Sept. 2, 2008

Opening Statement:

"All of our focus and energy now is on Northwestern State. The thing that impresses me about them is that they are not going to come in here wide-eyed. They went to Ole Miss and Texas Tech last year. At Ole Miss it was a 38-31 ballgame. Ole Miss ran out the clock in its own territory at the end of the game. Texas Tech ended up beating them pretty good but it was 24-7 with four minutes left in the first half. So it's not like they're going to gasp and gaze around the stadium thinking what have we gotten into. They've been down that road before. They have an experienced football team; eight starters back on defense, six on offense, three transfers from Ole Miss, one from Louisiana-Lafayette and one from Louisiana Tech. They've got some guys that have been in some wars before. Our concentration is to just take care of Baylor; we need to win a football game. We need to play well and we need to do the things to be successful. That is where all of our focus is this week - taking care of ourselves and making sure we do what we have to do to win the game."

On Northwestern State quarterback John Hundley (Louisiana-Lafayette transfer):

"He runs well. He was the leading rusher last week against A&M-Commerce with about 83 yards and he throws the ball well. He was very effective. They brought in their other quarterback Drew Branch for a few plays. But John Hundley is definitely their guy right now. He is the one we have to stop."

On quarterback Robert Griffin:

"What I have seen all along is that he is very poised and has the ability to bring excitement to the field from an offensive standpoint. What we have to do is give him situations where he feels comfortable and can have success. What we're working through at this time is getting our schemes to match his ability. I was impressed with his poise, mentality and discipline; Robert is ahead of the game from that standpoint."

On Northwestern State running back Byron Lawrence:

"He is a shifty back with real good hips. I believe he was the fourth-leading rusher in their division nationally last year. They have a transfer kid in from Louisiana Tech, Riggs, who played a little bit more against A&M-Commerce. He is more of a power back, a straight-ahead guy. They used them both. To answer your question: Lawrence is a shifty guy who dances and moves around."

On Offensive Line's performance:

"Judging by the game the other night, we're ok. We're definitely not where we need to be as a team. That is the main thing. We are not as physical as we are going to have to be. We are not as tough as we need to be. We have a lot of growing to do as a team - not any particular set of positions. When people play Baylor, we want them to think of a tough, determined, disciplined football team so that is what we're working towards. We certainly don't feel like we have peaked."

On lessons taken from Wake loss:

"First of all, you don't have a chance to win if you don't have great effort. Our guys played with great effort. That is what we asked them to do and that is what they did. We found out they have a lot of pride and they care, they want to win. That is the great thing about human nature is we all want to succeed. Our job as a coach is to let them do well. If they don't succeed, we help them get there. From that standpoint, I was pleased with their effort and the other things we have to clean up. I don't think we did an outstanding job of opening up the season. I think we are too anxious going into the season. I think, with a new staff and a new beginning, it might have helped if we could have seen a couple of games. Our players could have gotten into the football season more, instead of being the first ones to dive into the lake. From that standpoint, I think we learned some lessons from that. I know I definitely did as a coach, and we did as a staff."

On benefits of being the first to open the season last week:

"We are a little ahead of schedule for the next game. The bad part is you have to wait a little longer until the next game. You know there are things you could improve on. Time passes pretty quickly and we are gearing up and getting ready. We know we have a big game and a big opportunity and a much-needed chance to win this Saturday. All of our focus is on getting on the field and playing well...we want to win."

On drops at the receiver position:

"It's always a concern when you are not executing. We could name a bunch of things that went wrong. But it's a concern. It's one of those things you have to work yourself through."

On bouncing back from Wake Forest loss and preparing for Northwestern State:

"It is going really well. Last Friday, we went over the tape, had a walk through and conditioned a little bit. We had a good practice Monday with a really good weight session so they're resilient. Young people are very resilient. We want to prove ourselves as a football team and we are very determined this week."

On having the 'whole package' in:

"We are certainly not where we think we are going to be later on, but we have enough in to be successful. We have to pick and choose what we feel gives us the best opportunity for success and take advantages when we have opportunities and that is what we weren't great at the other night in two or three instances. We have to be prepared when the time comes to make things happen from an offensive standpoint."

On true freshmen who played against Wake Forest:

"Obviously, Robert Griffin was effective. Ben Parks will improve from here on out. Romie Blaylock didn't have an opportunity to do much, but I think he'll be a good player for us. We would like to get Kendall Wright involved more offensively. He has great awareness and is a very athletic and competitive kid. I think you'll see his role increase a little bit."

On putting Hundley under more pressure:

"We want to play a good sound defense and take care of this side of the football. We want to be strong and physical upfront and provide pressure that way."

Closing Statement:

"I appreciate the good crowd that we had; we need another great one this week. One of our problems the other night was that we never gave our fans a chance to get involved. We need to give them a chance to get involved in the football game and let them give us the support that they're willing to give."

Senior Jason Smith

On the loss:

"It's hard to get that bad taste out of our mouth. It took a lot of Listerine but the first game is over and we just need to iron all the wrinkles out."

On how hungry they are for a win:

"We're very hungry, even hungrier now. That's just how our program is, we're a hungry football team and we want a win."

On being a senior leader:

"We just remind them of our goals. We just stay positive and don't hang our head showing negative emotion."

Junior Jason Lamb

On last week:

"How we played last week doesn't show what we're capable of doing. We're disappointed in losing, but no one is really down because we know it's over and there's nothing we can do to change it."

On mindset of this weekend:

"Our coaches always say the most important game is the next game we play. It doesn't matter who it's against or what the conditions are because that's the only game you're guaranteed. So we put all our focus and work into that one game."

Junior Jordan Lake

On the loss:

"That's one thing that Coach Briles talks to us about. We need to learn from it and move past it. It hurt and it still lingers a little bit, but we're ready to get back on the field and work on those things."

On getting a win to recover confidence:

"We need to win for this team this week and move forward in our plans."

Junior Joe Pawelek

On the loss:

"After the entire off-season and two-a-days, the first game was finally here. To leave with a loss was pretty frustrating. Anytime you step on the field, you want a win so we're going to work hard and take practice seriously and hopefully Saturday we'll have a good result."