Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Oct. 3, 2011
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Ohio State

On if there is anything in particular that will be focused on this week
"Us. We need to get better at executing. Things I thought we needed to make progress on creeped up on us the other night. We just have to keep getting better and keep working. The process continues. There were a lot of things we could have done better but what is glaring to me is the technique and the fundamental aspects of the game and the lack of execution. We need to be on the same page and do what we need to do. There were times when we needed to, bottom line, make plays. When you're in position, you need to make plays."

On who Pelini expects to step up and be a leader of this team
"I think obviously Rex (Burkhead) is a guy. Taylor (Martinez) is a guy. (Mike) Caputo on offense. (Jared) Crick, Lavonte (David), (Austin) Cassidy, those are some guys that come to mind."

On if there are a good number of leaders on the team
"Oh yeah. This team has character. Let me tell you, those guys were hurting after the game. Nobody wants to win like they do. Like I've said all along, I've told them it isn't about want-to. You have to have want-to, but you want to do a lot of things in life. But how you go about it is what allows you to accomplish the goals. That means the preparation during the week, attention to detail and progressing in a certain matter. If you do those things, then the want-to gets taken care of. Good intentions only get you so far. You have to put work behind it and we have to keep working at it."

On how worried Pelini is about the team's confidence being shaken
"Not at all. We have a confident team. We are very black and white as to how things happen. When you look at the film, we are black and white about how we point things out. We talk about us. Fixing us. Fixing the things that need fixed. Our approach today isn't any different than it was a week ago. Honestly, I knew that unless we got some things fixed, I knew some stuff would creep up the other night. They crept up in some earlier games, sometimes they hurt you, sometimes they don't, but that's what you're preparing for each week."

On if the team is struggling to make it back to a sort of base defense
"We aren't struggling to do it, we just haven't played much of it. We were recruiting a certain way for a while, so we probably aren't quite as deep in some areas. That is part of the deal, and I knew it would be this way. I'm not concerned personnel-wise. Bottom line is that we have to execute better."

On where the defense misses guys like Eric Hagg and DeJon Gomes the most
"Honestly, when they spread us out a bit. It is similar to a few years ago. Our system is built on when teams spread you out. We match routes and do a lot of specific things. They're detailed in how things fit. How we play the run, how we play the pass and how those things come together. You have to be right and understand what is going on. The communication has to be good and you have to make plays at the end of the day. There were a lot of times we could have gotten off the field the other day and we didn't align correctly. We didn't play with the correct leverage and play with the correct defense the way it was designed to work and it hurt us. They took advantage. A lot of those things are self-induced errors that we need to get fixed."

On why there hasn't been faster progress on the defensive side
"Youth, maturity. We had a number of guys we had to replace. It is one things to do it in practice and another when the bullets are flying. You have to do it. At the end of the day, we were in position, we just didn't make a play. It's not magical."

On if Pelini envisioned the defensive struggles coming during fall camp
"It's hard. You don't really have a crystal ball to know how fast some guys will come or react. I've been in this position before. It's nothing new to me and it is part of coaching. It just presents itself."

On how recruiting has affected the defense
"In the Big 12, you were spread out a lot. We recruited a lot more hybrids. Now is a bit different with the peso and that type of things. We need to get more linebackers in here for depth reasons. You can't fix that so soon. Our blueprint will change, but it is nothing drastic. You tailor your recruiting to your challenges and opponents."

On if it is a matter of finding the right combination of linebackers
"We are looking for the right combinations in a few areas. We are not afraid to make changes, and I've said that we put a lot of stock in practice so you will see a few different combinations."

On if the team would be better sticking with the peso until there are more linebackers
"No, I don't think so. There are other ways to do things, and we have a number of different options. That is something that is available to us because we have safeties that could go up there and play. You kind of saw it against Wyoming when (Daimion) Stafford went up there, so it is available if we need it."

On if Pelini thought the players took plays off during the game
"I don't think we responded well to adversity. I just don't think we did. We did earlier in the year. We did well in the Washington game. It is interesting. You can't practice everything you will see in a game. You'll always see something new. If you always say we will take care of these things and something different happens - OK. You apply roles and make adjustments. But if something happens and they make a play and we forget about what we were prepared for, then you didn't respond well. That didn't necessarily happen. We were playing well and then, boom, we didn't handle the end of the first half well. From that point, we got worse as a team. It just means we didn't respond well. Somebody has to step up and make a play, we have to be together as a unit. We didn't quite do that. I thought we did earlier in the year. We didn't, for whatever reason, the other night."

On how far off the team is in the secondary
"Not real far off. There are some little things. To me, playing well comes down to the little things. The fine details. It is about technique, fundamentals and your eyes. It is about playing disciplined football. To play great defense, you need to hit on all cylinders and we didn't do that."

On the defensive line play and if they're playing well
"They can play better.  I thought they played well at times, I think they can play better. There's no question in my mind and I think they will tell you the same thing."

On if Pelini will ever take anything off the player's plate, responsibility-wise
"Nope. You stay the course. The system works. You stay the course. There is no reason to make drastic changes."

Through five games, what is the strength of the offense
"Running the football. I think we are pretty multiple in how we do that. Our play-action has been good for us. When we don't shoot ourselves in the foot, we are good offensively. When we make penalties or try to make plays that aren't there, we are going to have problems. You have to stay on schedule and be efficient. I thought we were doing that well in the early part of the game. We were pretty efficient and weren't hurting ourselves. We were taking what the defense gave us. We got off schedule. We tried to make throws that weren't there. We didn't get back on schedule. We were inefficient. When that happens, you don't move the football. We were on early in the game. For a number of reasons, we got away from who we are. We got away from playing the way we play."

On what Taylor Martinez needs to do better
"He needs to let the game come to him. He needs to make reads and not try to make a big play every time. Just take what is given. At times, he gets impatient and thinks he has to win the game himself. That is part of the growth as a quarterback. You have to read and understand you won't make a big play every down. That's part of the growth of the guy and the position."

On the gap between Martinez and Carnes
"Quite a bit right now. Brion is getting better. People are always going to put the quarterback under the microscope. Trust me, Taylor made a few plays he would like back, but if you look at what he has done over the course of the season, I'm glad he is our quarterback. He is a good football player."

On Pelini's role in play calling on offense
"Obviously, I always have an influence. I wish we would have handled the end of the first half better. I think we got away from what we were doing. We were moving the ball well. A few penalties got us off and influenced us a bit. If we managed better, which I put on myself, that game would have been different going into the locker room. I felt really good about what we were doing offensively. In hindsight, I didn't know we would turn the ball over twice at the end of the half, but I felt good about what we were doing and where we were."

On if Pelini speaks up in those situations
"Oh yeah. Sometimes I'll say to run the ball and get out of here. Or I'll say to be aggressive and go after him."

On the team's aggressiveness running the football
"Oh yeah. Run the offense. There are different ways of doing it, attacking somebody. If we would have continued on the path we were, I think we would have been a lot better. There were plays and yards to be had in those situations, in a number of different ways. I think we all can learn from what happened the other night, both as a staff and as players."

On what Pelini has seen from Ohio State through five games
"They're talented. They're a good football team that is physical. They're good on defense. Physical, downhill on offense. They have guys that can run and have good skills. Well coached as well."

On the highlights of playing at Ohio State
"I had a great experience there. I enjoyed my time playing there. I have a lot of friendships I've made and played for a lot of good coaches. I played for Coach Bruce and Coach Cooper and a lot of great assistants. I've always said the experience you have helps lead to where you are and what you accomplish."

On why Pelini chose to play for the Buckeyes
"I was recruited by a lot of people but chose Ohio State because my parents were a little older when I was a senior and in the end, it made the most sense. I could play high level and it was easy for my parents and family to come see me play. It worked out well and it was a good experience."

What is the game Pelini remembers most
"I played a lot of great games. It is hard to say. I think of the Michigan rivalry. Iowa my senior year was a great game. They would have been number one if they had beaten us. We won it in the last seconds of the game. Those were always fun. I liked playing the game."

On if he watches his old games
"Nah, I'm too embarrassed to watch myself."

On if the fact that it is Ohio State makes it any more personal
"Honestly, it is about our football team. I don't pay attention. It isn't more or less meaningful. It is about doing a job. I want our team to be better and to walk off the field Saturday night a better football team than we were when we started this week."

Would Bo Pelini the player be able to play for Bo Pelini the coach?
"There would be a lot of arguments. As a player I thought I knew everything."

On how difficult it is to prepare for a team with four players coming back that haven't played this year
"They have good players and a deep roster. I don't know how they'll play or what they'll do. We are just getting ready for what we see on film. We understand that if those players come back, they're good football players. It doesn't change anything we do."

On the culture of Ohio State and what makes them a good program
"It is their brand and recruiting. It is a populous state with a lot of high school football. It has tremendous tradition, like Nebraska."

It seems former Ohio State players wear it on their sleeve, and why Pelini doesn't
"I don't believe in wearing anything on your sleeve. You are who you are and you do your job. I just don't believe that is how you carry yourself. You are humble and do what you need to do. What happened in the past is in the past. I'm glad of my experience and thankful for them, but that's about it."

On Pelini's coaching change at Ohio State and what he learned
"Anytime you have a coaching change or go through adversity, you learn and grow a lot. That was an emotional thing. Everybody that played for Coach Bruce loved the guy. He recruited me but you move on past it. You still love the school you play for. They brought in a heck of a coach and you play for him. All of those experiences you remember and learn a lot, whether you are a player or coach. I'm sure you have all been through similar things where they made changes and you learn from things. You adapt to new philosophies and ideals. You learn through it all."

On if he used that experience on the players when he came to Nebraska
"I was fortunate because I didn't approach my job as a head coach (different) than I did as a defensive coordinator. I've been through that a few times and had a few experiences to drop on. You apply some things that you have learned and my approach has worked over the years. You start with a clean slate and the past is the past. That is my approach."

On if you use a loss as fuel or simply move on to Ohio State
"Lets face it: these guys are competitive animals. They're competitive guys. You can't dwell on it, but you better learn from it. You better learn how to get better. You can grow a lot by failing at something if you use it the right way."

On if it raises flags that the team lost by 31 as opposed to a tight game
"No. You lose you lose. I don't like losing by one or 31. Does it hurt? Yeah, it hurts."

On Ohio State's quarterback situation
"They're different guys but you prepare to play the offense. You talk to your guys about the subtleties of what each of them does. We will probably see both of them at some point. You have to be prepared for what they throw at you."

On the adjustments of the new defensive coaches
"No kinks at all. It has been really good. They're used to this. The way you approach your job, that doesn't affect you."

Corey Cooper started at Wyoming and didn't play Wisconsin. Why?
"It was a different game plan. He is coming and was available. We just didn't go that way."

On the big recruiting weekend ahead
"You don't know. We like to bring in recruits to what we think will be a great environment and use it to our advantage. It'll be a good showing for recruits."

If you're halfway through a season and defensive players aren't getting it, what do you do?
"Keep working. Keep getting better. Like I said, you make subtle changes. You don't overhaul. You keep working to get better. It is about execution, technique and fundamentals. You stay the course. Does that mean you don't make adjustments? That's asinine. You just keep working to get better."

On the change between the offense two years ago vs. now
"You do what you have to do to win football games. I don't think we changed what we did. We might have called a game differently. You don't overhaul in the middle of a year. You don't panic."

Ohio State may or may not get a few players back. How fast could they be ready?
"I don't know what has been going on there. I can't answer that question."

On if Pelini motivated his players right for last Saturday's game
"I would have done it the same. We were ready going into the game. We played well early but the game got out of hand and I'm part to blame. The end of the half hurt us and we didn't respond well to it. Early on, we did a lot of good things."

On if the team is up against the wall this week
"I think you're against it every week. That's how we approach it. We try to win every game and get better in every game we play."