On the message after the BYU loss…
“We didn’t respond [after] the two minutes [before half]. That really turned the game around, honestly. That’s our job as coaches … to make sure that we do respond. That’s going to be the message: ‘How do we respond?’”
“… Because I was frustrated, just like some of the players were, just like the fan base was. Everybody was frustrated that we didn’t respond to the poor end of the first half. You couldn’t do anything about it. It happened, and we just didn’t respond.”
On QB Avery Johnson’s performance at BYU…
“I’m confident that he’ll respond this week. But it can’t just be Avery. We’ve got to be better around him collectively.”
“We have to be better in complementary football … We have to be better on defense to help him. We didn’t get our offense a short field [at BYU]. We’ve got to find some ways to get the ball out and get some interceptions and get some strips on defense.”
On facing a Gundy-coached team…
“I have so much respect for Mike [Gundy] for being in the business and having the success — the sustained success at one place. It’s pretty cool to see.”
“Tons of respect for him and his program, but still, it’s Kansas State against Oklahoma State, and I know that they’re going to be really well coached. I know that it’s going to be a really physical game.”
“Both teams know each other pretty well, so it’s still going to come down to the same things with turnovers, red zone success, explosive plays and limiting mental errors. It’s going to be a battle between the two teams.”
On defending the Cowboys’ offense…
“It’s really difficult because Ollie Gordon is so good — you have to try to control him.”
“And it’s a pretty simple game with them. If you’re going to commit a lot of guys to the run, which teams have, they’re going to throw the football against you. And I think they’re throwing for an awful lot of yards.”
“[Quarterback Alan Bowman] is playing at a really good level. Their wide receivers are talented and have been around there for a while, so they know their system really well.”
“They’ve got so many of those veteran kids back in the o-line … An experienced quarterback and one of the best running backs in college football. It’ll be a big challenge for us.”
“It’s going to be a simple thing. You better get off blocks and you better be able to tackle. And when they’re going to complete passes, you better make tackles.”
On the Cowboys’ defense…
“I don’t see a spot where they’re young, inexperienced. They’ve got a lot of older guys. They’re playing really fast. I thought they did a really good job against a terrific Utah team.”
“I know that they’ve bled a little bit on some runs, but boy, they stuffed them when they had to, and gave themselves an opportunity to win.”
“And they get after the passer. They tackle really well and they strike you on defense. So same thing, every week we have to play our best game on both sides of the ball and on special teams to give ourselves a chance to be successful.”
On K-State’s offensive status…
“We’re having success rushing the football. But you know, we would rather play from the lead. When you get down, you cannot become one-dimensional.”
“We just have to better balance early on in games. And I say that with all respect, we had good balance. We didn’t get it in the dang end zone the whole first half. I thought we had really good balance. But when you can’t stick it in the end zone, and then they get the lead … you’re not gonna be able to throw the ball as much because they’re playing the pass.”