(Opening Remarks) "It seems like yesterday we wrapped up in Tucson (Arizona) with West Virginia, but here we are again. I think that this is a very important week for us in terms of preparation. We are seeing a team (Alabama-Birmingham) that has a tremendous amount of talent, a tremendous amount of unknowns. That is scary when you look at them on tape and all of the people they have coming back on offense. The best thing we can do is prepare ourselves. We can?t sit around and worry about them. We have to be as prepared as we can be and be ready for the unknown. We have to be ready to adjust to every phase of our (game). It is very likely that we will see a lot of things that we didn?t have a chance to work on. We?ve really got our work cut out for us. Fortunately, I think our team is fairly healthy. I think we came out of the scrimmage last week very good. I think it?s highly important to have excellent preparation this week and be ready to run-and-gun."

(On season openers) "I think that the first game of the season is the most important game of the year. It may sound silly, but I really do believe that. Having success in that first game sets the tempo and gets you off to a good start. It gives your team confidence early. You can build off of that. Your own team has a lot of unknowns. I believe that it takes the first two or three games of the season to really get the total personality of your team. But it has to start sometime, so it starts with the first game."

"The other team comes in with an 0-0 record, too. They?ve been working hard too and come in with an extreme amount of confidence. Everybody comes into the game very optimistic. There aren?t any tendencies built up, so it comes down to the fact that both teams have a pretty equal chance to win. It?s the time of year where teams will make most of the mistakes that they are going to make on both sides of the ball. It really comes down to who can overcome their mistakes and play the most consistent football."

(On Senior Tailback DeVaughn Black) "He sure hasn?t (had an easy time getting onto the football field at Missouri). I thought as (last season) progressed, he got better and better and made significant contributions . This year he was able to make his grade point average climb and worked his way up to where he was the No. 1 tailback coming out of the spring drills. We were able to put him on scholarship, so this is kind of a ?cap? year for him. DeVaughn is very quite, very unassuming. He just works and has had a tremendous amount of obstacles to get where he is right now. It was all him. He had to do it himself."

(On learning how to win) "Learning how to win is a lot of things?knowing what kind of sacrifices you have to make in the off season, knowing how to prepare to win. Not everybody knows how to prepare to win. The game part is easy. You can slop through practice all week and go out and the game is going to be fun for you. So it is a matter of putting the two together?a matter of sacrifice, dedication, and hard work. When you go out to play (games), you have to find ways to win and not when it gets down to crunch time to find ways to lose. The latter is what was happening here before (at the beginning of Smith?s MU career). Now I think the system is implanted. Our upperclassmen know what it takes. They, in turn, help those younger guys. A lot of (the younger guys) come from winning programs and know what it takes to win, but on this level there is another thing to have to learn."

(On Missouri?s two quarterback situation) "I don?t think I?m any more worried about (mistakes) with two quarterbacks then someone would be with one quarterback. It comes down to the fact that we have a veteran center (Rob Riti) and they (Jim Dougherty and Kirk Farmer) have both worked with him. We teach the same to both of them. You are going to have fumble exchanges because you have inexperienced people, whether it?s the quarterback, the center or both. Using two of them is not a fear, although early in the year it does bother you because you haven?t been doing as much under fire."

(On which quarterback will start) "It?s really not that big of a thing, whose going to start. Whatever we decide, we won?t wait until Saturday morning. We?ll sit down with (the quarterbacks) Thursday or Friday."

(On Missouri?s tailbacks) "I feel very confident that between the two of them (DeVaughn Black and Zain Gilmore), I don?t think we should have a drop-off (in rushing yards) from last year. We would like to give the ball to the tailback 30-35 times a game. I think that we?ll get our 150-200 yards rushing per game."

(On Missouri?s tight ends) "(Dwayne) Blakley has big hands and is a big target. We have really worked hard to try to get him the ball because he is a threat. The same is true of (Travis) Garvin. He is in that rotation of receivers. There are certain things that he can do that others do not have the ability to do. It?s the case where both of them are part of the system."

(On the possibility of Justin Smith playing at different defensive setups) "You don?t want people to be able to dictate where he is going to line up. We want to have enough flexibility to offset what they have set up. He?s taken a couple of techniques (and perfected them) and has a lot more in his repertory."

(On Redshirt Freshman Cornerback Antoine Duncan?s cartilage tear in his knee) "I think that he is progressing tremendously. He just went off the operating table and into rehab. He has full flexion already. It is unlikely that he will play this week. We expect to have him back and ready to go for the second game."

(On Freshman Cornerback Terrence Curry) "He has been very impressive in preseason practices. He is a very mature football player for his age and is a great cover guy. He just made plays, a guy that we felt gave us a one-two punch (along with Antoine Duncan). He?s also a guy that could play the wide side."

(On Alabama-Birmingham?s offense) "These guys ran every offense known to mankind last year. They run every option. Right now it?s a nightmare trying to figure out what they are going to do. We have had to work on every front that we saw last year just to prepare for this game. You can?t spread yourself so thin that you don?t get anything done. You just have to guess and pray that you are getting the right one. You have to be prepared to adjust. You have to know what to get from the other guys, but also what to get from your own guys. For the first time in a real game, you have a lot of guys on the field together that probably weren?t on the field together last year. You probably have a different chemistry there."

(On his biggest concern about Missouri?s game) "We probably have more inexperience on the field for the first game this year than we have in the past two or three years. You never really can predict how inexperience is going to react in a game situation. I think the fact that we have some inexperience in the offensive line is definitely a concern. We have two freshmen at fullback, that?s a concern. We?re very thin in the offensive line and in the secondary. I would say that those are my biggest concerns right now."

(On preseason polling) "I think preseason polling is strictly a guess. I don?t think there should be any poll at all until about the fourth or fifth game of the season. Then I think you would really know who the top 25 teams are."

(On what Smith is looking for in the first game) "The only thing I am looking for is a win. If it?s beautiful, we?ll take it. If it?s ugly, we?ll take it. If you?ve been in this business as long as I have, a win is a win. The thing I would hope didn?t happen is the cost of the win?if you lose a key or great player. I?m not particular. Just win baby, win."

(On Alabama-Birmingham?s two quarterbacks) "They have two (quarterbacks) that are both accomplished. They both do a heck of a job. They?re going to run (the ball). It doesn?t make any difference how much you run it, if you run it, (the other team) better be prepared for it. If they run it one time and we don?t do a good job, we?re going to see it and have to stop it then."

(On the increased number of football season ticket sales) "I think it?s an achievement of a goal through the effort of a lot of people on this campus and (the athletic) department. I think that those are the people that should be credited for it. I think our players have really excited people. There were a lot of people behind that. Football is alive and happening here in Columbia, Missouri. The big thing now is that we have to keep going. We haven?t arrived, yet. We have just started to scratch the surface."