Nov. 3, 2007

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Kansas 76, Nebraska 39<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

Kansas Postgame Quotes

Nov. 3, 2007

Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino

On Todd Reesing:

“He is very intelligent. The University put him in the Honors program as a true freshman. He has a chance to maybe be the best that I have coached. He can handle praise and he deserves it. He has come in and created stability and leadership. He has brought a competitive spark to the team and he is only a sophomore. He still has some things to prove but knowing him he will prove them.”

On the offensive game plan:

“I had conversations throughout the game with the offensive coaches and we just wanted to keep running our offense. We wanted to run our system and let the kids see if they could continue to make plays. I didn’t think we were going to score 76 points today but the kids really played well. They played smart, sharp football”

On his expectations coming into the season:

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I thought we were going to be where we are now. I thought we had a chance to have a really good football team. I felt that we had led the kids through winter and spring ball and training camp. If some kids stepped up and we got the quarterback settled, got the defensive situation settled and the interior of the offensive line settled, then I thought we had a chance to have a pretty good football team. Those kids have stepped up and developed and here we are.”

On the publicity the team is receiving:

“I’m not going to let (the publicity) be a distraction. This last week we had a lot of media come here. I have been through this type of situation before as an assistant coach. We have talked about it with the staff and with (Media Relations Director) Mike Strauss. We have given the media the access they deserve and that they need to do their stories. We have talked about taking steps to make sure everyone is getting the access they deserve.”

On blowouts:

“I have been in a couple of situations where we have played good offense and played good defense and played good special teams. We didn’t have any major health issues. I was associated with a team at Kansas State and Oklahoma that was like that. We still have games to play.”

On the team’s makeup:

“You can’t discount Reesing. We have two or three other kids that the media and players say are outstanding players. But for the most part it is kind of an ensemble task. There is a group who is pretty smart, tough as nails, play hard. We have some guys who you would call intellectuals, who are really smart and intelligent kids that prove it in the classroom. They are out there playing for us, making smart plays and not making mistakes.”

KU Quarterback Todd Reesing

On the offensive explosion:

“This is one of those games that you’re never going to forget. Anytime you can score over 70 points against a team like Nebraska, it’s unbelievable. We’re ecstatic. We understand what we’re doing, but we’re playing within the offense. The coaches are calling good plays to put us in position to make big plays.”

On the series with Nebraska:

“In this entire season, every game people continue to look at the past history and records we have with every team. That has no effect on us. This is a whole new season; you can’t look in the past on those kinds of things. We’re a whole new team and we’re bringing a new attitude to Kansas. We’re not going to look in the past, because that has no effect on the here and now.”

On breaking offensive records:

“We’re never thinking about statistics and records. We’re out there scoring points, having a lot of fun and trying to get a victory. There’s no reason to worry about the stats because we’re going to find a way to score. It doesn’t matter who’s scoring or how we do it. That’s not important to us.”

Sophomore Free Safety Justin Thornton

On the offense today:

“It’s hard to lose when your offense scores 76 points in a game. We were fortunate that our offense was clicking on all cylinders today. They put up points on almost every drive. That definitely helps (the defense) out.”

On the defense:

“We came out and weren’t on top of everything. We made a couple of technique mistakes. I think the coaches made some good calls, but (Nebraska’s) receivers made some good catches at times and at times we slipped up and allowed them to make big plays.”

On Nebraska’s passing offense:

“By watching film, and the other games they’ve played, we expected them to come out and balance their run and pass game. They have a good running back (Marlon Lucky) who is their leading receiver on their team. We expected him to get some more balls. It was definitely surprising that they came out and passed that much. At halftime we had to make some adjustments and we were able to come out in the second half and put on a pretty good defensive show.”

Senior running back Brandon McAnderson

On scoring 76 points:

“It felt pretty good. We were clicking and really executing today and it paid off. It was pretty big stuff, but a win is a win. We scored 19 in a couple of games and won, and today we scored 76, but it wasn’t like we were celebrating the 76 points we scored, we were just celebrating the victory.”

On not turning the ball over:

“It’s really good, because we aren’t beating ourselves. In the past, it had been one of our huge problems. This year we have a different mentality and we’re more mature.”

On helping the defense out:

“We owed them one. Nebraska did some good things in the passing game and had some success against us. It’s not necessarily a good thing, but now we can go on the practice field and correct some problems we’ve had on defense. I’m non on defense but I know we’ll be ready.”

On if the team feels more pressure at 9-0:

“I don’t feel the pressure. I’m not just trying to say the right things here, but I feel like we’re a different kind of team. We have a lot of chemistry, and we go out there and have fun. It’s always more fun when you win, but I’ve already been having fun.”

On the atmosphere today:

“It was pretty cool. It’s always good to see the stands packed, especially for Nebraska.”

Junior linebacker Mike Rivera

On forcing five turnovers:

“It was nice to get some turnovers. We needed those in the first half, but I’m glad we got them in the second half. It was nice.”

On the game:

“It was a big win. We just have to keep things rolling. Being 9-0 feels really good. We just want to keep it going on the rest of the year. We’re looking forward to Oklahoma State next week and to start studying for them.”

On if the team has any more to prove:

“I feel like we do. Every week you have to prove yourself. It’s not like you’re 9-0 and all of the sudden you’ve got nothing to do. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to correct on defense. We want to get out there and do it big next week.”

Nebraska Head Coach Bill Callahan

On the game:

“First off you have to give credit to Kansas, they did a good job and they are a great football team. They played well in all dimensions of the game. You have to give them credit. They scored four straight times after the score was tied and really pulled away in the game. Give credit to Mark Mangino. They are very well coached and a very disciplined football team. They really outplayed us in all phases of the game. We wanted to come out in the second half and get a score and we did that. Then they got a very good kick-off return after that. Their (Kansas) special teams played very well all day. We had too many turnovers that led to the huge separation that was created in the third quarter.”

On the defense:

“We are doing everything that we can. There really are no other options if you are referring to coaching changes. We don’t have any options at this point. We are just going to do the best we can. We are just going to go home and get ready to play Kansas State. We are just going to keep working. As coaches we are just going to keep working, coaching, and motivating. We need to help the players get through this because this is a tough time for us. We are going to do everything in our power to help the kids out.”

On junior quarterback Joe Ganz:

“Joe (Ganz) had his good moments and his bad moments. I thought he did a pretty good job. In the first half he sparked us and then again in the second half on the first drive he sparked us again. He made some incredible plays and I am really proud of that. I know for a fact that he would like to have a few plays back in the third quarter that led to some turnovers. When you get behind by that margin, you really press to try to make a play and close up the game up a bit.”

Senior Wide Receiver Maurice Purify

On his performance:

“It was great placement by Joe (Ganz). I had not choice but to catch them. One was an inside fade, one was a goal line fade. We didn’t win. I could have had 200 yards and five touchdowns, but we still didn’t win. It doesn’t feel as good as a win would have.”

On surviving an offensive shootout:

“We needed to force a couple more punts and we needed to drive the ball a little bit more in the first half. We were leading in the first half and they only had one punt. We need to hold up on defense more and convert on third downs. Not too many offenses can score every time they get the ball. We knew it was going to be hard and it puts a lot of pressure on us knowing we have to score every time we get the ball.”

On quarterback Joe Ganz:

“Ganz played well. He controlled our offense. He read the defense well. He put the ball where it needed to be. A couple of times he threw the ball a little high and it got picked off.”

Senior Safety Bryan Wilson

On the game:

“I can’t tell you what they were doing that we couldn’t stop. We came in with a solid game plan. We will look at the film tonight and figure out what it was. They got us out of our blitz game early and beat us with key plays here and there. They got us on our heels and took advantage of it. It got out of hand real fast.”

On Kansas’ offense:

“You would never think a team would score 76 on you. We came in with a good scheme. We thought we could take advantage against them in some areas . We couldn’t come against them like we usually do.”

Junior Linebacker Tyler Wortman

On a blowout loss:

“It sucks. I really wish it could have gone the other way. We just have to move on, learn from the film and get ready for next week. It snowballed on us bad. It’s difficult when it goes bad on the road. You just have to build momentum on the good things that happen to your team.”

On the defensive effort:

“I don’t think you can play like that (giving up). You have to keep going no matter what. It comes down to pride.”