UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 22, 2024

Owen McCown

Press Conference

Q. Owen, what did mean to you to be able to celebrate a bowl berth after some of the low points you've come through this year?

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, I think you said it best. After some of those low points we didn't blink. We were resilient. We responded.

It feels amazing to be able to play a bowl game.

Q. You guys honored the seniors today and they delivered. Who stood out and what was your reaction to seeing that level of success?

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, all of them. Obviously starts with the seniors, but I think they're energy went down to the rest of our guys. Big shoutout to those guys. They didn't want to lose the last time in the Dome and their energy showed.

Q. What was the key to getting the run game going today?

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, just think sticking with it. They played a lot of man to man. Obviously not many defenders in the box. So great job by Coach Burke sticking with the run and all credit to those guys up front.

Q. Can you take us through your long run, what you saw there?

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, same thing. Actually was also man to man, so when you get those routes going where they go, those defenders run with them. It leaves an obvious lane for me to run.

A big credit to Chris Carpenter on that play. He turned around. I could've probably thrown the ball in the scramble drill but he did a great job running his defender off mand not only blocking his defender but he also blocked the safety. It was a touchdown block. So all credit to Chris on that one.

Q. Overall the offense and the performance, how would you say you guys did? Wasn't a big numbers game from the passing side, but you guys still put up 500 plus yards.

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, 500 plus yards and obviously 50 points. We had the kick return, but struggled on third down. Got to be better there. Like you said, to still have that much yardage and points while being that unsuccessful on third down says a lot about our team.

Q. Owen, in his career in college and 16 years in the NFL, would you take a guess as to what your dad's longest run was?

OWEN McCOWN: I would say 30 something.

Q. It was 28 I believe.

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah.

Q. Would you ever guess that you would have a run like that?

OWEN McCOWN: No, not at all. But it doesn't happen without guys like Chris Carpenter. The defense was what it was and Chris turned around and made two great blocks and allowed me to score. Really all credit to him.

Q. Coach was talking about not just the seniors you're losing, but what you guys have coming back. Is this the kind of night that kind of gives you optimism about what you are building here?

OWEN McCOWN: For sure. It's a big senior class so we can all learn from them. That's what we been doing this whole year. Definitely have a lot of momentum with the young guys next year and we'll be ready to go.

Q. What are some of the things you think you'll learn from the seniors? Anything in particular you can point to?

OWEN McCOWN: Leadership, resilience. Obviously their leadership has really shown this year with the lows. Like you said earlier, low points, haven't blinked, and that starts from fair leadership.

Team leadership will be a big one.

Q. Was there any doubt for you at any point that you could get to that level to play at that bowl game? How was the process through the year for you?

OWEN McCOWN: Yeah, no, none at all. With our program, we don't blink at all. We respond to the highs and the lows. Like I said, it starts with that leadership group from the seniors and really fed down through out the whole team.

Credit to those guys.