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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCE


November 1, 2014


Micah Awe


Texas – 34
Texas Tech - 13


Q.  Can you just talk about your performance tonight, how you felt that you and the defense played?
MICAH AWE:  Well, for sure I think as a player being out there, I think we all played our hearts out on defense.  I mean, yeah, they got a lot of long runs on us, long passes.  We busted a couple.  But for the most part, my performance comes from my D‑line.  I wasn't getting touched, and secondary is doing their job.  As a defense when everyone is doing their job, everyone is going to perform.
I think going into the future as a defense, I'm excited, because nothing is going our way right now.  Last time I had a losing season was in high school, sophomore year, 3‑7, and the next year we ended up being like, what, 8‑2 or whatever.  I mean, I'm just looking forward to seeing how we like play against Oklahoma, because A, we've got a next game to play.  We've got to do what we've got to do, and that's what we'll do.

Q.  How were you able to stop their rush game early?  That kind of wore down as the game went on.  What changed?
MICAH AWE:  Texas is a good team.  They're known for running.  Malcolm Brown, Johnathan Gray, five‑star running backs; O‑line, they're good.  So A, if you watch football, you keep running the ball, you're going to get some yards.  It's all about bend‑don't‑break as a defense.  That should be your mentality.  They're D‑1 for a reason, they're in the Big 12 for a reason, they're a running team for a reason; therefore they're going to yet yards, but you've just got to move on, keep pushing.  I think we did a good job of that overall.

Q.  Did you feel like that 4th and 1 stop going into halftime really gave you guys some energy going into the second half?
MICAH AWE:  I mean, yeah, when you make a 4th and 1 stop against a running team that you know they're going to run the ball and then you stop them, I mean, that's what defense is about, and we knew that at halftime we had to keep on fighting.  It wasn't going to be an easy game because Texas, again, is a good team, but again, we're a good defense, and I think although the record doesn't show, we've improved, I think, a lot, especially in the front seven and the back seven as a defense, something got to come together, and I think we'll keep on working until it comes together.

Q.  After the week you guys had last week, coming out and scoring the first touchdown of the game, what did that mean to you guys as a defense?
MICAH AWE:  It got us excited.  That's the first time in a long time ‑‑ I think Will Smith was the last time we did that, and that was last year.  Really all that came down to was just hustling to the ball.  I mean, Jackson Richards got there, got to Swoopes, and then B‑Jack came and forced him to make a mistake, and that's what happens when you run to the ball because you're just having fun out there.  I think that just shows you the whole Texas Tech Nation that we have a good defense, we have a good team.  Things aren't going our way right now, but it'll come eventually, and all we can do in here as a defense is keep working each and every day.  That's what we'll do.

Q.  This was your sixth loss of the season.  Just how tight is the situation maybe to get a little bit better?
MICAH AWE:  I mean, the situation is we have a bye week and we have Oklahoma.  You know, me personally, I don't think‑‑ when I'm on the field, I don't think anyone out there is better than me.  Same thing with the defense out there.  Same thing with offense.  I think most of our losses or whatever, it doesn't come from Xs and Os, talent.  It's all up here, and it's all down here.  We've just got to work on that, and it's an ongoing process.  We're going to have a long off‑season, but we're still in season right now, so we're going to move on to Oklahoma and do our best and make sure we have it here and here.

Q.  With Davis and Patrick both having significant injuries, is it on the defense now to kind of turn the tide?
MICAH AWE:  I mean, honestly, the game of football is always on the defense.  They don't score, the other team doesn't win.  Simply put, they don't score, the other team doesn't win, so if we're out there and we have the fourth string, fifth string quarterback, what does it matter to us?  We're still out there playing defense, so we have to do our best to not make the other team score.

Q.  Are you starting to feel like you're a little more (inaudible) with all the playing time you've gotten the last two weeks?
MICAH AWE:  Yeah, I just thank God for the opportunity because it's been a long time since I've had 60 plus, 70 plus plays.  Like I said, I'm having fun out there.  The loss hurts, but at least I have the opportunity to be out there and run around and show people why Texas Tech was the only team that recruited me and show the rest of the Big 12 why they should have recruited me.  I'm just out there with a chip on my shoulder and trying to prove to everyone that, hey, I'm a small linebacker but I'm still a linebacker and I'm still going to stop the run like we did as a defense.  Thanks to my D‑line, I was able to show my speed and run around.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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