On preparation for Kansas State …
“Well they’ve had a little bit of rest. They had a long flight, a long day in Tucson. In a lot of ways we did, but we had a good day today. There are things that we have to get better and I think we can expect to do that. We have a tough challenge against Kansas State, a totally different type of team. Our tempo really helped us the last game. We ran 95 plays and they ran about 70, so that was good for us.”
On team’s attitude following a close game …
“I think the attitude was good. Even if you win the game sometimes it’s like ‘We’ve got this deal figured out now, we’re good.’ No, it was good today. We had a long practice. Our guys worked well. We have to practice better tomorrow, keep getting better. There were some things that I didn’t like about practice, but all in all, I think it was pretty good ”
On the film grade of the offensive line …
“Good. We’re much improved on the offensive line. Experience wise, we lost five players. Talent wise and coaching wise, I think we really stepped up a level.”
On Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder calling Blake Bogenschutz ‘poised’ …
“I think it’s well said. That’s exactly what I would have said. Especially with a young player, a redshirt freshman, on the road, in a tough environment, against a good team. Sometimes you go in the tank after that, but he didn’t do that. He just played. Obviously he didn’t like it, wasn’t happy with it, but again, I think he played through it and really gave us a chance to win. We were right in the mix. The fumbles, the returns for touchdowns, those type of things really took their toll, of course, but Blake, for a freshman, was exceptional.”
On the team’s resilience …
“I think it shows a lot. That’s the thing you learn. Sometimes you don’t learn that in practice, but sometimes you learn that on the road, in competition. The thing we’ve got to do is we just have to press on. Jimmy Johnson use to always say, ‘press on, press on, press on’ and that’s what we have to do. The thing that we have to realize is that we have tremendous upside. I told our team before the end of the game, I said ‘I think we have a chance to have a good team,’ and I told them today that I didn’t think I was wrong. I think we have a chance to have a very good team. It’s not going to just happen. We have to step up and we have to make it happen.“
On playing against Kansas State’s style of play …
“I think that’s a little bit of the beauty of college football because sometimes you see the wishbone, the veer, the I, the power, and now it’s things like the spread. Kansas State’s not a real spread team and I think that’s the beauty of college football. I think it is something that you have to prepare for. Arizona had a three-down front. You don’t see a three-down front much. You see a four-down front. Kansas State’s much like our defense with a four-down front, as much as the front is concerned, but it’s a different look.”
On the work of Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder …
“I think he’s about to get it figured out (laughs). He’s done a phenomenal job. I know when I was at Tulsa and Oklahoma State we would play Kansas State every year, like 10 times, and we never lost to them. I lost to them one time, but you just knew it was going to be a win. Now, his style of coaching, the players he recruits. I don’t know if he has all 5-star recruits on that team, I don’t think he does, but they’re well coached, they don’t make mistakes, they don’t beat themselves and they have bought into his system. To me, I don’t know anybody that’s done a better job than what Coach Snyder’s done at Kansas State. I don’t know who it would be. ”
“Well they’ve had a little bit of rest. They had a long flight, a long day in Tucson. In a lot of ways we did, but we had a good day today. There are things that we have to get better and I think we can expect to do that. We have a tough challenge against Kansas State, a totally different type of team. Our tempo really helped us the last game. We ran 95 plays and they ran about 70, so that was good for us.”
On team’s attitude following a close game …
“I think the attitude was good. Even if you win the game sometimes it’s like ‘We’ve got this deal figured out now, we’re good.’ No, it was good today. We had a long practice. Our guys worked well. We have to practice better tomorrow, keep getting better. There were some things that I didn’t like about practice, but all in all, I think it was pretty good ”
On the film grade of the offensive line …
“Good. We’re much improved on the offensive line. Experience wise, we lost five players. Talent wise and coaching wise, I think we really stepped up a level.”
On Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder calling Blake Bogenschutz ‘poised’ …
“I think it’s well said. That’s exactly what I would have said. Especially with a young player, a redshirt freshman, on the road, in a tough environment, against a good team. Sometimes you go in the tank after that, but he didn’t do that. He just played. Obviously he didn’t like it, wasn’t happy with it, but again, I think he played through it and really gave us a chance to win. We were right in the mix. The fumbles, the returns for touchdowns, those type of things really took their toll, of course, but Blake, for a freshman, was exceptional.”
On the team’s resilience …
“I think it shows a lot. That’s the thing you learn. Sometimes you don’t learn that in practice, but sometimes you learn that on the road, in competition. The thing we’ve got to do is we just have to press on. Jimmy Johnson use to always say, ‘press on, press on, press on’ and that’s what we have to do. The thing that we have to realize is that we have tremendous upside. I told our team before the end of the game, I said ‘I think we have a chance to have a good team,’ and I told them today that I didn’t think I was wrong. I think we have a chance to have a very good team. It’s not going to just happen. We have to step up and we have to make it happen.“
On playing against Kansas State’s style of play …
“I think that’s a little bit of the beauty of college football because sometimes you see the wishbone, the veer, the I, the power, and now it’s things like the spread. Kansas State’s not a real spread team and I think that’s the beauty of college football. I think it is something that you have to prepare for. Arizona had a three-down front. You don’t see a three-down front much. You see a four-down front. Kansas State’s much like our defense with a four-down front, as much as the front is concerned, but it’s a different look.”
On the work of Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder …
“I think he’s about to get it figured out (laughs). He’s done a phenomenal job. I know when I was at Tulsa and Oklahoma State we would play Kansas State every year, like 10 times, and we never lost to them. I lost to them one time, but you just knew it was going to be a win. Now, his style of coaching, the players he recruits. I don’t know if he has all 5-star recruits on that team, I don’t think he does, but they’re well coached, they don’t make mistakes, they don’t beat themselves and they have bought into his system. To me, I don’t know anybody that’s done a better job than what Coach Snyder’s done at Kansas State. I don’t know who it would be. ”
