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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 28, 2011Blake GideonQ.  Last night I saw a trivia question about 50 consecutive starts on TV, and you were one of those guys. What's it mean to be a part of the 50‑start club? BLAKE GIDEON: It's an honor, I guess. I know that there's still football to be played, and I know that if I don't come out this week and have a great week of practice then that streak could come to an end just as quick. That's the way Coach Akina prepares us every week, and we have to come out and earn our jobs every week just like it's spring ball. Q. I know you guys obviously wanted to beat A&M just because it's A&M, but how important was that win to get some momentum back here at the end of the season? BLAKE GIDEON: It was huge. You know, it was a huge game. Obviously everything besides the game just surrounding it, the whole atmosphere of it and the situation. But besides that, it was a great win. It was a great team win. It was a good win to get us back on track.  We had a little slide there, but I think to be able to finish the season with hopefully two wins, two consecutive wins, that's really going to be a high point for us going into Bowl season. Q. You were supposed to graduate. Do you technically graduate even though you don't walk on Saturday? Is that how that works? BLAKE GIDEON: I guess. I don't know. I know that I could have just graduated, but mom wouldn't let me because she wanted me to walk across the stage. I guess I'll have to come back in the spring and do it. I don't know, I guess I graduate. Q. I mean, obviously this weekend is kind of interesting because that happens, you've got a game, you just passed 50 starts. It's cliché, but has it gone by really quickly, and did you think you'd be able to start every game? BLAKE GIDEON: You know, I probably wouldn't have believed you if you would have told me that back freshman year, but I don't know, it's‑‑ it has flown by, and I've enjoyed every bit of it. But at the same time there's going to be another time for looking back and wondering what could have been or whatever, how good a time I had. For right now there's still two more football games to be played. Q. I know it's extended to a 72‑hour rule this week, but do you try to carry the emotion of that win and play off it going into Baylor? BLAKE GIDEON: To play off of it, yeah. It's a high note. Everybody is excited about the win, but at the same time we're not going to be able to carry over any of those points going into this game, and we're about to face a really good Baylor team that I know they're going to be excited for us coming to town. We have to take the good with the bad and be able to put all that stuff where it belongs and move on, because, like I said, this is a very good Baylor team, and they're going to be ready for us. Q. Did you ever think growing up you'd be able to say we're playing a very good Baylor team? BLAKE GIDEON: I think we've always known that Baylor has always had very good football players and very good athletes. It was just a matter of putting it all together, having the right guy leading them, and with Coach Briles and his staff and with Robert running the offense, they definitely have the right people in place that they're getting the wins that they should have been all these years. We've always known. We all played high school football against those guys. We know how good they are. So it was just a matter of them putting it all together, and now they have. Q. Defensively how do you prepare for Robert Griffin? BLAKE GIDEON: It's just responsibility football. Everybody has got to do their job and not worry about overlapping to your teammate next to you. You've got to have that trust that he's going to get his job done so you can worry about your job. That's really all it comes down to, that we've got to trust that the guys up front are going to handle the quarterback's legs or whatever or any run game so we can worry about his arm and the passing game because they are very capable in both facets of the game. That's what it comes down to. It's responsibility football and having that trust in your teammates, and I think we have that. Q. Do you look at it like nobody is going to win the Heisman Trophy on our defense? BLAKE GIDEON: That's something that's been said. You know, obviously all of us would‑‑ we would take a win no matter what, you know, even if it meant giving up so many yards or whatever. But at the same time, it is a pride issue that we don't want somebody having their claim‑to‑fame moment or whatever, their crowning moment against us, especially against Texas defense. That is a pride thing, and we want to make sure we can prevent that. Q. You guys have played all kinds of dual‑threat quarterbacks. What makes him special? What puts him at a different level than so many others? BLAKE GIDEON: I think it's just‑‑ you know, just how elite he is at both. You know, a lot of guys, they're either really passing quarterbacks or really running quarterbacks. You can kind of force them into one or the other, but whenever you have a guy that has world‑class speed that is actually a track star, and he's also top five in the country in passing, that's two real threats that you have to worry about. It's going to be a challenge for us, but I think we're going to be ready for it. Q. In addition to Robert Griffin, what other challenges does their offense present? BLAINE IRBY: They have play makers everywhere. They have one of the best receiving corps we'll have faced this year, that's including everyone in the Big 12. They have a great relationship, quarterback and receiver, and great timing and rhythm on their offense. They have a good offensive line that opens up holes for the running game. You know, it's a complete offense, so that's one of the things that you really have to worry about. It's one thing if you face an offense that can throw for 1,000 yards but can't really run. You can put 15 DBs on the field and stop them that way. Whenever an offense is this balanced, that's a real threat, and once again, it comes down to everybody doing their job and not worrying about anybody else's. Q. Is this defense playing as well as any defense you've been a part of? BLAKE GIDEON: Maybe. I would say it's up there. You know, I think this past game‑‑ actually the past few games we've been looking for the turnovers, and we've limited the yards but been looking for the turnovers, and they all came in bunches this past game. You know, it's a matter of us all putting it together now and being able to limit the yards, points and get some turnovers for our offense and put them in good position. We're still looking for that perfect performance. I haven't been a part of one yet, but you know, it's always‑‑ we're always searching for that perfect performance. Q. You've played up in Waco before. A lot of Longhorn fans show up for that game. Is that being on the road but not really being on the road? Is that how you approach it? BLAKE GIDEON: You know, it was a good atmosphere for us obviously, my sophomore year, the last time I went up there. But this is a different Baylor team. I think they've turned everything around, and they've got the people up there in Waco excited about it. I'm sure it'll be more in their favor this team, but we're ready for that. We love away games, having that us‑against‑the‑world feeling, and we fared pretty well this past week in that situation, so I think we're looking forward to it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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