Quotes

Oct. 2, 2004

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Coach Mark Mangino

On the game-
It was a hard-fought football game tonight. I’m proud of our team, both our players and our coaches. Our kids stayed composed. They fought for all four quarters, all the way to the last second. We were just a few plays away. This team has got to be one of the toughest teams I’ve ever been assoicated with in coaching. The tide will turn for our team. I liked the way we competed. If you’re a fan of smashmouth football, this was the place for you.

On Nebraska-
They were well-prepared for this football game.

On “moral victories”-
There are never moral victories, and there won’t be as long as I’m the head coach at the University of Kansas.

On his team’s improvements-
They worked hard, and they made strides tonight.

On going for it on fourth down rather than kicking the field goal-
I would rather put the game in the hands of our defense than in our kicking game. But I have to give credit to Johnny Beck. Right now, I just have more faith in my defense, though Johnny Beck showed some encouraging signs tonight.

On the situation at kicker-
I don’t know who our starting kicker will be right now. I have to watch the tape and talk to our special teams coaches before we make our decisions.

On struggles in Kansas’ passing game-
It was a number of things. I think their secondary is very, very good. I want to give credit to them. I think we played a team with a staunch pass defense tonight.

On team’s emotional makeup-
I’ve been associated with good teams in both the Big Eight and the Big 12, and when I looked into our kids’ eyes, you could tell our kids were composed. Our kids told me that before, the tent would have folded. But now, our kids have charisma and believe in each other.

On Kansas’ offense-
I think we played a very good defensive team tonight, and yet, we had opportunities to score.

On Kansas’ defense-
Our defense got turnovers and did a good job tonight against both the run and the pass. Our defense played well enought to win. The bottom line is that Nebraska’s offense ran into a good defense, and our offense ran into a good defense.

KU Player Quotes

Wide Receiver Gary Heaggans

On how the offense played-
It seemed like on and off we were moving the ball, but then we’d shoot ourselves in the foot. I think we did all right, we just came up short.

On Kansas’ defense-
I think the defense did a really good job just stopping them time after time. The offense just has to help them out a little bit more.

Running Back John Randle

On coming close to a victory-
We played really well, but we wanted to win the game. We didn’t want to just come close. We played pretty well and fought them to the end, and I’m real proud of how our players fought until the end. I’m real proud of our team.

On the play of the offensive line-
They got off the ball a little better this week and they did really well. We had some openings, we just couldn’t finish at the end and put it in the house when we got in the red zone. They did really well in pass protection and in the running game. I feel the offensive line did really well this week.

On offensive production in the fourth quarter-
We were just trying to stay positive and we weren’t thinking about it in a negative way. We were just trying to keep going at it and with the defense making plays and giving us the ball back, we were just trying to make plays, and that’s all we were thinking about it.

On Nebraska’s defensive line-
They were good. They had a good defensive line. We could run on them some and they could shut us down some. It was a battle between our offensive line and their defensive line and it was back and forth all game.

On rushing for more than 100 yards-
I enjoy running the ball. I’m not really focused on that, I just want to come out and win. I’m proud of myself and the offensive line for doing well.

Quarterback Adam Barmann

On coming close-
It’s tough, but we have to give credit to Nebraska’s defense. They brought a lot of pressure, but I thought for the most part we did a good job picking it up, but when big plays needed to be made, we just couldn’t make the big play. The defense is playing well, we just have to pick it up a little bit on offense. Nobody is panicking, but there is definitely a sense of urgency.

On fourth-down pass late in the game-
We were going to run a corner route to Charles Gordon. It just so happened that I got flushed out of the pocket a little bit, and I was supposed to throw early, and we couldn’t really get into the route like we wanted to. I threw it up there to try and give him a chance, but I just happened to overthrow him.

On the play of the offensive line-
Nebraska brought a lot of pressure, but I thought our line did a good job of picking it up. It seemed like every down they were bringing some sort of blitz. We were checking a lot, and I think they did a good job of picking it up. Our offensive line has been solid and our running game was much better this week, so we’re definitely making improvements.