Sooners Talk Baylor Game with Media

NORMAN | Head coach Bob Stoops, senior quarterback Paul Thompson, junior cornerback Marcus Walker, senior defensive end Calvin Thibodeaux and freshman offensive lineman Trent Williams met with the media at the football weekly press conference on Tuesday in the Kerr McGee Stadium Club.

The Sooners travel to Waco to play the Baylor Bears at Floyd Casey Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. FSN will broadcast Oklahoma's 54th consecutive TV game. Check Sooner Gameday Central for complete broadcast options and information for OU fans attending the game.

SoonerSports.com will release post-practice videos with comments from the defensive players and coaches later this evening.

Sooner Gameday Central | Eye on the Baylor Bears

HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS
Opening Statement:
"I'm very pleased with the way the team competed. Offensively, I was really excited with the balance we showed that we are capable of and we've had most of the year. I thought Paul Thompson was excellent and he just had a great day throwing the ball. Malcolm Kelly was again sensational. He had so many great catches and big plays. I thought our offensive line was very good-the running game, protection, all of it. Same with the tight ends; Brody Eldridge, our red shirt freshman has just been outstanding all year.

"I was disappointed in the fumbles. That's a factor. It's been an issue that has been around us for too many games.

"Defensively, I thought the guys played in a really good way-keeping (Texas Tech) out of the end zone the whole second half, keeping them under 300 yards. I believe they were only 2-12 of third-down conversions, which is really excellent defense. They tackled well in space, covered and pressured and did all the things we were hoping to do for the most part.

"Garrett Hartley -- I'm proud of the way he fought through a sprained ankle. He had a bad sprain on Tuesday. Scott Anderson, our trainer, came up and told me and I couldn't believe it. It is something he's been doing his whole life and when practicing his kick-offs he just came down on it wrong and rolled his ankle. He really fought through it and made all his kicks. Some of them weren't the prettiest but he was really hurting and wasn't able to do his kick-offs. But he made his field goals and he made his extra points and that was a big factor in the game.

"Offensively, Chris Messner and Trent Williams continue to play well, as well as Joe Jon Finley and Brody Eldridge. Players of the game were Paul Thompson and Malcolm Kelly, (they had) big games. Chris Brown, the young freshmen gets in there and has two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. He did a great job. I'm proud of Chris.

"Defensively, Calvin Thibodaux was recognized as player of the game. But all the secondary had good games-backers and they guys up front were all solid, too.

"Garrett Hartley and Lewis Baker were players of the game for special teams.

"We're on to Baylor, going down there to play. Again, our major focus as you watch Baylor, they've had some difficulty the last couple games, but in there games at home they've played in a really good way. They've won a few games at home and lost in overtime to Army. (Baylor) is very capable and early in the year they were really moving the ball well and doing a lot of good things.

"Our whole focus is on us improving this week-getting better, correcting some of the mistakes, we still had some defensive breakdowns the other day. Not everyone notices but we notice. Offensively, we can take care of the football better and still can execute the other parts of our game better. So that's what our emphasis is on is improving and getting better through the week to go down to Baylor and having another opportunity to win."

On paying attention to BCS rankings:
"(I pay attention) to a degree. My energy and focus is on what we can do about it. I think some of it people get really uptight about right now and there's a lot of games left. A lot of times things shake out. So to me, there's still a lot of football to be played and we still have a lot of football to play. That's why I won't let our focus change. We're going to Baylor this week so that is where all of our energy is at.

"We take pride in each win. We're about the entirety of it. We've got one more game this week that we want to get and that's how we fight our way through the year.

On the possible opportunity to play in the Big 12 Championship game:
"I'm no dummy; of course (I recognize the possibility). But we've got to beat Baylor this week to have that opportunity."

On halftime adjustments against Texas Tech:
"We didn't have major adjustments. I felt in the first half we weren't as aggressive as we have been. I think we sat there and let them dictate the pace a little bit. (In the second half) we picked up our pace a little bit and picked up our tempo. We were more aggressive and decisive with what we were doing and it made a difference.

"We played the same defense for the most part. We might have had a few more blitzes in there but it wasn't like that's what saved the day. We don't ever count on blitzing to save our day. We want to execute."

On Baylor implementing the same offense as Texas Tech:
"It helps (playing them back to back). It's an offense that you really have to understand. Defensively, you have to get used to it. It isn't like a lot of other spread-offenses that we're seeing so much of. They don't run the zone-read options and the zone-read pull-the-ball quarterback run and all those things. It's a different style of the spread-offense.

"It definitely is an advantage having to work it back-to-back. We just worked it the entire week last week. We can look at what we didn't do well and change up some things and wrinkles hopefully that can help us. Our guys are familiar with the routes and the schemes.

"Some of the plays (Baylor) likes to emphasis is a coach's personality or who is calling the play. There are a few differences that way. There's still plays that you work for both teams. There are certain routes that Baylor might like more than Mike (Leach) has or that Tech was working. That is what you have to work during the week.

On injuries:
"(Our injury situation) is improving, hopefully. Allen Patrick did some things yesterday and was better and more improved than Friday, so that is encouraging. It's just going to be how strong it will be by the end of the week.

"Adrian (Peterson) continues to heal. But he's not in a position to play this week.

"Manuel (Johnson) is improving. He was at our meetings yesterday and watched practice. Everything looks good. He won't play this week just because of the head injury but we'll see the following week how they feel about it. He'll start doing weight training and conditioning exercises this week and a lot of times if he handles all of those well, it's a good sign that everything is ok. To this point, everything has checked out fine."

On the possibility of starting freshman Chris Brown:
"We'll see as we go through the week. Regardless, (Jacob Gutierrez and Chris Brown) will have to play and contribute. We'll have Mossis Madu ready to play as well if it need be."

On cornerback Marcus Walker and Lendy Holmes:
"Absolutely, he's playing in a great way and has through the entire Big 12 season. He's consistent and getting his hands on a lot of balls. He's had no breakdowns and he's been very good.

"Lendy (Holmes) is not far behind, believe me. He's been great as well."

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SENIOR QB PAUL THOMPSON
On playing his last home game:
“It was exciting and really enjoyable. I had some family in the stands including some cousins and friends I hadn't seen in a while, so I guess you could have gotten caught up in some of the extra things as far as senior night goes.

"It was definitely an honor to receive the Don Key Award, but in the end it was down to playing football and that's what I went out there and did. We were able to execute well and open it up a little bit more as far as the passing game as opposed to the past couple of weeks. I was real excited about that because we had been planning on that throughout the week. We just came out and executed well and were able to come out with the big win.”

On being down at halftime:
“To come back and get the momentum because it was right after the interception return for a touchdown, we jumped into out two minute mode and got a good catch. Malcolm was able to get a good catch on it and take it in. That was definitely real big, especially knowing that we were going to get the ball the next half. So after that score we came out of half time punching in another one and tied it up, so that was a real confidence booster for us.”

On running the ball:
“I was a little bit sore than I usually am because I was taking more hits. I was making sure if nothing was open, I was going to make some plays on my feet. I actually had that kind of mindset in my head like let's tuck and run if it's not open. So I was a little bit more banged up from making runs.”

On Baylor:
“It's a lot like the A&M type of defense. They like to man up on one side and make a three on two on the other side. I've definitely watched a lot of film on that. They've added some bigger corners and that's something that we're going to have to be aware of and just try to go after it."

On focusing on Baylor:
“We know what Baylor is capable of. A lot of people might want to overlook them, but when you look at what they've done at home, all games have been close and they've even pulled off some wins at home. So we can't get caught up into all of that because on any day, any team can win.

"It depends on how focused you are, how prepared you are, and the mindset you have going into the game. Every game we take the next game as serious as the previous game. We're very much aware that they're capable of beating us if we're not on our P's and Q's.

“If you look at the last time we played them from back when Jason (White) was here, they came after us and it wasn't just a blowout, walkthrough victory for us. They're going to show us some blitzes like they did a couple of years ago and really caused some trouble for us. Last year we had to win it in overtime, so they're going to come in with a lot of confidence and we have to counter that by making big plays.”

On the passing game:
“Our mindset was to even it out this week. Last week versus A&M we felt like we had run the ball successfully, so we are going to continue doing that more. Going into last week's game we were going to even it out a little bit.

"We felt comfortable in their defense and what they were giving us so we could take some shots and get some yards after the catch. There wasn't really much pressure on me. I knew that we had been successful passing it during previous games so I didn't feel any pressure on me. I knew we would be able to execute the passing game well.”

On the Texas loss to Kansas State:
“We're aware of it definitely, but things still have to happen. We still have to take care of our stuff and then what happens after that, happens. We're definitely aware of that but we can't look forward to things that are not in our control. We're looking forward to playing Baylor and getting after them. If we get these two extra games then we'll see what happens.”

On passing to different players:
“They're pretty much all over the field. Chris Brown and Gutierrez had a tremendous game and were able to get some big plays for us. There was the forty-yard run and then the two-yard run punching it in that was definitely big for us.

"Now we've lost another one of our receivers as well, and we've lost a lineman. I think even though unfortunate things like that happen, the guys still feel comfortable. We're not as panicky or as shocked; we're able to stay focused in knowing that the next guy in there is going to come in there and be as focused as the first guy."

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FRESHMAN OL TRENT WILLIAMS
On the polls:
“We talk about it amongst each other, but as far as showing our frustrations in public, we don't do that. We try to take care of things one step at a time.”

On the Texas loss to Kansas State:
“They lost to a north team so it didn't really do much to us. When they lose, it did kind of gave us a little hope for the Big 12 Championship. I think if it's meant to happen, it will happen. The only thing we can do is take care of Baylor first and that's all we can do.”

On playing as a true freshman:
“I'm just trying to do my best. I think I prepared myself well over the summer for this point. I need to work on my technique, because in high school I could just easily over power people. But now in college it's different; everybody's strong so I need to work on getting strong technique.”

On a strong backfield and offensive line:
“It just shows the talent that Oklahoma recruits. We can put anybody back there and they can go for 100 yards. I think that it shows the kind of talent we have, the type of depth we have in the depth chart, and the type of people that we bring in recruiting.”

On sensing A.D.'s desire to play:
“I feel bad for him. I can look at his eyes and tell he wants to be out there every Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing him out there pretty soon. I don't know if he'll play next week. He may just want to play it safe until the bowl game. We hope he gets back soon.”

On Chris Brown
“He did real well. We all know he was talented from the spring, but when he stepped in there it wasn't a big surprise to me and I expected it out of him. To come in and play as a true freshman I think he did a good job.”

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JUNIOR CB MARCUS WALKER
On the coaches:
“They know how it is and they're at a higher level than us. The only way you can get better is going out there everyday at practice prepared to take the week on. That's just what we are doing everyday. Each day we focus on practicing and motivating each other at practice.”

On the polls:
“We can't control that. It's out of our hands. The only thing that we can control and work on is the game that's happening this weekend against Baylor. We can't control what's in the polls or what people think of us, as far as people that run the polls. It's out of our hands.”

On the possibility of playing in a Big 12 Championship:
“That's a possibility, but at the same time we can't control anything else. We can only control what we can control. So our focus in ourselves, not anybody else -- not Texas, not Kansas State, not Wake Forest or anybody else. We're only focused on Oklahoma right now.”

On Adrian Peterson wanting to play:
“Oh that's my roommate and he really does love the game of football. It tears him apart that he can't play and it's real tough on him that he can't play. He's trying to get back out there as fast as he can, but he needs to make sure he's healthy first. Hopefully that'll be in the next couple of weeks so we'll be able to have him out there ready to roll.”

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SENIOR DE CALVIN THIBODEAUX
On Mike Leach's compliment on the OU defense playing well together as a team:
"That is a big deal. Everyone wants to play together. The d-line wants to get pressure, and the linebackers tackle, and the corners and safeties cover. We are all in the same car. We can do good things out there."

On if OU should be higher in the rankings:
"Yes. But at the same time, we cannot control that. That is out of our hands. All we can do take one game at a time and try and get better every week. We have to focus on our opponent this week. That is something that is not in our hands, and we can't control that. We can only control winning ball games."

On what it will take to finish the season strongly:
"Just focusing in and carrying out the game plans. If we do what coaches ask us to do, then we will be fine."

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