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Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007
Pre-USC
Cortney Grixby, Sr., CB
On if he looked ahead to this game and what it means to have a re-match from last year.
“You see it on the schedule. You know the caliber of team they are. It is hard not to look at ahead and you try to focus on not doing it, but it is here now so it really does not matter.”
On if WakeForest’s speed helped them prepare for USC’s speed.
“Yes, they had tremendous speed and a lot of good athletes. They were a really good team and we got out of there with a win and now were focused on this game. They have a lot of talent that were just trying to prepare for.”
What he learned from facing the USC receivers last year.
“Just staying consistent with your technique and if you do that, you will be alright. We did not play as well as we wanted to last game (against USC) but every year is different so we just want to prepare and get better.”
On if last year’s USC receivers compare to this year’s receivers.
“They are very similar. They still have big receivers, really talented, can catch, can run, so it is not a drop off. They just reload. We have a great challenge ahead of us, so we just have to prepare well.”
On if he feels a win could help NU be a top-10 team.
“Right now we really do not look ahead as far as rankings go. I don’t even know what we are ranked right now. So it’s another game we just have to prepare for like any other game; not get off track, just stay consistent with our preparation and just get out and play.”
What he tells the young guys about playing such a highly ranked team.
“Just tell them don’t be too amped because if you get real amped you can fall real hard. You just always want to stay level. Stay level and stay focused on your assignments and your technique, and as long as you do that everything will fall into place.”
What he got out of last years game in L.A. and how it will help him this year.
“It helped us out a lot. We played a lot of top-five teams last year. I think it has helped prepare us. We have a lot of experience on the team. It’s basically just getting in with the speed of some of those teams. You know that they have great talent. That’s going to help, but the experience that we have all gained for playing those top-five teams from last year.”
On if speed is the biggest difference between a top-five team and other teams?
“Not necessarily. It is basically just your definition and technique. Good teams always have great technique and they hit. We want to be on that level and we want to teams to see us as that. So as far as taking our experience’s from that game (against their speed) into this year, that is going to be the most helpful.”
On what happened on the big plays against WakeForest.
“They had great players and players make plays. We have to be able to stop some of that and knock some of the kinks out and fix some of the mistakes that we made. I think that is going to be a focus for us today and were going to get that taken care of.”
Does it feel like they have momentum going into this game or more things to fix?
“I feel we have momentum. We have watched the film (from Saturday’s game) already and we know that the mistakes that we made are fixable. It’s not like were in a panic over that. We just have to get into practice and get that taken care of.”
On the media calling this USC team the greatest team ever assembled.
“That’s what they call them, (but) we are going to have to see it on the field. We see it on film and we see that they are a great team, but we all have to get on the field and play the game first.”
On the advantage of playing at home.
“Being at home, you get the fans here. They are going to be crazy and going wild so it is going to help out a lot. We went out there and it was really loud out there and I know it is going to be loud here. So any time you have the home-field advantage it is always a help.”
On what this game means to him.
“You come here to play big games and to be the best you have to play teams that really are the best, and right now they are No. 1, so they are the best. If you want to get to that level, you have to show up and perform.”
On how Zack Bowman will match up against the USC receivers.
“He can come in and he is going to help out a lot. He is a talented player. He is a big physical corner and that is going to help us out and work to our advantage in ways by guarding bigger receivers on the perimeter.”
On if he would take pride in holding down the USC offense.
“That is just a pride thing for every game. You play defense to not let a team score. It is a great challenge. They have great athletes, they have backs, receivers. There is really no weakness on their team, so we have to be on our ?A’ game to win this game.”
On how he is preparing for this game knowing they might come after him.
“Playing corner, you approach every game like that, that they are coming after you every play. You never know (when). Most of the time, you’re only going to get the ball not thrown your way a couple times anyway. For those times that they don’t throw at you, you have to have your greatest focus. Every game you go into, that is how you feel and you would not want it any other way.”
Is there an advantage to having a bye week before this game?
“I wouldn’t say that is an advantage. I think that we always want to play and keep our rhythm. I think we keep our rhythm with this game last week and hopefully that will help us out.”
What he got out off last week’s win, even though they did not play their best.
“You take a win anyway that you can get it. We know that we did not play the best football but like I said, take nothing from WakeForest, they are a great team with a lot of great athletes. They are the defending ACC champs, so of course to get out of WakeForest with a win is huge for us.”