Todd Graham Press Conference Quotes
10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 2009
Tulsa, Oklahoma -
Todd Graham Press Conference Quotes:
Opening statement:
We're back on the road again. We've had a great week. I'm confused most of the time because I can't figure out what day it is. This has been an unbelievably challenging schedule from a work standpoint. We've had a good week. This is a really big game for us. Our guys are coming off a physical game.
We're going back on the road and, to me, the next three games are extremely critical. They are against Western Division opponents. We have to go to UTEP, a place that's very difficult to play. We have a history with them. We know exactly how difficult it's going to be. It's going to be on ESPN. There will be 50,000-plus people and it's a loud, hostile environment and we have to figure out a way to win.
Can you talk about UTEP's win against Houston a few weeks ago?
It's typical for our conference. Our conference is one that has a lot of parity and it's difficult to play and win on the road. I think people underestimate how difficult it is to play on the road anywhere. Especially a place like UTEP, where Coach (Mike) Price has developed an unbelievable following. When you go to El paso, there's 50,000 fans in the stands. They have a lot of support and it's tough to operate there offensively. They came out and played their best game of the year and that's what they do at home.
A lot of teams are like that. We're the same way. We play a lot better at home. Houston is one of the best teams in the country and that shows you that you better get prepared to play and you'd better play well.
What makes their running back (Donald Buckram) so good?
Donald is someone that we know well. We recruited him here. He has explosive power and speed and has great balance and an ability to break tackles. When he's in the open field, he has the speed to close. We think he's one of the best backs we've faced so far. (Trevor) Vittatoe, their quarterback, is another we're familiar with. Coach Price did a tremendous job with him. He was a guy that wasn't highly recruited and now he has a chance to be a big-time NFL quarterback. They have a great quarterback, talented skill players and they play extremely hard.
They've had a difficult schedule. They've played Kansas and Texas and some difficult teams. They've played well and always do at their stadium. They're a very talented team that plays very fast and explosive. You have a quarterback like their quarterback, you have a chance to win a bunch of games. We have to do a great job of keeping him in check. I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in our league.
DeAundre Brown was named the defensive player of the week.
He's a true sophomore that's a really good tackler. Anytime your safety has 18 tackles, they probably busted your line of scrimmage a lot. I'm really proud of how he's played and the rest of our defense. We have to continue to play well because down the stretch, it's going to be on their shoulders.
What do you take out of the Boise State game?
As a coach, you don't take a lot of satisfaction out of having a good show. But I think we gained a lot of confidence. There are two teams in the country that hasn't given up a rushing touchdown and we're one of them. Oklahoma is the other. I'm really proud of how our kids responded and how they played. I think they were embarrassed with how we played against Oklahoma ... to play in a big game like that, it's against one of the better teams that we've played against since I've been here, and they played really hard.
We faced a lot of adversity. They were big and physical on the defensive line and they really pressured our quarterback. We didn't turn the football over. We did the things that we went into the game trying to do. Naturally we wanted more success offensively and they have one of the best defenses in the country. We've played two of the top scoring defenses in the country. I think we gained confidence from that, but were beat up physically.
We only had one padded practice this week. I would tell you our mental state of mind is one that we gained confidence out of that and hopefully we can carry that to El Paso.
How has playing back-to-back games on Wednesdays worked for you?
It's been very difficult. I don't play or exert a whole bunch of energy, but it's hard. Our schedule, people don't realize, academically is difficult. Our kids usually never practice on Monday but since we're playing on Wednesday night, we're going to practice on Monday. It's very difficult to do. That's part of playing on national television.
We have two Friday games, a Sunday game and two Wednesday game. It's difficult, but it has to do with playing on television. The schedule has been tough. This game is big for us because it's the next conference game and the third step in our goal of being conference champions. We also have 10 days after this one and then have the next three games at home. If we can somehow get out there, fight and scratch and get us a win then four of the next five are out here. This is a big game for us.
If you do win this, you will have three conference wins on the road. How good a position would that be?
We talked about that in the off-season and preparation coming into the season. Five of our first seven were on the road and our first three conference games on the road. To be sitting where we're at, it's great but we have to get this win. If we get this win, we only have one more conference game on the road and one regular-season game on the road. That's key. That's probably the most important factor ... as close as our league is, it has everything to do with where we are playing.
How does playing on ESPN really benefit the team?
Perception is reality. The fact that we have so much national exposure and playing on TV so many times helps us tremendously. Kids are external. They watch ESPN.
When I was growing up, I admired Bob Hope and John Wayne. I asked them is they knew who Bob Hope or John Wayne was and none of them knew who they were. It makes me feel old. I asked them that because Coach (Lou) Holtz was going to come speak to the team and I wanted to make sure they knew who Coach Holtz was. I asked do you know how Coach Holtz is? They said, 'Yeah, Dr. Lou.' That's very big. It's one of the things that's helped our program, the visibility and name recognition of playing on television. To do that, you have to win football games because they don't pick you to play on TV if you're not winning games.
You've played their twice and lost twice in a row in games where UTEP just keeps making play and play. Do you talk to the guys and prepare them better?
It's been interesting how it's fallen. It feel strangely ... we went there in 2003, 2005 and I went to Rice in 2006 and came back here in 2007. Now I'm going again. Every time I've been picked to win, I've lost. When I was at Rice, we won and I was picked to lose.
I look at those games and I talk to the kids about that because experience is important. We've had battles with them. There have been some epic games there. The one in 2005 was heart-wrenching and the one in 2007 was the same. We mismanaged the clock late and missed a field goal to have a chance. I talked to the kids about that. I told the kids they'd better expect that it's going to be a battle. I've never been there and it being an easy deal. The one game I've been successful there in a game I coached, we didn't turn the football over.
One of the things that we have been doing well is take care of the football. That's going to be critical for us.
Can you talk about the team's mental toughness after having four road games?
I think they've played well and responded, even though we've been a little sluggish on the road. We've played more spirited at home. We have some veterans. We have some young kids that are growing up. They know this game is important and exactly how difficult this game will be.
The key is getting better as a football team. Last week as a football team, we got better. We're going into week seven. The next three games will determine our football season and there's none more important than this one. You better be mentally tough and mature for 60 minutes and you better not be distracted. We're going to one of the two toughest places to play in our league.
This deep into the season, are you still learning about your team?
I think so. If you ever stop learning, you're backing up. As a coach, I've seen the teams that get better are the ones that continue to learn. I think that's the thing about coaching that's served me well. Being a former high school coach, you have to be adaptive to your players. I can tell you we're adaptive because we haven't had the same five offensive linemen starting all year long. You have to be adaptive to what you are doing. We're constantly learning what we can and can't do. If' you're not learning or willing to learn about your team and keep doing everything you can to put them in position to win, then you're backing up.
In UTEP's two wins, they were able to establish the run. This week, how important is it to stop the run game?
That's been our No. 1 emphasis defensively. We're the best in the league right now. We're No. 1 in scoring defense and total defense. I don't care about the other stats. I care about scoring defense and scoring offense. When you have a great scoring defense, the No. 1 factor is rush defense. You have to stop the run. That's going to be the key in the game. We have to stop the run and make them one dimensional. It's going to be a tall order. This is one of the best rushing teams we've played.
I told the guys that the No. 1 defense in this conference has won the league three of the past four years. We have six games left in the regular season. If we get past those six games with the No. 1 defense, we have a good chance.
