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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: STANFORD v OKLAHOMA STATEDecember 28, 2011Pep HamiltonGLENDALE, ARIZONA Q. I'm just wondering, can you narrow it down, what are a few keys to the offensive success? COACH HAMILTON: Well, for us of course we have to control the line of scrimmage. But at the same time, we have to be patient with our run game. They have an offense that can score a lot of points, a lot like Oregon. I'm not sure that we're built for shootouts, should I say. But we are just going to be patient with the running game and continue to work to be efficient on third down and, of course, make sure that if we are in the red zone, we finish it. We have to finish our drives for touchdowns. Q. Do you feel like you have been as successful as you would like running the ball? COACH HAMILTON: Well, I think overall, especially looking back to 2010 season, we haven't started out as fast as what I would have liked. Last year we were a lot more productive early in ball games, in the first quarter. Consistently throughout this season, we haven't finished productively in games. And a big part of it is making sure that we stay with our formula of making‑‑ keeping the third‑down situations more manageable. That comes as a result of us being able to run the ball successfully on first and second down. We have been efficient running the ball throughout the season. Q. You have been in second and 4, third and 1 rather than longs? COACH HAMILTON: It is always our goal to gain at least four yards on first and second down. Our third‑down situations are a lot more manageable. Q. What is it in particular about Oklahoma State's defense that will challenge you guys the most? COACH HAMILTON: I think they are very athletic. Overall, they have really good team speed. They have done a really good job of taking the ball away from their opponents. I think they had 42 turnovers. We regard ourselves by not beating ourselves. We have to be smart in football and just be sure to execute the ball. Q. You talk about having a good start. People think the game will be high scoring. How important is it to get points on your opening drive and get touchdowns right off the bat? COACH HAMILTON: It is our goal to score touchdowns every time we touch the ball. But obviously if we can get started, that puts a lot more pressure to be more aggressive both defensively and offensively. We are looking forward to have an opportunity to go out and execute on the big stage and score a lot of points. Q. How much extra dimension does Zach add to your game? COACH HAMILTON: It will make a big difference for us to have the ability to be multiple in that personnel group. Is having Zach available as well as Coby and having all three guys available, gives us a multiple dimension package, the ability to line up the power run formations with the same personnel group and in the red zone. Most guys, they have matchup problems with their opponents. We hope to continue to have success using those guys. Q. Do you emphasize run defense first? Do you try to force takeaways as an essential part of the game? COACH HAMILTON: It will be interesting to see what their approach is. It has been hard for us as an offense staff to find evidence of how they are going to play us, how they are going to line up to our multiple offense, linemen group. We will look to see what their plan is early in the game and make our adjustments accordingly. Q. You guys scored all but one possession in the red zone. Have you been a successful red zone even with those stats as you would have liked? COACH HAMILTON: Of course not. We have only been able to score touchdowns on 80 percent of our red zone drives. When you go back to look at the film each week after playing the game, we were really close to have an opportunity to score touchdowns on all of our drives. That's our ultimate goal. Once again, the execution that we have in the red zone has been tremendous and our tight ends, they create matchup problems, or they have so far for our opponents. So we hope to have that continued success. Q. Any wrinkle that you might have in store? COACH HAMILTON: We plan on running the power play a few times. Q. You are going to shock them? COACH HAMILTON: We are going to shock them with the power play. Q. Oklahoma State hasn't seen your style of offense. Do you think that's a advantage for you guys? COACH HAMILTON: I don't know if it is an advantage. For us as an offensive staff, it has been tough for us to gather evidence of how they are going to play us or how are they going to line up with our personnel group. But at the same time, they have really been productive offensively themselves, and they have given the defense an opportunity to play from ahead quite a bit. They have been really aggressive with their schemes when they have gotten up on teams. It will be interesting to see what their strategy is for us and how they are going to line up to some of our big personnel groupings. Q. When they look at your defense, what sticks out most to you? What sticks out? COACH HAMILTON: Well, I roll over in the middle of the night just thinking about the 42 takeaways that they've had. And they are really good defense. They have really good speed defensively. The secondary does a great job of getting their hands on the ball. We have to be smart, secure the football and make sure that we don't turn the ball over. Q. That's something you guys have done well all season. You haven't had many turnovers? COACH HAMILTON: Right, we've had 15 turnovers over the course of the season. But, still, you can never take it for granted. The fact that they had 42 turnovers, maybe interceptions‑‑ Q. I think it is 23. COACH HAMILTON: 23 interceptions, that's outstanding. But we feel good about our quarterback being a good decision‑maker, being smart with the football. Q. (Indiscernible). COACH HAMILTON: They mean a lot to our overall strategy, just because of the matchup issues that they present. It is great to know that all three guys are going to be available and all three guys are helping. They played a big part in our red zone success. But at the same time, they diversify the ability to be multiple in our formations with one personnel grouping. So I'm really excited to have those guys back. Q. Coby seems to be fast. Can you just talk a little bit about him and how he is getting with the other two? COACH HAMILTON: Coby is the third or fourth fastest guy on our team, all positions included. As you can see, it is 6'5", 250 pounds.  He has been a tough matchup for linebackers and safeties. At the same time, it all starts with our ability to run the football. We are methodical in our approach and like I said before, we have to be patient with our running game and we hope that if we are successful running the football, it is going to force them to make the adjustment with their secondary and bring their safeties closer to the line of scrimmage. In time that will give Coby the ability to release at the line and get down field on safeties and linebackers. Q. We didn't know he was that fast. COACH HAMILTON: He came in as a wide receiver. He eventually grew into that 250‑pound frame of his. But his straight line speed‑‑ I was at Chicago Bears when we drafted Greg Olsen in the first round and coming out of college, at the University of Miami, Greg Olsen, 250 pounds. And I was also at the San Francisco 49ers when we drafted Davis with the sixth pick overall. Vernon is a 4‑3 guy. But I think Coby is a combination in a lot of ways of both of those guys. He is probably a little bit block than Greg, not quite as fast. He has the straight‑line speed that Vernon Davis has. He has been very productive in our play‑action passing game and we hope to have continued success running the football. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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