Lewis elated with win, now mulls future

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Travis Lewis had one of his best games of the season logging 10 solo tackles against Connecticut in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl. After it was all over, in the locker room, Lewis talked about the decision ahead and the elation he felt at finally winning a BCS bowl game.

Lewis on the decision to stay or go...

When you think about it, it's just going to be hard to leave OU. That's the biggest thing. I love it here, I love my coaches and I love the university. It's going to be a tough decision.

What would it take to make you leave?

A lot of things. I'm going to look at my draft grade, see there, and talk to some people and see what they think and ultimately make a decision on my own.

How much does a win like this set the tone for next year?

Big time, big time. It makes offseason workouts a little bit easier, it makes summer workouts a little bit easier, everything gets a little easier. You definitely like it in that aspect.

Some of the so-called experts are already polling you guys at number one for next year, that would be hard to leave wouldn't it?

Oh yeah. I already knew we were going to have a great team coming back. We've got a lot of young guys that are making big plays on this team and anytime you've got your quarterback coming back, it's a tough decision to make.

This team has been through this game before. What does it mean to be the first guys to take that trophy behind you back home?

It's big time. To silence all the doubters, we went on the road and beat great teams. We won a Big 12 Championship versus a great team and then to come here and win a BCS bowl with the passion that we did, was huge. I'm excited.

People wanted to say that UCONN wasn't a worthy team because they came here without a number beside their name. Do you feel like proved they were a worthy opponent with the heart of a champion? It looked like you guys won this thing several times and they always found a way to get back in it.

Definitely. We never disrespected them. As soon as you start disrespecting an opponent, you get your butt whipped. We learned that with our last Big East opponent and then Boise. We weren't going to let that happen. We never underestimated Connecticut and we showed them respect like they were anybody. From that aspect of it, they played a great game.

Just off the top of your head, what was your favorite part of the night?

I know my worst part - dropping my interception for a touchdown. I know that for sure. That's gonna haunt me. I was telling my teammates all week. I'm gonna jump a stick route and I'm going to take it back for a touchdown. It was my opportunity, I was there, I was licking my lips while the ball was in my hands and it just bounced off. Usually I catch those balls. That's going to hurt for a while.