Kansas State Postgame Quotes
Nebraska 17, Kansas State 3
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.
On what he told his team after the game<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
“A lot of things, some of them of a personal nature. For the most part, we weren't good enough tonight. We made mistakes that cost us a very fine opportunity for our program and for our players and for our seniors. I was saddened that we couldn't deliver that opportunity for our seniors. I was proud of our football team for putting themselves in the position they were in this evening. I wanted our seniors to understand that they will always be a part of the foundation. I told the underclassmen that we need some leaders to step up and that we needed to begin to go through the process for the future, and hopefully this, among so many other opportunities that we've learned life lessons applied directly to us on the football field.”
On if it was a just a story of missed opportunities for his team
“Well that was a major part of it. We had ample opportunities. Our football team understands that. I thought we played well enough to win defensively. We couldn't score on offense. They (Nebraska) helped themselves I think, their punter was absolutely amazing, put us in a hole, we couldn't do anything about it. We played the entire third quarter in plus territory and still couldn't get the ball in the end zone. This (Nebraska) is a very good defensive football game, so understand that, so they had something to do with it, it's not just our offense. But we just weren't nearly as good as we needed to be to have an opportunity to win the ball game. But I was proud of our defense and the way they played.”
On if the team was tired after not having a bye week all season
“I don't know. We're one of only 16 teams in the country out of 119 that's played 12 consecutive ball games, and I know that's difficult. But I wouldn't put this loss on that, I don't think. I don't think there was a lack of effort. We're not a fast football team to begin with, so I don't know if that's necessarily an issue. But I know over the course of the year I think it has been, but not necessarily this game.”
On if he's happy with how the season went and the progress the team made
“I'm not unhappy. I don't think along the lines of what makes me happy and what doesn't make me happy. It's pretty hard to be happy after you lose a ball game like this. But I think in the grand scheme of things when we reflect back on the season, which we will do here briefly, there are many things that I am pleased with. We've gotten ourselves a little bit better and a little bit better. We've had some inconsistencies from game to game, we've gone down, gone up. It is what it is, and it's not any different today than it was a week ago or before that. But I do think from the very beginning, where we've started and where we are right now, I think we're a better football team in a lot of different ways. Some of that's on the field of play, and so much of it is all the intrinsic things we always talk about. I saw some heartaches tonight in the locker room that I didn't see at Louisiana-Lafayette, and that tells me a lot about the growth of this football team, the emotional growth of our players.”