OU Coaches & Players Meet with Media

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

The Sooners host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the second game of the 2005 season at Owen Field.

The game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports Net. Please consult Sooner Gameday Central for complete broadcast information including Sooner Sports Network radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, live internet audio, live stats, O-Zone webcasts and more.

Press Conference Photos | Sooner Gameday Central - Tulsa

OU HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS
On the game against TCU:
"TCU played us better and coached better than we did. My compliments go out to them on the way they played. We have a lot of issues that we have to continue to try to address to improve that. We have to do a better job as coaches and players in the way we compete on the field. We need to be more physical, tougher and disciplined in the way we execute play. That's our job as coaches: to get the players to do that. It's the players' jobs to work at it through the week and be prepared to do it on Saturday. Hopefully as we go through the week, we can make some improvements in many areas to get that done. We'll need to."

On Oklahoma's mistakes against TCU:
"We weren't physical enough in the way we competed. We weren't tough enough or disciplined enough in what we were doing. We didn't protect the quarterback. Outside of one series that started the third quarter, we didn't establish a strong running attack. We had opportunities for big plays in many instances but weren't able to complete them and convert."

On whether the inexperience of the younger players was a factor in the game against TCU:
"I don't believe that was much of a factor at all. I saw a lot of the breakdowns and average performances that were out there were by guys who have played a lot. To put that off on young guys is not very accurate."

On the secondary's performance:
"That was one of the positive and bright spots. I thought the secondary was really solid and good the entire game. The one deep route that we gave up was when somebody else outside of the secondary busted an assignment and didn't cover their guy. They tackled well for the most part. Their positions on the ball and how they challenged in man coverage were really pretty good."

On Dusty Dvoracek's first performance after returning to the team:
"Dusty was one of the guys mentioned for having an excellent game. His arm felt fine, so that's another positive."

On starting the season with a loss:
"It's been a long time to start off this way. I think it's important that we address the issues we know are there. It's also important that as a team, we stay together, both coaches and players. The worst thing you can do is to start pointing the finger. I've been very aware that I have criticized us as coaches every bit as much as I have the players. We're all in it together. As a team, we'll either improve, or we won't. As critical as we are of all of our performances, we have to do something about this or stick our heads in the sand and get our rears kicked for the rest of the year."

On whether the offense has versatility and imagination:
"I believe so. I have total confidence in Chuck (Long), and I think his track record speaks to that. I believe we've been in the top 10 in scoring in the nation the last several years. We've had a rusher-Adrian Peterson-close to 2,000 yards in mostly an I-formation and behind the quarterback. Two years before, we had a Quentin Griffin who rushed for almost 2,000 out of the shotgun and hardly ever in the I. That's diversity. That's having imagination. That's finding ways to work to your talent. J.D. Runnels is one of out better players, and so is Adrian Peterson. Having them in the I in different ways on the field works to our advantage."

"The proof is out there in what they've done. We just had our quarterback and running back at the Heisman Trophy banquet a year ago. A couple years before that, Josh Heupel, a guy nobody recruited in the country, was also runner-up in the Heisman. It's because of Chuck's and his offensive staff's imagination on moving the football."

On Tulsa:
"Though they lost to Minnesota last week, Coach Steve Kragthorpe does an excellent job. Their schemes and plans are always very solid. They have good players running around making plays. They've had good solid years. Last year, they were middle-of-the-road, but the year before, they won nine or 10 games. So they do an excellent job. We have to make a lot of improvements if we want to go out there and have an opportunity to win this week, and that's what we're going to try to do."

"They're a very solid team in everything they do. Watching them against Minnesota, there were a good number of plays and series where they were really playing well and executing on both sides of the ball."

On starting freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar against Tulsa:
"Rhett deserves the opportunity. It has been a tight race all along. We want to give him the opportunities that Paul had to see what he's able to do with them. He'll get more snaps in practice and get in a position to start."

"By no means am I sitting here blaming Paul Thompson. Paul, in a lot of ways, wasn't supported really well. There were some guys who have played a lot of football who didn't play very well either. Again, it's not at all what we think of him because that is not fair. It was all of us. Everyone takes responsibility for it. But we do believe that Rhett deserves that opportunity, both in preparation and in the games to see if he can be more consistent in our passing and to convert some of the big plays and some of the opportunities we'll have."

On defensive ends:
"We'll play Calvin Thibodeaux and C.J. Ah You as the starters. Alan Davis came in during the game against TCU and played well. Alan's a guy who has been here and made improvements. From Alan, either Laenar Nixon or a couple of the young freshmen may have to eventually get regular play as well."

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SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE TACKLE CARL PENDLETON
On focusing on Tulsa:
"This week is another game, another chance to play and another chance to do what we do. We can't focus on the past game. The last game doesn't matter now. We're getting ready for Tulsa this week and we need to worry about it. Everyone is working hard getting ready for our next opponent. We have 11 more games and we have to focus on this next one. We are focused and ready to play Tulsa. That is where our focus is and where our intentions are."

On representing Oklahoma:
"Oklahoma has a lot of tradition and it's not just about us, it's about representing who we are as a team. It's not necessarily the games that are important, but the people who put a lot of work and a lot of effort into Oklahoma.

On his individual play:
"It's not about me, it's about the team. It doesn't matter how well I do individually, what matters is the points at the end of the game."

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SENIOR FULLBACK J.D. RUNNELS
On playing Tulsa:
"I know a lot of guys are anxious to get back on the field to really prove themselves. After ending last year the way we did, with a loss, a lot of guys had to wait six to seven months to get back on the field. Now guys have to wait six to seven days to get back on the field. I know a lot of guys are anxious to get back on the field."

On the offense in the third quarter of the TCU game:
"That's one thing I think we really hit on, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We have to want to score, we have to want to put the ball in the end zone, and we have to want to shove the ball down someone's throat, which is what we did in the third quarter. We have to want to do that every time we get the ball, not just one possession out of every seven or eight."

On TCU's defensive line:
"It's about effort and they by far put out far more than we did. Collectively as a unit, I take that on my shoulders. I try to be with the offensive line and we do everything we can to protect our quarterback. I think it hurts me more than it does the quarterback when they get hit."

On the team's attitude after the loss:
"We fought hard. I don't question my team's character and I don't question their integrity. You just have those games. We played 13 games last year and we had one bad game. Hopefully we'll do the same this year, play twelve or thirteen games and only have one bad game. Time will tell."

On adapting to the opponent's defense:
"No matter what anyone does, it's like coach says, we just have to maintain our balance. It doesn't matter how many people they put in the box, we should be able to do what we want to do. Scheme and game plan come into it but like I said, a lot of it is just effort. We need to help our defense as much as we can; we need to accommodate them and be a fully functioning machine."

On having one loss:
"Inevitably, a lot of teams are going to go down with one loss and I think a lot of guys don't really realize that until everyone starts getting picked off. You try to explain to them (the younger guys) that one loss can hurt you but it won't kill you. What doesn't kill you will make you better and I think the Miami/Florida State game really opened people's eyes. Hopefully we will all learn from this and take it day by day."

On the coaching staff:
"Our coaches are the top in the country and they know what they are doing. I completely trust all of them and we've won a lot of games with them. Last time I checked, we've only lost six. Like I've said, effort is the key in football and that is one of the things we probably slacked off in."

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JUNIOR LINEBACKER ZACH LATIMER
On Coach Stoops wanting the team's attitude to improve:
"It just goes to show that he (Coach Stoops) has been coaching for a long time. If he sees that something needs to be done, something needs to be done. If he says it is the attitude then we need to go out there and change it or it is going to be a long season."

On if the Sooners had any emotion during the TCU game:
"I felt that we had emotion before the game and when we came out of half time, I thought we had it again, but we just didn't pull through at the end when we needed it most. That is when the game is supposed to be fun, 10-10, that's when we are supposed to go out there and get it done but we just didn't do it."

On the loss to TCU:
"There are no excuses. They came out and gave it to us. The game is over and what is done is done. Now we have to look forward to this week."

On Tulsa:
"Tulsa is a good football team. They have great tight ends and great running backs and if we don't show up and play, we are going to be 0-2. We need to come out with our game face on and really get prepared to play."

On what was said in the team meeting:
"In the team meeting, it was about guys telling other guys to step up and that's it. Davin (Joseph) was leading the charge."

On what OU needs to change against Tulsa:
"We just need to go out there and be more physical and play OU football because Saturday we looked like a bunch of Pop Warners out there just playing, thinking we were going to roll out there and play just because we had the Sooner jersey on. The guys that haven't played need to look at the guys that have played before us and look how hard they worked to get it done. We need to work just as hard if not harder to go out there and win."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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