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MOTEL 6 CACTUS BOWL: BAYLOR VS BOISE STATE

December 26, 2016

Jim Grobe

Phoenix, Arizona

THE MODERATOR: We'll begin with opening comments from Coach Grobe.

COACH GROBE: We are really, really excited to be at the Cactus Bowl, to be here in Phoenix, and really excited to play a fantastic Boise State team, a team that very nearly went undefeated this year.

Great tradition. We know we've got our work cut out for us. I think we practiced really well back home. I think we've had a couple of good practices here. I'm hopeful that we'll play our very best football because we're going to need to do that to have a chance.

And we'll see if we've improved enough I think toward the latter part of the season we started getting better. And need to do some things that all good teams do against Boise State. We've got to take care of the football, manage penalties, all those kind of things. Gotta be a good team, because this is one of the great programs in the country. And we're honored to have a chance to play Boise State, but know we're going to have to play our best football to have a chance to win.

Questions?

Q. Jim, Zach making his first bowl start. How do you feel like maybe the last few games have prepared him for this, and what do you expect from him?
COACH GROBE: Well, you know, you and I have talked before. I was very disappointed when Seth Russell got hurt that we weren't able earlier to give Zach more reps. His first real solid reps were against Oklahoma. And that's not a good way to start out as a true freshman. And then we've had some issues just not only with Zach but with his supporting cast.

We need to protect for him a little bit better. We need to run better routes, the receivers. We need to have a good running game to take some pressure off him.

But what I've seen in Zach each week is he's gotten better and better and better. He's really a smart kid. He's got great character, a total team guy. Not about himself but about the team and winning.

I thought the West Virginia game -- we threw four interceptions against Texas Tech and you can't win doing that. But then against West Virginia we had four fumbles. We didn't throw any interceptions but we had four fumbles. And he had one of them.

So I think he knows that the goal's to manage the game better, take care of the football, and I've seen him improve every week. So I would hope that this will be his very best game this year.

Q. You've had some time to kind of scout and look over some film of Boise State. What do they do good that could possibly give you guys some trouble?
COACH GROBE: Well, I think that one of the best things they do is they're a physical football team. I love their offensive line. Very athletic. Very physical up front. Give you a lot of problems running the football.

We know they throw the ball well, but you start out, you've got to be physical with these guys. And one of our issues is we're not very big up front, and I think this is one of the better offensive lines we'll play against.

I like Rypien, their quarterback's a very good thrower, deep ball and touch stuff. Nice receivers. Just a balanced offense. But it starts with them being very physical, same way on defense.

They get after you up front. I think they've got a lot of skill on the back end. And so on both sides of the ball -- you don't find a team that's 10-2 and with a chance to be 12-0, a really legit chance to be 12-0 without being balanced. And that's what I see in Boise State. But I think it starts with their physical style of play.

Q. Coach, they talked about trying to win first and second down to get you guys in third and long. How important is it conversely for you guys to win those downs and keep the chains moving offensively?
COACH GROBE: Well, I think obviously if you're not good on first and second down, you put a lot of pressure on your quarterback. And we've got a young quarterback. And it's really not fair to him to put him in a lot of those situations.

One of the things we've gotta do is take care of penalties. A lot of times our problems have been procedure penalties that put us first and 15 and now it's easy to end up third and long.

And so I think most defensive coaches would tell you if they can make the offense spend a lot of time in third and long you have a chance to be successful. So no question that that's going to be important for us that we don't get behind the chains too much and put too much pressure on Zach.

Q. You're already so gracious and you give attention to the players and the student-athletes and you say it's all about them. This could potentially be your final game coaching in college. Have you spent much time thinking about that and what does that mean to you, and how nice would it be to go out with a win?
COACH GROBE: Well, I've got to tell you, my wife, Holly, would probably be disappointed that you say this could possibly be my last game. She probably wouldn't be happy hearing that. But I've been so blessed. I think I was remiss last night I didn't mention Mack Rhoades at the dinner last night but I should have. There's nobody I appreciate more than Mack and the opportunity that he's given me to coach these guys since he's been here.

He's very caring and been a great leader, been a great partner for me this season. And I've got to mention our coaching staff. I appreciate their hard work, especially these last few weeks has been tough.

And I really feel like we've got a lot of great coaches, and I appreciate them. But it's all about our players. I mean, that's the bottom line. I mentioned the other day, I think I feel like I've got 100-plus sons right now that I didn't have a year ago. And so I've been so blessed to have the opportunity to work with these young people.

I think for me, it really has nothing to do with this being my last game and whether I can go out with a win; if we were able to beat this dynamic, explosive Boise State team -- a team that I have the greatest respect for, that our players and coaches have the greatest respect for us -- but for us to get a win against Boise State here in the Cactus Bowl would be great for me but so much more rewarding to see these young people go out with a win.

They've been through a lot. They've had a lot of adversity. They've persevered. If we could go out with a win for these guys, the most special part for me would be for these guys to get a win in their last game this year.

Q. The news came out about Kendal getting the new job at Florida Atlantic a few days ago. How important is it, though, that he's staying here and coaching you all through the bowl?
COACH GROBE: Well, I think it's the best thing for our players. There's no question. I think continuity is important. I think it's been important for our players throughout the year, really. We got a little wobbly there in the middle part of the season. But I thought at the end of the season we started getting our legs back under us a little bit.

I do think that it's important for KB to be here. I'm glad that he's able to do that. I'm excited for him. I'm excited for Florida Atlantic. He'll bring an excitement there offensively. And I hope that opens the door for the rest of our coaches.

I think it's been pretty well received that I think Lane Kiffin did a good thing in hiring KB and hopefully that opens the door for the rest of our coaches, because we've got a lot of really, really good coaches. When you think of two before I got here, two conference championships in three years, you know you've got some great coaches here.

So I'm hopeful that that gives the rest of our coaching staff an opportunity to land somewhere.

Q. From your defensive perspective, Boise State, a lot of personnel-type groups, a lot of things they can kind of throw at you. How important was it to maybe have a little extra time to prepare for something like that that you don't see during the regular season?
COACH GROBE: It's been really important. But the proof's in the pudding. We've got to line up and do it. But I think one of the things that Bryan Harsin and his guys have done a great job on offense, is they make you really focus on who has what gaps. They try to get you out of alignment. One of the problems with a lot of shifts and motion and trades and all those types of things is not only are you not in position to make plays, but you have a tendency to be standing around trying to figure out what to do when the ball's snapped and that's not good on defense.

So I think the time has helped us. Sometimes you don't really know what team's going to show up in a bowl game because we don't all handle that time off as well as we could possibly.

So I think we've done pretty well. I think we're going to be ready to play. I think we're going to know what to do. But knowing what to do and stopping this Boise State team is a different thing. They're physical and do a great job throwing the football.

So hopefully we can get lined up properly. And if we can get lined up properly then we've got a shot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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