I felt like we had as good a chance this year to be in the fight as we had in any other year. I'm not really surprised, but I guess a lot of people thought it was doomsday.

A lot of guys just really opened up, mostly seniors, and the players really responded in a very strong way, in an emotional way. You just felt the team being built. You felt a very strong bond. It looked like the ingredients were there, and you're thinking, 'We've got a chance to be pretty good here.' You just didn't know if it was going to equate into victories or not. So far it has.

This is their chance to get in during a game and do it when it counts. This is their chance to show the coaches that they deserve more playing time.

Like I told the players, it doesn't mean anything if we get whipped this week. We have a pretty levelheaded group of seniors who know the jury is still out on us. We know we're good. We know we have a chance to do some special things. But how good can we be? No one knows for sure. We've still got a long way to go.

Like I told the players, it doesn't mean anything if we get whipped this week, ... We have a pretty levelheaded group of seniors who know the jury is still out on us. We know we're good. We know we have a chance to do some special things. But how good can we be? No one knows for sure. We've still got a long way to go.