Press Conference: A&M assesses one week, looks to next

Kevin Sumlin

Opening statement...

"Obviously we're coming off a real disappointing effort last weekend. I think after looking at the video and everything else that went on, our guys gave really good effort; we didn't execute well enough or coach well enough to win that game. We were in a situation we haven't been in since we've been here. We didn't handle the environment very well and that's something we discussed in the last 48 hours.

"The challenge this week is we go on the road for a second straight week as an underdog opponent against a team that's playing for a division championship. We have to figure out a way to pick ourselves back up and get rolling. The players understand where we are at this point and that we have things we can play for as well. We have an opportunity here to get to a bowl situation and be a double-digit win team, which would be the third or fourth team in the history of Texas A&M to do that in back-to-back years.

"That's important to our seniors and to our program. To do that, we have to play well against a good Missouri team. The good news is we're fairly healthy, and our guys understand what's at stake and we'll be ready to go Saturday night.

On the lack of run game against LSU being intentional or circumstantial...

Sumlin: "It was a little bit of both. Early on that had to do with some looks, and then we got down two scores. Then you have to look at time of possession and some things. Early in the game we definitely could have done some things differently to take pressure off the passing game. But it comes down to execution. We don't complete a deep pass, we don't get a pass interference call, we play-fake and Mike (Evans) dropped one early.

"So our execution early created a bad situation where we had to play catch-up and put pressure on our defense. Our defense played well early. We partially blocked a punt, got a field goal, couldn't get anything out of that. We had opportunities early to get some things done and the execution early in the game, you'd hope that would get a little better. It just didn't. Certainly LSU had a lot to do with that, but we didn't play our best either."

On Mizzou with James Franklin playing...

Sumlin: "Maty Mauk's a good player, so you've got to remember — James Franklin is a very experienced football player, has won a bunch of games — and they're at a point in their program where Maty Mauk is a guy who wins games too and is a confident young man who can move around. They've progressed their program to a point where they've got a bunch of guys, as they should following Chase Daniel and Blaine Gabbert. Obviously James has been around a while, is experienced, been in big games, bigger guy, may not run as much as he used to but is certainly capable of hurting you. Both guys are.

"What they do well is they've got big receivers who create mismatches for you and allow you to just throw it up the field sometimes and see what happens. When you've got 6-4, 6-5, 6-6 guys you can do that. The run game has been very complimentary. The way they balance it creates a play-action problem for you. Both of them utilize it very well. They're both capable guys and they've both won for them this year. I know Gary (Pinkel)'s got confidence in both of them from how they've played."

On the mood of the team...

Sumlin: "I think they're just ready to play. I don't think anybody's mad or ... I drive through here at a gas station and it's like the sky's falling around here. We lost to LSU on the road as an underdog, the first time we've lost by double digits. We're playing a real season with real opponents and real games. Are we where we want to be right now? No. But that doesn't mean the sky is falling. We're going into another game as an underdog and the difference is people expect us to win. That's a completely different attitude than when I first got here."

On how involved in play-calling he is...

Sumlin: "In between series I try to have a discussion with guys all the time. But as a play-caller it would bother me if people are trying to chime in between every play. I didn't like that and I don't think anybody who's in a rhythm likes that. In a game like that, you're trying to get a lot of things done as a head coach. A lot of things are talked about before games are started; critical situations that come up, you try to do some things. Right after the game I got questioned why we didn't go for two after Mike's touchdown. He came off the field and I said, 'Did you catch it?' He said, 'I think so.' That's when you know to try to run the field goal team out and get the extra point. They buzzed it before we could.

"Do you sit there and go, 'Run-pass-run-pass,' no, we don't do that. But we communicate often. Our whole offensive staff does."

On Manziel's struggles against LSU and his attitude...

Sumlin: "We just talked about that. When you talk about team you talk about everybody. I think his attitude and motivation is just fine. We're playing in another nationally televised game against a top-five opponent this week. If you're any kind of competitor at all, which these guys are and the guys in this building are, your attitude should be good."

On the challenges Mizzou's defense presents and the D-ends...

Sumlin: "They've really improved from last year, obviously statistically — they lead the league in sacks. Michael Sam is a really fine player, both ends are. The underrated stat is they lead the league in interceptions too. That's a big statistic when your team leads the league in sacks and interceptions. That means they've been pretty effective against the passing game, and against the run game because those four guys have been there and understand what they try to do. They're more multiple than they've been, because when you have the pieces they do, it gives you that opportunity to be more multiple. They utilize those pieces well."

On whether A&M's run game is where he wants it to be...

Sumlin: "I don't know. We'll see Saturday night."

On Texas A&M-Missouri deciding an SEC division title and how both have fared...

Sumlin: "I was more shocked last year with Missouri's record than maybe a lot of people were, just because I thought they were a bit like Florida in that they had so many injuries. By the time we played them they had lost half their team and played with a lot of injuries. I was more shocked by where they were from a record standpoint, but we didn't get to see them until the end with the injuries and all that. Gary Pinkel has a track record of winning championships, double-digit win seasons, competing at a high level, and I didn't see that changing.

"Is it a surprise to me? No. They've got a staff that's been together a while, a style of play that's a bit different and a culture of winning. When you establish that, it's easier to bounce back when you have a culture like that than if you don't."

On Manziel possibly having injury issues...

Sumlin: "I think I said after the game, that's been going on for a while. If he couldn't play, he wouldn't play. He would want to play no matter what; if we were at a point where I thought it would be detrimental to him or our football team, he wouldn't play."

On being misquoted about Johnny's NFL decision timeline...

Sumlin: "I'm glad you brought that up. You can listen to it, I think it was on SVP. What I said was, and I was shocked to read and said later on on the game bus and nobody ever found out, I was asked about the process and what takes place. And it wasn't for just Johnny Manziel, it was for all our third-year players. Whether you're a redshirt sophomore or a junior, after the game on Sunday we will file with the NFL to make sure and get what they think. That's just proper procedure. The guys who want us to go through that, want us to ask, we did that last year.

"Over the course of time between now and the bowl game, because of the time that's there, we'll gather as much information as we can for those players and their families. After the bowl game, usually, depending on the time — last year it was the 7th — you have mid-January as the last date you can do that. Certainly we try to give guys as much information between now and bowl game as possible, then the timing of that decision becomes up to the player and his family.

"That's basically what I said, and I must have stopped short or confused somebody. I never said he'd make a decision. Some guys do — last year Damontre Moore made his decision beforehand, then we left the Cotton Bowl with me shaking Luke's hand and saying we'd talk in the next 48 hours. Everybody's different. And if you decide that's what you want to do, you have 72 hours to change your mind. It's the same for all our players, everybody's in the same boat. We'll talk to different people.

"What I try to do is give our guys as much factual information as I can gather from the NFL and specific people instead of what's been said on television and blogs and agents or things like that. That's my job as a coach, to give them as accurate information as I can so they can make the best decision for them and family."

On his name being connected to job rumors...

Sumlin: "It's not a distraction for us. Our guys deal with it. More than anything else, for our team, it's not distracting. We don't talk about that kind of stuff. We spend so much time on week-to-week, day-to-day, everything else. What I care about is our current team and our recruiting. For me and our conversation with our players and coaches and our recruits, they understand what we're doing. It hasn't been a distraction in recruiting, it hasn't been a distraction day-to-day with our team and what we're doing. I don't see it as a distraction."

On whether he talks to players about being smart and eating well over a school break like Thanksgiving...

Sumlin: "You know, I really don't. I probably should talk to them about eating. Things have changed a lot. We used to give guys cheeseburgers at 10:30 at night and won a lot of games. Guys ate as much red meat as they could eat and won a lot of games. Your overall nutrition is important. We'll practice Thursday morning; we're usually on the field on Thursday about an hour, 55 minutes, so we'll meet a bit earlier and try to get guys out of here at 11:20 after meetings. Usually if we have a home game, we'll back things up on Friday. But we'll have to have meetings about 9:45 on Friday because we have a couple-hour flight to Missouri.

"We have a big Thanksgiving meal here for guys who can't get home on Thursday, but if guys want to get somewhere that's fine. Thursday's family time and if you can't get there, we have a place for you here and plenty of good food."