Postgame Quotes
10/22/2022 11:31:00 PM | Football
TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes
On the game:
"It was a good win. They are a great football team and I've got a lot of respect for Kansas State. They had a great start and kind of had us on our heels for a bit in the first half. It seems to be what's happened the past two weeks. Our guys just came out of the second half and really played well. I loved the intensity our guys played with to shut them out in the second half. Obviously, our defense played really, really well. The defensive staff and coach (Joe) Gillespie made some fantastic adjustments. Our players played with a lot of confidence. You are going to have to play very physical to beat a Kansas State team. I thought we created some havoc and got turnovers because of that. I thought offensively we just came alive and we just started executing. I thought Max continued to do what Max has done all year: good, smart, and winning football. When you don't turn the ball over and you're pretty sound, its going to give you a chance to win. I thought our defense played lights out in the second half."
On KSU quarterback Adrian Martinez' early injury:
"Obviously, I don't know what happened to Adrian Martinez, their quarterback, I know he didn't play after the first series. I was really impressed. I thought their backup did an outstanding job. I thought Will Howard came in and played really well. They had us on our heels and they did a good job creating matchups and exploiting some things."
On tonight's atmosphere:
"The crowd was awesome tonight and the student body was fantastic. There was just electricity in the stadium. It was a really fun environment tonight. I am really proud of our fans and student body especially. I think we had over half of our students attend the game tonight and we got a win."
On critical third downs:
"There were a bunch of big third down conversions. I know at one point we were really good at conversions early in the game. We were 10-for-19 on third downs. That's pretty good against Kansas State and we were able to convert some critical third downs. I thought we played well in the redzone. Fortunately, we were able to score touchdowns and didn't have to kick too many field goals which was a big part of the game."
On Kendre Miller's performance tonight:
"He's just somebody we can rely on and he gets those tough yards every single week. He gets hit at the line of scrimmage, keeps his feet turned in and plays great pad level. A lot of times tonight he got hit two or three yards into the run and ended up getting six or seven yards. He just really finishes his runs strong."
On Jared Wiley:
"I thought Jared Wiley was big today. He made some big catches and made some big plays. He's starting to really immerge and I'm really proud of him. He had 74 yards on five catches tonight and he's a big target. He and Max (Duggan) are starting to get comfortable with each other. I thought he made some critical conversions for us and a couple of nice touchdowns."
On the 7-0 start:
"I think that the league is tough. It's a tough week and we have to go to West Virginia next weekend. I know West Virginia has been a really friendly place to win football games. We are just going to have to do what we've done; just to continue to have a great week of practice and just focus on going to try and win a game next week. I think we have been playing with a lot of confidence. I think our guys enjoy playing and there is no sense of panic which gives you a chance when you always believe that you can figure out a way to win. More often than not, you are going to."
Starting quarterback Max Duggan
On getting off to a faster start:
"It starts in practice, with us continuing to start fast when we have certain periods at the beginning of practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't think it's a problem, because in the beginning of the first couple of games we were doing a great job at started off strong. We just have to get back to that, and make sure we're executing at a higher level. We have to do things that lead up to success, and that begins in practice when we have those tempo periods of getting ready for our upcoming game on Saturday."
On what he thinks this team can accomplish:
"I think Coach Dykes has done a great job of keeping it week to week with us, and continuing the process that starts on Sunday practice. Coach Dykes has done a great job of keeping it practice to practice and week-to-week. We're trying to be 1-0, and I think if we have that mindset then the outcome will be in our favor."
On how he is feeling:
"You feel good for Saturday night, then wake up Sunday and forget about it. I think that's what the great teams do, and that's what we're continuing to do. We're going to celebrate tonight, but come in tomorrow ready to work and erase it. We have West Virginia coming up, and that's something we change the mindset to tomorrow after enjoying tonight."
TCU running back Kendre Miller
On how tough this game was:
"Kansas State is always physical and coming into the game, Coach Dykes emphasized all week that we needed to be the more physical team. It was just one of those games where if you take a shot, you have to get right back up and keep going."
On having more confidence after seeing Max Duggan take big hits:
"Yeah, it's crazy the shots that Max takes. He's a tough dude and he has earned my respect by just getting right back up. When you have a quarterback like that, it helps other people get back up. If the quarterback can do it, anyone can do it."
On how 7-0 feels:
"It feels pretty good. But, I'm a hard dude to satisfy, especially on myself so we have to keep going and stay focused. We just have to keep winning. I'll be satisfied when we are in the national championship."
TCU tight end Jared Wiley
On how much confidence they have moving forward:
"Any win in the Big 12 is a big confidence boost and just to say that we dominated these past four games is a big deal for us."
On Max Duggan and him being on the same page:
"It just comes with time. It has taken a few games, but everyone now is very comfortable out there and I think everyone can see that."
On the mentality of being down at half:
"We've been here before, and everyone is very calm. We know what we need to do to win."
On if he saw 7-0 coming:
"Yes. You kind of get a feel for it during camp, and everyone was locked in. Week in and week out, you can feel it. We go above and beyond to ensure that we are going to play fast and physical."
On having national talk:
"You can't pay attention to that. We control what goes on in these walls in this facility. We wake up in the morning on Sunday and get right back to work. We need to go through next week just like we did these last seven weeks.
Kansas State Head Coach Chris Klieman
On the game:
"It was two really good teams and a tale of two halves. I thought that our guys came out in the first half and played really well. We had some adversity right away losing Adrian (Martinez). A situation where had it been a play we'd probably put (Jake) Rubley in, but seeing the severity of it and how he'd probably be out for the game, we went with Will (Howard) and told Will he was going to play if that was the case. Will prepared really well and I'm proud of Will Howard. I thought he played really good football game and gave us a spark in the first half to give us a good lead and then second half was more our inability to get off blocks and tackle. TCU's a good football team and their running back's a really good player. We know Duggan is a good player and then on offense we just didn't capitalize. Ultimately in the end, I told the guys, a game like this with two good teams, it comes down to just a handful of plays and they made more plays in the second half than we did."
On how bad the injuries are:
"You know it must be bad because they said Adrian was out right away. They said Daniel Green was out right away. Josh Hayes was out and came back. Julius Brents probably shouldn't have had him in the game honestly. On the one long touchdown we kind of gave them one there because he couldn't run. So, a handful of guys were down but it is what it is. It's not an excuse, the next guys up got to step up… When you lose some of your marque guys, well that's the story of it."
On the last possession of first half:
"I thought we could get Will on the perimeter a little bit because they were struggling with the quarterback run. I don't know whether we missed a read or missed a block, but you're right. I think it was 28-10 and we got it at midfield and if we could go punch something in right there and get points that would have given us a great lift. Instead, we don't, we miss a tackle, they take it 50 yards and make it 28-17. That was a big momentum shift."
On the offense getting put in stressful situations leading to turnovers:
"We can't throw the one ball across our body. That was probably an ill-advised throw. Then Will's trying to make a play late in the game and they made a couple of plays. They're a good team guys and you guys know that. TCU is a good team, we had them on the ropes in the first half, didn't add to that at the end of the first half. Then that running back, Miller is a really good player."
On the late field goal attempt going into the wind feeling like they had to kick it:
"Yes, because he was hurt. We were going to go for it and then he got hurt. I didn't want to put Jake (Rubley) in that position because we needed to run the quarterback probably. I thought we could get point there to get it to 31-24 and we just missed it."
On how much the wind impacted the game:
"It did in the kicking game but not as much in the pass game as I thought it was going to. It was swirling out there but Will felt good throwing it into the wind. Obviously, their guys felt good. We had a number of touchdowns into the wind, so did they. It affected the kicks and the kickoffs a little more but it wasn't as big of a factor as it was perceived to be when it was 20 miles per hour."
On encountering injuries in the game:
"It's part of the game. That's why you got 85. The other guys got to come up and play. We'll be ok. The thing about it is our kids knew we had the opportunity to come and win the game no matter who was playing. We just didn't make plays. We are not going to make excuses on who's playing, injuries or not. We're going to get them ready, and we got a tough one against Oklahoma State. We'll be ready."
Kansas State wide receiver Kade Warner
On the game today
"It was a great fight. I told them that afterwards and how hard they fought. We just couldn't overcome some of the mistakes we had. I'm proud of the way we came after it and didn't blink depending on what mistakes we made."
On the game's turning point
"Momentum shifted a little bit, but since I've come to K-State there's never a time we've been out of the game. We thought we were going to win this game. I'm proud of the way they fought again. I'll keep saying that through this interview because I'm proud of every guy in that locker room. But no - there's never a time we're out."
On confidence in Will Howard at quarterback into the first half
"I told the guys, all of them, that we respect and love all of them. No matter who is at the helm, we trust them. The work they put in in the off-season and in practice every single day showed in this game. I'm proud of the way they played."
Kansas State linebacker Austin Moore
On the game getting away from Kansas State
"We made mental mistakes and I think we beat ourselves. I think a lot of times, especially on defense we should've had a stop. It was tackling and missing assignments."
On the 28 unanswered points
"It's something I'm going to have to think about this week. It's disappointing, but it's something we need to use to push ourselves for the rest of the season. We control our destiny for the rest of the season and we need to step up and learn from that."
On TCU's offensive success
"I feel like it was mostly things that we did to ourselves. They ran the ball well, but we were there a lot of times and we should've made a tackle."
Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn
On his feelings
"I'm bummed out just from there mere fact we were up 28-10 and we couldn't finish. We felt like, as a team, when you get into that position, we need to go out and execute in the second half. We couldn't quite get it done today. But everything we want is still out in front of us and we understand that going into this next week. We have another big game. The way the Big 12 is shaping up right now there are 12 one-week seasons and it's onto the next."
On when the game began to slip away
"Just when we came out in the second half. Some execution on offense and on defense we lost the rhythm we had in the first half. After that, they picked up theirs and we couldn't get the rhythm back."
On the game:
"It was a good win. They are a great football team and I've got a lot of respect for Kansas State. They had a great start and kind of had us on our heels for a bit in the first half. It seems to be what's happened the past two weeks. Our guys just came out of the second half and really played well. I loved the intensity our guys played with to shut them out in the second half. Obviously, our defense played really, really well. The defensive staff and coach (Joe) Gillespie made some fantastic adjustments. Our players played with a lot of confidence. You are going to have to play very physical to beat a Kansas State team. I thought we created some havoc and got turnovers because of that. I thought offensively we just came alive and we just started executing. I thought Max continued to do what Max has done all year: good, smart, and winning football. When you don't turn the ball over and you're pretty sound, its going to give you a chance to win. I thought our defense played lights out in the second half."
On KSU quarterback Adrian Martinez' early injury:
"Obviously, I don't know what happened to Adrian Martinez, their quarterback, I know he didn't play after the first series. I was really impressed. I thought their backup did an outstanding job. I thought Will Howard came in and played really well. They had us on our heels and they did a good job creating matchups and exploiting some things."
On tonight's atmosphere:
"The crowd was awesome tonight and the student body was fantastic. There was just electricity in the stadium. It was a really fun environment tonight. I am really proud of our fans and student body especially. I think we had over half of our students attend the game tonight and we got a win."
On critical third downs:
"There were a bunch of big third down conversions. I know at one point we were really good at conversions early in the game. We were 10-for-19 on third downs. That's pretty good against Kansas State and we were able to convert some critical third downs. I thought we played well in the redzone. Fortunately, we were able to score touchdowns and didn't have to kick too many field goals which was a big part of the game."
On Kendre Miller's performance tonight:
"He's just somebody we can rely on and he gets those tough yards every single week. He gets hit at the line of scrimmage, keeps his feet turned in and plays great pad level. A lot of times tonight he got hit two or three yards into the run and ended up getting six or seven yards. He just really finishes his runs strong."
On Jared Wiley:
"I thought Jared Wiley was big today. He made some big catches and made some big plays. He's starting to really immerge and I'm really proud of him. He had 74 yards on five catches tonight and he's a big target. He and Max (Duggan) are starting to get comfortable with each other. I thought he made some critical conversions for us and a couple of nice touchdowns."
On the 7-0 start:
"I think that the league is tough. It's a tough week and we have to go to West Virginia next weekend. I know West Virginia has been a really friendly place to win football games. We are just going to have to do what we've done; just to continue to have a great week of practice and just focus on going to try and win a game next week. I think we have been playing with a lot of confidence. I think our guys enjoy playing and there is no sense of panic which gives you a chance when you always believe that you can figure out a way to win. More often than not, you are going to."
Starting quarterback Max Duggan
On getting off to a faster start:
"It starts in practice, with us continuing to start fast when we have certain periods at the beginning of practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't think it's a problem, because in the beginning of the first couple of games we were doing a great job at started off strong. We just have to get back to that, and make sure we're executing at a higher level. We have to do things that lead up to success, and that begins in practice when we have those tempo periods of getting ready for our upcoming game on Saturday."
On what he thinks this team can accomplish:
"I think Coach Dykes has done a great job of keeping it week to week with us, and continuing the process that starts on Sunday practice. Coach Dykes has done a great job of keeping it practice to practice and week-to-week. We're trying to be 1-0, and I think if we have that mindset then the outcome will be in our favor."
On how he is feeling:
"You feel good for Saturday night, then wake up Sunday and forget about it. I think that's what the great teams do, and that's what we're continuing to do. We're going to celebrate tonight, but come in tomorrow ready to work and erase it. We have West Virginia coming up, and that's something we change the mindset to tomorrow after enjoying tonight."
TCU running back Kendre Miller
On how tough this game was:
"Kansas State is always physical and coming into the game, Coach Dykes emphasized all week that we needed to be the more physical team. It was just one of those games where if you take a shot, you have to get right back up and keep going."
On having more confidence after seeing Max Duggan take big hits:
"Yeah, it's crazy the shots that Max takes. He's a tough dude and he has earned my respect by just getting right back up. When you have a quarterback like that, it helps other people get back up. If the quarterback can do it, anyone can do it."
On how 7-0 feels:
"It feels pretty good. But, I'm a hard dude to satisfy, especially on myself so we have to keep going and stay focused. We just have to keep winning. I'll be satisfied when we are in the national championship."
TCU tight end Jared Wiley
On how much confidence they have moving forward:
"Any win in the Big 12 is a big confidence boost and just to say that we dominated these past four games is a big deal for us."
On Max Duggan and him being on the same page:
"It just comes with time. It has taken a few games, but everyone now is very comfortable out there and I think everyone can see that."
On the mentality of being down at half:
"We've been here before, and everyone is very calm. We know what we need to do to win."
On if he saw 7-0 coming:
"Yes. You kind of get a feel for it during camp, and everyone was locked in. Week in and week out, you can feel it. We go above and beyond to ensure that we are going to play fast and physical."
On having national talk:
"You can't pay attention to that. We control what goes on in these walls in this facility. We wake up in the morning on Sunday and get right back to work. We need to go through next week just like we did these last seven weeks.
Kansas State Head Coach Chris Klieman
On the game:
"It was two really good teams and a tale of two halves. I thought that our guys came out in the first half and played really well. We had some adversity right away losing Adrian (Martinez). A situation where had it been a play we'd probably put (Jake) Rubley in, but seeing the severity of it and how he'd probably be out for the game, we went with Will (Howard) and told Will he was going to play if that was the case. Will prepared really well and I'm proud of Will Howard. I thought he played really good football game and gave us a spark in the first half to give us a good lead and then second half was more our inability to get off blocks and tackle. TCU's a good football team and their running back's a really good player. We know Duggan is a good player and then on offense we just didn't capitalize. Ultimately in the end, I told the guys, a game like this with two good teams, it comes down to just a handful of plays and they made more plays in the second half than we did."
On how bad the injuries are:
"You know it must be bad because they said Adrian was out right away. They said Daniel Green was out right away. Josh Hayes was out and came back. Julius Brents probably shouldn't have had him in the game honestly. On the one long touchdown we kind of gave them one there because he couldn't run. So, a handful of guys were down but it is what it is. It's not an excuse, the next guys up got to step up… When you lose some of your marque guys, well that's the story of it."
On the last possession of first half:
"I thought we could get Will on the perimeter a little bit because they were struggling with the quarterback run. I don't know whether we missed a read or missed a block, but you're right. I think it was 28-10 and we got it at midfield and if we could go punch something in right there and get points that would have given us a great lift. Instead, we don't, we miss a tackle, they take it 50 yards and make it 28-17. That was a big momentum shift."
On the offense getting put in stressful situations leading to turnovers:
"We can't throw the one ball across our body. That was probably an ill-advised throw. Then Will's trying to make a play late in the game and they made a couple of plays. They're a good team guys and you guys know that. TCU is a good team, we had them on the ropes in the first half, didn't add to that at the end of the first half. Then that running back, Miller is a really good player."
On the late field goal attempt going into the wind feeling like they had to kick it:
"Yes, because he was hurt. We were going to go for it and then he got hurt. I didn't want to put Jake (Rubley) in that position because we needed to run the quarterback probably. I thought we could get point there to get it to 31-24 and we just missed it."
On how much the wind impacted the game:
"It did in the kicking game but not as much in the pass game as I thought it was going to. It was swirling out there but Will felt good throwing it into the wind. Obviously, their guys felt good. We had a number of touchdowns into the wind, so did they. It affected the kicks and the kickoffs a little more but it wasn't as big of a factor as it was perceived to be when it was 20 miles per hour."
On encountering injuries in the game:
"It's part of the game. That's why you got 85. The other guys got to come up and play. We'll be ok. The thing about it is our kids knew we had the opportunity to come and win the game no matter who was playing. We just didn't make plays. We are not going to make excuses on who's playing, injuries or not. We're going to get them ready, and we got a tough one against Oklahoma State. We'll be ready."
Kansas State wide receiver Kade Warner
On the game today
"It was a great fight. I told them that afterwards and how hard they fought. We just couldn't overcome some of the mistakes we had. I'm proud of the way we came after it and didn't blink depending on what mistakes we made."
On the game's turning point
"Momentum shifted a little bit, but since I've come to K-State there's never a time we've been out of the game. We thought we were going to win this game. I'm proud of the way they fought again. I'll keep saying that through this interview because I'm proud of every guy in that locker room. But no - there's never a time we're out."
On confidence in Will Howard at quarterback into the first half
"I told the guys, all of them, that we respect and love all of them. No matter who is at the helm, we trust them. The work they put in in the off-season and in practice every single day showed in this game. I'm proud of the way they played."
Kansas State linebacker Austin Moore
On the game getting away from Kansas State
"We made mental mistakes and I think we beat ourselves. I think a lot of times, especially on defense we should've had a stop. It was tackling and missing assignments."
On the 28 unanswered points
"It's something I'm going to have to think about this week. It's disappointing, but it's something we need to use to push ourselves for the rest of the season. We control our destiny for the rest of the season and we need to step up and learn from that."
On TCU's offensive success
"I feel like it was mostly things that we did to ourselves. They ran the ball well, but we were there a lot of times and we should've made a tackle."
Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn
On his feelings
"I'm bummed out just from there mere fact we were up 28-10 and we couldn't finish. We felt like, as a team, when you get into that position, we need to go out and execute in the second half. We couldn't quite get it done today. But everything we want is still out in front of us and we understand that going into this next week. We have another big game. The way the Big 12 is shaping up right now there are 12 one-week seasons and it's onto the next."
On when the game began to slip away
"Just when we came out in the second half. Some execution on offense and on defense we lost the rhythm we had in the first half. After that, they picked up theirs and we couldn't get the rhythm back."
Players Mentioned
TCU Football | Frogs Beat Colorado, 35-21 (Post-Game Press Conference)
Sunday, October 05
Behind the Mic: TCU vs. Colorado
Saturday, October 04
TCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Weekly Press Conference (vs. Colorado)
Tuesday, September 30
Behind the Mic: TCU vs. Arizona State
Friday, September 26
