Oct. 15, 2007
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement and injury update
"We have a lot of bumps and bruises like everybody else at this time. Overall, we're in pretty good shape. I think we're refreshed. Chase Coffman hurt an ankle and a knee. He'll be ready to play, there's no question he'll be 100 percent. Tony Temple is probable. It's not definite but it's probable that he will play."
"We're playing a very good Texas Tech team. They're one of the best in the Big 12. Every time you think of Texas Tech, you think of offense, but they have a very good defense right now. That makes it much more difficult because you're playing the No. 1 offense in the nation, the No. 1 receiver in the country and the No. 1 quarterback in the country. Graham Harrell has thrown 31 touchdowns ands that's a staggering number through six football games. Michael Crabtree has thrown 17 and for a redshirt freshman, he is a great athlete. They have a great scheme and are very efficient in what they do. They're playing with a very good defense now too, which multiplies the problem. So, we're game-planning as we speak and our coaches and our players are studying. Certainly that's the plan and what we're going to do. It will be a great matchup for us."
Players response to the Oklahoma loss/i>
"I don't have any concern at all today. We have good kids, good leadership. Our seniors are good with that."
On the Expected Shootout and differences between the two offenses/i>
"Their offense is different that ours. All versions of the spread offense are different. They're really the creators of the spread offense and Mike (Leach, Texas Tech Head Coach) is as good as any in the country. As you all know, spread offense can be extreme, with a high level of throwing, or like West Virginia does, a running offense. They have a running back in the backfield all the time, and sometimes their quarterback gets under center, we rarely do that, so there are distinct differences. I think there are similarities but there are also differences."
Defensive depth/i>
"I think what you do is throw out more dime and nickel defenses. Try to match up with their number people. We have to look at certain personnel sets and we know how that offense is; it marches. They wear a defense down so we're going to substitute often."
On Texas Tech's Improved Defense/i>
"I think they're statistically better. I was really impressed with how they played defense against Texas A&M, a very good football team. You see what you see. But they're a very good defensive team, better than they have been."
On Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree/i>
"First of all, he's got about 76 or 77 receptions, which is a lot, through six or seven games. They're going to find a way to get the ball to him. But he's just a great athlete, perfect for their scheme. He's got great ball skills, someone that you try to contain, but try to take advantage of the stretches you can contain him."
On the MU fans/i>
"Missouri fans they have a choice. It's my job to put out a team that will win at an efficient level, and that's what the fans want. It's my job to do that. We've got great fans, it'd be nice to see us get 63-65,000. Any big game fan advantage is very, very significant. That makes us much more difficult to beat."
Missouri Player Quotes
On the halftime offensive adjustment versus Oklahoma:
"I think we just started playing better. We got the momentum from that drive right before halftime. I think we knew that we could score on [Oklahoma]. Our confidence went up a little bit then, and we just started playing better as a unit."
On taking the positives from last week's game into this week's game:
"Well, it's horrible to lose, but you can take the good things out of a game by learning from your mistakes. Doing that will help us become a better football team because we just have to forget about [Oklahoma] and focus on Texas Tech."
On the improvement of the Texas Tech defense:
"I think they have gotten a lot better defensively, and they have a great offense. They're a lot better, so we have to study a lot of film to prepare for this game, and hopefully we'll do well."
On Oklahoma being the toughest defensive line to face so far:
"There are some great big, physical athletes. Their front seven is really good, so yeah, they have been the best we have seen."
On this week's game being a possible shootout:
"Maybe, but after watching Boise State, you never know what will happen."
On the knee and ankle injury:
"When I got tackled, a guy landed on my ankle. I should be fine. I'll be coming in to get some treatment and I'll just try to stay healthy. It's my left knee and my right ankle [that are hurt], but I'll be fine. I just need to rest them."
Pig Brown
On Texas Tech player Michael Crabtree:
"[He's] a great receiver and great athlete. He has nice hands and great speed, so we just have to try and contain him. I think he's the leading receiver in the country for touchdowns and receiving yards. Our coaches are going to have a pretty good game plan, so we just need to come out and contain him."
On the defense bending, but not breaking:
"It needs to hold up. They're going to put up some points, and we're going to put up some points, but our motto is `bend and not break.' As long as the offense puts up more points, then we will be alright."
On the defense having less to improve on each week:
"That's what great teams do. They improve week in and week out, and I think our team has done a great job of that since the first week. We just come out everyday to work hard and work on all the mistakes that we have made, and just put them past us trying to keep those mistakes to a minimum. Like I said, we have done a great job so far this year in improving game-by-game."
On Missouri and Kansas being tied for #15 in the AP Poll:
"Our game with [Kansas] is so far down the road, so our focus right now is on playing Texas Tech."
On the differences between the first and second half of the Oklahoma game:
"We just got our confidence right after that drive at the end of the second quarter. So when we play with confidence, we just have to play the whole game."
On anything that needs to be accomplished after the first loss:
"You just have to go out there and play you're `A' game. You can't let up, and you have to prepare even harder than you did last week to get better."
On getting to the quarterback this weekend:
"They throw the ball eighty times a game, so we need to get to the quarterback at least half the times that they throw the ball. That's just giving our secondary a chance to stop the receivers and not to be back in coverage so long."
On the improvement of Texas Tech's quarterback and offensive line:
"They lost some starters, but they replaced them with some other good players. They all look pretty good on film. They have to be good if they're throwing the ball for seven hundred yards a game. I know it's going to be a challenge, but I think we are up for it."