THE MODERATOR: Welcome to our casual opening arrival news conference. We want to welcome you and the Baylor Bears to the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl. I was telling Coach just outside the door that he is the third player to come back as a head coach in our game. So we're excited about that. Excited you're here, Coach. COACH ART BRILES: Thank you. Thank you a bunch. That means I'm either old or -- I guess I'm just old, been around a long time. I do like casual. That's the great thing about Texas. It is not a state where we get all too uptight about how things are done. We just try to do them the right way. So I appreciate the casualness of this little gathering. We are extremely excited to be here to represent Baylor. We're representing Baylor. We're representing the name on the front of our jersey, not the name on the back. We're representing the name that we stand for as a family, as an individual. And that's what we're here for. We understand we have a great Michigan State team that's really -- I mean, I got to -- looking at them since we're playing them, won 52 games the last five years, 41 the last four, Rose Bowl champions, Big Ten champions. They have lost to three opponents the last two years. Three pretty good opponents: Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oregon. So they are a quality, quality football team. I know Mark really well, just through the coaching ranks. Has done a tremendous job with that program. And they've been good a while. And their staff and their players need to be commended for the job they have done representing Michigan State University. Kind of the way our guys feel about Baylor. We have won 40 games in the last four years and had a decent run in the conference over the last couple years. So we feel like we've established ourselves as somebody. When you're looking at one of the better teams in the southwest part of the United States of America, Baylor is one of them. Q. You come here as a player and now back as a coach. Does it have any special meaning? COACH BRILES: I didn't know it until he just said it. He mentioned Ken Hatfield and David McWilliams, too. I know both of them. Extremely fine people. I guess Hatfield was Arkansas. McWilliams was Texas, just guessing. So that's a pretty good fraternity.
I didn't mention this. He mentioned it. We had the first opportunity to come out victorious, and that's kind of the main thing. We've done the bowl games when you win. We've done them when you don't win. It's certainly a lot better January to August coming off a win. So that's -- you know, that's our main drive this week as I'm sure it is Michigan State. But, no, to come back to the Cotton Bowl, as you know, growing up in Texas, if you are a Texas high school football player, you play college in the state of Texas. I don't know how long the Cotton Bowl has been around. I'm going to guess 65, 70 years? You say 79. Yeah. So my goodness. I mean, what's that, 1941? Q. 1937. COACH BRILES: '37? Okay. That's a long time. So 37 and 79 is 2015. I'm usually decent with math. So that's a long time. And I actually did a little research on it. The oldest bowl in the state of Texas -- not to take any glamor away from the Cotton Bowl -- is the Sun Bowl, which I had no idea until I started researching it. Because I was thinking Cotton Bowl has got to be the oldest bowl in the state. It is certainly the most prestigious in our state. It is a big, big thrill for us to be able to be here. And especially for our players and our families. It is a trip they can make, a chance to come see them play and hang out with them a little bit. So to me, from a family standpoint, that's a big deal. Q. Coach, I know you just pretty much got here. Is this already a little bit of a different bowl experience just because of how close everything else, the players kind of being able to arrive on their own? COACH BRILES: It is really nice. Of course, we played in Houston, played in San Antonio in a bowl game. It is fairly similar from that standpoint. But, if I forgot something, I can drive an hour and a half and get it and get back, you know? So from that standpoint, it's really nice. I would rather pack a car than pack an airplane any day. Q. Most of your recruiting is obviously in this state, if not all of it. How important to get that publicity? Everyone knows who you are, but three of the last five years it has been inside the state? COACH BRILES: It is huge. It is kind of like Terrance Williams having a good year for the Dallas Cowboys. It would be nice if he had a good year for
St. Louis. But, if he is having a good year for Dallas, it is a huge deal for recruiting. It is a big deal. Any time your guys are from the state of Texas and doing well in the state of Texas, certainly helps from a recruiting standpoint. Like I said, it is a big deal, like I mentioned, for our players and their families. And it is also a big deal for the Baylor fans. Our people can get to the game. they want to drive up and back the day of the game, that's practical. It's definitely something that, when you're checking out pros and cons, it's a pro when you take advantage of it. If Q. You guys just played in this stadium. Do you think that's an advantage? COACH BRILES: Yeah, I mean, it is. We've been here and played a few times. But they're going to work out there every day. And the time they get in there two or three times, I mean, it will feel just like it will feel for us. It is a great football venue. Like I said, I think it is the best NFL stadium in America. And I think for what we have to offer with our stadium, we have the best collegiate stadium in America. We are blessed to be able to play in both. Q. Art, how much of your Michigan State preparation was before you ever got here? How much of that was waiting for this week? COACH BRILES: It is all done. We've been finished up for I'd say at least a week. So it's -- we might fine-tune a few things in the next three or four days. But we're locked down and ready to go, just like they are. Q. What are your thoughts on them? COACH BRILES: They're good. They're real good. Like I mentioned earlier, you don't have to look much farther than reality and positive results, which is what they've had. They do a great job both sides of the ball, special teams. That's why they've been as productive as they've been. So it's a great test and a great challenge and a great opportunity all mixed in one for us to represent Baylor. And that's who we are representing, like I said, the name on the front, the name on the back. Q. The last time we talked, you hadn't made up your mind about Kendal [Briles] on the field or in the press box. Has that all been ironed out? COACH BRILES: We are still kind of working through it. We are making sure we can get everything relayed properly if he goes in the box. He is probably
right now going to stay on the field and we're going to roll from there and probably get another set of eyes up in the box to counteract that. He'll be calling the plays, and he'll probably do it from the sidelines. Q. Does it change much with him calling? COACH BRILES: I don't think so. Q. Other than Phil being up there? COACH BRILES: No, it really won't. There will be a little bit of difference which I like. The thing that's hard about bowl games, it is like first games of the season. First game of the season everybody watches you for six months, so you got to be a little bit different. This is going to make us a little different from a tendency standpoint, which is a good thing. It will be different in some categories. But what we are doing is pretty good. Philip [Montgomery] did a great job. Like I said, we are indebted to him. I'm very thankful for what he did for Baylor University and our football team and very happy for his new journey at Tulsa. Q. Will you wait to get through the game to do the OC deal? What's your plan there? COACH BRILES: Probably not. He's [Kendal Briles] going to be the OC. But I'm not big on announcements. So we'll just kind of ride through it and let it happen. There is a couple other things that are going to happen within the staff that we'll just take care of as soon as the bowl game is over. Right now what we're -- we're going to try to go in for 60 minutes. That's our purpose. And all the other stuff will take care of itself later on. Q. What's it mean to finish what you started? QB BRYCE PETTY: It is everything. Last year we didn't get to do that. Had one big play. It is hard because we didn't finish. I don't want to have that feeling again, especially for these guys that I played with, grown up with, especially Coach Briles. That's everything on my mind. Everything on our mind. We are here to do one thing and that's win.
Q. Does that stick with you all winter, that one play? QB BRYCE PETTY: It is amazing how one loss can stick with you for a couple months. Six months, to be exact. For us, like I said, it is everything. It stayed with us. It has put a chip on our shoulder. We can't come in thinking we're hot stuff. We did that one time this year, and it didn't turn out well. So, you know, I think it kind of fueled everything because it brought us back to where we were with the Fiesta Bowl last year. So we are not going to let that happen again. Q. Does it mean anything to end your career in Texas? QB BRYCE PETTY: It is a blessing. It really is. Any time you get to play, especially this post-season. Yeah, kind of have it in my backyard a little bit -- it is a big backyard. But it is close to it. So, no, it's great. This whole ride has been awesome. And we got one more left. We are going to give it all we got. Q. Has this bowl experience already been a little bit different? You guys were basically able to come here by yourselves. I'm sure you were home and you, basically, just came right here. QB BRYCE PETTY: Yeah. I think that's the great part about it. I think -- not to compare, last year was last year. We were caught up in everything and the whole vicinity and location and location and where everything is at. So a lot of -- for our guys, this is home. So it will be great. I think it is going to be a good thing. Guys will want to show off for their home crowd. It should be a great crowd for us. Q. Not in a game situation, but with Kendal [Briles] taking over the job that Coach Montgomery had, how do you feel like that might affect your team or have you already seen a difference? QB BRYCE PETTY: If anybody can do it, it is definitely him. We've had a great week of practice. I haven't felt like we slowed down or missed a beat at all. It is certainly going to be different with the flow of the game and things like that. Like I said, if anybody can do it, it would be him. He knows the system in and out. And we have already had a good relationship. So things that I would see on the field, we would go back out and Coach Monty (Montgomery) would walk through the other plays. And Coach Kendal [Briles] would be talking back and forth with each other. We already know how we operate, how we work. So it is going to be a challenge but a good challenge, one that I'm excited for. And it is a great opportunity for Coach Monty, so I wish him all the best. Q. (Question about getting up to speed.)
QB BRYCE PETTY: I don't think we are going to have any trouble getting up, getting ready. If you need any motivation, you are in the wrong sport. We are playing a great team in Michigan State, a very well-coached team. So I don't think any added motivation is going to be there. Just little things, little kinks of playing again. Like you said, we've been off. So that part is different. So you focus on the little things like I know Coach Briles will be stressing and Coach Kaz and those guys. It is about one thing, it is about finishing. You get one chance to prove it. You get one chance to etch your name in the record books. So shouldn't be any added motivation for that. Q. (Question about the uniform.) QB BRYCE PETTY: We chose it. It's going to be the chrome. If we look good, feel good, play good. If we don't look good, we don't feel good, we don't play good. Q. What are your plans after the bowl game? Will you return to school? QB BRYCE PETTY: No, I'm done. I'm done with school. Graduated, I guess, a couple days ago. So done with that. Really, I only got one thing on my mind right now. That stuff will take care of itself when it gets here. All I'm focused on right now is January 1st and Michigan State. Sorry. That doesn't answer your question. Q. What do you see from their defense? QB BRYCE PETTY: They're very well-coached. It speaks for itself. They're Top Ten in the nation. So we're going to have to be very sound with how we do things. Again, it's going to be like the Kansas State week. It's going to be about little successes. They are not going to give up big plays. They're not going to let you -- they're kind of a bend but don't break defense, which is tough for us. We like going deep. We like making explosive plays. So for us, like I said, they are little successes. And they got great front forward, front center. They have a really good corner. So it is going to be a great matchup. It really is. I'm excited. Q. You and Connor Cook know each other?
QB BRYCE PETTY: Unfortunately. I'm just kidding. Nah, I love him to death. We kind of hit it off this summer. He's actually already texting me. It will be fun to compete with him. He is a great player, a great quarterback. So any time that you get that matchup that you actually know the guy, worked with the guy, you get to put them on the field, it kind of adds to the competition factor. Q. What do you think of what they have done here and how does this compare to the other places you have been for bowl week? You have been here before because you're not too far from home. QB BRYCE PETTY: You talking about the hotel and the whole thing? Yeah, I mean, this place is top notch. Too fancy for me, really. I am going to enjoy myself here, as we should. We all got one thing on our mind. It doesn't matter if we are staying here or at the Marriott or whatever. You got to win. So it doesn't matter how good your stay was if you don't win. We're going to enjoy it, but then we got to go to the line. Q. What difference did Corey [Coleman] make once he got healthy? How much impact did he make? QB BRYCE PETTY: You guys saw it. That guy is explosive. About as explosive as it gets. Really a game changer. You have got to get those teams on your team stepping up. Corey's a leader on and off the field and has an extremely tough work ethic. What he does is production on the field from what he does off the field. So happy to see him come along the way he has and looking forward to having a big bowl game for him. Q. (Question about AT&T stadium.) QB BRYCE PETTY: We played in it a couple years now. That part is good for us. There is not anything new. We've played in it before. We know the ins and outs of it. It is not the Taj Mahal anymore, I guess, if you look at it that way. The first time you go in there, everybody is looking at how big it is. For us, we have been here before. We know what it's like. It will be like home turf. Q. We asked Bryce the question about finishing the year after what happened a year ago. What did you learn from that? Do you feel there will
be much difference with the way you prepared for the game? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: I think we had a lot better preparation knowing that we don't have to definitely go a whole seven, eight months with that same feeling we had after last year. I think the whole team will be bought in a little bit more, just really a lot more focused. Q. How long did that stick with you last year? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: Until we got out there against SMU. You can't really prove anything just going against the offense and just playing against our own guys until you actually go out there and play someone different. So it stuck around for a while. Q. Is there anything that changed going into this bowl preparation than what you had done before? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: We took it the same. We definitely just knew we are playing a really good Michigan State team, and we have to be focused on all cylinders because it is a different type of football than we see in the Big 12 a lot. Q. Talk about Michigan State and what you know about them. DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: They are a big run team, and they will try to run it down our throat and they're -- I mean, that's their primary goal. If we can stop the run, then we'll be good. If you can't stop it, then, I mean, it will be a long night. We just know that they're a good offensive team, big guys, good running back, good quarterback. Q. What's the most similar team you guys have seen to them? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: I would say maybe Oklahoma a little bit or something. Just thinking of those real big guys that are kind of dual threat but like to pound around a little bit. So probably Oklahoma. Q. How different has this bowl been? You have had other bowls in Texas, but to get up here by yourselves and be able to not travel as a team to get here. DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: It is good. I think definitely staying in Texas, it is good for most of the guys on our team because they are not out of their comfort zone and it is not a bunch of distractions and everything for them just being here in Dallas. So I think they will be fine with it all.
Q. Is everybody over not being in the final four and just taking care of this bowl game? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: After that day, there was nothing we could control with that. We really just got to focus on Michigan State and the Cotton Bowl. It happened. It's done. We got Michigan State. Q. Do you have any Cotton Bowl memories growing up at all? Anything whatsoever? DT BEAU BLACKSHEAR: Not at all (laughter). Quotes by Caption Northwest, Inc. -- 425-343-4946