Oklahoma's front four is one of the biggest areas of discussion after the Sooners failed to provide any pressure on Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert during OU's 36-27 loss in Columbia. Senior Adrian Taylor talked about the performance of the line and how the Sooners move on from here.
Q: It's been about 48 hours since the loss, can you talk about how the mindset and attitude was today at practice?
Taylor: It really wasn't different from a winning week. It sucks to lose, you hate it, but you can't let the last week's game effect how you come out and practice today and for the rest of the week.
Q: What do you vets tell the younger guys who are going through their first loss?
Taylor: We have a lot of senior leadership on this team and we can't allow each other to have a hangover from the last game. So, we had a really good practice today, a lot of good attitudes.
Q: Do you look at the season as if you win out, then you can still achieve a Big 12 championship and a BCS bowl appearance?
Taylor: That's really not our focus right now honestly. You guys probably get this a lot, but we're really just worrying about this week. If we overlook somebody then we'll have two losses and all that stuff you just mentioned will be a non-factor. We're just looking towards Colorado right now and that's as far as our focus is going this week. (Laughing) Sorry, I know how you guys hate to hear that.
Q: I'm not asking you to make excuses, but you're still recovering from a bad injury and Frank Alexander is struggling with an injury of his own. But that front four doesn't seem to be getting the pressure you guys are accustomed to. What do you think is the problem?
Taylor: Like you said, I'm not trying to make excuses. But it would help to have 100-percent healthy guys out there. Especially with the injuries being to us older guys who have the experience. But we have what we have, and we have to make do with the guys we have out there.
Q: It seemed like with as many steps forward as you took against Iowa State, you guys also took a few steps backward after Saturday. How do you guys fix these problems, that seemed to have arose again?
Taylor: It just comes down to execution and getting to the quarterback. It's as simple as that. There are no special tricks or special plans, we just have to get to the quarterback. That's that.
Q: You players have talked before about how you would rather play an 11 a.m. game over a 7 p.m. game because of the amount of time you spend waiting. What do you think about this week, when you guys will take the field around 8:15 p.m.?
Taylor: Honestly, I hate to play late games. You get so anxious to play, and time goes by so slow. But Coach Stoops does a real good job of getting us out of the hotel. So, we'll go through a walk through, come to the school to fix our pads or get treatments. It helps because it prevents us from having to be in a room all day. But I don't think there's ever been a game this late at OU. So, we'll see how that goes. But regardless of when the kick off is started, we know we have to be ready to play because any team can beat anybody.
Q: This Colorado is a weird team to figure out. What do you know about them, so far?
Taylor: I remember that the last time we played them, they beat us on a field goal. That feeling was a bad feeling. They're a good team who won't give up, they fight. They're record doesn't tell who they are either. You can't substitute anything for heart and effort. You can definitely tell on film that they have heart, and we're definitely going to get their best shot on Saturday.