University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Luncheon Quotes
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 14, 2004
On the Army game this week (Sept. 18)
"We're very excited about starting conference play this week. We've been through a couple storms and we're ready to part the clouds and go into clearer skies. We've been tested, we're being tested and we're ready to respond. We're survivors; that's what we have to be. We've been through some tough times, but now we're going to turn them into good times and we need to start this Saturday against Army.
In looking at film of the Oklahoma game, do you just burn it [into memory] and move on, or do you see anything positive?
"We actually saw a lot of positives. I've been to Oklahoma twice before and knew what the situation was going to be like. We talked to our players about it. The teams that go in there (as a visitor) don't operate on hope; they operate on opportunity. If you give them (Oklahoma) any opportunity, it just snowballs. We had a couple things happen early in the game that takes it from a 14-7 game to a 28-7 game before you can even lean back in your chair. And once it gets there, when you're playing a team of that calibur, then you get into the mindset of trying to catch-up and take other risks that you normally wouldn't take, it just gets worse before it gets better.
"The thing I was most proud of is we went there to win the football game. We came out of the lockerroom, we were going out on the field to beat the University of Oklahoma. We came in at half-time, we went back out the second half to battle until the very end. It's just like we talked about - we weren't going to go up there and bow down to them, like perhaps other teams have. When we were down, we were not going to stop playing. From that standpoint, we're growing and learning some lessons. I'm just ready to teach a few now. I'm tired of getting taught, as our players are. Everything you go through you either make it good or bad, so we're going to find something good out of it and move on."
What is the situation with Anthony Evans, and do you think he will be back for the Army game?
"I think he will be fine. He just wasn't 100 percent the other day. He was probably about 75-80 percent, and that's (Oklahoma) not a good game to be 75-80 percent in. We needed people on the field who were 100 percent."
With a lot of Texas residents on the Army roster, it will be quite a homecoming for many of their players. Do you think it will pump them up even more this weekend?
"That is something we talked about yesterday. They (Army) have a lot of Texas kids on their roster that will be coming back to Texas, and New York is a long way from here. They will be very excited to come back here and play. That's the thing about Army, that jumps out at you...those guys honestly play as hard as any team I've seen in the last four to five years. I'm talking about every snap, every play, regardless of what the situation is. Whatever they have, you are getting. And to me, that's how you're supposed to play the game. And how they get that entrenched into their players, and overcome all that they have been through, is really phenomenol to me, and I have a lot of respect for their players and coaches.
"We're in for a war this weekend. We know it, our players know it and our fans should know it. They (Army) can play and all they are waiting for is that one opportunity."
What has Bobby Ross (first year head coach at Army) changed at Army, that you can tell by the film of the Army-Louisville game last weekend?
"Of course, all we have is that one film. They are pretty much tthe same defensively, as he (Ross) retained the same people. Offensively, just looking at this game (Louisville-Army), quite a bit more running than last year. They are very sound, well-coached, everything you would expect from a man who has been in the profession that long. Any adjective that quantifies good coaching, they (Army coaches) are doing. So we just have to mirror it as much as we can."
