Oct. 16, 2001
Two of Baylor's head coaches spoke to the media at Tuesday's press luncheon. Below are excerpts from their comments.
Head Volleyball Coach Brian Hosfeld:
On last week's loss at Kansas State:
"We came out slow and lost the first game... In the second game, we corrected our hitting errors... but had our worst passing game. After the first two games, we went in the locker room and talked about it. Larry [Little, BU media relations contact] had given us a stat that we hadn't been in a five-game match all year. We played a lot more solid after that, eliminated our errors... We got to the fifth-game rally, but we just didn't take our best swings."
On the team's upcoming games:
"We head into the week with more of the same. Texas Tech comes into our place. They are a very fast team... Probably very similar to us. They have a big stick on the outside, similar to Stevie [Nicholas]... They have one of the bigger middles vs. Tisha [Schwartz], so she'll have to be on her game."
"We're pretty balanced on the stat sheet. It really comes down to who controls the match, who plays error-free."
On the season thus far:
"We've lost to five teams, and all five teams have been in the top 25 at one point or another."
Head Football Coach Kevin Steele:
On the team this season:
"Right now, we lead the nation defensively in fumbles recovered, so that's kind of interesting... We rank ninth nationally in takeaways, second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma."
"As a sidenote, we're the only team in the Big 12 to have had all three conference games come against opponents in the Big 12 with winning records. We're the only school that has played Iowa State (2-1), Texas A&M (2-1) and Nebraska (3-0)... That's making us a better football team. In past years, we weren't at a point to handle that and be productive. This year, it's making us a better team. We'll be able to draw on that in weeks to come."
"I said we're a good team and I still think that. Seven of our last eight quarters have been pretty good football, something we can build on."
"Other than the debacle against Iowa State, we've gone a good ways toward giving ourselves a chance to win at the end."
"We've played well seven of the last eight quarters. There's no gratification in two losses, but there are positive things in having a chance to win on the last two plays, like at A&M. We could've thrown the last five plays in the endzone last year at 14 points each, and it still wouldn't have been enough. You could have asked Frank [Solich, Nebraska head coach] last year in Lincoln at the end of the first quarter if he was concerned about the game, and he would have said no. Here on the road this year, it was close going into the fourth quarter and was not a gimme."
"This year, going against the best has helped us become a better football team. We're getting better all the time. Part of it is because this is a resilient group, but part of it is because we see it coming, the guys see improvement... Not so much from the scoreboard on the wins and losses, but playing toe-to-toe, play after play."
On this week's opponent, Oklahoma:
"Oklahoma has a lot of good things going for them... That goes back 30-40 years. Traditionally they've been a very good football program..."
"They are very athletic, run well on defense, play with a lot of passion, and have a strong, strong attitude. Offensively, they are very good, they're the reigning national champions, that's says enough there."
"Their defense is certainly getting well-deserved recognition. Last year, their quarterback got a lot of attention... He was a Heisman candidate and made the offense go... Early in the year everyone knew they had a new quarterback, and some of the pressure shifted to the offense. We had to see how they would respond, and obviously they responded very well."
On Oklahoma's two quarterbacks:
"They're both good players... We evaluate more the scheme and when they run certain plays... It doesn't make a lot of difference in what they do and when they do it based on the quarterback."
On Baylor heading into this weekend:
"We'll focus this week on what we do... Because again, we want to improve every week and give ourselves a chance to win football games."
On Baylor's defense:
"We've focused on interceptions and fumble recoveries, and on stripping the ball... One of the Nebraska coaches told me after the game that that was the hardest they've been hit in a long time. We've got some hard hitters."
"Look at our defense and what they've done this year, other than wearing down in the fourth quarter [against Nebraska]. Throughout the year, with the exception of Iowa State, they've played pretty tough football. Goalline stands, fourth-down tries... other teams needed to make things happen and couldn't do it."
