Postgame Quotes
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POSTGAME QUOTES
RICE 25, KANSAS 24
SEPT. 8, 2012 – LAWRENCE, KAN.
Kansas Head Coach Charlie Weis
On Saturday’s game:
“My biggest disappointment was that we didn’t finish. You’re up by two scores in a game; the whole motto this week was to finish the game, because I didn’t think we finished last week very well either. I think that there’s plenty of blame to go around, the coaches staff and all three facets of our team. We didn’t finish on offense, we didn’t finish on defense and we didn’t finish on special teams. When that happens there is a good chance you’ll lose.”
On the play of QB Dayne Crist:
“He obviously was completing a lot of passes early in the game. Later in the second half Kale (Pick) went down, and I wouldn’t say things got out of sync, but they started giving us a lot more pressure and we didn’t complete as many passes as I could recall. But I’m going to wait until tomorrow to see the tape. I don’t want to make a judgment just by the eye.”
On the play of his defense:
“Once again, it’s all about finishing. I won’t put my finger on any one player because I thought that all three elements of our team had an opportunity to win the game. Since we didn’t, all three failed.”
On rebuilding the confidence of the team:
“That’s what our whole conversation in the locker room was. The number one thing they have to understand is it’s not OK to lose. It’s not like, `Well, you lost the game but good effort.’ That’s not okay. When you don’t close out a game on offense, you don’t close out a game on defense and you don’t close it out on special teams that’s just not acceptable, and that’s just the way it is. The assistants and I have to do a better job of teaching and learning how to finish a game.”
Junior Running Back Taylor Cox
On thought of the game:
“We are just disappointed. We all know we could play better than this. We felt we left a lot out on the field. Of course we have to give respect to Rice for coming out and doing what they had to do. But we felt like we had a lot more to give and that we didn’t play to our full potential”
On Mood in Locker Room after the game:
“It was pretty quiet. There were a few words spoken here and there but for the most part it was quiet. After a loss it’s not too vocal in a locker room. People are typically pretty disappointed. We all just wanted to get out of there.”
On Charlie Weis’ Post-game Message:
“He basically challenged us to reach our full potential. Coach (Charlie) Weis is a believer in us and we see that every time he talks to us. He believes we can do much better than we have shown.”
Senior Line Backer Toben Opurum
On practice and what late game situations they work on:
“We have practiced multiple situations. We had opportunities to close the game. They made the plays that we didn’t so you have to give the credit to them for doing that. But this was definitely one that we let slip away.”
On Weis’ postgame speech:
“We have gone through situations like this in the past and the biggest test for us is to see how we respond to this. In the past we let it hold us down for too long and we have had really negative seasons because of that. We have to be able to bounce back and get back on the right path.”
Kansas junior linebacker Huldon Tharp
On how frustrating the last drive was:
“It was extremely frustrating. Even if you are not in on that play, you can see that the game is just inches from being a completely different ball game and it is always frustrating.”
On if the end of the game snuck up on him:
“Yeah, it kind of did. You know sitting on the sideline we weren’t really anticipating it to come down to that necessarily, but as a defense we didn’t really shy away from it.”
Kansas senior cornerback Greg Brown
On the interception:
“I think we grabbed the ball simultaneously and then it was a little tug I got the upper hand.”
On how the defense did against Rice’s quarterback Taylor McHargue:
“I think, as a whole, our defense did pretty well on the quarterback. He is a great athlete and he came out and competed, so you have to give him props on that. His running ability helped their offense out and they had a great up-tempo offense that works pretty well for them. We made good stops, but we just didn’t make enough.”
On what the team can do to rebound and return to week one form:
“We just have to have the right mind set. As a defense, we did not tackle well so going into the week we can work on our technique and get ready to cause turnovers.”
Kansas senior quarterback Dayne Crist
On feeling of team after Saturday’s game:
“From an offensive stand point, we didn’t finish or make enough plays to win the game and that’s the most important thing.”
On how to get ready this week for the game against TCU:
“It will start with the evaluation of this film. Look at what we can do well against TCU and try to do whatever it takes.”
On how he felt about his personal game today:
“I’m so disappointed. I didn’t make enough plays and at the end of the day, that’s the most valued trait in a quarterback and it is to make enough plays to win and we didn’t do that today. Naturally, I’m upset.”
Kansas sophomore halfback Tony Pierson
How to improve this week:
“Come out to practice, play hard, work hard; try to get a good one versus TCU.”
On issues with the offense moving the ball:
“They came out in the second half and played good defense on us. We didn’t really have much going on in the second half.”
Rice Head Coach David Bailiff
On Saturday’s game:
“To go on the road against a Big 12 opponent and to come out of here with a win we are just ecstatic as a program. We, too, are trying to build a program. We, too, are trying to build a program that wins consistently. That’s something we have talked about – it’s an achievement to win a big one on the road, now we have done that.”
On the total team effort:
“I was so proud of this team we had three turnovers in that first quarter that they hung together, when the offense needed the defense, it was there. When the defense needed the offense, it was there. When we needed some special teams plays, it was there. I was proud of how we hung together, we persevered and we played together for four quarters. I didn’t see anybody with their head down after a turnover, it just strengthened their resolve to get this done today.”
On kicker Chris Boswell and the play calling on the last drive:
“To know we have a kicker like Chris Boswell, we knew we just needed to get to that 40 yard line. We thought if we could get to the 40 without the wind we would be good. We knew if we could get to the 40 with the wind, he is pretty automatic from that range. So we felt good when we got the ball to the 40. We were trying to just get extra yards and burn clock.”
On the Owls’ first win of the season:
“We got a lot better from week one to week two. We still made some mistakes that we need to work on eliminating. It’s easier to make those corrections after a win. I’m just so excited for Rice University and this football team.”
Rice junior kicker Chris Boswell
On the game-winning kick feeling like reality:
“It still hasn’t really set in yet. I’m sure it will set in once we get on the plane or something, but for now, it doesn’t seem like it.”
On if he thought the first kick would count:
“I had an idea that they were going to ice me, but I still would’ve kicked it regardless. Klein (Kubiak) does a great job every time putting the ball down for me to kick it and our line is just phenomenal, so I was kicking it the same every time.”
On being worried or annoyed having to kick the game-winning field goal again:
“It doesn’t annoy me or worry me at all and it’s the same kick every single time.”
On having the team’s trust:
“It helps me a lot when I’m on the sideline and they’re telling me I can do it, I can do it. Everyone has so much confidence in everybody that it helps your own confidence.”
Rice junior quarterback Taylor McHargue
On if the game felt bleak at any point:
“I wouldn’t say it was bleak only because it wasn’t like we didn’t have opportunities in the red zone. We were getting to the red zone. We just weren’t capitalizing. We were down eight and we needed one stop to go down and in our minds at that time it was get a touchdown, get the two-point conversion and either go for the win or maybe go to overtime. We didn’t obviously get the two-point conversion. The defense got another huge stop, and I came up to (Chris Boswell) and he just said, `Get it to the 45,’ and we got that and then some. He was like, `Get me to the 45. With this wind, I’ve got it.’ With the confidence we have in our defense and our kicker, as an offense, there was never a doubt that we could come back. We just had to capitalize on those opportunities.”
On Kansas’ defensive scheming:
“There weren’t as many opportunities to run, I would say, this week for me as there were last week, which is fine. I thought our running backs did a pretty good job of that. Charles Ross ran for 100 yards rushing and then Turner (Peterson) did a pretty good job, also. Like Jordan (Taylor) talked about, they were off a lot of the day, which allowed for pretty easy completions to Jordan. Like we touched on earlier, nothing really changed. We just stopped ourselves in the red zone, but I felt like we did a really good job moving the ball on offense.”
On how offensive line played:
“They had a really good game. I was really pleased with how they played. I should’ve known this because one of my friends plays here, but I didn’t realize how loud this place got. We had to go on silent some and they handled that really well. They did a great job, and one of those sacks is completely on me, but they all did a really good job today.”
Rice sophomore wide receiver Jordan Taylor
On Kansas’ defensive scheming on third down:
“They were playing off a lot of the game, so they gave us a lot of hitches and Taylor (McHargue) did a good job of getting the ball out there and the offensive line did a good job of protecting. Then, all across the board, when we needed to make plays, our offense stepped up and did their job.”
