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Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Football Coach Gregg Brandon Press Conference
September 21, 2004 | Football
Sept. 21, 2004
Bowling Green, Ohio - BGSU Coach Gregg Brandon Press Conference - 9/21/04
Q. I see Matt Leininger is back on the depth charts.
A. Yes, Matt is good to go.
Q. How about (Jelani) Jordan? Will he be ready to go?
A. Jordan is ready to go.
Q. So Keon Newson will be at safety?
A. That's the plan, but we're flexible. We have two packages that we could do at the drop of a hat, just depending on who is playing well, really. It's nice to have that flexibility.
Q. Is there any final word on Jimmy Carson?
A. Jimmy has asked for his release, so he won't be with us.
Q. What is Justin Martin's status?
A. He quit the team during camp.
Q. In an article in a Chicago newspaper I was wondering if the most insulting thing was being called "Gary" instead of Gregg, and if the second most insulting thing might have been your offense called "basketball on grass"?
A. I don't think so. I don't look at that as an insult. If that is the way they perceive it, then it is their problem - they've got to stop it. So, whatever they want to call it, it's their business. I really don't pay much attention to those kinds of comments.
Q. It seems to me that when you get that comment it is kind of the slam of, you're not four yards and a cloud of dust...
A. And that's true...all you have to do is look at the MAC rushing stats last year after 14 games and see where we were. Need I say more?
Q. When people are making comments like that, it sounds like they are having a philosophical battle, like your philosophy is different.
A. Well, that's true.
Q. You think so? Because I was wondering if the philosophy isn't we're going to control the ball, but just the technique you use to implement that philosophy is different.
A. Exactly. That's the way our offense was designed. When we came here three years ago that's who we wanted to be. We wanted to spread people out, and take advantage of some mismatches in space. We didn't want to be an I-formation team and just give it to the tailback fifty times. We felt like we needed to put an exciting offense on the field that people would show up to watch, and we would be able to recruit as well. There were a lot of reasons why we did what we did, but those are just a few of them.
Q. So, would you say then that there might be more similarities than differences? That the difference is just what you do to achieve that?
A. Yes, there's a lot of ways to skin a cat. We can move the ball, and that's the key. We still preach the same things offensively that everybody else does. You need to manage the clock, you need to drive the football, but you also have to have the ability to score at anytime from anywhere. And that's what I like about our offense. We can get a quick strike, but we can also maintain drives and keep our defense off the field.
Q. Could you talk about your expectations for the atmosphere this year at Northern Illinois?
A. I would anticipate the same. They're going to be geeked up. I don't know what they're expecting crowd wise, but this is a big game. This is an early MAC West game. It's a road game, and any time you go on the road in our league it's tough I think. The thing that makes me sleep a little bit longer at night, but not much, is that our players have been in this environment before. When we went there two years ago, that was the first big game that Bowling Green has had in a number of years. And, quite frankly, we laid an egg. Since that time we've been at Purdue, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and down at Miami of Ohio was a pretty raucous crowd last year. Our guys know what to expect now from this crowd. We talk all the time about how the game is played between the lines, and anything going on outside those lines is a mirage. I'll talk to them about that again when we get over there.
Q. Were there things that you did to help to simulate the crowd noise this week?
A. Yeah, we practiced crowd noise, and we're still going to do that probably tomorrow. We go on silent cadence a lot, and you'll see us holding hands in the offensive line because we can't hear. It's amazing to me that NIU seats about 25,000 to 30,000 and can be that noisy. But it is, and we'll be prepared for it this time around.
Q. Can you compare both the crowd (noise) and the preparation for this game with the Oklahoma game a few weeks ago?
A. Last time the Northern (Illinois) student section was right behind our bench. It is my understanding that the MAC has now put in a rule that the students can't be right behind the bench. But, it is going to be interesting to see when we get there where their students are, because (two years ago) it was an hour before the game and they were in every row all the way up for two or three sections just screaming with the thunderstix. Well, it will be interesting to see where those students are because we had talked about how the students are not supposed to be right behind the bench of the opponent, but last year we went to Miami and there they were.
Q. How do you think the team handled the noise in Oklahoma?
A. I thought we did a nice job. I was really concerned with Omar, being his first college start and in that type of venue, that he might struggle but he really kept his poise and that was encouraging because I don't care where else we go in the country, we're not going to go into a venue like Oklahoma the rest of the way on our schedule. Omar played decent in that game, in his first start, and that leads you to believe that there is not much that is going to rattle him and that is encouraging.
Q. Can you give us kind of a scouting report, your offense vs. NIU's defense, NIU's offense vs. your defense, and special teams?
A. Special teams are pretty even. They're very good in special teams, and we've been good so far. They had a great kicker the last couple of years, but he's gone. For the punting game, the kicking game, they've got (Dan) Sheldon, and he's a great return guy. He got one on us a couple of years ago. Charles Sharon has been good for us. They cover, they're sound...a Joe Novak coached football team is going to be sound and they're going to be prepared. And that's just something they do a nice job of. Defensively, we've seen a bunch of things from them in two years. They've played a lot of 3-4, they've played a lot of 4-3, they've blitzed, they've dropped. I mean we really have to prepare for their whole package. The thing they like to do defensively is try to disrupt you, confuse the quarterback, and mix the looks up. Two years ago they did that, they did a nice job. Last year they didn't because we exploited them. So, it is going to be interesting to see how they approach it this year, but knowing the history of that program and Coach Novak, they're not going to try to be fancy. They're just going to try to confuse Omar, mix it up a little bit, and try to keep us off balance. Their offense is going to run the football. Make no mistake about it - that is what they want to do. Without (Josh) Haldi in there, a senior QB that is hurt, that's tough. He's a great leader. Back-up QB (Phil) Horvath has been coming on. He struggled last week with interceptions, but he also threw four touchdown passes. So, offensively they're going to try to establish the run and pound us.
Q. At times, that has been difficult for BG to defend.
A. We struggled at times last year to stop the run. Ohio State and Toledo ran the ball effectively on us, but that's their bread and butter. But it hasn't really beaten us. I haven't seen a team just dominate us like Oklahoma did running the football, controlling the clock and scoring touchdowns. Last year people ran the ball but we did not give up a lot of points. Their offensive line is good, they're experienced and they're veteran players, and that's why you run the ball effectively - because of your offensive line.
Q. Are you anticipating that starting QB Josh Haldi will play?
A. I would anticipate Josh Haldi being there. If he's not, it is not going to change our game plan because they haven't done anything different with Horvath than they do with Haldi. They're still going to run their runs and run their passes, and that is who they are.
Q. With all of the turmoil this past week and having a big league opener on TV, can you talk a little bit about the leadership that you're looking from your captains? This is a week where the leadership is going to be tested a little bit or maybe it already has been tested.
A. The captains have done a nice job of keeping the team focused. We've had to refocus after the tragedy (last week), and any time that you have a veteran team it's good to have those types of leaders to get the young guys back on track. This is a crucial game as we've talked about and we need to be focused going in to Dekalb.
Q. A lot of the players are still here that played at NIU two years ago. How much of a revenge factor are you using, if at all, to motivate the players?
A. Well, to me it's become a rivalry because both teams are good, and both teams have a chance to win the West. They won there, we've won here, and now this is the rubber match. I don't look at it so much as revenge. I just look at it as a game we have to win on the road in the MAC West. I said the same thing last year. Our first road game was at Western Michigan, and I thought that was a key game in our season last year when we went up to Kalamazoo and won that game. This is very similar. We are going into a hostile environment, and it's a key MAC West game, and it's as close to a must win as you can say. The winner of this game will be in a good position to win the West, but there is still a lot of football left. So, the loser of this game, you can't write them off, but it sure would go a long way to win the thing.
