Sept. 8, 2008
Press Conferences: Pinkel 
| Daniel
Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement:
"Good afternoon. I'll give you an injury report here. First of all, (SR Strong Safety) William Moore will be in a red pullover tomorrow practicing. That protects him to let players know he has an issue or problem, and they react accordingly. He's looking pretty good, but we'll see tomorrow for sure. (SR Defensive Back) Tru Vaughns has a turned ankle, he is questionable right now. We'll find out more about him tomorrow, also. Other than that, I think we're in pretty good shape. First thing I want to say is to thank our fans for the turnout at the game. 63,000 was a statement for our fans and their belief in the Missouri Tigers now. We understand it's our responsibility to play well and compete. It's a big statement for Mizzou. I thought it was great all the gold they had on. We'll continue to try and play our best each and every week when we're in The Zou. As far as Nevada's concerned, I have tremendous respect for (Nevada Head Coach) Chris Ault. I've known him for years. He's an outstanding coach. His teams are very well-coached. They play hard, they play smart. His coaches are very good at game planning. He's got a good football team, they run really well on defense. Their quarterback (SO Colin Kaepernick) is an outstanding player, a big tall guy that runs the option really well. They do a lot of things that will cause us problems on both sides of the football. They will be prepared and this is a challenge, without question, for us. That being said, this is like every game we play. We respect our opponents, it's easy to do. Then, we focus on our preparation for that opponent. Then, we focus on Mizzou and try to get better each and every week."
On the injuries to junior WR Danario Alexander and senior LB Van Alexander:
"Danario is back, as I mentioned last week. Van is still back. They're released to play, but they can't play if they're limping at all. Van's getting better and better. He's working hard. Danario Alexander was released, and we're excited about that. We'll see where it goes, and we'll know more by Thursday, what he can do."
On Nevada's performance last week against Texas Tech:
"They did a lot of good things. They brought a lot of pressure packages against them. They just have some really good packages. Their new defensive coordinator (Nigel Burton) is really doing a great job. That was very impressive...Certainly we like to look at what they did against Texas Tech. Certainly, we do a lot of the things the same, but also a lot of things different (than Texas Tech). That's the beauty of the spread offense...Anytime we can see somebody that does things we do against their (Nevada's) defense, that's a plus for us. That just helps us plan a little bit better and make adjustments. But, it was impressive. They really run well on defense, they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback."
On the performance of Missouri's pass defense so far:
"I don't really look at the stats, except for kicking stats, rush defense stats, and turnovers. I look at them now, but on offense and defense, right now they're never as bad as you think they are. You have to let it sort out over four to five games. There's always things to improve on, there's no question about that. We just want to keep improving...Two things happen when you play our offense. If we get a huge lead, people are going to be throwing the ball all the time. That's the first thing that's going to happen. Without question, that does happen. If you're really good against the run, they're going to throw. That being said, you still need to play good pass defense. You have to not only cover, but have a good rush. It's a combination of both. Those two things are factors without question, with the amount of passing we're getting against our defense."
On getting senior SS William Moore back from injury:
"He's a high-level player. He'll make us a better defense right away. He's our best defensive player. That being said, you have to adjust without him, too. But we're excited about having him back, without question."
On leadership in the receiving corps:
"I think you look at all our older receivers. The great thing about our offense is that our players really enjoy practicing because they're involved in the intricacies of all the different adjustments. The neat thing about practice, not only Tommy Saunders, but J-Mac (SO Wide Receiver Jeremy Maclin), Jared Perry, all the guys are constantly behind the young guys in the huddle talking to kids, helping them and coaching them. All of our kids did that all summer. These young receivers have gotten a chance to play early because of the coaching that our veteran receivers have done to help the young players. It's neat, the guys really get into this offense."
