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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: FLORIDA v ARKANSASDecember 1, 2006Houston NuttATLANTA, GEORGIA COACH HOUSTON NUTT: First of all we're very, very glad to be here. It's always just a great atmosphere for college football. We're very, very proud to be helping the West, and our guys are just now taking off as we speak and they will be here very, very soon. We're looking forward to coming to this nice place and breaking a sweat. Q. Just the change in travel plans, are you worried at all about the routine being upset, or do you feel like your guys will handle it as it comes along? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: They will handle it. This is no different probably from the third or fourth week when there's been a delay or something like that. The good thing is, you don't play until tomorrow night. There's plenty of time and we'll just adjust and there will be no problem. Q. Looking a lot at stats, you are No. 1 by far in rushing the ball, and they are No. 1 in stopping the run; is it as simple as that, whoever wins that will claim victory? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: I think that's a good, good point right there is how good they are defensively. Their defensive line is very, very strong and it's going to be one of the trenches to answer your question, no question. Their defensive linemen seem like they are very deep, very quick, very strong and they have done a great job all year long of holding people -- keeping them out of the end zone. So we've got to do a great job. Q. Two questions. How would you describe first just the team's psychological frame of mind in the last couple of days, and what is that impact, if any, all the Heisman talk that McFadden had on the team? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: The last couple of days, our guys have been -- we've had very good practices. They are very excited about this ballgame. Their focus and concentration, that's what you always go by, the preparation and they have done an excellent job. You have to give a lot of credit to our seniors. As far as the Heisman thing, the guys have really taken that -- especially the offensive line, they have a lot of pride about the way they block. But as far as a lot of talk, there has not been that much talk about it. Darren McFadden, he doesn't say that much about it, and he's very -- of course he's so unselfish and he gives all the credit to his offensive line, tight ends, fullbacks, those guys. If anything, it's brought our team closer together. First time in a long time someone is talking about a Heisman Trophy candidate from the University of Arkansas. They are excited about it, and yet there's not just a lot, a lot of talk about it. Q. How has Casey been in practice this week in terms of sharpness? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: I think he's had a very, very good week. He is, again, very focused. I thought he's very, very accurate this week, and he knows if you look at the secondary Florida, well, they are outstanding. Reggie Nelson is probably one of the best I've ever seen at free safety. These guys are like receivers, too. One thing we've been telling Casey and Mitch both is you cannot hang the ball up. These guys will go get it -- and they break on a call, so they are outstanding defensive backs, but to answer your question, Casey has had a very good week this week. Q. How is Peyton, what's his status for this week? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: Peyton is not going to make the trip. We're going to keep him there, give him some treatment and try to get him ready for the Bowl game. This has been a very severe injury, it's very deep, fibers that are knotted up and he just cannot get full range of motion. So hopefully we'll have him for the Bowl game. Q. Since Arkansas got in the league, they have not beat Florida, is that any kind of psychological hurdle to get over? What's your thoughts on that? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: I don't think our guys think about that. They have a tremendous respect for the University of Florida. They are looking forward to playing against a quality team like that, and I don't think they go back and look at the years past and look at the scores. If they do, it's not -- it's not to me like a big psychological hurdle at all. Q. Not having Michael Grant and what do you do to take some pressure off your secondary against Florida's offense? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: We've missed Michael Grant since he went to South Carolina. You miss that speed. I thought Kevin Woods and Jerell Norton and Randy Kelly, all those guys have really tried to step up and play at a much higher level. But one thing this team has done, when you lost Freddie Fairchild, when you lost Marcus Harrison, this team has found a way to step up. It will be no different tomorrow night. These guys have got to do a great job against talented receivers, the arsenal they have, the wide-out, Dallas Baker; they have big time players. The wide-outs in this league are big-time every week, and you have to be ready to play and it's no different this week. To answer your question, we expect these guys to step up and go to another level. Q. Do you do anything else, does the pass rush affect that or defensive line, can you talk about that? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: You always try to tweak or add something, and you always try to put in a wrinkle in or a blitz or something to keep them off-rhythm, so naturally we are going to try to have something in our game plan to help the secondary. Q. Because you guys were on such a roll for a while, you had to practice this week after a loss, something this team has not done in quite a while. What's the reaction of this team in practice mentally? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: We had not lost in a long time and that was the reaction I wanted to see; they didn't like it. They didn't like not singing that fight song after the game. They came back with a real hunger, real purpose to practice, to get better, knowing they are facing a big-time football team. They came to work. I was really proud the way they responded. Q. You've got three or four players that played in the 2002 game. Has their experience been valuable or is there anything they have been able to tell the other players this week about playing in the game? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: There's only about three, Wes Murphy and Zac Tubbs, maybe Tony Ugoh, but they didn't play. Maybe just a few plays. Maybe Zac Tubbs played a little bit. The thing that they are sharing with their teammates is first of all, the hype of how big this team is, the atmosphere is just as good as a Bowl game, if not better, and what an honor to be in a Championship Game to represent the West. Those are some of the things that's been shared with the teammates. So they are excited, they were big-eyed last night. I had my last meeting with them last night and told them I would not be traveling on the plane with them. They were ready and excited about coming to the game. Q. When you look at the Florida defense, is there something that tells you, yeah, we should run this wildcat offense more, or maybe we so run it less than we have been? Is there something specific about Florida that makes you adjust that? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: The thing when you watch the Florida defense, the thing that sticks out first of all, is boy, their defensive linemen is a lot like LSU except their ends are better. Their defensive ends are 6-6, 6-5, 260, 270. They run like deer, just tremendous athleticism. Secondary maybe even better than anybody we've seen all year. And so, everybody's got to do a great job no matter what we call, it doesn't mean anything if you don't step right. One bad step, one false step with this defensive line, they are in your backfield. They are going to disrupt, and they are going to create loss yardage plays and that's what they have done all year long. They have kept people out of the end zone and they disrupt. To answer your question, as far as the wildcat package, we are going to use that naturally, but kind of depends on the flow of the game and what they are doing to it. Each team has done something a little bit different to that package and so we have to kind of see, it's kind of like a chess match on that deal. Q. Arkansas is usually never picked to win the division, certainly not SEC overall. What would winning this game and going to the Sugar Bowl do to elevate the program? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: It would really take to another level, to be in a BCS Bowl, recruiting, it would really help our program. You can already feel it right now with recruiting the way it's going. You're able to be a little bit more selective right now. We've already had probably about 12 official visits lined up first couple weeks in December coming up. So to win this and go to the Sugar Bowl, just keeps raising the program and taking it to another level. Q. How important is it to get off to a quick start and maybe take an early lead in this game? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: It's important. We always play better when we do get off to a good rhythm. Maybe not necessarily score first, but you know by the feel, the flow of the game, you know that you're playing well, both offensively and defensively. You're not giving up anything big and you can just -- that's where our team has gained confidence, especially how we start. Q. Looks like Percy is probably going to play despite the injury, how much tougher are they to defend with Harvin in there do you think? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: Much harder. I told the luncheon crowd, I was really hoping, don't want him to be hurt too bad. I was just hoping he wouldn't be ready for the Bowl game. He is an explosive guy. He's lightning quick. They put him in the backfield, just like we do Darren McFadden, and he can do a lot of things, watch reverses, throw it up to him, screens, all those things. He is a tremendous difference-maker. Q. I know you'll always say time of possession, no turnovers, no mistakes, thing of that nature, but beyond those things, what are your keys for a victory tomorrow? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: I want to go back to last week, LSU game. We played one of the best teams in the country. We've been really good on special teams all year long. I think that's the key. These guys have great special teams. They have difference-makers, they have returners in James. These guys can really flip a game on you in a hurry. And so, that's what hurt us last week in Little Rock. We led a kickoff, had the momentum, had the crowd, had everything in our favour and they take a kickoff back. So we've got to do a great job with that. I think that's really key. We used to have great possession time. This year, our possession time actually has been down. And so you just don't want to give up easy touchdowns. They are going to make some plays that are great offense, they are great defense, but you just don't want the gate to open up too quick. Q. Irvin has been pretty vocal about a BCS playoff. For those of us who do not cover Arkansas, you might have mentioned it; what's your view on that? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: I love the Bowls. I love just the college atmosphere of Bowl games. The only thing I would say is that I wish that every conference had this. I think it could be great every conference to have a championship week, Championship Game, maybe a plus-one or a final four, something like that. But to think about giving up Bowl games during that Christmas and New Year's time, you know, I grew up with that. So I'm partial to that and I think if you get it done with an N-1 or final four type of deal. Q. Are you willing to play whatever kind of game it is, if it's a 10-7 game or can you play a shootout the same way? Which way would you like to see it go? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: You know, I don't know about a shootout. Those guys have got some pretty tough weapons. They can go up-and-down the field. I like that game where we're about ten points ahead and about six minutes left, let us try to run out the clock. I like that game, you know. I'm trying to be funny. To answer your question, I like that close ballgame that maybe not -- maybe not in the 30s or 40s, but in those 20s, early 30s, right in there. That's kind of our game. Q. Do you think with so much focus on the BCS and who is playing for, it all has taken away from the other Bowls? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: It probably has over the last few years, it probably has. What I mean by that, by not taking away those Bowls, it still helps those teams, somebody can end on a good note, it can be helpful to their program. You can get out in and recruit. I look at it far as a coach's viewpoint, you want that Bowl, to be able to practice a little bit longer with your younger people, to be able to go out in the homes during that time or bring recruits, student athletes on your campus as you're practicing. Those things are so valuable, and coaching, as you know, it's not easy because everybody wants to win yesterday, everybody wants to go to a Bowl game. I would just hate to think about losing that, but you're probably right, because the BCS, there's probably been a little bit taken away from especially some of the earlier votes. Q. Florida has won five games by ten points or less and has not scored more than 28 points in the SEC game this year, what does that say about the resiliency? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: When you watch them on film, that's all you see. They find a way to win. They compete very, very hard. You've got to give it to their defense. Their offense, of course, sells the tickets, and with the Tim Tebows and the Chris Leaks, Dallas Baker, Percy Harvin, all those guys make things happen and they are going to get most of the ink. But if you watch closely, there's not too many people scoring too many points on these guys. So, it's defense. They have a great, great defense, and they stop folks. They are not giving up very much, especially in the rushing department. Q. In your opinion, what makes Arkansas better than Florida? COACH HOUSTON NUTT: The one thing I love about our team, if you go back to the very first game, we had so much emphasis on the USC game, put a lot on that. What I love about our team is heart. To be able to come back when nobody gives you a chance, to be able to go to Auburn, ranked No. 2 in the country and win; to be able to overcome injuries, key injuries: Fairchild, Harrison, early on, and to be able to just keep coming back, keep fighting, keep believing and real often straight games. That's not easy to do. No one picked us to be here today, no one. That's one little thing I would say, I'd say heart. And I'm not saying Florida doesn't have heart. I'm just saying, that's the characteristic of this team and the seniors, the leadership that they have. They have done a great job of taking ownership of this team and really leading this team. End of FastScripts |
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