Patterson Holds Weekly Presser
10/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Press Conference Video
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU football coach Gary Patterson held his weekly news conference on Tuesday in the Four Sevens Team Room.The 10th-ranked Horned Frogs host Texas Tech on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Included below are excerpts from Patterson's meeting with the media.
Opening Statement ...
"Game seven for us. This is the fourth game of the October series. Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. We understood what we were getting into. November starts with West Virginia with Kansas State coming down right after that. We're going to keep our nose down and try to get to six wins."
On his team's defensive pride ...
"They care about what they do. They were embarrassed by the Baylor game, and they played their hearts out against Oklahoma State. It also depends on the perspective. I talked to coaches who said we played well all the way until the final eight minutes at Baylor. It is what it is. It's a three-point loss. That's the way I look at it."
On TCU's place in the national discussion ...
"We played two top-five teams in the nation. We won one and got beat by three. The voters showed us respect because we only dropped from ninth to 12th. I'm not worried about the polls right now. It's good for recruiting and Fort Worth, but it only takes seven days for that to go away. We need to go play. You have six games left including Kansas State, who is undefeated in conference play, and West Virginia, who plays unbelievably at home. They just got done beating Baylor and giving Oklahoma all they wanted. You have a Texas Tech team who had West Virginia beat at their place and played Oklahoma State tough. You have to get ready to play."
On TCU's offense before the season started ...
"It was bad. There was no in between. There's so much learning that goes on with this offense, and you have to believe in it. Every wide receiver in America wants to play in it, but they haven't learned how to practice in it. There's a lot of running to it. It's a mentality and a way of life. It's like how we play defense. From the time you step out there, you're moving and catching passes or sprinting and catching passes. Not all offensive schemes are like that."
On where TCU's offense is now ...
"I've been surprised all the way through. In the first year, you can't say, `Well, I knew this was going to happen.' During two-a-days, we struggled with them defensively in scrimmages in the red zone. All of those other things were in place. We just had to change philosophy, how we wanted to play offense and still be physical. That emphasis hasn't changed."
On how the offense dictates calling a game ...
"When you're going into a ball game and you know you're going to score points, as a head coach and a defensive guy, that's all you can ask. If you're having to hold them to 14 in this conference, you're going to have a lot of white hair, unless you have a really good day. Knowing you can score 30 or 40 points makes it easier on this side of the ball and how you do things.
"It makes a difference in how you call a ballgame. Whether people believe it or not, I'm just about winning. How do I need to call a game where we're winning? We're going to try to put a game plan together that is zero points. That hardly ever happens. Our game plan is zero and hopefully we get them to 17 or 21. So, how can you be aggressive but still do the things you need to defensively against a fast-paced offense. That'll be our challenge again this week."
