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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 28, 2013Branden JacksonQ. Is there any concern about getting back up and giving your best performance on Saturday? BRANDEN JACKSON: No, we knew adversity was going to hit. This is going to show how tough our team really is out there, taking the first loss and being able to bounce back and showing that we're as resilient as we proclaim to be. So this loss, it's not like we've never lost before. It's a game. It's in the past, and we're going to move on. Q. What's different about this loss compared to the losses during the Tommy Tuberville era? BRANDEN JACKSON: Well, with this loss, we gave it our all. We had chances to win the game early and late. We just fell short. I mean, they beat us. It was a well‑coached team. They played more efficient than us. So losing to them, I mean, hat's off to them. They did great work. But the difference between the two staffs is back in the day when we had Coach Tuberville, it was kind of like oh my gosh. We lost, we're panicking. We're in full frantic mode, but now we know what we did wrong and what we have to improve on and just get ready to move forward. Q. The rush defense, did you guys get tired in the second half? BRANDEN JACKSON: I mean, yeah, we got tired. Oklahoma, that's a big team. That's a big offensive line, a big quarterback, a lot of fast running backs. So they run the ball as much as they did, it kind of wore down on us. But it was just a long game that they just happened to get to us. Q. How do you recover from that? You're going to face a similar thing this weekend. BRANDEN JACKSON: We never questioned our conditioning. We had full faith in that we're in well‑conditioned shape. We just have to come out and dominate the line of scrimmage that way that you won't want to run the ball as much as they did. Q. Do you think the weather had some sort of impact on the game? BRANDEN JACKSON: The weather didn't have any impact on the game. We kind of embraced the weather. Here comes the delay. Here comes the rain. Similar situation to what happened in 2011. The weather was kind of something we use tried to use as motivation on the sideline. Q. Did their tempo throw you off? They were doing multiple things. It seemed they had you on the ropes and they'd speed up. But you were kind of flat at times? BRANDEN JACKSON: Their tempo didn't throw us off as much. We knew how they played. We knew after the big first down, they're trying to come back at you and catch you off guard. We prepared well for that in practice. We knew what to expect. The game was completely different in practice. So it was a little faster than we imagined. But we were kind of ready. Q. Do you feel more comfortable with another truly spread team coming in? BRANDEN JACKSON: I feel comfortable every week going into the game with the players that we have back there on defense. You know, just another day. Q. Could you talk about what OK State has done to you guys the last two years? BRANDEN JACKSON: What haven't they done to us the last couple years? OK State is a great team. They played very well. The last couple years they had our number. I don't know. There is not anything they don't do really well. So it's just going to feel‑‑ it feels good that we know what they're capable of, and we know what we've been beaten on. So now we're looking forward to showing them what the new look Red Raiders have, and how this is a completely different team than it was the last couple years they've seen us. Q. What is the toughest part about stopping Oklahoma State's offense? BRANDEN JACKSON: Oklahoma State offense is just so dynamic. They can run the ball and they've got receivers that can run through the back of the Jones. So it's just going to be hard to try to make them one dimensional when they do things very well. Q. You guys talked about the last two years against Oklahoma State. Saturday you fought back well. Was Oklahoma State a team in years past where maybe things starting to wrong and just kind of over from there for you guys? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, Oklahoma State was a team that kind of overwhelmed us in the past years. Got up on us quick. We had a lot of doubt, but that was based on just the way the team was back then. This team is a lot more resilient and led by our seniors. So it's a different mind state. Q. Do you like that Coach Kingsbury had the number 98 pasted all over the place? BRANDEN JACKSON: At first when I walked in I said that's cool, number 90. Now number 9. Once I realized what he was trying to signify, it kind of eats at you. Because as a defense, that's a lot of points. This is not basketball. So we know we have to come up big. But it's another thing to put in the back of our heads when we go out there Saturday. Q. Are you on Twitter? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yes. Q. Have you ever had any nasty experiences with people trying to draw you into interactions by saying bad things, and does that bother you? BRANDEN JACKSON: Well, actually all the fans have been pretty cool about what's been going on and taking a loss. They've been very encouraging and letting us know they're going to be with us this Saturday. So I've yet to experience any negative activity from fans. Q. What was the Twitter experience like in the past few years? BRANDEN JACKSON: I mean, the past few years I know we'd all feed into whatever we've seen and want to reply and want to tell them they don't know what's going on. But our fans are great. They're very passionate. So they're going to express themselves on Twitter. We're kids. We're going to see it. But this year's team we're not so much caught up in the media as we were in past years. I mean, just like when the Cowboys or Steelers lose, it's nothing different. Q. You don't interact with them then? BRANDEN JACKSON: Not when it comes to negative things. I just look at it and keep it moving. Q. (No microphone) talked about the benefits of going against your offense every day. Do you think this Oklahoma State offense is the closest to what you see and what you guys saw every day? BRANDEN JACKSON: Oh, definitely. Oklahoma State, their offense and our offense are very similar. We have a great offense just as they do. It's going to be kind of comfortable knowing that we have a team who plays very similar to our team. They may run a couple plays similar to that. We may get a nip on them early, but it's a lot easier when you know that the offense is very similar to the one you face every day. Q. You guys have been good all year. Just moving on to the next one after what you guys just had and coming off a loss. Is it easier or tougher to flush it down and move on to the next one? BRANDEN JACKSON: It's easier to flush it down, because we knew that this road was going to be long. It's going to be hard. Coach is always saying it's a marathon, not a sprint. So we knew we were facing adversity one way or another. So this one happened to come as a loss. We're ready to bounce back. There are smiles in the locker room and we're ready to move forward. No one is dwelling. No one's head is down. We fought hard and we're just looking forward to doing it better Saturday. Q. What is the difference between Jacob Washington and Chelf? Have you seen film on both of those? BRANDEN JACKSON: I have yet to see film on them. Q. Did you see the celebration after the game at all? Did you have any thoughts on that of how the fans and players responded? BRANDEN JACKSON: Well, I mean, they were excited. But I mean it was a hard‑fought game. We'd have been excited if we had won also. But the environment was ridiculous and the fans were in it the entire game. So hearing them and seeing them react the way they did is just a testament that we put them through something they weren't expecting and it was a great game. Who wouldn't be excited. Q. Do you take that as a sign of respect to you guys, the way they enjoyed that win? BRANDEN JACKSON: It's a sign of respect. Because as excited as they were, it looks like they made it out to seem that it was an asset when it was really another game. But it was great. The environment was great. The way they celebrated, hat's off to them because we would have been doing the same thing if we had come out on the other side. Q. What are your feelings towards Raiderville? BRANDEN JACKSON: I've experienced Raiderville one time. It's an overwhelming feeling just seeing all the students out there camping out. You know what's going on. Having to walk past them, you kind of don't want to wear your Tech gear because you don't want to seem like you're above anyone or anything. But it's great. I love when the fans do that. I love staying out there. Sometimes I wish I could stay out there with them, but we're not allowed to do that. Q. Branden, after the loss Saturday, everything is still in front of you guys. Now that the dust has settled, can you talk about the opportunity that is still there for you guys if you still went out and won the Big 12 Championship? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, if we went out and make the Big 12 Championship, but it's all out there in front of us. We're never a team that wants to look behind us. Even when things go wrong and we're down ten against West Virginia in the third quarter, we're always looking forward. After the loss it hurt, but once we got on the plane and touched down in Lubbock, we were feeling good. We know when the rest of them‑‑ Coach Kingsbury said, win the rest of them and this doesn't matter, so that's what we're looking to do. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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