Texas Postgame Quotes
vs. Nebraska
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007
Running back Jamaal Charles
On breaking out in the fourth quarter
I just came out here and tried to run downhill as hard as I could. I know I’ve been going through some stuff, like fumbling the ball, and I just wanted to get over that. The offensive line opened some holes (for me). And Nebraska’s defense was good. The coaches have talked to me a lot about running the ball tougher and harder, so I can hit the holes more, like Vondrell (McGee). The main thing I tried to do when I went out there was just try to run downhill instead of running sideways when I saw a hole.
On the zone-read
Basically, (Nebraska) was blitzing a lot, and so the linebackers were coming up towards the line and that’s when the (offensive) linemen picked them up and when I saw the hole, I just tried to run straight up the field.
On how today’s game affected his confidence
After I ran that long run, it just came. It was my time, it was my time to show everybody what I can do, and I felt good today. Coach (Ken) Rucker came by my side and he told me he was happy for me that I got over all that adversity, and that I just needed to go out there and play like that.
On when John Chiles came in the huddle for Colt McCoy
We were just trying to stay focused because our starting quarterback was down. When John came in, we knew we just needed to stay focused. And even though Colt was out we still had to gain yards because we were down. We were trying to come from behind, so it gave us some momentum when I had that big run. And then Colt came back in on the next play and everything started rolling.
On continuing the Texas tradition of 1,000-yard rushers
It means a lot to this team and it means a lot to me and my linemen and my coaches and the offensive line and running back coaches. This is my first time going over 1,000 (yards) at Texas, so I’m really happy about that. They were blitzing a lot, so when I saw the hole I broke through it.
Quarterback Colt McCoy
On why he left the game
I got the breath knocked out of me, so I just needed a little bit of time.
On Jamaal Charles’ 40-yard touchdown run
Yeah, it was (a change at the line). I switched the call up, and I was glad that the offensive line reacted and Jamaal (Charles) reacted. It ended up working out for us, so that was big.
On coming back into the game
When I got back in the huddle I could see the fire in the (offensive) linemen’s eyes, and I knew there was something different about them. This team is awesome. They never give up and they believe in each other. I got back in the huddle and I told them, ?Look me in my eyes and I’m going to look everyone of you in your eyes. Let’s go to work. Let’s play. This is why we play college football right here. Let’s go win.’ And it seemed like we had the momentum from that point on.
On Nebraska blitzing
Well, some games are like this. It took us a whole half to figure out what was going to work. I’ve never been in a game where they’re going to blitz every play. Literally every play (Nebraska) was bringing somebody and most of the time they were bringing everybody. And we had worked on that a little bit, but that hadn’t been part of what they were doing all year.
On Nebraska
They had nothing to lose coming here, and you’ve got to give them credit for what they did against us.
On Jamaal Charles
Jamaal played awesome. He’s got to give credit and we’ve all got to give credit to the offensive line because they were opening up holes, and that started to work. We started clicking when we could run the ball, and it helped us win the game.
Wide Receiver Quan Cosby
On the adjustments made at halftime
The number one adjustment was just to go out there and keep playing. We knew that Nebraska was going to keep fighting and coming at us, but to go out there and do the little things, just handling the blitz because they were blitzing more than I’ve ever seen playing ball. We went out there and did a little bit better job of that.
On Jamaal Charles' performance
The numbers say it in itself. He was breaking tackles, making huge plays, taking care of the ball and doing everything he is capable of. I’m just really happy for him.
On what he thinks the key was to Charles’ success
I think it was heart because we kept playing and we were patient. Our guys kept blocking, the o-line, the receivers blocking downfield and Colt was making really good checks. It was a total team effort and just going out there and not giving up.
On helping Coach Brown get 100 wins
It’s huge; it’s an unbelievable accomplishment for anyone especially at the college level. Then in the amount of time he has been here, 10 years, 100 wins is unbelievable. We’re just glad we could get it tonight, the home crowd was amazing and it’s just another great thing besides the win.
On Jamaal Charles
It just shows that he has a heart of gold. He’s been through a couple of tough situations, but he kept running and focused on the things that he really needed to. He ran really hard and it was huge for us today. Almost 300 yards, three touchdowns, that and kicking game and defense was the difference in the game. We owe a lot to him in that win.
Defensive Tackle Frank Okam
On getting to the quarterback and shifting momentum after the fumble
They were doing a lot of different protections for the majority of the game. Our blitzes weren’t getting there at first, but we made some adjustments and the guys out there gave me a one-on-one so I had to make a play.
On if the fumble brought any flashbacks to last year’s Nebraska game
I thought about it, especially it being my next to last game in this stadium. You want to do something that everyone can remember. Just being able to help the team in a critical situation was big for us.
On changing the momentum
It was huge coming out there and dropping that on us. You can start wondering about what you’re doing out there, but after that we kept them one-for-seven on third downs in the second half, that was big because it gave our offense a chance to get the ball and score and make plays. Getting the turnovers was big because swung the momentum back to us. We fed on it and got a squeaker.
On helping Coach Brown get 100 wins
That was huge. He tried to keep it under wraps but some of the older guys knew what was going on and knew that this was going to be a big day for him and the program. We wanted to get the win for him, especially getting it at home and against a great opponent like Nebraska. It was great.