Art Briles Day-After Quotes
9/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2010
After finishing its non-conference schedule with a 30-13 win over Rice, Baylor now turns its attention to Big 12 play as the Bears open against Kansas at Floyd Casey Stadium. The game will be televised live nationally on FSN with an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Here are Art Briles' Sunday thoughts on the Bears' victory over Rice as well as Saturday's upcoming Big 12 opener against the Jayhawks.
On last night's game...
"I thought our guys showed a lot of resiliency and really played with a lot of effort and passion. That is what we asked them to do and that is what they did. That part of it was really rewarding and any time you go on the road and get a win, it is a huge win and last night certainly was."
On if it is good that the team has been tested this early in the season...
"I think so, but every week is a battle and a fight and a war and we just really hung tough last night and won a big road game."
On what last night's rain delay did to his team's momentum...
"It is the first one I have ever dealt with, so everything we were doing was new to me and really new to most of our players. We just talked about starting over and being the stronger team. We figured physically we would be ok, but we talked about them having a lot of endurance and just hanging on and battling."
On the turning point of the game...
"I thought one of the turning points of the game was right after the delay when Chance (Casey) got the interception. I think that happened the next sequence and then we went down and scored and went up 14-3. We had a great defensive series when we came back out."
On the defense's play...
"They played with a lot of effort. We knew Rice would be a high-tempo team. They did a good job on their side of the ball. I think they executed really well, but our guys really dominated defensively up front. I thought we had a good push up front all night. (We) shut down their run for the most part and then made some big plays when we had opportunities."
On how important the win was...
"It is huge. I mean really each week is like a new season and we did a good job last week as a team and our guys stayed focused with good practices. They had a lot of determination and I thought they showed a lot of fight, character and resiliency. We have got a little momentum coming into this week. We had a great crowd out there last night, which was huge for us and we will have a huge crowd this Saturday against Kansas. We have some things going in our favor and we need to take advantage of them."
On the offense's balance...
"I thought our balance was good. We went into the game planning on running the ball more just to establish some sort of consistency. Through the first three games I thought we were a little bit hit or miss, so we were still looking for a little bit of identity offensively and really as a team. I think we are starting to settle down and find something. I thought execution-wise, we were really pretty much on where we needed to be for the most part last night. We had a few busts, but other than that we executed pretty well."
On getting Robert Griffin III more involved in the ground game...
"It fits his skills and we are getting into the meat of the season. It's time to play ball, so that is what we will do."
On Griffin III's passing performance...
"Really sharp. We did a great job protecting. He started out really hot and a lot of that is rhythm, so he hit a real good rhythm and that is good. He was on last night and it all starts with protection and our o-line did a great job of giving him protection."
On Kansas...
"I know they will be a well-coached team. It will be a great atmosphere, so we will be prepared and we will be ready."
