Opening Statement:

“For starters, hats off to our fans. Another sellout. It was unbelievably loud. It impacted the game. Our players were loving it. It was extremely loud out there, the entire game, and we need them back here again at 11 o'clock next week because they make a huge difference for us. I can't thank our fans enough for coming out and selling this place out again. Great job by coach [Joe] Klanderman, great job by coach [Colin] Klein and the staff coming up with phenomenal game plans. Then our guys owning those game plans every day this week. We got better every day, our prep was really good, and we executed at a really high level the entire game because we executed a high level all week. I thought when we left Texas Tech, we're becoming a little bit better football team in all phases, and it clicked tonight. I'm super excited for our players and for our coaches and for our fans, because that's a good football team. You guys know as well as I did, we have a really good team and we were clicking on all cylinders and to get 587 yards and 343 yards rushing and a lot of guys contributed. We talked about this when a bunch of guys love each other and they don't care who gets credit, really special things can happen. It happened tonight.”

On the defense:

"They did tonight. That's a really good offense, [TCU] averaging 40 points or something but more importantly 80 plays. You saw the tempo of how fast they were going. We've had a great plan and those kids executed at a high level. One of the guys that does not get enough credit on defense, and he should, is Jake Clifton. We lost Austin Romaine last week to an injury, so we said to Jake, ‘Now you gotta go play a different position,’ and he had to play linebacker the whole game. It's really hard to play any of our three linebacker positions but that kid has played all three in three consecutive weeks and so I thought we dominated the game up front. They're really good, that running back’s [Emani Bailey] a stud. We needed to get pressure on the quarterback [Josh Hoover], we did and I thought we covered as well as we've covered all year."

On Avery Johnson’s performance:

"We knew that there was going to be some mistakes, but there was going to be some splash plays too. Colin and I had a good plan all along and I'm on that side of the ball on defense. That's really hard when you don't know who's coming in the game, and you can make the adjustment and then the other guy comes in and then you got to go back to that and then that guy runs a series and you make the adjustment you come back. Is it what we want to do all season? I don't know, I don't think so, but like last week, it worked, and this week it really worked because it's really hard to do what those guys do, those two players. Avery played really well. Will Howard's our unquestioned leader on this football team guys. It was hard on WIll, but he is the lifeblood of our offense, and that kid is still a captain and that kid is still a guy that hoisted a Big 12 Championship trophy and he's a dang good football player. I love the kid because he just went back to work and said ‘I gotta play better’, and he did. He played well. Avery played well. We're going to need both of those guys, as we still have a lot of football left.”

On playing both Will and Avery consistently:

“Just a hunch that we had, and I don't want to make any more of it than what it is. As far as we had some things on the cart that we thought both guys could do really well. I thought Will ran the ball well, in the first few series and I thought Avery threw two dimes to Jayce Brown. That's the thing they both can do. I think some of the thought was, ‘well one's a thrower and one's a runner.’ They're both really good quarterbacks.”

On the game plan to alternate with Will Howard:

"At the end of the week [coach] kind of told us that Will was gonna go first and I was gonna go with the second drive, and then we were just kind of going to feel it out from there. But it was fun to just be able to get out there and, you know, play a little bit more each week. But you know, Will dominated tonight, credit to him. I was really excited for him to see him go out there and do his thing. But I mean, whenever you win a conference game that big, at the end of the day, no matter how we got it, we got it done, so on to next week."

On the first play of the game:

"I didn't really know until Friday. They kind of had brought it up and it was kind of just up in the air. They put it out there and then during prep and stuff, we were just saying this is the play we're going to start with and we just kind of rolled with it."

On how physical the game was:

"For sure. I mean, I don't know how many times I carried the ball but I carried it a lot and sometimes we got open space, sometimes it didn't. It just kind of opened up, so credit to those offensive linemen for opening up holes for me and letting me go out there and do my thing. But it wasn't just me running the ball. I don't know how many carries Will had, but he had a big chunk of yards on the ground and then Treshaun [Ward] and DJ [Giddens], those dudes are really starting to catch their second wind. So credit to them, and credit to the offensive line for just going out and being able to dominate on the ground."

On his relationship with Jayce Brown:

"That's my brother. I mean, we came in here at the same time, and he's a shy guy at first but he kind of got out of his shell. We kind of got the bond you know, on and off the field. It's really where that chemistry comes in. And it just really comes back to, you know, Jake's coming to grab me after practice and say, ‘Let's get a few more rounds,’ and for me to go and get him, whatever it might be. And then that's kind of starting to show on Saturdays, and credit to him, he's putting in all the work. He can really take the top off the defense, and he's confident in himself, and you go out there and play free and confident. I mean, it's hard to stop."

On the offense:

“I mean, personally, I think that we had about 406 yards on offense or whatever we had, but I think that we left stuff out there. I think that one drive that I was in that we stalled out on, we just had a couple plays that kind of went awry. It wasn't perfect, it was really good. We're able to build on it, obviously.”

On the first play:

“It was an idea they told us on Friday, that was the plan.”

On splitting reps with Avery:

“It is what it is, it's not up to me. I just got to control what I can control and help support Avery and he helped support me and that's what we got to do.”

On the offensive success:

"Preparation throughout the week. You know, as far as you have to do the little things right. It ultimately showed up out there.”

On his comfortability in the offense:

“Definitely, as far as me trusting my guys and them trusting me it goes a long way. Having the whole team trusting and believing in me and I believe in them as well. We [DJ Giddens] both had a good game and I just tip my hat off to the O-line.”

On playing both quarterbacks:

“You have to prepare for both because I told you last week, we're going to be playing both of them and they'll both have a significant amount of touches. When it comes to teams they have to prepare for both Will [Howard] and Avery [Johnson]. Will did his thing today and Avery did his thing today, we just have to keep continuing.”

On if he settled in as the game went on:

"Definitely. I was a bit on edge in the first quarter but definitely settled down with the guys and they comforted me throughout the game."

On the defense's performance:

"It showed on the scoreboard. We held them to three points, and they tried to put it in in the last 30 seconds, and we held them. So everyone's into it, so a full team effort for sure."

On his comfort level playing linebacker:

"I'm pretty comfortable. I mean, I did a whole week, and I see the same fits. The coaches get me ready. So it's nothing really crazy to switch to Mike"

On the communication with Desmond Purnell and Austin Moore:

"It's easy for me to say the least. They're making most of the calls, and I'm just echoing what they're saying. So yeah, easier."

On his overall thoughts on the game:

"Play fast, play physical. I mean, I just really want to gain the trust of my coaches and teammates. So, I mean, I just went out there to have fun and it turned out that way."

On his relationship with Avery Johnson:

"Man, that's my best friend, that's my dog. I always hope he [goes] out there and succeeds and him vice versa with me. So I mean, I trust him, and he trusts me."

On catching passes from Will Howard and Avery Johnson:

"Both of them are really good and talented quarterbacks. I mean, we work day in and day out after practice. They're both really good, I like both of them."

On the defense’s performance:

“Oh, I thought we were phenomenal. We're just trusting what we see, trusting each other and just making plays.”

On believing he’d be this improved from last season:

“I don't know quite sure, because I know it's a long road. I mean, there's still more accomplishments to come. Yeah, but I definitely would have trusted what you said and kept on working harder.”

On becoming a leader on the team:

“Yes, I am. Doing my best to change my goal of this team and make sure I bring along these young guys to get them up there with us.”

On what has happened to allow the defense to work this well:

“Just trust in the coaches, just trusting each other is gonna do our job. We just feed off of that.”