Bowling Green State University Athletics
Urban Meyer Quotes
October 01, 2002 | Football
Oct. 1, 2002
Urban Meyer Opening Statement
"We had some time off, we had three excellent practices and I was very pleased with the way they came out yesterday. I'm very concerned and perplexed about our schedule, you know I like it, I think it's very good but when I say concerned and perplexed I've never had two bye weeks. This is a long season, you have nine weeks coming up and some tough games coming up, including this one this week. Just a quick thing about Ohio U, our health is pretty good.
Ohio U is very good, they ran for 400 yards against Buffalo, they're an option team, they're strictly option now, they're quarterback finally got going and he's a major concern.
Tim Beckman and our defensive staff and the players think that Chad Brinker (the OU tailback) is the number one tailback in the conference. I think he's had three games over 100 yards, he's tough, he's rough, I hear he's a 10.7 100 meter, and he looks like it. They moved him to fullback to get him to touch the ball more and they throw to him out of the backfield. He's a very good player. They're gonna come in here charged up after winning a game in the last second. I think they're one of the more talented teams, I think they're every bit as talented as we are, and they have a lot of the same players they had when they were picked to win the conference last year. When I first got here, Ohio U and Marshall were picked to win the conference, they struggled a little bit, but they still have talented players so we have our hands full."
Is Ohio U more dangerous now that they've won a game after being down so long?
"That's a major concern, it's something that went on here. The taste of winning is so much different than the taste of losing, and they're experiencing it this whole week, walking around campus, they haven't had it for a while. Yeah, that's a big time concern and the way they won it, you can see their sideline, see the energy and when they stopped them on the last play of the game, I actually called the Buffalo coach and asked him what kind of team we're dealing with, he said they're energized, you got a team that you would never know they struggled the first four games. They struggled against Pitt, who is a very good team, Florida is obviously a great team, the others, Connecticut and Northeastern, I'm not sure."
Is one of the keys when you go against an offense like that, it seems to be an offense that keeps the ball and it just takes incremental chunks of yardage and it controls the clock. Is one of the keys-- if you can get them two scores behind, then their offense loses their edge because it is not a great offense for coming out of a hole?
"I think that's obvious. I think that what we have talked to our team about-we talked last year about is possessions. So we're going to talk to our players like we did last year when we played them 'the value of a possession against a team like this-don't underestimate it. The value of a possession is critical in a game like this. And that means you are only going to get maybe nine or ten possessions. Last year we had a lot. You know last year we had the ball, I want to say, 31 minutes and they had it 29. Excuse me, 39 minutes, they had it 21, so we reversed the table and we kind of ran Josh Harris at them, keeping the ball away from their offense. And it's going to be number of possessions that is going to be key to this game."
What about on your defensive side, who becomes most critical when you try to control that offense. Is it the way your ends play, is it your quarterback as the option starts to develop or is it the way your linebackers track Brinker no matter where he goes?
"I think the thing that is appealing about this offense, you know I always told myself that if I ever get a chance to be head coach that I was either going to run the wishbone or I was going to run the spread offense and they are very similar as far as philosophically- speaking. Because you need to be assigned--there is just no one person. Eleven guys better play. You know that is the same thing when you play a spread offense, we'll find that one weak player. We'll find that one guy who's not disciplined when you are supposed to not chase the quarterback or chase the back, we'll pull it. That is the same exact thing with the wishbone, I mean you could say the noseguard, but the noseguard has to protect whatever gap we tell him to protect. The defensive end has to take the dive. The linebacker, the quarterback, the secondary player the pitch, if that is what we are doing. So the wishbone and the spread offense are very similar as far as there is no one person. You have to be assignment-sound and everybody has got to be accountable."
This is their niche?
"This is it. The last two games they have been exclusively in it. They've been successful in it. They are controlling the ball in it. And they are getting their best player the ball. So, it's the first two games we have complete disregard for and obviously we have watched it. But that is not what they are known for and that's not how they're having success. They are having success running the ball out of the wishbone."
We talked about depth. Are you concerned, you talked about having eleven guys playing the defensive side of the ball. Are you concerned if the ones get tired, with those twos stepping in and sticking with their assignments and playing well?
"Sure and in a number of plays, last year we played 46 plays on defensive. I can play 46 plays on defense. It's the one where we have 80-85 plays on defense. Last year we had 75 plays on offense and they had 40 some on defense. That is when you have numerous long drives and that is when depth is the issue and plus they will chop and cut you and injuries become an issue. Depth is always and issue and will always be."
Does Ohio force you away from 5 defensive backs
"No that is the hand we are dealt, lack of depth on the defensive line. We are committed to three defensive lineman and we will continue to play three at defensive line."
Anything about this game that is significant besides a conference game? After an idle week, is this an important place to re-gain or re-capture momentum because it is kind of a march from here on out?
"I like our approach from day one we never talked to our team about beating Missouri, we never said we have to beat Missouri or Kansas. We want to compete in every game.
"We know there is a lot of tradition and pride in MAC games against other schools from Ohio."
