Opening Statement: Welcome and good day everyone. Going back and reviewing last week’s game against Kansas State, it was good the way we responded in the second half. I thought the best part of the night was seeing our offense come together. In back to back series, seeing the offense put together back to back drives and put the ball into the end was pretty special. It’s nice to see your red-shirt quarterback go 14 for 14 when you have to have those completions.
I think overall it was a good solid game. We’ve seen our offense respond that way in the past couple of games. That gives you a lot of encouragement in moving forward that our guys are making good progress and our guys are maturing. They’re being more consistent and making plays and coming together. We didn’t have any turnovers so that was also very positive.
Some guys that played well offensively, our guys up front, Trent Williams and Brody Eldridge were credited with excellent games. Ryan Broyles had another huge game and made a bunch of big plays. DeJuan Miller was also very exciting and also one of the players of the game. It was good to see him step up and play well. Demarco Murray and Chris Brown rushing the football were very good also.
Defensively, guys that played well were Jeremy Beal like always who had an excellent game. Quinton Carter was also cited as one of the players of the game. Carter was great in runs support and had a bunch of good tackles and that interception late in the game.
Overall it was a good solid day. Now it’s on to Lincoln and Nebraska here this week. They are a team that defensively is at the top of the league in every single defensive category. They are playing very solidly defensively. Offensively they are doing a very good job of rushing the football. They give you a lot of different formations and move people around a lot. They create a lot of opportunities to run the ball. They’ve been playing very solidly that way. They’re working with two quarterbacks and running pretty much the same offense with both of them, but do have a little more quarterback run game with Cody Green, so that’s something we’re working on in practice. It’s always challenging to go up to Nebraska so we will need a good week of practice. We started yesterday with an excellent practice so hopefully we’ll have a good week to get ready to go up there.
Media: Wouldn’t you say they are the type of program that it’s a matter of when they will be back and not if they get back?
BS: Yeah, sure. I know Bo (Pelini) and his attention to detail, his understanding of all parts of the game. I think they’ll continue to do a good job there at Nebraska and continue to build the program.
James Hale: This game will feature four of the best defensive tackles in college football. Could you talk about that and how this is kind of unique?
BS: It really is. It’s really their whole front not just their tackles. They defensive ends are playing well and of course we’ve been really pleased with the way ours are playing. The defensive fronts are very solid and very good. They are good strong players up there that are talented and play physical games.
James Hale: Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy, are they similar players?
BS: Yeah, probably. Just watching how tough Suh plays in there I would have to say they were similar type players.
Media: Does the Big 12 need Nebraska to get back to where they were, the north seem a little rudderless.
BS: I would rather they didn’t but, I’ve always had great respect for Nebraska. They have an amazing tradition and history. In fact, as a team, we watched a lot of that yesterday. I just always wonder if our young guys have a true idea of the whole tradition and pride of the program. I’ve always felt that playing them has always been tough.
Media: They’ve always had the reputation of being very classy and treating visitors very well. Is that something you would say was accurate?
BS: It’s very accurate. Their fans are very gracious. I can remember getting beat up there when I was at Kansas State and getting applauded leaving the field. I didn’t really take it well then but the more you play up there the more you understand how they appreciate good football. Some of those were some tough games. They just really appreciate good football and are very courteous in how they express it.
Media: How have they been able to survive?
BS: I’m not there enough to know. You would probably have to ask them. That’s their culture and how they do things. I think it’s pretty neat.
Media: You going to be able to start the same offensive line for the second or third week in a row. Is that a big plus in getting things rolling offensively?
BS: I don’t know that who starts really matters that much. The big thing is getting guys going offensively. Hopefully there is a little more consistency in play over all and they need to be consistent against a very good defensive front. I feel like we are making strides but we have to do it each week.
Media: Ryan Broyles, does his style compare to that of Mark Clayton?
BS: Yeah, I think so. But you know me; I’m not much on comparing guys. But he does have a similar style and body wise he’s about the same size. We keep pushing Ryan to work harder in the weight room because Mark became a much stronger player every year. But, their ability to run after the catch and ability to go up and get balls and hang on to them in tough situations, their concentration and their route running are very skilled.
Media: With Landry, it looks like you are running more out of the shotgun and less under center. Is that at a cost to your running game? And is that a trade off that you need to make?
BS: Well, it’s not because of Landry, it’s probably more because of the offensive line and what they can do along with opportunities to run the ball and the way the defenses have been defending the run. It’s really just choices from our offensive staff and how we feel we can be most successful.
Media: Your offense is ranked 30th in the NCAA, but ahead of Texas and Oklahoma State. Is that a bit surprising to you?
BS: No, not really just because we have lost. Whether you lose by one point or 30, in the end there is a problem. I talked about that after Miami. There was so much talk about how successful their offense was against our defense. When you look at the stats there was one yard difference between their offense and ours. We obviously have some problems because we’ve lost but in the end we haven’t been far off. We just needed to be a series of play or two better. We’ve always felt there was some upside to what we were doing and some of it is starting to show. It needs to continue to be worked and improved.
Media: Is this the best you’ve felt over the past couple of weeks?
BS: Yeah, we’re starting to settle in a little bit. With the injuries, it’s been a lot to work through.
Media: it had to be gratifying to overcome first and 45.
BS: Well, I still can’t stand it. In the end, it’s pretty rotten to put yourself in first and 45. Its poor play and poor discipline. It’s not good ball to have yourself in first and 45. That’s our fault with foolish penalties. But to overcome it like we did, we were pretty lucky. Hopefully, we don’t get into that situation again.
James Hale: When you look at Landry, his improvement every week seems to fall in line with other quarterbacks you had here.
BS: It’s exciting to see what he’s been able to do. In five starts, he’s been player of the week twice in the conference. He’s doing an excellent job. I think he had right around 300 yards the other night with four TD’s and no interceptions. I didn’t think he put the ball in any risky situations. He’s doing a nice job. With more and more time on the practice field and in games he will improve. And there were some opportunities that we missed on the other night so hopefully he’ll see those and move forward.
Media: Sam had a year under his belt before he had to run the no-huddle offense, is it overlooked with Landry just how difficult it is to play in this offense?
BS: Well again, he’s practiced it for two years now, so he should be comfortable in it. It’s what we do. So, he’s doing a nice job up there at the line. Every now and then he’ll mix something up but not very often.
Media: Your receivers have played really well the past couple of games.
BS: I'm hopeful that it will progress even further in that they are just more comfortable and confident. With time on the field, people say that the game seems to slow down once you're used to being out there. The first time you're out there as a player sometimes you can't believe how fast everything is going, then you look on tape and realize 'geez, I'm going as fast as everybody.' It takes a little while for guys to calm down and realize that and then everything slows down. I'm just hopeful with more experience and time on the field that they are more comfortable and confident now and they are seeing that they are making plays that they are capable of making.
Media: Are any of the receiver struggles in anyway tied to the quarterback changes, with Sam and Landry going back and forth there a little bit?
BS: I don’t think so. It’s really not like one guy throws the ball that much differently than the other one. The bottom line is, if you are a receiver and the ball hits you in a position that you can catch, you have to catch it. I don’t really think that that’s much of an issue.
Media: Will Bo (Pelini) bring a lot of pressure with that front four or does he kind of pick and choose when it’s going to come?
BS: He does pick and choose when he wants to. But, he does trust his front four to get good pressure without blitzing. But, they will pick their times when they want to pressure you as well.
Media: What did you think about the way your defense played on Saturday?
BS: I thought for a good part of the game they did a really good job. And, there were a couple of drives that they weren’t as good as you would like to be. But, to think we will shut everyone out every game isn’t very realistic. Kansas State did a nice job of working some drives; none of them were very fast. It’s not like we gave up some quick easy points. Of course, outside of the kickoff return. The other drives were methodical and worked and it’s going to happen from time to time. But again, we didn’t give up any quick strikes.
Media: Why did Austin Box start instead of Keenan Clayton?
BS: (Defensive Coordinator) Brent (Venables) just felt that with what they were doing offensively, that Austin would fit well with what they were doing. Keenan is still doing an excellent job, but with what they were doing we felt that was the best way to go.
Media: Is that another way of saying that Box is better against a power running team?
BS: No, we just felt that Austin was the best way to go.
Media: Is the number of snaps the players are having to play at this point of the season, starting to wear on them a little bit?
BS: It doesn’t look like it. They practiced yesterday and took every snap. They were all running around and felt great.
Media: Pulling linemen was a staple for offenses in the past; you don’t see it that much anymore, maybe just on occasion.
BS: Most of it is just the style of blocking. There’s so much more zones, using combinations with people instead of blocking back and pulling people. Everyone still has some of it, there’s just more and more of the zone blocking schemes where you’re working together.
Media: Does the size of lineman have anything to do with it. When a guy is 260 it seems like it’s easier for him to pull than a guy that’s 310 or 320.
BS: That always has something to do with it. That could have something to do with it.
Media: On Saturday, it was a case of the offense carrying the football team where as the defense has had to do it at times earlier in the season. Was that a confidence builder for them.
BS: It should be. That’s kind of what I said after the game, that was the most pleasing part of the day, just seeing them respond. It gives me a feeling that as we move forward we're an overall stronger team when they can do that. I still have faith that our defense will continue to play well and that they will be able to respond in situations like that. Because through a whole season, that is going to happen. It should give them more confidence going forward to be able to do that when they have to.
Media: Quinton Carter had a great game for you on Saturday and it seems like he’s playing at a fairly consistent level.
BS: He's playing very well. Quinton has had an excellent year. He had an interception on the opening play against Kansas to start us off with great field position. Run support, tackling, he has been a very good player.
Media: I ask you every couple of years and the answer is always the same, but I’m going to ask you again, is the fullback closer to getting to carry the football?
BS: You will probably have to convince Kevin Wilson to give it to him. But, as soon as we give it to the fullback a couple of time, everyone will wonder why DeMarco isn’t carrying it. But, if you guys want to see the fullback carry the ball, I’ll talk to Coach Wilson and see if we can’t get that worked out.
Media: What’s the latest with Brian Simmons?
BS: He’s getting better. We think he’s within a week or two of being ready to get back in there. So, we’ll just have to see.
Media: Despite the three losses, are you about as pleased as you could be the way the team is moving forward through the rest of the season.
BS: It's been very positive, with the guys' attitudes and the way they have worked. They have been very good with everything they are doing. They are pushing to get better. We've made some improvement. There is still a lot more to go though. We're not at all where we can be. Some guys just need to keep working for more development.
Media: Talk about the rationale of having three upbacks in the punt formation.
BS: You’re not quite as passive up front. It allows your front guys to get out in coverage a little bit quicker and faster. It lets guys get down field sooner with how you block up front.
Media: Your punt coverage has been very good, is that part of it.
BS: Our kickoff coverage had been good also until that little guy got loose. Boy is he fast. I knew just as soon as he hit the seam, he was gone. The first three kickoffs we got inside the 20. But, our punt coverage has been good. I think Tress is hanging the ball really well. I would prefer a 45 yard punt that hangs four or five seconds than a 55 yarder with a shorter hang time. To me he’s doing a nice job of hanging the ball and getting good distance.
Media: They said that one the other night was partially blocked.
BS: Our three backs got separated where we shouldn’t have.
Media: Even with being partially blocked, it still went 42 yards.
BS: Tress has a very powerful leg, there’s no question. He hits 55 and 60 yarders in practice a bunch of times. I just keep hoping that he’ll start kicking some of those in games.
Media: While you are the highest ranked team with three losses, how do you feel about your position in the rankings?
BS: Well, you’re not pleased to be where you are. You’re not pleased to have three losses. In the end, I can’t do anything about rankings. All I pay attention to is getting ready to play Nebraska and play each week. That’s just how things go.
