WVU Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
October 6, 2015
Oklahoma State Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 6, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addresses members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
Let’s get started with this week’s game. There should be a ton of excitement around Morgantown. It’s Homecoming, and we are welcoming everybody back to the game this weekend. I know it’s going to be a good time. It’s another sellout, and we are all excited about that. The last time we played here, it was a sellout, and it was extremely festive. When that game was over, I made reference that it was huge to our football team. Our players thrive off that. I can’t say enough how much that affects the game. It affects how our players play. Our guys are excited to be back home. The 7 p.m. kick is great. We are excited. We are all happy about it. We are thrilled.
Night games in Morgantown are fun, and we look forward to hosting a Top 20 Big 12 opponent, Oklahoma State. It’s going to be tough. They have been on a roll since they changed their (sophomore) quarterback (Mason Rudolph) in the 12th game of the year last season. They lost a few in a row, and they haven’t lost since they made that switch. He finished 2-0 last year as a true freshman, and they won five this year. They are coming in on a roll, and they have won a bunch of games here in the last decade. Coach (Mike) Gundy has done a great job of building that program to where they continue to reload with coaches and players, and they continue to win games each and every year.
Offensively, to stay on the subject with their (sophomore) quarterback, Mason Rudolph does a great job. He’s a big kid. He has a live arm, and he has great size. He has great accuracy. They are averaging almost 300 passing yards a game, so they are throwing it a bit. Coach (Mike) Gundy is the type of guy to run the ball as much as they possibly can. They have three quality backs and a physical o-line to the point where they are going to try and establish the run. We are going to have something to say about that, just like we did last week. Oklahoma tried to establish the run, and we did a good job of shutting that down to the point where they had to rely on the pass game. Hopefully, the same thing happens this week. They are going to try to get the run game going, and hopefully, we shut that down. We have to do a little bit better job of defending the big play. They have some quality receivers that can make plays down field, and it will be another big challenge for our defense.
Offensively, for us, if you look back at what our issues were against Oklahoma, the issues that we had were protection in the pass game and tackles for loss in the run game. Well, we have an Oklahoma State coming into town that leads the country in sacks and leads the country in tackles for loss, so I don’t know how I feel about that as a coach. That is something that we have to work on, so we are going to be working on it this week. Six days later, I prefer a little bit more time to defend against that. They do a great up front. They have two great d-ends. They have two big d-ends, (redshirt junior defensive end Emmanuel) Ogbah and (redshirt senior defensive end Jimmy) Bean. They are 6-foot-5 and 250-pounds. They are two great looking defensive ends that get to the quarterback. They are stout. Their front seven is really good.
No. 52, the (redshirt senior linebacker Ryan) Simmons kid, is really good. He’s their Mike (middle inside) linebacker. He is a guy who has played a lot of them, and he runs that defense. I have known (defensive coordinator/linebackers) Glenn Spencer for a long time. He’s puts a lot on the Mike linebackers to be the coach on the field, and this guy (redshirt senior linebacker Ryan Simmons) is as good as they had. They have two great corners in (senior cornerback Kevin) Peterson and (redshirt junior cornerback Ashton) Lampkin who can cover. They will get in our young kids face just like Oklahoma did, and they will challenge us, so we have to do a better job in winning downfield. I think we have done a pretty good job offensively at blocking the run and creating yards in the run game. It’s going to be another challenge to be able to do that. We have to improve in our pass protection, and give our quarterback time to throw it to guys that are open.
They have always been solid on special teams. It is no different this year. Coach (Mike) Gundy has been involved in the special teams ever since I have known him. They have done a good job. They had a few issues on their pats, but that same guy has won them some games with field goals toward the end of the year. It’s a good test coming to town here, on Saturday night. With that said, I will take some questions.
On the punt return game against Oklahoma last week
We are fielding the ball, which is fantastic. We have two inexperience guys back there. I will take the blame for that. We put them on the 15 and 20 (yard line), and that kid kicked it about 65-yards, so they had to run backwards to field the ball. I thought they did a good job at that, but they just lost track of where they were. They will learn from that. I thought our special teams was a wash last week. We had a huge challenge with their return game, and we kept that in check. I consider that a wash. As an offensive guy, I would prefer a little bit better field position, but I said it after the game that I am not going to use that as an excuse as a play caller. I don’t care where we get the ball, we need to move the ball. We need to do a better job with that, and that is one thing that happened last week that we can correct pretty easily.
On how he addressed the penalties to the team
We did. I don’t think it has been an issue since I have been here. I addressed it with our team. Here is one thing I will say about our team, we were in a situation where we were down against a really good football team, in a very hostile environment, and our kids didn’t quit. We went into the locker room, and we were in a good place. They were attentive. They didn’t have their heads down. We told them that it wasn’t good enough, and we made some corrections, and we went out there and played. Our attitude was good. Our effort was good on all three sides of the ball the entire game, but we didn’t play very smart. I don’t think we prepared as well as we needed too. They had two weeks to prepare, so we were playing catch-up. We need to prepare a little bit better, and we need to get out there and play a little bit smarter. They had a lot of penalties, too. There were a lot of flags flying around for whatever reason. It was chippy from the start. Both teams were chippy in pregame. It was a pretty rowdy environment, and there was a lot of emotion. We had some guys who made a couple of mistakes when it came to that. We need to be a little bit smarter with our technique. We need to be a little bit smarter when reacting to specific situations. We have to put our hands in the right place, and we have to turn and go to the sidelines when we are supposed to. It has been addressed, and we will work on the technique aspect of it today in practice. We already worked on the preparation aspect of it. We need to play smarter.
On when he realized that the run game would be the identity of the offense
If I call plays, and they work, then I am going to keep calling them. When they don’t work, then I am going to call something else. We have done a better job in the run game. That is no secret. The run/pass ratio is not any different now than what it’s been in the past three years. We have always tried to establish the run. I think it looks better than it has looked in the past, which means we are going to keep running the ball. We are also going to throw the ball. Anybody that took what I said and printed something should look at exactly what we are doing. We are still going to throw the ball. Obviously, that is my background and what we do.
On if working with junior quarterback Skyler Howard this week is more of a mental or mechanical aspect
There were a couple of mechanical mistakes that he made, and we can fix that. The mentality aspect of it is no different than the other 10 guys that are out there playing. We win and produce as a unit, and we win and make mistakes as a unit. He’s not the one that needs to take the blame for a lot of the stuff that happened out there. There were some mistakes that have to be corrected. There were some mistakes that our o-line made that have to be corrected. There some mistakes that our receivers made that have to be corrected. There were some mistakes in our running backs and tight ends that have to be corrected. All of it has to do with our preparation. We have to learn from it, move on and go out there and play ball.
On fixing the pass protection issues this week against Oklahoma State
Again, that was one of the things that happened last week that wasn’t as good as it has to be for us to win. We played a very good team in a hostile environment against a very good defense. Oklahoma State brings a lot of the same challenges. With all kidding aside, it gives us an opportunity to work on things that we have to work on. We want to play with motivation and be a little bit smarter with our technique. I will continue to coach and call plays as smart as I possibly can, and I will continue to put ourselves in position to be successful. It has to look a little bit better, if we want to win. We were right there in the game at the end of the third quarter, and we made a crucial mistakes in the fourth quarter that cost us the game. If we want to win, we can’t make those mistakes in those types of situations.
On junior quarterback Skyler Howard showing his toughness
He doesn’t get rattled. He comes to the sidelines and is very communicative. He talks on the phone with (graduate assistant) coach (Michael) Burchett, and he also reports to me. He goes over to the o-line, and he talks with the receivers. There is a lot of things that need to exist when you are the starting quarterback. You cannot put that in a stat-line, and he is doing a great job with that. He is a hard worker, and a very determined young man. He watched the game three times on the way home, and he watched the game three times on Sunday. He did a good job in the run game. He put us in the right plays. There are some situations where I gear him in one direction. He has to go with it or go in a different direction, and he did a good job with that. We are missing throws, but it takes a toll on you when you are under pressure like that. He has to continue to settle in the pocket and trust his offensive line. He has to put his eyes where I want him to put his eyes, and he has to throw accurate balls.
On juggling the offensive line throughout the Oklahoma game
It’s where we want to go with it. We want a starting offensive line with continuity, but we also want to save some guys and be able to play other people. That is a pretty demanding position. I think it is beneficial if you can put other guys in the game to take some of those snaps off of them in the long run. Right now, we feel good with six. We are juggling it, because we only have six. If we had seven or eight, then we wouldn’t have to move positions at all. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman Adam) Pankey is pretty versatile. I have said that since day one. He can go from guard to tackle. We don’t have anybody else who can do that. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Tony Matteo is a guy that can come in and play guard. We can move Tony from guard to guard. We can rotate three guards, but we can also kick (redshirt junior offensive lineman Adam) Pankey out as well.
On what he took away from his one season under coach Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State
I can’t remember last year, let alone five years ago. That was six seasons ago. How long ago was that? That was a long time ago. I had a great time there. I learned a lot of organizational stuff on how to run the program from all aspects. I was fortunate enough to work with (head coach at Texas A&M) Kevin Sumlin, (head coach at Washington State) Mike Leach and (head coach at Belhaven University) Hal Mumme. I have taken bits and pieces from all those guys, and I have developed it into what you currently see today. I was there for a year, and that year sped up my maturity process of me becoming a head coach. There was a lot of things that happened there, that I still continue to do.
On putting a lot on his cornerbacks shoulders throughout the game
We have confidence in them. There is no question about that. We have confidence in them. The nature of this defense is pressure. We feel like we need to do a lot of different things to create pressure on the quarterback, and when that happens, that leaves less guys in coverage. With less guys in coverage, the more likely you have to play man coverage. We feel pretty good about those guys. They got beat a couple of times. When you play against skilled opponents, I think we have to be pretty naïve to think that is not going to happen. We knew that was going to happen. It just happened a couple of times too many. They have to work hard to get better. We are going to give up plays against teams. That is going to happen anytime you play the high caliber players of the University of Oklahoma. That is going to happen. You have to have the ability to let it go and move on.
On his confidence level with the tackles going against Oklahoma State’s defensive ends
I feel good. You have to really study it. Our guards got beat three or four times. A double team with a tight end and full back got beat. Our tackles and guards, collectively, got beat. Just as far as man for man, those tackles were back. They improved last week, and we expect them to improve again this week.
On junior quarterback Skyler Howard extending the play
There are technique situations with quarterbacks that we work on every single day. That is a very broad question. I’m not quite sure where you are going with it. There are things that we work on every single day: from ball security, to proper footwork, keeping two hands on the ball, feeling pressure and moving around in the pocket, along with understanding when the clock is running out. If it was easy, there would be a whole lot of people playing quarterback. It is not easy, especially with the likes of the front last week. We went out on Sunday, and we worked three or four aspects of quarterback play in the pocket. We will go out again today and work on the same stuff.
On the health of the team overall
I feel like we are in great shape. A lot of that has to do with what (director of strength and conditioning) Mike Joseph and his guys are doing downstairs, and what we do throughout the course of the week. He’s incredibly instrumental with what we are doing. Those guys come in and go downstairs. They may not have a one hour lifting session, but they have a 20 minute recovery session with them. He’s doing a great job. (Football athletic trainer) Dave Kerns is doing a great job. Our team is relatively healthy after 33 percent of the games this season, and we hope to keep it that way.
On the level that senior safety Karl Joseph is playing at right now
He’s doing well. Things are going to go wrong against the likes of the University of Oklahoma. In the Big 12, we play teams where good things are going to happen and bad things are going to happen. Again, I cannot emphasize enough with how happy I am with our team to come out and play the third quarter the way that they did. Going into the fourth quarter, (senior safety) Karl (Joseph) made a pick, and we didn’t capitalize on it offense. Offensively, we made a couple of critical mistakes. At that point it was a 10-point game, then it went to a 17-point game, and that was tough to overcome in the fourth quarter. (Senior safety) Karl (Joseph) is playing well. Again, he is the inspirational leader for our team. He studies the game. He’s motivated. He’s elevated his play. He expects everybody around him to elevate their play as well. I can’t say enough about how he is playing, and what he brings to this football team.
On the defense in the Big 12
There was one game that had almost 200 points in it last week. There are some teams that can score with the best of them, and I think two of them are ranked in the Top 4 in the country. They are on the horizon. With that said, I think those guys will be the first to say that you better have a defense that can get stops in critical situations to be able to win in this conference. Our defense is as good as it’s been since I have been here. It’s a shame when you see 44 points on the stat sheet. Our defense feels like they could have held them below 24 points, which would have won that game. That’s what counts. We are going to continue to elevate our game to score as many points as we can. Defensively, it’s about holding them to what you have to hold them to win the game. With some of these offenses coming up, Oklahoma State being one of them, you have to focus on getting some stops. Obviously, on the other side, you have to score what you have to score in order to win. Some of them it looks like it has to be 70 points.
On redshirt senior wide receiver David Glidden
He’s a good kid. He plays hard. He’s a good little player. When I worked at Oklahoma State, he was from Oklahoma City. We watched him, and I liked him. I offered him, and we started recruiting. He didn’t play for a couple of years, but it worked out good for him. It was a good fit.
October 6, 2015
Oklahoma State Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 6, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addresses members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
Let’s get started with this week’s game. There should be a ton of excitement around Morgantown. It’s Homecoming, and we are welcoming everybody back to the game this weekend. I know it’s going to be a good time. It’s another sellout, and we are all excited about that. The last time we played here, it was a sellout, and it was extremely festive. When that game was over, I made reference that it was huge to our football team. Our players thrive off that. I can’t say enough how much that affects the game. It affects how our players play. Our guys are excited to be back home. The 7 p.m. kick is great. We are excited. We are all happy about it. We are thrilled.
Night games in Morgantown are fun, and we look forward to hosting a Top 20 Big 12 opponent, Oklahoma State. It’s going to be tough. They have been on a roll since they changed their (sophomore) quarterback (Mason Rudolph) in the 12th game of the year last season. They lost a few in a row, and they haven’t lost since they made that switch. He finished 2-0 last year as a true freshman, and they won five this year. They are coming in on a roll, and they have won a bunch of games here in the last decade. Coach (Mike) Gundy has done a great job of building that program to where they continue to reload with coaches and players, and they continue to win games each and every year.
Offensively, to stay on the subject with their (sophomore) quarterback, Mason Rudolph does a great job. He’s a big kid. He has a live arm, and he has great size. He has great accuracy. They are averaging almost 300 passing yards a game, so they are throwing it a bit. Coach (Mike) Gundy is the type of guy to run the ball as much as they possibly can. They have three quality backs and a physical o-line to the point where they are going to try and establish the run. We are going to have something to say about that, just like we did last week. Oklahoma tried to establish the run, and we did a good job of shutting that down to the point where they had to rely on the pass game. Hopefully, the same thing happens this week. They are going to try to get the run game going, and hopefully, we shut that down. We have to do a little bit better job of defending the big play. They have some quality receivers that can make plays down field, and it will be another big challenge for our defense.
Offensively, for us, if you look back at what our issues were against Oklahoma, the issues that we had were protection in the pass game and tackles for loss in the run game. Well, we have an Oklahoma State coming into town that leads the country in sacks and leads the country in tackles for loss, so I don’t know how I feel about that as a coach. That is something that we have to work on, so we are going to be working on it this week. Six days later, I prefer a little bit more time to defend against that. They do a great up front. They have two great d-ends. They have two big d-ends, (redshirt junior defensive end Emmanuel) Ogbah and (redshirt senior defensive end Jimmy) Bean. They are 6-foot-5 and 250-pounds. They are two great looking defensive ends that get to the quarterback. They are stout. Their front seven is really good.
No. 52, the (redshirt senior linebacker Ryan) Simmons kid, is really good. He’s their Mike (middle inside) linebacker. He is a guy who has played a lot of them, and he runs that defense. I have known (defensive coordinator/linebackers) Glenn Spencer for a long time. He’s puts a lot on the Mike linebackers to be the coach on the field, and this guy (redshirt senior linebacker Ryan Simmons) is as good as they had. They have two great corners in (senior cornerback Kevin) Peterson and (redshirt junior cornerback Ashton) Lampkin who can cover. They will get in our young kids face just like Oklahoma did, and they will challenge us, so we have to do a better job in winning downfield. I think we have done a pretty good job offensively at blocking the run and creating yards in the run game. It’s going to be another challenge to be able to do that. We have to improve in our pass protection, and give our quarterback time to throw it to guys that are open.
They have always been solid on special teams. It is no different this year. Coach (Mike) Gundy has been involved in the special teams ever since I have known him. They have done a good job. They had a few issues on their pats, but that same guy has won them some games with field goals toward the end of the year. It’s a good test coming to town here, on Saturday night. With that said, I will take some questions.
On the punt return game against Oklahoma last week
We are fielding the ball, which is fantastic. We have two inexperience guys back there. I will take the blame for that. We put them on the 15 and 20 (yard line), and that kid kicked it about 65-yards, so they had to run backwards to field the ball. I thought they did a good job at that, but they just lost track of where they were. They will learn from that. I thought our special teams was a wash last week. We had a huge challenge with their return game, and we kept that in check. I consider that a wash. As an offensive guy, I would prefer a little bit better field position, but I said it after the game that I am not going to use that as an excuse as a play caller. I don’t care where we get the ball, we need to move the ball. We need to do a better job with that, and that is one thing that happened last week that we can correct pretty easily.
On how he addressed the penalties to the team
We did. I don’t think it has been an issue since I have been here. I addressed it with our team. Here is one thing I will say about our team, we were in a situation where we were down against a really good football team, in a very hostile environment, and our kids didn’t quit. We went into the locker room, and we were in a good place. They were attentive. They didn’t have their heads down. We told them that it wasn’t good enough, and we made some corrections, and we went out there and played. Our attitude was good. Our effort was good on all three sides of the ball the entire game, but we didn’t play very smart. I don’t think we prepared as well as we needed too. They had two weeks to prepare, so we were playing catch-up. We need to prepare a little bit better, and we need to get out there and play a little bit smarter. They had a lot of penalties, too. There were a lot of flags flying around for whatever reason. It was chippy from the start. Both teams were chippy in pregame. It was a pretty rowdy environment, and there was a lot of emotion. We had some guys who made a couple of mistakes when it came to that. We need to be a little bit smarter with our technique. We need to be a little bit smarter when reacting to specific situations. We have to put our hands in the right place, and we have to turn and go to the sidelines when we are supposed to. It has been addressed, and we will work on the technique aspect of it today in practice. We already worked on the preparation aspect of it. We need to play smarter.
On when he realized that the run game would be the identity of the offense
If I call plays, and they work, then I am going to keep calling them. When they don’t work, then I am going to call something else. We have done a better job in the run game. That is no secret. The run/pass ratio is not any different now than what it’s been in the past three years. We have always tried to establish the run. I think it looks better than it has looked in the past, which means we are going to keep running the ball. We are also going to throw the ball. Anybody that took what I said and printed something should look at exactly what we are doing. We are still going to throw the ball. Obviously, that is my background and what we do.
On if working with junior quarterback Skyler Howard this week is more of a mental or mechanical aspect
There were a couple of mechanical mistakes that he made, and we can fix that. The mentality aspect of it is no different than the other 10 guys that are out there playing. We win and produce as a unit, and we win and make mistakes as a unit. He’s not the one that needs to take the blame for a lot of the stuff that happened out there. There were some mistakes that have to be corrected. There were some mistakes that our o-line made that have to be corrected. There some mistakes that our receivers made that have to be corrected. There were some mistakes in our running backs and tight ends that have to be corrected. All of it has to do with our preparation. We have to learn from it, move on and go out there and play ball.
On fixing the pass protection issues this week against Oklahoma State
Again, that was one of the things that happened last week that wasn’t as good as it has to be for us to win. We played a very good team in a hostile environment against a very good defense. Oklahoma State brings a lot of the same challenges. With all kidding aside, it gives us an opportunity to work on things that we have to work on. We want to play with motivation and be a little bit smarter with our technique. I will continue to coach and call plays as smart as I possibly can, and I will continue to put ourselves in position to be successful. It has to look a little bit better, if we want to win. We were right there in the game at the end of the third quarter, and we made a crucial mistakes in the fourth quarter that cost us the game. If we want to win, we can’t make those mistakes in those types of situations.
On junior quarterback Skyler Howard showing his toughness
He doesn’t get rattled. He comes to the sidelines and is very communicative. He talks on the phone with (graduate assistant) coach (Michael) Burchett, and he also reports to me. He goes over to the o-line, and he talks with the receivers. There is a lot of things that need to exist when you are the starting quarterback. You cannot put that in a stat-line, and he is doing a great job with that. He is a hard worker, and a very determined young man. He watched the game three times on the way home, and he watched the game three times on Sunday. He did a good job in the run game. He put us in the right plays. There are some situations where I gear him in one direction. He has to go with it or go in a different direction, and he did a good job with that. We are missing throws, but it takes a toll on you when you are under pressure like that. He has to continue to settle in the pocket and trust his offensive line. He has to put his eyes where I want him to put his eyes, and he has to throw accurate balls.
On juggling the offensive line throughout the Oklahoma game
It’s where we want to go with it. We want a starting offensive line with continuity, but we also want to save some guys and be able to play other people. That is a pretty demanding position. I think it is beneficial if you can put other guys in the game to take some of those snaps off of them in the long run. Right now, we feel good with six. We are juggling it, because we only have six. If we had seven or eight, then we wouldn’t have to move positions at all. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman Adam) Pankey is pretty versatile. I have said that since day one. He can go from guard to tackle. We don’t have anybody else who can do that. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Tony Matteo is a guy that can come in and play guard. We can move Tony from guard to guard. We can rotate three guards, but we can also kick (redshirt junior offensive lineman Adam) Pankey out as well.
On what he took away from his one season under coach Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State
I can’t remember last year, let alone five years ago. That was six seasons ago. How long ago was that? That was a long time ago. I had a great time there. I learned a lot of organizational stuff on how to run the program from all aspects. I was fortunate enough to work with (head coach at Texas A&M) Kevin Sumlin, (head coach at Washington State) Mike Leach and (head coach at Belhaven University) Hal Mumme. I have taken bits and pieces from all those guys, and I have developed it into what you currently see today. I was there for a year, and that year sped up my maturity process of me becoming a head coach. There was a lot of things that happened there, that I still continue to do.
On putting a lot on his cornerbacks shoulders throughout the game
We have confidence in them. There is no question about that. We have confidence in them. The nature of this defense is pressure. We feel like we need to do a lot of different things to create pressure on the quarterback, and when that happens, that leaves less guys in coverage. With less guys in coverage, the more likely you have to play man coverage. We feel pretty good about those guys. They got beat a couple of times. When you play against skilled opponents, I think we have to be pretty naïve to think that is not going to happen. We knew that was going to happen. It just happened a couple of times too many. They have to work hard to get better. We are going to give up plays against teams. That is going to happen anytime you play the high caliber players of the University of Oklahoma. That is going to happen. You have to have the ability to let it go and move on.
On his confidence level with the tackles going against Oklahoma State’s defensive ends
I feel good. You have to really study it. Our guards got beat three or four times. A double team with a tight end and full back got beat. Our tackles and guards, collectively, got beat. Just as far as man for man, those tackles were back. They improved last week, and we expect them to improve again this week.
On junior quarterback Skyler Howard extending the play
There are technique situations with quarterbacks that we work on every single day. That is a very broad question. I’m not quite sure where you are going with it. There are things that we work on every single day: from ball security, to proper footwork, keeping two hands on the ball, feeling pressure and moving around in the pocket, along with understanding when the clock is running out. If it was easy, there would be a whole lot of people playing quarterback. It is not easy, especially with the likes of the front last week. We went out on Sunday, and we worked three or four aspects of quarterback play in the pocket. We will go out again today and work on the same stuff.
On the health of the team overall
I feel like we are in great shape. A lot of that has to do with what (director of strength and conditioning) Mike Joseph and his guys are doing downstairs, and what we do throughout the course of the week. He’s incredibly instrumental with what we are doing. Those guys come in and go downstairs. They may not have a one hour lifting session, but they have a 20 minute recovery session with them. He’s doing a great job. (Football athletic trainer) Dave Kerns is doing a great job. Our team is relatively healthy after 33 percent of the games this season, and we hope to keep it that way.
On the level that senior safety Karl Joseph is playing at right now
He’s doing well. Things are going to go wrong against the likes of the University of Oklahoma. In the Big 12, we play teams where good things are going to happen and bad things are going to happen. Again, I cannot emphasize enough with how happy I am with our team to come out and play the third quarter the way that they did. Going into the fourth quarter, (senior safety) Karl (Joseph) made a pick, and we didn’t capitalize on it offense. Offensively, we made a couple of critical mistakes. At that point it was a 10-point game, then it went to a 17-point game, and that was tough to overcome in the fourth quarter. (Senior safety) Karl (Joseph) is playing well. Again, he is the inspirational leader for our team. He studies the game. He’s motivated. He’s elevated his play. He expects everybody around him to elevate their play as well. I can’t say enough about how he is playing, and what he brings to this football team.
On the defense in the Big 12
There was one game that had almost 200 points in it last week. There are some teams that can score with the best of them, and I think two of them are ranked in the Top 4 in the country. They are on the horizon. With that said, I think those guys will be the first to say that you better have a defense that can get stops in critical situations to be able to win in this conference. Our defense is as good as it’s been since I have been here. It’s a shame when you see 44 points on the stat sheet. Our defense feels like they could have held them below 24 points, which would have won that game. That’s what counts. We are going to continue to elevate our game to score as many points as we can. Defensively, it’s about holding them to what you have to hold them to win the game. With some of these offenses coming up, Oklahoma State being one of them, you have to focus on getting some stops. Obviously, on the other side, you have to score what you have to score in order to win. Some of them it looks like it has to be 70 points.
On redshirt senior wide receiver David Glidden
He’s a good kid. He plays hard. He’s a good little player. When I worked at Oklahoma State, he was from Oklahoma City. We watched him, and I liked him. I offered him, and we started recruiting. He didn’t play for a couple of years, but it worked out good for him. It was a good fit.