Transcribed by Bill Seals
Opening comments:
“I’m going to say this, first of all, let’s talk about Coach (Bill) Snyder. You get into this profession and you see guys do things the right way. Build programs. Stand for what’s right. Build a team that consistently, game in and game out, gives themselves a chance to be successful. The honor to compete against one of the true legends in this sport is tremendous. The ability of what he’s done, the consistency he’s done it with and standing for what’s right in this sport is really powerful. It’s an absolute honor to compete against Coach. We’ve had some great games over the last couple years. I tip my hand to that Kansas State team. It’s a team that certainly has persevered and continues to play at the level of excellence that Coach Snyder has always stood for.
“For our team, today was a powerful day. It was powerful in terms of…I challenged our football team last week and hoped that they got to tell their story. The story inside of our walls…we all are judged by winning and losing, but the loyalty that this team has stayed to itself when the chips were against them, it’s been really to coach. I said this from the time we started spring practice, to the time we started fall camp, to the time we started 1-3 and everybody asked what was wrong with this team…I really love coaching this team. This team has never disappointed me. It has strained to stay the course. It’s never been perfect, but these kids have continued to believe in each other.
“It was fitting on senior day, where you’ve got 19 seniors that are maybe one of the most unselfish groups of young men I’ve ever been around. There’s not a lot of superstars in that group, but there’s a lot of superstar character in that senior class. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to come from (17 points) down and be able to pull out a great win for this football program and continue our journey together. There’s still a lot of football to be played for our Cyclones.”
On if he thought game really turned on Willie Harvey’s strip sack and Mike Rose’s touchdown:
“I felt like that score to get things turned around, the block in the back on the kickoff return where it kind of mitigated the stupid penalty on our end that we got on the PAT, at least allowed us to steady the ship. There was still eight minutes left to play in the football game. Anytime you can get a defensive score, you really regain momentum in a lot of ways. That certainly allowed it to happen.”
On what he said to the offensive line after K-State took the 17-point lead:
“My message was direct. I don’t know if I’ve challenged any group more than that group since January…about protecting our quarterback, running in critical situations and not hurting ourselves. That’s still a young group that’s really grown throughout the entire season. I said we’ll have an offensive line here in Ames, Iowa, that will be able to play championship-level football and I think we’re a lot closer today than we’ve ever been. I was really proud of their response in the fourth quarter.”
On what’s allowed the team to overcome adversity in several situations:
“I really think it’s who we are. We’re not flashy and not always pretty, but you better not count us out. It’s a team and program that’s existed that way for the past two years.”
On how the team was able to overcome a disastrous first three quarters to prevail:
“We were all over the place and I don’t know why it’s felt that way for the last two games. Really the last seven quarters, we haven’t felt like we’ve felt. Whether we’ve worn down, obviously we’ve been bothered by some injuries, but what was so fun to watch was when we needed it the most, the guys that have led the way the entire time stepped up and made big plays. Look at Ray Lima’s play. I can see it vividly, the third-and-one play where Ray steps up and makes a play when it looks like it was 1-on-5. The credit there goes to our players. Obviously, we’ve got a great coaching staff and they do a great job, but some individual players stepped up and made some big plays in critical moments.”
On the play of David Montgomery down the stretch in helping salt away the victory:
“He was awesome. A couple of those were huge runs. If David isn’t one of the best players in college football, I don’t know who is. What he’s done for this program and team is really special. We see the runs and all the great stuff that’s happened. I see the consistency. I see the guy two years in January and February when nobody else would come here, he was here working. He’s sacrificed everything for this program and university. It was really fitting that he was leading the ship when we needed it the most. I’m really proud of him. He was outstanding.”
On the way the game played out with Kyle Kempt taking the final snap in the victory formation:
“I don’t know if I could have scripted it any better with Kyle Kempt coming in. I love Kyle. I really think the character and actions of what Kyle Kempt has stood for, it doesn’t happen in our profession and it doesn’t happen with 18-to-22 year old kids today, but it happened here. What he did from Oklahoma a year ago to the character he’s shown through this stretch, I don’t know if you could ever match it. What he did was more powerful this year than what he did last year, because it’s humility and character. When everybody expects you to do the other thing, he stepped up and did the right thing. It’s really hard to do that. Forever he’ll go down as one of the greatest young men I’ve had the opportunity to coach.”
On what allowed the team to mount a fourth quarter comeback:
“All I know is what’s happened here the last couple. We’ve had to grow. We’ve had to learn and fail. Nobody likes to fail, but that’s real. You have to learn from your mistakes. I do think this is a group that really for the last two years we’ve learned a lot from our mistakes. Sometimes it doesn’t look and feel like that, but when you really watch it closely it’s a group that’s demanded to learn from some of their failures. There are no shortcuts. It takes what it takes. Our kids have continued to persevere.”
On the play of Brock Purdy down the stretch:
“Brock’s best football game of his career today. Even the ball he throws that gets intercepted…holy smokes, what a throw. The receiver has to make a better play on the ball and catch it. What you saw today from that guy is pretty powerful. He’s really special and has great poise. He is who he is. You come back from a rough performance last week and to have the character and conviction to step in there and keep playing. He’s pretty special and I’m proud of what he’s doing. We wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
On the emotions around the locker room after the game:
“Our kids are really excited. There’s still a lot of football left to play for us. Our kids really believe. There’s just a sense of, they can take a little bit of a breath and feel like the sacrifices they’ve made have been worth it. Sometimes you need to be convicted by a victory like this that can really spark where you’re going and what you’re really about.”
On Harvey’s big play and overall effort against Wildcats:
“That play in the fourth quarter, he hits him and sacks him to where Mike was able to pick the ball up and score. There’s another guy that it’s never been perfect, but he has been willing to listen and get better. What you’ve gotten now is some of his best performances when this program has needed it the most. I thought it was a really powerful play. You could see it in his eyes coming in at halftime. He believed that we could still go win this football game and made some big plays for us that really changed the game.”
On the team’s change in mindset during the final 12 minutes of the game:
“The perfect storm is you’ve got to make the storm. You’ve got to create the storm. We left last week feeling like we were the team that played not to lose and the other team was the team that played to go win a Big 12 Championship. Lesson learned. You’ve got to go make the plays if you want it. Nobody is giving it to you and nobody feels sorry for you in this profession. You’ve got to go take it. I thought our kids went and took it. Maybe the first time I’ve seen that happen since I’ve been here.”
Opening comments:
“I’m going to say this, first of all, let’s talk about Coach (Bill) Snyder. You get into this profession and you see guys do things the right way. Build programs. Stand for what’s right. Build a team that consistently, game in and game out, gives themselves a chance to be successful. The honor to compete against one of the true legends in this sport is tremendous. The ability of what he’s done, the consistency he’s done it with and standing for what’s right in this sport is really powerful. It’s an absolute honor to compete against Coach. We’ve had some great games over the last couple years. I tip my hand to that Kansas State team. It’s a team that certainly has persevered and continues to play at the level of excellence that Coach Snyder has always stood for.
“For our team, today was a powerful day. It was powerful in terms of…I challenged our football team last week and hoped that they got to tell their story. The story inside of our walls…we all are judged by winning and losing, but the loyalty that this team has stayed to itself when the chips were against them, it’s been really to coach. I said this from the time we started spring practice, to the time we started fall camp, to the time we started 1-3 and everybody asked what was wrong with this team…I really love coaching this team. This team has never disappointed me. It has strained to stay the course. It’s never been perfect, but these kids have continued to believe in each other.
“It was fitting on senior day, where you’ve got 19 seniors that are maybe one of the most unselfish groups of young men I’ve ever been around. There’s not a lot of superstars in that group, but there’s a lot of superstar character in that senior class. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to come from (17 points) down and be able to pull out a great win for this football program and continue our journey together. There’s still a lot of football to be played for our Cyclones.”
On if he thought game really turned on Willie Harvey’s strip sack and Mike Rose’s touchdown:
“I felt like that score to get things turned around, the block in the back on the kickoff return where it kind of mitigated the stupid penalty on our end that we got on the PAT, at least allowed us to steady the ship. There was still eight minutes left to play in the football game. Anytime you can get a defensive score, you really regain momentum in a lot of ways. That certainly allowed it to happen.”
On what he said to the offensive line after K-State took the 17-point lead:
“My message was direct. I don’t know if I’ve challenged any group more than that group since January…about protecting our quarterback, running in critical situations and not hurting ourselves. That’s still a young group that’s really grown throughout the entire season. I said we’ll have an offensive line here in Ames, Iowa, that will be able to play championship-level football and I think we’re a lot closer today than we’ve ever been. I was really proud of their response in the fourth quarter.”
On what’s allowed the team to overcome adversity in several situations:
“I really think it’s who we are. We’re not flashy and not always pretty, but you better not count us out. It’s a team and program that’s existed that way for the past two years.”
On how the team was able to overcome a disastrous first three quarters to prevail:
“We were all over the place and I don’t know why it’s felt that way for the last two games. Really the last seven quarters, we haven’t felt like we’ve felt. Whether we’ve worn down, obviously we’ve been bothered by some injuries, but what was so fun to watch was when we needed it the most, the guys that have led the way the entire time stepped up and made big plays. Look at Ray Lima’s play. I can see it vividly, the third-and-one play where Ray steps up and makes a play when it looks like it was 1-on-5. The credit there goes to our players. Obviously, we’ve got a great coaching staff and they do a great job, but some individual players stepped up and made some big plays in critical moments.”
On the play of David Montgomery down the stretch in helping salt away the victory:
“He was awesome. A couple of those were huge runs. If David isn’t one of the best players in college football, I don’t know who is. What he’s done for this program and team is really special. We see the runs and all the great stuff that’s happened. I see the consistency. I see the guy two years in January and February when nobody else would come here, he was here working. He’s sacrificed everything for this program and university. It was really fitting that he was leading the ship when we needed it the most. I’m really proud of him. He was outstanding.”
On the way the game played out with Kyle Kempt taking the final snap in the victory formation:
“I don’t know if I could have scripted it any better with Kyle Kempt coming in. I love Kyle. I really think the character and actions of what Kyle Kempt has stood for, it doesn’t happen in our profession and it doesn’t happen with 18-to-22 year old kids today, but it happened here. What he did from Oklahoma a year ago to the character he’s shown through this stretch, I don’t know if you could ever match it. What he did was more powerful this year than what he did last year, because it’s humility and character. When everybody expects you to do the other thing, he stepped up and did the right thing. It’s really hard to do that. Forever he’ll go down as one of the greatest young men I’ve had the opportunity to coach.”
On what allowed the team to mount a fourth quarter comeback:
“All I know is what’s happened here the last couple. We’ve had to grow. We’ve had to learn and fail. Nobody likes to fail, but that’s real. You have to learn from your mistakes. I do think this is a group that really for the last two years we’ve learned a lot from our mistakes. Sometimes it doesn’t look and feel like that, but when you really watch it closely it’s a group that’s demanded to learn from some of their failures. There are no shortcuts. It takes what it takes. Our kids have continued to persevere.”
On the play of Brock Purdy down the stretch:
“Brock’s best football game of his career today. Even the ball he throws that gets intercepted…holy smokes, what a throw. The receiver has to make a better play on the ball and catch it. What you saw today from that guy is pretty powerful. He’s really special and has great poise. He is who he is. You come back from a rough performance last week and to have the character and conviction to step in there and keep playing. He’s pretty special and I’m proud of what he’s doing. We wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
On the emotions around the locker room after the game:
“Our kids are really excited. There’s still a lot of football left to play for us. Our kids really believe. There’s just a sense of, they can take a little bit of a breath and feel like the sacrifices they’ve made have been worth it. Sometimes you need to be convicted by a victory like this that can really spark where you’re going and what you’re really about.”
On Harvey’s big play and overall effort against Wildcats:
“That play in the fourth quarter, he hits him and sacks him to where Mike was able to pick the ball up and score. There’s another guy that it’s never been perfect, but he has been willing to listen and get better. What you’ve gotten now is some of his best performances when this program has needed it the most. I thought it was a really powerful play. You could see it in his eyes coming in at halftime. He believed that we could still go win this football game and made some big plays for us that really changed the game.”
On the team’s change in mindset during the final 12 minutes of the game:
“The perfect storm is you’ve got to make the storm. You’ve got to create the storm. We left last week feeling like we were the team that played not to lose and the other team was the team that played to go win a Big 12 Championship. Lesson learned. You’ve got to go make the plays if you want it. Nobody is giving it to you and nobody feels sorry for you in this profession. You’ve got to go take it. I thought our kids went and took it. Maybe the first time I’ve seen that happen since I’ve been here.”
