Matt Jeffrey (MJ): Last week, the turnovers killed us. What has the team done throughout the week to not turn the ball over?
Dave Matter (DM): Practices aren't open to the media, other than the first 30 minutes on Tuesday, so I can't really say what they've done. Franklin was pretty down on himself for the four turnovers, but his offensive line was just as guilty for a couple of them.
MJ: Really only one interception was a legitimate pick (in the secondary), the other two were tips that landed in D-lineman hands. Was it a case of OKST's defensive line being too overpowering in the trenches, and do you think the offensive line is ready for TAMU's pass rush?
DM: The tip-and-picks were a combination of MU's O-linemen not doing enough to keep the D-line's hands down, especially the second one, and Franklin not throwing in the proper passing lanes. On quick-game passes, like both of those were, the QBs are taught to not throw over the heads of defenders, and Franklin got careless there with his delivery. Not sure if they're ready for A&M's [pass] rush. It's pretty potent.
MJ: One last question- When the Tigers got the ball late in the first half, do you know why they decided to run the clock out and not try for a deep ball down field to possibly tie going into the locker room? Many of the fans in the stadium were very displeased with the running the ball and bleeding the clock, especially since when had the momentum going our way at that particular moment of the game.
DM: Pretty conservative choice by Pinkel there. Pretty obvious he didn't trust the passing game or teh kicker there to do something big in a short amount of time. My guess is the strategy changes some if the run on first down picked up more yards, but it wasn't discussed after the game.
