On getting the first game out of the way

Felt good. Felt good to be back in the Big House. The atmosphere was awesome, but felt good for our players to get that experience under the lights, in front of fans, and not just practice, but where it counted. So, you saw guys in live-action have to make live-action decisions, and it felt good, and we got a lot to learn from, but that's what you want in week one.

On how he saw his team react in the moment

Yeah, I mean, you start off the game with an interception, and then you go down and score, and to see the team react, it was awesome. You know, the high fives, the love, the joy, but then you go through kind of a lull to not score, and you figure out what kind of team you got. Do you have the finger-pointers? Do you got the blamers? Do you have guys who can try to figure out problems and figure out what the coaches do? And I think our guys did an unbelievable job of that, of sticking together. Defense, just playing their tails off throughout the game, and one thing happened, and they just, you know, they just brush it off. They go to the next play, and to watch the O-line finally come together in the second half and really build that long drive and then score felt really good. So I think there's some continuity there now, and I think, you know, it takes that time. You need that game experience to do that, and that belief to go compete.

On whether he will get involved in turnover celebrations

Well, the buffs have been at, I mean, we've been doing it now for, I think. What, three years, I think. Three years, yeah, since 21, so I mean, I don't know, I stay, I try to focus on the next offensive play. If we get a turnover, so I'm happy for the defense, let them have fun, their kids, but I'll try to stay away from that. I know, they pulled Coach Harbaugh on a couple last year, so we'll see if that happens.

On how the offense handled sudden-change situation

Yeah, you just saw that when you execute how you've been practicing, you can do, you know, you can do the things you think you can do, and I thought the guys did a really good job of, you know, it's off-script, you've been practicing all camp of, all right, if you get the ball, first kickoff, it's gonna be on the 25-yard line, first and 10, put it on a hash you want, and it wasn't, you know, so the guys adjusted really well and was really proud of them.

On the plan at QBs dictating certain situations

Yeah, yeah, we had a plan of, you know, we were gonna put him in for the first time he'd be in there, he'd have that play action and throw it and thought that, you know, he'd be a lightning bolt that we'd say that he'd be, he'd be running the ball, so he did a really good job of executing the play and it was a really good job by Donovan making the catch.

On his expectations of Fresno State

Yeah, they are who we thought they were. We knew they were a good football team. They're a team that's won 10, nine and nine games the past year, so it's not one of those teams that just come in and you're just gonna roll over them. We knew they'd be physical, we knew they'd be well coached and they got good players, so we thought it'd be that kind of game and, you know, obviously we think there's things that we could've been better at, but I thought they did a really good job. I thought Coach Skipper had a really good plan for them.

On the importance of playing a physical team in week one

Yeah, it was super important. I think it, we talked about building a callus in training camp, you gotta build a callus in games and see what you're really made of in those great moments. So for us, that's a team that's probably gonna win nine games in Fresno State this year and I'm excited for this challenge of Texas, a top 10 matchup in the Big House. I wouldn't want it any other way.

On Davis Warren

Yeah, I thought Davis did a good job of managing the game. He'd probably say he'd have that post throw back, could've put a little bit more air on it, but also there's part of it, the route detail could've been better to create the separation for him. So there's two parts of it, but overall, managed the game really well. Never was in a panic. Played within the confines of the offense, made some really nice throws and just continues to get better.

On Warren's demeanor after the interception

It was one of those, like, I just gotta, you know, I gotta shrug it off and I go to the next play, because that's a big thing and you're not happy it happened, but when it happens in that type of game where you win, you get to see what the quarterback's made up because some guys can turn a leaf and one can turn into two to turn into three or that one ends it and he doesn't make that mistake again, which is what happened with Davis.

On Alex Orji

Yeah, I thought he played well in the role and I think he had 13 snaps and I think he averaged about six yards a carry when he did run the ball. So, did a really good job, obviously, through the touchdown pass and, you know, he'll have a extensive package of what he does throughout games and it'll grow and grow every game, but I thought he did a really good job, but just to watch both those guys on the sideline together was really cool. I mean, Alex throws a touchdown and Davis went sprinting out of the box to go celebrate with the guy. So, that just tells you the story of how, you know, the relationship is between those two guys.

On managing both quarterbacks

Yeah, I think there'll be a rhythm. I think you'll catch a rhythm and we'll have some stuff that's scripted, but I think you just really got to catch a rhythm of when to use them, when not to use them and be able to do that successfully. Keep Davis in a rhythm and then if he's in the game, keep Orji in a rhythm to make sure we're doing that for our team.

On what he saw from the run game

Definitely things you got to get better at, just the detail in the combos, making sure we're getting off to the right guy and if we're pulling, hitting them with the right hat placement, which is things that happen. I went back and watched every game one for the past three years and every game one to game two, they got better in the run game and it's something that part of playing football, you have to do it against another opponent to get used to the speed, to get used to it's a game time and your game speed and your practice speed or you want it to be about the same, but emotionally it's not. So you have to be able to adjust there.

On what goes into the decision at center

Yeah, so for us, Dom started the game and really the plan was to play both of them. So Crip played as well. So we'll continue to evaluate and see who played the best and who's going to continue to play the best. But first start did really well, Dom Giudice and had some communication things which caused some pressures and people see somebody miss a block but don't really know what's going on. Biggest thing was the communication. You know, there's a plan, you got to stick to the plan and can't erase from the plan because those will mess up everybody else around you. So for us, keep the communication clean, concise and continue to do that.

On building trust

Yeah, big thing for us is, you know, we got a great day of film today. We're going to evaluate. We're going to make sure we take our time to detail all the little things and no things too small to make sure those guys understand. Yeah, everything you do, every step, every place you put your eyes, it all means something. So to make sure you do that at an elite level and everything's got to be doing that at a game speed, whether it's a walkthrough or practice.

On Evan Link

He played pretty well for a guy that had never started a game in college. Moment wasn't too big for him either. He just, he played physical, he had fun. And I think the big thing with all those guys is you just got to have fun. Like, you can't put all this pressure on yourself. And I used to tell the line that, you know, last year and the year before that, year before that, like, you just got to go out there and enjoy it. So he really did. He played well. Very minimum MAs. I think he played extremely well for his first time.

On improved rushing in the second half

Yeah, I think we simplified what we were doing in the run game for sure, to create more advantageous looks for us in the run game. But guys ran really hard. And even when Donovan was in there, he ran hard. But Kalel just provided a little bit more thump throughout there. And he kept making guys miss or running them over. And there was missed tackles. And he just did a really good job of creating those six, seven, eight yard runs.

On the importance of an improved passing attack and finding a deep threat

Yeah, super important. And we'll continue to define that and figure out what our best plays are and make it easy for the quarterback because he can do it all. But just make sure we put our players in the best position to be successful.

On whether Colston Loveland was upset after his drop

Oh yeah, he was super ticked off. It was great. He was ticked off. Will was ticked off that a guy caught a ball on him. But that's what you want in your best players. You want to be mad at those little things. So he was super upset with it, but he also had eight catches and a touchdown. So I was pretty happy with his performance.

On the defense

Yeah, I saw the fast attacking defense that we saw at training camp. I thought Coach Martindale did an outstanding job of picking the spots, one to pressure, one not to pressure, one to play zone, one to play man, and mixing up the different looks. Because I think that's going to be important as we go throughout the season of picking the spots and doing the things you need to do. But they just, they played extremely hard. I mean, the first play of the game, you pause the film at the end of the play and there's 10 guys around the ball. And the one guy that isn't has his man covered and man coverage. So like the things that our guys do are awesome. There's always things that we got to clean up. Guys got in there, some backup guys and allowed some plays. So we got to clean that piece up and make sure we got the right guys in there in certain situations. But overall, I thought it was a really good day by the defense.

On whether Will Johnson not playing in certain stretches was by design

Yeah, I think we're definitely, you know, see who's the best guys for best fits. And we're just going to play the best players at every different position. So I think we'll have different packages as we go out through these weeks.

On the offensive line

I mean, those guys did an outstanding job, obviously stopping the run. It was a focal point, one of our must that we had to get done. And they did a great job doing it. But the pressure, I mean, it came from four, it came from five, it came from six. Those guys, just everybody up front did an outstanding job keeping that guy uncomfortable.

On Jaishawn Barham

Yeah, he played outstanding. The stats don't say how many plays he made, but he was chasing that guy around the field all night. And he was all over the field making hits, playing physical. He did a really good job. And then as far as his run fits, man, he's as good as the Blitzers. I've been around as a Blitzer in the run game.

On how he addresses the late-game penalties

Yeah, definitely something, we don't like to have around here. We're a disciplined football team, so we'll continue to stress that. Some of those things are, you can call them as, they might not have called them or they shouldn't have called them, but they did. So for us, we're gonna eliminate those things and not even make it close.

On what he anticipates the team needs to improve in preparing for Texas

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is consistency and consistency in the details of everything we do, offense, defense, and special teams. Offensively, making sure we continue to have the right guys in the right spots, making sure we continue to get the ball to our playmakers. You know, we thought, you know, after the game, watching Morrison, Marge Morgan should have had some more touches. Tyler Morris should have had some more touches. So definitely do that and help those guys. And then it takes the load off of Colston, but you know, with Colston leveling in the game, you're still gonna have to find a way to get him the ball and just be balanced in everything we do on offense and make sure that the physicality is still there. And then defensively, you know, continue to iron out all the little wrinkles to make sure that, you know, there's no big plays and continue to build the wall to stop the run.

On Texas

Offensively, extremely explosive quarterback is as seasoned, as good as any in the country, accurate, knows the offense inside and out. He does a good job of controlling offense. The O-line is, they have four guys that started the last year and all older, all seniors. So their experience, they've done a really good job. They're really well coached on offense. Sark does a great job calling the game and rhythm. And then they've got weapons on the outside that are all really fast. And defensively, they're sound. They do a really good job of fitting the run and being gap sound and playing great coverage.

On Dominic Zvada

Yeah, he's a weapon. And somebody we saw in training camp, and he consistently hit 50s, hit 60s in training camp. And we knew that it'd be there. You're just always wondering in the back of your mind and you get in the game, is all that practice, is it gonna show up? And it showed up. And he exceeded everything, what we thought he would do. And he continues to be a weapon for us.

On how having a clutch kicker influences play calling

Yeah, I think you just gotta be smart in certain situations. There's times where you wanna be aggressive and you wanna take those shots in the end zone or get the ball down and make sure you get those scored. But there's also gonna be times where you can, all right, well, we know we've got points here. Let's not do anything crazy to turn the ball over. So we'll have to do a really good job of figuring out those situations to make sure that we play both sides of the coin.

On Zvada's confidence and how you find a guy like him in the portal

Yeah, I think guys see, the kickers see how we play on offense that we rely on guys like that because sometimes we're gonna be in close games. We need you guys as weapons. And we take care of our kickers like they're not just kickers. But I think also an opportunity to play on this stage and be around this team and get developed here. It's something that started with Jake and really guys before him, but now guys see and really wanna be a part of.

On what he wants to improve on as a coach

Yeah, I wanna do everything I can. I already feel like I've been in the office all night. Everything I can to make sure we're in position to win on all three phases. Anything that I can do to help on offense to make sure that we're in the optimal place to execute at a high level. But ultimately to help our team, I just wanna make sure our kids are mentally and emotionally and spiritually right to go play in this great atmosphere and eliminate all the distractions because it's gonna be a lot of people here. It's college game day. It's a Big Noon Kickoff. There's gonna be celebrities all over the place. There's gonna be superstars. There's gonna be a lot of alumni back. But at the end of the day, we know we gotta go win this football game. So I'm gonna do everything I can to help our team eliminate all those distractions.

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