With just four days left until kickoff between Georgia and Oklahoma State, OSU coach Mike Gundy and players spoke to national and local media Monday.

The following are key quotes from Gundy’s Monday teleconference and players’ media sessions.

MIKE GUNDY
On the first week finally arriving:
We’ve had a couple weeks of preparation. I think our players are very excited; I know the coaches are. There’s been a lot of excitement in this area in the last few weeks. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around Stillwater when the `I need tickets’ signs start going up last weekend at the local gas stations. We’re all looking forward to another week of practice and the big game on Saturday.

On players wanting another shot at Georgia:
I wish I had an answer for that. That’s kind of like the revenge factor. That question got brought up some last year when we played Troy. I think each individual has to handle that differently. Myself personally, I’ve gone way past that. We’ve had so many games since then. If that’s something that can help motivate a player to compete and play hard, then I’m OK with that.

On limiting media access lately:
The reason we did it was because we had 16 open-media practices in a row. I felt like 16 opportunities in a 29-opportunity practice schedule was a quite a bit to start with. I noticed that the questions became very repetitive. It was the same thing over and over and over. I thought this is crazy; you guys should be home at dinner. It gave you a chance to be home by 5:30 or 6, not hanging around up here until 8 o’clock at night. I saw the players somewhat fatigued in that area. I felt like it would be better off for us to separate for eight or 10 days until we got to the week of the game.

On difference in program and team from two years ago:
I’m not sure yet. The question that you get all the time is `compare this game to what happened two years ago’. My answer has been, I think Georgia is a very good football team. I think they have a lot of talent. I think they’re very strong, they’re very physical. But, I think our football team overall, in all three phases from an organizational standpoint, I think we’re a better team than we were. I think Georgia is as good as they were when we played them two years. I’ve said this a number of times, they lost a couple of first-round picks, but Georgia’s got players. They always have and I’m going to guess for a long time they always will. The best example I can give is the first time we ever heard of Knowshon Moreno was when we played him. They were concerned if they had anybody that would be able to run the football.

On if Georgia game has the most hype of any season opener:
When we played at Nebraska a few years ago, there was a lot of anticipation at that game. I think just the local buzz and maybe even more so in the state, because of the preseason ranking. I don’t know what the numbers are, but it’s the highest we’ve been ranked preseason in a long time. Because of that, there’s a lot of excitement. We’ve had to work very hard to minimize that and try to get the players focused. We have to make sure they understand the most important thing is to prepare, practice and get ready to play the game.

Do you like facing such a stiff test right off the bat? Do you feel like it will help the team?
That’s a great discussion that’s gone on forever. There’s two ways to look at it. One, is it should help with offseason preparation, and it has. Guys have a tendency to stay more focused because they know that you have a great challenge in the first game. And secondly, you don’t really have any time to work the kinks out, you have to be up and running. So when you’re playing young players that haven’t competed a lot, you have to be very careful what you ask them to do.

With all the hype surrounding your program in the offseason and knowing that Georgia’s your first game and the dedication of your stadium on Saturday, what’s it been like for your kids around campus and how much have you had to keep their heads on straight?
A considerable amount. Coaches and players, myself included. In the Stillwater community for the last four or five weeks, everywhere you go that’s all anybody ever talks about. Three or four nights ago I was with my oldest son at Wal-Mart at nine or 10 at night, and everybody that walks by, that’s all they talk about. And that’s good. It’s good that there’s a lot of excitement in the community, but you always worry about that as a coach. I think our players are mature enough to practice well and stay focused and disciplined, but there’s no question that it effects you, it just does.

There’s been more coverage and there’s been more talk and excitement than there ever has been around here, since I’ve been around. And that goes all the way back to the mid-80s. So I think it can factor in, but you just hope that when you kick it off everything will settle down and guys will go out and play hard. That’s the one thing that we’ve always asked our players is to play extremely hard and put everything else aside.

Should you be worrying about it more because your guys have not been through the hoopla like a team like Georgia has?
I don’t know personally. This is new for me. I have not been in a situation where we’ve had this much national attention and gotten the program to this level, so it’s new for myself. I do worry about it. I don’t know what we can do other than practice hard and stay focused as a staff.

There was a lot of talk about us slowing down the media, 10 days ago or whenever we did it. And the reason for that was very similar to what you’re saying. We had been open 16 days in a row and the questions became so competitive with the same thing over and over and there was such demand and it was taking up the players’ time and I just felt like the players were kind of getting worn out. So I thought, well we’ll just stop it for awhile until we get to the week of the game. Just to give the players a chance to stay focused and not get so caught up in answering the same questions all the time.

What has [new defensive coordinator] Bill Young brought to the defensive unit so far?
Coach has done a nice job getting the players to buy into the system. He brings a lot of maturity, a lot of experience. So I think more so than the players that he’s worked well with the other coaches that were on the defensive side of the ball. It’s so important, we spend so much time together, that they have a good working relationship and in turn the players have seen that which has helped them.

Can you address how much summer workouts have changed over the next 10 or 15 years?
First off, the most important person in our football program is the strength coach, because he works with our players year around. That’s why Rob Glass and his staff have been so important to us, because we put our faith in him and they’ve been tremendous and it’s been evident if you look at our players and their bodies and the physical condition they’re in, that he does a tremendous job. Everything is voluntary, but the peer pressure the players put on each other can sometimes be more powerful than what a coach can do. And that’s why the players stay around all summer.

Can you talk about the challenge being raised because you have a traditional power like Georgia coming in to play?
I think it’s similar to what I talked about earlier is that you have to be in a position to play well right off the bat. You don’t have a game to warm up, much less a certain number of plays, you’ve got to be ready to go. And there’s so much going on in the community that the most important thing is for the leaders, the mature players that have been here and been involved in big games to be able to guide the rest of the team.

And the most important thing is to study and prepare in practice well and get good sleep and not stay up all night, eat good food, drink fluids. All the things that are important in preparing to play a game, those things have to be taken care of. And you just have to stay focused and do the best you can to put everything else aside.

CB PERRISH COX
On what sticks out to him about Georgia:
The whole team. Georgia’s always been a good team. They are very talented at all positions. When we watch them, they are a nice power team. They’re just a powerhouse.

On how he’s preparing for Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green:
Going against Dez Bryant every day, I mean that’s all you can ask for. Green, he’s a talented receiver all around. Me and the other corners and safeties have got to go in prepared and ready. You look at him and every game they’re sending him deep and he catches some wild passes. We’ve just got to go in and defend him.

On the game making or breaking the Cowboys’ season:
We try to keep our focus away from that and try to focus on the big picture at the end. We’re going in and playing a top-ranked team. They’ve always been a talented team week in and week out every year.

DE JAMIE BLATNICK:
On the key to stopping a power running game:
It would be assignments, getting in the backfield, messing up their timing, the hand-offs, the pulls. Then it would be just being more physical than their offensive line. It’s a challenge we look forward to doing.

On how they prepare for a quarterback they’ve never seen play before:
The same way we prepare for a quarterback that we’ve seen play. Just watch what film we have on him and just don’t underestimate him. He seems like he’s a solid quarterback. He seems like he could run the ball, actually.”

QB ZAC ROBINSON
On his confidence that the Cowboys’ offense will be able to do what it wants:
We feel good about the game plan and what we do offensively. We know that if we take care of the ball and control the tempo and just do the things that we’ve always done, we should be fine. Hopefully we can get some of those explosive plays and score enough points to win the game.

On how he fits in as a team leader:
I know that guys look to me as a leader and anytime you’re the starting quarterback, they’re going to look to you as that. The thing about our team is we have so many great leaders. We have so many seniors that take leadership roles on offense and defense. Russell (Okung) and (Andre) Sexton and Perrish Cox, a bunch of those guys have stepped up. This is my third year as the starter. I’ve just tried to improve being a leader every year and just kind of lead by example and hopefully guys follow.

On if he’s ready to kick off or if he needs the rest of the week:
I’m ready to kick this off right now. It’s been a long time and I know guys are excited and if we could play tomorrow I’d be all about it.

CB TERRANCE ANDERSON
On if he expected to play in big games like this:
Actually, yes I did. Coming into the Big 12, you have to expect to come and play against some of the best talent in the country. Coming in, I was like, `Hey if I can go and make it in the Big 12 everything else is going to be alright.’

On if OSU got more preseason hype than he expected:
I could probably say it’s a little bit more than I expected. We’re actually getting known nationally for the first time, finally. We’ve been working up to it, so now it’s just time to put the pads on and go out there and show everybody why we’re ranked so high.

On if he’s looking forward to the challenge of facing A.J. Green:
Oh yeah. I go against, in my opinion, the No. 1 receiver in the country every day, so this is just another step to try and prove that our secondary is getting better and better.

DL NIGEL NICHOLAS
On the talent in the Big 12 versus the SEC:
I really don’t know. Every league has great players and great teams. Football is football.”

On if the defense’s first goal is to stop the run:
We’re not too focused on stopping the run or stopping the pass. We’re just really focused on going out there and playing hard. If you play hard everything’s going to work out. Like coach Young says, `The harder you play, the luckier you’re gonna get.’ So we’re just going to go out and play hard.