Nebraska Player Quotes

Quarterback Taylor Martinez
On first Big 12 game...  
"I am glad that this was my first Big 12 game and we came out on top and played very well."

On his touchdown pass...
"It was a play-action pass that I threw deep to Kyler Reed. He made a great catch and outran the safety. I just tried to get the ball to him because I saw he beat the safety so bad."

Running Back Roy Helu Jr
On getting the win...
"It feels good going on the road and opening up Big 12 play with a rematch of last year."

On the offensive production...
"Our offensive line played good, it all starts with them. Mike Caputo handles that. Taylor did well on his reads tonight and I think that was the key."

Wide Reciever Niles Paul
On the South Dakota State game...
"It was a good thing we took our game up another notch, we played well this week and we were prepared for K-State."

On the bye week...
"It gave us a chance to focus and get our legs back under ourselves. We got the fatigue factor out of it, we got everything out of the way and got focused."

On the conference rivalry...
"The fans were saying some pretty harsh things when we got here, so we had to shut them up. We just are going to finish with a bang, win the Big 12 North and the Big 12 conference and then leave."

Defensive End Conor McDermott
On Daniel Thomas....
"He's huge, he's a good player. I think last year he was more of a strategic ahead guy, I saw this year he was trying to cut back a little more."

On K-State offense...
"We weren't really surprised. I thought we were well prepared, our coaches did a great job of preparing us for games. We had a great film session throughout the week and we were well prepared for the game. I think it was just about stopping the run. We knew they were going to run the ball and we just needed to stop it."

Motivation of the team...
"South Dakota State was kind of a shock for us and I felt we came out with the correct mindset today. This is the beginning of the Big 12, we just decided to forget the preseason and whatever happened then, we came out and we played a pretty good football game."

Safety PJ Smith
On motivation facing K-State for last time...
"We feel that way about every game in the Big 12. It is our last time, so we have to put a stamp on everything. We just go out and work hard every day."

On questions about run defense...
"We were upset about it. Coach talked about it. We knew we could stop the run. People are going to say what they want to say, we just ignore it and do our thing on the field. We just take care of it."

On getting K-State out of rhythm...
"It was very important. If we stop that, they have to try to open up and pass and we do not think they could pass on us at all."

I-back Rex Burkhead
On hostile road games...
"You come out on the road to a hostile environment and it is the first Big 12 game. You want to come out and make a point, make a statement that we are here and ready to play."

On having an extra week to prepare...
"This is a huge statement. Hopefully, it gives us some momentum heading into the rest if Big 12 play. Hopefully we keep executing. We have a lot of things to fix and we can fix them."