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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 22, 2012Seth DoegeQ. A big game coming up. You're in the hunt for the Big 12 title just like y'all have talked about that trophy. Do you feel like through the tough times last season now that things are going well that Coach Tuberville is finally putting a mark on this program? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, I think so. I think that everything that he's worked for and everything that he's trying to put into place is finally starting to come together. Whatever he envisioned for this program when he took his job, I think is finally being put into place. He's finally gotten the coaches that he wants. He finally has a group of seniors that can take over. I think that's a huge thing for this program.  And I think it's starting to show. Q. Is he fleeing from the shadow of his predecessor successfully? SETH DOEGE: I think that's just something that maybe was a hangover for some fans, but I think he fled from the shadow once he took the job. That was his mark, it's his team, it's his program. So I really enjoyed Coach Leach, and I still think he's a great coach. But it's Coach Tuberville's team, and this is where we are now. Q. You don't talk a lot about individual stuff, but a kid that missed two high school seasons and there is talk about you in discussion with the (Indiscernible) Heisman Trophy. What does that mean, and especially the way you've been able to bounce back here? SETH DOEGE: I haven't really thought about it too much, to be honest with you. I'm just enjoying the ride and enjoying everything with my teammates. I think if you worry about stuff like that too much and start thinking about it, you kind of at least focus on what the big goal is, and the big goal is that crystal ball. I think that would mean more to me than anything. But I think we're playing at a high level right now, and we have an opportunity to continue that and be very successful and kind of shock the world a little bit. Q. What does the win on Saturday, what do you take away from that? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, like you said, we didn't offensively play very good in the first quarter. Defensively, we did. Second quarter we started getting in the groove, started making big plays and the defense kind of dropped off. Third quarter, it was the same thing. Offense was struggling and defense picked us up, and fourth quarter, we picked up the defense. I think once we got into overtime, I think there was just a focus throughout the entire team that there was no doubt that we were going to win that game, and it kind of showed, I think, in overtime. Q. What makes Kansas State's defense so challenging? SETH DOEGE: I haven't gotten to watch a whole lot of film on them yet. But from last year, I know that they were so disciplined in what they did. They play extremely hard, and they didn't give up a whole lot of big plays. They kind of try to manipulate you into doing something you don't want to do, whether it would be like trying to make too much happen because you feel like maybe you're struggling when you're moving the ball, but you're not making big play after big plays. They force you to make a mistake or turnover the ball, and I think that's what they thrive on doing. Q. What do you want to work on this week in practice? SETH DOEGE: I think we just need to continue to get better. We need to work on our run game and make sure that's solid going into the weekend. We still need to throw and catch the ball with guys that maybe haven't like Zou and Torres, and guys that are going to be big production guys but haven't been the last five or six weeks. So it will be huge for us to get some timing down again and work on things like that. Q. Jace coming back this week? SETH DOEGE: I couldn't tell you. I know he was sick that he had to miss out on last week. But I think he'll do whatever it takes to get back. I'm not sure when that timetable is. Q. Did you learn anything from your teammates about picking yourselves up off the mat at TCU? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, the way we just fought the whole game. We played great, and we had adversity and we fought back. I think that's huge. I think that showed us as a team that we can struggle a little bit, and we're good enough to beat anybody in this conference.  I think we need to start focusing on who are we, and how good we can be and not really looking too much like how good is Kansas State's defense or offense? Well, they're really good, but so are we. We just need to have a good week of practice and have some confidence going into Saturday. Q. Was there any extra pressure added to you? You really didn't have a good running game besides when Kenny broke that one and he scored. Was there any more pressure on you knowing we're only going to throw the ball? SETH DOEGE: No. I mean, to be honest with you, I want to throw the ball. I want the ball in my hands. That's just who I am. I was ready for us to make a big play because I knew once we made a big play, it was going to spark us. I knew once we got rolling, we couldn't be stopped. We did struggle with the ball running a little bit, but I know those guys bounce back. Those guys will take it personal. The running backs and the offensive line and the run game, and we'll be better this weekend. Q. As players on the sidelines, did you guys know the on‑side kick was coming? SETH DOEGE: Well, not everybody. I knew it. Because Coach Brown came up to me, and he told me what we were going to do if we got the ball. So we didn't make a whole big deal about it. We kind of sat there and watched it together, but that was a cool call. It was executed. Actually, our kicker caused that fumble, which, he's a little guy. Q. Can you talk about the rapport that Coach Tuberville has with Coach Kaufman? When you talked earlier about how Coach Tuberville has coaches in place, do you feel like Coach Tuberville has a level of trust off the defense side that you haven't seen in the last couple of years? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, I think so. I don't pay a whole lot of attention when the defense is on the field, just because for me I just try to stay focused on our side of the football, and I just kind of trust that they'll do their job, and they've done a great job at it. When I'm around, it just seems that even the players and all the coaches work together so well. I think Coach Tuberville's allowing Coach Kaufman to do what he wanted to do coming into this program. Q. You guys have had some success under Coach Tuberville with pro style games going into places and coming out with big wins against top ranked teams. What is the common theme of why you're having success on the road, and what does it take to play well in a hostile environment? SETH DOEGE: I think our focus has just been really, really good during away games. Like you said, it's a different environment. It's hard to play in. Everybody's against you. It seems like everybody's against you. I think that's just another way to explain why we have so much fight. We have a lot of fight on this football team. When we're backed up and against the corner, we're not going to sit there and just take it. We're going to fire way up. Q. As a player on Saturday, it seemed like first quarter, we're down, then second quarter, go onside and score again. Have the lead in the third quarter, I don't think we even had the ball once or twice. As a player and a leader and the quarterback, can you talk and take me through the emotions what you're thinking. We're up, we're down? We're up, we're down? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, it was a very emotional game. We were frustrated at first offensively. Then we got on a roll, and it was like, all right, now we're here. We're rolling. Then we kind of got into a standstill there again. So it was frustrating. We thought we had the game. Once Kenny broke that run, I thought it was over. We were talking smack to the fans and doing all that deal. Then all of a sudden, we're in overtime. So it was a very roller coaster kind of ride. But I think we did a really good job of staying focused throughout those emotions knowing that when our time was called to go back on the field, we needed to make a play. When the defense was called back on the field, they needed to make a play and do their job. So I think that was big, big time for us to keep our focus through all those emotions. Q. Speaking of emotions, you guys have had a lot of it with such a tough schedule in October. Games you really had to get up for and the triple overtime game. How do you think our guys then try to recuperate and get up for another big game? SETH DOEGE: I think the coaches do a good job developing and planning practice to get our legs back underneath us for receivers, linemen, and DBs. They get their legs back under them, and it's on our players to do it when we're not practicing, drinking, hydrating, going to the trainer and getting the cold tub, hot tub whatever you need to do to get your body ready to play. That's put on the players and put on how badly do you want to win to get your body ready to go. And how badly you want to work out in the weight room and get better that way. So I think the coaches and strength staff do a great job of helping us recover over the week as well as improving and getting better, and there is a part that is put on us as players to do it on our own. Q. How reassuring is it to have Zou and Alex back out there with all the injuries to receivers? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, Like I said last week, don't sleep on those guys because those guys are very productive. I trust them. They may not be the most talented guys on our football team, but they'll keep improving and get more reps. They're confidence will improve and they'll keep making plays for us. Q. (No microphone)? Seemed to really dominate in size and strength? SETH DOEGE: Yeah if you're talking about Darrin and Eric Ward. Those outside guys, we watch film, and we pick out a guy, if we see a weakness. We kind of saw a weakness on their DBs and we attacked them every time we had a go route called. My job is easy. Just don't overthrow them. Just get a chance to go get the ball. When they're physical like that and they're big, clearly they can go up there and get a ball. Even if they're covered, and then it's their job to kind of secure it. It does‑‑ I mean, it's different throwing it to Jakeem who is a fast guy, but I think it gives me some ability to kind of put a different kind of placement on the ball and just allow them to make a play on it. Q. We've heard a lot about the senior leadership, but as you guys have had more success, are you getting even more of your voice heard from the younger guys particularly as you go into another big game? SETH DOEGE: I think so. Just because I remember when I was a freshman, and it was '08, and when they started winning and kind of getting some national exposure and everything was going good, you kind of started like, oh, these guys really, they've been there. They know what they're talking about. So I think these younger guys are kind of looking forward to learning from what we've been through and all of our experience and what we've been through right now and kind of watching it. I know when I was a freshman, I was watching it thinking when I'm a senior, I want this and this to happen, or I want this and this different. And I think the young guys are paying attention to that. Q. That was a great play between you and Torres on the sideline third down. Talk about that and kind of take us through that play and just Torres being able to make that. SETH DOEGE: Yeah, it's kind of funny. We ran that play a bunch of times, and it wasn't the best thrown football obviously because he had to make a one‑handed catch. But he made a great catch on it. Torres comes back to the huddle, and he was like man, Doege. It's crap, man, I caught it. I was like, yeah, I know you did. Don't worry about it. He was like, no, I caught it. So Coach Brown calls us over and we get the next play, and Torres is still over there still trying to get this call overturned.  He finally does it. That's all he talks about after the game the game‑winning touchdown or the sweep or the corner scrambling touchdown, that's all he wanted to talk about is how the refs almost screwed him out of a one‑handed catch. Q. (Indiscernible)? SETH DOEGE: That I think each and every week we kind of I think we're the underdogs. We didn't have much respect going into the next game. I think now that we've won two big games and we're playing at a pretty high level, I think teams are starting to respect us. I think Kansas State will respect us just like we respect them. I think our film is our resume. I think they can see every single game we played other than OU, we played hard and physical, and I think teams will have to respect that we're one of the most physical teams in the country. Q. Seth, the game winning touchdown, if you're (Indiscernible), can you break that down for us? SETH DOEGE: Well, I mean, I was kind of hoping. I mean, we had been practicing that play all week. And it was kind of cool, because that trick play and that play were saved for the overtime periods which were really cool. We just had a play‑action fake and Torres stole the run in that linebacker bit. He didn't bite a whole lot. Usually that linebacker comes in and fills that run hard. It's almost like a pitch and catch back there. But as soon as he saw Torres sell and run, he kind of realized this wasn't a run play. Took off after Torres, I did the play fake and put it in the spot where Torres could get it. It was just a big time play. I guess the offensive line sold the run really well. We didn't have any kind of blitz, so it just worked out. Q. Can you talk about (Indiscernible) his first year evolution to discuss this overtime? A lot of people have been maybe slow to acknowledge, what do you think it is? SETH DOEGE: I think, obviously, he's a big guy. He's pretty athletic for a big guy. He runs really hard. I think that's because he's so tough and he competes. The way he competes is on a different level than some other running quarterbacks because he'll take a lot of shots and get out and do it again just like nobody hit him. I think he's proving some people wrong that he can throw the football a little bit. I think that his leadership qualities are elite, and the fact that I think his teammates trust in him and trust that he's going to make plays for him and they play hard for him. Q. When a trick play comes into the huddle like last week, is it something that you guys enjoy or something that you put a little pressure on yourself to get it done? What do you feel like? SETH DOEGE: Yeah, I think because we have, we practice situations in practice and say if something happened, what would we do? So we have answers for everything, everything that could go wrong and we practice that. But there wasn't any pressure. It was just, I mean, I think we kind of knew it was going to work just because we've been practicing it for two or three weeks and we completed it. It's worked every time. So, once we had it called, I think everybody trusted in it that it was going to be a touchdown, which is fun. It was more my throat than anything. He put the crown of his helmet in my Adam's Apple. So I couldn't breathe for a little bit, but everything's good though. Q. Was it after you had success the first time? SETH DOEGE: We kind of identified that before the game. And once we ran a couple of plays, even if we didn't throw it to the side and we ran a couple of plays and saw some opportunity there, we decided the rest of the game that's who we were going to target. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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