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ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO: STANFORD v WISCONSINDecember 27, 2012Derek MasonPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. Can you talk about the great running backs you've faced this year? Talk about facing Montee Ball? DEREK MASON: You know what, I'll say this, Montee Ball is probably as good a back as I've seen on tape. I think playing good backs has given us an opportunity to show what we can do to this point, but I think each back represents their own problems. You look at Montee Ball, his size, his speed, his vision, inside, outside. Very much like Stepfan Taylor. I mean, it's a different problem. I think it's not just Montee Ball. It's their core group of running backs. When you look at all three, they've been able to put up huge numbers. Whether you look at the other two, those guys, yards per carry is actually larger than Montee Ball's. So when you look at Wisconsin as a whole from their wildcat to their jet sweep to them being able to lineup and run power hide, counter, and even the inside zone game, they're good. They're really good. I truly believe that this team is catching fire at the right time. They're good up front. They've gotten better. As we saw in the Nebraska game, you don't put up that many points by accident. And I think we're going to give them their best, and they're going to get ours. It's going to be a good one. Q. Can you talk about three of the biggest challenges on defense (Indiscernible)? Three things specific to Wisconsin to win? DEREK MASON: Stop the run, stop the run, and watch the play action. I truly believe when you get to these games, you get a chance to see gadgetry. So with them running the ball extremely well, what you always fear is play action. I mean, that's what comes off a great running game as we know in Stanford. I mean, run, run, run, and then play‑action pass. So just knowing and understanding where we're at, situational football. Because every team has tendencies, whether you're backed up, middle of the field or in the maroon zone, there are always things that you can key on. But at the end of the day, coaches coach and players play. I truly believe it's not what we know, but what the players know and what they can execute and digest. So it's going to be a game of true strategy in terms of understanding where we are, what we need to do, and making sure that our guys see what's happening. One thing about this game, it's going to come down to adjustments, who makes the adjustments. Are they talking about the first series going into halftime or talking about going into the fourth quarter. You watched them in the Big Ten Championship game and they just kept going. They didn't stop. It was a leaky faucet that kept going, kept going, and kept going. Eventually it just filled the room. We know what's at hand. We have to prepare for everything. But knowing full well that we just need to do our job, and if we do that, we'll be okay. Q. How difficult is it preparing for this game? DEREK MASON: We look at Wisconsin, and we know Coach Alvarez is a Hall of Fame coach. He's done a great job of being able to keep this staff together through the bowl games. So with that being the case, they're going to have some continuity. He understands this program because his DNA, his fingerprint is all over this program. So with that being the case, we don't expect it to be much different. But everything up to this point has been about Wisconsin. Everything moving forward has to be about us. We have to make sure we do the things we need to do to play our best game. Because if we go all week worrying about Wisconsin and how they're preparing and what they're doing, it takes away from what we're trying to do, which is play our best game. So we need to focus on us. Fully understanding what they're capable of as they showed versus Nebraska. Q. (Indiscernible)? DEREK MASON: I think it's the sum of the parts. I truly believe that these guys truly believe in one another. It's got to be more than X's and O's. It's got to be more than one guy. If you look at the TFLs and the numbers, everybody's had a turn. Everybody's made a contribution to what we've been able to do this year. So with this group being a no‑named defense, what they've been able to do collectively is what makes football fun. It's about playing for one another. It's still the ultimate team sport, and these guys have shown they're willing to give up the individual accolades for team success. I think that's what's important. That's what gets missed sometimes. With this group as you look at this game and moving forward and what's going to happen for us, we've got to really make sure that for this team to be successful, they need to stay in the moment. We've got to stay in the moment and not worry about all of the distractions of what can happen to us. The what‑ifs. We just need to know. Play our best ball, every snap, every play for 60 minutes. Let's see what happens. See what happens. Q. (Indiscernible)? DEREK MASON: You know, when you look at the Pac‑12 title game, the thing that was different about that game, having to play a great opponent in UCLA, who is good? The quarterback, the running back, the wideouts, any time you face a good team with six days off, we need we were going to get their best shot. I think what they did was along the lines of what we saw. We knew we were going to run the quarterback; we didn't know how. Instead of it being off the gun read game, it came in the way of the quarterback draw. That's something that they hadn't shown. We knew they were going to run somehow, some way, but they did a great job. Our guys didn't do a very good job of getting off blocks and tackles. You've got to give UCLA credit. They're a good football team. But I think in the end, when you looked at it, we've played the way we played all year. We've played well in the fourth quarter. We've made the adjustments. Regardless of what the yardage was, I think the ultimate thing that you're looking for is the win. That game, we needed to win. Kids showed well in the fourth quarter. They played hard, and they came away with a win. I think that's what this team has been made of. It's been made of guys who know how to make adjustments, and they find a way to fight through adversity. Lot of people can't fight through adversity. Whether you go back to Arizona or look at UCLA in that fourth quarter and things looked a little grim. I mean, you talk about having to fight in Eugene playing Oregon. I think this team has been resilient. Defensively and offensively we've found ways to win. That's what this group is going to have to do in this game. They're going to have to overcome adversity and make a push, and so are we. Q. (Indiscernible)? DEREK MASON: It's different. It presents its own challenges. We go against our offense. But we only go against our offense in the spring and fall camp. So we haven't seen a team like this all year. So when you talk about the physical challenge, it's different. Our offense is very similar in terms of what they do and how they go about their business. But the thing that sets them apart is they play this way all year. Teams like Michigan State and Ohio State, they get a chance to see it. For us, having time to prepare for it still doesn't do it justice because it's a physical game. The line of scrimmage changes. Our guys having to get into that mindset of now, the perception of a gun read and everything that goes along with the spread game it's a little different now, because they're going to get attacked and knocked off the ball. So for us, we've had to adjust our practices. We've made it physical without going over the top. We don't need to beat our guys up to show them how physical this game's going to be. All they need to do is watch the tape and know and understand how these guys moved the line of scrimmage. So for us, they've been prepared physically. We've got five more days of preparation. And that's what we're going to do, and that's what we're going to work towards. Then I think January 1st, you're going to see a physical match. Q. Have you done work on contact in practice? DEREK MASON: We've done more contact because we've had more time. I wouldn't say we've gone over the top with it, because we are a physical team. We pride ourselves on trying to work towards that goal every week of trying to move the line of scrimmage, change the line of scrimmage, get teams behind schedule and then make sure we can earn the right to rush the passer on third down. So that hasn't changed for us. We still had the same approach in terms of what our periods have been. They haven't changed. We've had physical periods. We've had some go get them periods that have been full contact, which is great for us. But it's all within the confines of close quarters where we keep these guys from getting hurt. Because that is the one things about our offense and defense. They'll go after one another, if you let them. So that's just the mentality that's been created. So I think for the most part, it's been good. It's been a little push and pull in terms of having to back these guys off a little bit. But this week in preparation will be good for us. Q. (Indiscernible)? DEREK MASON: You know what? We've had Barry Sanders Jr., which is he's unique within himself. But we've also had Jackson Cummings, Ramon Wright. Guys who present problems, because they're quick. They're fast. They're strong. But, again, we've had to mirror their whole running back corps because, again, if you look at the wildcat and what they've done with the wildcat, it's every bit as impressive of what they've done out of the I or power I or one back. So we've had to use our myriad of backs, which is good, because we have backs. We have backs that can mirror. They may not be the same as, but they're close. Q. (Indiscernible)? DEREK MASON: Yes, I think when you go back and you look at what they've done with it the latter part of the year, I think it became‑‑ earlier on, maybe their philosophy was different. As the season went on, you saw more the old Wisconsin start to come back. So I think as they moved and progressed, they went back to their core values and who they are offensively. They want to get to big groups. They want to be able to put extra linemen on the field to create gaps. So when you do that, you have to defend 11 guys. They'll put the quarterback out wide, and sometimes the quarterback is not even in the game. So when you have big groups where you have three tight ends and three tight ends, a fullback, along with a running back and they're back there, the line of scrimmage gets long. It gets long, and everything they do from running downhill to attacking the perimeter. So really you have to cover the field and go sideline to sideline. That is the stress that they create on defenses. It's a challenge within itself to make sure that your numbers match their numbers. That's exactly what we have to do, match numbers to numbers. Q. Coach, speaking of core values, there is no team like (Indiscernible). DEREK MASON: You know what, I've heard that. I've heard that, and I think it's a genuine comparison. Just compared to the rest of the Pac‑12. Everybody's different. Q. There is nobody like you in Pac‑12? DEREK MASON: Right. Everybody's different. I think it's a fair comparison when you talk about style of ball. Defensively we're predicated on stopping the run. Most of the Big Ten is predicated on stopping the run. But I think it probably stops there in terms of we still generally have to defend the pass because everybody in our conference, when you talk about SC or UCLA or talk about Arizona, when you talk about Washington State and what Leach is doing up there in Washington, there is not a team in the Pac‑12 that doesn't have a receiver that can go get them in the distance. Oregon State this year proved in what they were able to do. So I think we're built that way in terms of the run and probably our guys are a little maligned in terms of the pass game, because people don't believe that we defend the pass well. But I think when you stop the run, you're going to see more passes. So you have to look at the pass efficiency part of it to get a true look at who we are. So I think we are different in what we look like and how we play, and how we go about things. But it is a throw‑back type of mentality. It is blue collar, and that's what we want to be. We try to recruit to who we are. We can't be like the rest of the other teams in the Pac‑12. Don't want to be. But Coach Shaw made that clear when he took over. We're going to be us and continue to do us, and I think that served us well. So we're going to stay in our mold, and hopefully that continues to be a great brand of football. Q. Throwback is better? DEREK MASON: Yeah, throwback is better. I much prefer throwback because I'm a throwback type of guy. Q. A couple of the players were talking about in practice after the Notre Dame game being sloppy, and David had to say something to his players. Was that a hangover from that loss? DEREK MASON: Oh, definitely a hangover. I think what happens is this. I think you play a hard fought game. You put yourself in position where you think you have an opportunity and you let it slip through your fingers. Notre Dame won that game, and we lost it. That's the reality that our players have to deal with. So we came out. They worked at it, but it wasn't good enough. We didn't run to the ball. It wasn't physical. It wasn't our type of practice. So we went back to the drawing board, and we asked those guys to reassess what the season was going to be remembered for. Are you going to be defined by that Notre Dame game? Because if you are, let's shut it down now and give away the rest of the season. But if you want to make a run at this thing, let's do that and practice that way. So Chase had a players' only meeting with the defense. Stepfan and Schwartzstein met with the offense, and then they met collectively to talk about exactly where that team wanted to go. So it's always about having great leadership. It starts at the top. David's a great leader. Bright coach, shining star in his profession, but when you look at our players and where they're at, having a guy like Chase Thomas speaks volumes, because Chase doesn't say a whole lot. So when he speaks, they listen. He got the message loud and clear. So for me to have an extension of myself being out there with Chase, it's unbelievable. He knows exactly what I'm thinking. We talk about it. He makes more adjustments than I do. Which is fun. It's fun coaching this group. It's fun. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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