University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Conference Quotes
9/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
Opening Statement:
"Just to recap last Saturday, it was a great team win. I couldn't have been happier or prouder of how we played and responded in a hostile environment. I couldn't be prouder of how our coaches handled the situation from a game-plan standpoint. It takes everybody to go on the road and win a game like that. For me, it's extremely gratifying but, more than anything else, I'm happy for our coaching staff, and I'm happy for our players to be able to go into a situation like that and win.
"When I say team win, I mean it. One thing I've learned is if it works, it's a good plan, and if it doesn't work, it's a bad plan. It's pretty simple. Offensively, we were able to move the ball. We ran it well enough to be effective. Our no-huddle, up-tempo attack really created some issues down the road for them (Oklahoma State) and theirs did for us.
"The game was, what I call, a torrid pace. We had 82 plays, and they had 72 plays. There were some tired guys on both sides of the field. Offensively, we were efficient. It comes down to two things; we won the turnover battle and, the things that we've been preaching as I told the team yesterday, the best thing that could happen to you as a coach is when you see guys trying to do what you ask them to do. They were playing very, very hard.
"There are three things we talk about: play hard, play smart and be physical. Those three things have been going on these past three weeks. They are playing very hard. The first and second groups are playing smart. We have five penalties for the year over two games, which is a tribute to these guys as well as winning the turnover battle. If we can continue to do that and give them the plan and execute it and play as hard as they've played, we're going to be successful. That's what I mean by a team win.
"Our defense is evident by the award that came out. They limited Oklahoma State and created turnovers. The third quarter is a different story. They are a good team, and they had some weapons. It's the first time since I've been here that we got together as a unit and stopped the bleeding enough for the offense to come in and do their part too because we haven't punted until the third quarter. We had three-and-out in the third quarter which hurts the defense. We gave up a punt return. That also hurts the defense. It was my decision not to kick the ball deep.
"The week before, they had Perrish Cox who brought one back. He needed 29 yards to be the Big 12's all-time leading kick returner in the history of that league. I was determined to not let that happen. Saturday, they put him and Dez Bryant back there, so we put up defense in the position where they had a shorter field. For them to play the way they played is a tribute to how they played and our game plan.
"Special-teams wise, that was our decision. Obviously we have one punt that got away from us and you saw what happened. We had guys unblocked who were right there to make plays and couldn't tackle. I'll say this: you're going to see the same thing next year with guys in professional uniforms who can't tackle a guy who is open. We were going to try not to give him those opportunities. I just told my staff that if we kicked it to them seven times, they were going to score once or twice. If we punted to them five or more times, one of them was going to score. I wasn't interested in giving up points that way.
"We took our chances the other way, and it worked out. It hurts our punting average and kickoff average but so be it, we won the game.
"Our schedule this week is about the same. We're going to practice today and tomorrow. Our guys will be off Thursday and Friday and will practice Saturday. We'll get our legs back. Coach (Larry) Jackson is doing his magic the whole week. They got back to work yesterday. We got the win out of the way and today is the last day we're talking about that."
On the overwhelming positive response the team's gotten from beating Oklahoma State:
"Whenever there's success, that's going to happen. There were some things that happened last year that were some firsts and will continue to be firsts if we do what we're suppose to do. We can't worry about that at this time. Like I say, that's for you guys. Those are the things after the season for our seniors that show their accomplishments. Right now, we're in the middle of the season. Hopefully, that will continue.
On if he'd rather have two weeks to prepare for Texas Tech or ride the momentum:
"We had the schedule three months ago, so if we'd lost the game, we would be asking me about that too. It's a bye week. We knew it was going to happen, and we planned for that. It doesn't matter what you want; it's what you have. There are positives and negatives to everything. To me it's harder to sit out a bye week after a loss than a win."
On using the team's endurance to its advantage against Oklahoma State:
"Coach Jackson has done a great job. We saw that last year time and time again. The way we practice and the way he conditions are two good things. You have to be able to operate like that. I'll never forget what was said before the game by Dana Holgorsen. He said we have to be able to operate and we have to be able to play when we're tired. I heard Case (Keenum) say in the locker room with a game like that we're going to get tired.
"The big difference this year was not only did we not lose defenders in the second half, but also we have more depth now than we have. Collectively because of the depth, we have better defense. It doesn't matter how good you are. When you're tired, you're average. Coach Jackson has done a great job with our strength and conditioning. It showed up last year because we were a pretty good second half team. He has a lot to do with our success."
On how the team measures success:
"Saturday's game was a huge barometer for me as a coach to handle that situation. Last year, we didn't handle it. We could have thrown down our chips in the third quarter very easily with the crowd screaming as we gave up a punt return in a play that seemed like nine missed tackles. All of those things were things that didn't happen in the first half. For our guys to come back and score, be scored on and score again and just keep fighting, I thought it was great.
"We talked last week about living in the moment which is something I don't suggest people doing in anything. Football wise, it's really good. Whatever happens on a play, whether it's good or bad, forget it and move on and let the coaches deal with the big picture. We have to deal with things that way on a game-by-game basis. If we do that and not let everybody tell us how good or how bad we are, we'll be alright."
QUARTERBACK Case Keenum
On the challenges of a game like that:
"We put together four great quarters. Having to snap the ball 82 times, it's tough. That's a lot of plays that you have to keep your focus and intensity up, especially with the TV timeouts and all the added time. It's a tribute to those guys who have remained focused and made the plays throughout the night."
On adjusting to life after the win:
"We're just trying to take care of the little stuff now. I had a quiz and presentation today; that's how it goes being a student athlete."
On calling an audible in the class:
"The quiz went on as scheduled unfortunately. Traffic was a little bad, but I had to get over there no matter what. I couldn't call an audible on that no matter what."
On improvements:
"We did a good job taking what they gave us, but there were some plays where we left some offense on the field. I let a couple of passes slip away, and I was a little slow on a couple of my reads. I need to make sure I go through my progressions, and I'll continue to work on that."
On the bye week:
"You learn to deal with the open week every year. It's not a week off; it's a bye week. You have to stay focused mentally and rest your body physically and then get ready for the following game."
On the potential for being a BCS buster:
"I guess it's crossed my mind when I'm asked about it but not much otherwise. It's a long season, and a lot of teams start out great, but not all of them finish. It's really great being ranked, but the teams that matter are the ones who are ranked at the end of the year."
On being ranked:
"It's an honor being the first ranked Houston team (since 1991), but we want to keep it rolling. We're not content with just being ranked; we're striving to improve. We know we can be a better football team, and we'll keep on working on that."
SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK Bryce Beall
On the game:
"I was thinking, whatever you do, do not drop this ball, I just made sure I grabbed it and held on tight."
On last year to this year:
"You can tell this team is older and more mature than last year. Last year our team had their heads down. Now this time on the sidelines you could see we believed in each other and kept each other positive."
On the significance of the win:
"It's so hard not to think about it all the time, everybody that I went to school with or have known is talking about it. It didn't hit me at first after the game, but after coming back to campus, it really hit me. We just did something special that hasn't happened since 1984, (beating a top-5 team), so its good to be part of this.
On reaction to being ranked:
Everyone is really excited, including all of the students. If we keep winning and playing hard, more people will come to our games and be more excited about football.
On the Texas Tech game:
"We will respect every opponent we play, but we're not going to fear anybody. We will just go out there and play, we don't care who the team is. It's good to have a bye week, your body is fresh."
On how the team has started:
"We felt like we had a great team coming in with a lot of returning players and lots of depth. Our No. 1 goal is to win the conference. We still want to win every other game, but that wasn't our main goal. It feels good that we started off 2-0 compared to last year where we went 1-3. We're starting out fast, and hopefully we can finish fast as well."
On school spirit:
"The UH spirit is everywhere this week. I see it in classrooms, on campus; people are more excited about UH football than I've ever seen. Everyone is so anxious for the next game. The OSU game was a good win for our program and to get more people excited about our program."
On being ranked:
"It's better to be remembered in history than never at all. That's something they can't take away from us. We're the first Houston team to be ranked since 1991. We need to take this and get better."
On what the team needs to prove:
"We have a lot to prove. We need to prove we can win a conference championship. We want to go out and start fast against Texas Tech and hopefully get another victory.
JUNIOR CORNERBACK Jamal Robinson
On playing against Dez Bryant:
"Dez is a great player. The whole week we focused on Dez and how he likes to run the deep routes. But I've been playing football for a while and as a corner, you can't have fear. If you have fear, you're already beat. Coach told us to come out and take our shots, and that's what I did. I didn't want to be scared of Dez, even though he is a great player and he did make some good plays. But I wanted this shot to go up against one of the best players, and I accepted the challenge."
On what he proved:
"I probably didn't prove anything. Just that I could play a little bit, I still have a lot more to prove."
On the fast-paced offense of OSU:
"Our offense gives us a great look. They're one of the reasons why we're able to stay so coordinated on defense because they are very fast. Going up against them every day in practice really helps us out a lot. We're used to seeing a faster offense in practice than we see in the games."
On being named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week:
"It was good. My dad was the one who told me about it. It was a nice accomplishment. I appreciated it a lot."
On school spirit:
"There has been a lot of extra excitement around campus with my fellow students, teachers. It's nice to see the support."
On what the touchdown meant:
"It felt good, felt like all the hard work that I have endured is starting to pay off. My mom, dad and family always reminded me to stay focused and work hard, and it will all come together."
On putting this game behind:
"Texas Tech is on our mind. Today will be the last day we think about the Oklahoma State game. But we know what we have to do to accomplish our goals."
On national recognition:
"I think it's a very good thing the rest of the nation is starting to recognize us. But all that recognition won't matter if we lose next week."
On getting into the team:
"I have been down after having surgery and have thought about how things would turn out, but my mom and dad told me to keep my head up and stay focused every day. I knew eventually I was going to get my shot."
HOUSTON LINEMAN Chris Thompson
On the second half:
"We knew it was going to be a fight. We knew they were going to come out in the third quarter and push. Their coach probably hyped them up at halftime, and we just knew we'd have to survive the push they were going to give us. I think we did that."
On the potential of this team:
"We knew we had a good team. We worked in the summer and the off season. We just hoped it would be a good season. The hard work is starting to pay off, but there is still a lot more season left. Everything is starting to fall into place."
On being ranked:
"We need to stay focused. Being No. 21 means nothing if you lose next week. We're going to come out and work hard and get our legs back and next week, get back after it.
On the bye week:
"It would have been nice to play the following week. Like Coach Sumlin said, there are positives and negatives to that. It's probably a good thing to have this week off so we can get our legs back, it was a tough game."
