David Ash still the starter
Head coach Mack Brown compared the quarterback situation to 2003, when Vince Young left the game against Texas Tech, giving way to Chance Mock as the back up led Texas to a last-second win with a touchdown pass to BJ Johnson.
While Ash is hardly the reincarnation for the former Texas great, Brown said that the body of work for Ash over the course of the season doesn't wipe out three poor quarters of football, going on to say that many of the offensive struggles weren't necessarily his fault, citing the penalties that stalled drives, dropped passes, and other plays like Johnathan Gray going the wrong way on a screen.
It was McCoy, however, who came out and met with the media on Monday, shortly after being commended by his head coach for his ability to come in the game and make plays, in large part a result of preparing every week as if he will play.
The junior back up wasn't quite able to strike the tone that he nailed after the game, saying that he'll always prepare to be the starter, but that he couldn't say anything more than that. Not to suggest that McCoy is frustrated behind the scenes, as the rest of his comments seemed to toe the party line, but there may be frustration there for a player who has never lacked confidence in his abilities.
By the time he made it to the television portion of his interview, he was once again giving credit to the team for stepping up and was deflecting any personal credit for his role in the final two touchdown drives, though he did say that he didn't come to Texas to be a back up, a natural way for any quarterback to feel.
Johnathan Gray named the starter
After his first career 100-yard game against Kansas, the true freshman back is now sitting atop the depth chart for the Tech game after gaining nearly 80 more yards than sophomore Joe Bergeron, who picked up 17 yards on his final carry of the game, which accounted for more than half of his total rushing yards on the day.
Since his father is the second-leading rusher in Red Raider history, it will be an emotional night for the family, increased since Gray will be the starter for the first time in his career.
The prep record-setter said that he will have to campaign Monday night to get his parents to where burnt orange at the game.
Jordan Hicks out for the Texas Tech game
Every week since the Ole Miss game, Brown has maintained that Hicks would be evaluated later in the week to determine whether he could play. On Monday, Brown admitted that Hicks has been declared out for the Tech game.
Asked point-blank about a medical redshirt for Hicks and Brown said that it is something that is coming under consideration, but that the team can't apply for it until after the season.
Don't look for Hicks to suit up in the burnt orange and white again this season.
Brown sees growth
After saying that getting the win and the attention of his team was "as good as it gets" after the game, Brown said Monday that he thought the fact that Texas won the game on Saturday without playing well was a sign of growth for the team, saying that they haven't been winning those type of games in the last several seasons.
The defense was also a positive, in his opinion, having played that he believes was their best half of the season after cratering in the second quarter and giving up the long touchdown drive from the shadow of the Kansas goalline. Senior defensive end Alex Okafor and senior safety Kenny Vaccaro were commended for their efforts in the game and earned Defensive MVP honors for their efforts, which included two forced fumbles in the second half that Texas was not able to recover.
Seth Doege should be in Heisman contention
After running through all the impressive numbers that Texas Tech quarterback has put up this season, Brown said that Doege should be in contention for the Heisman. The Texas defense will have a say about any type of burgeoning campaign this weekend.