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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 25, 2013Jace AmaroQ. Do you feel like you guys used the off week to your advantage? JACE AMARO: Yeah, we went against good on good most of the week, and I think that helped us a lot getting back into game situations and not just going against the scouts and playing against each other. So I think we took advantage of that. The defense looks good, offense is running better, and people say that‑‑ I mean we lost the last four games, but we're really in almost every single one of them. OU we had a chance to tie at the end of the game, Oklahoma State we chance to take the lead in the third quarter. Kansas State we cut it to ten point, and Baylor we had a chance to go up 27‑7. The tell tale of the story, this whole year we've been one mistake away in every game from taking full momentum in every single game. We know how good of a team we are. We had a chance to have a better season than what we've had so far. And I think this bye week really helped us realize that. Q. Did you have a chance to heal up after everybody was banged up? JACE AMARO: Yeah, I just wish we had a bye week between a couple games in conference. The bye weeks help a lot with injuries and stuff like that and us settling everything down. We feel like we did a great job taking advantage of the bye week and getting everyone rested and not giving too many people too many reps. Q. What do you think the Key is to go down there to Boston to take the crowd out and also have your defense stop the running game? JACE AMARO: For offense, we just haven't put the defense in good positions. I think we're one of the last place teams in giving the ball away on offense and we've just had too many penalties that have killed our drives in bad situations. As an offense, we just need to make sure that we control the ball. We move the ball very well every single game this season. I feel like no one's been able to stop us when we don't shoot ourselves in the foot. I think the offense to tell the defense if we just move the ball and get drives going, as long as we keep moving the ball, I think the defense has a good shot at playing their best game. It's when we turn the ball over and put them in bad situations is when they struggle a little bit. Q. You see it from that part of the stage, watching them for so long, what's it mean to be part of that Thanksgiving game? JACE AMARO: Yeah, that's a game you watch every single Thanksgiving. It's a great opportunity to go out there and show the nation one last time that we're a great team. Show them how good of a season we've had and the players that we have and the coaches that we have. I think we're going to take full advantage of it. Q. What would it mean for a win for you personally? JACE AMARO: The coaches are going to make a big emphasis that when you beat them, especially in Austin, you're kind of a celebrity in Texas. For the remainder of the season, it's our last game. If we win these last two it's going to get us some momentum going into next season. I think that winning against Texas is huge because you always want to finish strong and I think they're a great team and it's a rivalry. So I think we need to get that done. Q. How much has the four‑game skid left the mind of the team? JACE AMARO: You know, like I said, we just feel like we've had a chance to win every single game. It's not like we got blown out from the beginning. We were down 21‑0 against Oklahoma State. We came back, and like I said, we had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter. The defense did their job, got 3 and out. We go 3 and out, and they take a punt return to the 1‑yard line. So I think we're a great team. We know that we're a great team. It's just we've had a lot of mishaps and things that just didn't go our way. And we just need to learn. We're a young team too, and we just need to learn to make sure we don't have those special teams errors and turnovers. So I think with the four‑game skid it hasn't bothered us too much. We just need to know that we need to execute and take advantage of games when we have them in our hands. Q. What have you noticed about how Texas defense plays in your time playing against them? JACE AMARO: From what we've seen they like to play a lot of man. They feel like they have the athletes to guard receivers one‑on‑one, and we're hoping that they do that. We feel we have the athletes to take advantage of that. We've done a great job of when people play man‑to‑man against us, it's just one of those teams sit back and let us make the mistakes is when we struggle a little bit. But either way we feel we have a great game plan going in, and we'll execute as well as we can. Q. Is there something this season that you see in them that's maybe different from games in the past that you've played against them? JACE AMARO: They kind of run the same scheme. So we're just going to go out there and play like we have been. Q. The defensive coordinator switch didn't change anything? JACE AMARO: I don't think it's too drastic. They might be in a little better position. But other than that, I don't think so. Q. You're playing your last regular season game against Texas? JACE AMARO: You've just got to take it day by day and see what happens. I'm still‑‑ I love this place, and my mind is on Texas Tech football, and that is the only thing I'm worried about is playing and keep on winning and performing the best I can. Nothing else matters to me right now. Whatever happens later is what's going to happen. I'm just playing for my teammates and my coaches and to finish off strong and go 9‑4 for the rest of the season. Q. How do you feel about the rivalry trophy? JACE AMARO: Yeah, you always want to finish strong, especially when you're playing Texas. You especially want to beat them. Q. How much of a win in Texas could rewrite the script here and take out the bad taste in your mouths after a four‑game losing streak? JACE AMARO: Yeah, we haven't won down there in like 16 years, I think. If we do win, well, it would definitely end the season on a great note. In the beginning of the season you're always circling these guys because this is the big in‑state rivalry game and it's our last game, and you want to finish strong. If we get a chance to win this game, it's definitely going to have a lot of momentum going into the bowl week. Q. The majority of the staffs played in this game. Is it different than other staffs you've worked with? JACE AMARO: Oh, yeah, you could tell the fire they had in the preparation week. Like Coach Kingsbury said, none of these guys have beaten Texas in Austin. And we could be the first ones to do it in a long, long time. So I think we have a great opportunity. They're a great team. We feel we're a great team, and we match up well against them, so we're going to see how it goes. Q. You guys started fast against Baylor. Do you anticipate with everything on the line you'll start fast again? JACE AMARO: Yeah, that's our goal to start fast. We felt like we jumped on Baylor pretty well. We have a chance to go 27‑7. If we take that lead, I don't think there is any turning back after that. We'll have a full advantage. The crowd was into it. We're going to do the same and try to get the crowd out of it in Austin take advantage of it really quickly, so... FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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