’ve had flexibility with from day one. Tackles can flip sides, guards can flip sides, so it’s not an issue as far as we’re concerned.”

On the team meeting goals
“Well you never know how the season is going to unfold. We were in a position prior to last Saturday’s game to be in a favorable position coming into this Saturday’s game against Missouri. But it didn’t work out, so we can just do the best we can right now, and focus on this particular game.”

On the goal of winning the Big 12 North
“That’s the first goal. You can’t do anything or go anywhere until you reach that goal. That’s a focus that we’ve had all along as a team. That’s something we’ve been focused on the last three years that I’ve been here. We’ve got certain team goals that we discuss, that we talk about. Anytime you set a goal, you may have to look at differently or review it, or adjust it as you move along, just like you do in life.”

On Missouri’s sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel
“He’s a tremendous competitor. The thing I love about his play is his toughness, and his ability to create on the move. He also has a tremendous command of their system and the ability to find the open receivers. He really takes advantage of the matchup, that’s the number one thing. He knows structure very well, and he can seemingly audibilize into different plays or check into different calls in their no-huddle system. He’s led that team to a lot of victories, and you have to give him a lot of credit. We definitely have our hands full, because they have an explosive offense, some fine receivers. As you look at their two tight ends, (junior Martin) Rucker and (sophomore Chase) Cofffman, they’re just big bodies out there that create a lot of positive plays. They’re well-versed and well-equipped, and they have a lot of talent.”

On what went wrong in the passing game against Oklahoma State
“We could sit here and beat up the OklahomaState football game, but I’ve moved on. It’s hard for me to look back right now because I’m so concentrated on this upcoming game, it seems like two weeks ago that we played Oklahoma State in my mind just because of all the preparation and time we’ve poured into the Missouri game. We just moved on pretty quickly, and focused on getting better. We’ve got to throw it better, protect it better, we’ve got to catch it better. I think all those elements, any one of them you could pick it out and write a story about.”

On whether the team will focus on the running game
“Not necessarily. I think we’ll do what we have to do to win. If you look at statistics they’ll tell you one story, but as a staff there’s other areas that you look at that you’ve got to be able to exploit. If you look at the Oklahoma game, they made some huge plays in the passing game, both off the play-action game and the drop-back game. So to try to say you’re going to be one-dimensional, you’re going to have to do whatever it takes, it may be play-action, it may be drop-back, it may be sprint out, it may be screens. Who knows where those plays are going to come from. What I do know is that we’ve got to make plays. In a game like this, the playmakers have got to show up and make plays.”

On what the team must to do sharpen the special teams play
“(We need to work on) every area of special teams. The whole aspect of field position ? you have to start there. How to create it, how to secure it. The decisions made as a punt and kickoff returner, those decisions are crucial. To lose that yardage has a dramatic affect on momentum and the psyche of your football team. You certainly don’t want to be starting drives at the five-yard line. You watch film, by and large, most of the time, you watch the ball roll, teams pick up an average of 15 to 20 yards per roll. So we preach that to our players, the importance of fielding the ball in the punt return game and securing field position, and utilizing the fair catch opportunity.”

On what particular areas of Missouri’s offense the defense will have to prepare for
“When you watch this football team, they’ve got such tremendous tempo. They can get up on the line, they can jump the ball, they force you to make quick decisions. I think in college football now, what you’re seeing is the quarterback come to the line of scrimmage, start their cadence, then stop, when he and all the other members of the offense will turn and look at the sideline, where they’ve got about 15 coaches signaling, so there’s a live signal call, and there’s a dummy signal call as well. So your defense is set, and so the guy from the box is giving plays down to the field and telling them what plays to get in or get out of predicated on what the defense has settled into. So that’s what you see in this spread offense that can give you problems. It’s the ability to counter that, change up, and being able to play the chess match on your side of the ball becomes critically important.”

On the communication the defense must have to succeed against Missouri’s spread offense
“I think communication is important across the board whether you’re a defensive lineman, a linebacker or playing in the back end. You’ve got to be able to communicate the adjustments, the call, or the particular sequence of things that could possibly occur. There are alert calls that develop during the course of a play. How you communicate that out becomes crucial. Sometimes it’s a two or three check system that you have to go to. What I see college football coming to is a lot of no-huddle, jumping the ball, looking to the sideline, getting another call from the sideline to go to another play. So there are a lot of chess games being played now with the spread offense, and that’s obviously how Missouri functions as an offense, and they’ve got an excellent staff and do a great job.”

On the sense of urgency
“Our players are very well aware of the whole scenario involving the race.  They have been since the Big 12 conference play has begun.  We point that out every week when we get together after our Sunday review.  We show them exactly where everybody’s at, we give them the schedule for the week, who’s playing who, what significance it can have and what impact it can have on our particular place in the division or where we’re headed in the race over all.”

On the defense needing to show up to play on game days
“Everybody has to show up.  Everybody, offense, defense, managers, doctors, we all have to show up.  We have to play.”

On who the defensive playmakers are
“All of them.  I think they’re all a function of each other.  You need a great pass rush to have great coverage.  You need great coverage so you can get a pass rush.  You have to have batted balls so you can get a tip and an interception by a linebacker or a defensive back.  That’s what impresses me about Missouri.  They do a great job of stripping the ball from behind.  They did it to us last year right in the second half we broke out a pass and the safety comes in from behind and tomahawk chops the ball out of the receiver’s hands and the balls on the ground.  So ball security in a game like this becomes bigger than ever.  Location and accuracy of throws, on both sides, so that ball doesn’t get tipped, deflected and picked.  You can have the best protection you want, but if location and accuracy isn’t a part of it then there’s a potential for a big play to be produced.  So you guard against those things and you try to put your players in the best possible postion for them to make plays.  So that’s what we do.  We coach, teach, motivate and try to put players in positions to make plays.”

On any surprises in the past couple of weeks
“No, I’m not surprised by anything.  When you’re talking about surprises you’re looking at things you’re unprepared for and we were prepared for everything.  It’s just a matter of making those plays, that’s what it comes down to.  Is making plays at the most important times.  Whether it’s third and long, short yardage, or down in the red zone, making plays is what it comes down to.”

On wide receiver Maurice Purify
“Well he’s getting better.  As you watch Maurice play, I think you recognize his ability to get matched up on the single receiver side, or on the two by two side, or potentially on the three by one side and he has great matchup ability because of his overall talent to go get the ball.  He played basketball in junior college and high school.  He can elevate and he can use his body to fend off defenders and put it in position between him and the defenders to make the play.  And he has such great length and that’s what really impresses you.  And that’s what impresses us about the receivers down at Missouri.  You look at (Chase) Coffman (Missouri tight end), you look at (Martin) Rutker (Missouri tight end) and you look at (William) Franklin (Missouri wide receiver), those guys have great length and they’re big targets.  It’s hard to defend those guys in the match up, you have to be really good.  Your underneath coverage has to be good, your back end coverage has to be very tight and when you’re playing man to man you really have to lock up in terms of your coverage.  Your ability to play, whether it’s an outside in technique or an inside out technique, it has to be masterful against these guys.  And even at times when the coverage is right there, and it’s perfect, they still have the ability to make plays and that’s where Maurice really shines.  When the coverage is just perfect, he has such great height and length that he can make the play even when it’s tightly contested.”

On not having a bye week during the season
“Every week is different, so being on the road and playing three out of four games on the road is different but it’s certainly no excuse.  You have to be ready to play.  Part of winning a championship comes down to how focused you are and how mature you are in terms of handling the focus while being on the road for a length of time, and the mentality that it takes to win.  It’s tough.  This conference is tough.  I was talking to Mike Gundy (OklahomaState head coach) before the game and he said, ?man, this is unbelievable, every week it’s down to the wire.”  And it is.  I think the fans enjoy that, but I don’t think the coaches do.  It is competitive and there is parity and you see it.  I see it through and through in terms of college football.  It’s tough, it’s competitive, but it’s fun.”

On the team’s ability to eliminate distractions
“I think we’ve been really good.  I think we’ve been very good.  And I have to commend our team for eliminating distractions and being focused.  Now we weren’t at our best on Saturday, but we have to be at our best this Saturday, eliminating any type of distraction.  Whether it be friends coming in from out of town, getting your class work done on time, getting your appointments knocked out so you’re able to prepare and you’re able to focus exactly on your particular role in this game.  And it’s crucial that you do that.  That’s discussed on a weekly basis, and I would tell you that it’s getting better and it’s gotten better in the three years that I’ve been here and it shows.  Maybe not in the win loss column, but I would tell you internally among the team that the focus has been very good.”

On whether the team was emotionally tired from two big road wins and the Texas game
“There’s no excuse.  You have to show up and play every week.  Everybody else does.  Everybody else has the same schedule.  Everybody else has the same set of circumstances and you just have to suck it up and play.  That’s the nature of the beast.  They’re well aware of the challenges and that’s something that we’ve continually emphasized and we’ll be better prepared the next time through.  We felt we were well prepared going into the game, like I mentioned, but it just didn’t turn out.  We just have to do a better job.”

On the status of the program’s progress if the team doesn’t win the Big 12 North
“We’ll see at the end.  We’ll take a look at it when it’s all done and said and I’ll give you a better answer at the end of the year.”

On what to tell quarterback Zac Taylor after the mistakes in the OklahomaState game
“I don’t have to say anything to him, personally, because when I see him up in the coaches’ offices watching film and preparing on Missouri, that tells you automatically that he’s ready to play today, and that he’s committed to making sure that his preparation is intact, that he’s on the screws in terms of his decision making.  He’s a prideful guy, he was in yesterday, in today early.  He’s going to do everything he can to prepare himself to win a football game, so I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be said about Zac Taylor’s focus because he continues to work hard and he is an outstanding leader, an example, and the epitome of what we want in a Husker football player.”

On the similarities to this week’s situation and last year’s situation after the Kansas game
“I think every game is different.  I think every year is different.  I think every week is different.  I think it’s different, it’s always different.  And this game against Missouri will be no different than the one from last week, it’s all different.  They have new players, new matchups, their defense has just been outstanding.  They lost a tremendous pass rusher, but I don’t think they lost anything overall in their pass rush game because that entire front four, in Jackson you watch him come off and make plays off the edge, all those guys.  They’ve done an outstanding job.  I mentioned that on the teleconference yesterday, their pass rush, their techniques that they employ are as good as anybody’s across the country, and I have to commend their d-line coach, their coordinator, they’re outstanding and they take great pride in that aspect.  So we recognize that and we’re going to have to prepare hard to counter that.

On turning the corner after this loss, as they did last year after the Kansas game
“I think you can always reproduce positive experiences.  I’m a believer of that.  But I think for right now, for this week, we’re in a great situation.  We’re here at home, we’re playing in front of our fans, there are some tremendous implications that are right in front of us, so I think our players are certainly excited about this opportunity, they are embracing this game.”

On the success other teams have had running against Missouri
“It’s tough yardage, it’s like grinding it out.  These teams that have come in, I think against KansasState the game was out of hand at that time and I think it was a different situation in terms of weather conditions.  On film it looked like a little bit of a quagmire.  I guess they missed a couple tackles, but I didn’t read anything into that.  But the Oklahoma game, the Sooners had to pound away, I mean really physically pound away.  They don’t give you much.  They don’t give you anything.  So you have to find, you really have to probe and really work hard to find the matchups, the formation matchups, and things of that nature to break out a run.  They’re really well-versed.  They do a great job versus heavy sets.  There’s going to be eight, nine people down in the box.  They do a great job against spread set because they see it every day in practice.  They know how to rush the passer because they face that aspect against their own offense.  They’ve seen it all and you have to credit them and that’s why they are an outstanding defense, I believe.”