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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2011

Emmanuel Acho

Q. Are you sore from Saturday?
EMMANUEL ACHO: Not at all. It was disappointing. I didn't get to play much.

Q. How do you tell yourself that the team that beat OU is coming in and not the one that struggled Saturday against Iowa State?
EMMANUEL ACHO: I mean, as on older, more mature player, you've got to understand that. It's common sense, common knowledge that after a loss they're going to come in upset and ready to play, and two, every team gets up to play Texas. That's just how it is. You make sure you watch the OU film extra hard, you pay attention to those details, because that's the team that you're really going to face.

Q. We know you guys prepare the same every week obviously with the same kind of intensity, but what is it like preparing for Tech, because especially on the defense you know that's a little bit different?
EMMANUEL ACHO: Tech is always a fun week of preparation. I feel like it's the -- I feel like we're preparing for more than a week because it's so mentally taxing. You really have to be nitpicking about all the details, and if you're going against a team like this on offense that's so spacing oriented, it's a difference in like an interception if you're one yard inside the hash or outside the hash. You really have to pay attention to all the minute details and just be locked in all week.

Q. Coach talked coming off a shutout gives you confidence. How do you avoid it turning into more than that?
EMMANUEL ACHO: I think that's when the seniors come into play, and I think that that's why I love this year's senior class. I love the guys I get to play with, Keenan and Blake, Keith and those guys because we're so focused and we're so driven, and it doesn't really matter, the coaches don't have to give us the generic, clichÃ© speech. We've already been there, done that, bought that tee shirt.
So we're going to try hard regardless. We're going to prepare hard and prepare well regardless, and it's just who we are.

Q. They haven't been shut out since '05. How much pride is there to shutting a team out and doing what you did?
EMMANUEL ACHO: That was huge. That's why I went back on the field. It was huge. Keenan was telling me I think in the third quarter, he's like, we haven't shut a team out since we've been here, and with the defenses I've been on in '08, '09, I was sure we had, but I haven't thought about it. Then I got to thinking fourth quarter maybe not, so they crossed the 50, and that was that, and it was time to stop watching.

Q. We've talked about it before, but how important would it be to just get that eligible Bowl win?
EMMANUEL ACHO: You know, it's one of the goals of ours, but at the beginning of the season we weren't breaking it out, breaking out the huddles on make it to a Bowl game. That's not a big-time goal. Yeah, we want to get there, but we have -- our goal is to get better each week, to win every week, so that's what we're going to do, just because they're in our way and they're impeding our progress from our goal.

Q. Does Tech look more balanced on offense?
EMMANUEL ACHO: Yeah, I think that's a big focal point for them. Since Tommy Tuberville has been in there they're willing to run the ball and they want to run the ball if you let them, and they're not just going to be one-dimensional. Knowing that you have to prepare for that, knowing you have to be ready to stop the run, you just can't sit back, relax and hope they throw it. You have gear up, be ready stop the run and make them throw it.

Q. You've seen a few Tech quarterbacks through the years. Talk about what you see in Seth Doege.
EMMANUEL ACHO: He's a heck of a leader. I got to watch the OU game, just the TV copy. Got to see some of the throws he made in that game, and man, he was hot, he was on fire, and he's a heck of a player. He's leading this team well, and so I am looking forward to the challenge.

Q. I asked you about Jackson, Dallas guy, came in with a lot of hype. Big game Saturday, but where is he at right now?
EMMANUEL ACHO: Yeah, I was so happy for him, mainly just because I had an incredibly quiet game so I kind of lived through people on Saturday, and he's one of the guys I lived through. I texted him I think it was -- I texted him Saturday night after the game after I had watched the film, and I just said, great game, that's how you always need to play because he has that kind of talent, has that kind of ability, and he dominated, and he just needs to continue to roll with that, continue to get better, build on that. But that's the type of player he is and that's the type of player he needs to be for this defense.

Q. Did he need a night like that?
EMMANUEL ACHO: You know, you hate to say a guy needs something like that, but I think it was huge for him just because when you're quiet so to speak through six games or however many we played, you start to get frustrated. Especially as a young player you start to wonder like, okay, maybe this defense isn't for me. But after a night like that, I think three tackles for a loss, what he just -- just complete domination, you understand, okay, when it rains, it pours, and so it's starting to rain for him.

Q. It's Halloween, got some candy last night. Growing up as a kid did you participate in Halloween, have a favorite costume?
EMMANUEL ACHO: No, I really didn't. My parents weren't too big on that. I kind of was jealous of all the kids. But I made sure to get some of their candy the next day at school.

Q. Can you talk about your brother's performance yesterday? I'm sure he's been waiting for something like that.
EMMANUEL ACHO: Yeah, I'm disappointed because I don't get to watch the games, but he finally got his first start and I think he had like six tackles, a sack, tackle for a loss and a forced fumble. Again, he's one of the guys I lived through this weekend, so I'll just claim some of his statistics.

Q. Did you have a chance to talk to him?
EMMANUEL ACHO: Yeah, I talked to him last night, just so happy for him. It's so great for him. Sad for the team they didn't get the victory, but he's continued to improve, and I'm just extremely pleased.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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