Big 12 Coaches' Teleconference Quotes

Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops
"I was really proud of the way our team responded after we made a couple of mistakes and gave up 14 early points at Oklahoma State. We have responded well after starting slowly in some games. Adrian Peterson has come up with some great runs, and our offensive line has done a fine job, too. We have to come out in a very tough Big 12 South setting at Texas A&M and improve in some areas. I don't know if anyone could have anticipated the great year that Adrian Peterson has had, but he is complimented by a great offense. He has worked hard, and what matters to us most is continuing to win."

Baylor Coach Guy Morriss
"Last Saturday was a case of us not turning the ball over and getting four from Texas A&M. We have been emphasizing for weeks about good execution and not making turnovers, and it finally paid off for us. We have been playing teams with a lot of talent and have to tailor the game plan to each opponent. We have to give each game our best shot. We need at some point to have confidence that we can be in every game and have a chance to win it. I have a lot of confidence in (QB) Shawn Bell. He came in against Oklahoma last year and gave us some big plays. He took care of the ball, and we played a complete game against Texas A&M on offense, defense and in the kicking game."

Colorado Coach Gary Barnett
"We made too many mistakes against Texas and had illegal procedure penalties and such that really hurt us. We're playing a Kansas team that has multiple sets on offense and great special teams, and that poses some problem. We have struggled with continuity like a lot of teams in the Big 12 North. Kansas had a good start and then ran into a tough schedule like they did last year. It really makes for a lot of interesting games the final 3-4 weeks. We need to get back and regain some confidence. Whoever plays quarterback for Kansas poses problems with their passing game and schemes."

Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney
"Both defenses dominated our win against Kansas. We won the turnover battle 4-1, and that was the difference. Nebraska is a great team, No. 1 in the Big 12 North, and I have great respect for them. We have a lot of football to play in the division, and this is a conference and division that are full of outstanding teams and a lot of pride. We have made some marked improvement with a young team. We need to play much better, and we have been an underdog in every game since the first one against Northern Iowa. We have a had a merry-go-round with kickers and injuries, and Brett Culbertson has been 5-for-5 in recent game situations for us. We need to keep getting good productivity there."

Kansas Coach Mark Mangino
"Our defense played really well against Iowa State, and we held them to around 190 yards of total offense. LB Kevin Kane played one of his best games with 10 tackles and three TFL. Our offense just needs to get some continuity, and we need to get our offense back on track. Colorado (Saturday's opponent) has a season like ours with some ups and downs. I spoke with our team orthopod, and it looks as if, barring some miracle, (QB) Adam Barmann is out for the season. We feel good about (QB) Jason Swanson and will have him ready to play Saturday. We believe in our offensive system."

Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder
"Texas Tech was a very fine team and played more physically and faster than we did. We know the capabilities of Missouri, and we have seen Brad Smith at quarterback for three years now. This is very talented. Missouri team, one of the best defenses in the Big 12, and it will be tough to move the ball against them. Our team has played with spirit and emotion, but we have been out of position at times as was the case against Tech. This obviously is a big game for us. As (RB) Darren Sproles went through some struggles early, we didn't `lose' him emotionally, and he has bounced back to play some great football."

Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel
Last week was a tough loss, and I'm embarrassed about the kicking game giving up 14 points. I take full responsibility for that as head coach. (RB) Damien Nash has been reinstated for this week. He will play but how much I don't know at this time. Teams are loading up on the run and doing everything they can to contain Brad Smith. We anticipated this and have worked since last spring to become a better passing team. We need to take advantage of the matchups and try to do more things to offset that. Defenses are doing a great job at stopping Brad from running the football."

Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan
"It was a great win over Missouri. We like to get balance between the run and pass, and as an old offensive line coach, I like the run. I think the key for us is to be balanced, and I know this team is used to predominant running from past years. (TE) Matt Herian is out for 8-14 weeks with two broken bones in his leg, and we're starting to look at rehabilitation now. Your team gets more emotional as the season progresses and the games get bigger. You put yourselves into position to win some big games, and we're getting there. We still have a ways to go emotionally, but it has been rising with each game."

Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles
"We played a great game and just didn't play quite well enough to win against a great Oklahoma team. Texas has a very physical, talented and fine football team with good schemes on both sides. At times this year we wish we could have run Vernand Morency 8-10 more times in certain games. Playing two Top 10 teams in a row gets your focus, and our players can see on film what a great team Texas is. We need to tackle a little bit better against the run and wrap up some people, and we know we will facing another great back in Texas' Cedric Benson this week. They (Morency and Benson) are both tremendous running backs, and we need to be in position and make the plays defensively."

Texas Coach Mack Brown
"We were scared to death last week at Colorado, and we had a losing record against them historically (7-6 CU prior to the game). We were happy to get out of there with a win, and Cedric Benson reached 5,000 yards rushing (5,003 career). You can see a lot of the Michigan influence and Bo Schembechler and Bill McCartney hard-nosed football in coach Les Miles and his staff at Oklahoma State. We aren't playing football for the BCS. When these kids started playing football, there wasn't a BCS. We have a big home game Saturday before 85,000 fans in the Big 12 Conference, and that gets us going. Our defense has really improved, and we just have two seniors on defense. It has been pleasing."

Texas A&M Coach Dennis Franchione
"We made some mistakes that haven't been characteristic of our team against Baylor. We're looking at an Oklahoma team with a six-year quarterback, the defending Heisman Trophy winner, a potential Heisman Trophy winner (Adrian Peterson), a great offensive line, and a very outstanding defense. Peterson is a great player and exhibits traits running the ball far beyond his years. The situation is much different than when Texas A&M beat Oklahoma (30-26) here in 2002. (A&M QB) Reggie McNeal hadn't played a great before that game, and he is more mature now."

Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach
"We had a great win against Kansas State on the road, and we're looking forward to playing Baylor. This team requires some additional maintenance as far as focus and other areas, but that's part of the process. We have emphasized motivation, momentum breakers (with timeouts) and emotion on this team more than past seasons. I haven't analyzed the Baylor win over Texas A&M a great deal, but the final two-point conversion is like going for it on fourth down: it's an all-or-nothing situation. We have certain players on our team who are in the trenches and who give us the most superior form of leadership. They see the examples all the time."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors