Press Conference: Elko & Co. travel to Austin for Friday's Lone Star Showdown

The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:

Mike Elko

• Recapping Samford, our Players of the Week: OL Robert Bourdon. DL was Marco Jones. Off. POTW was Amari Daniels. Def. POTW was Landon Rink. I want to give a shoutout to Noah Mikhail there. Special teams POTW was Rink. It would have been Jayvon Thomas if the kicker hadn't tackled him.
   
• They are a good football team. Anytime you play this game, it has a different energy about it.
   
• The way things broke this year limited our ability to tie-break for the SEC Championship. In another year, it wouldn't have taken the same. You have teams battling it out.
   
• With the magnitude of this game, it isn't the first time we are watching them. We spent time on them in the offseason. For the players, you are trying to balance getting them the mental reps for the game. Physically, you are one day closer. You try to balance both of those things.
   
• Texas has played a lot of young guys and new starters. You have seen a lot of growth. 
   
• Being explosive helps on the road. Sometimes it's hard to execute 15 straight plays. Explosiveness has helped us.
   
• Tyler White has had a tough challenge. He has leaned on the resources of our program. We got his brother here, so he wasn’t dealing with it in isolation. Losing his dad is a challenging thing to go through.
   
• Arch Manning is a talented quarterback who can make throws and plays with his feet.
   
• You know the emotions will be high. You have to find laser focus. Sometimes you want something so bad that it blinds you.
   
• We have gone on the road three other times and had success. We are 11-0, which shows maturity.
   
• Finishing in the game will matter because it will be a fourth-quarter game, I'm sure. This is the final regular-season week. The magnitude of this moment will create enough energy. We will talk about finishing the game.
   
• Having been a college fan and coach, I didn't need this rivalry explained. Last year was a huge event. It is back there for the first time, so I’m sure it will be an event there too.
   
• I don’t have to tell them much. This is an easy one to get their attention for.
   
• We will see about Le’Veon Moss. Probably not, but we will see. Rueben Owens II and Mario Craver are “awesome.”
   
• To see Trev Alberts extended was really important. Stability has been important. I have appreciated the partnership with Alberts. So excited to see it continue.
   
• We will be watching and cheering on Aggie volleyball. Hope the girls go out and get the job done.
   
• You got a feel for it. It was what I thought it would be last year. It seems every is running a step or two faster in this game.