Here's my question and answer with head coach Gary Patterson for the article linked above:
How much attention have you paid to all of the talk about possibly conference expansion with the Pac-10 and Big Ten and how it might impact other leagues and your program?
Patterson: Not a lot. I figure by May, when a lot of the ADs and head coaches get together at the Fiesta Frolic (in Arizona) and have their meetings and meet face to face, we'll be interested to see what they have to say. All I can do as a coach is to make sure that we're in the process of raising money to re-do our stadium, and to win.
We're re-doing our locker room. We're re-doing our weight room. We're trying to put ourselves in position to build the stadium and put in luxury boxes. All we can do is prepare ourselves as a university and a football program to be in the right place and be ready if that (an invite to a BCS conference) occurs.
How much of a sour taste do you have from losing the bowl game to the Boise State Broncos?
I think we found out about a sense of urgency and when you get to that level it's hard to win. Maybe it's because we played Boise two years in a row. I feel like when we played Boise two years ago, we had the edge. This year, when we came out they were standing on the 50-yard-line and our guys were just running on the field. Is you're goal to be undefeated or is your goal to be 8-4? To be 12-0, you've got to create your own luck. We have to create the chemistry, the work ethic and the toughness.
We've got an Oregon State Beavers team right out of the box and they're a top 20 team, maybe top 15. You have Baylor and they have (quarterback) Robert Griffin coming back. Then, you get into your regular season.
What does QB Andy Dalton need to do to take the next step in his development?
Not let the whole system get to him. It's all about staying on edge and just winning. Don't worry about stats. We'll have goals -- but last year, he just went out and played and he kept getting better.
One of the things we had to deal with was the change in coordinators last year. That'll help Andy right off the bat. He's had the same guy talking to him for two years in a row, because he had Dick Wynder than he had Mike Schultz and now Justin Fuente. This will be two years in a row with Justin and that's a big deal.
Andy has learned how to be a leader. He's played in big ballgames. Now, can he make everybody else better?
What is your plan to replace All-American DE Jerry Hughes on defense?
I don't know yet. We have two guys in him and Daryl Washington who'll probably be first or second-round draft choices. The best thing about our defense is everybody else comes back besides them and our two corners; the two guys who will start for us this year are the ones that played most of the bowl game.
What we need to find for this entire team is find a starting left tackle -- and we have to find depth on the offensive line. We do have to play better at the guard position. On defense, we have six to eight defensive ends; Tanner Brock and Kris Gardner will be vying for Daryl Washington's linebacker job, but really we've got to find more depth at corner and the safety positions. And we also have to find a snapper.
We do have three younger safeties coming in and we redshirted four or five offensive linemen, so we'll see how it all turns out. It's different than last year, where I had to replace seven defensive starters. After this year, we have five safeties that are seniors, four offensive linemen; five wide receivers. We're an older football team for the first time in a couple of years.
How does losing (leading rusher) Joseph Turner impact the offense?
The good part is we had a three-man rotation with Matthew Tucker and Ed Wesley. We 'll have six running backs. We have (UCLA Bruins transfer) Aundre Dean out of Katy High school. We're also going to see if he can be a safety for us early in camp. We have so many tailbacks. We're going to try and get our best players on the field.
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