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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 7, 2016Kliff KingsburyLubbock, Texas Q. What did you see in the film that you weren't able to see from the sideline? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think some of the protection issues. We had some things that we needed to get picked up throughout the game and we didn't. Allowed Jefferson to really wreak havoc the whole game. Looking back, we should have some answers for that. Q. (Inaudible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: He was kind of spying the quarterback. But we had a guy for him. We just did some things that allowed him to have some free runs at Pat that I think made us a little jittery in the pocket and missed a few throws we probably could have made had we had him accounted for. Q. Did you have anybody in the booth saying anything to you? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, it was addressed. We just consistently didn't get it fixed for whatever reason. Q. (Inaudible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: No, more of a line issue that had been talked about. We just didn't get it done. Q. Pat mentioned in the postgame that late in the games his footwork starts to suffer. Do you see any of that in practice? Is it nerves that makes him sort of revert back to those habits? KLIFF KINGSBURY: No, I think it's more just as the game goes on. Mentally, it's a long game. He's throwing it 50, 60 times, probably a little tired. So he's just got to stay strong in those moments. Because he usually starts the game very clean mechanically, footwork, and as the game gets going, he gets a little loose with it. That's just something we've got to keep working on until we can get that completely out of his system. Q. When you talk to Coach Gibbs after the ballgame or even on a Monday, what kind of report does he give you with regard to progress that he feels like the defense is making that might be encouraging to him or to you moving forward? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, really just those moments where they gave us the ball back, with a chance to win it. That's all you can ask for in this league is having the ball at the end with a chance to win the game. There were several times there at the end where we had to have a stop. Their backs were against the wall, and they got the ball back and held a very good rushing team when they had to. Lots of plays throughout the game we'd like to have back, obviously. But those were moments that earlier in the season we weren't standing up and making those plays. Q. Does he feel like the defense is grasping his system and learning and developing and achieving progress? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think so. Obviously there are personnel that we continue to need to upgrade and continue to get older and stronger and play more. But, yeah, I think he feels like there's been some progress over the last few weeks. Q. Going back to the offensive line not picking up, we've got Jefferson (inaudible), do you feel like that's something that's been addressed or is going to be addressed? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Oh, yeah. It shouldn't have been that game. It just was. For whatever reason, we weren't handling it, but I expect to see some more of that moving forward. Q. Is it a question of (inaudible) not having the correct technique or carrying out their assignment, or just really talented players just beating you? KLIFF KINGSBURY: A little bit of both. But I feel like we could have still had more resistance if we had done what we're coached to do. But he's a tremendous player at times. He just beat us. Q. Are you surprised at the play of the offensive line, because during camp you talked about how you were impressed with the group and everything? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think just went up against a really good defensive line. You know, Terence still had a tough day on some one-on-ones. I mean, really they all did. That's a good defensive line, and we've got to play better. Q. There were a couple comments after the game about receivers not running the correct routes. After you went back in and watched the film, was that the case, and to what extent? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, there were quite a few times that we busted on routes, which I don't have an answer for that. It was base stuff that we were doing. Some guys were getting an opportunity to start and getting an opportunity to play more and didn't execute the routes. That's something we have to address. In those moments when the lights are on and there are a lot of people in the stadium, you've got to be able to execute. I think the moment was just too big for some of those guys. Q. What do you see when you look at Okie State on both sides of the ball? KLIFF KINGSBURY: It's a team that continues to find a way to win at the end. They've had some really good comebacks. They're offensively tremendous skill players. The young running backs doing a great job. Washington's as good as anybody in the country, and the quarterback's throwing it really well. So defensively they tend to make plays when they have to. But it's a team that throughout this league at the end, they've found a way to win, and that's a credit to them. Q. You talked last week about changing the routine going into the ballgame. The end result wasn't what you wanted, but were you happy with the change in practice and where you did things? Will you continue doing that? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think so. Obviously, we wanted to win the game. But since we've challenged them after we were embarrassed against West Virginia, I feel like they responded as competitors fighting, playing hard, competing throughout the game. We're not where we want to be obviously, but that's been better. Q. It seems like at times this year the defense will get (inaudible), that the offense kind of stalls out when you get the ball back. Do you think that's coincidental? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I'm not sure. You'd like to see both sides rise up together, and we haven't been good at that. When we do get a stop, you've got to take advantage of it. In this league, you go back and forth, and you have a chance to get some momentum like we did last weekend, you've got to take advantage. Q. On that last drive, running the ball (inaudible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we got where we wanted to get. Just they're dropping eight every time, and we weren't protecting well on the three-man rush, so we were trying to take advantage of what was there. We had one timeout left. Got it down where we wanted to get it. We just turned it over. Q. (Inaudible) what you all thought of in James Washington when he was a recruit? It's obviously not far from here? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I don't remember much of that situation. The position coach that was coaching that position is no longer here. So that may be a question for him. But I remember him being at camp and that's about the extent of it. Q. What kind of plan do you have to come up with to get (inaudible)? Obviously it's been a big thorn in your side the last couple years. KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, you've got to dedicate a scheme to him, a couple guys to him probably each snap and make sure you stay over the top. He's going to get his catches, just don't give up an easy one deep. It's easier said than done with him because he does such a good job playing the ball in the air and they'll take shots. So we'll have to have an answer for him on every snap. Q. What have you thought about, especially the last month or so, just kind of at times Pat's decision-making, do you think that's dropped off at all? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I don't think decision-making. It's been a combination of not practicing that much that month, and defense is daring us to do different things and us being not that effective in doing it. So he's had a lot on him to drop back and try to make a lot of things happen. So I think that's the biggest thing. There are some throws we'd like to have back. But he's got a lot on his shoulders right now with us not being able to run the ball as well as we'd like. So we'll have to keep working at that. Q. To his footwork and leaving the pocket early at times, is it not an excuse to be a little gun shy when it seems like the offensive line has trouble with the three-man fronts? It feels like I'm just in a very vulnerable position if I stay in the pocket every time because they haven't shown me that they've been able to block? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, no question. No question. Survival mode kicks in. But to be a great player, you keep standing in there and trust it. When you've got to get out, you've got to get out. But we're still working through that. Yeah, no question. I've played the position. I've been through that situation. It's not fun. He's getting out, trying to preserve himself at times. Q. Through fall camp and even leading up to the first game, I remember you said a couple different times that you felt like this was your best team headed into the season. Do you still feel like it is at this point? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I do. I do. The results aren't what we want as far as wins and losses, but I think we've gotten better, and I think we've been right there. We just haven't finished. Q. What do you feel like has been the difference from what you saw in fall camp and what you're seeing in practice, but what's not translating to the game? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Wins and losses, yeah. I think just really and truly, turnover margin. I think we needed to get some more throughout those first nine games, and we haven't. I think we've won one game where we won the turnover margin, and that was Stephen F. Austin. So when you consistently don't win there, it's hard to win in this league. Q. Is that the craziest play you ever saw where Coleman stripped the ball out? KLIFF KINGSBURY: It was pretty wild. Foreman made a heck of a run, and our guys kept trying to slow him down. It was a real head's-up play by Doug. He's a smart player. He played offense, defense in high school, and really a competitive kid. Q. Before the season you said you weren't as concerned about the offensive line as some of us. Do you feel like the offensive line has performed up to your expectation so far? KLIFF KINGSBURY: No. Q. Why not? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think just having developed, I think, some of the younger guys we were counting on to be stalwarts, left tackle, and right guard, and some guys that we needed to play at a higher level just haven't got there yet. It's part of the process. They're still young and they'll get there, but I expected it to come along quickly. Q. Last time you won at Stillwater, you were the quarterback here at Texas Tech. Red Raiders haven't beaten them since 2008. Just seems like they've been kind of a monkey on the back. Some of these players are still young, but any of them kind of feel like they owe Oklahoma State one given how it's gone the last seven or eight years? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we haven't beaten them in a long time. So I would expect us to be excited to play. It's a ranked team. Probably the last ranked team we'll play this season. On the road, they always have a great environment. The fans are right on top of you. So I think our players understand what it means and how long it's been. Q. You mentioned Oklahoma State has found ways to win the ballgames. What do you think enabled them to do that? What is their magic rabbit's foot that's enabling them to get those type of post wins? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think they've had success. You build off that. When you can look back in the past and say, hey, we've been here before and found ways to win, that's what you see. You see them making interception in the end zone last week from Sterns who has played a bunch and been successful and had a lot of success. That's the biggest thing. They've been there before. We're still trying to get those wins under our belt where we have that confidence we can look back upon: Hey, we've done this before. Q. What's (inaudible) status? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Still day-to-day. I'm not sure he'll be up or not. I have to see how it goes today. But he's a day-to-day guy. Q. And Moore? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, same deal. Kind of a coach's decision, and we're waiting to see how that plays out. Q. Saturday was Senior Day. What was the thought process and what went through the decision whether Devin got to go through that or not go through that? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Same answer. It was a coach's decision. Q. Is he (inaudible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Not sure on that status to be quite honest. We're working through those things. Q. Is part of the challenge for you right now all the attrition that's taken place, going back to even May where maybe a team that you thought you were going to have February 1 or March 1 is not the same team on November 1? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think everybody goes through that based on injuries and the nature of the game. So I don't think that's it. I think we just have to figure out how to finish games. We've been competitive and been in them, but we haven't finished them when we've had opportunities to do so. And it keeps kind of repeating itself. So we've got three more to finish and learn how to do that. Q. With three left, I know you guys probably like to take one game at a time and focus on Oklahoma State this week. But needing two to be able to reach bowl eligibility, how much is that in the back of the coaches' minds and players' minds as well? And how much does that mean to you guys being able to extend and not have a really long off-season? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think you focus on each week, really and truly. I'm sure players think about it. Coaches think about it. But when you're playing a top-15 team on the road, you better worry about them first. So that's a big challenge and it's been our main focus. Q. (Inaudible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: He is not. Q. Is that because of his knee? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yes. Q. One last thing, when you look at the tape and the fourth quarter, you have 35 plays and went 108 yards. Did that just shock you when you looked at that? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we just can't move very well. I think in the second half we had it inside the 30 three times and got zero points. They did a good job. They dropped everybody out, and we were trying to run the ball and we weren't effective doing that. We tried to pass, and they covered everything up. So they had a good scheme, and we have to be better at running the football when teams are giving us that. Q. Special teams, punt team and kickoff return team continues to struggle. Is there a reason for optimism? A way to improve this week at all? KLIFF KINGSBURY: We'll see. We've tried about everything on both those units. It may just be a personnel issue at this point. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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