Post by rainman on Oct 4, 2007 6:12:28 GMT -5
Prepared and Focused
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
October 3, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Rich Rodriguez doesn’t watch Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil won’t be contacted anytime soon to talk to his football team. West Virginia hasn’t had a lot of practice recently dealing with losses but when it happens, Rodriguez has come up with a way to get his team refocused and prepared.
Victories have followed the Mountaineers’ last three losses against Virginia Tech in 2005 and against Louisville and South Florida in 2006.
After falling 34-17 to the Hokies in Morgantown in 2005, West Virginia traveled to Rutgers where it defeated the Scarlet Knights 27-14. Twice last year coming off of losses to Louisville and South Florida, West Virginia followed with victories over Cincinnati and Rutgers.
The Rutgers triumph came with backup quarterback Jarrett Brown getting the starting nod right before kickoff and the Mountaineers needing a victory to remain in contention for a Gator Bowl bid.
West Virginia is a resilient football team primarily because its football coach is so resilient.
“All the fans are worried about ‘what’s their mindset, what’s their mood; they weren’t thinking right,’” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “Listen, once the game is kicked off … as coaches we try to use psychological ploys to get them prepared – not to get them through a game.
“Obviously if you win you have more confidence and if you lose you have less confidence. Outside of that, all of the psychological babble is just that,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the coaching staff spent Sunday going over the South Florida loss in minute detail.
“On Sunday we had a long day,” he said. “We had a long meeting, a long practice and it wasn’t very enjoyable for a lot of folks. It wasn’t enjoyable for me.”
Once everything was reviewed and corrected, the South Florida tapes went back into the cabinet and from Monday morning until Saturday afternoon it’s all about Syracuse.
“(Monday) we had a day of game planning and (Tuesday) we had a regular day of practice that we have had so far this season,” Rodriguez said. “And then we will get ready to play a game at noon on Saturday.”
The irony of this weekend’s game is that Syracuse’s lone victory to this point has come against a Louisville team that was coming off a disappointing loss to rival Kentucky. Syracuse (1-4) is getting another Big East front-runner with diminished expectations at the Carrier Dome this weekend.
“I think we’re a focused team,” said offensive guard Greg Isdaner. “We’re determined to come back and make a statement this weekend.”
“We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on,” center Mike Dent added. “We have another game and we just have to get prepared for Syracuse.”
Rodriguez hasn’t been in the best of moods this week and that probably won’t change until the football is kicked off on Saturday.
“We aren’t used to losing a lot of games around here,” he said. “Evidently a lot of other people aren’t either and that’s OK. I’m not going to jump ship or jump off my players’ ships either. I’d rather have my guys than anyone right now.”
The Syracuse team West Virginia is facing this weekend is a curious one. One week the Orange play great going down and knocking off Louisville 38-35 on the road. The next week they’re not so great losing on the road at Miami, Ohio 17-14.
Isdaner says it’s not that complicated preparing for such an unpredictable team.
“You’ve got to prepare for their best. You have to look at that Louisville game and some of their other games where they played well on defense,” he said. “You really have to look at that and that’s what you base everything off of.”
“Syracuse, in all three phases from special teams, offense and defense, they looked good (against Louisville),” Rodriguez said. “You have to assume that since it’s a Big East game, and we’ll be at their place, that this is the Syracuse team that we are going to get.”
By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
October 3, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Rich Rodriguez doesn’t watch Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil won’t be contacted anytime soon to talk to his football team. West Virginia hasn’t had a lot of practice recently dealing with losses but when it happens, Rodriguez has come up with a way to get his team refocused and prepared.
Victories have followed the Mountaineers’ last three losses against Virginia Tech in 2005 and against Louisville and South Florida in 2006.
After falling 34-17 to the Hokies in Morgantown in 2005, West Virginia traveled to Rutgers where it defeated the Scarlet Knights 27-14. Twice last year coming off of losses to Louisville and South Florida, West Virginia followed with victories over Cincinnati and Rutgers.
The Rutgers triumph came with backup quarterback Jarrett Brown getting the starting nod right before kickoff and the Mountaineers needing a victory to remain in contention for a Gator Bowl bid.
West Virginia is a resilient football team primarily because its football coach is so resilient.
“All the fans are worried about ‘what’s their mindset, what’s their mood; they weren’t thinking right,’” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “Listen, once the game is kicked off … as coaches we try to use psychological ploys to get them prepared – not to get them through a game.
“Obviously if you win you have more confidence and if you lose you have less confidence. Outside of that, all of the psychological babble is just that,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the coaching staff spent Sunday going over the South Florida loss in minute detail.
“On Sunday we had a long day,” he said. “We had a long meeting, a long practice and it wasn’t very enjoyable for a lot of folks. It wasn’t enjoyable for me.”
Once everything was reviewed and corrected, the South Florida tapes went back into the cabinet and from Monday morning until Saturday afternoon it’s all about Syracuse.
“(Monday) we had a day of game planning and (Tuesday) we had a regular day of practice that we have had so far this season,” Rodriguez said. “And then we will get ready to play a game at noon on Saturday.”
The irony of this weekend’s game is that Syracuse’s lone victory to this point has come against a Louisville team that was coming off a disappointing loss to rival Kentucky. Syracuse (1-4) is getting another Big East front-runner with diminished expectations at the Carrier Dome this weekend.
“I think we’re a focused team,” said offensive guard Greg Isdaner. “We’re determined to come back and make a statement this weekend.”
“We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on,” center Mike Dent added. “We have another game and we just have to get prepared for Syracuse.”
Rodriguez hasn’t been in the best of moods this week and that probably won’t change until the football is kicked off on Saturday.
“We aren’t used to losing a lot of games around here,” he said. “Evidently a lot of other people aren’t either and that’s OK. I’m not going to jump ship or jump off my players’ ships either. I’d rather have my guys than anyone right now.”
The Syracuse team West Virginia is facing this weekend is a curious one. One week the Orange play great going down and knocking off Louisville 38-35 on the road. The next week they’re not so great losing on the road at Miami, Ohio 17-14.
Isdaner says it’s not that complicated preparing for such an unpredictable team.
“You’ve got to prepare for their best. You have to look at that Louisville game and some of their other games where they played well on defense,” he said. “You really have to look at that and that’s what you base everything off of.”
“Syracuse, in all three phases from special teams, offense and defense, they looked good (against Louisville),” Rodriguez said. “You have to assume that since it’s a Big East game, and we’ll be at their place, that this is the Syracuse team that we are going to get.”
