Postgame Quotes: Kansas State Head Coach/Student-Athletes (Sept. 14)
September 14, 2019 | Football
#23 Mississippi State vs. Kansas State
Kansas State Quotes
September 14, 2019 | Davis Wade Stadium
Head coach Chris Klieman
Opening Statement
CK: "What a great game. What a great finish by our guys. I'm so proud and pleased with the effort our guys had. It wasn't perfect. We knew it wasn't going to be perfect. We were going to face a bunch of adversity, and that's what we talked about all week long; attack the adversity that you face, don't panic, keep believing in each other, rise up and make plays when you have the opportunity. In the fourth quarter, we made some big plays, and obviously, the kick return got us jump-started after we were struggling a little bit. Then, the defense had some great stops and an excellent drive capped off by a touchdown by Dalton. I'm so pleased. Our guys never quit. It was so hot out there. We played a ton of bodies and had guys cramping up, but the guys finished the game. That's one thing we talked about; we need to finish, and they did. The guys were really excited about playing this game."
Q: A lot of the guys in the locker room didn't go to a bowl last year and had a losing season. What did you see in their eyes in the locker room just now?
CK: "Just happy that they were able to go on the road and get a really tough victory. We knew that this was going to be a fourth-quarter affair. We knew that this was going to be a difficult thing. I'm a big believer in whatever we did last week has no bearing on the next week. Whatever we do this week, we're going to enjoy. It's got no bearing on next week. Thank God we don't play so that we can get a chance to get some guys healthy. But it's not going to have any bearing on our next game at Oklahoma State. It's 12 one-week seasons, and we've played three of them. Like I said last week, we better not fall in love with ourselves; we've got a long ways to go. We've got a lot of work to do, but the guys believe. They are understanding our routine so much better. They know what to expect on a Monday practice, a Thursday practice and a pregame meal. Those are the things that we are trying to get going so that the guys feel comfortable so that they can just cut it loose on Saturday and have a blast with their brothers."
LB Elijah Sullivan
Q: How much does the game mean to you because of how the game was last year?
ES: "It means a lot more just because we lost last year, but we knew what we had coming up. At the end of the day, we knew we had to step up and play big. They were an SEC team. They were bigger, but at the end of the day, we got it done."
Q: How hard did you guys try and keep your composure when they had the momentum in the second quarter?
ES: "Coach Klieman did a good job telling us we were going to have adversity. It's our first real game against an SEC team. We had to have a tight-knit team, and we had to get back on track and do our job."
Q: Is there anybody that stood up and had a message for you guys?
ES: "It was the whole team. It wasn't just one person, it was everybody. We have to keep our heads in it. Skylar [Thompson] walks up and down the sideline all the time. He talked to us as a defense. It's a bunch of guys, it's a tight knit group. We have unity and I love it."
RB James Gilbert
Q: What did you think of the running game today?
JG: "We knew they were going to try and stop the rush. That's what there good at; they have a good defense. We stay with it, rather you get one or two yards. Dalton Schoen made a huge play for us and got us up for the game."
Q: Was there frustration at halftime?
JG: "Not really, we knew we were better than this team. We knew we left some plays out there and made some mistakes. Nobody pointed the finger. We stayed the course and stayed with it. Coach Klieman got us all ready in the locker room. We came out second half and did what we had to do."
Kansas State Quotes
September 14, 2019 | Davis Wade Stadium
Head coach Chris Klieman
Opening Statement
CK: "What a great game. What a great finish by our guys. I'm so proud and pleased with the effort our guys had. It wasn't perfect. We knew it wasn't going to be perfect. We were going to face a bunch of adversity, and that's what we talked about all week long; attack the adversity that you face, don't panic, keep believing in each other, rise up and make plays when you have the opportunity. In the fourth quarter, we made some big plays, and obviously, the kick return got us jump-started after we were struggling a little bit. Then, the defense had some great stops and an excellent drive capped off by a touchdown by Dalton. I'm so pleased. Our guys never quit. It was so hot out there. We played a ton of bodies and had guys cramping up, but the guys finished the game. That's one thing we talked about; we need to finish, and they did. The guys were really excited about playing this game."
Q: A lot of the guys in the locker room didn't go to a bowl last year and had a losing season. What did you see in their eyes in the locker room just now?
CK: "Just happy that they were able to go on the road and get a really tough victory. We knew that this was going to be a fourth-quarter affair. We knew that this was going to be a difficult thing. I'm a big believer in whatever we did last week has no bearing on the next week. Whatever we do this week, we're going to enjoy. It's got no bearing on next week. Thank God we don't play so that we can get a chance to get some guys healthy. But it's not going to have any bearing on our next game at Oklahoma State. It's 12 one-week seasons, and we've played three of them. Like I said last week, we better not fall in love with ourselves; we've got a long ways to go. We've got a lot of work to do, but the guys believe. They are understanding our routine so much better. They know what to expect on a Monday practice, a Thursday practice and a pregame meal. Those are the things that we are trying to get going so that the guys feel comfortable so that they can just cut it loose on Saturday and have a blast with their brothers."
LB Elijah Sullivan
Q: How much does the game mean to you because of how the game was last year?
ES: "It means a lot more just because we lost last year, but we knew what we had coming up. At the end of the day, we knew we had to step up and play big. They were an SEC team. They were bigger, but at the end of the day, we got it done."
Q: How hard did you guys try and keep your composure when they had the momentum in the second quarter?
ES: "Coach Klieman did a good job telling us we were going to have adversity. It's our first real game against an SEC team. We had to have a tight-knit team, and we had to get back on track and do our job."
Q: Is there anybody that stood up and had a message for you guys?
ES: "It was the whole team. It wasn't just one person, it was everybody. We have to keep our heads in it. Skylar [Thompson] walks up and down the sideline all the time. He talked to us as a defense. It's a bunch of guys, it's a tight knit group. We have unity and I love it."
RB James Gilbert
Q: What did you think of the running game today?
JG: "We knew they were going to try and stop the rush. That's what there good at; they have a good defense. We stay with it, rather you get one or two yards. Dalton Schoen made a huge play for us and got us up for the game."
Q: Was there frustration at halftime?
JG: "Not really, we knew we were better than this team. We knew we left some plays out there and made some mistakes. Nobody pointed the finger. We stayed the course and stayed with it. Coach Klieman got us all ready in the locker room. We came out second half and did what we had to do."
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