University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Conference Quotes
11/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 14, 2006
HEAD COACH Art Briles
Opening Statement
"Congratulations to our players, our fans and our university for a big win last Saturday. The thing about our guys, since day one, is they have had a lot of faith, a lot of fight and a lot of belief. It's prevailed us here down the stretch. I am really proud of their effort, attitude, and determination that they have put into this season. That's why we are in the position that we are in. We still have a tremendous amount of energy and focus in this stage of the season. That's due to the fact that we have excellent senior leadership and actually some other guys who are helping lead also. That's how you win, sustain and finish with a good run. I am very proud of the way they have responded, and way they have hung together. The energy and attitude that they have right now is the thing that's going to propel us forward."
"I would like to give a thank you to our fans. We had a tremendous group of people up there Saturday. The numbers were impressive but more importantly was the way they came to the game. They game to the game to cheer. They came to the game to support, and they came to the game to believe. When we were down by 10 in the third quarter, they cheered just as loud as when we were up by 14 in the first quarter. They did a great job. We had a bunch of students up there and I would like to pat them on the back for our football team."
On not overlooking the Memphis game:
"The reason I wasn't worried (about overlooking SMU), last week, was because we had to win. It was a must win game for us, and it was a must win game for SMU. Our guys did a great job of coming away with a victory. The deal this week is that we are playing for home field advantage. It's like the NFL; we win we play at home. That's our motto, that's our focus this week. We are playing for home field advantage. Plus, we don't want to share the conference title with anyone. We are going to represent the West but we haven't won it (the conference championship) outright. We could be co-champions with someone but we don't want that to happen. We've worked too hard, prepared too hard and performed too well for that to happen. We are going to be a selfish football team this weekend. We are going to go to Memphis, take care of business and come back undisputed West champs. Then we will get ready for the conference championship game."
On Memphis
"They are a good football team. Anytime you play a conference team it's a war, it's a battle. All you have to do is look at your Sunday newspaper and I can show you 15 games that went one way that should have gone the other way. What they have done in the past and this year makes no difference. What we've done this year makes no difference. We are going to line up Saturday and play our tails off for 60 minutes."
"They have been a pretty good football team the last three years. They have been to three bowl games, they competed for the East division last year (in the conference championship). Two years prior to that they were right in the conference race. They are a good football team. We were a team that was in a process. We're growing, we're getting better and we are establishing ourselves as the team that we are now. Their growth level was ahead of our growth level the last three years and that's why they ended up winning the last three years."
On Houston's play in the second half:
"The last four weeks we have given up six points in the second half, three to UCF and three to SMU. If you do that you are going to win football games, bottom line. If you're defense comes out and plays that well in the second half you are going to win the game, especially if you can maintain it and structure some things on offense. The first two series on Saturday (in the second half), they (SMU) went one, two, three, punt, one, two, three, punt. When there were three minutes left in the third quarter, they had run six offensive plays in the second half and we had run about 22. All of a sudden everything shifts in the football game. I attribute it to a lot of reasons. First, our strength and conditioning coaches, Coach Jackson and Coach Dennis. Our guys have been in great shape, great physical strength and great mental toughness. I attribute it to a reality check. You can talk about being at certain levels but until you do it all it is is talk. We've had to do it and we've done it. Once you reach a level you can build on that. We are at a much higher level as a football team then we were in August. We've had some things happen this season where we have come from behind and won, which creates belief and reality. All those things build into having the ability to win the game."
On Anthony Alridge:
"He (Anthony Alridge) has done a tremendous job and he is a dynamic player. He plays with a tremendous amount of passion, emotion and unselfishness. That's what allows him to be the player that he is. There are no hidden agendas in his body, what you see is what you get. What he gives is what he has. That's why he is a great player and that's why he is making great plays. There might have been one person more excited than Jackie (Battle) when he busted for 61 yards (against SMU) and that was Anthony Alridge. That's just the way he is. He is a guy that wants the Houston Cougars to win and he doesn't care how it happens. When you get a bunch of guys like that together you have the chance to be a great football team and we have a bunch of guys like that on the team."
On the relationship between Anthony Alridge and Jackie Battle:
"I think it has evolved into this. First of all, I think we would be remised if we didn't mention the offensive line. The guys that do the work up front allow everything to happen. Everyone who knows anything about football is well aware of where it starts but you have to have other pieces of the puzzle to finish. We have numerous people that allows these things to happen. Our wide receivers, our specialists on the outside, make people have to defend the field, which creates better running lanes. One of the things that we do on offense is help each side have the opportunity to be successful. We are allowing them (Alridge and Battle) to stay fresh, which is vitally important in a football game. It shows up later in the games. It's a deal where they are not getting knocked down and beaten up carrying the ball every snap. They are getting their 13 or 17 carries and every one of them are big. It's a big benefit for us on the offensive standpoint and it's a big benefit to them."
"They both want to win. Personal issues have no bearing on the team. It doesn't matter how I feel, how I think or how I respond if it's not for the betterment of this football team. That's the way everyone on the team has to think because we are team. We are not individuals. The defense is the same way. We are all one and that's why we are having the chance to do something special. Our job is to go beat Memphis and get the home field advantage at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. That's our job, that's our duty, that's our mission."
On the strength and conditioning coaches:
"I think it's directly attributed to our success in the second half. It has been a tremendous benefit for our players because Larry's (Jackson) ideas, attitude, demeanor, confidence level, work ethic, all the things I think I sometimes possess. He hangs it right on the same door as me. We walk through the same door. We act and feel the same way so it's a huge benefit to be able to let that part of it go and let him handle it. (He is) someone I have complete confidence in and trust in because I know how he is going to treat our players, how he is going to talk to them and how he is going to work them. It's been a big benefit for our football team and a big benefit for me personally."
