Oklahoma Coaches & Players on Texas

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma coaches and players met with the media on Tuesday at the weekly football press conference at the Kerr-McGee Stadium Club inside Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

The Sooners battle the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday in the 100th meeting between the two rivals.

The game is scheduled for noon and will be televised by ABC. Please consult Get in the O-Zone

“Defensively, I thought we were really solid. We went into the game realizing that Kansas State was an excellent team at running the football. That was what they wanted to do. We were really good up front and in the secondary supporting the run, taking care of the run, tackling better and canceling gaps. That was a big part of the game. Then we got really good pressure on their quarterback, which was also positive and made a big difference.”

“I was also very pleased with special teams. I thought overall our cover units were very good. Our return units made some nice plays, so we were very solid. Garrett Hartley was given a game ball because his kicks across the board were really solid.”

On whether the win boosted the team's confidence:
“It gave us some momentum and confidence. In the locker room, there's a great deal of excitement. I think the players realize that we're not too far off and can see the fruits of their labor in that game. They felt good about themselves, what they were doing and the progress they're making. Also, the excitement is from knowing that we have a big week in front of us playing Texas.”

On Texas:
“Year in and year out, this is a very big game that has major implications in the Big 12 South and who will have an opportunity to represent the South in the Big 12 Championship. It's not the only game, but it's a big game on the way to that.

"Our players are excited about the opportunity to compete with a very good Texas team. We're really excited and looking forward to the challenge of it. I really believe that we match up with them in what we're doing and what we would like to do and how they're playing. Our guys do match up well and compete hard.”

On how Vince Young has improved in the last two years:
“Naturally, everybody continues to improve as you gain experience and gain maturity. But we've always felt, in particular last year, that he's a very good quarterback. We came in last year, when he was completing about 65 percent of his passes, and thought he was really an excellent quarterback.

"To me, it's splitting hairs. When a guy's really good, he's really good. We realize that, and we realize that everything runs through him. When you look at not only the passing but also the run game, it all goes through him. He's a big factor, and we've got to really defend him.”

On whether the winning streak against Texas gives the team confidence:
“Yes and no. In the end, our guys have an excellent feeling knowing that if we do things the right way and have a big week in preparing, that we've got the opportunity to go down there and win like we have. In the end, though, you've got to do the work.

"We've got to recognize that when we get on the field, we have to play smart and recognize what they're doing and what we need to do. We have to react to it and be physical and aggressive and make plays when we get an opportunity.”

On how close to 100 percent Adrian Peterson will be for the game:
“He'll get the boot off today, and we'll check him out. We're hoping he'll practice tomorrow, but it's too soon to say all of that. We anticipate him practicing tomorrow, but if that changes, we'll say so. How much better he'll be in any kind of percentage, that's impossible to say. I believe he'll be fine, and I believe he'll look good and be ready to go on Saturday.”

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SENIOR DT DUSTY DVORACEK
On Vince Young:
“He's got to be up there at the very top. He's very dangerous. When you watch him, he doesn't look that fast and then you play against him, geez, he's gone. He's a very talented player.”

On the improvements the team is making:
“If you want to be a championship team, you have to get better each week. I think we have done a pretty good job at it this year. We definitely try to improve week to week and get better and better as the season goes.”

On a potential win against Texas:
“It's still a showdown. It's still a Big 12 South game. Whoever wins this game will have the leg up in the Big 12 South race. It's another game, but it's still a big game and it's a game we need to win.”

On what he's telling the younger players:
“Really what I've told some of the young guys is to feed off of it. It is so electric out there. I remember my first time. It was my favorite one. You feed off of it. You don't let it consume you or overwhelm you. Feed off the people and the atmosphere and let it make you a better player. Go out there and play like your hair is on fire and have fun.”

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FRESHMAN QB RHETT BOMAR
On maintaining a relationship with Paul Thompson while competing for the quarterback job:
"That's real important. You want to keep a team-first attitude, you can't be selfish. We stayed friends through everything. On the field we're competing against each other,. When we're off the field we were still friends and we're still like that."

On whether Paul Thompson is a receiver he looks for now:
"Yeah sure, I have confidence in him to make a play. No doubt about that. If he's in my read progression and he's the open guy, I'm going to hit him, and I have all the confidence in the world that he'll come down with it."

On being recruited by Texas:
"I am from Texas, so they were in the running. Oklahoma was the place for me all along. To answer your question, yeah, it was a tough choice between all of those people."

On OU's offense:
"We still have all the quarterback running game. We used all of our backs the other night. They can all play and we showed that. The receivers are starting to come together. At one point the other night on like a third-and-seven we completed a pass. We had three freshmen receivers on the field at one time, three true freshmen, so that shows you that the future is bright. They can play."

On whether there is more in the playbook:
"Oh, there's always more. They can think of more stuff everyday, new stuff. You never know, I'm sure we'll have something new."

On how much this year has unfolded like he expected:
"A lot, being in the gun, read stuff, quarterback run game, the option. That's my kind of thing, that is what I did in high school and I'm really comfortable with that. A lot of the passing game is similar to what I did in high school. I'm more comfortable now in the groove, the speed of the college game and things like that. It fits me pretty well."

On which OU game he attended before last year's game:
"My junior year in high school, I think the one where they won 35-24. I think that was the only other one I've ever been to."

On running out of bounds:
"Oh, another one of those questions. No, I didn't take any real bad shots the other day. It's not like I was sore or anything like that. I don't think I can slide. It's just not in my nature. I did play baseball, but that's a whole different mindset. You get in the heat of the battle and it's hard to do. You just try to avoid the hard hits.

On how much of his game is instinct:
"That's all running is really, you can ask a running back about that. It's instinct, vision, making cuts and things like that, there's not much thinking going on."

On the significance of this game:
"I'm pumped just because I'm from Texas and the recruiting aspect. I didn't grow up really watching this game. Some of my friends were Texas fans and Oklahoma fans growing up. I was a Florida State fan. I didn't really watch this game much. When I was growing up neither school was at the level they are now. I didn't really get into that until after Oklahoma won the national championship."

On confidence derived from the winning streak:
"Yeah, you take the confidence from the older guys a little. You see their confidence in this game and the mindset they go into. The young guys haven't been here or won that game. I redshirted last year, so I just watched and I really didn't contribute. You look at the older guys and how they handle it and learn from them."

Thoughts on Texas:
"Texas is a very talented team. They are a very experienced team. They are a bunch of older guys that have played in this game a lot and played against our older guys. That experience probably helps them a lot. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a test. They are the number two-ranked team in the country and we have respect for them. They are a good team. We feel we're a good team too and we can play with them, so we're going out there with that mindset."

On Vince Young:
"He's a great athlete. Their offense runs through him. He's the center piece of that team basically. He's a threat to make a big play at anytime."

On how a lack of mistakes keyed the win over Kansas State:
"No turnovers, I don't think we can do any better than that. That's perfect. If we keep the turnovers down and keep our negative yardage down and I think we'll be even better.

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SENIOR LB CLINT INGRAM
On the game against Texas:
“I'm from Texas so I always hear that we are going to lose the game every year since I've been here. In other years in the past, we didn't really do anything to go towards this game. I feel like we have a good chance. We are going to go in there and play hard, we've prepared hard, watched extra film, doing whatever it is going to take to play a good game.”

On the Sooners playing with an edge:
“We go in and we trust the game plan the coaches give us to play. We go out there and play hard. We get down there in front of thousands of people; it's a whole different type of environment. You could say that you treat each game the same, but when you go down there to the Cotton Bowl and half of it is orange and half of it is red, and the orange people are flipping you off and the people in the red are cheering you on, it is a whole different type of atmosphere.”

On what a potential win against Texas will do:
“That's one of the goals we have on getting a leg up as far as the Big 12 South. Texas is a big team in the Big 12 South as far as us going out and playing them and having a chance to go on and achieve some of our goals like playing in the Big 12 Championship.

On beating Kansas State:
“It was good for us to go out and get a win. We kind of got a chance to polish up on some things that we needed work on. As far as winning, that was a good plus for us. It gave confidence to the young guys that really haven't been around when we've been doing all of the winning. For the older guys, it reassured us that nothing really fell off, we just had a few things to work on. Everything is starting to fall into place.”

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SENIOR FB J.D. RUNNELS
On preparing for Texas:
“I think they are probably taking the same approach we are. I'm sure they are saying everyone is 0-0, the score is 0-0 and Saturday we are going to get it on.”

On beating Kansas State:
“The big thing was that we didn't turn the ball over. It was a huge deal for us that we had a good game with ball security and we really played a physical and emotional game.”

On Quarterback Rhett Bomar:
“I see a guy that is really getting settled in. I think the first couple games I saw a little anxiety, if you will, a little anxiousness, a kid that wanted to make every play. I think I see a more relaxed, more confident quarterback in him. He just needs to get as much game-time experience that he can.”

On the team's confidence:
“The whole fact that this is a rivalry game with us playing well and with the circumstances being what they are, we feel just as confident as they do. We know it's going to be a fight and we are ready to go down there and prepare for those guys.”

On this week's practice being different than other weeks:
“I think you see it in the guy's eyes. The want to and the effort, everything is there. Everything is there and everyone is in place and everyone understands that they are going to have to do their job 100% in order to fulfill our goal of getting the golden hat.”

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SENIOR WR TRAVIS WILSON
On Big 12 play:
“We came in last week and started off well in the Big 12 Conference against K-State. Obviously we want to win, not only because it is Texas but in order to fulfill our dreams and our goals to get to the Big 12 Championship. We just have to take it one game at a time.”

On quarterback Rhett Bomar:
“He's becoming a more confident player, understanding the offense more. He needs to understand that he has to breathe and relax and know that he has playmakers around that will help him. He's really matured in the last couple of weeks and he's really starting to take control of the offense.”

On his advice for the younger players:
“It's big, it's a great experience to be around in college football. The young guys that are playing and contributing have to realize that they can't get all caught up in it. It's just another football game. You have to be focused and confident and make the plays that need to be made.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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