University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Conference Quotes
10/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2005
HOUSTON -
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Quotes from University of Houston Football Head Coach Art Briles
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 * Houston, Texas * Athletics/Alumni Center
Entering Tulane game and following Tulsa game
"All I know is that we are going to be playing Saturday in Lafayette and getting after Tulane. That is all we are really concerned with.
"It was a nice win the other night at Tulsa, a tough, tough win, a strong win, a character win... a win that we needed. It was one that solidified us for the time being as a strong football team and one to be reckoned with. Now, what we have to do is keep that fact a reality by continuing to play at a high level on both sides of the ball and in special teams and keep putting Ws on the board. From that standpoint, it was a very gratifying win.
"We have three pretty tough overtime losses in the last couple of years, so it felt good to win one at the end like that in dramatic fashion. It was one we would have liked to have won a little easier or with more comfort level. In the way that we won it is a lot better. When you win a game in that fashion, it tends to propel you a little bit and give you a lot of belief, which we have had. But you need things to solidify that. We got that the other night."
On play of defense against Tulsa: "The defense played really well. We gave up a special teams touchdown early. The defense held on until the offense established themselves and we figured out what we needed to do to attack Tulsa from an offensive standpoint. That was a critical factor in the game. It allowed both sides to get comfortable, to get a feel for what was going on and to be able to come back.
"That was the best thing about the deal. That's the first time that Houston has come back and won a game from being down 10 on the road outside the city of Houston since 1981. That's a pretty good gut test. That's what it is all about. You fight hard and expect to win at the end."
On special teams: "We're still in the process. I am certainly not going to say we are there. We are still in the process on offense and defense too. A lot of times those mistakes are more glaring than individual mistakes in your regular offensive and defensive schemes. We have faith in our players; we have faith in our system. We are going to keep going. We made some plays on special teams the other night that put us in position to win the ball game also. You take the good with the bad; you would just like to have a lot more good."
On week in Tulsa after evacuating: "I appreciate Mr. Maggard, John Robinson and Colin Shillinglaw for working tirelessly to get us setup and be taken care of in Tulsa. That was a comfort to my mind and to our players. Once we got there, to have 100+ people basically locked up in a hotel for eight days and to come out of it without any major incidents, fights, scraps... that's a pretty good testament to our players. We had good focus throughout the week, and we were ready to play Saturday. We felt like we had a job to do. We felt like we had a University to represent. We went down there, took care of business and fortunately came back with a win."
On play of tight ends at Tulsa: "We try to use everyone we have if we can. It just happened to be the other night that we caught them in a good defensive stunt with the right play called at the right time on Blade's first run. They had been bringing pressure. We had a decent call. He made a nice catch and made a good run. One of the other plays at the end, we had been saving for a third-and-short situation. We were able to pick up a big first down there. We have had some plays throughout the year that we have not connected on that involve our tight end."
On punting game: "We are looking for ways to adjust and try to move up the ladder. I am not sure how much farther we can fall. Anytime that you have a punt blocked, it will affect your net average pretty dramatically. We don't like having to overcome those things. It's tough; it's hard. But we did it. We didn't do it at UTEP, but we did it at Tulsa. It seems like they had a punt blocked too when they were in an offensive formation. You can take anything and spin it how you want. We are just going to battle hard and keep getting better. We have a good football team. We are going to be playing at 5 p.m., Saturday in Lafayette, and Tulane is our opponent."
