Kansas/Iowa State Postgame Quotes
Nov. 26, 2005
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LAWRENCE, Kan. –
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Kansas 24, No. 25 Iowa State 21 (OT)
Head Coach Mark Mangino
On the win:
“I am very proud of our senior class. Those kids were part of a great effort today. To win a game that went into overtime, I am glad that those 20 guys get the chance to play in another game. They deserve it, and they earned it. I am very proud of the team overall. We kept our poise today. Nobody panicked, and we just kept working at it, and kept with the game plan. Offense, defense and special teams – we kept the faith, and they gave tremendous effort.
On Brian Luke:
“Brian Luke is a young man that never gave up, never pouted when things didn’t go his way and he had some bad breaks. We are proud to say that this program never gives up on anybody. If you are willing to come to practice and work hard every day and you are a good citizen, we will continue to coach you and try to play your strengths. Everybody here is capable of doing something, and (Luke) is a living example of someone who has a great attitude in the face of adversity.”
On Kansas’ offense:
“Dexton (Fields) is one of those guys like Marcus (Henry) that works hard on the practice field every day. They are young guys that basically aren’t known by our fan base. They dwell on anonymity. We know as coaches that they are getting better every day. We really think those kids are going to be phenomenal next year. They got some things done today, in the last game at Memorial Stadium, that made the difference.”
On Kansas’ defense:
“We played the run very well. Our defense plays hard nosed every game. Give credit to Iowa State. They made nice plays in the passing game. It wasn’t always a matter of getting beat or broken coverage – they made some nice plays. I want to give credit overall to Iowa State. They are a fine football team.”
On Iowa State:
(Head coach) Dan McCarney has quietly done one of they best coaching jobs around in the last 10 years. We have a lot of similarities in football with Iowa State. We have a lot of kids that were overlooked in recruiting like them. They have developed players, as we have. They play hard and they play tough. It was a good football game. If you were one of the lucky fans sitting in Memorial Stadium today, you watched a good football game.”
Freshman Wide Receiver Dexton Fields
On being bowl eligible:
“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to prove to people how good of a team we have.”
Senior Linebacker Banks Floodman
On the game:
“It was a lot of fun. It’s a great way to go out, to get a huge victory like that at the end. We have one more game and I understand that but I am going enjoy this one for awhile. We didn’t want to go out and lose at home in our last game. Going to a bowl game twice in the last three years, it speaks volumes to say that of this program.”
On the win:
“This ranks up there at the top of them. To win a bowl berth in overtime has got to be in the top two or three. This is a different feeling because it extends your season by an entire month. I am going to have to say this is the best year since I have been here. It has been a lot of fun being out there with those guys everyday.”
Senior Quarterback Brian Luke
On the game:
“It feels awesome to end the (regular) season like this. We came here, went through some tough times and it hasn’t been easy. But to end our senior season like this is something special.”
On battling through adversity:
“This is nothing new to me. I’ve been through some tough times my entire career. I just keep working on the practice field and when I get my chance I make the most of it.”
On his touchdown run:
“I had no doubt. I knew I was in there. Fortunately, we had the replay.”
Sophomore Placekicker Scott Webb
On the game-winning kick:
“I saw the snap and the next thing I knew it was going through the uprights. I just tried to block everything out and go through my motion like I do everyday.”
On the celebration:
“That’s the best feeling in the world. Having everyone come out of the stands and having your teammates celebrating is one of the best feelings. That’s why people play sports, to have that feeling.”
On going to a bowl:
“This will be my second one. I didn’t get to play in the first one and I am excited to play in this one. No matter where we go I am really looking forward to it.”
Iowa State
Head Coach Dan McCarney
Opening Statement:
“Congratulations to Coach Mangino and his team. It was a heck of a college football game. They (Kansas) really made some tremendous plays late in the game, in the fourth quarter and in the overtime to win. They deserved it and congratulations to Coach Mangino and his program for getting bowl eligible. I cannot put into words our disappointment. Thankfully, this was not our last football game and we will get to represent our university in a bowl game and we look forward to that.”
On the game:
“We were sloppy tackling late in the game. The Kansas defense took it up another notch or two in the fourth quarter and in the overtime. There were two very good football teams out there today and defenses especially. They made some plays late in the game that we weren’t able to make. They made some great plays in the passing game. Our tackling was sloppy and we missed some tackles that we are normally pretty good at. Kansas did a real nice job of combining pressure and coverage with their defense.”
On the reviewed plays:
“I just have to trust that a TV screen is very accurate. We usually have one of the worst seats in the house for that kind of stuff down on the sideline. We’ll watch the tape and review it, but I have a lot of faith in the guys up in the box.”
On Iowa State:
“I feel terrible for these kids. They gave a great effort just as Kansas did. They put a lot into this and my heart goes out to them, because I know how hard they’ve worked. A lot of people thought we were done when we were 0-3 (in the conference), but we have really come roaring back and played good football.”
On Kansas’ defense:
“They’re athletic and quick and they have a great system. Two of the better defensive coordinators around, John Skladany (ISU) and Bill Young (KU), were coaching today. They did a great job with schemes. Kansas had nine seniors over there starting and they’ve played a lot of football. They know how to trust one another. They understand who’s playing what and how to play it right. They’re a very physical defense.”
Senior Punter Troy Blakenship
On the game:
“We came so close. We had a great opportunity out there for us today, but when the time came for us to make the plays we didn’t make the plays. We were ready to go. In the first half we made the plays, in the second half, we didn’t.”
On the loss:
“As I was walking off the field I thought I was dreaming. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was the same situation as last year in overtime.”
On playing in overtime:
“I wouldn’t say that going into overtime that we thought we were going to lose. We thought we were going to win, but again we didn’t make the plays. It definitely is one of the worst feelings in the world.”
Sophomore Placekicker Bret Culbertson
On the overtime missed kick:
“I was hoping to make up for last year, but it sucks to have let your team down again. I just missed the kick. I was confident and still am in myself, but I’m upset that I let down the team.”
Sophomore Quarterback Bret Meyer
On the game:
“KU’s defense had three turnovers and got 15 points off of that, but our offense didn’t score any points off of its turnovers. We just felt we had the opportunity to win the game and we just didn’t do it.”
On KU’s defense:
“They played a lot of man in the first half and that’s how they scored, but they played a little bit more zone in the second half.”
