Pelini, Brown Meet the Media in Arlington

Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini and Texas Head Coach Mack Brown met the media Friday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington to discuss Saturday night's Big 12 Championship game.

You can access the press conference video here, and below you can find Coach Pelini's conversation with the media, while both transcripts from the conference office are attached above in PDF format.

In addition, Big12Sports.com will share its Saturday pregame production with Huskers.com. The show, hosted by Wendell Barnhouse, will be on air at approximately 1:45 p.m. and end at approximately 3:15 p.m. Former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt will provide previews and analysis of the game, while Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe is also expected to make an appearance during the show.

Saturday night's postgame trophy presentation, as well as both press conferences, also will be streamed live by Big12Sports.com and shared with Huskers.com. A special production of the Big 12's "Live Your Dreams" package will be unveiled on the website during this stream.

Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini
Opening Comment
"It's great to be here. We set on out for the start of the season, and this was our goal to win the Big 12 North, and to be in this game, and we find ourselves here. We have a great group of young men. I'm proud of them, proud of the effort they've put in. We've come a long way in a fairly short period of time. We're excited to play and to be in this game and be playing a tremendous Texas football team. We know it's going to be a great challenge, and we look forward to that challenge."

On how the team adjusted after the Iowa State loss
"Honestly, we don't do much different. I think that's one of the reasons why we're able to fight through times like that, is (because) we have a very consistent approach in how we go about it. We're very black and white as a football staff and as a team.
I believe a game like that, it's really easy to point the finger and to, you know, let things divide you at that point and look for excuses. We don't approach it that way. We took responsibility for what happened in that game, the eight turnovers and the five inside the Iowa State five (yard line). But we caused that, and we didn't execute our football. We didn't do the things necessary to win that game. We took responsibility for it, and we let it make us better in the end. We came together, and we fought through that time and now we find ourselves with an opportunity to win the Big 12."

On if his approach is to play spoiler or win the conference title?
"It's about us. It's not about playing spoiler. It's about us having the opportunity to achieve our goal, which is coming into this season was to win the Big 12. The spoiler aspect of it in our mind, it's not about Texas. It's about Nebraska. If that happens, so be it. There are going to be a lot of things that happen one way or the other and everyone's going to have their different motivations. Ours is strictly motivated by what it does for us and our football team."

On the importance of Nebraska being able to run the ball on Texas' No. 1 ranked rush defense?
"We feel like we're at our best when we're running downhill. We feel that is something we do well, and we're going to need to
do in the game tomorrow night. But we also feel like we're going to need a good mix to move the football on this team. You can't be one dimensional. We know they're a good defense. We know they're very capable. Their stats and the things they've been able to do defensively speaks for itself as far as what we're facing, but it's 60 minutes. We need to execute our football and I'll execute them on both sides of the football. I believe in our offense. I like our plan. I like who is executing it, and we look forward to it."

On Ndamukong Suh's season
"I'm proud of Suh, and how he's developed since I've been here. He was a talent, I believe, when we took over here. And now I believe he's turned that talent and making himself into formidable presence on the football field. He's a heck of a player, obviously, and he's
getting the attention that he deserves and winning the accolades that he's earned. He's been a big part of our defense, but he's only one of 11. He's a big part in it, but we have a lot of guys that have played tremendous football around him, also. And I think it's obvious. We take a team first approach, and it's a big part of the aspect on the defensive side. I believe he makes the guys around him better. And I think it's been great. I'm tremendously proud of him because he made a tough decision to come back. He turned down a lot of money and a year ago. It's nice to see it worked out for him. It turned out to be the right choice, and it's obvious what he's gained from it. He came back with a purpose and I believe he's fulfilled that purpose. Tomorrow night will go a long way to add to what he hopefully came back to accomplish."

On looking if he looks back at his early success as Nebraska's head coach
"Not really. I choose to live in the present. You know, it doesn't really do you any good. I'm disappointed and I think our football team is. If you look back, (you'll see) we're not sitting here 11-1. I believe we had an opportunity to win them all. It didn't work out. That's something that we didn't accomplish. We lost some football games we let get away because of what we did. We didn't execute and do what was necessary to win the football games. But that doesn't matter right now. At this point, it's a matter of where you are, what you have to accomplish. Regardless, my approach is never as good as you think, and never as bad as you think either. You're going to have to keep progressing. Whether we were sitting here 12-0, I know this, that I would still take the approach with our football team that we could be a lot better. There's not a team out there that's fulfilled their potential, and there's not a football player on neither one of these football teams that's fulfilled his potential yet. If you stay in the process, and do what you do each day, you've got to stay with more. That's the approach we take, and it's a very consistent one. It's not about looking back and wondering 'what if'. It's about taking care of the here and now. That's a very consistent approach. That's how we approach it."

On how he will try to slow down Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley
"We feel we're pretty talented with the guys that are going to be covering Jordan. He's a heck of a football player. Colt McCoy understands that also, and he goes to him, rightfully so. They have a lot of talented guys on their offense. If you spend too much
time dedicating your coverage and things to Shipley, then there are a lot of other guys that can hurt you. Believe me, we'll give him his due respect and we'll know where he is. We'll give him attention, but you can't just go too far outside of your scheme to take care of one guy, because that's when you really get hurt. That's really not the approach that we take."

On not doing a walk-through practice on the day before at the game destination
"We do most of our work at home. In fact, this morning, we did our work at home. The last I saw every field is basically 120 yards long (so) I've never understood the idea. I've been around it where you walk in, walk around the stadium and take your shoes off and walk around in your bare feet. I've never understood that ritual, but I think our guys would rather get over to the hotel and relax, and get their minds ready for the next day. It's just a personal preference, I guess. We're going to bring our football team over here today because this is a little different environment. We just wanted to make sure they saw it before we get over here on Saturday."

On what Roy Helu means to his offense?
"Roy's had a really good year for us. He's a tremendous player. He's really fought through tough times this year. As good a
year as he's had, he's been nicked up, he's been banged up, but he keeps answering the bell. I think he's had a great year for
us. I think he's looking forward to this opportunity of playing against a tremendous Texas defense. One thing about Roy is he steps up when the lights are shining the brightest. He always has. I believe he'll play a tremendous game tomorrow night."

On how big of role Alex Henery can play in the game?
"Alex is a tremendous weapon, both as a kicker and a punter. He's become a threat (after) taking on the punting duties and
done a great job this year. When you have a guy back there returning kicks and returning punts like (Jordan) Shipley, and some of the talent they have around them, you need to win that aspect of the game. We need to be good on special teams and we need to take care of our business. Alex will be a big part of that. He's always risen to the occasion. He seems like he comes up with the
biggest kicks when we need him the most. That's just who he is. And I believe he'll answer the bell tomorrow night."

On TCU benefitting from a Nebraska victory over Texas
"They've had a tremendous year. I know Coach Patterson and know what they've accomplished. They've got to be proud of sitting there undefeated. I can say this, we're not playing this game for them, but I'll gladly shake his hand if we're able to help him out."

On what Phillip Dillard has meant to the Nebraska defense
"Phil is a guy who was a full-time player last year, and if you asked him he'd say ge didn't have the best year. He had a long way to go and he had a lot to learn. He kind of went through some difficult times earlier in the year. He needed a little bit of a wake-up call.
He's a tremendous character guy. He's a high-energy guy. He went through that period of time and we started looking at some
other guys. Eventually I told him, 'If you persevere through this time and you get your opportunity, we'll see what you do with it.' Right now I'm as proud of him as any guy I've ever coached. He's had a tremendous year from the time we've inserted him back into the
lineup. He's happy, he's been a tremendous leader on our team. He's been very productive. He's come a long way as a football player. I've been through this a lot of times with a lot of different players and if a lot of guys went through some of the things that Phil went through, they would have shut it down. He didn't choose to do that. It shows the type of character that the young man has."

On the the challenge of defending Texas quarterback Colt McCoy
"Colt's a tremendous football player. He's as multi-talented of a guy that you'll face. He can run and throw and do it with the best of them. Obviously, he has great character and leadership ability. You watch him on film, and he's smart, he knows where to go with the football. He's very decisive. You're talking about a guy who has done about everything you can do as a college football player and obviously it's going to be a tremendous challenge. You put him in this type of offense with the type of talent he has around him, and obviously they're a very well-coached football team. So it's going to be a heck of a challenge for us. Our defense is looking forward to that challenge."