Opening statement:
"We're excited about being home, of course, and having a chance to open up McLane Stadium in 2015 on the Brazos River with our football team for our fans. So, it'll be a good deal. A lot of energy without question; it's a great game day atmosphere so hopefully the weather will be nice and be a great day for college football on Saturday afternoon.

The game the other night, it was kind of what we expected going in: a very good environment. SMU played hard, our guys played hard, and it just felt like a hard-fought victory. It's tough to get out there and win on the road to start the season, and we're fortunate to do it. I was really proud of our guys for their resiliency and keeping our composure because the momentum really flipped there in the second quarter -- you could really feel it and I thought we fought through it. The goal line stand right before halftime was a huge turning point in the game. The defense came out and got a couple of stops early in the third that allowed the offense to get going, and once we separated a bit, we felt like we'd be in pretty good shape and we were fortunate enough to do it. It was a good opening game win. It's all about winning, that's what it comes down to at the end of the day and we got one.

We've got Lamar this week, a team that, at this time five years ago, I would've thought they'd be Division I. When UTSA and Texas State were making their move to be D-I, I think they were in the same situation and they tried to get there but I think it just faltered off. They went 8-4 last year -- they're a good football team. I think you can look across the country and you can see that everybody has good players and anything can happen so our job and motivation this week is to be better. We've got to get better, play better, play smarter, be more intense, have more attention to detail and got to get in sync a little better. We've got to get ready to be a good football team. It's hard to judge off just one game, but we had some positives and of course some negatives to go with it."

On if giving up 21 points in the first half was due to Orion Stewart and Shawn Oakman's absence or not knowing what SMU's offense would look like at first:
"I don't think [Stewart and Oakman] had anything to do with it at all, honestly. It was just playing a good team. We got a delay of game on our first kickoff after going down and scoring, so back it up five and they end up starting on the plus side of the 50 and they hit a bomb first play. The one thing that could not happen happened, and that's your biggest concern going into a game is letting another team have believe and have hope. Last year was just the opposite here. We held them, returned a punt down, then scored, then got a turnover and scored. So, we were up 14-0 before you know what's going on. That takes a little bit of the fight out of them. This year they were at home, they had a reason to fight, and they did. I think that's a big factor and we knew [Matt] Davis would make plays, we knew he was good. There's a reason that when he came out of high school he was the number one quarterback in the state at that time. He's a good player and he poses some problems for you defensively. I think we just needed to settle down and play. A lot of times when you start a game, start a season, it's a feeling out process and I think we saw that on both sides of the ball."

On how to keep all the receivers happy with just one ball:
"Our deal is always about being a great teammate -- that's the hardest thing that you have to try to influence on these guys when they come out of high school because they've been the team. When you're the team you don't have to worry about being a teammate. Most of them had been the team for their high school. So my job and our job is to teach these guys how to be great teammates -- it's hard to be a great teammate; it really is -- to see the big picture and always do what's best for the team and not yourself. It doesn't always work that way, it's always a constant challenge to make everybody feel like they have a chance to contribute, not only with the ball in their hands but also without the ball in their hands. That's why they call us coach; you do the best you can do and try to get everyone the opportunities that they deserve, that they've worked for and that they've earned, and then you go. The guy at quarterback who started the other night sat for three years. [Seth Russell] didn't just show up and play -- he's been here for four years and sat for the past three. There's a timetable that most people have to go through if you want to be able to contribute at a high level."

On how big of a lift it'll be to have Oakman and Stewart back:
"Oakman and Stewart, the thing that they bring to the table is just energy and excitement. They're great locker room guys, they've got a lot of energy, a lot of experience and they're really good football players. They bring a lot of energy and excitement to our football team, so that'll be the biggest key for them and for us."

On how the team can get up to play an FCS school like Lamar:
"The great thing about competitive sports is that the people in the locker room are competitors. Usain Bolt isn't going to go out there and run a 10.27 because the competition isn't strong -- he's going to run a 9.91 or a 9.19 -- he's going to run his best. Competitors, they play. They perform. That's their job, to get out there and do their best every time they step onto the field. Our motivation is to win. Our job is to go win, to compete and get better and that's what we're going to do.

On Seth Russell's 50% completion percentage, and rating his performance and Jarrett Stidham's performance:
"I really thought Seth was right on cue. Exactly what we thought we'd get from him. He'd been really sharp the last week in practice, I mean really sharp. That's why I was surprised at his percentage because we track percentage at practice every day and he had been in the 77-82% range all through the past week and really sharp. The thing I was proud of was how sharp he was mentally. Everything he told us on the sideline in the game was right on with what we saw on the tape, and that's a great sign. He's a really sharp guy who understands the game. He's got a little bit of fearlessness in him that we like but we'll have to make sure doesn't step out of the box. But I thought he did a great job in a completely different situation than any quarterback has ever had in the history of this University. Stidham is a guy that is a tremendous upside guy. He's really good and is really sharp also. So we're in good shape for a while."

On Corey Coleman:
"He's where he needs to be all the time and he's consistent. He's a leader on and off the field and he's somebody that I look up to. He's a tremendous leader as all the guys look up to him. He's going to do everything he needs to do and not make a big deal about it."

On the mindset against Lamar:
"We have to expect them to be the top team in the nation. If you come in with the mindset that they're a lower team, they can surprise you. We have to stay up and stay positive and continue to get better."

On the offense:
"We were really happy. We had 8.1 yards per carry, I think, and that's huge for us to be able to do that. Hopefully we can continue to do that. It's been really cool to see the chemistry come together and play like we did."

On Seth Russell's performance:
"He did great. Outstanding job. I think he would say he did sub-par, but from what I saw, he did great. There are still a few little kinks to work out with long balls and receivers, but they'll get that worked out pretty quickly."

On Seth running:
"We just have to be on our toes a little more than usual. We love that he can run, but we just have to be around the ball more up and down the field. It's another awesome weapon for us in the back field. It puts more pressure on us up front. We have to be around him a little more, but we're up for the challenge."

On the second quarter against SMU:
"Penalties killed us in the second quarter. We had a couple of three-and-outs, which we could have potentially had opportunities to score. SMU did slow the ball down a little bit but they did decrease the play count for us."

On Jarrett Stidham's first touchdown pass:
"He was extremely excited. I was joking around with him on the sideline and I walked up to Seth and said, `he's trying to be like you,' because Seth's first pass was a touchdown and his first run was a touchdown. Jarrett's first pass was a touchdown, too."

On the running back rotation:
"On the first two drives, our tempo and speed were really good. Our running backs put the defense on their heels. We all have a different style. We don't have to play the whole game. With the rotation we have, it's pretty cool."

On tying a Baylor school record:
"I didn't hear about it until after the game, but if I'd had a little more playing time, maybe I could have taken it. But it's great to be in good company with those guys who hold that record."

On spreading the wealth among the receivers:
"We don't get mad over all that. We go with the flow. We're happy for guys who can get catches. When I went out and Chris [Platt] scored, we were all happy because it was his first career touchdown. So you just want to be around those guys and lift them up because it's a special moment."

On his performance Friday night:
"I put on a little bit of weight in the offseason. I'm about 222 now. I don't want to go down at the first contact. None of our receivers want to do down with one contact, one hit. I just try to make the most out of it. That's what I did Friday night."

On #WRU:
"We are just a spark in this offense. We like to get the ball in our hands and go out there for touchdowns. We have nicknames. Corey is Superman, I'm Batman and KD is Flash. We're just trying to pull out our superhero abilities."

On Seth Russell's performance Friday night:
"I'm happy for him. He did a great job staying comfortable in the pocket and getting good reads. He did everything right throughout the game and we stand behind him. We're ready for him to gain hype for the extent of this offense."

On penalties:
"They're all unacceptable. You have to know that in practice you can get away with a little pushing and all that, but when it comes to the game, you've got to clean it all up and tighten it all up. Instead of just being aggressive against receivers, I just focus on being aggressive going after the ball. We've worked on it as a team and you won't see it anymore."

On starting slow against SMU:
"We have to start fast. We've been starting a little slow and then kicking it up, but if we want to win, we have to start off fast. We have to get it together."

On being a veteran:
"I'm more focused. I know I'm being watched. As a freshman or sophomore, there's a little more leniency, but now, as a junior, I have to do a better job."

On more attention from opponents:
"I've always been double teamed and triple teamed, but now they're putting shots on me. They want to get me out of the way so they can get their ball running or thrown. So there's a little more attention on me now."

On the adjustment to SMU:
"It was new to us. We watched film, but we didn't watch film on SMU, we watched film on Clemson. So it was an adjustment. The second half helped us a lot because we came out with an edge. We just came out flat in the first half."

On being one of only two new starters on defense:
"They really embraced us. It's an honor to play with those guys. They're great players to be around and great guys off the field, too. It's truly a blessing to play with them."