Pelini may change home routine, and latest from Mullen, Joker, Chip Kelly
Bo Pelini considering changes to home-game routine: “I honestly think there’s less distraction on the road. We’re looking at why that is and trying to think outside the box a little bit about maybe handling home games a little bit differently and trying to eliminate as much distraction as we can.”
“You look at the last couple of years — last year in particular — the games we weren’t really ourselves have been a lot more at home than on the road.”
“I don’t think it’s in our stadium. Obviously we think our fans are great. What I’m concerned about is all the things leading up to the game, maybe the day before and the day of. We’re looking at it and making sure we’re doing everything we can to keep our guys focused on the things they can control.”
Dan Mullen say win in The Swamp “shouldn’t have been as close as it was” : "It shouldn't have been as close as it was. We made mistakes early and we made mistakes late. We shouldn't have had to make that stop on the final drive."
"We're going to enjoy this win, but we need to be a much better football team. There's no secret about it. We didn't cross the finish line with a win over Florida. But maybe this was the second jolt of energy to keep us going."
Joker wants Kentucky players to hear about possible SEC East championship: “We want to talk about it. I want our guys to hear it. Usually you hear coaches say, ‘We don't want to talk about it.' Here at Kentucky, we need to hear it.”
“The only way we get a chance (to win the East) is to win this next game. Our next game is Georgia. I'm not getting ahead of myself; definitely not.”
Bud Foster says every week is now totally different: “Right now, we’re seeing a lot more different offenses week to week than we saw 5, 6, 7, 8 years ago. Every week is a whole new bear. This week, we’re seeing Pistol and they’re spreading it and they’re running the decide play out of the Pistol and all that stuff.”
Chip Kelly says the Ducks offense this year is better than last year: “Yes. We are throwing the ball better. We are on track more; we have less negative-yardage plays. Obviously our numbers are a little better than they were before. Jeremiah was probably better than those other two at improvising things. But that also could get us in trouble at times."
(when Mike Bellotti first called him at New Hampshire) "It was interesting. He was great the first time we talked on the phone. He talked to me about just coming out here, not for an interview but to treat it like an official visit to see if it was something I would have an interest in. I wasn't looking to go anywhere. I was really happy with where I was. I was on a great coaching staff that was a lot of fun to be around. I loved the players. They had great work ethics and did more with less than any group I had been around. It was a lot of fun. It wasn't something where I was looking to leave. But when Mike called, just the way he presented it ... I was like, 'All right, I'll take a look at it.' "
Bronco Mendenhall defends offensive coaching staff: “The offensive staff, I have confidence in. I would like to see [the offense] be more productive, and they know that. I would like to see that side of the ball play with more confidence, and more inspired play, with cleaner execution, leading to more points. That has all been stated very clearly to our offensive staff.”
Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne talks about Mike Sherman’s 7-year contract: “The length of Coach Sherman's contract was a negotiated agreement. He was very well compensated and an integral part of the Texans, and he had had recent opportunities with other teams. The seven-year agreement was one year less than Coach Franchione's contract (five years plus three automatic rollover years for a total of eight years). Coach Sherman's compensation package is the same. The length of the contract and compensation was competitive with other BCS conference schools.”
Les Miles describes Cam Newton: "I don't think you really stop a guy like that. I think you try to contain him. You have to tackle crisply and you've got to get more than one guy to the ball. It's gotta be a bunch of LSU helmets."
"He runs hard. He gives a blow like a fullback. He's elusive like a tailback and he has a great touch on the ball. As capable as he is running, he's also capable throwing and he makes great decisions with the ball in his hands. Legitimately he's a Heisman contender."
North Texas head coach Todd Dodge talks about current mindset: “Right now, I am talking to [the players] about having pride in themselves and representing this university. Things are going to turn for people on this football team regardless of whether I am the head football coach here next year or not. I am going to do everything I can down the stretch run of this thing to make this the best situation for the next guy who comes in here. That is what I expect from all of my players because many of them have a future here.”
“I continue to remind the players about the passion we all have for the game, whether or not that passion is real high right now because of all the disappointments we have had. The second thing is we all have the opportunity as individuals and a group of men to say we will not quit. Whether we will any more games, win a game or win them all has nothing to do with it. We will not mail it in.”
Cal head coach Jeff Tedford moving forward after loss to USC: "It's one game. You look around football, things happen. Who would have thought Florida would lose three straight? It's one game on our schedule, and it's very important that we learn from it and we prepare and we focus and get ready for this week."
Lane Kiffin's pre-game speech:
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5 most impressive coaching performances from Week 7
Five more coaching staffs have been recognized this week as part of our 2010 Game Changing Coaches series presented by Family Relocation.
Every Tuesday during the season, we recognize the coaches involved in the most outstanding coaching performances from the past weekend. This is our third year of this award winning series.
This year, we are very proud to have Family Relocation, rated the #1 moving company in the country by coaches wives, as the title sponsor of Game Changing Coaches.
Family Relocation has been helping coaches move for nearly 100 years. Regardless of how far you’re moving or where you live, if you want your move to be handled professionally, trust the team at Family Relocation. You and your family will be glad to you did.
See the coaches we have recognized for Week #7 right here.
Nothing easy coming for Rich Rod, MacIntyre, Rhoads, and Dooley
Quoting Rich Rodriguez: "Vince Lombardi could come in, too, and he’s not going to fix some of the problems we have."
San Jose State head coach Mike MacIntyre (on 11 season-ending injuries): "We’re playing a JV football team basically."
Paul Rhoads and Iowa State travel to Texas this week: “7 of top 22 teams in the BCS standings are on our schedule. … Our kids know they have to stay the course.”
Dooley can’t believe reporter asked about SEC standings: “Guys, if we’re looking at SEC East standings, we got problems. We need to be worried about our team.”
(on the Alabama defense) “Well, first of all, it’s nearly impossible to run the ball. They got some stout guys up front. I mean STOUT.”
Mack Brown evaluates Texas performance against Nebraska: “We tried to take away what they do best. We didn’t do that against UCLA. The scheme put all the pressure on our secondary. We on 21 hits on both quarterbacks (combined) and 3 missed tackles for 21 yards.”
“We have to improve our man coverage. It was a hard day to throw the ball with the wind fluttering. We had 3 defensive penalties, 2 of them were killers. We need to force more turnovers. We missed 4 fumbles that were on the ground. We only had one play in the game with a loss (on offense), so that was good. Offensive line play its best game.”
Auburn special teams coordinator Jay Boulware talks about KOC (Arkansas averaged 17.9 yards on 10 kickoff returns. Only one went for more than 21 yards) : "We've been harping on those guys. Kickoff coverage is just open-field run fit. That's all it is. And those guys have to get in particular gaps. And, when we do that, we're going to cover anybody in the country."
Cobb blasts UK fans, Joker addresses the issue
On Sunday, Kentucky wide receiver Randall Cobb blasted Kentucky fans via twitter. Coming off a 31-28 win over South Carolina, @rcobb18 let it rip.
Cobb tweeted, “To all the fans, love seeing Yall come late, love hearing yall tell us we suck during game, love that we have to play against our…
…Own fans too. Love that we can’t pack the house when we play the #10 team in the nation. It means that much more to me. I love my….
…My team. Brotherhood they got my back n I got they back. The rest of yall can get ready for bball season!”
Today, Joker Phillips addressed the issue by saying, “He is a 19-, 20-year-old kid that doesn’t always understand how to deal with it when people react in a way he doesn’t think they should react. I am 47 and I am really just now figuring out how to react to those things.” I am 58 and still don’t always react the right way. I might lose my cool and fire off an e-mail I wish I delete or let my mouth get in the way of my brain with words that come out I quickly want to take back."
“I don’t do it (Twitter) a lot. I have thought about it (banning Twitter). We will try to make a decision,” Phillips said. “We have to try and get our arms around it. But I also want to give these guys a chance to express themselves, but not in a way that might harm someone else. We have to get a little bit smarter about it.”
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday when the Wildcats host Georgia at 7:30 pm EST.
Dilfer shares interesting perspective on coaching offense in today's game
ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer shared an interesting perspective about coaching offensive football this morning on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
Dilfer said, “Everyone always says it’s about the Jimmy’s and Joe’s. I say bologna. There’s a reason coaches spend 40 hours a week with film and 8 hours (on field). “
Dilfer explained the game has changed over recent years. Great offense today is about pre-snap creativity that you causes doubts for the defensive players. No longer can you just line up and run your plays, do what you do.
Dilfer said even a few years ago, some coaches had the mindset of, “We’re going to do what we do, better than you do what you do.” Although that mindset worked in the past, Dilfer says that theory isn't working anymore.
“It’s about maximizing the talent of each individual player,” said Dilfer.
We should point out that Dilfer was alluding to NFL football, but his points made us think of the pre-snap creativity that Gus Malzahn, Chip Kelly, and Brian Harsin (Boise State) incorporate into their schemes.
As a coach, you will probably enjoy reading this unique breakdown of Boise State's offense. This article basically goes hand-in-hand with Dilfer's perspective.
Neal Brown tired of faked injuries, Cutcliffe tired of INTs, McMackin: They don't want to play us anymore
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown tired of opponents faking injuries to slow down Red Raiders: “The last three weeks, it seems like we’ve had a lot of injuries on the other teams. It’s amazing. They fall down, then they cramp up and all of a sudden, 30 seconds later, they jog off. It seems like that’s happened a lot the last three weeks.”
“Not really. Maybe they’re coached better to do it in the Big 12. I can’t say we’ve never seen it. I don’t think it’s real ethical. ... My question is, somebody’s telling them to do it. I doubt the kids are smart enough to figure that out.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to blow it out of proportion. That’s not the reason we had several three-and-outs to start the game. But they’re trying to kill our rhythm.”
Hawaii coach Greg McMackin takes personal satisfaction in beating Nevada because of the way Nevada is leaving the WAC: "There's a real personal satisfaction because they don't want to play with us anymore. They're too good for us now and they're trying to do what's good for their program, I understand that, but the way it was done, I don't know if that was right or not."
(compliments Nevada team) "(Nevada) is a team that played a lot of guys and has run a lot of points up on a lot of teams…and we have a good rivalry and I thought their players were very classy. It was a pretty clean football game."
"I give complete credit to coach Dave Aranda (defensive coordinator) and the defensive coaching staff. He had a great game plan and same thing offensively, I thought that Rolo (offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich) had a great game plan and they had to make some adjustments. I just think those two guys are doing a great job, and I'm really proud of my players…they fought their tails off and didn't quit and kept fighting and finished and that was a big win for us."
Quoting Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly during post-game locker room speech following win over Western Michigan: “We coached better in the 2nd half and we played better in the 2nd half because that’s the standard that we have around here. You gotta play the game the right way all the time, not just some of the time.”
(on defensive performance in the 2nd half) “The intensity was back (in the 2nd half). We just didn’t play with the same energy in the first half. Run, hit, get excited. Basic principles of playing great defense. We weren’t getting excited, playing the same energy in the first half.”
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe watched QB Sean Renfree throw 5 interceptions in 28-13 loss to Miami (FL): “No prophetic statement here at all. The bottom line is you will never win a game doing what we did today, and that’s giving the ball away.”
“He has to fight through it. He’s got to find a way out of this. We can’t compete with this going on. It just takes your chance to win away from you.”
Houston Nutt compliments Rebels defensive effort against Bama: "Best of the year. Best of the year. Best we've played of the year. Best tackling, tackling two of the greatest backs of the country. Thought we did a good job in coverage most of the time."
Florida safety Ahmad Black reiterates Urban Meyer’s message: "That's the first thing we acknowledged when we got in there (locker room). We lose as a team. We win as a team. I told them that we're still a family, no matter what, through thick and thin. We always stick together and pull it out."
Officials ruled a touchdown for Auburn, even after official replay. What do you think?
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Mullen says win in The Swamp "not an upset." Latest from Pelini, Saban, Spurrier
Dan Mullen says 10-7 win in The Swamp “not an upset” : “I said all week I've had success in this stadium. This is not an upset. Our team expected to win this football game.”
Bo Pelini has Huskers moving forward after 20-13 loss to Texas: “I told our football team, we still have everything out in front of us that we want to do. Our first goal is to win the Big 12. It’s still out there for us to go do, but we’re not going to do that unless we look in the mirror like men and take responsibility for what happened out on the field (Saturday) and get better because of it.”
“We’ll let the fans and everyone else feel sorry for themselves and feel sorry for what happened. You have to take an experience like this and let it make you stronger.”
Classic Spurrier, jokes SEC championship won’t feature 2 teams from West: “It is unusual, but that's where we are right now. Somebody's going to represent the East in Atlanta. We don't know who it is yet, but they're not going to take two from the West.”
“We're still in the hunt. Now, if we fall on our face again, we won't be in the hunt. But the Eastern Division is a little down this year, so we're still in the hunt.”
Saban says Bama offense has struggled 3 years in a row against Tyrone Nix’s defense at Ole Miss: “We struggled a little bit offensively. We’ve actually struggled against these guys for three years in a row offensively. They pretty much take the run away from you, make it difficult to run, and you’ve got to execute in the passing game. At times we did, at times we didn’t. But they gave us too many negative plays and the penalties hurt us on offense and stopped us on a couple of drives. We didn’t make enough explosive plays, but we did a pretty good job scoring in the red zone.”
“The goal of this game was for us to get back to playing with the kind of effort, the kind of toughness and discipline and execution; to play with the intensity you need to play with to play winning football. We probably hit on the toughness part — I was pleased with that — I thought we tackled better on defense, played on the line of scrimmage better. We did a better job all the way around and gave much better effort in this game. Guys really played hard and I’m really proud of that. The intensity was good, the execution was not what it needs to be. That’s something we can improve on. We had way too many penalties — discipline penalties. Offsides on defense, false starts on offense, those things we can correct and improve.”
Chizik calls Auburn defense “resilient” : “The thing that stands out to me the most is that at the end of the game we were able to get three turnovers to change the game. What that said in my opinion is that our football team is just resilient. Our defense is resilient.
“When it was the fourth quarter and when we had to make plays and when we had to get turnovers, we got three.”
Ed Orgeron talks about USC win over Cal:
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Ruffin McNeill: We can ball with anybody in country...ACC, SEC, whoever
East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill after beating NC State 33-27: "It showed we can ball with anybody in the country. I don't care if it's ACC, SEC, whoever."
Urban Meyer response to possible offensive overhaul during BYE week: "I think so."
Lane Kiffin talks about what was going through his mind during blowout win over CAL: "Up 42-0, on our way to 7-0, you know, potentially a top-five team in the country getting ready to play the No. 1 team in the country. So that's the difficult thing, the thing that's most glaring . . . as you think of the first half of the season: how close we were."
“He's (Barkley) one of the front-runners for the Heisman right now if we're able to make stops in those two games.”
TCU head coach Gary Patterson say “my team sells itself” : "I don't have any expectation. We're 7-0. We're probably going to be No. 1 in the nation on defense for one more week. Those are the things I know. Rankings? I have no idea."
"I think my team sells itself. For us to win the conference we're going to have to beat a top 20 Air Force team, a top 10 Utah team at Utah. If anyone has a tougher schedule in their last five ballgames than that, then I want to know who they are."
Steve Sarkisian exhausted and relieved after 35-34 OT win over Oregon State: “We are coming to the realization as a football program that winning is really hard.”
Mike Gundy thrilled with win at Texas Tech: “What I did tell the team is I’ve been out here with some good football teams and lost games. I’ve been out here with some good football teams and had my butt kicked.”
“It’s funny, in today’s football we talk about 34 points as being not many points. It’s true. I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but that gets brought up all the time. I’ll go home and one of my boys will say ‘Why’d we only score 34 points?’ But I go back to, we played well as a unit today. We’re going to need to punch those drives in for touchdowns. Today we rushed for 225 yards, so that allowed us to keep the defense off the field.”
Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel has Tiger’s defense playing well: “We’re a team out there. It takes all of us. It takes 11 guys against 11 guys. As long as we keep playing as a team, playing together and playing hard and working hard and putting our time in, I think things will pay off.”
“We’re very humble to be surrounded by these kids. They have this work ethic that’s really, really incredible.”