Postgame Quotes
Oct. 22, 2011
Recap | Final Stats | Notes |
KANSAS STATE 59, KANSAS 21
Lawrence, Kan.
October 22, 2011
Postgame Quotes
Kansas head coach Turner Gill
On if this loss to a rival is tough for the locker room to take:
“It’s tough. All of our losses are tough to take. We are competitive; we plan on going out and playing well. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, particularly in the second half. You’ve got to give credit to them (Kansas State). They’re a great football team and that’s why they’re ranked as one of the top teams in the country.”
On the big play that led to Kansas State’s field goal to end the first half:
“We had a guy who didn’t do what he’s supposed to do. He went onto another receiver instead of staying in his quarter of the field. They threw the ball right where he left. That was a huge play in the game. There were several others that we didn’t execute as well, but that one hurt.”
On the KU’s kick return that resulted in three penalties:
“It’s discipline. Our guys need to come out and really do what they need to do. We had a couple guys that maybe were trying to compensate instead of doing what they have been taught. That really cost us.”
On what he will tell the players as they get ready for the next game:
“I’ll just tell them to keep on working. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to keep on working on continuing to improve as a football team and continue to improve as a coach. I’ll continue to evaluate where we are both offensively and defensively. We also have to look at things we’re doing personnel-wise. Everyone’s just has to keep on battling. We’ll come back, get them into focus and get ready to play a good football game next week.”
Kansas junior wide receiver Kale Pick
On the mood in the locker room:
“It’s obviously disappointing, but we lost to a good team today. As an athlete you have to move on. If you have a bad play, you have to move on to the next play. If not, you’re going to struggle. You have to worry about the present time; what is happening now. That’s the biggest thing we need to do. We need to keep improving, keep coming in here and studying film in our free time and be completely dedicated to this program to improve for next week and to finish the season.”
On moving on from a loss:
“That’s just part of the game. You have to be mentally tough coming in to practice. You just have to worry about yourself and keep getting better. As long as each player improves their game and studies the film, we’ll get better as a whole.”
On Kansas State’s defense:
“They play hard. They are a really disciplined team. They hustle hard to the ball and try to strip you every chance that they get. They are coached well and they stay to their assignments and techniques and don’t make any mistakes.”
Kansas sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb
On the loss:
“It’s definitely frustrating, especially as an offense. We’re a lot better than we played today. We’re going to show that and we’re going to keep pushing. We have some young guys that made some mistakes and you’re going to have that when you’re young, but it’s hard to swallow right now.”
On how the team can improve:
“We have to keep attacking everyday and go out to practice every day with a high level of intensity. The season is not over. We have some things on our plate that we can really salvage the season with.”
On what the team needs to improve:
“A lot of it is just the intensity. You could feel that when we came out for the third quarter. You could feel them starting to roll on us. There were times where we just kicked ourselves in the butt and it hurts to know that there were some things out there that we left on the field.”
Kansas sophomore running back James Sims
On Kansas State:
“They just outplayed us. Give them a bunch of credit. They came out ready to play and we didn’t.”
On the team’s game plan:
“We want to run the ball and stay ahead of the chains; that way it will open the passing game up. This morning we didn’t stay ahead of the chains. We moved it a little bit, but we have to stay consistent.”
On the heat on Kansas head coach Turner Gill:
“You can’t blame Coach for that. It’s not like he can go out there and play. They tell us what we’re supposed to do and we have to go out there and execute. It’s nothing that Coach Gill is doing. It’s on us as a team and we just have to play together.”
Kansas junior defensive end Toben Opurum
On game against Kansas State:
“We let the game get away from us at the beginning at the second half. When a team scores two touchdowns in less than two minutes coming out of half, it’s going to shoot anybody’s momentum down. We kind of let that bring us down as an offense and a defense. It’s the same story every week. We have to come out strong in the third quarter. That’s been our issue from game one until where we’re at now. It’s something we need to address. We’ve started to address it, but we have to execute when we get out on the field.”
On last week carrying over to this week:
“I’m not one for moral victories. As long as we’re losing, I’m not going to be happy with our performance. I’m not sure why our momentum didn’t carry over to the first half or the entire game. It’s something we have to address. We have to execute the plays that are called. A lot of guys aren’t doing what we’re asked to do or we’re getting mixed up signals, or whatever the reason may be, we have to execute what is called.”
On getting used to this outcome:
“I don’t think that’s the case. Everyone here wants to win and is going to do whatever it takes to win. It’s not a feeling that we’re going to get used to. Our expectations are still high. I still feel like we have an opportunity to win more games this year. I’m not throwing the season out yet. I still feel like we have a chance to have a winning season and to accomplish some things that nobody else believes we can do.”
Kansas junior cornerback Greg Brown
On repetition of outcome:
“Things are getting repetitive. You don’t like losing. You don’t like getting used to losing, which seems like we’re doing as a team. I feel like we need to go out and practice harder and keep our minds right. We know we have a lot more games to go to turn the season around.”
On how low this game ranks:
“It ranks pretty low. All of them are low as it is. As a team, we have to put it past us and just move forward. I know it’s not something you can just brush off, losing to a rival team like that. We still have to let it go and keep going with our season and try to turn it around.”
On a fix for this defense:
“We have to execute and make some plays. Sometimes you just have to go out there and make a play even if it’s not your play to make. I feel like as a defense if we play our roles right and everyone trusts everybody to get their roles right, I’m sure those playmaking abilities will come out.”
Kansas sophomore cornerback Tyler Patmon
On fix for third quarter problems:
“In practice, we’re going harder. We’re trying to simulate the same situation as coming out in the third quarter. It’s kind of hard, but at the same time, when we come out in the third quarter, we just have to be ready to play.”
On facing option first team instead of spread offense:
“It’s way different. If a guy doesn’t handle his responsibility or stay in the right gap, then the whole scheme can be messed up. In a pass, a guy can mess and there can be a safety on top. You can see the difference in the run game on how big a mental mistake or a missed assignment is.”
On momentum shift from end of first half into second half:
“The field goal was disappointing, but when we came out in the third quarter, we still knew we had a chance to win the game. That kick-off return was a big let down. I know some of our guys were hanging their head, but at the same time, we have to learn to get over that and keep playing.”
Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder
On his team’s performance:
“We were not without our faults but I thought our youngsters played well and particularly played well when they had to. We got off to a good start and then stalled a little bit, but they came back and really opened it up in the third quarter. Our defense played so well and they got two turnovers (in the third quarter) right off the bat as well as the kick-off return, so I am proud of our youngsters.”
On the kick-off return for a touchdown to begin the third quarter:
“I can’t speak for them (KU), but I think it was a major play in the game. There is no doubt about that.”
On playing Kansas in a rivalry game on the road:
“It is another Saturday. I think our players played hard and did so with some spirit and emotion and didn’t look beyond this ballgame.”
On the Kansas offense:
“The University of Kansas is a very fine offensive football team. They have good balance in their offense and they can throw it and run it. They have good offensive linemen, I like those backs and I think that quarterback (Jordan Webb) is a poised young guy. They are going to get better and better, but right now they are a young football team, because they have some talent on that side.”
Kansas State senior defensive lineman Jordan Voelker
On the K-State win:
“It’s a great feeling. This was a big game. It was also a big game for setting us up for next week against Oklahoma.”
On coach Snyder’s success:
“He makes us keep an even head all the time. We never get too high or too low.”
On looking forward to Oklahoma:
“I think we have some confidence especially since it will be a home game for us.”
Kansas senior offensive lineman Clyde Aufner
On KSU quarterback Collin Klein:
“He’s an extremely tough kid and as an offensive line we love blocking for him. We know he is going to run hard and we know we are going to block hard.”
Kansas junior quarterback Collin Klein
On the K-state victory:
“It was a team victory all-around. We hung together and this offense showed some consistency.”
On the passing game:
“Unfortunately, we got into some long-yardage situations on third downs and people stepped up and made plays. Guys across the board made catches and made plays.”
