The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas A&M game quotes
11.24.2006 | Football
TEXAS
HEAD COACH MACK BROWN
On the game: I was very disappointed for our seniors and the fans. We didn't win today. Give credit to A&M; they made the plays to win the ball game. It was a day where nothing was working and nothing happened well for us. We still had our chance to win at the end, but give them the credit. When we didn't score up 7-6, they took an 80-yard drive and put it in the end zone and then intercepted the ball. If you go back and look at football games, turnovers, turnovers went to them and explosives went to them. We didn't make a fourth-and-six inches. There was an interference call that took away a touchdown. Whether it was a good call or a bad call, it was one they made and it stuck because it is not reviewable. They rushed for a bunch of yards, and we didn't. They made third-down situations, and they scored in the red zone, and we didn't. Give them credit.
On momentum: We came back out in the second half and shut them down and played a great third quarter. We didn't score like we usually do, and that is what got us in trouble. Then we left the defense out there too much, and they had the great drive at the end of the game. They took over in the third quarter with field position, and we stop them, we get the ball at midfield and we fumble. That is just the way the day was. We stop them again, we get down on our end, take it and get it on the other end and force a fumble and then we score. Then we stop them and get it back, and we don't move it.
On the fourth-and-one drive: Anytime you don't make a fourth-and-1 when you're at the 10, on the first drive of the game and you are moving the ball well, as close as that game was, you score there you win the game.
On how Texas A&M played: The best thing to do is to give A&M credit. They have played some close games and they have lost some here. They played a close one with us and they won. It is the best thing to do.
On if he thought they would lose: I never thought we would lose. I even thought when we got the ball back with 41 seconds we had a chance to win. I thought we still might make a play even though we were into the wind, but it wasn't going to happen today.
On what he told the seniors: I felt like with the seniors, today wasn't the day to talk about it, because they didn't want to hear it. They have won 40-something games, a National Championship and two bowl games. We will go to another bowl game and hopefully a conference championship if they get a chance to play, depending on tomorrow's game. They have had a great run. This is the first time we have lost a senior game, and you hate that for the kids. When you have a rival game at home and you lose it. Nobody in this room as a player has ever lost to A&M, so give those kids credit. You have walked out of that game three times with your head up, and they have only walked out once. It would be wrong of us to not give them credit for the one that they have won. I'm sure we have been smiling and talking about all the exhilaration that we have felt by winning the three times.
On if he told the team they could still play for the Big 12 Championship: Yes, I did tell them that here is what you have left if Oklahoma gets beat. We will meet Sunday at 5:00 either way. If Oklahoma gets beat, you better take care of yourself tonight and tomorrow and prepare to play Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game. If Oklahoma wins, then you have to figure out which bowl you are going to and play better than we did when we were disappointed and we played Washington State in the Holiday Bowl a couple of years ago.
On not winning 10 games: I have gotten spoiled like everyone else. I told them it has been a long time since we haven't won 10. The last two years we have been in the mix of everything in the end. This is just disappointing for all of us.
On the wind: It was a factor today. That is why their running attack was better than our passing attack the two quarters we were into the wind. I thought when we didn't score in the third quarter it would hurt us. That was a factor. We needed to score two or three times to get it. We also thought we took momentum into half time. We wanted to take the wind in the third quarter and stop them and have the short field and score. Again, give their defense credit for making the plays, we didn't.
On what he thought in the fourth quarter: I thought we would win with eight minutes left when we had the ball with a 7-6 lead. I thought we would get a score there and be up 14-6 and put them in some trouble. We needed to put them in a position where they would throw it. We never made them one-dimensional. The game was never a game where we put enough pressure on them to have to come out of what they do best, and that is run the ball.
On the fans: It has been a great run. It has been a thing that is difficult to do. I credit our fans for that too. I thought our fans were great today. They hung in there; we didn't do a lot of things right at times. That is a disappointment to them, and they stayed and they were positive and did really well. It has been a good run for the home conference run. These kids had lost two games at home in their four years until today. That is the other reason I think they are so disappointed.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG DAVIS
On the game: We didn't execute as well as we normally do on the fourth-and-short that we chose to go for in the first quarter; we came up short. And then we had the penalty in the end zone when we had the long third-and-goal, and those two opportunities slipped away from us. And then we also didn't do a good job of converting on third downs and being able to stay on the field. [Texas] A&M did a nice job, and it's my responsibility to get us to convert in those situations.
On the Texas A&M defense: Well, I think they did a nice job of keeping their pads down, and we just couldn't go for it. They were big and strong upfront, and they were giving us good reads on the zone-read when we ran that play, but we just didn't get in rhythm, and I think a lot of that has to do with not converting on third downs.
CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GENE CHIZIK
On the game: [Texas A&M] did a great job early on in the first quarter; some of it early on was off a few scrambles, on a few passing downs when [Stephen McGee] was getting out of trouble, and then the tailback broke the long one. We seemed to get everything adjusted and everybody calmed down, and we got adjusted to the speed of the game and then they methodically moved it down the field on the last drive, and up until that point, I felt like we had gotten everything under control after that first series.
On the Texas A&M offense: They did a good job of balancing out the option and being able to run it both ways, and they decided to attack into the boundary right there, and they hadn't done that a bunch all day. That was really the first time they kind of felt like they had found something that worked. I think there were a couple of times, and I can't be sure till I watch the film, but it looked like there were a few a tackles we missed. As [the last] series went on, we kept getting them to third down, and then we couldn't close the door. They would get to third-and-three or third-and-two, and then they would convert. So I think we got a little worn out and tired in there, and [Texas A&M] did a great job of being physical and keeping the drive alive.
S MICHAEL GRIFFIN
On the game: We went out there and played our hearts out. It came down to a play here and there. They would pick-up a first down; they were just constantly moving it down the field. Our main objective today was to win the Big 12 South and that's what we were playing for; we were the keepers of our destiny. We just went out there on defense, the offense played, I guess you could say there were a few calls here and there, but no excuses. [Texas] A&M is a great team; they have great [running] backs, a great quarterback, great receivers, and a great offensive line, and they went out there and executed and played a great game all the way down to the wire.
On the Texas defense: I think there were a few missed tackles that we should have made here and there that would have helped eliminate some of their big runs, but other than that, the only way to get a better idea of the game is to go back and watch the film. We need to find our mistakes and work on them. We still have one more game ahead of us, maybe two.
On Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee: I wasn't surprised [by his abilities] because he's been doing it all year. We watched 10 or 11 games of him running the ball and running the option. I know he's a tough guy; we hit him 20-some times last year, and he still continued to run, run, run. He's a hard, tough quarterback that loves the game, and he went out there and played his tail off, so I've got to give him credit.
OG/T JUSTIN BLALOCK
On being in the red zone: You always want to come away with three or seven points; preferably seven [points]. It's frustrating to get that close [to scoring] and come away with zero [points]; I guess it's a little deflating, but it doesn't last past that drive. We came to the sideline, and the coaches did a good job of keeping us focused and alerting us to the changes that they had made; so there is never hangover from the last drive.
On the frustration of the game: It's definitely frustrating when you can't string together a long series or even when you do, but then something stalls and you walk away with nothing. It seems like we just couldn't get the ball rolling enough and get the momentum going in our favor. We couldn't get into a rhythm.
RB SELVIN YOUNG
On the game: It was a difficult game to swallow obviously, but I felt like everybody went out and tried their best, we just fell short.
On being held to seven points: I'm just going to stay positive and watch some film, try to figure out what was happening, figure it out play for play and make sure the next play is the most important play. We had some plays go the opposite way, the pass interference, the fourth-and-inches, the things that we needed just fell short.
CB AARON ROSS
On the game: It was just frustrating that we couldn't get off the field to give the offense another chance. We never think about losing, so we're all upset and hurt with it being our last game here. We just have to bounce back for whichever bowl game we go to and just take it home from there to end with a bang.
On Texas A&M's running game: We expected them to run because that's their offense. We just need to watch film to see what we did wrong. It's a little too late to correct it now, but we just gave up a great opportunity. I felt like we executed; they just have a great offense, a big back, a skilled back, and great quarterback. All three of those guys back there they have great weapons.
DE BRIAN ROBISON
On the game: It's disappointing, but I guess the best way to look at it is that we have at least one more, so we have to make the best of it.
On Texas A&M's running game: They have so many great weapons, Stephen McGee is a guy that can run or pass and he has great size and speed, Jorvorskie Lane is the big bruiser, and then Michael Goodson is the guy that can give you speed on the edges. There are so many things to try and prepare for and try to stop, that it makes it tough on the defense, but no excuses, we just didn't do the job today.
TEXAS A&M
HEAD COACH DENNIS FRANCHIONE
On the game: I am really happy for our players. What a great day for them. They have fought so valiantly and so hard all year long in every game and nine out of the last ten went down to the wire. To get this win on the road makes me feel good for the guys. We are undefeated on the road this year. We should play all road games. I will need some time to absorb this win. It feels good. We felt that there were some things we could do against the Texas defense, and we knew if we were going to win the game, we had to have some rushing yards.
OL KIRK ELDER
On the game: We had a game plan going into the game, and we executed it well. We ran into some adversity in the second and third quarter, but we overcame it. They have fast defensive backs and big, strong defensive lineman. We tried to run the option on them and get it out there as fast as we could.
DB MELVIN BULLITT
On the game: This is going to change a lot of things for Texas A&M football. Defeating the defending Big 12 and National Champions is a huge game for us. We made a statement earlier in the week that we were going to be more physical than Texas and beat them off of the line and that's what we did.
WR CHAD SCHROEDER
On returning home and leaving with a win: It feels great. I can't think of a better way to end a senior year than to come back to your hometown in front of your family and come away with a win. Texas has a great defense. You have to give it up to them. They have a great team. We came out in a smash-mouth football game, and we came out on top.
