TicketsWin Gives UC a Boost for TCU
Comments from Mark Dantonio's weekly media conference.
Contact: Tom Hathaway
10/27/2004
About the Memphis Game
?This was a great win and the most complete game we?ve played. Obviously, we were mentally prepared as a team, and we were emotional. We thought we had to be multi-dimensional as an offense?we needed to run and throw. Memphis came into the game ranked No. 1 in the conference against the run. We got 242 yards. A lot of guys got touches. The credit belongs to the guys running the football and the offensive line. I felt like we had to be able to pass it as well and we were very effective in doing that. I thought Gino (Guidugli) had a very complete game. He got a lot of receivers involved in the pass catching. So on offense, we were two-dimensional, which is difficult to stop.
?Defensively, we tried to make them (Memphis) a one-dimensional football team. They came in leading the conference in passing and in rushing. We also got that accomplished. We limited the quarterback to 52 yards passing and DeAngelo Williams, who led the nation last year, to 57 yards rushing. I think we played as well defensively as we had (all season). We had nine 3-and-outs out of 12 series. Offensively, we had no negative yardage plays, and in 82 plays, that?s pretty extraordinary.
?On special teams, we wanted to make two significant plays, and I think we did that with Mike?s (Daniels) returns and the fake field goal which led to a touchdown.
?When you look at the 49-10 score at the end of the game, you come away thinking that there were a lot of turnovers or mistakes. Ultimately, it was just played very well. We played with great effort and toughness.
?Obviously, we are very pleased. It gives us great confidence playing in our next game. We need to understand that we?re only as good as our last game. We need to come emotionally ready and mentally ready every week to play.?
Effects of the Win over Memphis
?It?s an emotional lift. I don?t think people realize how difficult it is when you?ve lost a game you should win and have two weeks to sit and dwell on that. The attitude of our team is very good. The attitude of our seniors is good. From the time I?ve come here, everything we?ve asked them to do they?ve done. They?ve kept a positive attitude. That?s the nature of our players. When you have that, I think you always have a chance. There is no doubt that this Memphis game can help our confidence. It should push us into the next phase. I wrote on top of my practice schedule ?get even.? We?ve got to get to 4-4. We can?t think beyond that. We can?t think that we?re going to just roll our helmets out there. We?ve had some adversity. We?ve played not so good and we?ve played well. We need to understand what allowed us to do that.?
Status of the Development of the Offense
I knew we had a good quarterback and I knew that we could throw the football. What we didn?t know is how well we would be able to run the football. This offense ran the ball for 29 yards last year against Memphis. This year we ran for 242. We felt like we needed to come in and be able to play power football. I think we?re starting to accomplish that. We?re up to about 180-plus yards a game rushing and about 220 throwing, so we?ve got balance. I think what was really positive (in the Memphis game) was we played error free.
Our offense is playing well. They are establishing themselves as runners. We?re deep. We have talented players at that position. We?ve got a quarterback who can throw the football down the field. When people look at that football game, they?re going to have a feeling of toughness. We played hard and we played with great effort.?
About the TCU Game
?TCU uses two quarterbacks. They?ve got two good running backs who have been over 1000 yards in their careers. They?ve got a big offensive line with four starters back. They?ve got good skill back. They?ve got good wide receivers back. They?re second in the conference in scoring, averaging 35 points a game. On defense, they?re giving up some yards. They?ve not been as successful as previously. They?re giving up a lot of passing yards. I?m sure they?re working to correct those things. They?re well coached. They expect to win.
?They?ll come up with the idea to win. Our idea has got to be to get to 2-2?get even. Everything is in our court. We play the top teams in the conference and we have the opportunity to go right up the ladder. We control our own destiny. We talked about last week about the most important play was the next play. We?ve got to focus on this game.
?Our players are very competitive players. As long as we compete and get emotional, things will take care of themselves.?