Oct. 14, 2002
MISSOURI COACH GARY PINKEL
On the difficulty of preparing for a team like Nebraska that runs all the time and then preparing for a team like Texas Tech that passes all the time~ "It's a little difficult. But, that's part of being able to adjust week from week to the different offenses and defenses you are going to play. Certainly, it is an entirely different situation going from throwing the ball 10 times to throwing the ball 50 times a game. That's something we're going to have to adjust to. Our players certainly have a lot of respect for Cliff Kingsbury. Our offensive and certainly our defensive players do. The thing about them as you study them is that they are never out of the game. For some of those people forutnate enough to have a lead going into the fourth quarter, it usually gets evaporated fast."
On Texas Tech quarterback Cliff Kingsbury~ "He's got a lot of patience. He's a coach with a football in his hands. He knows his offensive schemes so well. He knows the opposing teams defensive schemes so well. He can get to all of his wide receivers. He knows, based on a defense, exactly were to turn with the ball, and he does it so quickly. It seems like the ball is gone as soon as it touches his hands. Some quarterbacks do that because of pressure, but he does it because he knows exactly where he wants to put the ball."
On Texas Tech coach Mike Leach's offense~ "Everybody is doing little bits and pieces of it. He has the package that he's had since day one. He's used it, and he's been very successful with it. But, I think more people are using his system now. In my business, you steal everything. You see more people stealing bits and pieces of what he's been doing for years. The difference is that is his package. He believes in it, and he does it to its entiretly."
On Brad Smith's problems against Nebraska~ "He started pressing a little bit. I haven't talked to him yet about it. I'm going to talk to him this afternoon. He got out of rhythm, and our timing was off a little bit. We had some dropped footballs. Its unforutnate that it happened. We broke down a lot in that second half. We had some missed throws. We had some dropped balls, and you don't win that way."
On Darius Outlaw's performance~ He's done a good job. He really has. Would I say that I'm surprised? Yeah, I am. He's pretty natural at it. I am surprised. He's done a great job, and he's getting better and better. He's been a real plus for us. We're certainly pleased. Plus, we've had some injuries at that position.
MISSOURI QUARTERBACK BRAD SMITH
On learning from a loss~ "Just like all the games, I have to learn from what happened and make the best of the situation. I'm going to watch the film and then learn from it what I can do against Texas Tech to help my team win."
On keeping up with Texas Tech~ "We have to run our offense and try to keep up. If they go out and score a touchdown, we have to come on the field and score a touchdown. They score a lot of points, and it's our responsibility as an offense to score in return."
On learning from Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace's game against Texas Tech~ "Everybody knows Seneca is a great player. Iowa State runs a similar offense to ours, and I look at him as a similar player to myself. It'll be good to see what he did, and try to do the same kinds of things."
On trying to establish a running game on the road~ "It'd be great for us to get our whole offense going, to put some points on the board in every way possible. We're going to try and execute every play and score, that's our goal."