What Neal Brown Had to Say Following the Loss to Texas Tech
Opening Statement
I appreciate you all being here. The first half was inexcusable. I apologize to the fans. (I’m) pissed with how we played in the first half. We weren’t ready to go. Our energy level was exceeded by theirs (Texas Tech), and it was not good enough. We gave ourselves a hole that we struggled to dig out of. I’m proud of how our guys competed in the second half. That’s how we should play at all times. I appreciate the fans for staying into the game. What it came down to was that we needed to score a touchdown. We had it in the red zone, and we had to kick a field goal. (We) weren’t good enough on the last drive. That’s what it came down to. I liked how our guys competed in the second half, but the first half was inexcusable.
On the defense in the first half
They did a good job. They got us out-flanked a couple times. They made some plays on balls down the field. Again, I thought their (Texas Tech) energy level was better than ours. They converted some third downs early in the contest. We had a good interception on the trick play on the first drive. Then we went three-and-out and had to punt. We didn’t punt it great. They (Texas Tech) had a short field, drove it down, converted a couple third downs and did a nice job. They ran the ball early on us. We shut it down until the last drive, but they had some success with that.
On the second to last possession
We ran the ball and had two really good runs. We got into third-and-three. We had a good play, then missed the throw. Maybe it was four downs, you always kind of question yourself after the fact, but I felt like we had really good answers. We played well in the second half offensively. We kept them off balance, but we needed to score a touchdown.
On if he thought about going for it on fourth-and-two
That’s kind of what I just said, I should have. When you look back, you always (question decisions). That’s the one play. You’re down by three, so you’re rolling the dice, but the thought goes through your mind. We kicked a field goal and tied it. Then they went 80 yards on us. As a coach, you’re thinking that we’ve gotten after them other than the field goal in the second half. We had a really good kick, pinned them back to start on the 11, but they hit the big play. I thought we had a chance to get a sack, but he got free (Texas Tech senior quarterback Henry Colombi). It’s a game. The ball bounces funny ways. That was a bad ball, probably five yards behind him, and he made a play, so credit to them.
On redshirt senior quarterback Jarret Doege’s performance
(When he missed senior running back Leddie Brown), that’s going to happen. That’s in the middle, it’s a scramble play that was out of play. If people want to get pissed at me, that’s fine. I’m fine with that, but that kid played well in the second half. He played well. I mean, what is he? He’s 25-of-33 for 318 yards. Most of that was in the second half. If they want to be upset with all of us in the first half, that’s fair. I thought he played well in the second half. There might have been one or two that he’d like to have back, but he played well. He gave us a chance.
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