Opening statement:
"What can be said that hasn't already been said? We've got a game Thursday at K-State - great football team, great tradition. They have a very knowledgeable and experienced coaching staff, so it's a great challenge for our football team. We've been pretty good in November the last three or four years, so we need to continue that tradition."

On the bye week:
"I think it helps a lot of people. We had a couple guys banged up, so it helped them get well a little bit. But for (Jarrett) Stidham, he's been going all along anyway. In practice, our twos get as many reps as our ones, so from that standpoint, there is no difference other than that he has been working with a few different people over the last four practices."

On a true freshman QB starting with this team as opposed to teams in the past:
"Not to downgrade the '09 class, the '08 class, or the '03 class at Houston when we had a freshman quarterback that started, because there are good players all across the table. It's about confidence and establishing an image, a perception, a trademark, a tradition that takes time, effort, attitude, support, and facilities. From that standpoint, he's certainly walking into a situation where the car is a little shinier than in '09 when Nick Florence did it, in '08 when Robert (Griffin III) did it, or in '03 when Kevin Kolb did it."

On K-State:
"They're a good football team. They're a Big 12 opponent. We played them last year in the last game of the season for the Big 12 championship. That's reality. So we have a lot of respect for that football team and for that program, and if you don't, then you don't understand football and you don't understand programs."

On Andrew Billings' health:
"He's close. I don't know about full speed. I would classify him as in the low 90s [percent healthy], which is full speed enough for us. We like his presence. We like his attitude. We certainly like his ability."

On if the offense will be altered and expectations tempered with Stidham starting for Seth Russell:
"That would be no, and heck no."

On his level of interest in the first College Football Playoff ranking release on Tuesday:
"I won't be at the TV paying close attention, but it'll be a topic of interest. That's why they start putting these standings out before the final one. As we saw last year, that's the only one that we need to pay close attention to because there's so much fluidity between now and then. It's a point of interest and it's a point of motivation either positively or negatively, however you choose to use it. Am I on pins and needles? No. If we take care of our business then we'll help determine how we stand."

News on Seth's surgery and recovery:
"A lot of really good news on that end. Of course he had the surgery on Friday. I'm sure everyone's aware of where he was and how it went, but just from my knowledge talking to some people involved, everything went as well as could be expected. We expect a full and healthy recovery. He's up, got out of the hospital on Saturday, he's moving around, he's comfortable. He's Seth; he's a fighter, and we're anxious for him to get back on campus and back around us. But everything turned out as well as we could have hoped for. That's the most important thing."

On how valuable Stidham enrolling at Baylor early is as he takes over the starting QB job:
"It just makes all the difference in the world. If you're a QB and you have the ability to get out mid-term, that's certainly what you need to do. When he [Stidham] steps onto the field Thursday, he will have been at Baylor, on this campus, for 11 months. He came in here as an 18-year old and he turned 19 over the summer and he's changed - he's different. He's experienced a lot, been around a lot, and felt a lot. He's ready. The guy is ready and that is of the uppermost importance."

On if they look at the rest of the games as playoff games:
"Really that is how we're looking at it. It's not in reality that, because in playoffs you either do it or go home - we're going to keep going. But, the way the system is set up, if you're goal is to get into the College Football Playoff, then from that mindset we are in the playoffs. Those of us with low intellect understand that. It's not that hard to figure out. It doesn't mean that is the reality, because a lot of things can happen between now and December when the last one comes out. We saw that last year. I think we started out 13th and ended up fifth. That's just the way it happens. There's a lot of stuff that can happen. We can't get tied up into that. Our job is to go out and win on the football field. We have a great task in front of us on Thursday night in Manhattan. A great opportunity for us too. We're very motivated and very excited."

On if Stidham is ready:
"All I can do is go by on what I've seen. That's kind of how you judge people by, about what you see and what you hear. I've been doing it 37 years, I'd be totally shocked if he's not very composed, very competitive, very intelligent, and very on cue, with everything he does Thursday for our football team. You go by what you've seen and what you feel, and what you've been subjected to. That's what we've noticed since being around him. He's got an old soul, don't look at him as that 'F' word, because he's not. He's a ready quarterback, and that's the way we look at it."

On possibility of Kansas State trying to rattle Stidham early:
"I don't know. That's for them to answer. I just have no idea. If he was incapable than I'd say yes. If you're going to challenge someone to run, you better make sure you can out-run them first."

Going back to the quarterback battle last summer, on what made him move Stidham up to the No. 2, and move Chris Johnson over:
"The quarterback took place in the spring more or less. It just came down to that we felt like (Russell) was a little more ready, a little more consistent, and we felt like Seth was someone who had done everything we had asked three years prior, and had done everything to prove that he was ready to go, and everything else fell in place. It felt like Chris had other abilities that could help us in other places, but it felt like he was a very capable quarterback also. So we're glad he's back in the room and helping us out there."

On "Novembers to Remember", if that is something they talk about as a team:
"We do. We really do. And you said it right there, that we always remember November. I'm not sure you could exactly quote to me what happened at SMU and give me a run down on the game, besides maybe that it was 28-21 at the half, and ended up being 56-21. But as far as running down game by game, play by play, who played well, who didn't, and what the ramifications are in November, I don't know. But you can tell me what happened probably last year at a home or away game that Baylor had in November. That's what's important. If you want to have a good football team you better be good late."