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BIG 12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMEDecember 5, 2008Gary PinkelKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening comment or two. COACH PINKEL: Certainly excited about being here in Kansas City again, and certainly second year in a row to represent the Big 12 North. Excited about a great opportunity against a great football team in Oklahoma. So I have great respect for Bob Stoops, known him for a long time. He's got a great team. That being said, we're excited about playing them. Q. We heard about Sam Bradford, Offensive Player of the Year, talk about Chase Daniel, what he's meant to you and your program at Mizzou? COACH PINKEL: Well, obviously, Chase has had a great career at Missouri. He's got a few games left. We're excited about that. I think that we all know if you want to be a high-level offensive team, and a high-level program, it's the greatest team sport that there is, but there's one position that you have to excel at, and that's quarterback. Certainly he's had a phenomenal career. I have great respect for him. He's not only a great player in terms of throwing the ball and knowledge of the game and all those things, but he is a winner. He's a great competitor. Winning games is more important to him than any stats. We'll certainly miss him, but that's the great thing about college football, you move on and other people will rise. Q. Other conferences run the spread, like the Big 12, but nobody has the offensive numbers that this conference has. What I'm trying to come up with reasons why the defensive numbers are what they are. Is it because of the spread or are we letting the defense off the hook? COACH PINKEL: Well, I would certainly say it starts with the quarterbacks. The high-level quarterbacks and the numbers that we have. Maybe it will never happen again, I don't know. I certainly hope we always have a great quarterback. That being said, I think it's the quarterbacks. I think it's the spread offenses, the different versions of them in this league. Everybody does it a little bit different. I think the no-huddle. Four or five years ago we were the only team no-huddle in this whole league on a consistent basis, play in and play out. That controls tempo of games. Then you take that and certainly with all the great athletes that we have, a combination of all of those things, it all starts with the quarterback. As I mentioned a moment ago with the numbers of quarterbacks that we have. So I would suggest it's more the offenses, the quarterbacks that we have. Everybody in our league is forming the spread, almost everybody. I don't think why the other conferences, the numbers of offenses. But, you know, time will tell. We will see. We have great athletes on defense in this league. It is unusual, and I was talking to Bob about this before, it is unusual not to see two or three national statistical defensive teams. Generally that's the case. But the last couple of years it's been a little different. Q. After this game the Big 12 game is moving to Dallas for a couple of years. Now that you've been in the game in the north and been in the game in the south last year, can you talk about your thoughts should we have it located in one spot like the SEC does, or what are your thoughts on rotation? COACH PINKEL: At our Big 12 coaches meetings that we had in Colorado Springs in May, we talked about that last year and that came up. And I think they all go back to the Southeastern Conference a little bit in terms of one location. It's kind of thee place that you've got to go to, it's a dome. That was brought up by several coaches. I think we'll definitely revisit it and kind of find out what we think's best, not for any particular school, the north or south, but what would be best for the Big 12. We'll certainly have input as coaches, but the A.D.'s and presidents will make that decision. Q. What is your, Gary Pinkel's, opinion? COACH PINKEL: Why would you not want it in Kansas City? I live in Missouri, so, from my standpoint. You know, but they're not going to ask me specifically. It's going to be obviously, what's best for the league. Q. I know, Coach, this game is already important with so much change coming to the program this year, does that add extra importance to the game? What's that like for you? COACH PINKEL: No, I don't think so. I don't really look at it that way. I look at it as, you know, we've worked hard this year. We'd like to have a couple more wins. At a 5-point loss, 3-point loss, but our goal is to be at this game and compete for a Big 12 championship, and we're there. Q. Your team played in this game last year. A lot of returning guys on this team, how much do they take from experience from that game they played last year to get ready for this one? COACH PINKEL: I'd like to think that we being through it, the whole process, from a maturity standpoint helps you. It certainly -- Kansas City, too. We were here last week, and we played here last year. So I think that adds a little bit, too, to being in a more home type environment. But it still gets down to the kickoff, playing well, and playing your best game. In order to beat this team, that's what you have to do. Q. I know the Chiefs said that the turf last week was really good. What do you feel about how the field was last week? Any concerns this week? COACH PINKEL: I thought the conditions, the field was ready. They got, I think the field will be in shape. But the conditions just got so bad. I don't care what grass field you have with the conditions with the rain and the snow and all that that happened. I'm sure they'll do their best to get it ready for this week. They do as good a job as anybody. Q. Last ten, 12 days, the Oklahoma Texas debate has raged down south. Does that reach up here to any of you or your guys? And can that be in any advantage for you tomorrow? Also, could you let us know how you voted in the coaches' poll? COACH PINKEL: The answer to the second question is no. But the first question, I don't think really got involved at all in what's going on down there. That's normal. That's going to happen. Year to year you can debate those things, and certainly for Texas or Texas Tech, it's kind of a perfect storm down in the south this year. Will it ever happen again? I question that it would ever happen again. But it's just obviously great teams, and two teams are going to be very disappointed. Q. You guys lost Castine in the game last week against Kansas. What adjustments is that going to lead to, and is there any concern facing such an offensive attack that Oklahoma and Sam Bradford bring? COACH PINKEL: Well, Tru Vaughns will play. We've been fortunate, we've only had Chase -- Coffman out of a couple of games. He played 80% last week, expect him to play 80% this week. But those things happen. We're playing obviously an offense that might be playing as good as anybody right now in the nation. If you look at just game after game after game. You know, you just do the best you can to reduce big plays. That's what you do. Obviously you have to score against a team like this. Those are -- that's an obvious answer, but those that don't, don't stay in the game. Q. The feeling around here this week has been your fans have had a hard time getting over the loss this past week. How about your guys and the team? Have they bounced back, do you think? COACH PINKEL: Yeah, I think they're great. We've worked hard, we're excited about it. We've got to move on. If you have the greatest victory you've ever had, it would still be a distraction if you let it go over, you have a tough defeat. They're the same. You get focused. You know, we ran the season 9-3. We had a couple more wins, we didn't. But we're still playing for a championship, and we're excited about that. Q. With all the explosive offenses in this league, what sets Oklahoma's apart? COACH PINKEL: Well, they asked me that a lot. You can just go through all the offense, there are six or seven offenses playing at a remarkable level. In terms of Oklahoma, I think it starts with their offensive line. Their offensive line is very talented, very experienced. The continuity has been there, and then you take Sam Bradford who has put the touchdown-interception ratio is borderline staggering. It almost can't happen the number of times he's thrown the football. Been very impressed with that. They're second in the nation in turnover margin, and that directly, I think you look at Sam. Then they've got great players all around them. So it starts with the offensive line and they're executing. They also have a unique tempo that they run. They're a tempoed offense that really presents a lot of problems for defenses, and they're doing it right now from a tempo standpoint probably as good as anybody in the country. Q. Is it a motivating thing or good, a perfect storm for you guys that you're really being given little chance to win this game by the media and by fans? COACH PINKEL: I think you draw off that a little bit. You want to prove people wrong. We talked about that as a football team, and I think if you're a competitor, as we all are, that that kind of puts a little added intensive without a question. Q. Going back to Jason's question, last year you guys were in the exact same position playing in the Big 12 championship, but you came off a huge win against Kansas. This year, a tough loss to Kansas. Is it more difficult or easier to get over a tough loss and prepare for a game as opposed to last year? COACH PINKEL: I would think it's probably easier just from the standpoint of everything that was involved in that game last year. That was the perfect storm in that match-up. That probably will never happen again. Along with that, the emotion and euphoria that went with that, I thought that was more difficult than this. Just from the perception I have with my team. Q. Earlier this week there were some SEC commentators that made a comment that anybody could score in this league because the defenses aren't very good. What is your reaction to that? COACH PINKEL: That gets back to the question over here that the high-level quarterbacks, the offenses, the tempo, the no huddle, we have bunches of teams doing it at the highest level with the greatest quarterbacks. So I would not agree with that at all. I think we've got some great defensive teams in this league, and great personnel. It's just one of those years. I would suggest that it will not happen to this level for a long time. Q. Your quarterback has had a rough season, I guess. A couple of games anyway. He had a couple of bad games. But I guess a lot of that might be because he's being overlooked by a couple two or three other quarterbacks in this league who had outstanding seasons. Is this an opportunity for him tomorrow on a national stage to kind of, not redeem, that's too hard a word, but, hey, don't forget about me? COACH PINKEL: Yeah, I think you're being a little hard on him. He's a pretty good football player. He's one of the great quarterbacks I've ever been around. You know, when you win a couple of those games and you're sitting here 11-1, that magnifies you a little bit more like he was a year ago. Now some of the other quarterbacks have done that and they're worthy of the honors that they're getting. Interceptions is a little bit up. Still, last week with some of the turnovers we had in the first half, he's still the same guy that drove us down twice to score and also drove us and got us in position to win the game at the end. So I've coached a lot of quarterbacks, and I'd take him the rest of my career forever out of all the great NFL players that I've coached. Q. The revenge factor, obviously Oklahoma, the only team that beat your Tigers last year, Bob Stoops, 6-0 against Missouri. How much of that is a factor, and from the players' standpoint, revenge? COACH PINKEL: I think you're a player, a competitor, you can draw on that at times. We've had to overcome a lot of hurdles here in Missouri, I don't have time to tell you all the things we've had to overcome. This is one here that we haven't yet. And we don't play them year in, year out. Being from the south. We trade on and off with them. But I wouldn't say question about it. Our guys are dialed in this game. They're excited about it. You know what, the beauty of it is you've got to do it, and that is the great thing about college football. Q. The three-way tiebreaker came into effect in the Big 12 this year for the first time. If you were to have to deal with that next year, not that I don't know if the rules will be addressed or changed or looked at or anything like that. But as of right now, what are your thoughts on it? COACH PINKEL: I don't really -- whatever the tiebreaker would have come out with the three-way tie, I don't know that for the other two teams that they would be too happy about it. I don't blame them for that. I still would suggest that we'll probably as coaches and athletic directors, we'll go back and look and kind of revisit what some other people are doing and find out if there is the best of the worst ways. You're not going to make everybody happy, but if you can come out with what we think would be a better way, then I think we'll all look at that and do what's best for the league. Q. No ideas as of this time? COACH PINKEL: No, I've got enough other things to think about besides that (smiling). Q. Looking back on the season, a lot of people say that you can analyze this season in two different seasons, I guess. Before and after the Oklahoma State game. Did looking back at that night, did your team lose something more than just the game that night? COACH PINKEL: I wouldn't agree with that at all. I think it's kind of a real fine line. There are six or seven teams a year that can win 10 or 11 games. It's hard to do. It's really, really hard to do. Last year we were good enough to do it. Last year we were good enough to find a way to win all the games. We had a five-point loss and a three-point loss and that's a really fine line. Last year at this time we were 11th in the nation in turnover, right now we're probably 60th. But that's a huge factor. I'm really proud of our team. You all want to win 10 or 11 games a year, there's no question I want to do that. And I'm responsible for that. We didn't get that done. But we lost to Texas, and then we had four straight wins and lost a close one at the end after we secured the championship. But I'm really proud of our team, and that game, you know, you have to do the right things to win, and we didn't do the right things. Q. Does it frustrate you that a lot of people look at the season as maybe being a disappointment? COACH PINKEL: No, I don't have a problem with that. Those are fans, I don't have a problem with that. Q. You just mentioned how tough it is to win 10 or 11 games in a season. Can you comment on an opposing coach in what you see in Oklahoma and Bob Stoops, they're obviously trying to win their third straight Big 12 title and how tough that would be in this conference? COACH PINKEL: Well, he just does a great job. It's, you know, he's got a great program, obviously. Recruits at a high level. His players play well, consistent, and as I had mentioned in my introduction here and what I mentioned when I first started talking was that I really admire what he's done. He's done a phenomenal job and Oklahoma has always had a great tradition, but he's certainly taken that and taken it probably to a whole new level from a consistency standpoint. Q. If Arrowhead is to continue in the Big 12 rotation, does the conference need to lobby the networks for an afternoon starting time as opposed to an evening? COACH PINKEL: You know what, that's too much information for me. I have no idea where those times go and what have you. I don't know that. You're asking the wrong guy. Q. Jeremy Maclin's health? He practiced all week, and will you use him like you have all year? COACH PINKEL: Yeah, he's fine. He got a little bruised but he's fine. He's practiced well all week. He'll be 100%. Chase Coffman is the one I just don't know. He's battling through a very difficult sprained toe, big toe. You know, he's a phenomenal football player. One of the best I've ever been around. You know, I just hope he's close to 100% as he can be. He's going to play, he's that kind of competitor. Q. Back to Maclin, when you know the teams are really trying to focus in on him, do you have to work that much harder to get him the ball? COACH PINKEL: Well, I think in our offense the beauty of what we do is we can put him anywhere on the field. I think people know that when they play us. We can do all kinds of things with him. So you can't define any spot that he's going to be at. We try to work hard at that. Teams work hard at making sure they know where he is, and know the damage that he can do in certain situations. So I think you certainly give them credit for that. But in our offense we try to get him about where we can. That being said, defenses do a good job and try to contain him. Q. As bad as Oklahoma has been this year on covering kickoffs, do opposing teams go into games really focusing on that, on kickoff returns for that game, or do they say, hey, let's go back there and run it back? COACH PINKEL: Well, I think you're trying to look for any area you might get an edge against a great football team. So, unfortunately, that's probably the only edge you might think you can get. That's why people are going to go that direction. I think a lot of times things happen. For some reason it's happened this year. You take away some of the four touchdown runs, they do. They generally do a pretty good job of covering. I just hope they make a mistake one more time. THE MODERATOR: Best of luck tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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