Murray State University Athletics
Weekly Press Conference
9/2/2003 11:00:00 PM | Football
Quotes from head coach Joe Pannunzio during the weekly football press conference on Sept. 2 following the Racers' 34-0 season-opening win over Valparaiso on Saturday night. MSU will next play at Kentucky on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
On the Racers' 34-0 win over Valpo:
"We're like a lot of teams in the country early in the season, we had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. We got a few of those answered on Saturday, but we've still got a lot of questions that need to be answered."
On playing Kentucky on Saturday:
"Our kids are excited about this week. They've been looking forward to this game for a long time. Anytime you play an SEC team, they're bigger, stronger and faster in basically every position. That's not to say we can't win, but we just hope we catch them on a day they're not at their best."
On the MSU defense after the Valpo game:
"I think our defense played as good as it can in a game on Saturday, but you've got to take the level of our competition into account as well. We're definitely taking a step up in competition this week and it'll be a big test for us."
"The big problem preparing for UK is all of the shifting and the motion they do on offense. That will test us just getting aligned correctly and ready to defend each play. Then you compound that with the fact they have two quarterbacks and all their skilled players and that leads to some sleepless nights for our coaching staff."
On the MSU offensive line after the Valpo game:
"I certainly have some concerns about our offense just as I did right after the game. We made a few changes on our offensive line and, really, just went back to the basics. The thing I forget at times is that for three years, we basically had the same guys on our offensive line and we could do a lot of different things with them. Now, we've got to go back like we're in kindergarten and teach our guys the ABC's on the line, and then we've got to move on from there. It's slow but we'll get it together."
On the MSU special teams:
"We still have some questions there that need to be answered, but I think it was clear that we have some talent in those areas. Michael Hanley's going to be a pretty good returner, and Jesse Ohliger has a chance to be pretty good if he can stay consistent."
On the first concern for this week's game with UK:
"The very first question you have to answer is what to do about Derek Abney? Do you do like I want to do, which is kick it deep to him and try to cover and make him prove that he is better than you? Or do you just try and kick the ball out-of-bounds and all the other things that people try to do to avoid him? He's one of the most dangerous return guys in the nation and it'll be a big challenge for us to account for him."
On UK quarterback Jared Lorenzen:
"Sunday night was the first time that I've really gotten a chance to watch him in a full game, and I think the kid is a heck of football player. I think he's probably the best quarterback in the SEC. He's a competitor and he can take over a game and put it on his shoulders. If he gets hot, we're going to have a miserable time trying to defend him. My only hope is that he's having one of those days where he's just a little off and that may give us a chance."
"He's really fun to watch. And for him to be as big as he is and to still be able to move and get away from people and make accurate passes really tells you what kind of athlete he is. He reminds me of a Ken Stabler-type because he'll get out there and just sling the ball out and it ends up being a great play."
On the biggest questions for the Racers this week against UK:
"Our offensive line. Will we be able to run the football? We can't have our defense on the field all night against Kentucky. When Kentucky made their run against Louisville, the crowd really became a factor and that happens in a big stadium with that many people. How our kids handle those emotions and that environment is a big thing. We can't put our defense in a position to deal with that over and over again if we're going to have any success. The main way for us to avoid that is with our running game."
"Will our corners hold up against SEC receivers? Will we be able to get the same kind of pass rush against Kentucky that we had in our opener? Will we be able to hold up when they want to run the ball at us with five SEC offensive linemen? I think we have a pretty good defensive front for our level, but we will be tested this week. All of those questions are big this week."
On his team's approach to this week's game:
"We can't lose sight of where we're going and what our ultimate goal is, and that's to win the OVC. Even though we're playing Kentucky this week, it has to be a progression and we must grow from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3, so, we really don't want to get away from the things that will help us win when we play Tennessee Tech on Sept. 27 and open the OVC schedule."
"We're going in there to try and win. We've got a couple of kids on our team this year that have played against Kentucky and that should help us. We're going to go in there and take our shots. We don't have anything to lose. They're the ones that have something to lose."
