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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL

January 1, 2008

Bill Stewart

GLENDALE, ARIZONA

COACH STEWART: Thank you, Shawn. It is great to see my good friend Bobby Stoops and had some nice photos with Bob. Bob is a veteran at that, but I am just learning. It is good to be up here with Bobby Stoops, all you good people. I see the West Virginia media. It is a joy to be out here with you all representing the great Mountain State.
It has been a fun time in the Valley of the Sun. Your hospitality has been absolutely outstanding. Our players, our staff, our entire travel party, our families, most importantly our brides and children have had a wonderful time out here in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is kind of a homecoming for me, having been here before, on the staff at Arizona State and it is great to be back.
We have had some pretty good practices, and I believe at this time we are ready to play a football game. We will let it go at that. Questions, please?

Q. I'm from Oklahoma. I want to qualify that because I don't want to upset you in any way. Do you feel like -- you go out and have a great game and beat Oklahoma, do you feel you should be considered the next permanent coach for West Virginia?
COACH STEWART: I think that will be handled in a great manner. My superiors, I'm very confident with the administration will pick the finest football candidate they can for the program at West Virginia University, no matter the outcome of this game, good, bad, indifferent for us. At this point on, I would just like to discuss the football game, but I do thank you for your question. Thank you, sir.

Q. Coach, has there been any particular challenges for you in your situation you just got thrust upon you? And you can talk about the challenges you've had and what you have enjoyed about the new position so far?
COACH STEWART: It wasn't thrust upon me, but I have enjoyed very much working in this role, but what coach wouldn't embellish that opportunity?
We have a tremendous staff. I said it for about two-and-a-half weeks, we have the greatest group of professional men working at the state flagship university in West Virginia right now that could possibly be there.
These guys -- I'm just one of the gang. These guys have done a tremendous job. We've all taken on a role that we're preparing our football team for a very formidable opponent in the University of Oklahoma.
It has been nothing out of the ordinary. I have had a few more speaking engagements. I've gotten to meet a lot of nice people. I am the same guy that will ride in a taxicab. I don't need a limo; I am not going to change a bit. I am just a ball coach out here with a group of ball coaches with a tremendous football team that have been on a mission and we have a mind-set, and that's all we have been thinking about.
It has truly not been any stress, distractions, what have you. It has truly not been that way. We keep hearing that from others that maybe want it to be that way. Our stress and attention has been on those great athletes at Oklahoma and that fine coaching staff under Bobby Stoops. So that's as honest as I can be. That's Cub and Boy Scout honor. That's as honest as I can be.

Q. Yeah, Bill, Oklahoma this year and in the past historically has been very good against the run, little susceptible against the pass. You guys like to run. How will that play into your strategy or what you guys like to do?
COACH STEWART: That has been very much talked about by our staff and our players. We are going to do -- when you play a team like Oklahoma, who has won 11 games out of the seven of the last nine years, this is a great opportunity for us. Our biggest concern truly is how the Mountaineers take care of themselves. If we turn the ball over like we did six times in one of our losses this year, then we can't beat anybody. We really can't. That opponent has something to do with those turnovers. They knocked the ball loose.
If we don't block and tackle and run our basic offense, that's what we have -- we are who we are, and that's what we are going to try to do.
Now, that being said, if someone loads a box on us, we may have to throw a wrinkle back at them. But we're going to do what we do, and that's run the football, play sound defense, be as solid as we can, especially in teams. From that moment on, just try to take care of our business.
If we get any opponent -- certainly an opponent like Oklahoma -- when you get faced with something that -- because Tennessee is our -- very big in football. People do what usually in crunch time they do best, what they have done the most of, yet there is a wrinkle they can throw at you.
We will stick to our base plan. We will add here to what we do. If we come up with something we think we can exploit, we will try it. If not, we will keep doing what we do and that's move the ball around a little bit. If running game is what does it, then that's what we will stick with.

Q. Bill, everybody talks about your offense and how good it is. But if you talk to the Oklahoma coaches, they have talked up your defense and talked about how aggressive it is and how well you get to the quarterback. Can you talk about your defense a little bit and your philosophy of putting pressure on the quarterback?
COACH STEWART: Yes, I can. Thank you for putting that up. You have been talking to Kevin Wilson. I trained him well, didn't I? (Laughter.)
There is a mystique at West Virginia that we are an offensive juggernaut. That's very nice. That's very complimentary because we have done some very, very good things offensively. Heck, I think we have had a tremendous year in our special teams, particularly from about game 4 on. We're pretty special in that. But our main -- what I really think what has held this football team together this year, without a doubt, unquestionably without a doubt, has been our defense.
Our defense does not get enough credit because those lads are pretty good over there. We have tremendous defensive coaches. Maybe you haven't heard of them, but back home from where I'm from, they are pretty well thought of. These guys do a tremendous job. Our players rally around them. We do attack the ball. We don't set and catch. We will pitch forward, come downhill and attack.
And we're multiple. It is a great scheme, and our coaching staff just did a tremendous job. And our defense has not gotten nearly enough credit, and that's just -- how we get labeled like that, I don't know. It has been a total team effort.
Thank you, sir, for bringing that up for our defense. They have carried us. They have carried us in many, many games this year and have been a big reason why offensively we can do the things we do.
You call a game plan -- I know you all know this. I'm not preaching to the choir. You call an offense based upon what your defense can do. Now, some guys -- not many of those guys hang around long, these razzle-dazzle and whatever innovative guys that wing it. There's some in all phases of the game.
You better call the game plan offensively in accordance with how good your defense is. If your defense can hold people, stop people, create multiple problems for the opponent's offense, you can be a little more free-wheeling.
If your defense is young, maybe they struggle against the pass a little bit or the run, then you have to call the plan where you control the clock, you don't take as many chances. We have been able, at West Virginia University, to take some chances to live on the edge a little bit offensively because of our outstanding defense.
Thank you, sir. I hope our defensive kids get to hear that.

Q. Coach, again from Oklahoma media, thank you for your open issues, being so candid and treating us so well at practice. We appreciate that.
COACH STEWART: Thank you.

Q. Can I get your comment on the challenge but also the opportunity of playing a team with a national reputation of seven national championships like Oklahoma?
COACH STEWART: It is a great opportunity. I'm glad we're here. Our players are glad they're here. And this staff at West Virginia is looking for an opportunity to play such a mighty football powerhouse as Oklahoma.
As I indicated earlier, when you win -- I mean, Bobby Stoops and his staff, gee whiz, Kevin Wilson and all the guys, these guys have done a tremendous job with a great traditional football power. But to have won 11 games in seven of the last nine years against that competition that y'all play, that is outstanding. That is really a wonderful opportunity for our team to then see how we stack up. We have done some pretty good things football-wise at West Virginia. We have a tremendous legacy and a tremendous history, as well.
It should match up to be a great game. It really should. I hope it is. I hope it goes right to the wire and I hope everyone is sitting on the edge of their seat and let the best team win at the end. I hope. I hope it is a tremendous game, because we sure want it to be. We want to get out there and show America that we're not a bad football team, either, but we know what we're up against. We know who we're playing and we have -- they have our respect and utmost admiration.

Q. Talk about the challenges of moving your team past, one, the loss at the end of year that kept you from playing the national championship possibly and then losing Rich Rodriguez. What did you do and has it worked to move past that?
COACH STEWART: The first question, boy, that was a tough loss. You have to give credit to the men in the arena. The University of Pittsburgh got after us pretty good. They had a tremendous game plan. We just didn't finish. We couldn't finish drives. Why didn't we? Because those guys there in that other helmet and jersey were doing a pretty good job. I give the University of Pittsburgh all the credit in the world. That was a bad taste in our mouth. We don't think we played our best.
Again, they had a tremendous game plan. So we set out to prove -- maybe we're a little bit better than how we showed in the last game because we never ever want to knock our big rival. University of Pittsburgh outplayed us, outcoached us. I am right at the top of the list. They did a great job. So we learn. Hopefully, we learn.
The second part of your question is one that -- we don't -- we didn't dwell much on anything. We lost -- haven't lost. We're a phone call away, day's drive away from a good friend who did a tremendous job for our state university.
The players, we had 20 minutes after the announcement that Coach told the team and the staff, and I stepped up to the podium and said, men, we need to get to work. Let's go to practice. Many of the reporters were there that day. We had a fine practice.
Young people are resilient. I have said this over and over. Young people are very resilient. Maybe it is a faster generation, whatever. We didn't have time to sulk, and they wouldn't sulk. They wished Coach Rodriguez happiness. They shook his hand, many, when he went out the door. We had two or three practices, he came back, cleaning out his office. I told some of the lads, Coach is up there, why don't you go up and shake his hand and walk out after practice?
That's it. It has not been the loss of life. It has not been a tragic situation. It has been life-altering for some. You can grow from this or not grow.
I am very proud of the way our young men have grown from it. They respect him. They wish him the best. I wish him the best. We wish him the best. And then we had to go on about our business, so they've practiced very hard.
I am usually pretty good at seeing through things, have a good feel, good pulse. Been doing this a long time. And I've seen genuine hard effort, straining, enthusiasm in practice. Basically, we owe it again to the staff, my guys I have been with the last seven years, some of the best friends I have ever had, have stepped up, jawed their jaws, bowed their back, this staff has led them, these people have followed. The young men have followed.
And then I give credit to the Apostles. We have an elite group of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. They are called the Apostles, and they are elected by their peers of each class. But the seniors in our Apostles have stepped up and taken this football team and marched forward. So thank you for that question.

Q. Coach, obviously any BCS game is a big game for your team. But considering everything that's happened to your team in the last month, for you personally, is it a little bit more important maybe this time around to make sure your seniors and this team goes out for a win?
COACH STEWART: For our seniors, we always want to win, always. For our juniors, our sophomores and our freshmen, as well. For me, no. I don't worry about Bill Stewart. You can believe that or not. My home boys are over here; they'll know what I am talking about.
It is not about coaching. It is not about -- it is about players. It is about men in the arena. Our players, again, had a tough taste, a sour taste in their mouth after our last football game.
That being said, we've got one more chance of stepping up to the plate and take the bat off our shoulder and take our cuts. That's all we are allowed in this life. You get so many opportunities. This is the final game of the 2007 season -- even though we are in '08 right now. It starts the bridge for next year. This is the final, defining moment.
We want to go out for our seniors, most importantly. Like any team, we want to win and have a good time. We have not approached -- we have not put any pressure. There are not going to be any new speeches. We have looked them dead in the eye, talked to them like men, told them what we need to do.
These guys are sharp, young men. They know what's out there and they know it is a wonderful opportunity to show the nation -- I guess, we're the only show in town tonight and that's great. I hope every T.V. set in the country is on because that's what it is all about.
And the Fiesta Bowl, it just doesn't get any better than playing what we think is the No. 1 football team in the country. I don't care about polls. Polls don't matter to me. Polls don't matter to us. We know what we will be faced with when we go on that field tomorrow night and play the University of Oklahoma.
This is good. It is good for our seniors and the entire squad.

Q. Coach, you guys have I believe given up at least 30 points in your last five Bowl games. This year you have, I think, the seventh best scoring defense in the country. How does that affect your offense? Does it loosen up your offense knowing you don't have to score 50 points to win a game and how does it affect your play calling?
COACH STEWART: Earlier, as I indicated, you call the plays basically in accordance, I always have, with how good your defense is. We're not going to go out there and just spin it down and select a play and go, go, go and spin it down, go off of something we grab at.
We have calculated, not risk-taking. Some people say take a chance, take a chance. Taking a chance is buying a lottery ticket.
We have calculated risk. That means we have plays that we think will work with our scheme, our talent against what the opponent does. Again, I go back to saying, if we control our sides of the ball in all three phases, offensively, if we don't put the ball on the ground, defensively, we don't give up a blown assignment, special teams, if we don't make a silly block in the back, we have a chance to play almost anybody in the country. I'm aware of what our defense has done in the past. Again, I will say this year, it's time they've got some attention and some credibility because these young men have kept us in many, many games.
The last couple Bowls were high-scoring. When you play people like we played in Bowls, those guys are going to score some points on you. And we were just lucky that we scored a few more than they did. The last one was 38-35, if I am not mistaken, the last two Bowl games? And I have to ask my guys from back home. If we win by one, seriously, if we can win by one, that's a win.
And that's what it is all about. I have been in locker rooms before with guys early in my career that they were sour because they didn't have enough yardage at their position or they didn't have enough catches. It is a family. If we win that football game, if we are fortunate, that's a W. That's what it is all about. A win is a win is a win. You can't ever forget that. A win is a win is a win. 20 points, 1 point, however you win, it is a win.

Q. Patrick White has gotten a lot of attention, and deservedly so. What are your thoughts of Oklahoma's starter, Sam Bradford, at quarterback?
COACH STEWART: Patrick is not a showboat. Patrick is not a guy that goes out seeking that attention. He is a quiet lad. He is a good guy. I'm sure Sammy Bradford is the same way.
Again, Kevin Wilson and I talked throughout the season. We've shared with Oklahoma in the past. We were out at your fine facility a couple years ago, stayed out there and had a wonderful four-day trip.
This is like playing your brother, so to speak. So we don't know each other inside out but we know each other pretty good. And this Bradford lad, Sammy, he is special. When you throw 34 touchdowns with seven picks, that's really good. I mean, that's remarkable.
Their wideouts are absolutely outstanding, three of the best tight ends I have ever seen in one team, the running backs. He just gets the ball to the right people. So that's really good. And I know how he is coached. He has a tremendous quarterback coach who was a heck of a player himself. I know Kevin Wilson very, very well. I know these guys, James Patton, very well and I know what they ask him to do and he does it well.
What also helps him, I believe, is the defense and what also helps that is they fumbled the ball 16 times this year in 13 games and only had 11 losses, I believe. I think they fumbled 16 times, lost 11 and 5 they got back. That's pretty -- that's pretty solid on offense.
And that little quarterback is a dandy. He is a player and he is going to be real special. He is going to be one heck of a challenge for our defense.

Q. Coach, I just wanted to ask you how much, if you can -- describe how much it would mean to you, your team, the West Virginia fans to bring home that trophy to the Mountain State. How much would that mean to you after everything you have been through?
COACH STEWART: Any time you win a game, it is special. Our folks love it. We are a passionate state. We have 1.8 million people with no pro football team and a lot of passion. We have a lot of -- our young people are almost icons in the state, and they are, really.
And that's good. Sometimes they get a little frustrated maybe after a game. They can't hardly get to their cars. And I said, enjoy it because some day you'll wish you were getting your back slapped 20 years from now, so enjoy it. Enjoy it, be humble and walk proudly and treat people right.
We think this win -- any win -- would be very beneficial to our program because it will bridge the long winter months, help us in recruiting, get us through our off-season and help us with spring practice and kind of catapult us into the 2008 season.
With ten wins, we should be pretty well thought of by now, I hope we are. Win, lose, or draw we think with the nice acclaim we've gotten from all the press and the people and the way we've played, that we have an outstanding program that young people would like to look at.
Winning this game would be very, very big and very beneficial, number one, in recruiting, and number two for our players to bridge the gap between the 2007-2008 season. I think that would be a heck of a boosting arm for us. And most importantly, for the greatest people in the Mountain State, this would be really special, because again, I think we didn't play our best game the last football time we were out.
And, again, I told you that earlier about that situation. But, you know, we would like to finish on top, as anyone would, and we would like to go out with a good taste in our mouth against such a formidable, great football program.

Q. I'm no Pat McAfee, but I will try this question-asking thing. I was wondering what your team did at midnight to ring in the new year, and if you guys are going to plan on watching any games today?
COACH STEWART: Our bed check was at 11:00, and I hope they were asleep like their coach was. I was out. I don't mind that; I was out.
I did see the ball drop at 10 o'clock. That was on East Coast time. But our bed check was 11:00. Mountaineer football players do not go in the streets after 2300 hours on Thursday night. You are saying this guy has lost his mind. It is Sunday night. No, it is Thursday night because that's Mountaineer football. 2300 hours on Thursday night, because today is Friday, tomorrow is Saturday. That's how we approached this thing. Our players were sleeping with sugar plums dancing in their head. If they weren't, they will get Coach Stoops' foot up their fanny tomorrow when I hear about it.
Can I share on that just a minute? I hope I am not boring you all out there. They told me to be very, very formal. That's tough for old Bill Stewart. These guys from back home, that's tough for me. (Smiling.)
We've had -- we've had tremendous leadership and our bed checks -- although I haven't heard from last night's report -- has been outstanding, outstanding (knocking on wood). I can only thank our football team. We've not had one iota. It has been great.
That's special. That's very, very special. I'm very proud of that. So without a doubt, without even asking the bed-check guys, I know that they were in doing the right thing. I know that.
Tonight I take curfew, the rest of the staff takes curfew, because that's what we do on Friday night at Lakeview. That's a resort, for those in Oklahoma. You ought to come out and try your golf game, because I bet our media can kick your media all over the course. I know they can. I have seen some of these guys play. I don't know about you guys. You got that wide open out there. Not where we're from. Not Lakeview. Friday night at Lakeview, we bed-check them. We have a ritual we do. Tonight we will do the exact same thing. We will do our Fellowship with Christian Athletes, and we will do dinner and we meet a little bit, and from 7:00 to 9:00 they are in their rooms watching games or a movie.
And then at 9:00 we have our team meeting. We lock it down. We lock it down. And that's when myself and all the varsity coaches do bed-check. So I know where they were last night. I know where they will be tonight.

Q. Coach, you guys have mentioned a couple times during the course of the week that you think Oklahoma is the No. 1 team in the country. What is it that makes you think that they're the No. 1 team in the country? Because of that, a win, do you think you have an argument for being No. 1 if you win on Wednesday?
COACH STEWART: I watch film. Our players have watched film, and that's why we think they are the best. And they stumbled like we did. They stumbled like we did and they had Sammy got dinged up a little bit, even though he did play very, very well.
No, I think they are the -- they are the team. They are the team. And we set our standards wanting to beat the best. We've not pounded that in our young men's head. Our men look at film like our coaches look at film.
Are you from Oklahoma, sir? You have seen them play. They're special. They've got it all. They don't turn the ball over. They run the ball. They throw the ball. Defensively, they are a big, fast, strong run in the ball. They are ranked in every category. Their kick-off team is No. 1 in the country.
I can go on and on. It sounds like I am blowing smoke, and I don't want to do that because Bobby Stoops is my dear friend. They believe they have a good football team and they are the best in the country and we are excited about playing them. That's how we've approached it.

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