Coach Crowton discusses BYU football at Tucanos media luncheon

Tucanos Media Luncheon

Head Coach Gary Crowton's opening comments:

I feel better today than I did last week. It feels good to win. The team played better. We played much better defensively. I could see signs of us playing better defense against Colorado St. and we put it all together last week. We played some good defensive games this year early on in the season, but it was good to see us play well against an offense that is as good as San Diego State. We aren't as good on third downs as I would like to be, but I didn't have to go for it on fourth down at all. Wyoming is a much better team than their record shows. They are playing very good football right now. They beat Air Force, and they played their last few games very close. Their quarterback is a very good player. He likes to get out of the pocket and buy some time to make big throws down field. Defensively, Wyoming will give up some yards. They seem to get big stops and turnovers when they need them.

Q --Will you talk about how you saw the offense and the defense feeding off each other last week?

Crowton--I felt like the past few weeks we have been making a lot of progress. When it happened in the game it was good to see. The offense got it started by scoring in the first quarter. The defense then got a stop and they both fed off of each other and we kept a high intensity in the game. We scored a touchdown early and the defense was getting sacks and it was just a fun game to play.

Q --Did you say the main reason for your teams' troubles was inexperience?

Crowton--I would say the main reason when we had our struggles was that we made some decisions with playing certain players that were very inexperienced and we had some injuries. Our experience hurt us. It has taken some time to get the experience. I think we have been practicing very well this week and I think we'll play well too.

Q--Can you attribute one or two reasons to the team playing good right now?

Crowton--Even when we didn't play well, we did some good things. In the Colorado St. game Matt was 13 for 15 but then we had two fumbles and an interception. With experience we have made more good plays and less mistakes. We need to cut down on our turnovers. When you go back and put a red jersey on in practice and you don't get hit for four years it is a big difference when you actually get hit in a game in the back. It is a little different from a guy running by and tapping you on the shoulder and yelling sack like we do in practice. Matt did a much better job against SDSU at holding on to the ball. We just want to have more bright moments and fewer mistakes.

Q--Can you expand on concerns you have with Wyoming?

Crowton--They have some good receivers and they are quick. Their quarterback is good at buying time in the pocket and letting his receivers get open. Offensively they do a good job at down blocking. They get some good double teams. Defensively they will give up some yards but they will try to get turnovers in the process.

Q--Have you scouted the weather report for the game on Saturday?

Crowton--I thought it would be cold last week but it wasn't. This week is supposed to be rainy and cloudy, so we'll have to wait and see.

Q--Will you go forward with what you have planned, regardless of the weather?

Crowton--In the game plan, we will prepare for windy and rainy situations. We can go different directions if it is bad weather.

Q--Did the cold weather at Air Force and Colorado St. have any effect on your team?

Crowton--I didn't think it was that cold. We dressed for it so we were prepared. It wasn't like Chicago.

Q--What reasons can you give for being able to get to San Diego's quarterback so well last week?

Crowton--Coach Schmidt did a good job preparing the team and disguising what we were doing. Walkenhorst is such a good player on the outside too. Poppinga had single blockers and was able to get free a lot. We got good pressure on the inside with our defense. Mike Tanner did a good job on the draw plays too.

Q--Is that going to be the key again this week?

Crowton--No, they are different types of quarterbacks. Bramlett doesn't like to stay in the pocket. He likes to get outside and make some plays. We've got to keep him in the pocket.

Q--Can you update the injury situation?

Crowton--Heaney will not play. He has had too many shoulder injuries. If he didn't throw his mouthpiece in the Air Force game he would have been all right. I made a decision before the game that if it came out again I would sit him for the rest of the year. Herring practiced and will be healthy. Rykert will practice and will be healthy. Brandon Stephens hurt his back lifting weights, but I think he'll be ok. Keele looked good and should be good to play. Walkenhorst will probably practice tomorrow. I hope he'll be all right. A few days off should help him out. Jernaro will probably play quite a few plays for us too.

Q--What happened to David Christenson?

Crowton--He pulled his groin.

Q--Who will be your starting cornerbacks?

Crowton--Jernaro, Nielson, Barney, and Allen will start for us on the corners.

Q--Are you going to continue to work the option into the game plan?

Crowton--Pendleton is getting healthy, so I would like to put him in for a few plays like I did earlier in the season. The option plays take time, and I would like to keep working on it.

Q--How has Wyoming's defense been against the run?

Crowton--They are giving up 500 yards a game. They play a defense that is a bend but don't break. They don't put a lot of pressure on you. They may do that to us because we have a young quarterback. They try to make you make a mistake. They stay in every game. The play some really long games.

Q--Can you describe the tempo Wyoming plays?

Crowton--They get up on the line of scrimmage very quickly. They do a lot of no huddle offense. The quarterback can call an audible if he wants to at any time too.

Q--Can you analyze Mike Tanner's game for us?

Crowton--Mike did a good job defending the draw plays. He stopped them for very minimal gains. When Tanner did that, it allowed the guys on the ends to do a good job getting up the field and pressuring the qurarterbacks.