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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: OKLAHOMA v BOISE STATE

December 30, 2006

Bob Stoops

GLENDALE, ARIZONA

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, to Tostitos Fiesta Bowl media day. We have Coach Stoops from Oklahoma.
COACH STOOPS: On behalf of our football team, we are incredibly excited and proud to be here. As was stated, we've been fortunate to have been in some great Bowl games, had great experiences. Myself personally as a player, coach, for a good number of years, but have never been to the Fiesta Bowl.
As our players stated earlier, when we won the Big 12 championship, we have some fifth-year seniors that now have been to all four BCS Bowl games in the last five years. This completes the cycle. We've often heard about what a great experience it is. It has been that and more. It's just been fantastic. The people here are just fabulous, the way they take care of us, the accommodations, our practice site. Everything has been run in a first-class way.
We're excited about the opportunity to play a really good football team in Boise State. We're just anxious at this point in the week, you're kind of looking forward to the game. Our guys have prepared really well. I've been very pleased with how we've practiced. We've really put ourselves in a good, strong position going into the football game.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach.

Q. Do players and coaches get into the new stadium thing? Any added incentive to be playing in a brand-new place or does that even matter?
COACH STOOPS: Give us 120 yards of field... For us, no. Once you're on the field, you don't really pay much attention to that.
You know, this is a great venue, great stadium. But in the end, does it change anything we're doing? No. We're excited, though, to be playing a really good football team in Boise State. That's what kind of gets your attention more than where you're playing.

Q. What did you tell us about Boise State?
COACH STOOPS: Great football team. One of only two teams in the country undefeated. A team that's very sure of theirselves in the way they play. That is always the case. You see a team that hasn't lost. They play very confidently, very fast, very disciplined in all parts of the game. A talented football team.

Q. How about your week in general? Has it been as good as any Bowl week you've had?
COACH STOOPS: Absolutely. It's been fabulous. It's a great city. The accommodations at our hotel are just amazing. Practice site's been wonderful. Everything's been just perfect. Really, it's been a great experience.

Q. Are you guys tapering down from here on out?
COACH STOOPS: We are. To me it's funny, I don't even know what day it is. I look at it as Thursday. You kind of go through your game week, getting prepared for the game, the way you practice, what you emphasize in practice. Today for us is like a Thursday practice when we get a chance to go practice. It's kind of how you mentally go into it.
But it's been perfect.

Q. What do you expect from Adrian Peterson?
COACH STOOPS: A great day. He's a great competitor, a guy that loves to play. He's very anxious to play. He's fresh. Looks good. He's been getting a lot of great work the last couple of weeks. We're anxious to get him out there and play, see him play like we're so used to watching him.

Q. Of all the teams you've coached, this has been an interesting year in terms of the just having to overcome so much. Can you philosophize on that?
COACH STOOPS: It's kind of hard to explain it all, all that's happened through the year. Really overcoming injuries was the biggest factor.
I would say that the players never made an excuse. Our expectations of the way we were to play never changed. They fought through a lot. Like you said, it's been one of the more special ones for sure for me because of the attitude of the players, their willingness to work, the opportunity for some young guys that haven't had the chance to maybe play a lot to step in in starting roles, play in a really great way.
When you see that all happening as a even company, it's really fun. I don't think any of us really looked at it as adversity. We just looked at it as, All right, here are opportunities for some other guys, let's go make it happen. We were fortunate that we did.

Q. With all the situations, Oregon deal, Peterson, did that bring your team closer together?
COACH STOOPS: I don't know that you have to have that kind of adversity to come together. I felt just naturally this team was together. The way we went through our winter talking to them, the way they went through the summer. So I don't know. I'm not going to sit here and say because of those things it made us better. No, I don't believe that's the case. I believe we just have good, strong-character guys on the team. Though we had some of these issues to deal with, they didn't let it change their expectations.

Q. Seems like the defense has gotten better as the season has gone along. Do you feel like now you're playing your best defensive football?
COACH STOOPS: I don't know about right now. Through the course of the year, we played really good defense. Actually, I think our defensive coaches, we were fairly displeased how we played in the championship game. We felt we could play better. We played well through the year, though. I'm very pleased with how we competed through the year, defensively what we were able to do. So we feel confident, of course, going in.

Q. What are keys defensively with the layoff, getting back into the flow of things against a team like Boise that does a lot of shifting and personnel grouping?
COACH STOOPS: Well, that part of the game doesn't concern you as much because you've had so much time to work all the shifting. Really, the last few games of the year, we're fairly used to seeing that.
I think the fact when you haven't played in a while, you always want to be able to tackle well and be physical and be very disciplined in your assignments. But, you know, the tackling and the speed of the game, when you haven't played in a while, is something you're always, you know, concerned about. Though they're in the same position we are. So in the end, you just got to be able to tackle well.

Q. What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard Boise State was the team you were going to play?
COACH STOOPS: I mean, I think it was being said before we won the Big 12 championship game, so I wasn't really thinking about that. I was thinking about the Big 12 championship game.
Our feeling was, we need to win the Big 12 championship. That's where our focus is at. Whoever we get to play after that, that will be great, because coming here to the Fiesta Bowl is special, being Big 12 champs is special. Playing an undefeated, really good football team is, as well.
We recognize it as another challenge in our season. We need to finish it.

Q. Do you associate anything in particular with them?
COACH STOOPS: No.

Q. Well coached?
COACH STOOPS: I've said it all. We have great respect for anyone that's won as much as they have over the course of a great number of years. That's how we look at it.

Q. What about last night in watching Texas Tech? Did your guys stay for the entire ballgame?
COACH STOOPS: No, we left. And not because we didn't think they could win, but to get out of there, get home, not fight traffic. We listened to it on the bus on the way home. Just excited for them.
Of course, we have to all have great feelings for Mike Leach here, what he did for us. He's still a good friend. Then being in the Big 12 Conference, you like to see that.
None of us were really surprised that they could come back like they did because we've all seen them plenty of times do it. With their style of offense, it just happened for them. Excited for them.

Q. Were the guys excited, though? Were they paying attention?
COACH STOOPS: I wasn't with them at that point. We only had about 25 guys or so go to the game. A lot of them, they just like to sit at home, resting, watching the game, doing what they like to do.

End of FastScripts

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