Press Release

Selection Sunday

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Texas Tech Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury

(on his relationship with LSU Head Coach Les Miles and what he remembers while they were together at Oklahoma State) “Just a great coach, I remember him taking over and them having immediate success there and really helping take Oklahoma State to the next level. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he’s done in coaching and still do.”

(on what he’s seen from LSU RB Leonard Fournette) “Just the highlights, I haven’t watched any game tape on him, but he’s a phenomenal athlete, one of those once in a generation type backs. We’ll have our hands full trying to slow him down.”

(on if he followed the matchup speculation leading up to bowl announcements) “I didn’t get too much into that. I know how these things go, so I knew there was a strong possibility we’d be in this game versus an SEC opponent, so I was excited about that opportunity knowing we’d play a very quality opponent.” 

(on what he likes about this matchup for his team) “It’s a great team. I think it’ll be a great atmosphere with their fan base and our fan base in the state and in Houston. It’ll be rocking, and that always makes for a great deal for both universities and the bowl itself. They were ranked up there in the top 2 I believe when the rankings first came out for the playoffs and they’re a very good team, and that’s what you want in the last game of the year. You want to see how far you’ve come by playing a great team like LSU.” 

(on how different these two offenses are) “I’m not sure, we’ve actually ran the ball pretty well this year, not to the extent they have, but we are very proud of our running back as well in DeAndre (Washington) and what he’s accomplished this year. We throw it more, we push the pace more, but I think that their offensive coordinator is a great offensive mind. I’ve seen what he’s done over the last few years there and they’ll have a great plan. You give a great coach like that a month to get ready and he’ll have a great plan.” 

(on if he has any ties to the LSU coaching staff) “No, I’m not, when I was at (Texas) A&M in 2012 we played them, but that was it.” 

(on what he remembers about that game in 2012 with Texas A&M against LSU) “They had an awesome defense. I think eight or nine of those guys left early. We had Johnny Football (Johnny Manziel) running around and they did a pretty good job of containing him. They had Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry and (Zach) Mettenberger and they beat us. That was (former defensive coordinator John) Chavis, and I was always impressed with the way he did things and Coach Miles, and it was a heck of a game we just, they got us.” 

(on building on the wins they’ve head recently) “I think every team is focused on that. You want to play your best game at the end, and we’re no different. We’ve built to this point and with a month to prepare we feel like we can put our best plans in place, put our best foot forward, continue to progress as a football team over this month and try to finish with some momentum.” 

(on how the changes on his coaching staff affect how they go into the bowl game) “We’ll have to move some bodies around and do our best to handle that being a little short-handed. It’s part of the business. It comes with the territory, and we’ll be able to slide some guys around and try to put our best foot forward.” 

Media members interested in covering the 2015 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl may now apply for credentials through the bowl’s online application system.  Applications will be accepted until 5:00 pm. CST on Tuesday, December 22. 

Louisiana State University Head Coach Les Miles 

(on if he expected to land at the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl) “We’re very happy to be at the Texas Bowl. Houston, Texas for our team, for our recruiting and really our fan base, I mean we have a ton of people that come down the road from Houston to watch us play in Tiger Stadium, so we will certainly have a large number of alumni at the game and we look forward to it. We opened the season last year at NRG Stadium against Wisconsin. It was a great venue, big spacious, well lit, fast tracked, so we’ll look forward to playing and participating.” 

(on the matchup against Texas Tech) “I know Texas Tech since I was in the Big 12 conference and they are very talented on offense, move the football well against everybody. I think they are second ranked nationally on offense. They have a 1,400 yard running back, and a very capable quarterback and receiving core. Their defense is very sound, plays on top, plays to the strength of the offense, very capable on special teams, so we recognize this is going to be a great challenge. I think our guys will look forward to that challenge and that will add to the preparation of the bowl game.” 

(on the last week after the reports of his job security) “I think the only thing I did was I had a distraction free week of preparation. It really didn’t bother me much at all. I communicated pretty effectively with the AD (LSU Athletic Director), Joe Alleva, kind of knew where we were at. I did not believe reports. I guess what I am saying is, all I did was put my head down see if I can improve our team and coach.” 

(on what is key to getting his players ready for a game that is three weeks out) “I think first and foremost is introducing the opponent. I think Texas Tech, it will be important to our team to play well in this game. They are a very talented, very capable team. They have a lot going on. They are very multiple offensively and their defense is again a team that plays extremely sound, plays over top, and has quality special teams. I think when our guys see that team, they’ll be challenged. They’ll be challenged to work hard, they’ll be challenged to improve, they’ll be challenged to prepare for this team and I think that really starts with the next team meeting.” 

(on how important is it to make a good showing for the final game of the season) “I think anytime that you line up in a bowl week or anytime that you look forward to a very quality next year, I think you need to have a very positive bowl experience, so certainly that will be the plan.” 

(on LSU RB Leonard Fournette) “I think he is a complete back. I think he can block you. I think he can catch the ball out of the backfield and I think he certainly has the ability to run. He runs with a good combination of size and speed. I think he is pretty special, considering he is the LSU leading rusher for a season and that record he got in his last game. We are also a game shy, we didn’t get to play in a lighting game. I think he is very talented and I think he will have the opportunity to do a lot of things before he leaves here.” 

(on if LSU RB Leonard Fournette reminds him of any of the running backs that he had at Oklahoma State) “I was very fortunate to have a great number of backs in my career, both at Oklahoma State and at LSU, and I think there are similarities and there are not similarities and I think I do a good job, politically, to not compare people to Leonard Fournette, especially great backs, as I have enjoyed their abilities, so I refrain from making too obvious a review.” 

(on the coaching style of Texas Tech Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury) “I certainly like his style and I think he is a very competitive man. I think he played that way the quarterback spot and I think he is doing exactly that. I think he is very competitive and I think his team carries that characteristic.” 

(on LSU RB Leonard Fournette against Texas Tech’s rushing defense) “I just watched the start of the Texas game and that defense played awfully hard in that game. I don’t think it will be any issue with our players watching that game in recognizing that this is a very capable defense and we will have to play well.