Big 12 coaches in their own words: Week 11
In a new feature this season, here is the best quote of the week from every Big 12 coach from the weekly Monday morning teleconference that the media participates in. The order will be based on the order that the coaches speak in, no other rhyme or reason. I’ll give a little reaction to those comments below each quote.
David Beaty, Kansas Jayhawks
“I’m not at all [worried about my contract]. I feel great.”
Beaty noted that he has eight players who are fourth or fifth-year seniors. He then noted that Iowa State and TCU have over 40 and that you win with veterans and seniors. That may be true, but the problem is that there does not appear to be any kind of improvement. Last season, Iowa State lost a handful of games against good teams by ten or less points. After an offseason and more training, they have gotten over the hump this season. What is anyone seeing at Kansas that would make you believe they’re close to turning any kind of corner? Beaty also said, “It just comes down to execution, it’s not any more complicated than that.” Really? He makes it sound so easy…
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma Sooners
“Those are two offenses, where if you play at a high level, no one is going to slow ’em down much.”
Riley also pointed to the OU defense improving drastically in the second half when the Cowboys had seven drives, but scored just 14 points and gave up two turnovers. After the game Saturday, my takeaway was not that these are two horrendous defenses. We have seen both defenses play well at points this season. Granted neither are the 1985 Chicago Bears either. But this game was much more about two of the most high-octane offenses doing battle in a back-and-forth affair, rather than two awful defenses at play.
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Cowboys
“If you have a young man who’s committed or been committed for a period of time, and then he’s not singing, then you’ll find out he’s not committed. That will be the biggest adjustment.”
Gundy was discussing the early signing period in December, the first of its kind in college football. Since the season is in full swing, it’s been very under discussed, but it will be fascinating to watch how it plays out. Gundy is right, if a kid has been on board with you for months and then won’t sign in December, it’s time to move on. He’s clearly mulling other options. This will create tricky situations for coaches and players.
Bill Snyder, Kansas State Wildcats
“It’s alright. I can live with it.”
Snyder was referring to the college football overtime rules. I get it, the rules are a little gimmicky. But overall, they’re a TON of fun for fans. I honestly am a huge proponent of how college football does its overtime. Last month I called a 4OT game at the FCS level. It was a freakin’ blast. If you want to hear the excitement in my voice, take a listen. Don’t change your overtime rules, college football.
Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia Mountaineers
“I would imagine we’ll be better on offense next year because we’re going to have everybody back.”
It got me thinking that this is in many ways has been a rebuilding year for Holgorsen, but his team is still in the thick of things in the Big 12 conference. And he’s right. The only seniors leaving on offense are right guard Kyle Bosch, running back Justin Crawford and wide receiver Ka’Raun White. Add in the fact that the defense has a ton of guys coming back and suddenly I’m looking to 2018 and saying… is that WVU’s year? Mayfield, Rudolph and Hill are gone. TCU and Iowa State lose a ton of seniors… it’s a topic for another day, but fun for Mountaineers fans to think about.
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech Red Raiders
“The struggles we’ve had in the kicking game. The risk-reward was too great … it didn’t work out for us.”
Kingsbury was addressing his decision to play for overtime when his team had the ball with 42 seconds left and one timeout. It was a brutal decision by Kingsbury and one that could end up defining this season. Here’s what Kingsbury should have done: Taken his own advice of, “fortunes still favor the bold.”
Matt Rhule, Baylor Bears (Filling in: Asst. HC Francis Brown)
“I haven’t even seen Zach [Smith] yet to see how he’s feeling. So I’ll probably think through that today and make a decision tomorrow [Tuesday].”
You could hear it in coach Rhule’s voice. The weight that has been lifted off the shoulders of himself, his staff and his team after they picked up their first win of the season on Saturday. He spoke about the laughs and smiles after the game and on the way home. Well deserved for this Bears team. But when it comes to his quarterback, maybe Rhule is just playing things close to the vest, but he has to play Charlie Brewer the rest of the way and see what he has with the true freshman. Use it as a building block for next season. His mobility is far superior to to Smith’s, and behind this offensive line, that is vitally important.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State Cyclones
“There’s a lot of ice baths in there… we’ve certainly asked a lot of Joel [Lanning]. We’ve got to be very smart in what we ask him to do in the stretch run.”
Campbell was asked about the 700 snaps Lanning has played this year. Pretty unbelievable. And it’s true that Lanning will have to be monitored these next three games. He leads the team in tackles by a wide margin and is still getting time at quarterback. The final three games for ISU are Oklahoma State at home, then on the road for Baylor and K-State. None of them will come easy and the Cyclones need Lanning to play as well has he has been this season to pick up another 2-3 wins… and dare I say, a Big 12 championship game appearance?!
Gary Patterson, TCU Horned Frogs
“They [Sooners] don’t score as well on offense if they don’t have the football.”
Think that’s a sign into what the game plan will be Saturday or TCU? Run, run, run, long drives, control the clock, keep Baker Mayfield off the field as much as possible. Will it work? We’ll find out. But even Gary Patterson, who has the best defense in the Big 12 conference, knows that he wants no part of having to scheme against this offense of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Tom Herman, Texas Longhorns
“We understand who we’ve played. We understand where we’re at in the development of this rebuilding project.”
In fairness to Herman, look at these last four games: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU. They won the game they were projected to win (Baylor) and lost the three they were projected to lose. Herman doesn’t have an ugly loss this season (well, OK, maybe Maryland), but at least he doesn’t have an ugly loss in conference play. The defense has been outstanding, he just needs to find an offense, which has been a mess. Hopefully he’s got a half a dozen 4-5 star offensive linemen lined up for the 2018 recruiting class. Yikes.
