CMU head coach Dan Enos on Iowa
CMU head coach Dan Enos spoke with the media on Monday in his weekly MAC media teleconference, addressing several key topics prior to the Chippewas trip to Iowa City on Saturday.
On the bye week
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We tried to get fresh mentally and physically. We had some good practices and weight room sessions. We really just wanted to get the guys ready for the stretch that we will go on now. Obviously with the bye week already behind us, we have to get in a routine here. We took a hard look at Iowa, who is very good and also tried to get a head start on them.
On preparing for the Iowa running backs
We will have to prepare for both, when (Mark Weisman) came in at tailback, I thought he did a good job. He ran hard and was very physical. He brought some things to the table and if they can get those other guys back and continue to use him they will have a good tandem.
On playing a defense like MSU
Looking back at the film, I thought we ran the ball decently against them. Obviously we didn't have the ball much of the second half, especially the fourth quarter. I thought we had some things in our passing game that we missed. I hope that our guys gained some confidence because of how we were able to block them at times, especially because they are one of the better defenses in the country. Iowa presents their own challenges; they have played their defensive scheme for many years and know it well. They are a very well coached, very physical team. This will be a whole new challenge and we think it's going to be a great opportunity for us.
On the blueprint to beat Iowa
We've taken some things from every game watching tape; things like defensive alignments and try to spin that to our advantage. We were able to see some things, but one thing I know from playing against Iowa for many years is that they are very good at what they do. They understand their weaknesses and prepare for them and they are great with their adjustments. That's one thing that I've always been impressed with from Iowa. We have a blueprint of what we want to do, but obviously our players have to go out and execute.
On Anthony Young's development
Anthony has done a tremendous job. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in our first game and didn't play against Michigan State. He is doubtful for this week, but against Northern Illinois he will have a good chance to play. He came here in the summer and showed tremendous maturity and great work ethic. We are very happy to have him. I know that he is disappointed with the injury, but it isn't nearly as bad as the doctors originally thought and they we able to scope it and clean it out. We are looking forward to him coming back.
In the first game, we thought he was very solid and we didn't think he played very well last week. We need him to play better and be more consistent, but Michigan State has made a lot of quarterbacks look like that. We thought that we missed on our first couple third downs where he missed receivers. Later in the game, there were a couple times where he didn't set his feet and throw the ball and that's unacceptable at this point. He needs to play much better, stay in the pocket and make those throws. Playing good teams like Iowa and Michigan State you need your quarterback to play not just good, but great, and that's our goal for this week.
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