The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Mack Brown Monday press conference: September 5
09.05.2005 | Football
General Comments: Louisiana-Lafayette ended up being a great opener for us. Number one, we won the game. Number two, we stayed healthy. It was hot enough that we were able to press our guys a little bit. Number three, we were able to play a lot of players. So we felt like we dominated the game, we were excited about the performance attitudes of our players. It did not seem like we were looking ahead to Ohio State, which was a concern going into Saturday's game. All of the talk was about this week's game instead of the opening game. So we felt like our guys did what we asked them to do and that was to take dead aim on the opener.
We won every category that we needed to win. We were concerned that we had two turnovers and the ball was on the ground a couple of other times. We have to do a better job of ball security. We missed a couple of extra points to start the game. It was funny looking at Big 12 stats this morning. I think four teams missed extra points. So those need to become more automatic for us. We did not attempt a field goal. We will go back and look more closely at our kicking game personnel, but we felt like overall the kicking game was really good.
This week, we start looking at the Ohio State game. What a fun week for us, for Ohio State and for college football. It is unusual anymore to have match-ups like this out of conference. I am proud that we are going to a place that cares about football like we do and that has the storied history that we do. Someone said that the Ohio State people are honoring Coach Woody Hayes this weekend and Coach [Darrell] Royal is coming up with us, so that is good stuff. That says a lot about the history of the two schools and the games. People have told me that the two schools are very similar. They are two of the biggest state institutions in the country, both very good academic schools and are in the capital [cities]. We each have a lot of fans and a lot of talk and publicity about football. [Football] is really important at both places.
As you look at what [Ohio State head coach] Jim Tressel has done, he has done a great job there. Most impressively, they have won 22 out of their last 23 home games. They are 8-0 at night and that is also very impressive. This is a night game. They are talented, play tough, physical football and they are very well coached. You can tell that, like our team, when they put their uniforms on they play with the pride, tradition and history that is really important to their school and college football.
As we look at who we are, being rated number two in the country, there are probably 10 or 12 schools that could be rated in there. Ohio State is just as much in the number two spot as we are. They are a team that is talented enough to win it all, they are coached well enough to win it all and they have the confidence in their program to win it all having done so in recent years.
Our guys enjoy going to exciting places to play so it will be a lot of fun for them. We have won 21 of our last 22 road games and the guys really enjoy that challenge. They look forward to this. It will be a lot of fun for them. They respect Ohio State because of what they have seen on film, but they will also respect the place. Our guys are historians and showed that some with the throwback uniforms this weekend.
Ohio State is a spread offense with a power running game. They pulled out some new things last weekend and I am sure that within that package, we will see some things that they didn't show last weekend. They may have the best receiving corps in the country. You start looking at their talent base and either quarterback could beat you. One of the difficult things for us is that they can do different offenses with each guy. We will have to prepare for both and Jim probably will not say who is going to start during the week. I wouldn't either. I would keep it a surprise because it makes it more difficult for us.
They are big, they are physical, and they may have the best center in the country. Their offensive line is very experienced. Their tight end is a great pro prospect. One of their tailbacks rushed for over 100 yards last week, and as I said, they pulled out three and four wides and a wide open offense. They were still able to run the ball up inside with a physical nature and a power game.
Defensively, they blitzed more last weekend than we have seen them blitz. They really came after Miami of Ohio and they got there. Even reading some of the reports after the game, Miami was surprised they blitzed so much. They have changed defensive coordinators, but it is a coach that had been on their staff for a long time. So we are not sure whether they blitzed so much because they felt like they could get to Miami of Ohio or whether they are just taking a different attitude and blitzing more this year than they have in the past. So we will have to prepare for a lot of blitz this weekend and understand that that is part of who they are.
They may have the best group of linebackers in the country. A.J. Hawk kind of leads the group. He is a leader; he is tough. You can tell he is a smart football player but he'll knock your head off.
They are great in the kicking game. When you look at what [Santonio] Holmes and [Ted] Ginn, Jr. can do when they touch the ball, with both of them back there you can't kick it to either one of them. It is hard, if you kick it in the field of play, not to have somebody with great speed and the ability to return it for a touchdown.
We will have our hands full. It is a match-up that makes you press a little bit more in areas of concern early in the season than you normally would because a lot of people do not play very difficult opponents out of conference. We saw some areas of concern last weekend for us. We have got to get those fixed. Then coming out of Columbus, we will know a little bit more about who we are.
On the wide receivers' performance last Saturday: We felt like our receivers responded well. They worked so hard this spring and summer under Vince's direction. He was raving about them after the summer. To see the improvement that all of them have made, specifically a guy like Billy Pittman, was really exciting. Billy caught the ball throughout camp. Ramonce [Taylor] has really helped us out there because he can make plays in space and he has got great hands. We felt that the guys passed the test over all. Quan [Cosby] caught one ball and we would like more in his hands in the future. We are pleased with our receivers right now. We will show them the film of the Ohio State wide receivers this weekend and show them what we want to become again. [Ohio State] has got a couple of guys like Roy Williams out there.
On the atmosphere in Ohio State's stadium: Sometimes when you are playing at home, in a place like ours or Ohio State's, it puts more pressure on the kids. I think we are 24-1 in conference games at home and 39-3 [on the road]. When they lose on the road it's huge, but when they lose at home it's bigger. When you've got that many people [at a home game] cheering for you, there is a certain amount of pressure not to let them down. So as much as you like playing at home, I think that in some cases it puts more pressure on you. Our guys like going into those kinds of arenas. How many kids get to play in front of 100,000 people that all want you to get beat? It is kind of a fun thing to compete in that environment. It sends a message about your toughness, your confidence and your togetherness. Both of these teams are tough, confident and have really good chemistry. It will be a test of wills when you put both of these teams out on the field on Saturday.
I have never been to Columbus. This will be my first trip. Being a football fan and historian, I have always admired what they have done there. John Cooper is a great friend and I have followed his career there. You start going back and looking at the teams they have had. We followed Earl Bruce at Iowa State with Donny Duncan, so we know a lot about their history and who they are. Like us, everybody sees their helmet and jersey and knows who they are. So it will be a fun environment for me and our team.
On this being the first ever football match-up of Ohio State and Texas: It is the same thing as the Michigan game. These two schools have played football for many years and have not played each other. It probably says something about our championship system for all three of these teams to have been so good and never met in the final game. But that makes it exciting as well. We were very disappointed that we didn't get this match-up in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago. We felt like it would be a prelim to the series and we are excited about them coming here next year. I know there is a tremendous amount of excitement in Columbus but Austin will be the same way next year.
On the importance of Vince Young's confidence: We are really excited about Vince's personality in big games and the way he handled himself at the end of last year, specifically at the Rose Bowl. I think that flipped another switch for him and put him in another gear. He is pumped about this ballgame.
On the magnitude of this non-conference Ohio State game: There used to be a lot of these [high-magnitude games] in non-conference play. It used to be common. People would say that you needed one of these before you started your conference games, but we just dropped it. It just isn't happening as much any more. I don't think it is good for college football because we are only talking about the end. We rarely talk about the journey. It is a great experience for these kids to play Ohio State and for the Ohio State kids to come down here next year. This will be something they will remember for the rest of their lives. You want to win, but we want our guys to have fun. We want them to enjoy this week, enjoy the moment and be proud that they are doing something right now that is not being done in college football very much.
On preparing for two different quarterbacks: It is very difficult to prepare, knowing that we did not show a lot last Saturday and Ohio State did not either. We also know that our defense chases Vince all the time. They are used to a guy that can run back there.
We are not sure what (Ohio State) would do with Troy [Smith]. He didn't play [last Saturday] and they have changed offenses. But their offense was very different Saturday than it has been and very difficult to defend. They have got a lot of the pro power running game but the ability of their wide outs to try to make plays in space or get deep makes it more difficult when they spread them out so much and you have to tackle a Ted Ginn Jr. in space.
On Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes: [Ted] is as good as any player out in space as I have ever seen. We do not feel like Holmes gets near the publicity he deserves, either, with the catch he made Saturday. The catch he made for the first touchdown, in the corner, was a fabulous catch. It was over the outside shoulder and it was over his fingertips. He made the catch and stayed in bounds, so both of those guys are as good as anybody we will play this year at [wide receiver].
On directional punting: A lot of people say you have to directional punt and get it away [from Ginn]. Well they have Holmes on the other side. So unless we get it up in the seats, they are going to have somebody fast that can catch the ball and run with it. When we started talking about this game last spring, I told Coach [Mike] Tolleson, our special teams coach, 'I guess we'll punt away from No. 7.' He said, 'No, you don't want to punt to No. 4 either. He's got three touchdowns.' Those guys are so good and they get to the ball. You would absolutely have to kick out of bounds to keep it out of their hands.
We haven't had a punt return [for a touchdown] against us since Kansas State in '99, so it has been six years. It has been a long time. But those guys scare you to death. They have enough athletes to keep pressure on you at all times. Everybody they have that touches the ball has the chance to score when he touches it.
On the running backs as a staple: Last year we had Cedric Benson, Erik Hardeman and Selvin Young to start the season, which was really good. In North Carolina, we always had a good group of backs. I think we can talk more about those young backs next Sunday. We had a test game [last week], we didn't have an Ohio State defense out there. We feel like [Selvin Young] is probable and will play on Saturday.
On Ohio State's offensive line: They looked really good on Saturday. They were really physical and had great protection. In fact, in some of the reporters said it looked like a video game. Jim [Tressel] stood over there, just picked what he wanted to run and it made yards. I think that's true. Their score could have been a lot more than 34. It was totally out of hand and Miami scored late. Those offensive linemen looked great. That center [Nick Mangold] is a bell cow. He is tough. Big [Rob] Sims, the right guard, he is unbelievable.
They are a dominating offensive line. I also feel like Jim and his staff should get so much credit for taking three losses at the first of [last] season and turning it into a great team at the end and beating Michigan and Oklahoma State like they did. It is hard to do that in places like this that get so emotional and opinionated after a loss. We understand that they deserve a lot of credit for turning it around and being as good as they are right now.
On correcting the missed extra points: We corrected it during the game. I think we made six and missed three. The first three were the ones we missed and we made the last six. Richmond pushed the first one, took a little too much time on the second one and we had a young guy who didn't block on the third one. So I think we have got it fixed.
On the impact of a playoff system on a game like this Saturday's: I do think that with a playoff we would see more games like this. Then you would work to be in the top eight and have your champs at the end of the year. Right now, a loss doesn't put you out [of the running] but it makes it more difficult. Thank goodness both of these teams are rated in the top 10, so if something is going to happen to one of the two, it is not going to put you out of the mix for the rest of the year. You will still be within reason and have very difficult conference schedules that can still get you back up there. Until we see a playoff system of some type, I do not think we will see any more games like this.
On Vince's performance affecting his 'stock' as a quarterback: It is so early in the year. In going for the Heisman Trophy with Ricky Williams [in 1998], he got thrown out after Kansas State, then thrown back in after Nebraska. Then he got thrown back out after the first half of Oklahoma State and then it finally came down to where he received more votes than anybody in history for the Heisman. So we are not worried about that today. All we are worried about right now is winning.
