Press Conference Comments -- Coach Lloyd Carr
12/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Press Conference Comments from
U-M Head Football Coach Lloyd Carr
Excerpts from Carr's Dec. 8 press conference at which he addressed Michigan's facing Southern Cal in the 2007 Rose Bowl and not earning a spot in the BCS national championship game.
On when he learned about Michigan's postseason fate ... "We found out about a quarter to three last Sunday, and we had a team meeting at three o'clock. Going back in my experience here at Michigan -- 27 years -- from a strictly football standpoint, it was one of the two most disappointing days I've had. And certainly for this team, which is more important, it was a tremendous disappointment. But sometimes in athletics, you get a bad bounce and things don't go your way. One of the great values of sports, at any level, is that you have to learn to accept things when they don't go your way. And you need to be able to handle things that do go your way in a way that honors the game.
"We talked about the wonderful opportunity of the Rose Bowl. For two of our classes, this will be the third Rose Bowl in four years. So we have a lot of guys who've been out there and who know what a great experience the Rose Bowl is. We're going to make every effort to win one of these things because we lost the last two. We're playing a great football team. I think going back prior to the BCS, the tradition of the Rose Bowl, the Pac-10, the Big 10 -- there's no other tradition like it. To be able to participate in this game is something that I can assure you our team is very excited about, as are all of us. I want to take this time to thank all of those Michigan fans -- the response, the ticket sales, has been absolutely wonderful. It's going to assure us that we'll have a great presence there on New Year's Day."
On his feelings toward the BCS and a playoff system ... "I was never in favor of the BCS going back to its origin, or at least to the Big Ten joining it. I think if you look back at the last five years, had we not joined the BCS, the Rose Bowl would have had three national championship games without being in the BCS. So in hindsight, you can look at that scenario. But the tipping point for me was the 12th game. That game really changed my outlook. So it is a frustration. We are where we are. There is no going back. I think it's inevitable that there's going to be additional teams put into the national championship format. I don't know how that's going to happen. I don't know when it's going to happen, but I can guarantee you at some point that it will happen. I think when the BCS was set up, that was just the beginning. So we're in a phase of discontent by some people. There are still a lot of people that do not want a playoff. But I think it's growing the number of people who do want one. I think it will happen."
On the validity of polls ... "The old system didn't have the computers. And the old system didn't have the Harris Poll. In my judgment, one of the really disappointing developments was when the Associated Press dropped out of the BCS. If you look at the history of this game, the Associated Press has played a major role, and now they don't. Or as least as far as the BCS, they don't. And I think that's a mistake."
On watching USC vs. UCLA ... "It was simply excruciating to watch that game every single play. It was such a great football game -- the kind of a football game as a coach that you really enjoy. Every guy was playing with everything they had. But to watch that game and watch everything wind down, certainly the euphoria of feeling like we had a chance at playing in that (national championship) game. And then less than 24 hours finding out we weren't. It was an interesting 24 hours."
On the coaches' poll ... "The deal is, I had one vote and I'll have one vote that has already been determined in the coaches' poll because we all agreed that we would vote. Everybody signs an agreement that that they will vote the winner of the game this year No. 1. So I'll get to vote 2-25. Other than that, I don't have a voice. Going forward, supposing at some point there is a playoff or some additional teams involved in the BCS, you're going to still, regardless of how you do it, have some kind of poll. I've heard a lot of people question whether the coaches should vote. I think the coaches absolutely should have a vote. Whether you're dealing with the Associated Press or the Harris Poll -- and I think the Harris Poll is undoubtedly the least understood of the three -- but regardless, we all have biases. We all have prejudices about conferences. We all have likes and dislikes. There are schools that you don't like. There are some that you favor. So if you go to a 16-team playoff, which is what I favor, you're going to have a way of deciding who those 16 teams are. You may be able to say the top eight teams will be conference champions. But after that, you're still going to have to seed them some way. So I don't care what the circumstance is."
On whether he has met with players who are considering the NFL Draft ... "Well, I've met with every senior and the guys in a position to make that decision. The important thing is this: if they need me to facilitate them in any way as far that decision or any information I can get to them, I'm happy to do that. I'm happy to give them my opinion if they ask for it. But the most important thing for our team is to deal with that in a private way so it does not become a distraction for us as we pursue this bowl game. That's really what's important to me and what's important to them. They're going to play in a lot of games after they leave here. But they're never going to play in one that they'll remember more than this one. I want them to make a decision that's best for them. As a coach, you don't want to see a guy leave, particularly if he doesn't have his degree and even if he does have his degree.
"What I want to be able to try to do, if they care about my opinion, is tell them what I would tell my son if he were in that same position. So you try to remove the bias out of it because when you can get drafted at a certain position, you have an opportunity to do some things financially that you'll never get a chance to do again. But it's a complicated issue for a coach. First of all, you care about him because you've gotten to know him. You want to have him around. You want him to do some more things here. And yet, I always tell them that I'm not going to talk anyone into staying. I don't want to do that. I want that to be their decision."
On USC ... "I think that they are a very, very talented football team. I think they have a great defense. When you look at the skill and speed they have, they're an extremely fast and physical team. Their special teams are excellent, and offensively they've done a great job replacing two Heisman Trophy winners and some other guys. Their receivers are outstanding and they're a team that is very explosive. When you look at their last three games, they had a monumental challenge. They played Cal, which is a big rivalry for them and an outstanding football team. They played Notre Dame and then UCLA. So to end their season with the teams that they played, that was a gauntlet.
"Since I've been year, we've played USC three times. We played them in Bo's last two years. We beat them in 1988. John Milligan intercepted a Rodney Peete pass right in front of me to get us the ball back. They were driving with a chance to win the game. Then we lost the next year. We ran a play I'll never forget. We ran a fake punt on fourth down and converted it, but got a holding call that was of some debate. Coach Schembechler was a little bit upset, and to make a long story short, they ended up winning that game. Three years ago, they had a great football team and we lost to them then.
I think (USC wide receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett) are as good as any pair we've faced. Smith is an incredible football player. Jarrett is as talented as anyone we've played against. What they do offensively is find a way to get those two the ball. Against USC, you still better be able to defend against the run. They're an outstanding offensive football team because they have big-play capabilities every down, and we need to prove that we can deal with that."
On the possibility of scheduling higher-caliber teams ... "If you look at our schedule this year, Central Michigan won the MAC championship. I think they would have done okay in our conference this year. Vanderbilt beat Georgia and they played Florida right down to the last minute. Notre Dame is playing in the Sugar Bowl. I think it's very difficult to look at comparative scores and decide who had the most difficult schedule. I heard the announcer on CBS; I heard his breakdown of the schedule. I thought it was very disingenuous. I will say this about scheduling: we want to have a schedule that prepares our team in a lot of different ways. We want a schedule that our fans can be happy with. Certainly the one change that I hope will happen is that we finish our home schedule with a Big Ten game. I think that's been the history and I hope it won't happen again where we don't. The 12th game has made scheduling a nightmare. If you look around, there are a lot of schools that feel they have to play I-AA teams to get 12 games. We're trying not to do that."
On LaMarr Woodley's winning the Lombardi and Ted Hendicks awards ... "Lombardi -- there's no greater name in the game. I think when you win that award, you've done something special. A year ago, LaMarr had to make a decision; a lot of people were encouraging him to leave. I got a phone call from Ted Hendricks right before I went down to dinner. Of course, LaMarr was named the winner of the Hendricks award as well. But to be there and see how excited he was because he did come back, to see him rewarded for what he did on the field, that's a great thing to see."
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