Postgame Quotes

Oct. 13, 2007

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Kansas Postgame Quotes<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

No. 20 Kansas 58, Baylor 10

Oct. 13, 2007 – Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas Quotes

Sophomore Running Back Jake Sharp

On staying focused after the delays:

“Pretty much everything we do in the off season is focused on mental toughness and things like that, so (the delays) were not really a problem for us. We are a tough football team and we take a lot of pride in that.”

On what the team did during the delays:

“We took naps and listened to our iPods. We just kind of relaxed. Todd Reesing and I kind of messed around a little bit and played some tic-tac-toe. I won.”

His thoughts on the game:

“I think we did pretty well, but we still have a lot of things we can build on. We are certainly not a finished product. I think the offensive line blocked great and I think Todd (Reesing) was great making his reads and things like that. Brandon (McAnderson), Angus (Quigley) and I were able to read the blocks and make the most of our runs.”

On becoming bowl eligible:

“Well we had six wins last year and we didn’t make a bowl. So we certainly aren’t going to count on just six wins to make us bowl eligible.”

On playing Colorado next week:

“It will be another test for us, as is every week. The Buffaloes have a great football team and we are excited to go down there and play on their home turf. We hope to put another great performance on the field.”

Safety Justin Thornton

On how he dealt with the delays:

“It was frustrating at first. We all just kind of relaxed and lay down. A lot of us listened to music on our iPods. It was definitely frustrating at first, but we all stayed in and kept our heads right and kept our mind on the game and it turned out good.”

On the team being 6-0:

“It is definitely a great feeling. We have worked really hard for this. Last year we thought we could have been in this same position, but this year we have really put the pieces together and we are very confident. We are playing well out there right now”

On the difference between this year’s team and last year’s:

“We are more experienced and confident this year. We are more assignment-sound. The experience helps us out a lot.”

On losing to Baylor last season:

“Last year we had a rough game. In the fourth quarter we were up 35-17 with 10 minutes left in the game and they came back and beat us. We weren’t having that this year.”

Sophomore Quarterback Todd Reesing

On the weather delay:

“When we came out originally we were all ready to warm-up and everyone was really focused. After we told there was going to be a delay, we had to relax and not allow ourselves to get too jacked-up for the game. Then right after we get started we get brought back in for another delay. It was definitely a long day. I think we did a pretty good job of maintaining our focus.”

On the game:

“I am excited that we are 6-0 and 2-0 in conference play. I am not going to fret too much about the game, obviously it wasn’t our best game on offense. The defense played tremendous. The way they got after the ball and got us great field position a lot of times during the game by creating turnovers. The offensive line did a great job in the run game and opened up some big holes for Jake (Sharp) and Brandon (McAnderson). In the passing game we weren’t very crisp. We had some big plays and some guys made some catches, but we still dropped some balls. I also had some bad passes. We were able to not play our best game, yet we still were able to get a big victory.”

Senior Defensive Tackle James McClinton

On handling the weather delay:

“I had it once in high school, but we cancelled the game for the night and then we played the game the next day. I had some experience, but we were just trying to keep the team focused. We had to look at the game like it was set at 12:00 p.m. and not 11:00. We just chilled and ate during the delay. I was out there telling people to stay focused.”

On what the team has improved on since last year:

“This team has a lot more unity and we trust in the Lord. Special teams went out there and did their thing. The defense did a good job of getting the offense good field position. The offense did their job and went in there and just put the ball in the endzone.

On putting pressure on the quarterback:

“Like coach always says if you can rattle up the quarterback then he will know that you are coming. He will be noticing the pressure coming from the defensive line when he is trying to throw the ball.”

Baylor Quotes

Head Coach Guy Morriss

On the game:

“We’ve just got to execute our plays or we’re not going to get any better. All the wishing and the hoping is not going to get it done. You just have to go out and make plays, and we didn’t do that today. Our kicking game other than David’s (Gettis) return, the kicking game was pretty bad. Our offense was poor and couldn’t stop the run. We didn’t have a lot of anything going today. What started it was the first ball thrown to Brad Taylor. If he catches it, we can make a first down and then maybe keep going. It’s not good when you get the ball in the first series and can’t throw and catch to get a first down. Then we mishandled the punt and it went down hill from there.”

On Kansas’ improvement from last year’s game:

“Quite a bit obviously. There are sitting here 6-0 now. The thing about Kansas is that they are playing hard and they absolutely do not beat themselves. I think that’s been the key for them.”

On the weather delay affecting the game:

“I don’t think so. It’s the same for both teams. That’s just something we have to learn how to handle. They told us it was about a half an hour so we went in and talked about what we had seen and tried to get everyone to calm down. We talked about the importance of going out there and trying to execute and doing what you are coached to do.”

On running up the score:

“They are just running their offense. Mark said something about it. I told him it was our fault. I told him it was our job to keep you out of the endzone. He was running the football. If he was throwing the fade three times in a row, that would be one thing. I’ve never complained about that. What do you tell your kids? Tell them not to score after you program them to execute your offense? That’s on us to get them stopped. I don’t have a problem with that at all.”

Sophomore Linebacker Joe Pawelek

On the game:

“Obviously Kansas is a great ball club. We found ourselves in a lot of holes. We came out strong and then the kickoff was returned and things went down hill from there. Kansas has a great team but we are doing things top to bottom to keep ourselves from being competitive. There were plays all over the game (that contributed to the loss). The offense put us in bad spots and we couldn’t stop anything to save our lives. It is not one side of the ball that is struggling and the other side is doing great, top to bottom we have to find a way to execute to where we can be successful.”

If the delays affected the game:

“I don’t think so. It was something a little bit different that we had to handle. At the same time when the whistle blows it is a Big 12 football game and we’ve got to be ready for it.”

On bouncing back from today’s loss:

“We have to come in tomorrow and put that film on to figure out what we’re doing to hurt ourselves and things that we need to get corrected. Nobody’s given up on anybody. We have five more chances to get out there and play and to win.”

Sophomore Wide Receiver David Gettis

On his kickoff return for touchdown:

“It was one of those special plays where everything happened that was supposed to happen. The other 10 guys made it easy for me to hit the hole and run for a touchdown. I’ve never kick returned before so I’ve had to learn to let my blocks develop. I just want to let things happen and then use my speed.

If the delays affected the game:

“It didn’t really affect us. Football is unpredictable. You never know what is going happen. It was unfortunate that we were not able to come out until later, but it did not affect us.”