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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 26, 2011

Blake Gideon

Q. One of the things Mack talked about was he said the seniors really stepped up before the UCLA game and just talked to the team about not letting last year happen again. Is the same thing going to happen against Iowa State?
BLAKE GIDEON: Well, I think the main thing before the UCLA game was we just wanted to make sure that nobody was in vacation mode just because we're flying out to California. It was a lot of guys' first time on a plane, much less flying to a football game, so we just wanted to make sure that everybody understood it was a business trip. We were going out there for one reason and that was to win the game, and that was all. That's all the focus should be.
You know, as far as this week, I think it was good to have an off week, you know, to let the young guys kind of get over a big win. The biggest challenge now for them is going to be to not pay attention to all the people patting them on the back and really just lifting them up and telling them they're great and all that. It's going to be to start over every week, and that's how good teams become great, because they're able to start over every week and start working on Monday towards winning on Saturday.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
BLAKE GIDEON: I mean, that's my job. That's all my responsibility. I've been there before. You know, my job is to convey to those younger guys what they're going to experience, what they're going to see and what people are going to say and help them stay focused on the task at hand.

Q. What did you learn from Iowa State last year? Was it athleticism?
BLAKE GIDEON: Well, I think they came out with a chip on their shoulder. They came out ready to play from the opening kickoff. You know, they really dominated us from the start, and the score made it look a lot better than it actually was whenever you watched the tape.
For whatever reason, we didn't come out with that same edge, and maybe we were just patting ourselves on the back a little bit from the win the week before. But you know, I know that that's not going to happen this year. We're not going to allow that to happen. It's going to start tomorrow with a good work week.

Q. This is a game that maybe in the past you could overlook for OU. Is that wiped away?
BLAKE GIDEON: Yeah, those days are in the past. With the way college football is today and the way the Big 12 is, everybody is competitive. Everybody has great players, and you know, you're just a couple of plays away from not being within your responsibility and a team like Iowa State exploiting you.
Everybody has the same great athletes, and they're a couple plays away from putting it together and coming out with a big game against you. Just like last year, they came out from the start and they were ready to play, and we weren't.

Q. What do you know about this year's Iowa State team?
BLAKE GIDEON: I think their quarterback, obviously he's the catalyst. He's able to sit in the pocket, has a big arm. He can read defenses. He has a good understanding of the offense. You can tell he spends time with his receivers, timing routes and things like that and just having a feel within coverage. They know each other very well, him and the receivers, and he can also get outside the pocket and do some things that could end up on SportsCenter if you're not taking care of your responsibility.

Q. Mack talked about extending plays. What does that mean for you guys?
BLAKE GIDEON: Well, it's a different challenge. You know, there's a lot of quarterbacks that you cover for three, four seconds at the most, and the play is over, it's a sack, a completion, whatever. But guys like this that can run around, and they have just another aspect to their game, then it's hard. For us we have to practice on getting our eyes back to the receivers, covering a second time, whenever you have them covered one and the guy starts to scramble and your guy breaks deep on you, then he's open. So you have to continue to do your job and cover him more than once.

Q. Can you about Nolan and his situation?
BLAKE GIDEON: It's a tough situation. I've been good friends with Nolan since we were recruited together. He's my roommate whenever we travel to out-of-town games. I mean, that's a tough situation. I talked to Nolan yesterday, and you know, the main thing that I wanted Nolan to understand, and he does understand, is that playing with any kind of head injury, it's no sign of toughness. That's unlike any other injury that you can rehab and get stronger and prevent from happening. Head injuries, it's not something to play with.
It's just been three, four years of frustration for Nolan, I know that, for him having to leave several games and just go lay in a dark room because it's that bad. It's a tough situation, but at the same time, he's not going to be too arrogant to know when it's time to stop and think about his future, and we all support that decision.

Q. Do you know Darius Darks at all? Are you familiar with him?
BLAKE GIDEON: Yeah, I remember we never played each other in high school, but I remember him being in the paper, stuff like that, being on some all-district teams and stuff. But no, other than that, it's just a few kind words we've had for each other playing last year.

Q. It is kind of different, though. You don't normally see central Texas guys going to Iowa State.
BLAKE GIDEON: Yeah, I mean, that's just a testament to Texas high school football is spreading throughout the country. Teams are -- schools are coming into Texas and recruiting more and more, and you know, it's the same guys we played against in high school and stuff. It's the same talent level. Just for whatever reason some teams haven't put it together yet, and I think Iowa State has really figured it out the past couple years, and they're starting to win more and more games. It's a team that you really have to respect or they're going to make you pay like they made us last year.

Q. Thinking back to Nebraska last year and the past years before that, do you all welcome the challenge of a hostile environment? Obviously the Rose Bowl was hostile, but is that something you look forward to?
BLAKE GIDEON: Sure, I think that's part of what makes college football what it is, to be able to go into that hostile environment to where you really don't have anybody on your side except for those guys that are dressed the same as you on the sideline. It's fun, you get that us-against-the-world mentality, and you really go back to all the hours we spent up here in the stadium running and stuff in the heat this summer and all the work we've put in and that bond we've built because in the end that's all you're going to be able to trust and that's who you're going to rely on.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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