Texas Longhorns LB Jaylan Ford Says Team is 'Pissed Off' Due to Lack of Respect

Texas Longhorns linebacker Jaylan Ford doesn't think his team has received the respect it deserves this season.

Texas Longhorns linebacker Jaylan Ford was all smiles following Saturday's thrilling 33-30 overtime win over the Kansas State Wildcats but admitted that he and his team were "absolutely" pissed off headed into the pivotal Big 12 matchup.

Ford thinks that those outside of the program aren't giving the Longhorns the respect they deserve despite being ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Sept. 10 and boasting an 8-1 record headed in Saturday's meeting with the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth.

"It's a respect thing," Ford said of why the team is 'pissed off.' "I just don't think that people outside of this organization, I feel like we don't get the respect we deserve all the time. 

"And my message to everybody on the team was we gotta go take it. If they don't want to give it to us, go out there and leave no doubt that, at the end of the game, they should be saying this is a good team. This is a great team win, a good team. They got heart and they play with physicality, all those types of things. At the end of the game, I don't want to leave any doubt or any question about it, and I feel like that's how we get our respect."

Jaylan Ford / © Maria Lysaker, USA TODAY

Ford says he feels this lack of respect comes from the teams that Texas plays.

"I don't think we're respected well enough, from opponents," Ford said. "Honestly, I think that's just something that you have to have in order to have an edge. Just looking for something to drive this team, and we kind of just used that and ran with it."

As far as TCU goes, Ford says the jury is still out on whether the Horned Frogs are going to give the Longhorns the respect they deserve.

"We'll see how much they respect us," he said. "We got to go out there and play."

Ford, who has established himself as arguably the top leader of an elite Texas defense dating back to last season, came up with a huge fumble recovery in the third quarter of the win over K-State. After Longhorns defensive end Ethan Burke sacked K-State quarterback Will Howard, Ford jumped on the bal;l;

Though K-State would end up coming back and tying things up, this was a turning point in a game that came down to the last play, though Ford and the defense were able to come up with a crucial stop at the goal line in overtime to secure the win.

The Longhorns will be hoping there aren't as many tense moments on Saturday when Texas and TCU kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT.