The PAC10 is officially the center of the college football universe. With the most uncertainty in the nation regarding who their BCS representative will be. At the center of this wildfire of what ifs, are
There is a lot on the line, so I’m not going to waste any more time. Here is my weekly locker room speech in hopes to keep my dream of being in
“I don’t want to hear one word about a certain flower today. In fact the first time I hear it, life is gonna be hell for everyone.
We are facing a team that is two deflected passes away from being undefeated in the PAC10.
Everyone close your eyes and listen hard.
What do you hear? I hear the sounds of your pads popping. I hear the air escaping the lungs of Wildcat players. I hear the silence of this stadium as they stunned and heart broken. I hear high fives and joking all along our sidelines. I hear satisfaction.
Now look at me. How are you going to make these sounds reality today? It’s not going to be easy, so get that out of your mind right now. I know I’ve said this before and it’s a recurring theme but that’s only because its true, today is going to take everything you have inside of you.
They are going to try and outscore us and turn this into a track meet. We want the track meet; we just won’t let them outscore us.
Offensively we want to establish the pass early today. The more success we have in the air the more dangerous our ground game will be.
WR’s – You have to get off the line of scrimmage in the blink of an eye. Every move you make today needs to be crisp and convincing. Be where Masoli expects you on every play and he will get the ball there all you have to do is catch it.
O-Line – If you win the battle up front, we win the game. It’s that simple. No one gets beat today and everyone that Mike Stoops sends gets blocked. Enjoy the view looking down on anyone who gets in your path today.
RB’s – Today you have to focus on yards after contact. This team is fast at every position and contact will come sooner than you are used to. Team speed is a double edge sword, today you get to drag defenders and drive piles. I dont want to see any solo tackles. No one man should be able to tackle you.
Masoli – Slow down out there, don’t rush your passes. If you can’t find an open receiver take off. It’s the quickness of your decisions and feet we need today, not the speed of your throws. A hundred yards on the ground from you is as good as 200 in the air. But I want both out of you today. There is no better compliment I can give you than pulling you after you have won the game with a full quarter to play. Make it a short day today for the right reason.
Defense – You haven’t scored us any points for a while. Fix that. You owe the offense some points right?
DB’s – They want to spread you out and confuse you. Foulks is a deadly passer. We are going to confuse him and create the kind of pressure that will make him panic. Your job is to make sure he cant get the throw off before the pressure comes. Tight coverage, jam the receiver at the line of scrimmage and shadow him. If you can cover for 4 seconds that’s all we will need. When the balls start getting rushed in, that’s when I want you to go for the pick.
D-line – It’s not easy being you, today is no different. They push pull hold and do everything they can to stop you from reaping havoc in the backfield. It’s gotta be frustrating getting there a half second late. Well take all that frustration and unleash it. Be overwhelmingly dominant today. Wear them down and get the glory of sack after sack and tackles for loss.
LB’s – Wow it’s been a rough 2 weeks for you guys. You faced two straight brusers in Gerhart and Nance. Today is not going to be any easier. While Grigsby isn’t a pounder, he wants to make you look stupid, and he has the ability to do it and he’s just now 100% healthy. Antolin is a young back who has as much ability as Grigsby. They will always have a fresh set of legs to throw at you. Give it all today. Be relentless in your pursuit, and violent in your hits. Put the fear of God in them today.
Close your eyes again. What do you hear now?
Be Proud!
Be Great!
Be Ducks!”
- Kurt Valentine
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