Opening statement:
"Going back to last week, just a superb afternoon for football. Very blessed with a beautiful day and to play in a stadium, a palace like that, in an atmosphere like that, in a setting nobody else has with the sailgating and I-35, with the best clothing, uniforms that money can buy; it's a privilege. It's a privilege to play football at Baylor University, it's a privilege to represent this University. I thought our guys did it in excellent fashion. I thought we played with a lot more energy, a little more intensity, which I think is good. I think we're amping up at the right time. We have to find continuity with the open dates stuck in between, but I feel good about this week other than the fact that we're playing a really good football team. Texas Tech is a team that always plays Baylor extremely tough over the last 20 years; you can look at the records and it doesn't favor well for Baylor. We know what we're getting into. We know how they've always played us and we know the intensity, attitude, effort and intelligence that we're going to have to bring to the game Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium in order to bring a lively atmosphere with a lot of intensity and emotions flying high. [It'll be a] great football game, with two teams trying to get right in conference."

On how the team's performance against Rice can help propel them towards the conference schedule:
"It's good. Realistically, we feel like we did what we should have done through our non-conference schedule. We know the importance of conference games and that things are going to get more important, and tougher as we go along. But you've got to be who you are, and you've got to do what you do. That's what we're trying to do, and that's who we're trying to be. From that standpoint, I felt like the team was where we need it to be, and that's the first time I felt that this year. We need to be a devastatingly dominant football team - that's the way we have to play. I felt, at times the other day, that we were that. Our backs aren't full of pats - we know we have a long ways to go as a football team, but we do have the potential to be pretty good."

On Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes:
"Just a great athlete, a great player, very competitive, a play-maker. Everyone is aware of how he played against us last year, what he's done up to this point this year. Just a really good football player; there are some really good quarterbacks in this league, some great players across the league; you could take five quarterbacks and they'd be as good as anyone across the nation. So there are some really outstanding players, and he's certainly one of them. To be a true sophomore and performing the way he has performed is really a credit to him and Texas Tech."

On successfully getting pressure on the QB and how much of a weapon that can be moving forward:
"You live by it, you die by it. If you blitz, you take a chance of giving up a big play and you take a chance on an opportunity to get a big sack. You've got to weigh the pros and cons in the situation, and the tempo, the momentum, the score and everything that goes along with making that call. We certainly have the talent level on the field to be very active defensively from a blitz standpoint. We thought we could get to [Driphus] Jackson [Rice QB] a couple times, and we did. We had some guys really make some good plays. But a guy that can move around like Mahomes, you blitz and miss and then you've got the chance for the offense to have a big play. It's just all very situational, but we like our personnel and our coaching staff has done a great job on that side of the ball for the past five years."

On leading the nation in rushing:
"Yeah, I was just told that this morning. It's a little mind-boggling honestly, when you think of Georgia Tech, Navy, and other predominantly rush teams across the nation. But I think it just falls in place of what we've had happen, so far. If we're sitting after 12 games and we're still top 10 rushing, which is kind of what we'd like to be in year-in and year-out, but then that's a pretty good deal. I think it does say a lot about our O-line. Those guys are experienced; we felt like we'd be really good up front on both sides of the ball this year. Our O-line played as well the other day as they have all year. That's the heart and soul of our team. If somebody is talking ugly about me, I feel threatened, I'm not gonna go grab a quarterback or receiver; I'm gonna go grab an O-lineman or D-lineman, because I like winning. Those are the guys that run your locker room, and they're the guys that have to be men on the field".

On embracing championship expectations this season:
"We've gone back and forth on that a little bit; it might've been a little premature in some respects. I think if you don't dream big, you're never going to be big. You have to have high expectations. You'd rather shoot for the stars and miss than aim for the clouds and hit. We're always going to aim high, expect high, and hopefully produce high. But at the same time, you have to understand how you get there. You get there through determination, dedication, discipline and teamwork; the last person you can play for is for yourself. It's a lot of things involved to become a championship team. I think part of our deal on that was understanding how close you can be and not be there. We've done the close stuff a couple times; now we've got to finish. It's hard to finish, as witnessed. Honestly, right now, we're just trying to win a conference game. Really, now the season begins for us. We'll see if we get to wear championship shirts in December or if we fold them up."

On what he expects from Tech after the close loss to TCU:
"I've been in both scenarios, where we won a decent game and then lost coming off a big win, then coming off not winning and playing pretty decent - win 60-14. So it depends on the makeup of your team. Every game, every week is a new week, so you've got to let it go, good or bad, because there's something else out there waiting for you. If you're not ready for it, you're not going to be able to perform at the level you need to in order to have a chance to win. I don't expect that to have any bearing on our game this weekend, just like what we did against Rice will have no bearing on the game."

On Taylor Young coming back and Jay Lee's play:
"Taylor is just a really inspiring guy. He's instinctive, he's inspiring, he's a winner, he's a champion and he's a motivator. When he's on the field, we're better. Some people are just like that, they just bring everybody else's level up, and he does that. I just think that was part of the reason we were better on defense the other day, because TY was on the field, and TY is a happy football player. He's a dynamic player on the field and people get excited and I've never seen somebody run fast in a bad mood, so everybody is excited and they're playing fast and they're happy. That's a big deal. We expect a lot out of Jay Lee, as he's been targeted, he's produced. He only had two catches the other day, two big ones back-to-back, we only completed 12 passes. I think that part of our game is going to come around as we're able to extend ourselves offensively in football games, which allows some of these guys to get more touches and more production. Up to this point, he's been extremely productive with the amount of touches he's been afforded."

On difference between Baylor and Texas Tech's offense and how they're different from the past:
"[DeAndre] Washington is a great back for them. It's not like all of a sudden he jumped out -- we knew about him. You've got the dual-threat of Mahomes being able to zone-read you a little bit, it just adds another dimension to them offensively. I think Tech has run the ball really well over the last 16-20 games, about as well as they have over the last decade. That's a little different look for them and for us as an opponent. It creates more areas of concern from a defensive standpoint playing their offense. You have to make sure you cover them all, but they're still going to throw the football. If they're putting money down on whether they're going to run or throw the football more, day in and day out, Kliff [Kingsbury] putting money on the throw."

On Seth's performance against Rice:
"I thought he was more alert, really more focused play in and play out. I think he only had two bad plays out of 46, and that's the whole deal, which is to stay in the moment. With him, he's got a tremendous amount of talent, but a lot of times, people that are gifted in some areas lack in focus sometimes. I've noticed through the years of coaching a lot of players that are extremely gifted, it's hard to keep them motivated. I think that's the thing that we're working on with him, and he's working on, to understand that every play could be the play of the game, and I was really impressed with how he approached the game the other day. He was really sharp, he's going to have to play that way for us to have a chance to win."

On balance with the offense:
"I think if you've looked over the past decade, I would hope it would be that scenario. I think that we've always rushed the ball really well, and thrown it decently over the years, but you have to have a great O-Line, you have to have a QB who makes good decisions, you have to have good skill players at the running back and the inside and outside receiver positions who can make plays in space. We've been fortunate enough to have these, so that's something that we always kind of hang our hat on, is if we need to get dirty, we can get dirty. If it's third and one, we like to think we can get that. That's something we like to take pride in as coaches and players."

On showcasing Corey Coleman's versatility:
"He's really good, he is dynamic, there's more in the tank and that's the exciting part. We're still just rounding the first curve with him, and we feel like there's a lot more out there that he's able to contribute and help our team win, but he's an extremely gifted person athletically. He has a great passion for being the best on the field, which bodes well when you have the talent to back it up. Coming out of high school, he was a player that a lot of people projected as a DB. He could be a great cornerback but he was a person who was very highly recruited. We think we got him because of Kendall Wright, because he kind of saw him as Kendall's kind of style and image."

On penalties how they might cost the team:
"Well, they always cost you, and they have cost us dearly through the years, just like everybody else who gets penalties, they always cost you. We work on it by trying not to do anything that's not football-related. If you hold, you try not to hold. If you hit somebody late, then that's something that's not football-related. You try to make sure when penalties do exist, that they're ones that are associated with the game of football. We're not the best at it, but we're not trying to sit around and watch the clock run either, so the more you play football, the more chances there will be to have a penalty thrown on you, and that's just the way we play."

On what he sees with the team and what they still need to prove to him:
"I think cohesiveness, consistency, predictability and the intellectual and physical part of people not always playing up to their ability level. We do have some really good players and it's my job to make sure they're motivated individually and collectively as a team. To be dominant and devastatingly dominant to where if you play, you're trying to be the best football player in America and you're trying to be the best football team in America. That's my job, and that's our players' job to perform at that level play-in and play-out. Potentially, I see a chance to have a football team that could have a chance to three-peat as a Big 12 Champion, which has only happened once [in the history of the league]."

On how they feel going into the Texas Tech game:
"I feel like we're confident. We're a confident team. Our defense was clicking and our offense was clicking, especially. That's something we really need. As a team, we need everybody to be firing on the same cylinder. It's going to be a fight. We're into conference games now and everybody's fighting for a shot at the conference championship. Everybody's going to give it their best shot every game, so we have to be ready."

On how he played against Rice:
"You can never grade yourself too hard. If you want to be the best, you have to grade yourself as the best. With the 16 passing attempts, that just gives credit to the offensive line. We can run the ball because the offensive line has done an amazing job the past three games of opening up those running lanes. If we can continue to do that, it's going to open up the passing game, too, and we can continue to go from there."

On what he learned last year against Texas Tech:
"Getting that experience and a feel for the atmosphere was definitely valuable. I feel like I kind of got thrown into the fire and I answered well, or as well as I needed to. Now with these first three games under my belt, I feel like I'm more confident and poised. I feel like I can get in there and just make every throw that I can."

On the run game against Rice:
"A lot of that is on the O-line and all of us up front. We are doing a pretty good job. We're doing our job and what's expected of us. If Coach [Art Briles] says we're hitting 350 (rushing) yards a game, then that's what we're hitting. It also speaks about our [running] backs. We had three guys -- Shock [Linwood], Johnny [Jefferson], and Terence [Williams] -- playing their butts off out there."

On having a dynamic rushing and passing offense:
"It does put a lot of pressure on teams. We do have that deep-ball throw with our receivers anytime we want it with our great receiving core that we have. If they play the pass, we're going to run for 400 yards. If they play the run, we're going to throw for 400 yards on them. I think they complement each other really well."

On preparing for Texas Tech:
"We're really familiar with [Texas Tech]. They have a lot of guys back this year, some in a little bit different positions. They look pretty good from what I've seen. They do a little bit more switching up front. They go from a 4-3 to a 3-4 which makes it more difficult on the offensive line just because we have to get our calls right, but we've seen it before and we're going to handle it really well."

On entering conference play:
"It's conference. Everything kicks up a gear in conference. The opponents get tougher. The mentality -- you have to go into each game with a good mentality -- is a lot different. It's a whole other animal. Anyone in our conference can beat anyone in any given game, so you do have to come with your "A" game or you will get beat."

On paying attention to his counterparts on other teams:
"I don't try to focus on that. I just focus on my team and my responsibilities and doing what I need to do to win."

On doing different things:
"I like it all. It's amazing. Thank God Coach [Art] Briles trusts me to get the job done, so I just need to go out there and give it my all."

On blitzing against Rice:
"It was just about the type of offense they run, which involves the QB staying in the pocket. Previously, against SMU, their QB liked to scramble and Lamar liked to roll out a lot, so it's just about staying in the pocket and doing the thing that we're comfortable with."

On expecting to possibly blitz more against Texas Tech:
"It's just about controlling things that we can't control, so on third-and-long, we have to blitz. That's just what we have to do in order to make them uncomfortable, and that's just something that's in our minds and in practice on how we'll execute the game plan."

On how he feels about blitzing:
"I like coming off the edge. That's one thing I've been working on over the offseason. It's just great because you get to go in there and it's just an awesome feeling. I'm not as good as rushing as our D-ends, but I'm getting there though."

On being back out on the field:
"It's such a blessing. When I first got injured, I thought it was way worse than it actually was, so I'm just happy to be back out there with my teammates."

On Coach Phil Bennett:
"In high school, I never really heard about the 4-2-5, so some of the stuff he comes up with, it's just genius. He puts people in places to make plays that make us look like a great defense."

On blitzing being worth the risk:
"Every time it's us against them, so we preach about having the confidence when we're one-on-one, and having the confidence in our DBs in covering players for that extra second. Making the plays you're supposed to make in the open field, that's just a part of football."

On the advantage of going against a great offense in practice:
"It's a huge advantage going against guys like Corey Coleman, Jay Lee and KD Cannon. They're fast and they spread us out, but Texas Tech always plays us well. Hopefully things can change with this next game because our defense has been playing really strong lately."

On defensive strategy against Texas Tech:
"It's all about controlling things that we can control. On third and long, we've got to blitz. That's just one thing we've got to do, and that's make them uncomfortable. That's something that's in our mind at practice and in the game."

On his improvements in the offseason:
"I like coming off the edge. That's one thing I've been practicing during the offseason. It's an awesome feeling. I'm not as good as [Shawn Oakman or Jamal Palmer], but I'm getting there."

On coming back strong after injury:
"It's a blessing just because when I first got injured I thought it was way worse than it actually was. It was a scare at first, but I'm just happy I'm back out there with my teammates."

On the team's edge:
"I feel like the edge has come back. Shawn [Oakman] missed out the first game and then the second game, we were just trying to get the bond back, so we feel good now. I feel like now we're back to being Gang Green and we have that edge back."

On not knowing who is going to blitz or where it's going to come from:
"That's [Coach Phil] Bennett. He likes to switch it up a lot, so being a safety in the secondary, you have to be prepared to play coverage or man or whatever he is doing. You just have to be ready for anything."

On being comfortable with the offense:
"It just comes through practice. We get 70-80 reps in practice and we treat it like it's a game situation, so whoever is going for it in practice, they're going for it just like they would in a game. You get the feel of how the game speed is going to be."

On the running game:
"We'll probably get overlooked because of our receivers and how much people talk about them. But as they see, our running game helps out our passing game. For us to be dominant in our pass game, we have to be dominant in our run game as well. We just need to show up every week and show everyone that we can run the ball."

On the team's performance vs. Rice:
"We didn't play the best way that we wanted to, but we still scored 70 points. We're not satisfied with that. We know we can score more, and when we step out on the field on Saturday we look to improve."

On the team's mentality:
"We're just taking one game at a time. We don't want to get too far ahead of what we plan on doing, so we just have to take it one game at a time."

On Saturday's matchup with Texas Tech:
"We expect a shootout every year, but our defense is looking at stopping them this year. In the past, we have let them come back on us. We just look to shut them out on defense for as few points as possible."

On the team's versatility:
"We are just a dynamic team. We can pass the ball and we can throw the ball. The run game gives our offense one weapon to have."

On the team's performance against Rice:
"We really showed up. After a bye-week, you kind of wonder how you're going to come out, but we had a good week of practice and took care of the small things. Everything just came together on Saturday."

On starting conference play against Texas Tech:
"It feels like the season is finally getting started. After the bye week, we got this five-game stretch and we have to bring our "A" game. I really think we did against Rice, and we have to buckle down and get ready for (Texas) Tech."

On the atmosphere surrounding the start of conference play:
"The atmosphere changes around practice. Everyone has their game face on every day. Every day we have that intensity, but in the back of your mind it's time to get going."

On blitzing:
"That's probably one of the best parts about being a linebacker, getting to blitz that gap. Having that opportunity to maybe get a sack on the quarterback or a play for a loss in the backfield - that's always a great feeling."

On having Taylor Young back:
"It was really nice having him back this time. He's a playmaker for us and just a sparkplug for this team."