Marshall University Athletics
Bob Pruett Press Conference Transcript
9/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bob Pruett Press Conference Transcript
9/7/2004
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall head football coach Bob Pruett held his weekly press conference today regarding the Herd's matchup with Ohio State this Saturday in Columbus.
Opening Statements
First of all, I thought we did some good things in the ball game last week?we played well at times, and really gave up only one drive, and that came in the opening drive. We played pretty efficiently on defense for most of the night, but we had one blown call in the secondary on that first drive and it cost us. In close ball games, you can?t do that. Their (Troy?s) defense stepped up?it definitely was the difference in the ballgame.
Our field goal game has improved from last year, but we have to do a better job with our return teams. We were put in some real bad field position, especially the way our offense was executing. Offensively, we were horrendous?there?s really no other way to put it. I don?t think we can fix it in a week, but we have a lot of work to do. It?s going to take some time for those kids to mature and to learn to play their position.
Bad news is we struggled on offense and the offensive line, the good news is that we have a good offensive line coach (Mark McHale) who has done this type of thing before. In 2000, it took us a while to get it done, but we got it done. And, we?ll figure a way how to get it done this year.
On Ohio State
Ohio has a great coach, great players, and a great stadium. What I have seen is that, although they sent 14 guys to the NFL, I think they may be more athletic than they were last year. They?ve had some young guys play well on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, they dominated Cincinnati. We?ve got a huge chore in front of us.
Jim Tressel is an outstanding coach, and he?s done a tremendous job there.
How will you address the pass protection situation?
We?ve just got to work on it. We played nine out of ten possible against Troy, and we?ll play the tenth if possible. We?ll just move them around and keep working on it until we get it right. We knew what was coming from Troy, but we couldn?t stop them. We even took our guys to the turf room at halftime and walked them through what we wanted them to do, but it still didn?t work. You?ve got to give credit to Troy?they?re the best defensive football team that has ever been in this stadium.
How does this team compare to the 2000 team?
We lost our starting center at Michigan State, and we had some injuries. But, we got better as the year went along. Our problems didn?t show up until the sixth game that year for some reason or another, but we worked on it. We?ll do that again this year, it?s just that our next opponent is not a good time to be working on things.
Comment on your defense.
I thought we did some really good things defensively. We eliminated a pretty good running team. We gave up only four passes of 20 yards or more in the passing game, and they really didn?t do much outside of that. It looks like we?re going to be a good defensive team and play good special teams and bring our offense along. We?re so accustomed to moving the ball on anybody at any time?I?m not saying that we don?t have the ingredients to do that, we just need to do a little more mixing.
How are the players? They?re not used to losing too many games around here, how are they holding up?
I?ve found out one thing over the years?the loss lingers longer with coaches and some of the fans than with the players. I think they?ll move on get ready for the next one. The shame of it is, is that we have a week to savor this loss?but we have to be ready. We?ve got a good team waiting on us at Ohio State?you better be ready to go up there and play.
How crucial are games like these that bring exposure to your program? How does it affect the future of Marshall football?
Well, I think if you play well, it?s really good. If they run through you like water, it?s not good at all. It?s a double-edged sword.
