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SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 10, 2016

Ben Hicks

Waco, Texas

Baylor - 40, SMU - 10

Q. Your first start here in your hometown. Just how exciting was that for you?
BEN HICKS: It was a great experience. Wish the outcome would have been better. It was a great experience to be back in Waco and see some people that I don't see very often. It was fun.

Q. Speaking of guys you don't get to see very often, Orion Stewart, another former Midway Panther. Unfortunate for the picks, but for you and him, did you get to talk to him before the game or after the game?
BEN HICKS: I talked to him a little bit after the game and during the game. Wish I didn't throw it to him all night, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I'll bounce back. Orion's a great player. He's on scholarship too. It was good to see him but not in the way that I saw him.

Q. One of the things about you, you've always been resilient and very tough-minded and physical. You took a beating tonight as well. Your thoughts about how you handled even the adversity.
BEN HICKS: I thought I handled it well. Obviously, I could have handled it better. There's a couple of throws that I wish I had back. I thought the offensive line played really well. Play makers made some plays for me. I've just got to do better not turning the ball over and finishing drives. That's all on me.

Having to kick two field goals in the first half when we could have scored some touchdowns, that's on me. But we'll get back in there on Sunday and refocus and try to get ready for Liberty.

Q. Between the first quarter and the second quarter and the first half and the second half, what do you think changed for you? Did they throw anything different at you for defense?
BEN HICKS: No. I thought we came out with energy in the second half. Two turnovers, one in the red zone, doesn't help. I've got to make a better throw. He made a good play, but having two turnovers in the second half obviously doesn't help anything.

Q. Matt Davis was down on the sideline. Did he give you any advice during the course of the game?
BEN HICKS: Oh, yeah, Matt is always there for me, but I was kind of in the zone. So he understood when to talk to me and when not to talk to me. But I always appreciate Matt and what he does for me.

Q. There were a few fourth and shorts. Did you ever feel like you just wanted to go for it?
BEN HICKS: That's on the coach. I can't sit here and say that. Yeah, I wish we could have -- we didn't have to be in that situation, but I wish we could have gone for it a couple of times and seen what would have happened.

Q. You have family that's very close that went to Baylor, and they were wearing SMU stuff today. How much did that mean to you and also just knowing that they were here?
BEN HICKS: Oh, man, family is the most important thing for me. They'll always be here for me. They're always something I can lean back on. I appreciate them all coming out and supporting me today.

Q. Ben, you threw the ball more than 40 times today. Did you think you were going to put it up that many times?
BEN HICKS: Yeah, coming in the game, obviously, I'm not the biggest run threat. I'll be the first one to tell you that. 40 times, I mean, I love throwing the ball. So I'm okay with that. That's kind of what we expected coming into the game.

Q. So what do you -- what's next for you after you get this kind of taste in your mouth? The good and the bad. What do you do from here?
BEN HICKS: Obviously, I've got to learn from it. Go back in the meeting room on Sunday, tomorrow, and learn from my mistakes and learn from the good stuff and see what I can do better next week, going forward in the season.

I thought we did some really good things. I thought the offensive line played well. We had some play makers. Defense played unbelievable. I got to play better. That's the bottom line. I've got to learn from it and play better next week. I think we're going to be good.

Q. You were ready for this opportunity, but to be at home, did you have to settle yourself down in any way to not hyperventilate? Did that go through your mind at all?
BEN HICKS: No, not really just because I just wanted to play. We could have played anywhere, and I would have been ready to play. That's what I like to do. So playing here wasn't a huge deal. Yeah, it was cool to be back in Waco. It was a great experience, but that wasn't something that made me play harder or anything in the game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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