University of Houston Athletics
UH Football Looking Toward Tulane in Home Opener
9/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2002
Houston, Texas -
Coach Dimel on the Rice Game:
"We are pleased with the success we had running the football. That was the main thing that we improved on. We were surprised that we were able to run it for three hundred yards. Much of it was based on getting an early lead, 14-0. The possession time was a real strength for us. We felt like Rice's offense was their strength and if we could keep them off the field that would be a big plus for us."
"Our defense was flying around and playing real hard, they demonstrated what they learned in camp and their effort was really good. We tackled much better and played a very physical football game."
"The heat was a big factor in the game, and I think that the ability to have some depth will show up this week in the Tulane game. Tulane has a no huddle offense, so it will be important for us to play as many defensive players as we can. Up front, the rotation is every four plays, so nobody should get tired. We will try to rotate the linebackers as well.
"It was nice to have some real tight ends out there and not some converted fullbacks or running backs at the tight end position. Hopefully, we can stay healthy at that position because that is a position that could be a real weapon for us."
"In the running back position, Joffrey had a great ball game. He was a little rusty starting off in the ball game. There were a few holes in there were he probably could have broken through a little more than he did, but that was from not getting a ton of repetitions in fall camp because we were trying to protect him from injury."
"In the quarterback position, Barrick did a nice job in his first start. He made good decisions out there, got the ball where it needed to be, ran when he needed to run. That is something that he has to continue to do, make good decisions and if there is nothing good in the passing game that he pulls it down and runs with it."
Dimel on Tulane
"Tulane is an extremely fine passing team. They have a very talented quarterback who has a strong arm, and the ball is going to be whistling through the air. I told our guys that the ball will travel a lot faster in the air this week because Tulane knows how to throw the ball. We will have to do a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback, mix it up and be solid, know our coverages and make sure that we are assignment sound, and know that the speed of the game will increase because they are a passing team."
"Offensively, we will have to run the football and run it well. We also need to be able to pass the football, even more so than we did last week. We need to be very balanced on what we do between our running and passing game."
"Right now our football team needs to stay real focused on what we are doing. They need to understand that we got a nice first win, but that is all it was, a nice first win. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get a conference win. We want to get something established with being a strong home football team, so this is a big game for us to do that."
Q & A
Q: Now that you have that first win, does it help you concentrate on the task at hand and what you have to improve this year?
A: It helps our kid's confidence. I really wanted our football team to get some confidence in what they were doing. We needed to know what we were going to do to get that first win, and we just played so well that we got it. We broke through that hurdle by playing extremely solid football. Now we need to get some confidence built, and I think that this ballgame was a big step in that direction and we need to go on from there.
Q: Barrick had 14 carries during the Rice game, and a few times he physically challenged a couple people for some more yards. I am curious about your opinion on how many times you want your quarterback carrying the ball down the field.
A: I think that it is a pretty good number between 10 and 15 times for him to carry the football. We are going to try to stay somewhere in that range.
Q: Personnel wise, how does UH compare to Tulane?
A: Personnel wise, I think they are fast; they have some good team speed in their secondary. You have to have that in this conference because people in this conference throw the ball so well. We are going to face a very quick secondary. Their front four has some good size to it. They also have good receivers and a good quarterback.
Q: Based on last weekend throughout the Conference, seeing what everybody did and what they have to work on, was it a little bit of an eye opener that some teams didn't perform as well as they were supposed to?
A: Yes. I think that is why it is so important to stay focused. Having a chance to win a conference game early in the year gets you one up. It can be a big plus to win a conference game early in the season, if you grasp the opportunity. So, our kids need to have great practices this week to try to come out with a big start in conference play.
Q: From the minute the team hit the field last week, you could see that they were a little more fired up than normal. Did you say something to them before the game?
A: I think they were just ready for this game. We have good leadership, and are learning each day how to better prepare ourselves for a ballgame.
