Nov. 18, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas-Kansas State Postgame Quotes<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

Kansas 39, KansasState 20

Nov. 18, 2006 – Lawrence, Kan.

Head Coach Mark Mangino

On the win:

“It is not about me, it is about our players and what it means to them. It tells a story that if you keep at it, be persistent, keep your head up at tough times, look towards your coaches for support and believe in what you are doing, good things will happen. That is exactly what happened to this team. They believed in themselves, and they believed in each other. It is a good win for our kids. I am really happy for them. It was a great crowd today — a lot of excitement.”

On KU’s seniors:

“It was a great effort by all of the kids, but some of the seniors left their marks here today. Last night, at our team meeting, I asked (linebackers coach) Mike Mallory, a captain and All-Big 10 linebacker at Michigan, to address our team, maybe tell them something that (former Michigan coach) Bo Schembechler might have said before a big game. One of the things that Mike touched on that Bo would say before the games is that you should leave your mark if you are a senior. Leave your mark on this game. Some of the seniors left their mark on this game.”

On Kansas’ Defense:

“Tremendous effort. Our pass defense continues to get better week-in and week-out. They are getting more confident. I told our players that if they stopped the run and we run the football, that we would win the game today. We played the run very well and forced KansasState to throw a lot, and our kids were well prepared.”

On becoming Bowl-eligible:

“Our kids can celebrate tonight’s game, but tomorrow, we have a game called the Border Showdown (to prepare for), and that is all we are going to talk about. We are going to play our rival next Saturday, and we are going to get ready to do that.”

Senior Center David Ochoa

On leaving his mark:

“It was an accumulation of a lot of hard work, that is what we kind of wanted to show. It was obviously an emotional day for all the seniors. We knew what we could do; we knew what we do well, and we did those things well tonight.”

On Kansas’ turnaround:

“It’s a credit to our players and our coaches because we are a resilient group of guys. There’s no one who works harder than we do in the summer or during the season; that translates into wins, and nothing really gets us down.”

Freshman Quarterback Kerry Meier

On turnovers:

“Turnovers will kill you, but luckily our defense hung in there, stayed positive and were able to make some plays. I thank them, and I hope they continue to do that during the next few weeks.”

On playing against his brother (Dylan Meier):

“We talked briefly after the game. He congratulated me and I wished him luck for the rest of the season. He takes a lot of heat from me.”

Senior Running Back Jon Cornish

On senior day:

“Winning against KansasState, at home, on senior day probably ranks as my favorite victory.”

Sophomore cornerback Aqib Talib

On KansasState’s six turnovers:

“It was real nice. That was probably the best our defense played all season. We were really motivated tonight playing in a rivalry game and we were just trying to fly around and make plays.

On Anthony Webb’s performance:

“He told me before the game that today was going to be his breakout game. He finally had his breakout game and he is ready to go now.”

On the defensive gameplan:

“We had a real good gameplan on what they tried to do. They try to keep things simple in regard to the plays they run. We seemed to have a plan for every formation they threw at us.

Junior place kicker Scott Webb

On the game:

“I was just trying to go out there and do my job. It was nothing special. This is just what I try to do every day, but it was special to get this win. It was great for the seniors to get to go out on top especially at home. I came in here with a lot of them. I red-shirted and they didn’t and it was great to see them go out like this.

On his made field goals:

“Coach (Bill) Young came up to me before the game and told me how much pressure it took off the defense when I made field goals. I just went out and did my job today.”

On his career-high 49-yard field goal:

“I like to watch my field goals go through and I knew it was good when it came off my foot. It makes it a lot easier when you don’t have to worry about it going in.”

Head Coach Ron Prince

On the game:

“Obviously too much (Jon) Cornish. (Cornish) is a terrific runner, we knew that coming in. We knew we were going to have to control the ball and do some things so that they couldn’t work us over with (Cornish). Not only did we not do that, we did all the things that magnify his ability and gave him extra possession after extra possession on turnovers. Most of our issues were self-inflicted. Those are the things you can’t do if you want to be a successful team.”

On Josh Freeman:

“The people around him (quarterback Josh Freeman) need to play well and that didn’t happen. We were a little out of sync and a little bit out of rhythm. Some of the plays that were very negative for us there was a variety of factors that played into that. When you’re the quarterback you’re the person that everyone’s looking towards and those of us who are on the coaching side understand what happened on those plays. I’m the one that did a poor job, not him. He’s a freshman quarterback who has been unbelievable for us this year. Everything he’s done has been a real blessing for sure.”

On KansasState’s mindset:

“I thought that it was a very physical game, but they all are at this time of the year. Everybody has these types of circumstances that they’re working through. This is part of being able to win a championship and trying to prep our team for this type of run in the future that we’re going to have to be able to play this way down the stretch. I thought we had good practices, obviously we walked into a team here that is very well coached and had a very good plan”

Freshman Quarterback Josh Freeman

On the loss:

“We will be fine. Tonight and tomorrow will be the heaviest days, but after that, it will be a pretty normal week.”

On Leon Patton:

“Leon played a good game. He is pretty consistent. He has a pretty good game every week. I expect that out of Leon, and he showed up.”

On the remainder of the season:

“We lost, and all that matters is what we just did. The season is not over, but you don’t go out and lay down like we did. Even if we have a bowl game locked up, you still want to win, and we didn’t get that done.”

On playing the week following the win over Texas:

“After you win, you have to follow it up. You are going to have to win every week to get into the top-25 and to get where we are trying to go.”

Senior Linebacker Brandon Archer

On Jon Cornish:

“He is a great running back, and we knew that coming into the game. He got his yards, and we had a few missed tackles. He is a great running back – the best in the Big 12.”

On the loss:

“The main thing right now is that we have to review and evaluate ourselves. It wasn’t a great effort on our part – offensively or defensively, but we just have to move on.”