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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: CONNECTICUT v OKLAHOMA

December 31, 2010

Bob Stoops

GLENDALE, ARIZONA

THE MODERATOR: I would like to introduce the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, Bob Stoops.
COACH STOOPS: Tony, thank you. We're just as a team and a program excited to be here in the Fiesta Bowl, playing an excellent University of Connecticut team that's coming off a good roll and winning the Big East championship, five straight wins. Really playing well.
So it is a big challenge; an exciting one, though. Our team has really prepared well through the week. The accommodations here have been fabulous between hotel to practice site to everything that we've done has just been first-class. Our thanks to everybody involved with the Fiesta Bowl. It has been a great stay.
And I'm really pleased with the way our practices and meetings have gone. I feel like our players have really been focused, have had a lot of energy and are looking forward to the challenge of the game and are anxious for it.
With that all being said, we will open it up for questions.

Q. In light of what happened with Kansas State yesterday with the celebration penalty, are you going to talk to your guys any more about what you can do, what you can't do, what you should do, what you shouldn't do? And how do you feel about the enforcement of that penalty? That guy got it; some guys later in the night doing far worse didn't get penalties. Your thoughts?
COACH STOOPS: Absolutely it will be addressed. It is quite often addressed. It is something I address before our Big 12 championship game as well. It will be addressed before this game. Sometimes what's to be understood -- as you are asking about the enforcement of it, it's not for me to say. But what I do know is what our players -- what's explained to them is it is a judgment call. Everybody's judgment is different.
So if you open the door for it to be called, then don't be -- if it is called, don't be saying "All I did was this." You opened the door, gave them the opportunity, and everybody's judgment's different. So don't go there. And hopefully our players will abide by the rules.

Q. There has been a lot of talk about UConn and their quick ascent as a program to this particular game. But it seems like there's just as much pressure or there's just as much of a work ethic that you have to get to to try to maintain the excellence of program that you're involved with at the University of Oklahoma. Could you talk about the pressures and the things that go with trying to be -- remain one of the elite programs in college football?
COACH STOOPS: Well, it is difficult to do. You know, the ascent is difficult. We had to reascend and then to stay up there and continually compete for your conference championship and being in these type of games, it is not easily to do. Obviously when you look at the number of teams that haven't done it, it's hard.
But it is exciting. It is a challenge that you face every year, and it is one -- it is some of the goals that you put out in front of your team. And it gives the players something to constantly chase. Each and every year is a new journey, and you got to do it again.
It is exciting work to go after them.

Q. Can you talk about the development of Landry Jones, especially in the last couple of games coming back in two very pressure-packed situations against OSU and Nebraska. Have you noticed his development, his maturity step up even more over the last few games?
COACH STOOPS: Yes, that's fair to say. But it is also natural for a guy that's only his second year on the field. He is growing. He is maturing. He is gaining experience all the time, and he is benefitting from it. He's a talented individual. He's very bright.
So it is natural that the more he plays, the more he's going to succeed in those situations. And he sure did down the stretch for us. Our last three games away from home, he really played well and had big games. Hopefully he will continue that.

Q. Are you a little bit surprised and disappointed how poorly the Big 12 has done this Bowl season so far?
COACH STOOPS: Well, I don't get to see many of the games. I see bits and pieces here or there. So, for me, I don't have much of a comment on that.
I've got a team to worry about and our program. We'll let the commissioner and some other people visit about that.

Q. All teams have to deal with the long layoff at the end of regular season and Bowl games. Have your practices been more physical, less physical than years past? How have you addressed that?
COACH STOOPS: Well, we've had our physical work at different stages. Some of it back at home before we left. Some of it here. So it's been -- it's been similar to what we've done before. I think some games where we played later in January, we had a little more physical work in some scrimmages and whatnot where we didn't have this time. We didn't feel we had the time to do it or the spacing, the number of days away from it to do it.
So each situation is different.

Q. Can you talk about your matchup between their running game and your rush defense and the health of your ball club.
COACH STOOPS: That's a big -- will be a major factor in the game. They are a very physical, excellent running football team. Jordan Todman is a great back and very physical, strong in how he runs. But they're very creative in all the different ways they create scenes and create the run game.
It will take a lot of discipline by our defensive guys to be in position, you know, to -- you have to be physical to get off blocks, physical tackling and hopefully handle the run game. That will be a big factor. I feel we match up well. But you got to go out and do it when you have the opportunity. So that will be a big challenge.
Health-wise, we're in good shape. No different other than Roy Finch that we've talked about. Everybody else is set to go that was in our Big 12 championship game.

Q. They don't traditionally every game face a passing attack, especially a tempo that Oklahoma can present on the field. Could you talk about that matchup and how your up-tempo has really helped your offense throughout the season.
COACH STOOPS: Well, I always believe that -- I think the tempo, too much is made of it; meaning execution is what I think has helped us be successful more so than the tempo.
If you are tempoing and still not executing very well or having penalties or not protecting the quarterback, you know, all these, you are still not going to be successful. I think execution is still the reason we've had some success.
But whether it does or doesn't, I'm sure Connecticut has seen some other teams that have no huddled and all that. They are very disciplined in how they play.
So you still have to protect. You still have to beat coverage. You still have to throw the ball where they can catch it, where our guys can catch it. So it still gets down to that.
And, again, Connecticut has been very disciplined in their structure and very solid and good in how they play their defense.

Q. I'm told a Pac-10 crew is going to call this game. Does that get you fired up?
COACH STOOPS: I thought of that a little bit (smiling). I'm sure they will do a good job. I haven't -- I'm sure the guys that did the Oregon game a few years ago probably aren't there. Just guessing. I haven't looked. You guys can research it.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the couple guys you have who have played in this game before and how much of a calming presence or leadership they have provided to the younger guys that haven't been here.
COACH STOOPS: The seniors we have have been great leaders all year. And we've been in some big games through the year. We've got -- we're one of those teams that has a lot of rivals. Some teams have one rivalry games a year, and we had three this year. And then the Big 12 championship game.
So this game is another one of those games. And our guys have handled it through the year other times, so I don't know that it's -- that the young guys will need -- our young guys have been very mature in how they've handled these situations. And I don't mean to take away that our older guys haven't been really good leaders, they have. But I think it will be very similar in what we have done in some other big games through the year. And hopefully we will come out and be prepared to play.

Q. How happy does it make you to see how Cameron Kenney has developed over the year? He had some struggles early on but has stepped it up in the last few games heading into the Bowl game.
COACH STOOPS: He has been a huge factor, because you look at the last two, three games, he's made some great plays on third downs when we really needed them and big plays, so -- against some good defenders.
So Cameron has really come on, been a major spark. He has been credited in our house as one of the players of the game and how he has played the last few games because of the big plays he has made in clutch situations. So it has been a big help.

Q. This week, even before you guys came here, you were very upfront about the five-game Bowl losing streak, BCS Bowl losing streak and all that kind of stuff. How much have you talked to your team about it this week in workouts and how glad will you be if you get the win to get that behind you?
COACH STOOPS: Well, technically, it's -- I brought this up the other day. It's 0-3 in national championship games and 0-2 in BCS games, so if you want to be technical about it.
But in the end, it's brought up. Our players are aware of it. But each year is a different game, a different team. So our players understand it, but they also know this is this year's team and we haven't finished yet. This is part of the process of this year. And we've answered a lot of other questions through the year, and this is another big step.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us.

End of FastScripts

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