Nebraska Football
Postgame Quotes
Husker Players
vs. Kansas State
Nov. 12, 2005
Kicker Jordan Congdon
On what was going through his mind before his game-winning kick
"I have to make it, or I'm not going to want to be in the locker room after the game. I just had to knock it through."
On breaking the freshman field goal record
"It's great just because I've been able to have the chance to help my team win some big games. I could have kicked nine field goals, and as long as we're going to a bowl, I'd be happy. It really doesn't matter that much to me, but knowing that I kicked some field goals in some very crucial situations for the team -- that just makes me happy to say that I did that more than anything."
On keeping the winning kick in his mind in the future
"You just move on. You're only as good as your next kick. I've just always been taught that you have to move on whether you make it or miss it. The next kick is the most important one of your life."
Linebacker Corey McKeon
On gaining bowl eligibility with today's win
"It's big. We came out in a three-game slide, and we knew we had to come out and fight. Win or loss, we had to come out and just be intense and play as a team. That's what we came out and did, so everyone is happy. To have a win with it in a big game like this feels good. We came out and did what we wanted to do.
On the overall defensive effort
"I thought we played great. We played as a team. We had a lot of checks, a lot of different stuff that went in. It paid off."
On his interception
"That play, it was a broken play. The defensive line did such a great job putting pressure on the quarterback. He had to roll back. He didn't roll the way he wanted. The way the quarterback was running, I knew he was going to misthrow the ball or I was going to get a big hit on the guy, so I just followed him. I saw the ball up in the air, dragged the feet and caught the ball."
On the defense's reaction to quarterback Zac Taylor going down
"We knew we had to step it up. In any situation like that when the game is close and one of your key players goes down, defense just needs to step it up, and we did. We came out and got a little more intense and played a little harder, and it turned out pretty well for us."
Freshman quarterback Harrison Beck
On ending his redshirt season
"It was definitely worth it. I just wanted to go in there. You see Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn and all of them contributing, and it was definitely worth it. That's what you ask for when you sign as a player, and especially as a quarterback -- pressure situations, you have to come through. For Nate Swift to make a good catch and then you get the roughing the passer call, and then Jordan Congdon comes out there and kicks a game-winner, that was tremendous. It was worth it."
On playing in Memorial Stadium
"It's amazing. You warm up in front of 78,000 people, but that's nowhere near being in there with six minutes left in the fourth quarter against Kansas State, up by two. It was amazing. It was fun. Coaches kept faith in me, and they prepare me to be the starter every day in practice. It all worked out."
On young players contributing in the game
"It should give a lot of hope (for the future). You have guys like Cody Glenn going in there gaining yards really big in the short yardage area, and you have Marlon Lucky going in there on the kickoff returns to return them. He's a threat. Everybody is contributing, and they're gaining experience so next year when we go in there, we have an idea. It's not just going to be us going out there blind."
On throwing his first career completion
"It was big. It was a big play by (Nate) Swift. He made a great catch for me. He was wide open and he made the play."
On getting the win
"The whole focus today was winning this football game and getting to a bowl game. And for the senior class, you always want to send them out winners. They came out excited today. The whole locker room was fired up and we came out and finished the way we wanted."
Free Safety Blake Tiedtke
On the importance of going to a bowl game
"I can't even put into words how important it is to us to go to a bowl game. After last year not going and this year especially being a senior and you're to the point where you don't want to see it end. You've been with these guys for five years and have been with the coaches and we're all just so tight. To get an extra game is huge."
On how making a bowl game affects the Nebraska football program
"I think it's a big turning point. We have a lot of young guys playing. There's a lot of talent on this team. Getting them to a bowl game and letting them get the experience of a bowl game will bring nothing but great things."
On holding Kansas State to a field goal at the end of the game
"It's a pride thing. When they get the balll inside the 20, we want to hold them to a field goal. That's one of our defensive goals every week. We've been playing great and there was no reason why we shouldn't have held them there. It was a big stop."