Head coach Tom Herman and the Cougars aren’t letting their record distract them from each coming game. | File photo/The Cougar
The 18th-ranked Cougars dominated the Vanderbilt University Commodores on Saturday, winning in all three phases of play and coming out with a 34-0 victory.
A big part of that was the play of the defense, which helped the Cougars to their first shutout victory of the season.
Head coach Tom Herman continued to praise the play of his defensive unit on Monday morning.
“I thought our defense played lights out,” Herman said. “Not just the four turnovers, but in terms of just their fanatical effort, swarming to the football and playing with a lot of passion and intensity.”
Herman also spoke about the play of the offense, going against a defense as highly touted as the Commodores and coming away with a strong night of play.
“(I) was proud of the offense on a couple of different levels,” Herman said. “For being able to go against one of the nation’s toughest defenses and still put up, on the offensive side at least, 27 points. We were able to do it, our offense was, with two true freshmen on the offensive line.”
Despite the strength of the win, Herman was quick to said the team has moved past the Vanderbilt game and is focused on the upcoming game against the University of Cincinnati.
“Pressure is that uneasy feeling you have when you’re not prepared. We’re prepared. Our team has a lot of confidence in the way we go about business, in terms of preparation.”
-Head coach Tom Herman
“Moving on to this week, obviously, a very different dynamic when it comes to your opponent,” Herman said. “A very, very explosive, high-powered offense coming to see us with a tremendous quarterback.”
The Bearcats are coming off a win against the University of Central Florida Knights, which saw them ring up 52 points. Herman said the burden this week would now be placed on the offense.
“Although our goal is to shut everybody out every week, defensively, we understand that goal may be a little far-fetched once we consider the potency of the University of Cincinnati’s offense,” Herman said.
As they’ve said all year, Herman said his team focuses on going 1-0 every week, not looking toward the end of the season.
“There is no big picture,” Herman said. “When you talk to our staff or our players, we have no concern about the big picture. We have not even one second of wasted time, effort or energy thinking about it.”
With each win, the team garners more national notoriety and acclaim, but Herman said he doesn’t feel any pressure on him or the team.
“Pressure is that uneasy feeling you have when you’re not prepared,” Herman said. “We’re prepared. Our team has a lot of confidence in the way we go about business, in terms of preparation.”
The Cougars and the Bearcats are set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday in the Cougars’ homecoming game, with the team looking to improve their record in the American Athletic Conference.
