By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Each week, Big 12 coaches have their weekly meetings with the media at their press conferences during the college football season. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda’s comments were posted earlier. Rankings are from the AP & Coaches Polls. Here are some highlights elsewhere in the league. Quotes and notes are taken from those pressers if not specified elsewhere. All games are Saturday unless otherwise noted.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas – The Longhorns (4-3, 2-2) play at Baylor: Sarkisian addressed where this team was on handling frustrations in the fourth quarter losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. “Finishing games and winning those tight games like that is contagious. When you can do it once, you can do it twice, you start to build that confidence and belief in doing it. You have to do it the first time, to do it the second time…and it becomes who you are. People can say it’s year one, it’s going to take time. I’m about…how quickly can we get there. It’s a race and how quickly can we get it all right. When our guys operate and perform, it’s a beautiful thing. Now, there’s that last component…just to finish the game. How do you finish the game? You play the next play. How long that takes? I don’t know. I’m sure it’s different for every team, for every coaching staff that’s new. Quite frankly, every year, regardless if you’re a new staff or not.”
Sarkisian also gave his impression of Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon: “Bohanon is a really efficient player. I think he’s got 12 or 13 touchdowns and only one interception. Clearly, he takes care of the ball. Obviously, they are a run-first offense and the run game sets up a lot of what they do in the passing game. The biggest thing he probably does is take care of the football. He does a nice job, managing all of that but in the end he takes advantage of it.”
Lance Leipold, Kansas – The Jayhawks (1-6, 0-4) play at Oklahoma State: A lot of positives for this team taking No. 3/2 Oklahoma into the fourth quarter before falling, 35-23. “For us, where things had been the past few weeks and the margin of defeat and things like that, it really shows a lot about our young men and our assistant coaches in my estimation,” Leipold said. “We got a taste of it. There’s a lot of disappointed guys. We’ve got to find a way to make those extra two or three plays that make that really a celebratory locker room.”
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State – The No. 15/15 Cowboys (6-1, 3-1) play host to Kansas: Statement from Oklahoma State on Gundy signing a perpetual 5-year contract that automatically extends after each season. "Coach Gundy has elevated the Cowboys to among the most consistent winners in college football during his 17-year tenure at Oklahoma State University," said OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg. "This reinforces Oklahoma State’s commitment to competing for championships in football and to winning the right way … I look forward to the future and believe the best is yet to come for Cowboy Football under coach Gundy’s leadership."
Chris Kleiman, Kansas State – The Wildcats (4-3, 1-3) play host to TCU: A big win in Lubbock, 25-24, where the Wildcats trailed 24-10 at one point. They also won their first conference game. They've been working hard, they've been frustrated,’’ Kleiman said. “That was the thing, they've put so much time and effort into this week and they really held each other accountable to everything from the amount of film everybody watched to doing some walkthroughs to locking into, things in the weight room were better. All those things. We needed this victory and we knew it was going to be tough, and it ended up being a lot tougher when we get down by two scores. But absolutely, I think they're having a good time and that's what it's all about."
Neal Brown, West Virginia – The Mountaineers (3-4, 1-3) play host to Iowa State: Brown talked about the new Big 12 will impact recruiting on his weekly show on WBOY. “When you get into recruiting — and especially when you get down where you’re recruiting against a couple of other schools, especially if a kid’s committed to you — now you’re the one that’s getting needled,” Brown said. “We’ve got some players that are really talented. Therefore, they’ve got other people that are recruiting them, and the Big 12 conversation is something that does get used against us.
“We [WVU] have been in a multitude of conferences going back for the last 50 years. The one constant is we’ve always had success,” Brown said. “We’ve always been in a good home. We’ve always competed for conference championships, and we don’t anticipate that changing.”
Matt Campbell, Iowa State – The No. 22/23 Cyclones (5-2, 3-1) play at West Virginia: The Cyclones picked up a huge win against Oklahoma State with games against Texas and Oklahoma remaining. "We're in a place where, emotionally, we're pretty steady right now. Yes, it's great to have fans back. It's great to get the win. But boy, it's October and there are bigger games coming. There are greater challenges ahead. And whether we won the game or lost the game, how we respond to this tomorrow and Monday and tonight. And you're dealing with 18 to 22 year olds where man, can we keep staying the course can we keep getting better? Can we keep growing? That's what we've done. We haven't let the result dictate our behaviors.”
Sonny Cumbie (Interim), Texas Tech – The Red Raiders (5-3, 2-3) play at Oklahoma: Tech AD Kirby Hocutt discussed the firing of Matt Wells who was 13-17 overall but just 6-17 in the Big 12. "There's really no ideal time to make a decision like this," Hocutt said. "Just given where we were, when we looked at the full body of work in the program collectively, we felt it was inevitable.
"We need somebody with that determination, knowledge and ability to get this program to that next level. We haven't been there in quite some time. We all know it. We get frustrated because we know what we're capable of. We're not going to back away. I get people that will talk to me about, 'Hey, you use the word elite.' You know what? Yeah, dang right we want to be elite.''
Gary Patterson, TCU – The Horned Frogs (3-4, 1-3) play at Kansas State: More defensive issues for this team following the 29-17 loss to West Virginia. “You have to make plays. You got two guys that are in the NFL and are now down the line. You went from two guys in the NFL that are playing the position to now some guys that are growing up. Guys got to grow up and make plays. It’s not rocket science in this whole thing. You’ve got to tackle; you’ve got to keep leverage. Leverage means you don’t let them throw over your head.”
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma – The No. 4/4 Sooners (8-0, 5-0) play host to Texas Tech: The Sooners still aren’t where they need to be offensively, according to Riley. That showed against Kansas when they trailed 10-0 at the half. “I think our guys know what we need to do,” Riley said after the game Saturday. “It’s time for us to start closing the gaps and playing more consistent. That is what it is. I think we’re still a very capable football team, there’s no question. Excited to have a chance to get some guys back and I think that’s got to be our spark right here, is the combination of getting some of the guys back; we’re obviously pretty thin in a lot of areas today. We’ve got to get guys back. The guys that are playing have got to play at a high level, we’ve got to coach them at a high level. Times where we’re not playing well, it’s close. We’re tired of being close. We’ve got to push it over the edge.”
Publisher
Each week, Big 12 coaches have their weekly meetings with the media at their press conferences during the college football season. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda’s comments were posted earlier. Rankings are from the AP & Coaches Polls. Here are some highlights elsewhere in the league. Quotes and notes are taken from those pressers if not specified elsewhere. All games are Saturday unless otherwise noted.
Steve Sarkisian, Texas – The Longhorns (4-3, 2-2) play at Baylor: Sarkisian addressed where this team was on handling frustrations in the fourth quarter losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. “Finishing games and winning those tight games like that is contagious. When you can do it once, you can do it twice, you start to build that confidence and belief in doing it. You have to do it the first time, to do it the second time…and it becomes who you are. People can say it’s year one, it’s going to take time. I’m about…how quickly can we get there. It’s a race and how quickly can we get it all right. When our guys operate and perform, it’s a beautiful thing. Now, there’s that last component…just to finish the game. How do you finish the game? You play the next play. How long that takes? I don’t know. I’m sure it’s different for every team, for every coaching staff that’s new. Quite frankly, every year, regardless if you’re a new staff or not.”
Sarkisian also gave his impression of Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon: “Bohanon is a really efficient player. I think he’s got 12 or 13 touchdowns and only one interception. Clearly, he takes care of the ball. Obviously, they are a run-first offense and the run game sets up a lot of what they do in the passing game. The biggest thing he probably does is take care of the football. He does a nice job, managing all of that but in the end he takes advantage of it.”
Lance Leipold, Kansas – The Jayhawks (1-6, 0-4) play at Oklahoma State: A lot of positives for this team taking No. 3/2 Oklahoma into the fourth quarter before falling, 35-23. “For us, where things had been the past few weeks and the margin of defeat and things like that, it really shows a lot about our young men and our assistant coaches in my estimation,” Leipold said. “We got a taste of it. There’s a lot of disappointed guys. We’ve got to find a way to make those extra two or three plays that make that really a celebratory locker room.”
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State – The No. 15/15 Cowboys (6-1, 3-1) play host to Kansas: Statement from Oklahoma State on Gundy signing a perpetual 5-year contract that automatically extends after each season. "Coach Gundy has elevated the Cowboys to among the most consistent winners in college football during his 17-year tenure at Oklahoma State University," said OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg. "This reinforces Oklahoma State’s commitment to competing for championships in football and to winning the right way … I look forward to the future and believe the best is yet to come for Cowboy Football under coach Gundy’s leadership."
Chris Kleiman, Kansas State – The Wildcats (4-3, 1-3) play host to TCU: A big win in Lubbock, 25-24, where the Wildcats trailed 24-10 at one point. They also won their first conference game. They've been working hard, they've been frustrated,’’ Kleiman said. “That was the thing, they've put so much time and effort into this week and they really held each other accountable to everything from the amount of film everybody watched to doing some walkthroughs to locking into, things in the weight room were better. All those things. We needed this victory and we knew it was going to be tough, and it ended up being a lot tougher when we get down by two scores. But absolutely, I think they're having a good time and that's what it's all about."
Neal Brown, West Virginia – The Mountaineers (3-4, 1-3) play host to Iowa State: Brown talked about the new Big 12 will impact recruiting on his weekly show on WBOY. “When you get into recruiting — and especially when you get down where you’re recruiting against a couple of other schools, especially if a kid’s committed to you — now you’re the one that’s getting needled,” Brown said. “We’ve got some players that are really talented. Therefore, they’ve got other people that are recruiting them, and the Big 12 conversation is something that does get used against us.
“We [WVU] have been in a multitude of conferences going back for the last 50 years. The one constant is we’ve always had success,” Brown said. “We’ve always been in a good home. We’ve always competed for conference championships, and we don’t anticipate that changing.”
Matt Campbell, Iowa State – The No. 22/23 Cyclones (5-2, 3-1) play at West Virginia: The Cyclones picked up a huge win against Oklahoma State with games against Texas and Oklahoma remaining. "We're in a place where, emotionally, we're pretty steady right now. Yes, it's great to have fans back. It's great to get the win. But boy, it's October and there are bigger games coming. There are greater challenges ahead. And whether we won the game or lost the game, how we respond to this tomorrow and Monday and tonight. And you're dealing with 18 to 22 year olds where man, can we keep staying the course can we keep getting better? Can we keep growing? That's what we've done. We haven't let the result dictate our behaviors.”
Sonny Cumbie (Interim), Texas Tech – The Red Raiders (5-3, 2-3) play at Oklahoma: Tech AD Kirby Hocutt discussed the firing of Matt Wells who was 13-17 overall but just 6-17 in the Big 12. "There's really no ideal time to make a decision like this," Hocutt said. "Just given where we were, when we looked at the full body of work in the program collectively, we felt it was inevitable.
"We need somebody with that determination, knowledge and ability to get this program to that next level. We haven't been there in quite some time. We all know it. We get frustrated because we know what we're capable of. We're not going to back away. I get people that will talk to me about, 'Hey, you use the word elite.' You know what? Yeah, dang right we want to be elite.''
Gary Patterson, TCU – The Horned Frogs (3-4, 1-3) play at Kansas State: More defensive issues for this team following the 29-17 loss to West Virginia. “You have to make plays. You got two guys that are in the NFL and are now down the line. You went from two guys in the NFL that are playing the position to now some guys that are growing up. Guys got to grow up and make plays. It’s not rocket science in this whole thing. You’ve got to tackle; you’ve got to keep leverage. Leverage means you don’t let them throw over your head.”
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma – The No. 4/4 Sooners (8-0, 5-0) play host to Texas Tech: The Sooners still aren’t where they need to be offensively, according to Riley. That showed against Kansas when they trailed 10-0 at the half. “I think our guys know what we need to do,” Riley said after the game Saturday. “It’s time for us to start closing the gaps and playing more consistent. That is what it is. I think we’re still a very capable football team, there’s no question. Excited to have a chance to get some guys back and I think that’s got to be our spark right here, is the combination of getting some of the guys back; we’re obviously pretty thin in a lot of areas today. We’ve got to get guys back. The guys that are playing have got to play at a high level, we’ve got to coach them at a high level. Times where we’re not playing well, it’s close. We’re tired of being close. We’ve got to push it over the edge.”
