STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 30, 2023

Bo Nix

Postgame Media Conference

Q. Why were you slow out of the gate? Were their plays confusing or unexpected?

BO NIX: Well, I think the reason we were slow out the gate is because we had six plays in the first quarter. And that really would be all. They weren't doing necessarily anything, you know, we haven't ever seen or like, you know, they didn't reinvent the wheel or anything.

They just -- our plays were set up for some other things. And then we just had to get settled in and we had to find things that worked against what they were doing. And once that happened, we put up a lot of stuff.

Q. I was just curious what the conversations on the sideline were after and what those conversations were and how confident you were things would get corrected?

BO NIX: We were extremely confident. We just felt like we just needed to get a first down and then we'd be rolling and that's what happened.

Q. (Question cornering Troy Franklin.)

BO NIX: Well, I think it's a credit to those other receivers and tight-ends playing out there. They can't just completely take away him or they'll get hurt by somebody else. And we've shown that over and over and over.

And, you know, Troy's strengths are, you know, really good. He's great in one-on-one situations. He just finds a way, somehow, to make that explosive play in a game and really help himself out with the yardage total. But everybody else, I felt like as receivers and tight-ends, you know, everybody contributed today, everybody played a key role and the ball was just being spit out to a bunch of different people.

Q. This next week, what do you think is the most important thing for you guys to get out of this?

BO NIX: I think just, you know, growing as a unit, finding the details that we got to fix. And, you know, going into this next week, making sure that we fix those so that, you know, we don't keep making consistent mistakes.

Q. (Question concerning Jordan James.)

BO NIX: Yeah, he did really well. You know, he contributes when his number's called. He's a great, you know, next guy up after Bucky. And, you know, those two guys are, obviously, filling a bigger role now, you know, with Noah's unfortunate circumstance. But, you know, those guys are ready to fill that role and they're really good running backs.

Q. (No microphone.)

BO NIX: Well, we've been practicing that play for a while. You know, just heavy play action. I felt like he would pop in the back and that's what happened, the defensive back had blind eyes, he went up and made a heck of a catch. And that's the kind of stuff that Ferg's capable of doing. We just got to find, you know, ways to get him the ball.

Q. Simple question. How do you think of your overall performance?

BO NIX: It was solid. I felt like I could have contributed a little bit more early, that way we wouldn't have sputtered. But, you know, obviously, looking back, that's -- you know, hindsight is 20/20. But I felt like just a few of those incompletions, you know, could have either ran or found ways to, you know, either given them a better ball or complete the pass.

But, you know, that's one thing that, you know, one of my goals, is to play extremely efficient and keep the ball off the ground, get the ball to where it's supposed to get to. You know, I felt like I was confident going into the game, and then when they -- you know, as we adjusted, as we got throughout the second quarter and things settled down, you know, I felt like I got my eyes back to where they were supposed to get to.

And, you know, just making sure I was seeing the things the right way and making sure that each play had a life of its own and, you know, go out there and execute it to the best of my ability. You know, obviously, you always -- you miss a few and you want to go back to a few, but fortunately for us, a win's a win. And, you know, 5-0 start is exactly what you prepare for. So I'm not going to complain about that.

Q. You literally have started more games than any other quarterback in college football. What does this next one mean for you? It's a top 10 matchup, rivalry, the way last year's game went, two Heisman contending quarterbacks. What does this stadium that you're about to be on mean to you?

BO NIX: Well, I think, you know, it's the most important game because it's the next one. And each, you know, game has a life of its own. Each game, you know, has to be treated like it's the Super Bowl. And, you know, it's a good thing for us that, you know, we can kind of reset with this off-week and go into it, you know, fresh and ready to go.

But I believe they're in the same boat. So, you know, it's going to be an all-out battle, an all-out brawl. Especially after last year. And especially how both teams have started out this year. I'm extremely excited about it. I know they are, too.

But, you know, for us, it's the next thing. It's the next 20 miles of our march. And so, how can we go about it? How can we, you know, do it as efficiently and, you know, as good as we can do it? And this is a big week for us.

Everybody is going to be excited. But you got to keep the main thing the main thing. You got to go out there and play 11 on 11 and you got to execute when your number's called. And, you know, at the end of the day, it's just -- I believe, in games like this, it's who can, you know, execute the longest, who can execute for four quarters. Because it's going to come down to a play or two and, you know, which side is going to make it and it's up to us to put ourselves in positions to make those plays.