Postgame Quotes
Oct. 13, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Notes |
Kansas Head Coach Charlie Weis
On the play of his defense…
“I thought that [the defense] was very solid today. They stopped the run pretty well. We gave up a couple of chunks but they really kept us alive into the fourth quarter and gave us a chance to win. I’m really proud of their performance today.”
On deciding to make a quarterback change…
“We had been stagnant since after the first quarter. We had 100 yards of offense in the first quarter, we were stagnant after the first break, and then we are stagnant again after halftime. I just felt I had to do something to try to bring some energy. I’m dialing up everything on the call sheet…well if that’s not doing it, the next thing you do is see if you can’t change some personnel and see if that will do anything for you.”
On the performance of Michael Cummings…
“I think Mike played pretty solid; he made some plays. I’m sure there are things in [the video] that I won’t like very much. That’s a game against a good team and he wasn’t flinching. He had great composure, he was having fun, and he put us in a position to win the game. It’s something we are going to have to seriously look at.”
On taking the chance to block the put at the end of the game…
“You have to look at it, there’s a minute and change and you have the whole length of the field to go. You don’t want to knock down the punter, but you go after them and unless you block it they get the kick off and you’re still in the same position without getting much in return. You’re not going to get much in return in a ball punted from the 50-yard-line anyway. So I didn’t think it was really that risky. You’re trying to make a play, and I think that if you’re going to block a punt it gives you an opportunity to have a short field and go win the game.”
On his message to the team after the game…
“It’s the first time I think we won the fourth quarter. That’s a major difference from all those other games. All those other games we didn’t win the fourth quarter, so I think that we certainly won the fourth quarter today, and that was my emphasis with the team.”
Kansas Senior Wide Receiver Kale Pick
On the offense in fourth quarter…
“We went to a faster pace. Once we started getting momentum it snowballed from there. We kept making plays.”
On when he felt the momentum shifted…
“I would have to say right at the first touchdown. It was a great play action and Jimmay was wide open. The first touchdown in the fourth quarter is when we really had all the momentum.”
Kansas Junior Running Back James Sims
On the fourth quarter performance…
“It’s all because of the offensive line. They did what they had to do and opened up the holes for me. I mean Oklahoma State is a good defense and they were stopping us for the first three quarter. And in the fourth quarter we came up with some big plays.”
On Michael Cummings entering the game…
“Michael Cummings is a great player. He works hard he practices hard and tonight he got the opportunity and he was able to show what he can do.”
On offense in the fourth quarter…
“The last couple of games we really haven’t been showing up in the fourth quarter, but this was a big turnaround for us. We came together and wanted to finish out the game strong.”
Kansas Freshman Quarterback Michael Cummings
On what was going through his mind when he entered the game…
“I was just taking it one play at a time. I was trying to stay within the offense, distribute the ball properly, and read the coverage.”
On moving forward after tonight’s fourth quarter…
“Going on the road to Norman we are definitely going to have to play some inspired Jayhawk football. We are just going to need to take it a quarter at a time.”
On the team’s performance in the fourth quarter…
“Once one person made a play, another person would step up and make a big play. But that’s how it is supposed to be. We need to be one big unit and feed off each other.”
Kansas Freshman Linebacker Jake Love
On today’s game…
“I thought we played them tough and we came out a little dry after the weather delay. Then they kind of jumped up on us. We came back strong in the fourth (quarter) but it just wasn’t enough.”
On the overall defensive unit’s performance…
“I thought we played well and we had a couple of busts here and there, which they burned us a couple times. Overall, I thought we played alright.”
What the team has taken away from this game…
“I think we won the fourth quarter. Hopefully we can just try to build on that and take it into next week.”
On his overall performance…
“I was just trying to help the team win, and we didn’t win so obviously we got to work harder.”
On the mindset for next week…
“Just keep working hard and give it all you got.”
Kansas Junior Linebacker Huldon Tharpe
On the energy of Mike Cummings in as quarterback…
“We felt the energy and then he started making a couple of plays here and there and got the crowd back into it. He gave us a chance and we just came up short in the end. He gave us the opportunity to win the game.”
On the fans dedication of staying at the game after the weather delay…
“(In) My three years here I’m accustomed to seeing the fans, especially students, leave at around halftime; most of the time not coming back. I don’t think they realize it, but having fans like that is huge for us. Having them support you gives us something to work for. Ultimately we want to impress them and we want to work for them. So, thanks to all of them who stayed.”
On taking something positive from the game, even though it was a loss…
“You always have to be able to find something positive or else you end up falling in a hole if you are always looking at the negatives. We will take the positives out of here and try and build on that. There are things to clean up still, but good overall with the defense.”
On the attempted block punt…
“It’s tough. I’m not a coach so it’s hard to even put myself in a situation like that. It’s a really hard decision, but we took a chance. You play the game to win, so I am perfectly okay with that decision. There was a penalty and that’s the way things ended up. You just have to be able to move past it. I want to win games just like everyone else does, so let’s go for it.”
Kansas Senior Safety Lubbock Smith
On OSU’s change of offense…
“I believe they continued to run the ball and be more efficient at it; but at the same time they didn’t do too much. They simplified their game.”
On Weis’s speech after the game…
“Pretty much we did the best we could. We took a big step today.”
On his interception…
“I definitely have to give my glory to my Lord Savior Jesus Christ for allowing me to make that play happen. The defense focused in on the game plan and on that play everything just happened my way.”
On the overall defensive unit’s performance…
“I would say we executed pretty well. We have a lot of different things we need to touch up on, but as for the intensity, it was there. Next step is making more plays and making more turnovers to allow our offense to score.”
Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy
On Saturday’s game…
“Good to get out of here with a win. I thought Kansas had a nice plan. The delay actually worked to our advantage. They do a nice job of finding a way to run the football. During the delay we were able to make some adjustments. For the most part, the defense played really well. The offense played just OK. We had a number of chances to put the game out of reach, and we did not take advantage of it.”
On the game winning 72-yard TD by Charlie Moore…
“It was just a base play in our system. There are about three or four pass plays that we run in this system, and that was one of them. Josh Stewart made a great block on the other side of the field. Charlie is really fast when he gets going, and he is also strong, so once he got out there I was sure they would have a hard time catching him.”
On KU’s run defense…
“KU was more physical up front in the run game than we were. It looked like over the last four years there have been certain games that we have played where we just looked bad. Today we just looked bad. We got our shoulders turned. We didn’t get off on linebackers. Up front, they won the battle.”
Oklahoma State Defensive Coordinator Bill Young
On Kansas’ offensive play…
“They would run a couple of pass routes and exchange routes, which really put us in a sweat in our base coverage. They hit us for a couple of big plays and really that’s it except for a couple of missed tackles. Then, obviously, in the fourth quarter, we let them drive the ball down and score, which was not a good deal. You need to shut them out when you get to that point.”
Oklahoma State Freshman Quarterback J.W. Walsh
On the weather delay…
“We knew coming into the game that there might be a chance for that to happen, so we prepared our minds for that. When we had the delay, we came in and we made sure that we never relaxed. We stayed focused on the game.”
On who was winning the battle up front in the fourth quarter…
“We won’t be really sure until we study film, but you’ve got to give it to Kansas. They played a really good game, and we’ll go correct our mistakes and move forward.”
On his performance…
“It wasn’t what I wanted it to be, and it wasn’t what we needed it to be, but we’ll take a win when we can get it. You’ve got to give it to our defense, too. They played a heck of a game and kept us in it.”
Oklahoma State Senior Kicker Quinn Sharp
On his team’s performance…
“It’s not what most fans probably expected, and it’s not what we expected coming in here, but it’s a good boost for the team. We still fought back, and we pulled it out in the end. It’s not the prettiest win that we’ll have in the record books, but it’s still a `W’ and we’ll take it.”
Oklahoma State Junior Running Back Joseph Randle
On how the weather delay affected his team…
“It was just that type of game. It was just a ground-mode game, and that’s just how it was.”
On his team’s running game…
“With the conditions, you’ve just got to nickel and dime it sometimes. Sometimes the big run isn’t there, and you’ve got to take those hard-earned yards.”
On his team’s satisfaction about the win…
“We’re not taking anything away from a win. They played great, but we came out with the win and we’re happy about it. We’re just going to get ready and improve for next week.”
