Q. When you look at Jim Harbaugh's offense, and seeing how they do things, how much do you think that kind of style of offense works in this day and age of college football?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: It definitely still works, right? No matter what offense you run, I just think if you totally believe in it and you develop your players, to be able to thrive in that system, I think any of them can work. We have seen triple offenses work every single year and we have seen air raid and styles like Michigan. I just think if you totally believe in it and got the players to do it where they can thrive, I think any of them work good, and they are doing a great job of that.
Q. What is so special about this team, in your mind?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: I was telling them, they just play well together. Man, that stuff is hard to do, to get all 11 guys consistently playing together at a high level. And I think they have done a great job and credit to their staff and they are very, very well coached. But I think that's the thing that stands out to me. They have length and size up front, and they have guys that cover and linebackers that can run and tackle, and they have a lot of really, really good players over there. I think the biggest thing is they gel and play well together.
Q. When you go back to the championship game and the maximum emotions, and then 24 hours later, it's a different feel, what was your reaction when you saw your quarterback react the way he did at that Big 12 Championship game where he was so devastated?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: It's tough to watch, right? You have this guy who has invested so much in TCU, and literally inches away -- and kind of have heartbreak. Obviously that's tough to watch. It speaks to how emotionally invested he is in our team and TCU. And so, not surprised in that way. Because of the person he is and how much this means to him. And then like I said, just what a roller coaster to have that happen and then have the news the next morning that you are going to make it to the College Football Playoff. And that's why we are in a unique position now. You have that game where we learned from it. We learned from our failures and mishaps in that game and apply it to the big stage and a big game like this. I mean, that's all you ask for in sports, right? So we have got that unique opportunity now.
Q. It's a team game, obviously, but how much credit does Max [Duggan] deserve for getting you there?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: A ton, I mean, a ton. He's a leader. He's made huge plays for us all year long. He's been consistent everything he's done, even prior to our staff coming to TCU. It just means so much to this team and this program. He's a guy that really rubs off in a positive way to the rest of our team. I mean he really does. That's his whole approach and laying it all on the line every single day, I mean those things we know we feed off of. Yes, he deserves a ton of credit.
Q. He (Max Duggan) has come off the bench. He's done what he does today. What is the room like compared to when you first arrived on campus?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: About the same. Those guys are in each other's corner. That's what is unique. People probably say that a lot of times in our sport, but it's really true. At TCU, we have a great room. You know, different age groups. Every single guy in there is totally in each other's corner no matter who is out there. That's hard to do as a quarterback and football. I have to pinch myself at times, but that's not how it is everywhere.
Q. At the end of the Big 12 game, how tired was Max [Duggan]?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: He was exhausted, about how he looked. He kind of was spent with everything he had and every ounce of energy he had was left out there.
Q. Watching the Purdue game, they were pretty good between the 20s, and red zone offense is always a key. Has that been a focus for you guys?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: Oh, yes. Any game you win, any game you lose, there are a lot of things that you learn from and you have to take away from those games, right? So there's certainly things that we learned about ourselves in that championship game that I think will help us for this stage and this game. That's what all of this is about. You better learn from your experiences. Good or bad. That's been a big emphasis for us.
Q. How good is Michigan at coverages and how many coverages do they roll out?
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR RILEY: You will get some variations, they will put some pressure on the quarterback in terms of reading and making him uncomfortable from a coverage standpoint. I think they do a great job of disguising and mixing it up. It's helped them all year long.
Q. What do you think about going against Michigan, a team out of the Big Ten, in terms of what you faced in the Big 12?
MAX DUGGAN: It will be a lot of fun. We know how good they are, how good they have been the last couple of years, and how competitive they are. We are looking forward to it.
Q. Obviously this is one of the goals for you guys to get here this season. What does it feel like?
MAX DUGGAN: Yes, we are excited. I think it's something that we have been wanting to play for and now that we are here, we have an opportunity to go play in a playoff game.
Q. What concerns you most about Michigan's defense?
MAX DUGGAN: There's a lot. They are really good in all aspects of their team, especially on defense. Whether it's the front four getting pressure, whether their backers creating trouble for us, guys on the back end, DBs making it hard for us.
Q. I was looking at your Instagram and you had a post in 2018. It was like, "Love my visit at TCU." What was it about the university that you wanted to go there?
MAX DUGGAN: I think it was a place that I wanted to be at if I was playing football. The people in that community, students -- I felt like a normal student there when I went there. It wasn't all about ball.
Q. I got to talk to Kaz (Coach Kaz Kazadi) about you. Just him working with you guys and kind of instilling confidence in you has really been a difference-maker. Is that how you see it as well?
MAX DUGGAN: It's been incredible to have him come in. Obviously his knowledge in strength and conditioning has helped so much. I think him as like a psychological coach, life coach, whatever you want to call it, has helped so much. But just a different mindset for us, which it's confidence, thinking different mindset, thinking right, things of that sort has helped us so much and a lot of credit to him and his staff is why we are here now.
Q. How valuable has the last month been to rest and recuperate and get healthy for this?
MAX DUGGAN: It's been huge. We went through the whole Big 12 without a bye week. Our bye week was in Week 3, and that really makes a difference, especially in a league like the Big 12 that's so competitive -- to have a month off to reset their mind and bodies away from football and ramp it up. It's been a lot of help for us.
Q. How do you put into words the grind of playing in 11 straight Saturdays before this rest?
MAX DUGGAN: I don't think people realize how hard it is especially in the Big 12, where there's no gimme games. You are playing a hard-fought dog fight every single week, and it's like you are going to get banged up in that game. And you got to start on Sunday for practice preparing for next opponent. So it's difficult, but I think our strength staff did a phenomenal job of making sure that we are healthy and we are ready to go -- whether it's in the weight room, nutrition-wise, stuff of that sort. I think those guys helped a lot.
Q. Along with that grind, you guys get here and you have been able to do some activities. Was it maybe a focus point for this team to find that balance with having some fun and trying to keep loose, while at the same time trying to stay focused on this game?
MAX DUGGAN: I think when we came here, I think guys had a little bit of time to relax, kind of settle in. I think guys got to hang out with each other. Coaches and their families got to hang out for Christmas Day. Again, Coach Kaz [Kazadi] makes it pretty evident that this is not a vacation. We know that. We are not treating it like that. Obviously, you come in on Christmas Day and you get to hang out, spend some time with the people that you care about, but we know we came down here to win a football game. So that's where our mindset is.
Q. Talk about the psychology of losing the championship game and the conference, and being named the third seed the next day.
MAX DUGGAN: It was an emotional 24 hours of -- you know, you lose a league championship game, something that you wanted to set out for as a goal, and you come out the next day and you are able to compete for a national championship. A lot of emotions in that 24 hours and lots of ups and downs. Kind of staying neutral is something that he talks about, not getting too high on the highs and not too lows on the lows. Staying even keel.
Q. It had to be a tough one to end up on the losing end of that conference title game.
MAX DUGGAN: Yes, it was tough. You go the whole year and you are playing well, and then it's hard to beat a team twice, especially a Kansas State team that is playing so good. We played them twice. We fell short. Yeah, that one hurt. But we were able to get an opportunity to come and play in the playoffs. It was something we wanted to do.
Q. What is it like to face a Michigan team? You know they will come at you and bloody your nose and put the pressure on you.
MAX DUGGAN: It will be a fun challenge. They are physical. That's what they pride themselves on, running the ball and being physical on defense and tough. It will be something to know that we can compete in the game and be physical even stuff with them. It will be a good challenge.
Q. Are these things that you guys have identified following that loss, that maybe you wouldn't have been able to work on or kind of target if you hadn't had a loss like that?
MAX DUGGAN: No, I think everyone can get beat on any given Saturday. And you can win 12 games in a row but that really, all of those games don't mean anything. The past is not going to account for the future. So we knew that. And I think it really helped us kind of settle in, understanding that we still got a lot of work to do and we have a lot of work to play an opponent capable of beating us, and a great opponent in Michigan. Just something that we have to go back to work, and we are looking forward to playing them.
Q. This team has responded very well when you have been down, first half, second half. Where does that come from?
TAYE BARBER: Just believing in each other. Just do our job until the clock says 0:00 at the end of the game. We just have to win by one point. That's all it takes. The W is a W.
Q. When it happens once, does it make it easier to happen a second time and a third time?
TAYE BARBER: I feel like it helps us believe more and more that we can do it no matter what the score was. I think we were down -- the most we came back was 18.
Q. This long rest period that you guys have had, how much has that helped guys get healthy and close to 100%?
TAYE BARBER: Very good. We haven't had a week off since Week 2. So these couple of weeks being off, it's 100%. You know, we played 11 straight games?
Q. How tough was it to get through that grind and try your best to be healthy?
TAYE BARBER: It was very tough. Everybody talks about how we had a lot of close games but they don't realize how tough the Big 12 was and how anything could happen on any given Saturday in the Big 12.
Q. What challenges do Michigan's corners present for you and your receivers?
TAYE BARBER: Oh, they are very good. They are always going to be in the right spots. They are good, fast, big, and they start for a reason. They got a top 10 defense for a reason, so it will be tough.
Q. Have you faced any teams that have similar corners to Will Johnson and DJ Turner?
TAYE BARBER: Probably they have all types of corners in the Big 12. I think the only one was Iowa State. So this will be a tough game.
Q. It seems like Sonny [Dykes'] slogan is just do your job. Why do you think this roster has bought in so well to that?
TAYE BARBER: Don't worry about trying to do too much. You just got to do your job. And I feel like all the other 10 players on the field will go do the same thing. And like me, I take a lot of pride in doing my job for the other 10 guys on the field and I know they are counting on me, just like I'm counting on them.
Q. You're here now and now you get to experience it, now you are at one of the biggest bowls. what has that experience been like?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: I try not to get too caught up in it. I signed up for playing football games. I signed up for this type of stage.
Q. Coming from Temple, what does that mean to you to representing Temple on this stage?
QUENTIN JOHNSON: It means a lot because obviously Temple is a small town. A lot of people come out of Temple and don't make it far. I think the whole thing is me putting on for my city, just representing and giving them something for the little kids to look up to. Just kind of give them motivation to move forward. I take a lot of pride in that.
Q. You have Jared [Wiley] with you?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: Him being my quarterback through high school, it makes that connection offensively that much stronger. We have been fun all year. I wish I would have played through him throughout my entire college career, but it's better late than never. It's been cool and a fun experience. Just revisited that connection from high school.
Q. Defensively, their numbers are obviously elite. What do you think makes them so special in your mind?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: I mean, like you said, they're an elite team. An elite defense. They will always be in the right spot from what I have seen on film. they have got good size. At the end of the day, they are very well-coached. For us, like I said, that's what we signed up for. I'm ready for big games like that. Very excited.
Q. How influential were you in getting Jared [Wiley] to TCU?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: At first, I wasn't really sure where he was going to go. And then I found out very quickly that he liked TCU from the beginning. Never got the offer. I heard -- I told my coach about him. I said, look, watch this film and it's going to speak for itself. He has got the height, the size. Obviously I did as much as I can, but at the end of the day, it was still his decision. But it worked out.
Q. Getting from Texas and this being the first time in the College Football Playoff, what does that mean to you?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: For sure. Very exciting. Obviously it's my first time. I'm still taking everything in, taking it for what it is. The opportunity to stay focused.
Q. Does TCU offense, people talk about it and say multiple weapons whether it's on the ground, whether it's you, Taye [Barber], why do you think your offense has been able to be so successful this year?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: Just coming off of the stuff we built the past few years. Obviously, the last few years we had our ups, we had our downs. At the end of the day, it was just always something that wasn't clicking for us. The past few years, I feel like we were just kind of getting like we got good potential to be up here. We just decided with the cooperation of Coach [Sonny] Dykes and Coach Kaz [Kazadi] especially, we just put the past behind us and decide to really put our foot down and say we don't need to be a one-off team anymore. We just worked with that attitude. We just kept going from there.
Q. Does Coach [Sonny] Dykes has any qualities that led to his success in his first year at TCU as head coach?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: Surprisingly, yeah. But it's not a conventional thing. It's not any harsh punishments for being late, which he does punish us for being late. But it's not so much -- he's more laid back.
Q. Is he more of a player's coach?
QUENTIN JOHNSTON: Yeah, for sure, all the way around. He's the type of coach that lets you play the game. He is still coaching, if that makes sense. That's something a lot of us aren't used to, especially coming from different schools with different programs.
Q. You had a chance to leave. You could have gone to the NFL. You could have entered the portal. What made you stay? Coming off of 5-7 season, what did you see to make you stay?
STEVE AVILA: The people around me. We've been through so much. I couldn't look myself in the mirror and just give up on these guys. Ride or die. As you can see, there are people putting their bodies on the line just for each other in the season. That's something I felt in past seasons, too. We're all in this together. There were times where I was a little discouraged, but there is not one moment, I guess, in my career here where I thought about leaving. Again, I'm a real relationship guy. And I didn't want to let anybody down by, I guess, being selfish and giving up on the program. So I had a lot of trust. And that's what it has to take for a lot of these guys, too. A lot of these guys could have left. A lot of these guys could have hung up their cleats and been their last year, but they decided to come back. That's one of the things I looked at as well.
Q. You're a fifth-year senior. When did you see this team was going to be pretty good? I think we're going to be really good?
STEVE AVILA: After the first game. We looked at all the stuff we have been through and after we won, I was like, man, we're going to be pretty good. We have been through a lot and just how we handled ourselves. Things didn't go well during the first game, there were moments. It was the way we bounced back. That's when I realized the change from last year to this year. It got me excited. I'm glad all of this paid off.
Q. How much has A.J. Ricker helped your development?
STEVE AVILA: He definitely helped me out a lot, definitely with confidence. It's something I struggled with in the beginning. He told me to trust in my ability. It's not even that. It's just how he teaches us to carry ourselves as men on and off the field. A lot of the stuff we do is hard and he just tell us, you got to do what you got to do to get the job done. In terms of development on the field, he's one of the greatest coaches I've had. He takes care of us. He does all the right things I feel like a coach can do.
Q. He seems like one of those guys, you know what mood he is in right at the beginning.
STEVE AVILA: Definitely. He coaches hard every day. But there are some days where there's a little more emphasis on certain things. That's something we definitely notice about him.
Q. I know the defensive guys yesterday had all mentioned Michigan kind of reminds them of Kansas State. From an offensive perspective, how does Michigan's defense -- do you see similarities with them that maybe you have seen so far this year?
STEVE AVILA: Not -- there are some similarities, but not so much I put two and two together. The only thing I guess I could really point out is just how hard they play. That's almost with every team that we gone against this year. They are coached well, like every other team we faced off against and they play together. I feel like with Kansas State, another thing we pointed out with them is they played well together. It wasn't really a certain position group that just, you know, stood out as much as the other ones. That just goes to show how much they all play together. I feel like that's the comparison I can draw between those two teams, Kansas State and Michigan.
Q. What would you put your team's ability to get off the mat and respond from being down?
STEVE AVILA: Just mentality, just how we carry ourselves. And this all started in the offseason, too. What are you going to do when things go bad? I can say in past seasons, we didn't have that mentality. When something went wrong, we were just like, oh, man, here we go. That's not how we carry ourselves. It's not even when things just go bad. When things go good, when we score a touchdown, okay, well, we've got to move on to the next play. That's one of the things I noticed after our first game. We're going to be okay. Regardless of what happens, we got to keep moving forward. And I feel like that's what's given us success throughout the season.
Q. Some of the defensive lines in the Big 12, the guys from K-State, Texas, how have those games prepared you guys for this Michigan defense?
KENDRE MILLER: Playing NFL-style, like the guy from Texas Tech, Tyree [Wilson], I feel like it's prepared us because we've seen some of the best. Just playing guys like that in a very defensive line.
Q. A lot of people are going to question if you guys can handle their physicality. What's your confidence level that you guys on the offensive line will be prepared?
KENDRE MILLER: I feel like we're very prepared. And anybody who says we can't, you should just look at the film. We come out and play every week. I feel like everybody is saying they are playing a big boy-little boy role with a Big 12 and Big Ten physicality.
Q. TCU hasn't had a bye since mid-September. What has the rest been like?
KENDRE MILLER: It's been great. Everybody feels fresh. Just getting back your legs after going out every week. It's been a blessing for everybody on the team to play how they play when you haven't had bye week since the beginning of the season. Just grinding out every game. To come back from being down isn't easy. And for us to do it consistently every week and still be pretty much fresh, it's crazy.
Q. Having an extended period of time to prepare, has that changed anything?
KENDRE MILLER: We had more downtime. We had a Christmas break. But we handled it pretty well. I feel like Coach [Sonny] Dykes does a great job of getting us recovered and getting our feet back under us.
Q. There's a lot of talk about Michigan's ground game, is that something you have looked at. Have you seen it?
KENDRE MILLER: I have seen stuff in the media about run game. It's kind of looked over, but nothing I really pay attention to. I just look over it because every week we run the ball, pass the ball.
Q. What have you seen this week even after the game from Michigan's defense?
KENDRE MILLER: Physical. Great run, fit team. Their linebackers and safeties play by the run like no one I feel like we have seen so far. I feel like overall physical.
Q. Are there any specific players that you keyed in on when you were looking at film?
KENDRE MILLER: Not really. I just kind of pay attention to their D-line. Every play, see what they're doing. Look at their linebackers, see how they run because we have great speed. I feel like the running back position is all over the field, really. Their safeties play well. They come down, so I feel like we just got to come ready to play.
Q. Are there any Big 12 teams that their defense reminds you of?
KENDRE MILLER: Maybe Ohio State in a way. I feel like we are similar to Ohio State in explosive pays and how fast we play.
Q. What do you kind of own as your brand as a running back? What's your philosophy as a player?
KENDRE MILLER: Staying humble. Do what I do week in, week out, just staying consistent. Not getting too hyped or let anything get to me. Just staying authentic.
Q. Do you think one of the keys on Saturday is for everyone to be healthy?
KENDRE MILLER: Absolutely. We just got to come out and start fast. I feel like if we start fast, the rest will take care of itself.
Q. What is it like representing the Big 12?
KENDRE MILLER: We just look past the hype and just play week in and week out.
Q. Can you tell us some things that people don't know about Max Duggan?
KENDRE MILLER: He's not a big center of attention. He's a great guy. The things he does and how much heart he shows on the field during the huddle and keeping everybody calm and just humble on the sidelines after a big play. Just keeping everybody finishing.
Q. Can you give us an example of how he does something that makes you want to follow him, his leadership style?
KENDRE MILLER: I would say how he keeps not only the offense up but the defense, too. They give us a big play. He will go over there and just be like: We're good, guys. Come on, we can do this. Just things like that, that he keeps not only offense up but the whole team and just kind of keeps everybody calm.
Q. Winning awards hasn't changed him?
KENDRE MILLER: He's a great dude with a great heart.
Q. What have you seen from Michigan's linebackers?
KENDRE MILLER: Very physical, active. Their linebacker core is very physical, they play the run well.
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