What Willie Fritz said about Houston's matchup with Kansas State
Willie Fritz knows his Houston football team will need to play a near-perfect game to beat No. 17 Kansas State on Saturday.
And it starts with winning the turnover battle.
"Three weeks ago we were plus-four [in the turnover battle] ... and we won the game going away," Fritz said during his weekly press conference. "The next week we were minus-four and we lost it going away. We've got to do a great job turnover-takeaway."
To Fritz's point, Houston is 2-1 in its last three games, with wins over TCU and Utah where they forced six total turnovers. In their 42-14 loss to Kansas they didn't force a single turnover - and the Cougars threw four interceptions.
Houston (3-5, 2-3) enters Saturday's Big 12 home game with Kansas State (7-1, 4-1) as 12.5-point underdogs.
Here are the highlights from Fritz's weekly press conference.
Fritz on only completing six passes in their 17-14 upset of Utah:
"I did that for a couple of seasons at Georgia Southern. I think we averaged 383 yards a game rushing one year. ... We didn't throw the ball very much. You've got to find your path to victory. We were playing pretty darn good at defense. We were making them go the long field.
"A big play that probably goes unnoticed is we score our first touchdown and we get a 15-yard penalty. We've got to kick off from the 20. Jack [Martin] hits a 75-yard kickoff and we go down the field and cover it well, and they had a holding [penalty] on the play and they start on the 18. ... If you can make them go the long field, you might give up a first down or two. But then if you get the stop you're in the driver's seat then with your offense out on the field."
Fritz on what he would have done differently in Houston's two failed fourth-and-goal opportunities:
"Yeah, I would have scored touchdowns. That would have been good."
"A big barometer of winning is what we call four-point plays. Scoring touchdowns instead of field goals. ... We've just got to do a better job of converting that into points, into touchdowns. We knew on second down we were gonna go for it ... we had a missed blocking assignment which hurt us on one of them. Then we had center-quarterback exchange difficulties on a quarterback sneak which was disheartening.
"But the other part of it is, if you don't get the touchdown, they've got to go 99 [yards]. We were playing pretty good defense. It doesn't guarantee it, but it almost guarantees you're going to get the ball back in pretty good field position, which is what happened on one of them."
Fritz on how balanced the Big 12 is:
"Every game is going to be tough. This is a very, very balanced and competitive league."
Fritz on running back J'Marion Burnette, who had his best game of the season vs. Utah:
"He's a big guy who can run fast. Good movement. Good vision. His first run of the game was outstanding. ... He had another big run later in the game. He gives that element of a big back. He's 225, 230 and has got excellent speed."
Fritz on how difficult it will be to beat Kansas State:
"I believe we started the season off with the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA. When the season gets over it will be interesting to see where we're at. Everybody in the Big 12 is pretty darn good. This is another tough opponent for us to play. We talk about what we call the plan to win. It's gonna be difficult for us to beat them if we don't win a large portion of the plan to win.
"We've got to be plus in turnover-takeaway. That's gonna be very, very important. They've got two outstanding running backs and an outstanding quarterback who can run the ball as well. So we've got to do a good job in the run game. ... We've just got to stick to our plan in order for us to have an opportunity to win on Saturday. "
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.