University of Houston Athletics
Weekly Football Press Luncheon
9/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2003
On the win over Mississippi State last weekend
"It was a nice win again last week against a very formidable opponent. I think Mississippi State has been a very strong team throughout the last decade and a half - three years ago they were in the SEC Championship game. They are a very estahlished program and a very established staff, and we had a really nice win against them. It was a good win, not only for our football team and program, but also for the University of Houston and the city of Houston in general. We're very proud to be able to represent in a fine fashion, and we'll take it from there.
"We finished the first part of our season which is non-conference, and now we're entering the second phase of our season, which is against conference opponents these next four games before an opponent. So our focus and energy now is on the next four games which begins next Tuesday (Sept. 30) night at East Carolina.
"It was great win, and good team effort, and I thought that everybody did their job like they were supposed to do. And if we continue to do that, then we have the chance to win a few more games."
On the Cougar defense playing so well thus far this season
"They've (defense) played really huge all year. You can go back to the Rice game, it got that turnover early, against ULL they got the funble in the end zone and kept us alove early when we were struggling oeffensively. Then, the other night, we got a pick in the end zone in Miss. State's first drive. Our defense has played great all year, and as we continue to come along on the offensive side of the ball, and mesh together at the same time, I think we''ll become a fine football team."
On what has caused the turnaround in defense this season
"We have gooid athletes; guys who believe in what we're doing and believe in themselves, and believe in the program, so they're going on the field with confidence, they're well-adversed, well-coached, well-schemed on what then opponent is going to do. Most importantly, they have the confidence in their ability to make plays. The thing about playing defense at the Division I level, it's tough to be a great defensive football team week in and week out because there are so many good people on the offensive side of the ball. Our guys, I think, have done a tremendous job. And if they continue to play at the level they are at right now, we're have a few more smiling faces on Saturday and Sunday nights around here."
On playing on a Tuesday night
"I like it. I really do. I like it because it causes you to change up the routine a little bit. We've been on a routine since August 5, so we;ve got a little break, we get to do a couple things different this week. I like after the game also. If we can go out there and get us a good win, then we've got a little space in there when we (the staff) can give them a couple more days off and get back on a regular schedule that following weekend. It's fallen perfectly, and that's why we've divided the season into three seasons. We played the first four games, now we have this little break, then we have four more games befoe a bye week, then we'll hit our last four."
On the pressures of winning
"To be honest, we put enough pressure on ourselves as coaches and as team members and as a program that, if anybody else wants to come in there and throw some more on us, then come on. We put enough on ourselves to want to excel and be the best that we can be that we cannot let anything else influence us from that standpoint."
On being 3-1, the best start for the Cougars in over a decade
"I like it for the University's sake and for the city of Houston's sake. I would have been a lot happier at 4-0 rather than 3-1, but we did the best we could do to get to be 4-0, and we're at 3-1, which means that we did okay in the first phase of our season. Now that that's over with, it's time to move on to the next phase of our season."
On the attendance in the first two home games at Robertson Stadium
"Our attendance has really been great, and we've been very pleased with it. They (the crowds) have been really vocal, very supportive and it's been a fun atmosphere. And we need to continue doing our part as far as playing great football and think people will keep turning out. It's been a lot of fun.
On East Carolina's team and what Houston can expect in the game next week
"The thing about them is that they're are a whole lot better than we wanted them to be when we saw the film. And they've played such a tough schedule, that you can say that they are 0-4, but there would be a lot of teams who would be 0-4 after playing West Virginia, Wake Forest, Miami and Cincinnati. They've played some good, good football teams. They do have a new staff and new systems, but they're getting better and better each week in different phases.They are continually growing as a team, as we are. You can see that they're settling down in their schemes on both sides of the ball and that they have some good people to do it with. It'll be a great challenge for us. We're not judging by what they've done, we're going to judge by what we see when we go in there next week, which is going to be a football team that is prepared and ready to win."
On playing on national television at East Carolina next week
"What we have to do is perform well and we have to win. It's not like we're going to sit around and say 'we're on T.V.,' we're going to be focused on the game."
On facing a team who has yet to win a game this season
"We can't judge on what's hzppened before - all we can judge is what we're going to get when we get up there. We're going to go up there fully loaded and ready to play. As bad as we try to paint it for them, hopefully they are respectful and cautious about us coming into town also."
On what Briles has learned in his first four games of the his Div I-A coaching career
"The only thing that I'm finding out that I have to watch myself with is that I put too much pressure on myself to want everything to happen and fall into place. I know it's going to happen, I know we're going to get it (the program) where it needs to be, but I want it to happen right now. this year, this time. What I can't do is, I don't want to burn out Oct. 8. I want to be rolling late in December when we're in a bwol game. I have to maintain my composure, maintain my patience, and at the same time maintain an energy level that can excel us on through. It's a grind, and what you have to do is pace yourself when you have a chance to pace yourself. Like we're diing this week: we're going to come back from East Carolina a fresh, focused, intense and intelligent football team.
"In the seconds I have during the day when I'm not thinking about football, I think, 'you old cowboy, you better settle down a little bit...this day has 234 hours in it, don't try to make it 48.'
"The thing that's got me hyped a little bit is that I sense that we have a really good chance to be a really good football team, and I want to make sure that we do everything as a staff and as a University to give these student-athletes the opportunity to have that experience."
