Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech Post Game Quotes
Oct 18, 2008 | Football
Oct. 18, 2008
TEXAS A&M
Mike Sherman
"Our lack of conversion on third downs with dropped balls and such really bit us in the butt in the second half. We were 6-14 on third downs and they were 10-12."
(On using the shovel pass) "We had to slow down the pass-rush. It helped us get a lot of time in the second quarter, so I think it was effective. The shovel pass was good at first but not in the second half."
(On Ryan Tannehill) "I made him a team captain this week as a red-shirt freshman. He's a natural-born leader. When he speaks, people listen. He'll just keep getting better and better. "
"To go into halftime with a lead was a big plus for us. Obviously, it didn't fare well in the end, but I thought it was a good thing going into the half. "
"This week we talked about three things: we talked about playing with passion and I told them after the game that I was proud of them for playing with passion. I talked to them about sticking together and I thought they stuck together. And I talked to them about the moment of truth. I also told him along those lines that this isn't a moral victory."
"We had a lot of lack of production, but not a lack of intensity. These kids cried in the locker room after the game because they lost the ballgame and they wanted this so bad. There was not a lack of intensity. "
" [Texas Tech] didn't drop many balls. We dropped some balls, and with the frequency that we run the ball, you can't afford to do that. I'm disappointed in our running game. I wish we could play that second half over again. We dropped some balls and didn't protect the quarterback, and then the running game really was nonexistent."
"I talked to the defense at halftime and told them keep doing what you're doing. Play hard, play passionate, and smile when you're out there. You're doing a great job. We couldn't put it all together in both halves. We played well in the first half, but not in the second. Plus you have to give some credit to Tech. They didn't play well in the first half, but they played well in the second half. They're a good football team. "
"Everyone did right this week. Everyone went to class and showed up to practice. I want this [loss] to hurt. I don't want to go into the team meeting tomorrow and everyone to be laughing and giggling. I want this to hurt. When we play a football game, we should expect to win. In our team meeting this week, everyone expected to win."
Joe Kines
"I've got to give a lot of credit to Coach Leach and the Texas Tech football team. They're a good team and they played well. I've got to give a lot of credit to our boys. They played hard, but all we can do is get back to practice this week and do better next week."
"I thought one of the best things we did was the forced field goal we had inside the 20. That's the best thing about this group--they don't go back into the ballgame after a bad play with their heads down."
"It's like that farmer hoeing that cotton field. You don't know where you are. You just keep hoeing and sooner or later you'll reach the end of that row. It's not time to pick your head up and worry about where you are. You just keep going."
"We went in to get it in little chunks. We try not to give it to them in big hunks. You've got to pick your poison. You can shoot with a bazooka or a BB gun. We tried to take the bazooka away."
"If you don't hurt, there's something wrong with you. We strained [the players] all week long and they strained today but we came up short. And that's my fault."
Michael Bennett
"They started picking up on our blitz a little bit in the second half and figuring out where we were going, so it was a little harder in the second half."
"This week of practice was good and we've just got to keep practicing next week and come out here and beat Iowa State."
Trent Hunter
(On the atmosphere in the locker room after the game) "We harped a lot this week about coming out and playing hard and doing your best. We practiced probably the hardest we ever had this week. You could have heard a pin drop in that locker room today. Not a single guy was joking around. Nobody said anything except that we couldn't believe that we just lost that game."
Jerrod Johnson
"In the first half we were clicking pretty well. We just couldn't seem to get everything working well in the second half with a lack of execution. It's hard to lose to Texas Tech, an in-state school like that."
Ryan Tannehill
(On being a team captain for this game) "It's a pretty good feeling. I take that pretty seriously. It's cool that coach has enough faith in me to do that. But it doesn't guarantee a win, so it's not that important."
(On getting to take a snap) "It felt pretty good. Obviously I didn't want it to happen under the circumstances. It was hard to see [Jerrod Johnson] go down, but it felt pretty good."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Kevin Matthews:
"We came out after a good week of preparation and thought we could win the game. We had a great attitude before the game and during halftime. In the second half, everything just went downhill. We gave them the best we had. It's just real frustrating not to come out with a win. If we keep the mindset we had this week, we'll be able to prepare better for the rest of the games this season."
DEFENSIVE BACK Alton Dixon:
"We came in this week using Coach Kines' experience in playing Tech. We watched a lot of Alabama film and tried to copy it to a tee. I'm really proud of Coach Kines and thankful to him for everything he did to prepare us this week. He was able to stress to us the need to not give up the big play. Our coaches did a great job of preparing us mentally to come out and play such a high-octane offense. The coaches put us in a great position we just didn't come out with the win."
TIGHT END Jamie McCoy:
"To beat Tech, we knew we'd have to throw the ball downfield. It didn't seem like we did much different this week; we just prepared to win like we always do. We came away today with pride in our team effort. Everybody did what they were supposed to do and nobody gave up. We were able to come out in the beginning and score against these guys and we kept up our effort the entire game."
TEXAS TECH
RUNNING BACK BARON BATCH:
"In the second half, we had less mistakes. We settled down and played. We were focused on getting the win. We settled down and did what we wanted. The offensive line is doing a great job and things are opening up. I think we could always run the ball but coach is just now getting confidence in us."
HEAD COACH MIKE LEACH:
"I thought everything that could go wrong did in the first half. We alloowed ourselves to get frustrated. Part of it is going out there and just running around and expecting good things to happen. We did that the second half. In the first half, it was just a bunch of little things, a bunch of lame stuff with the coaches and players. In the second half, there was nothing magic. We just relaxed and expected good things to happen. Our defense played very well in the second half. We have to kick it better, no question -- or go for two. It's a problem. There was no panic at halftime. I was proud of them for that. It was more of a relaxation session. I just told them: Relax and don't get frustrated; we don't want bad body language; expect good things to happen; it can't be as bad as the first half and we're only down by three. (on last touchdown) I felt like Shannon (Woods) had done a lot of lifting to get the ball down there. Given the fact that he worked his way down there, I felt like he deserved a touchdown. My only regret is that Harrell snatched the touchdown. I wish Shannon would have got it. Shannon Woods is my favorite running back in the whole world. I like Shannon more than any 10 players on any other team. I'm happy we scored; I wish Shannon would have got it. The crowd always has an effect and that's why this is a such an exciting place to play. Everybody battles the crowd. Kyle Field is one of the few places in America where defenses have trouble communicating."
QUARTERBACK GRAHAM HARRELL:
"Kyle Field is the greatest place to play at, so to come out with a win is big. Lucky for me, I've come down here and gotten two wins. A&M played really hard and gave us a great shot. The problems in the first half were self-inflicted. We only stopped ourselves. The offensive line did a great job of controlling the game. We had some unlucky bounces in the first half."
