Texas A&M preparing for battle with Arkansas in Southwest Classic

After their 28-20 loss to No. 8 Auburn at Kyle Field on Saturday, the Aggies must turn their attention to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ahead of the neutral-site contest at AT&T Stadium, Jimbo Fisher and select players met with the media to set the stage.

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The following are live, paraphrased notes from head coach Jimbo Fisher's press conference prior to Saturday’s game against Auburn.

• After evaluating the film, Auburn is an outstanding football team. I thought our kids played hard. We need to play better. Definitely not happy with the product. We are making too many mistakes. We have to do better as a staff. We need to be more consistent. We are close, but you are only as close as your urgency takes you. There are technical things that we need to do a better job of. We made too many mistakes. In the kicking game, we missed two uncharacteristic kicks. When the offense got going late in the second half, we couldn’t get a stop on defense. We need to get ready for Arkansas and have a really good week of practice. We are still a very good football team. 
• When you lose, you have to look to your leaders. On offense, that’s Jhamon Ausbon, Colton Prater, Kenyon Green. Defensively, that’s Buddy Johnson, Keldrick Carper and Braden Mann on special teams. We have some great leaders on this team. 
• You have to trust your eyes and play. We had a 12-play drive and had a bunch of other things go wrong. We move the football, but we have to be better at finishing drives. We need to make that last play that gets you into the end zone. In the Clemson game, we go up 3-0. Then, Clemson comes back and gets a touchdown. We make a few mistakes, and we are suddenly behind. We are close; it’s just a few mistakes that are costing us right now. 
• Sports, in general, is rhythm. We had a good rhythm in the first drive, and then we ran into some penalties. It should have been three straight touchdowns our first drives. 
• Nick Starkel is a very good player. I don’t know much about their QB situation at Arkansas; it doesn’t surprise me that he’s starting. It’s not weird to be playing against him. It’s part of the business, just like playing coaches. 
• Ryan McCollum is healthy. He got healthy last week. 
• We are never surprised about anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we got the offense turned around quickly just because we are so close. 
• It’s never the same mistakes from the offensive linemen. It’s not missed assignments; we need some more push. We have to keep doing what we do and do it better. If we have to tweak a formation or a scheme to have success, we will do that. 
• I loved Deneric Prince and thought he was a great player and still will be a good player. I have no ill-will towards him. 
• Lamar, we hit the running game pretty quick. Texas State, it was a bit slower developing because they had a different scheme than what they did on the first game. 
• I think we are getting better. We have played two really good football teams. You can’t become result-oriented; you have to be process-oriented. You can’t get caught up in results; you have to be caught up with the process and the product on the field. We have to focus on what we can control. 
• Carper and Hansford have been very good players. Hansford has excellent ball skills. Carper knows what everyone is doing, and he makes some great plays. 
• If we dominate, then so be it, but I want to play well. They are an SEC team with scholarship guys. We need to play well. 
• We had self-inflicted wounds. There is no excuse for a pre-snap penalty. We have to clean that up, without a doubt. 
• I love playing here at Kyle Field. I think it’s a great thing to have a game at AT&T Stadium; I am not against it. It’s good for recruiting; easier for a lot of recruits to get there. It is also good to get practice in a neutral-site venue. It’s good for your program. 
• The pocket collapsed on Kellen Mond. His decision-making was good most of the time. He loves the competition. He will be the first one out there today. He is getting better every game. 
• Ausbon is a very good vocal leader. You know who never spoke? A guy named Joe Montana. How good was he? Tom Brady is a guy who speaks all the time. It’s just how your personality is. What matters is what your teammates think of you.