UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 8, 2026

Owen Pewee

Press Conference

UTSA 31, South Florida 24

Q. Owen, Coach was just telling us that was -- the celebration in the locker room was off the -- like more than what we've seen this -- take us in there. What was that like?

OWEN PEWEE: Coach Traylor was doing some dance move I ain't never seen him do before. But I love it. He said if we get the dub he was going to do it, so we was all ready for him to do that dance.

Q. What did it mean to come out here with the win tonight?

OWEN PEWEE: It means a lot to us. This game was very important to us. We worked very hard at practice because we know Florida is a good team. So just us coming out, winning this game means a lot and means to the whole San Antonio.

Q. Your defense lost its leading tackler, Brandon Tucker, due to a targeting call. How did that change the game for you personally and for y9ourn defense as a whole?

OWEN PEWEE: Me personally, it just put an extra edge on myself knowing I got to go out there and just try to get the job done. Just try to trust in my guys and trust in the next guy coming up to just get the job done.

As a defense, I feel like to just next man up, next man mentality. Whoever is up there just got to go out there and just show out.

Q. You guys have played four games this year that were tight coming down the stretch and you've managed to pull through in all of them. What does that say about this team?

OWEN PEWEE: We a good team. We trust in each other. Everybody embrace the role that they in, and we just trust each other and just play for the man in front you, play for the next man. We don't play for ourself. We play for each other. That's the most important thing.

Q. You've been around here for a while now. Do you see something special to this team that has lead to the 5-1 start? Is there something different about this year's group that you can point to?

OWEN PEWEE: Yes, this -- we ain't never did this before so I feel like this team is a real good team. I've been saying it since fall camp. This team is like the 2022 defense, this defense that we been doing. I feel like we got a good defense and we back on track.

Q. USF really imposed their physicality on you guys in the first half, but coming into the second half you guys stopped them; holding them to zero points in that third quarter. What shifted in your mentality going into the second half?

OWEN PEWEE: We just had to get back to the basics. In our mind score is 0-0, so we going out there, stick to the basics, get our reads right, get our eyes right, and we going to be good.

Q. Owen, what was the action in the offense on the final drive and watching A'Marion and Will kind of just tear up the defense and get that done?

OWEN PEWEE: The reaction was crazy. We all had trust in them and faith in them so we knew they was going to go out there and get the job done. We just had to just be loud, just get up and just cheer for our guys, watch them put on a show.

Q. As a defensive player, what's your reaction when the opposing coach takes a jab at your crowd? Does that energize you in a certain type of way? How did you view that throughout the week?

OWEN PEWEE: I feel like that just got us going, give us way more energy and confidence into this game. Especially at practice. We had way more energy at practice. They had us going for the whole practice, so we just ready to play them, show them our crowd is not pumping noise. They love us and cheer for us.

Q. Pass rushers especially disruptive tonight. Jeremiah Bailey especially was in the backfield a lot. What have you seen from him, his development as a pass rusher?

OWEN PEWEE: Every week he just develop into a good player. Every week he's getting way better and way better. Comes to film, he's watching a lot of film. Like I say, he's going back to the basics, trusting his keys, his eyes, and just playing his technique.

Q. This was the first time you guys have had a short week to prepare for a game. How did you handle practice differently, and what impact did you feel like that had on you guys tonight?

OWEN PEWEE: Just the coach, USF coach had us pumped up about the crowd noise, so that give us a lot of energy. Playing on Thursday, I feel like we just made for this. I feel like this is a different team this year, so I feel like we was going to be good. We had a lot of confidence going into this game. We practiced real good, so I just feel we was going to play good.

Q. Down 7 points at halftime, what was the message like in the locker room from the coaches?

OWEN PEWEE: Everybody was up. Everybody was hype. Everybody was cheering for each other. Everybody was talking to each other, making sure we encourage each other to keep going. The score is 0-0 coming out of halftime. That's our mentality, so we just got to go out there and just prove it.

Q. I know it's disappointing to not end the game on a defensive drive, but how much faith do you have in your offense to come right back and just score and end the game?

OWEN PEWEE: I had a lot of the faith. We all had a lot of faith in our offense. They practice this every week. They practice this real hard, so I just knew they was going to go out there and execute.