Head Coach Ron Prince
Opening Statement...
“They (Louisville) are still really good and we are not really sure if we are. Their offensive line, the more you watch them, the more impressive they get. I think they have two of the better offensive linemen in college football. Their center is a really good player. He and Jeff Byers, the center from USC, are some of the best out there. He has had 37 starts and you don’t see anything on the tape that makes you think anything different. We thought he was good in 2006 and he still is – he has been there for a long time. The left tackle is a good player.
“These guys play the game the way it is supposed to be played. They are big and strong, they know what they are doing and they are committed to running the football. They have a good complement with their fullbacks and tight ends. Their running back, No. 20 (Victory Anderson), isn’t always noted as the starter, but is their feature back. I think he is really dynamic and will be a very dangerous player. I have asked around and people tell me this quarterback is very highly regarded out side the college football world. He has an unbelievable release and he can put the ball down the field. If the release looks a little bit different to people, all you have to do is look at Philip Rivers. That’s who he reminds me of, a quarterback that I have played against in my past who can throw the ball like him. They are very much set on how they want to attack you on defense with their offense.
“Defensively, nothing has really changed. The more tape I look at, the more impressed I am with their defensive attack. No. 94 (Adrian Grady) is a really good player no matter what league he is playing in. He doesn’t have some of the household appeal that some of the other guys have because he had some injuries last season. They have a lot of veteran guys in the secondary. I think that one of the biggest x-factors in the game is their returner and wide receiver, No. 3 (Trent Guy). He had a touchdown as a returner a year ago against Kentucky. He has really been a game-changer and has been able to affect momentum at times.”
On K-State...
“I felt like we have accomplished some things in our practices, particularly on defense. In the kicking game, we have focused on some things that have been giving us some issues – none of them are because people are playing poorly, but we just felt that the guys were competing for playing time and we want to promote as much of that as we can.”
On Louisville’s rush defense...
“When you’re not allowing people to run the football in the interior at all because of those two (defensive linemen), the secondary – particularly the safeties, corners and outside linebackers – understand that the game is coming to them. They are very coordinated to do a good job on the edge with how they want to defend the run. Most people look at the running game and realize you have to be able to run the ball inside at some point. No matter what games you look at, you don’t really see that. I think the bulk of many teams’ yards so far have come from trying to attack the interior and then moving outside, and I don’t think that is the case because of their two big defensive tackles.”
On improvements on the running game...
“The reality is we won’t know until we get there if we have improved in that area or not. I think the game will be a great test for us in that aspect and I think we will find out a lot of things about our team after the game. But, we will find out about the running game when we get there. I think it will be a great test for us.”
“I think in all games you have to be able to run to win. I think there comes a time and place in every single game that you have to be able to run the ball and when you do it you have to be able to run effectively. If you go out there and have a poor rushing performance that confirms to the other team how they might want to play. You have to have something positive occur and have it happen early if you can. They are very committed to their running game and that’s why they have had very good passing numbers, particularly last year, because so much of what they do comes off of play action. If you can’t establish any kind of running game at all, then that eliminates a good portion of your play action game.”
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