Oct. 1, 2011

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

TEXAS TECH 45, KANSAS 34
Postgame Quotes
October 1, 2011

Kansas head coach Turner Gill
On getting off to good start:
“The bottom line was execution. Our offense executed very, very well and our defense did some good things in the first quarter. I think it was probably the best quarter we have had, particularly this season, but we have to sustain it.”

On how crucial the turnovers were in the game:
“That’s the big deciding factor. You can’t turn the ball over three or four times against a good football team and a win. You just can’t do it. Our guys played hard; we’ve got some good things that did occur. We made some good progress. We have to be able to sustain, but we’ll get that stuff corrected.”

On the play of freshman running back Brandon Bourbon:
“He’s a guy we feel very good about. We’ve got talented running backs. Obviously, (James) Sims is our guy for the most part, but then we have the other guys and Bourbon was called upon today. He rose to the occasion and did well. He showed his skills being a physical runner; he also showed his speed and made some big plays for us. It was great to see that.”

On Darian Miller getting injured during the game:
“He tweaked his hamstring. He tweaked it a little bit in practice, so we didn’t know how far he’d be able to go. Then we saw that he wasn’t able to accelerate, so that’s why we pulled him off.”

Kansas Players

Kansas junior wide receiver D.J. Beshears
On what the team can take from this game:
“There are definitely some positives coming out of this game. We have to come back and work hard during the week in practice and hopefully get the win next week.”

On the multiple muffed kick-off and punt returns by Kansas:
“It had nothing to do with the uniforms or conditions. It just had to do with not being focused.”

On his two muffed kick returns:
“I was just trying to make some plays, but I misjudged the ball on a couple of the punt returns. I initially made a fair catch, but a guy got in front of me so I tried to get around him to catch the ball so that our team would be in better field position. I gambled and misjudged it and tipped it and fumbled. I should have just let it go. On the kick-off return I tried to make a play and some guys held me up, the ball popped out, but my teammate bailed me out.”

Kansas sophomore running back James Sims
On the play of the offense:
“We moved the ball real well this game, but turnovers killed us. There isn’t much to say, but that turnovers killed us. In the first half our offense did real well.”

On how the offense rebounded from the turnovers:
“We just have to keep playing through; don’t take any plays off. We’re supposed to capitalize off of turnovers and Texas Tech did that. We got some turnovers, but we didn’t capitalize on most of the turnovers that we had.”

On the two running back approach with Sims and freshman Brandon Bourbon:
“We practice that throughout the week. Coach (Gill) said it doesn’t matter who runs the ball or who blocks. We just looked at each other just chose who was going to do what and went with it.”

Kansas sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb
On Kansas scoring three touchdowns on its first three possessions:
“That’s what our offense is capable of. We were executing well and then we kind sputtered off. We have to be able to continue that and be as good execution wise as we were in the first quarter.”

On Kansas’ slow start in the third quarter:
“We just came out and as an offense weren’t playing well and they got off to a good start. There are a lot of things we need to work on.”

On how the team felt following Kansas’ first three touchdowns:
“We were rolling. We were really confident that we were going to keep it up, but a lot of balls didn’t bounce our way today.”

On how if he felt like he made the right read on his three interceptions:
“(Offensive coordinator Chuck Long) said that I was really good on reads today. On the picks they really didn’t bounce our way. There was a little miscommunication between me and my receiver on one of them, but it’s things we can fix and are going to fix.”

Kansas senior linebacker Steven Johnson
On difference between first and second half:
“We just have to maintain our focus. We come out of the locker room and it’s a new game, 0-0. We need to focus on that and not get complacent.”

On fatigue due to lack of depth:
“We’re out there and fighting. You’re going to get tired through 60 minutes. That’s what football is. You’re going to get tired, but you just keep pressing through and persevere.”

On moving forward:
“I know we’re moving forward, but at the same time, it hurts that we lost. It hurts even more that we had it in the first half and played a good first half. In the second half, it seemed like the tables just turned, and there is nothing to do but continue to keep working hard and press on towards our goals. All our goals are still obtainable. We just have to keep going.”

Kansas junior safety Bradley McDougald
On frustration of progress after game like this:
“It’s definitely frustrating, but we have to stick together. That’s when we’re going to have to rely and believe in each other. Guys are going to get it. I know we keep saying it, but it’s showing; slowly but surely. We just have to keep clicking and get to the point where guys get it for four quarters and reducing the mistakes to slim to none.”

On success of Texas Tech’s hurry up offense:
“They just execute really well. They were doing the same thing in first half, but they did make a couple of adjustments. The thing they did coming out in the second half was they ran the ball a lot more. Guys were more focused on the passing and we were doing a good job on getting stops there. They did come out and run the ball more which hurt us.”

On Texas Tech switching from more pass to run:
“They came out and noticed we were sitting a lot of guys in coverage. They noticed the box, figured they had better numbers and ran with it.”

On Pass coverage as an adjustment or scheme:
“It’s something we came in with. When you have a pass-happy offense like Texas Tech, you’re going to play coverages like we were. We made adjustments from there and made a couple stops afterward. They just executed.”

Kansas junior linebacker Tunde Bakare
On coming back after break:
“We came out with a big burst with a 20 point lead. Things happened with turnovers coming through. I was excited to get back in the game, and I was definitely trying to help my team to win. I can get better in a lot of aspects too. I think that’s why it’s going to be a good week to work.”

On taking step forward as team defense:
“It helped to get off the field on third down more. Also, we got an interception from (freshman safety) Keeston (Terry). That definitely helped us out a lot. I think we’re making a lot of progress as a defense. We’re definitely getting better.”

On playing with 20 point lead:
“It felt great. It felt like we were definitely going to shut them out the rest of the game. We were telling each other on the sideline to not get too caught up in the emotion because we had to keep on fighting. It took a different tide after they ended up getting a turnover. They started on the 20- or 30-yard line and that put them in position to score. We just need to continue to work hard and continue to get better each and every day.”

Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville
On his team’s comeback:
“We started slow and ended fast and as I told the team, one of these days we are going to start fast. The great thing about it is we know how to come from behind. We had to fight through a lot of long yardage situations on offense and we kept making the big plays.”

On the difference between the first and second halves:
“They were fired up playing on homecoming with new uniforms and it seemed like we couldn’t stop them. I thought our defensive coaches did a good job adjusting and we caused turnovers, which was a huge situation on the road. If you can stop the momentum with turnovers it is going to give you a big advantage.”

On Kansas’ intense play:
“Kansas played their tail off from beginning to end. I thought we could move the ball a little bit better defensively they (Kansas) really hung in there with us early and gave us some problems

On being down at halftime:
“We didn’t play quite as well as we needed to the first half and we lost the lead right before going into the half. We knew that the halftime score wasn’t going to be the end of it but we knew we were going to half to score in the mid 40s to I thought it might even take the 50s.”

On picking up a tough fought conference victory:
“It was great to get that first win on the road and it is a Big 12 win. This kind of takes the pressure off of our backs knowing we have a little momentum and we can come back home for a couple of weeks and give our best shot.”

Texas Tech Players

Texas Tech junior safety D.J. Johnson

On making an adjustment at second half to finish the game strong:
“It really wasn’t much of an adjustment–it was just more execution. We started executing things more, we played harder, and we made more plays.”

On the Texas Tech’s ability to play:
“That’s one thing we harp on: finishing strong. We’ve been harping on that since last year and going into summer camp, that’s all we ever really talked about–Finishing strong and starting fast. At the end of the day, it’s the `W’ or the `L’ that matters.”

On if there was any panic after Kansas took a 20-0 lead in the first quarter:
“It’s not so much panic as it is a matter of getting enthusiastic, getting pumped up with each other offensively and defensively. We came out sluggish, not really excited. We were excited but we weren’t really showing it and it was just a matter of getting that going.”

On the difference Texas Tech linebackers Daniel Cobb and Cquiln Hubert made:
“It was great. They came in and they started stopping the run. Anytime we can stop the run with our linebackers, and I don’t have to do anything, it freezes them up a lot more. I feel like they came in and did a tremendous job. We were blessed to have them show up and play.”

Texas Tech sophomore linebacker Cqulin Hubert

On getting called into the game and responding:
“That’s what you’ve got to do every game. When your name and number gets called you’ve got to show up and play–play good and compete”

On Texas Tech’s ability to come back:
“We all did it as a unit, a group. We started out slow and we’ve got to pick it up as we go on through the week. We’ve got to pick it up and just come out fast.”

On having energy in the game:
“I had a lot of energy. Since I haven’t played much I have a lot of energy. I told (head coach Tommy Tuberville) I’m always ready.”

On coming in with linebacker Daniel Cobb when Texas Tech was down:
“I told Daniel (Cobb) `just come out and play hard’ and he came out and he played great ball. We do this as a team because you never know when your number is going to be called.”