CHRIS KLIEMAN, KANSAS STATE COACH
"Really poor first half by us with discipline errors, really frustrating for me and for our staff, and honestly for the kids that have been here for an awful long time, that we had some really disciplined things that cost us. We regrouped at halftime. I challenged them pretty good at halftime, and we came out and we had real good urgency and energy about us, and got the two-score lead again.
North Dakota came back and took the lead. And because I've been on the other side of that stuff so often, being at FCS, and if you give teams life, they're going to stick around the whole time. And I told the guys, you're never assured of anything. You're never given anything. You never deserve anything. You've got to earn everything you have. And in this new era of college football, nobody knows what other teams have. Nobody knows how good teams are, how much they improve through new players, improved staff, whatever it may be.
I knew we were playing a good football team, because they're from the Dakotas. Those four Dakota schools are really well coached. They're physical, they're going to play their tails off. And if you feel like you got a chance, if they feel like they got a chance to beat you, they're going to grind it all the way out.
All that being said, fourth and six, we throw the incompletion with 2:05 left, and the resolve of the older kids showed up, and we were able to get a quick stop, punt the ball away, and have to go 81 yards, and that's going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson, because he was as calm and cool. He made play after play after play, even when we had a drop, didn't bug him, came back, made a play, and then we ultimately got a score.
And then we still have to stop them, because those quarterbacks are really good players, and they've got a good scheme, they score a lot of points. They did last year at the same offense step, and then our defense stepped up again and got to stop. So all that being said, we've got to get a lot better. We've got to improve in all areas, not just one area, in all phases we've got to improve. But I've been in this business too long. You'd better enjoy every opportunity you have to get a victory. So we're happy about the victory. “
On the mixed feelings after a back-and-forth game...
"Yeah, it always is, but it's relief, and then I'll be up late tonight, watching the film and writing a lot of notes on where we broke down, where we need to improve, where we have to address because if we just throw it under the rug, say, ‘hey, great come from behind win,’ and don't fix the issues we have, they're going to keep coming back.”
On the main struggles of the defense...
"Our eye discipline was awful. Our guys' eyes were in the backfield when they're supposed to be on the tight end, on the wide out, on the motion. It was terrible. And that's the discipline I'm talking about. We work on plays, and I watch the video plays, and we've worked on those during the week, and we screw them up. That's a lack of intentional focus that my eyes are supposed to be there and that eye candy is coming for a reason to pull your eyes. And it worked, and it pulled our eyes.
It's something that [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Klanderman] and I know and talked about at nauseam, we have to get it cleaned up. Some of them are new players, and for whatever reason, they haven't figured it out. And it's frustrating because we're going to get them to figure it out, Klanderman and I are going to fix it.”
On something positive to take from the game...
"Honestly, I thought we had good energy through Friday and Saturday, I really did. And we were up 3-0 and then gave up the touchdown. I think it was just one problem compounding. Because then guys start saying, I got to make the play, I got to make this play, and then the quarterback beats this by running the ball. Because everybody thinks I've got to take the guy that swipes across and stuff. There are a lot of things that I would say it is and were on both sides. We had third, fourth downs that we converted or didn't convert on the first drive, and those are tough spots. And I wasn't going to go for it on fourth down as much around midfield because we weren't snapping them on defense. I wasn't going to give them a short field.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"DeVon has been getting better and better and just needs an opportunity. And with Dylan Edwards down, he was able to get that opportunity, he runs really hard. Make no mistake, we miss Dylan Edwards, that guy's a home run hitter, but I was pleased with the way DeVon answered the bell, Joe Jackson answered the bell. We had to throw it a little bit more. Being down a running back, we ran Avery a little bit. Avery did a really good job scrambling around. But, you know who I was impressed with was Jayce Brown. Jayce Brown keeps getting better and better and keeps having a chip on his shoulder of wanting to have the ball thrown to him.”
On how getting back from Ireland might have affected today’s game...
"Potentially, but that's an excuse. And all the coaches I talked to that went over there said, you're going to have a hangover game. It's either going to be game two, game three, or game four. And I look at our schedule, and that's before that we got four in a row before we get a break, I told the guys, I hope this was our hangover game. And that's no disrespect to North Dakota, because they're a good football team that came in here and beat us. We beat them on the scoreboard late. So hopefully that is, but only if you're not tired, if you don't get your eyes right on defense, and that's where I'm frustrated.”
On how the players feel in the locker room...
"The older guys were happy with the win, because make no mistake, you're going to enjoy wins however you get them, because they're hard to get in college football. Ask anybody across the country, it's hard to win in this game. So we're going to enjoy that. But we know, and the older guys are telling the new guys, the younger guys, we have to fix some of the discipline issues we have. Discipline does not mean cheap shots and stuff. Discipline means a lack of intentional focus on where our eyes are supposed to be, or who we're blocking, or who we're not blocking. It's everybody across all three phases.”
DEVON RICE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK
On seeing Dylan Edwards go down and getting the nod as the starter...
"I just wanted to be there for my team. That was the main thing, I felt like I let them down last week, as we didn't really get the outcome we wanted. I worked myself very hard this week in practice, was coached very hard by my position coach who was on me all week, and this is just a product of his teaching. Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week.”
On if he felt he gained more confidence after this game...
"Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week. So I do.”
On the attitude in the huddle with just under two minutes to go...
"The offense knew that we just had to win. Credit to guys like Avery [Johnson], who drove the ball, was a big part of that, and then Joe [Jackson] finished off, and everybody was just able to stay calm, stay collected, and then we all were able to get the outcome that we wanted.”
On Dylan Edwards mentorship heading into this week's game...
"Yeah, Dylan, he's been a great mentor. He's definitely been in my ear as soon as he went down. He's definitely been telling me, like it helped me break down film, helping me because we got similar plays, so he kind of helps me see the game, how he kind of sees it. So he's definitely been there for me.”
On playing at home after being in Ireland week one...
"It was great. The crowd was great, the environment was great. All the vibes were great. I got my first cat walk in, that was great. I had a great experience, so I was very excited.”
CODY STUFFLEBEAN, SENIOR DEFENSIVE END
On emotions after this win...
"Coach [Klieman] says it all the time– it's hard to win at this level, so it's cool to be able to go and get a win. I think we all kind of know that we're going to have to play better than that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve.”
On his first half strip sack fumble call...
"I didn't think that he started to lose it in the beginning, but luckily, it worked out for us.”
On the defense’s mentality in the final two minutes...
"That's what we have to win and have confidence in ourselves, [we] know that our offense can execute and we just need to go out and play well.”
On fatigue and recovery from week zero in Ireland...
"No, I wouldn't say that is what attributed to this. I just think that we weren't disciplined enough tonight.”
On what made North Dakota’s offense successful...
"Us not fitting the plays we needed to fit well. [It] just wasn't a good execution on our part. I mean, they have good discipline. [They] play physically too. We just have to play better in the future.”
AVERY JOHNSON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On getting a chance for redemption on the last offensive drive...
"It meant everything. It's frustrating coming off the field on the previous drive, just because I kind of took my eyes off the snap and kind of bobbled it and gave it out to Jayce [Brown] in the flat late and put it behind him. So not being able to put a drive together right there to go solidify a win was definitely really frustrating. But you gotta have a short memory at this position, and be able to go rally the troops, and I had all the confidence in the world in my teammates, so we go out there and finish the game, and we were lucky to do that tonight.”
On Coach Klieman calling the last drive “a career defining drive for him”...
"I was just kind of telling the guys on the sideline like this is what we do every Monday. And [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Matt] Wells spends a lot of time in our position meetings going over two minute situations. We've watched the Cal game from a long time ago with DeSean Jackson, where they end up letting the time run out and they could have just kicked a field goal, we watched that a whole bunch of times. We watched a whole bunch of situational games where I just felt like we were really prepared, and we rep stuff like that, so there's really no need for us to panic. Just kind of trying to go out there and have a calm demeanor, because I know the guys feed off me, even if we have a bad throw, an incompletion, we drop a ball, whatever it is, we got three more downs to make something happen. Never, never, never out of the fight until the clocks hit zero. So we're still on the sidelines talking about, okay, what if we go to overtime? You just want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And luckily, we didn't have to go to overtime tonight. But I think all the guys were confident that we were going to win that game.”
On if he feels more poised in a two minute offense...
"Yeah, I've been in situations like that before, not at this level, unless you want to kind of go back to Rutgers, was maybe a little similar in that way. But, I've always been the person to think, if we get the ball last, we should win the game. And I'm always going to have that type of confidence in myself and my teammates and I think that kind of helps with poise and confidence and calmness. And I think everybody kind of feeds off that. So I'm continuing to be a great leader even in adverse times.”
On if there’s a sense of relief after getting the first win of the season ...
"Yeah, it’s just a one week season, like I said last week, we got to grab the good and fix the bad, and we'll continue to learn from it and get better. But we got to focus on Army now and figure out how we're going to go 1-0 again next week.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"I was really confident and pleased with how DeVon played tonight. I think he really stepped up big for us. And just talking to him at halftime, when I was talking to running backs, we gotta get the run game going, we gotta be the more physical team coming out in the second half. And DeVon did a good job of getting two scores up for us, and I think it really is going to help with his confidence, because he's a really talented player, and he can be dangerous at this level. So he did a really good job, and I'm really excited for him tonight.”
TOBI OSUNSANMI, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On the difference makers between the third and fourth quarter...
"I just feel like it just came from where our feet were. I mean, we look up at the scoreboard and it was nowhere near our standard as a defense, so I feel like we took it upon ourselves to start playing just how we know how to play.”
On pressuring North Dakota in the final two minutes...
"Yeah, this is a player-led team, so I feel like it's not any single person or any couple of people that lead. I feel like it was the whole defense that took it upon themselves to go out there for the two-minute drive and get a stop when we needed it.”
On a second week leading a four-man front...
"I feel like it's good for our defensive line to get active and get knocked back and move around a lot more. Which we're good at– having an athletic defensive line room. I feel like there are a lot of things we still need to work out. It's a good defense whenever we all execute. We just need to work on that.”
On adding pressure in the second half...
"I guess it's just starting better. [It] feels like we started off flat and shouldn’t have. We can't just wait for a third quarter to start feeling our way into whatever it is that we’re doing.”
On improving eye-discipline moving forward...
"Just at practice, I mean, getting reps during it. I feel like the only way you can get better at football is by playing football. Moving forward, it's just going to be a lot more reps, and how important that is going to be when we have Army coming to town next week.”
JAYCE BROWN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On his overall thoughts about his performance tonight...
"I think I had a pretty decent game, but there were some mistakes I wish I had back. But we still have yet to put a full good game on tape, but I think the only way we can go from here is up.”
On what it was like getting the ball back to possibly win the game after a turnover...
"I feel like the mindset for me this year has really been good play, bad play, next play. So not dwelling on the past if I missed a block, or if we had a turnover on downs. Let's go get the next one. And I feel like the defense did a good job tonight, and they gave us opportunities, and I feel like we capitalized.”
On being able to see where Avery Johnson was going to make the play...
"That's just a credit to our coaches, especially Coach Wells, he's been harping on closing out, getting guys blocked up on the perimeter. So as soon as I didn't get the ball and I saw him tuck it, I was like, I need to try to make a good block for Avery.”
On getting the first quarter touchdown to lead the game and sitting on the limestone near the fans...
"I told my family before the game, because they were on the other end, I was like, if I could score on that end, I was going to jump in the end zone or in the stands. But it just so happened to be on that end, so I just jumped in there.”
On being able to take a tough game and still make the right plays for the games that matter...
"I just feel like that's who I am. I feel like I pride myself since I picked up a football on making those plays in the big time. Moments that I feel like when it really matters, and I feel like we all did a good job, Jerand Bradley made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Jaron Tibbs had some big third-down conversions. So I'm just proud of my guys in the room that we have this year and what we did tonight.”
ERIC SCHMIDT, NORTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"We didn't do a very good job of coming out at halftime. It felt like the third quarter we just did things that teams can't do on the road. You got to do a better job of coming out of the locker room communicating. Really had a hard time with some cramping issues and things like that and just got to play better. In the third quarter, we just didn't play really good complimentary football. You know, offensively, we weren't getting it out of our end. And defensively, we weren't doing a good job of making teams drive it. I did think that we did a good job of keeping them off balance offensively. If we throw it and catch it better and get it to the guy on the right pack, and the guy turns into the ball and can get up the field, there's a lot more yards there to get. I did think we ran the football well, especially inside the red zone, it was good to see us score while running the football, I think it is something that's important to us. And then defensively, we just got to do a better job against an athletic quarterback. He [Johnson] scrambled at the end of the game, we're kind of calling it to try to make sure that he can't scramble, and he beats us from the pocket, and he gets out there, and that's something that we got to continue to work on. Develop some rushers up front, guys that we feel can go rush there as a group and be able to end a football game. Hats off to K-State and Coach Klieman. When they really needed something at the end of the game, they put together a drive to be able to win the football game, so congrats to them. For us it's the response, that's what we've talked about with our guys now. How are you gonna respond to this with some adversity now in your life and get ready for Portland State next Saturday?”
What are you going to remember most from today...
"I mean, it's probably what you won't forget, right? Like you're going to go back over in your mind all the time at the end, and how you're calling games at the end, and hey, do you do things differently, you know. I think that's the one thing you really try to figure out early in the season. I think that's the art of coaching, what type of team are you and are guys better for calling it when they can play on their toes and play downhill. Will you be the aggressor? Just where is that, that risk reward factor, as far as you know, making those decisions. So, you know, I think that was the biggest thing I just came out of halftime, I just felt like we were really good at halftime, there was obviously a lot of, you know, confidence and a lot of energy in the locker room. But to go back out there to know you're getting the ball in the second half, and to be able to go up two scores would have been huge. And I just thought we had a little adversity there, and it took us too long to be able to respond to that adversity, so I just think little things like that. The other thing I was encouraged by, like, thought our receivers really played well tonight. I thought they were a handful. I mean, you see a lot of guys, you know, Nate [Nathan Hromadka] comes in and catches a big pass at the tight end position. There's a lot of young guys playing out there. So just encouraged as far as the development of those guys, and those guys being able now to see it that, hey, they can be players that are winning players, you know, at this level, so excited to continue to see those guys develop here.”
On how he felt in his debut...
"I mean, there were a lot of people like, you know, are you nervous? Are you? I mean, I really felt good, man, we day after day after day, putting in real work and just giving the guys real confidence. I just really felt like, you know, we would come in here and play well, I really felt that way. I knew Jerry [Kaminski] was going to do good things. You know, Javance [Tupou’ata-Johnson] comes in and puts it on Korey Tai right away. We have a lot of guys that we just have to keep coaching them and keep pouring into them. This means nothing if we don't continue to get better throughout the season, it'll instill some confidence in guys, but to me, it's all about the response. Now, like, how do we respond to this? Do we respond to it like even more starving? It gives us some confidence, but yet, there's a burn inside you that, hey, if I would have done this or that better, we could have had a different outcome. Because 30 years from now, it's not going to be like, we beat K-State, it's going to be that we were close to beating K-State. There's learning that needs to take place in order for you to be able to be a champion. And I think there's got to be some adversity in order for you to be a champion as well. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond here, moving forward.”
JERRY KAMINSKI, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how his first career start went...
"There were ups and downs. The biggest thing I look back on is that fumble in the red zone. I just can't have that. You look at that, we had at least a field goal. That's a huge turning point in the game, a point where we could have got points and maybe had a chance here at the end to do something else. I thought our O-line played great, our receivers did a great job catching the ball, we did a great job running the ball, but we're not taking any moral victories from this. I mean, we came here to do one thing, and that was win and we didn't get that, we didn't get that done. So it's on to next week.”
On the struggles offensively to begin the second half...
"I think it was just us beating ourselves a little bit there. But the thing I was proud of with our team is we didn't give up. We didn't doubt ourselves. We kept our confidence all the way through, and that goes all the way back to our summer training. Coach [Eric] Schmidt talks a ton about the year long calendar, and that goes back to those extra drills we were doing, extra is the standard here. It's important in summer training and winter training that you do it with your brothers. And I think that's the most important, because when things got tough, we got to the sideline and nobody flinched. I mean, defensive guys were coming up to offensive guys, offensive guys talking to defensive guys. Nobody flinched. So I'm really proud of the team for that.”
On if this game was a statement for North Dakota...
"I think it just proves what we have in this facility and we already knew. I mean, we can play with anyone in the country. We can beat anyone in the country. So it's just exciting for that reason. But I mean, you're bummed. You come here to get a win and you fall just short. It's frustrating.”
MALACHI MCNEAL, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On the importance of setting a standard by playing one of the top-25 teams in the country...
"I mean I’m not happy at all. Like when you said that it has to be good to go out there and show a statement that we competed, I don't think we made a statement yet, because we didn't win the ballgame. I think it just looks to what Coach Schmidt said, “Just got to play better in the third collectively, everybody, including myself.” So I think that just about the response, everybody get back in the locker room, get back in the film room and really take a look at what went wrong here and really get back on the same page, man. So we can really go get a W because I think that this should be the worst we play all year. That's just how I feel about it. I think it will be really good throughout this season. Just got to get the communication right and everybody is playing on the same page”.
On what his biggest takeaway is from the game...
"I love how the guys fought today. I loved how we never were out of it. I loved how the leaders kind of kept each other up and, you know, even Coach Schmidt, he's coming over there, he's coaching us, and he's getting us right. So you know, I love that part of it and I just think that, yeah, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, I'm pretty upset about it right now, but I think that, you know, like I said, I feel like this should be the worst we play all year. And so I think that we can learn from this, take it away, go, have a hell of a response for it.”
On why there seemed to be a different feeling this game compared to past games...
"If you want me to be completely honest with you, it's Coach Schmidt right here. He instills that belief in us, and we feel like we can go beat anybody you know. He's a tremendous coach, he's here for us, he gives us a great game plan. The speech he gives, he gave us before we went out there, he just basically said, like, we ain't here to just be here, we are here to win a football game. We aren’t here to just take pictures and be like, oh, and observe the atmosphere. We're here to win a football game. So when you get a guy like that that truly believes in you, it instills belief in yourself. And so I think that that's what made us all want to go fight and go fight for him. Go get him his first win as a head coach.”
CHRIS KLIEMAN, KANSAS STATE COACH
"Really poor first half by us with discipline errors, really frustrating for me and for our staff, and honestly for the kids that have been here for an awful long time, that we had some really disciplined things that cost us. We regrouped at halftime. I challenged them pretty good at halftime, and we came out and we had real good urgency and energy about us, and got the two-score lead again.
North Dakota came back and took the lead. And because I've been on the other side of that stuff so often, being at FCS, and if you give teams life, they're going to stick around the whole time. And I told the guys, you're never assured of anything. You're never given anything. You never deserve anything. You've got to earn everything you have. And in this new era of college football, nobody knows what other teams have. Nobody knows how good teams are, how much they improve through new players, improved staff, whatever it may be.
I knew we were playing a good football team, because they're from the Dakotas. Those four Dakota schools are really well coached. They're physical, they're going to play their tails off. And if you feel like you got a chance, if they feel like they got a chance to beat you, they're going to grind it all the way out.
All that being said, fourth and six, we throw the incompletion with 2:05 left, and the resolve of the older kids showed up, and we were able to get a quick stop, punt the ball away, and have to go 81 yards, and that's going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson, because he was as calm and cool. He made play after play after play, even when we had a drop, didn't bug him, came back, made a play, and then we ultimately got a score.
And then we still have to stop them, because those quarterbacks are really good players, and they've got a good scheme, they score a lot of points. They did last year at the same offense step, and then our defense stepped up again and got to stop. So all that being said, we've got to get a lot better. We've got to improve in all areas, not just one area, in all phases we've got to improve. But I've been in this business too long. You'd better enjoy every opportunity you have to get a victory. So we're happy about the victory. “
On the mixed feelings after a back-and-forth game...
"Yeah, it always is, but it's relief, and then I'll be up late tonight, watching the film and writing a lot of notes on where we broke down, where we need to improve, where we have to address because if we just throw it under the rug, say, ‘hey, great come from behind win,’ and don't fix the issues we have, they're going to keep coming back.”
On the main struggles of the defense...
"Our eye discipline was awful. Our guys' eyes were in the backfield when they're supposed to be on the tight end, on the wide out, on the motion. It was terrible. And that's the discipline I'm talking about. We work on plays, and I watch the video plays, and we've worked on those during the week, and we screw them up. That's a lack of intentional focus that my eyes are supposed to be there and that eye candy is coming for a reason to pull your eyes. And it worked, and it pulled our eyes.
It's something that [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Klanderman] and I know and talked about at nauseam, we have to get it cleaned up. Some of them are new players, and for whatever reason, they haven't figured it out. And it's frustrating because we're going to get them to figure it out, Klanderman and I are going to fix it.”
On something positive to take from the game...
"Honestly, I thought we had good energy through Friday and Saturday, I really did. And we were up 3-0 and then gave up the touchdown. I think it was just one problem compounding. Because then guys start saying, I got to make the play, I got to make this play, and then the quarterback beats this by running the ball. Because everybody thinks I've got to take the guy that swipes across and stuff. There are a lot of things that I would say it is and were on both sides. We had third, fourth downs that we converted or didn't convert on the first drive, and those are tough spots. And I wasn't going to go for it on fourth down as much around midfield because we weren't snapping them on defense. I wasn't going to give them a short field.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"DeVon has been getting better and better and just needs an opportunity. And with Dylan Edwards down, he was able to get that opportunity, he runs really hard. Make no mistake, we miss Dylan Edwards, that guy's a home run hitter, but I was pleased with the way DeVon answered the bell, Joe Jackson answered the bell. We had to throw it a little bit more. Being down a running back, we ran Avery a little bit. Avery did a really good job scrambling around. But, you know who I was impressed with was Jayce Brown. Jayce Brown keeps getting better and better and keeps having a chip on his shoulder of wanting to have the ball thrown to him.”
On how getting back from Ireland might have affected today’s game...
"Potentially, but that's an excuse. And all the coaches I talked to that went over there said, you're going to have a hangover game. It's either going to be game two, game three, or game four. And I look at our schedule, and that's before that we got four in a row before we get a break, I told the guys, I hope this was our hangover game. And that's no disrespect to North Dakota, because they're a good football team that came in here and beat us. We beat them on the scoreboard late. So hopefully that is, but only if you're not tired, if you don't get your eyes right on defense, and that's where I'm frustrated.”
On how the players feel in the locker room...
"The older guys were happy with the win, because make no mistake, you're going to enjoy wins however you get them, because they're hard to get in college football. Ask anybody across the country, it's hard to win in this game. So we're going to enjoy that. But we know, and the older guys are telling the new guys, the younger guys, we have to fix some of the discipline issues we have. Discipline does not mean cheap shots and stuff. Discipline means a lack of intentional focus on where our eyes are supposed to be, or who we're blocking, or who we're not blocking. It's everybody across all three phases.”
DEVON RICE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK
On seeing Dylan Edwards go down and getting the nod as the starter...
"I just wanted to be there for my team. That was the main thing, I felt like I let them down last week, as we didn't really get the outcome we wanted. I worked myself very hard this week in practice, was coached very hard by my position coach who was on me all week, and this is just a product of his teaching. Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week.”
On if he felt he gained more confidence after this game...
"Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week. So I do.”
On the attitude in the huddle with just under two minutes to go...
"The offense knew that we just had to win. Credit to guys like Avery [Johnson], who drove the ball, was a big part of that, and then Joe [Jackson] finished off, and everybody was just able to stay calm, stay collected, and then we all were able to get the outcome that we wanted.”
On Dylan Edwards mentorship heading into this week's game...
"Yeah, Dylan, he's been a great mentor. He's definitely been in my ear as soon as he went down. He's definitely been telling me, like it helped me break down film, helping me because we got similar plays, so he kind of helps me see the game, how he kind of sees it. So he's definitely been there for me.”
On playing at home after being in Ireland week one...
"It was great. The crowd was great, the environment was great. All the vibes were great. I got my first cat walk in, that was great. I had a great experience, so I was very excited.”
CODY STUFFLEBEAN, SENIOR DEFENSIVE END
On emotions after this win...
"Coach [Klieman] says it all the time– it's hard to win at this level, so it's cool to be able to go and get a win. I think we all kind of know that we're going to have to play better than that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve.”
On his first half strip sack fumble call...
"I didn't think that he started to lose it in the beginning, but luckily, it worked out for us.”
On the defense’s mentality in the final two minutes...
"That's what we have to win and have confidence in ourselves, [we] know that our offense can execute and we just need to go out and play well.”
On fatigue and recovery from week zero in Ireland...
"No, I wouldn't say that is what attributed to this. I just think that we weren't disciplined enough tonight.”
On what made North Dakota’s offense successful...
"Us not fitting the plays we needed to fit well. [It] just wasn't a good execution on our part. I mean, they have good discipline. [They] play physically too. We just have to play better in the future.”
AVERY JOHNSON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On getting a chance for redemption on the last offensive drive...
"It meant everything. It's frustrating coming off the field on the previous drive, just because I kind of took my eyes off the snap and kind of bobbled it and gave it out to Jayce [Brown] in the flat late and put it behind him. So not being able to put a drive together right there to go solidify a win was definitely really frustrating. But you gotta have a short memory at this position, and be able to go rally the troops, and I had all the confidence in the world in my teammates, so we go out there and finish the game, and we were lucky to do that tonight.”
On Coach Klieman calling the last drive “a career defining drive for him”...
"I was just kind of telling the guys on the sideline like this is what we do every Monday. And [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Matt] Wells spends a lot of time in our position meetings going over two minute situations. We've watched the Cal game from a long time ago with DeSean Jackson, where they end up letting the time run out and they could have just kicked a field goal, we watched that a whole bunch of times. We watched a whole bunch of situational games where I just felt like we were really prepared, and we rep stuff like that, so there's really no need for us to panic. Just kind of trying to go out there and have a calm demeanor, because I know the guys feed off me, even if we have a bad throw, an incompletion, we drop a ball, whatever it is, we got three more downs to make something happen. Never, never, never out of the fight until the clocks hit zero. So we're still on the sidelines talking about, okay, what if we go to overtime? You just want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And luckily, we didn't have to go to overtime tonight. But I think all the guys were confident that we were going to win that game.”
On if he feels more poised in a two minute offense...
"Yeah, I've been in situations like that before, not at this level, unless you want to kind of go back to Rutgers, was maybe a little similar in that way. But, I've always been the person to think, if we get the ball last, we should win the game. And I'm always going to have that type of confidence in myself and my teammates and I think that kind of helps with poise and confidence and calmness. And I think everybody kind of feeds off that. So I'm continuing to be a great leader even in adverse times.”
On if there’s a sense of relief after getting the first win of the season ...
"Yeah, it’s just a one week season, like I said last week, we got to grab the good and fix the bad, and we'll continue to learn from it and get better. But we got to focus on Army now and figure out how we're going to go 1-0 again next week.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"I was really confident and pleased with how DeVon played tonight. I think he really stepped up big for us. And just talking to him at halftime, when I was talking to running backs, we gotta get the run game going, we gotta be the more physical team coming out in the second half. And DeVon did a good job of getting two scores up for us, and I think it really is going to help with his confidence, because he's a really talented player, and he can be dangerous at this level. So he did a really good job, and I'm really excited for him tonight.”
TOBI OSUNSANMI, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On the difference makers between the third and fourth quarter...
"I just feel like it just came from where our feet were. I mean, we look up at the scoreboard and it was nowhere near our standard as a defense, so I feel like we took it upon ourselves to start playing just how we know how to play.”
On pressuring North Dakota in the final two minutes...
"Yeah, this is a player-led team, so I feel like it's not any single person or any couple of people that lead. I feel like it was the whole defense that took it upon themselves to go out there for the two-minute drive and get a stop when we needed it.”
On a second week leading a four-man front...
"I feel like it's good for our defensive line to get active and get knocked back and move around a lot more. Which we're good at– having an athletic defensive line room. I feel like there are a lot of things we still need to work out. It's a good defense whenever we all execute. We just need to work on that.”
On adding pressure in the second half...
"I guess it's just starting better. [It] feels like we started off flat and shouldn’t have. We can't just wait for a third quarter to start feeling our way into whatever it is that we’re doing.”
On improving eye-discipline moving forward...
"Just at practice, I mean, getting reps during it. I feel like the only way you can get better at football is by playing football. Moving forward, it's just going to be a lot more reps, and how important that is going to be when we have Army coming to town next week.”
JAYCE BROWN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On his overall thoughts about his performance tonight...
"I think I had a pretty decent game, but there were some mistakes I wish I had back. But we still have yet to put a full good game on tape, but I think the only way we can go from here is up.”
On what it was like getting the ball back to possibly win the game after a turnover...
"I feel like the mindset for me this year has really been good play, bad play, next play. So not dwelling on the past if I missed a block, or if we had a turnover on downs. Let's go get the next one. And I feel like the defense did a good job tonight, and they gave us opportunities, and I feel like we capitalized.”
On being able to see where Avery Johnson was going to make the play...
"That's just a credit to our coaches, especially Coach Wells, he's been harping on closing out, getting guys blocked up on the perimeter. So as soon as I didn't get the ball and I saw him tuck it, I was like, I need to try to make a good block for Avery.”
On getting the first quarter touchdown to lead the game and sitting on the limestone near the fans...
"I told my family before the game, because they were on the other end, I was like, if I could score on that end, I was going to jump in the end zone or in the stands. But it just so happened to be on that end, so I just jumped in there.”
On being able to take a tough game and still make the right plays for the games that matter...
"I just feel like that's who I am. I feel like I pride myself since I picked up a football on making those plays in the big time. Moments that I feel like when it really matters, and I feel like we all did a good job, Jerand Bradley made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Jaron Tibbs had some big third-down conversions. So I'm just proud of my guys in the room that we have this year and what we did tonight.”
ERIC SCHMIDT, NORTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"We didn't do a very good job of coming out at halftime. It felt like the third quarter we just did things that teams can't do on the road. You got to do a better job of coming out of the locker room communicating. Really had a hard time with some cramping issues and things like that and just got to play better. In the third quarter, we just didn't play really good complimentary football. You know, offensively, we weren't getting it out of our end. And defensively, we weren't doing a good job of making teams drive it. I did think that we did a good job of keeping them off balance offensively. If we throw it and catch it better and get it to the guy on the right pack, and the guy turns into the ball and can get up the field, there's a lot more yards there to get. I did think we ran the football well, especially inside the red zone, it was good to see us score while running the football, I think it is something that's important to us. And then defensively, we just got to do a better job against an athletic quarterback. He [Johnson] scrambled at the end of the game, we're kind of calling it to try to make sure that he can't scramble, and he beats us from the pocket, and he gets out there, and that's something that we got to continue to work on. Develop some rushers up front, guys that we feel can go rush there as a group and be able to end a football game. Hats off to K-State and Coach Klieman. When they really needed something at the end of the game, they put together a drive to be able to win the football game, so congrats to them. For us it's the response, that's what we've talked about with our guys now. How are you gonna respond to this with some adversity now in your life and get ready for Portland State next Saturday?”
What are you going to remember most from today...
"I mean, it's probably what you won't forget, right? Like you're going to go back over in your mind all the time at the end, and how you're calling games at the end, and hey, do you do things differently, you know. I think that's the one thing you really try to figure out early in the season. I think that's the art of coaching, what type of team are you and are guys better for calling it when they can play on their toes and play downhill. Will you be the aggressor? Just where is that, that risk reward factor, as far as you know, making those decisions. So, you know, I think that was the biggest thing I just came out of halftime, I just felt like we were really good at halftime, there was obviously a lot of, you know, confidence and a lot of energy in the locker room. But to go back out there to know you're getting the ball in the second half, and to be able to go up two scores would have been huge. And I just thought we had a little adversity there, and it took us too long to be able to respond to that adversity, so I just think little things like that. The other thing I was encouraged by, like, thought our receivers really played well tonight. I thought they were a handful. I mean, you see a lot of guys, you know, Nate [Nathan Hromadka] comes in and catches a big pass at the tight end position. There's a lot of young guys playing out there. So just encouraged as far as the development of those guys, and those guys being able now to see it that, hey, they can be players that are winning players, you know, at this level, so excited to continue to see those guys develop here.”
On how he felt in his debut...
"I mean, there were a lot of people like, you know, are you nervous? Are you? I mean, I really felt good, man, we day after day after day, putting in real work and just giving the guys real confidence. I just really felt like, you know, we would come in here and play well, I really felt that way. I knew Jerry [Kaminski] was going to do good things. You know, Javance [Tupou’ata-Johnson] comes in and puts it on Korey Tai right away. We have a lot of guys that we just have to keep coaching them and keep pouring into them. This means nothing if we don't continue to get better throughout the season, it'll instill some confidence in guys, but to me, it's all about the response. Now, like, how do we respond to this? Do we respond to it like even more starving? It gives us some confidence, but yet, there's a burn inside you that, hey, if I would have done this or that better, we could have had a different outcome. Because 30 years from now, it's not going to be like, we beat K-State, it's going to be that we were close to beating K-State. There's learning that needs to take place in order for you to be able to be a champion. And I think there's got to be some adversity in order for you to be a champion as well. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond here, moving forward.”
JERRY KAMINSKI, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how his first career start went...
"There were ups and downs. The biggest thing I look back on is that fumble in the red zone. I just can't have that. You look at that, we had at least a field goal. That's a huge turning point in the game, a point where we could have got points and maybe had a chance here at the end to do something else. I thought our O-line played great, our receivers did a great job catching the ball, we did a great job running the ball, but we're not taking any moral victories from this. I mean, we came here to do one thing, and that was win and we didn't get that, we didn't get that done. So it's on to next week.”
On the struggles offensively to begin the second half...
"I think it was just us beating ourselves a little bit there. But the thing I was proud of with our team is we didn't give up. We didn't doubt ourselves. We kept our confidence all the way through, and that goes all the way back to our summer training. Coach [Eric] Schmidt talks a ton about the year long calendar, and that goes back to those extra drills we were doing, extra is the standard here. It's important in summer training and winter training that you do it with your brothers. And I think that's the most important, because when things got tough, we got to the sideline and nobody flinched. I mean, defensive guys were coming up to offensive guys, offensive guys talking to defensive guys. Nobody flinched. So I'm really proud of the team for that.”
On if this game was a statement for North Dakota...
"I think it just proves what we have in this facility and we already knew. I mean, we can play with anyone in the country. We can beat anyone in the country. So it's just exciting for that reason. But I mean, you're bummed. You come here to get a win and you fall just short. It's frustrating.”
MALACHI MCNEAL, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On the importance of setting a standard by playing one of the top-25 teams in the country...
"I mean I’m not happy at all. Like when you said that it has to be good to go out there and show a statement that we competed, I don't think we made a statement yet, because we didn't win the ballgame. I think it just looks to what Coach Schmidt said, “Just got to play better in the third collectively, everybody, including myself.” So I think that just about the response, everybody get back in the locker room, get back in the film room and really take a look at what went wrong here and really get back on the same page, man. So we can really go get a W because I think that this should be the worst we play all year. That's just how I feel about it. I think it will be really good throughout this season. Just got to get the communication right and everybody is playing on the same page”.
On what his biggest takeaway is from the game...
"I love how the guys fought today. I loved how we never were out of it. I loved how the leaders kind of kept each other up and, you know, even Coach Schmidt, he's coming over there, he's coaching us, and he's getting us right. So you know, I love that part of it and I just think that, yeah, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, I'm pretty upset about it right now, but I think that, you know, like I said, I feel like this should be the worst we play all year. And so I think that we can learn from this, take it away, go, have a hell of a response for it.”
On why there seemed to be a different feeling this game compared to past games...
"If you want me to be completely honest with you, it's Coach Schmidt right here. He instills that belief in us, and we feel like we can go beat anybody you know. He's a tremendous coach, he's here for us, he gives us a great game plan. The speech he gives, he gave us before we went out there, he just basically said, like, we ain't here to just be here, we are here to win a football game. We aren’t here to just take pictures and be like, oh, and observe the atmosphere. We're here to win a football game. So when you get a guy like that that truly believes in you, it instills belief in yourself. And so I think that that's what made us all want to go fight and go fight for him. Go get him his first win as a head coach.”
CHRIS KLIEMAN, KANSAS STATE COACH
"Really poor first half by us with discipline errors, really frustrating for me and for our staff, and honestly for the kids that have been here for an awful long time, that we had some really disciplined things that cost us. We regrouped at halftime. I challenged them pretty good at halftime, and we came out and we had real good urgency and energy about us, and got the two-score lead again.
North Dakota came back and took the lead. And because I've been on the other side of that stuff so often, being at FCS, and if you give teams life, they're going to stick around the whole time. And I told the guys, you're never assured of anything. You're never given anything. You never deserve anything. You've got to earn everything you have. And in this new era of college football, nobody knows what other teams have. Nobody knows how good teams are, how much they improve through new players, improved staff, whatever it may be.
I knew we were playing a good football team, because they're from the Dakotas. Those four Dakota schools are really well coached. They're physical, they're going to play their tails off. And if you feel like you got a chance, if they feel like they got a chance to beat you, they're going to grind it all the way out.
All that being said, fourth and six, we throw the incompletion with 2:05 left, and the resolve of the older kids showed up, and we were able to get a quick stop, punt the ball away, and have to go 81 yards, and that's going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson, because he was as calm and cool. He made play after play after play, even when we had a drop, didn't bug him, came back, made a play, and then we ultimately got a score.
And then we still have to stop them, because those quarterbacks are really good players, and they've got a good scheme, they score a lot of points. They did last year at the same offense step, and then our defense stepped up again and got to stop. So all that being said, we've got to get a lot better. We've got to improve in all areas, not just one area, in all phases we've got to improve. But I've been in this business too long. You'd better enjoy every opportunity you have to get a victory. So we're happy about the victory. “
On the mixed feelings after a back-and-forth game...
"Yeah, it always is, but it's relief, and then I'll be up late tonight, watching the film and writing a lot of notes on where we broke down, where we need to improve, where we have to address because if we just throw it under the rug, say, ‘hey, great come from behind win,’ and don't fix the issues we have, they're going to keep coming back.”
On the main struggles of the defense...
"Our eye discipline was awful. Our guys' eyes were in the backfield when they're supposed to be on the tight end, on the wide out, on the motion. It was terrible. And that's the discipline I'm talking about. We work on plays, and I watch the video plays, and we've worked on those during the week, and we screw them up. That's a lack of intentional focus that my eyes are supposed to be there and that eye candy is coming for a reason to pull your eyes. And it worked, and it pulled our eyes.
It's something that [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Klanderman] and I know and talked about at nauseam, we have to get it cleaned up. Some of them are new players, and for whatever reason, they haven't figured it out. And it's frustrating because we're going to get them to figure it out, Klanderman and I are going to fix it.”
On something positive to take from the game...
"Honestly, I thought we had good energy through Friday and Saturday, I really did. And we were up 3-0 and then gave up the touchdown. I think it was just one problem compounding. Because then guys start saying, I got to make the play, I got to make this play, and then the quarterback beats this by running the ball. Because everybody thinks I've got to take the guy that swipes across and stuff. There are a lot of things that I would say it is and were on both sides. We had third, fourth downs that we converted or didn't convert on the first drive, and those are tough spots. And I wasn't going to go for it on fourth down as much around midfield because we weren't snapping them on defense. I wasn't going to give them a short field.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"DeVon has been getting better and better and just needs an opportunity. And with Dylan Edwards down, he was able to get that opportunity, he runs really hard. Make no mistake, we miss Dylan Edwards, that guy's a home run hitter, but I was pleased with the way DeVon answered the bell, Joe Jackson answered the bell. We had to throw it a little bit more. Being down a running back, we ran Avery a little bit. Avery did a really good job scrambling around. But, you know who I was impressed with was Jayce Brown. Jayce Brown keeps getting better and better and keeps having a chip on his shoulder of wanting to have the ball thrown to him.”
On how getting back from Ireland might have affected today’s game...
"Potentially, but that's an excuse. And all the coaches I talked to that went over there said, you're going to have a hangover game. It's either going to be game two, game three, or game four. And I look at our schedule, and that's before that we got four in a row before we get a break, I told the guys, I hope this was our hangover game. And that's no disrespect to North Dakota, because they're a good football team that came in here and beat us. We beat them on the scoreboard late. So hopefully that is, but only if you're not tired, if you don't get your eyes right on defense, and that's where I'm frustrated.”
On how the players feel in the locker room...
"The older guys were happy with the win, because make no mistake, you're going to enjoy wins however you get them, because they're hard to get in college football. Ask anybody across the country, it's hard to win in this game. So we're going to enjoy that. But we know, and the older guys are telling the new guys, the younger guys, we have to fix some of the discipline issues we have. Discipline does not mean cheap shots and stuff. Discipline means a lack of intentional focus on where our eyes are supposed to be, or who we're blocking, or who we're not blocking. It's everybody across all three phases.”
DEVON RICE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK
On seeing Dylan Edwards go down and getting the nod as the starter...
"I just wanted to be there for my team. That was the main thing, I felt like I let them down last week, as we didn't really get the outcome we wanted. I worked myself very hard this week in practice, was coached very hard by my position coach who was on me all week, and this is just a product of his teaching. Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week.”
On if he felt he gained more confidence after this game...
"Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week. So I do.”
On the attitude in the huddle with just under two minutes to go...
"The offense knew that we just had to win. Credit to guys like Avery [Johnson], who drove the ball, was a big part of that, and then Joe [Jackson] finished off, and everybody was just able to stay calm, stay collected, and then we all were able to get the outcome that we wanted.”
On Dylan Edwards mentorship heading into this week's game...
"Yeah, Dylan, he's been a great mentor. He's definitely been in my ear as soon as he went down. He's definitely been telling me, like it helped me break down film, helping me because we got similar plays, so he kind of helps me see the game, how he kind of sees it. So he's definitely been there for me.”
On playing at home after being in Ireland week one...
"It was great. The crowd was great, the environment was great. All the vibes were great. I got my first cat walk in, that was great. I had a great experience, so I was very excited.”
CODY STUFFLEBEAN, SENIOR DEFENSIVE END
On emotions after this win...
"Coach [Klieman] says it all the time– it's hard to win at this level, so it's cool to be able to go and get a win. I think we all kind of know that we're going to have to play better than that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve.”
On his first half strip sack fumble call...
"I didn't think that he started to lose it in the beginning, but luckily, it worked out for us.”
On the defense’s mentality in the final two minutes...
"That's what we have to win and have confidence in ourselves, [we] know that our offense can execute and we just need to go out and play well.”
On fatigue and recovery from week zero in Ireland...
"No, I wouldn't say that is what attributed to this. I just think that we weren't disciplined enough tonight.”
On what made North Dakota’s offense successful...
"Us not fitting the plays we needed to fit well. [It] just wasn't a good execution on our part. I mean, they have good discipline. [They] play physically too. We just have to play better in the future.”
AVERY JOHNSON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On getting a chance for redemption on the last offensive drive...
"It meant everything. It's frustrating coming off the field on the previous drive, just because I kind of took my eyes off the snap and kind of bobbled it and gave it out to Jayce [Brown] in the flat late and put it behind him. So not being able to put a drive together right there to go solidify a win was definitely really frustrating. But you gotta have a short memory at this position, and be able to go rally the troops, and I had all the confidence in the world in my teammates, so we go out there and finish the game, and we were lucky to do that tonight.”
On Coach Klieman calling the last drive “a career defining drive for him”...
"I was just kind of telling the guys on the sideline like this is what we do every Monday. And [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Matt] Wells spends a lot of time in our position meetings going over two minute situations. We've watched the Cal game from a long time ago with DeSean Jackson, where they end up letting the time run out and they could have just kicked a field goal, we watched that a whole bunch of times. We watched a whole bunch of situational games where I just felt like we were really prepared, and we rep stuff like that, so there's really no need for us to panic. Just kind of trying to go out there and have a calm demeanor, because I know the guys feed off me, even if we have a bad throw, an incompletion, we drop a ball, whatever it is, we got three more downs to make something happen. Never, never, never out of the fight until the clocks hit zero. So we're still on the sidelines talking about, okay, what if we go to overtime? You just want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And luckily, we didn't have to go to overtime tonight. But I think all the guys were confident that we were going to win that game.”
On if he feels more poised in a two minute offense...
"Yeah, I've been in situations like that before, not at this level, unless you want to kind of go back to Rutgers, was maybe a little similar in that way. But, I've always been the person to think, if we get the ball last, we should win the game. And I'm always going to have that type of confidence in myself and my teammates and I think that kind of helps with poise and confidence and calmness. And I think everybody kind of feeds off that. So I'm continuing to be a great leader even in adverse times.”
On if there’s a sense of relief after getting the first win of the season ...
"Yeah, it’s just a one week season, like I said last week, we got to grab the good and fix the bad, and we'll continue to learn from it and get better. But we got to focus on Army now and figure out how we're going to go 1-0 again next week.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"I was really confident and pleased with how DeVon played tonight. I think he really stepped up big for us. And just talking to him at halftime, when I was talking to running backs, we gotta get the run game going, we gotta be the more physical team coming out in the second half. And DeVon did a good job of getting two scores up for us, and I think it really is going to help with his confidence, because he's a really talented player, and he can be dangerous at this level. So he did a really good job, and I'm really excited for him tonight.”
TOBI OSUNSANMI, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On the difference makers between the third and fourth quarter...
"I just feel like it just came from where our feet were. I mean, we look up at the scoreboard and it was nowhere near our standard as a defense, so I feel like we took it upon ourselves to start playing just how we know how to play.”
On pressuring North Dakota in the final two minutes...
"Yeah, this is a player-led team, so I feel like it's not any single person or any couple of people that lead. I feel like it was the whole defense that took it upon themselves to go out there for the two-minute drive and get a stop when we needed it.”
On a second week leading a four-man front...
"I feel like it's good for our defensive line to get active and get knocked back and move around a lot more. Which we're good at– having an athletic defensive line room. I feel like there are a lot of things we still need to work out. It's a good defense whenever we all execute. We just need to work on that.”
On adding pressure in the second half...
"I guess it's just starting better. [It] feels like we started off flat and shouldn’t have. We can't just wait for a third quarter to start feeling our way into whatever it is that we’re doing.”
On improving eye-discipline moving forward...
"Just at practice, I mean, getting reps during it. I feel like the only way you can get better at football is by playing football. Moving forward, it's just going to be a lot more reps, and how important that is going to be when we have Army coming to town next week.”
JAYCE BROWN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On his overall thoughts about his performance tonight...
"I think I had a pretty decent game, but there were some mistakes I wish I had back. But we still have yet to put a full good game on tape, but I think the only way we can go from here is up.”
On what it was like getting the ball back to possibly win the game after a turnover...
"I feel like the mindset for me this year has really been good play, bad play, next play. So not dwelling on the past if I missed a block, or if we had a turnover on downs. Let's go get the next one. And I feel like the defense did a good job tonight, and they gave us opportunities, and I feel like we capitalized.”
On being able to see where Avery Johnson was going to make the play...
"That's just a credit to our coaches, especially Coach Wells, he's been harping on closing out, getting guys blocked up on the perimeter. So as soon as I didn't get the ball and I saw him tuck it, I was like, I need to try to make a good block for Avery.”
On getting the first quarter touchdown to lead the game and sitting on the limestone near the fans...
"I told my family before the game, because they were on the other end, I was like, if I could score on that end, I was going to jump in the end zone or in the stands. But it just so happened to be on that end, so I just jumped in there.”
On being able to take a tough game and still make the right plays for the games that matter...
"I just feel like that's who I am. I feel like I pride myself since I picked up a football on making those plays in the big time. Moments that I feel like when it really matters, and I feel like we all did a good job, Jerand Bradley made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Jaron Tibbs had some big third-down conversions. So I'm just proud of my guys in the room that we have this year and what we did tonight.”
ERIC SCHMIDT, NORTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"We didn't do a very good job of coming out at halftime. It felt like the third quarter we just did things that teams can't do on the road. You got to do a better job of coming out of the locker room communicating. Really had a hard time with some cramping issues and things like that and just got to play better. In the third quarter, we just didn't play really good complimentary football. You know, offensively, we weren't getting it out of our end. And defensively, we weren't doing a good job of making teams drive it. I did think that we did a good job of keeping them off balance offensively. If we throw it and catch it better and get it to the guy on the right pack, and the guy turns into the ball and can get up the field, there's a lot more yards there to get. I did think we ran the football well, especially inside the red zone, it was good to see us score while running the football, I think it is something that's important to us. And then defensively, we just got to do a better job against an athletic quarterback. He [Johnson] scrambled at the end of the game, we're kind of calling it to try to make sure that he can't scramble, and he beats us from the pocket, and he gets out there, and that's something that we got to continue to work on. Develop some rushers up front, guys that we feel can go rush there as a group and be able to end a football game. Hats off to K-State and Coach Klieman. When they really needed something at the end of the game, they put together a drive to be able to win the football game, so congrats to them. For us it's the response, that's what we've talked about with our guys now. How are you gonna respond to this with some adversity now in your life and get ready for Portland State next Saturday?”
What are you going to remember most from today...
"I mean, it's probably what you won't forget, right? Like you're going to go back over in your mind all the time at the end, and how you're calling games at the end, and hey, do you do things differently, you know. I think that's the one thing you really try to figure out early in the season. I think that's the art of coaching, what type of team are you and are guys better for calling it when they can play on their toes and play downhill. Will you be the aggressor? Just where is that, that risk reward factor, as far as you know, making those decisions. So, you know, I think that was the biggest thing I just came out of halftime, I just felt like we were really good at halftime, there was obviously a lot of, you know, confidence and a lot of energy in the locker room. But to go back out there to know you're getting the ball in the second half, and to be able to go up two scores would have been huge. And I just thought we had a little adversity there, and it took us too long to be able to respond to that adversity, so I just think little things like that. The other thing I was encouraged by, like, thought our receivers really played well tonight. I thought they were a handful. I mean, you see a lot of guys, you know, Nate [Nathan Hromadka] comes in and catches a big pass at the tight end position. There's a lot of young guys playing out there. So just encouraged as far as the development of those guys, and those guys being able now to see it that, hey, they can be players that are winning players, you know, at this level, so excited to continue to see those guys develop here.”
On how he felt in his debut...
"I mean, there were a lot of people like, you know, are you nervous? Are you? I mean, I really felt good, man, we day after day after day, putting in real work and just giving the guys real confidence. I just really felt like, you know, we would come in here and play well, I really felt that way. I knew Jerry [Kaminski] was going to do good things. You know, Javance [Tupou’ata-Johnson] comes in and puts it on Korey Tai right away. We have a lot of guys that we just have to keep coaching them and keep pouring into them. This means nothing if we don't continue to get better throughout the season, it'll instill some confidence in guys, but to me, it's all about the response. Now, like, how do we respond to this? Do we respond to it like even more starving? It gives us some confidence, but yet, there's a burn inside you that, hey, if I would have done this or that better, we could have had a different outcome. Because 30 years from now, it's not going to be like, we beat K-State, it's going to be that we were close to beating K-State. There's learning that needs to take place in order for you to be able to be a champion. And I think there's got to be some adversity in order for you to be a champion as well. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond here, moving forward.”
JERRY KAMINSKI, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how his first career start went...
"There were ups and downs. The biggest thing I look back on is that fumble in the red zone. I just can't have that. You look at that, we had at least a field goal. That's a huge turning point in the game, a point where we could have got points and maybe had a chance here at the end to do something else. I thought our O-line played great, our receivers did a great job catching the ball, we did a great job running the ball, but we're not taking any moral victories from this. I mean, we came here to do one thing, and that was win and we didn't get that, we didn't get that done. So it's on to next week.”
On the struggles offensively to begin the second half...
"I think it was just us beating ourselves a little bit there. But the thing I was proud of with our team is we didn't give up. We didn't doubt ourselves. We kept our confidence all the way through, and that goes all the way back to our summer training. Coach [Eric] Schmidt talks a ton about the year long calendar, and that goes back to those extra drills we were doing, extra is the standard here. It's important in summer training and winter training that you do it with your brothers. And I think that's the most important, because when things got tough, we got to the sideline and nobody flinched. I mean, defensive guys were coming up to offensive guys, offensive guys talking to defensive guys. Nobody flinched. So I'm really proud of the team for that.”
On if this game was a statement for North Dakota...
"I think it just proves what we have in this facility and we already knew. I mean, we can play with anyone in the country. We can beat anyone in the country. So it's just exciting for that reason. But I mean, you're bummed. You come here to get a win and you fall just short. It's frustrating.”
MALACHI MCNEAL, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On the importance of setting a standard by playing one of the top-25 teams in the country...
"I mean I’m not happy at all. Like when you said that it has to be good to go out there and show a statement that we competed, I don't think we made a statement yet, because we didn't win the ballgame. I think it just looks to what Coach Schmidt said, “Just got to play better in the third collectively, everybody, including myself.” So I think that just about the response, everybody get back in the locker room, get back in the film room and really take a look at what went wrong here and really get back on the same page, man. So we can really go get a W because I think that this should be the worst we play all year. That's just how I feel about it. I think it will be really good throughout this season. Just got to get the communication right and everybody is playing on the same page”.
On what his biggest takeaway is from the game...
"I love how the guys fought today. I loved how we never were out of it. I loved how the leaders kind of kept each other up and, you know, even Coach Schmidt, he's coming over there, he's coaching us, and he's getting us right. So you know, I love that part of it and I just think that, yeah, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, I'm pretty upset about it right now, but I think that, you know, like I said, I feel like this should be the worst we play all year. And so I think that we can learn from this, take it away, go, have a hell of a response for it.”
On why there seemed to be a different feeling this game compared to past games...
"If you want me to be completely honest with you, it's Coach Schmidt right here. He instills that belief in us, and we feel like we can go beat anybody you know. He's a tremendous coach, he's here for us, he gives us a great game plan. The speech he gives, he gave us before we went out there, he just basically said, like, we ain't here to just be here, we are here to win a football game. We aren’t here to just take pictures and be like, oh, and observe the atmosphere. We're here to win a football game. So when you get a guy like that that truly believes in you, it instills belief in yourself. And so I think that that's what made us all want to go fight and go fight for him. Go get him his first win as a head coach.”
CHRIS KLIEMAN, KANSAS STATE COACH
"Really poor first half by us with discipline errors, really frustrating for me and for our staff, and honestly for the kids that have been here for an awful long time, that we had some really disciplined things that cost us. We regrouped at halftime. I challenged them pretty good at halftime, and we came out and we had real good urgency and energy about us, and got the two-score lead again.
North Dakota came back and took the lead. And because I've been on the other side of that stuff so often, being at FCS, and if you give teams life, they're going to stick around the whole time. And I told the guys, you're never assured of anything. You're never given anything. You never deserve anything. You've got to earn everything you have. And in this new era of college football, nobody knows what other teams have. Nobody knows how good teams are, how much they improve through new players, improved staff, whatever it may be.
I knew we were playing a good football team, because they're from the Dakotas. Those four Dakota schools are really well coached. They're physical, they're going to play their tails off. And if you feel like you got a chance, if they feel like they got a chance to beat you, they're going to grind it all the way out.
All that being said, fourth and six, we throw the incompletion with 2:05 left, and the resolve of the older kids showed up, and we were able to get a quick stop, punt the ball away, and have to go 81 yards, and that's going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson, because he was as calm and cool. He made play after play after play, even when we had a drop, didn't bug him, came back, made a play, and then we ultimately got a score.
And then we still have to stop them, because those quarterbacks are really good players, and they've got a good scheme, they score a lot of points. They did last year at the same offense step, and then our defense stepped up again and got to stop. So all that being said, we've got to get a lot better. We've got to improve in all areas, not just one area, in all phases we've got to improve. But I've been in this business too long. You'd better enjoy every opportunity you have to get a victory. So we're happy about the victory. “
On the mixed feelings after a back-and-forth game...
"Yeah, it always is, but it's relief, and then I'll be up late tonight, watching the film and writing a lot of notes on where we broke down, where we need to improve, where we have to address because if we just throw it under the rug, say, ‘hey, great come from behind win,’ and don't fix the issues we have, they're going to keep coming back.”
On the main struggles of the defense...
"Our eye discipline was awful. Our guys' eyes were in the backfield when they're supposed to be on the tight end, on the wide out, on the motion. It was terrible. And that's the discipline I'm talking about. We work on plays, and I watch the video plays, and we've worked on those during the week, and we screw them up. That's a lack of intentional focus that my eyes are supposed to be there and that eye candy is coming for a reason to pull your eyes. And it worked, and it pulled our eyes.
It's something that [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Klanderman] and I know and talked about at nauseam, we have to get it cleaned up. Some of them are new players, and for whatever reason, they haven't figured it out. And it's frustrating because we're going to get them to figure it out, Klanderman and I are going to fix it.”
On something positive to take from the game...
"Honestly, I thought we had good energy through Friday and Saturday, I really did. And we were up 3-0 and then gave up the touchdown. I think it was just one problem compounding. Because then guys start saying, I got to make the play, I got to make this play, and then the quarterback beats this by running the ball. Because everybody thinks I've got to take the guy that swipes across and stuff. There are a lot of things that I would say it is and were on both sides. We had third, fourth downs that we converted or didn't convert on the first drive, and those are tough spots. And I wasn't going to go for it on fourth down as much around midfield because we weren't snapping them on defense. I wasn't going to give them a short field.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"DeVon has been getting better and better and just needs an opportunity. And with Dylan Edwards down, he was able to get that opportunity, he runs really hard. Make no mistake, we miss Dylan Edwards, that guy's a home run hitter, but I was pleased with the way DeVon answered the bell, Joe Jackson answered the bell. We had to throw it a little bit more. Being down a running back, we ran Avery a little bit. Avery did a really good job scrambling around. But, you know who I was impressed with was Jayce Brown. Jayce Brown keeps getting better and better and keeps having a chip on his shoulder of wanting to have the ball thrown to him.”
On how getting back from Ireland might have affected today’s game...
"Potentially, but that's an excuse. And all the coaches I talked to that went over there said, you're going to have a hangover game. It's either going to be game two, game three, or game four. And I look at our schedule, and that's before that we got four in a row before we get a break, I told the guys, I hope this was our hangover game. And that's no disrespect to North Dakota, because they're a good football team that came in here and beat us. We beat them on the scoreboard late. So hopefully that is, but only if you're not tired, if you don't get your eyes right on defense, and that's where I'm frustrated.”
On how the players feel in the locker room...
"The older guys were happy with the win, because make no mistake, you're going to enjoy wins however you get them, because they're hard to get in college football. Ask anybody across the country, it's hard to win in this game. So we're going to enjoy that. But we know, and the older guys are telling the new guys, the younger guys, we have to fix some of the discipline issues we have. Discipline does not mean cheap shots and stuff. Discipline means a lack of intentional focus on where our eyes are supposed to be, or who we're blocking, or who we're not blocking. It's everybody across all three phases.”
DEVON RICE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK
On seeing Dylan Edwards go down and getting the nod as the starter...
"I just wanted to be there for my team. That was the main thing, I felt like I let them down last week, as we didn't really get the outcome we wanted. I worked myself very hard this week in practice, was coached very hard by my position coach who was on me all week, and this is just a product of his teaching. Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week.”
On if he felt he gained more confidence after this game...
"Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week. So I do.”
On the attitude in the huddle with just under two minutes to go...
"The offense knew that we just had to win. Credit to guys like Avery [Johnson], who drove the ball, was a big part of that, and then Joe [Jackson] finished off, and everybody was just able to stay calm, stay collected, and then we all were able to get the outcome that we wanted.”
On Dylan Edwards mentorship heading into this week's game...
"Yeah, Dylan, he's been a great mentor. He's definitely been in my ear as soon as he went down. He's definitely been telling me, like it helped me break down film, helping me because we got similar plays, so he kind of helps me see the game, how he kind of sees it. So he's definitely been there for me.”
On playing at home after being in Ireland week one...
"It was great. The crowd was great, the environment was great. All the vibes were great. I got my first cat walk in, that was great. I had a great experience, so I was very excited.”
CODY STUFFLEBEAN, SENIOR DEFENSIVE END
On emotions after this win...
"Coach [Klieman] says it all the time– it's hard to win at this level, so it's cool to be able to go and get a win. I think we all kind of know that we're going to have to play better than that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve.”
On his first half strip sack fumble call...
"I didn't think that he started to lose it in the beginning, but luckily, it worked out for us.”
On the defense’s mentality in the final two minutes...
"That's what we have to win and have confidence in ourselves, [we] know that our offense can execute and we just need to go out and play well.”
On fatigue and recovery from week zero in Ireland...
"No, I wouldn't say that is what attributed to this. I just think that we weren't disciplined enough tonight.”
On what made North Dakota’s offense successful...
"Us not fitting the plays we needed to fit well. [It] just wasn't a good execution on our part. I mean, they have good discipline. [They] play physically too. We just have to play better in the future.”
AVERY JOHNSON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On getting a chance for redemption on the last offensive drive...
"It meant everything. It's frustrating coming off the field on the previous drive, just because I kind of took my eyes off the snap and kind of bobbled it and gave it out to Jayce [Brown] in the flat late and put it behind him. So not being able to put a drive together right there to go solidify a win was definitely really frustrating. But you gotta have a short memory at this position, and be able to go rally the troops, and I had all the confidence in the world in my teammates, so we go out there and finish the game, and we were lucky to do that tonight.”
On Coach Klieman calling the last drive “a career defining drive for him”...
"I was just kind of telling the guys on the sideline like this is what we do every Monday. And [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Matt] Wells spends a lot of time in our position meetings going over two minute situations. We've watched the Cal game from a long time ago with DeSean Jackson, where they end up letting the time run out and they could have just kicked a field goal, we watched that a whole bunch of times. We watched a whole bunch of situational games where I just felt like we were really prepared, and we rep stuff like that, so there's really no need for us to panic. Just kind of trying to go out there and have a calm demeanor, because I know the guys feed off me, even if we have a bad throw, an incompletion, we drop a ball, whatever it is, we got three more downs to make something happen. Never, never, never out of the fight until the clocks hit zero. So we're still on the sidelines talking about, okay, what if we go to overtime? You just want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And luckily, we didn't have to go to overtime tonight. But I think all the guys were confident that we were going to win that game.”
On if he feels more poised in a two minute offense...
"Yeah, I've been in situations like that before, not at this level, unless you want to kind of go back to Rutgers, was maybe a little similar in that way. But, I've always been the person to think, if we get the ball last, we should win the game. And I'm always going to have that type of confidence in myself and my teammates and I think that kind of helps with poise and confidence and calmness. And I think everybody kind of feeds off that. So I'm continuing to be a great leader even in adverse times.”
On if there’s a sense of relief after getting the first win of the season ...
"Yeah, it’s just a one week season, like I said last week, we got to grab the good and fix the bad, and we'll continue to learn from it and get better. But we got to focus on Army now and figure out how we're going to go 1-0 again next week.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"I was really confident and pleased with how DeVon played tonight. I think he really stepped up big for us. And just talking to him at halftime, when I was talking to running backs, we gotta get the run game going, we gotta be the more physical team coming out in the second half. And DeVon did a good job of getting two scores up for us, and I think it really is going to help with his confidence, because he's a really talented player, and he can be dangerous at this level. So he did a really good job, and I'm really excited for him tonight.”
TOBI OSUNSANMI, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On the difference makers between the third and fourth quarter...
"I just feel like it just came from where our feet were. I mean, we look up at the scoreboard and it was nowhere near our standard as a defense, so I feel like we took it upon ourselves to start playing just how we know how to play.”
On pressuring North Dakota in the final two minutes...
"Yeah, this is a player-led team, so I feel like it's not any single person or any couple of people that lead. I feel like it was the whole defense that took it upon themselves to go out there for the two-minute drive and get a stop when we needed it.”
On a second week leading a four-man front...
"I feel like it's good for our defensive line to get active and get knocked back and move around a lot more. Which we're good at– having an athletic defensive line room. I feel like there are a lot of things we still need to work out. It's a good defense whenever we all execute. We just need to work on that.”
On adding pressure in the second half...
"I guess it's just starting better. [It] feels like we started off flat and shouldn’t have. We can't just wait for a third quarter to start feeling our way into whatever it is that we’re doing.”
On improving eye-discipline moving forward...
"Just at practice, I mean, getting reps during it. I feel like the only way you can get better at football is by playing football. Moving forward, it's just going to be a lot more reps, and how important that is going to be when we have Army coming to town next week.”
JAYCE BROWN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On his overall thoughts about his performance tonight...
"I think I had a pretty decent game, but there were some mistakes I wish I had back. But we still have yet to put a full good game on tape, but I think the only way we can go from here is up.”
On what it was like getting the ball back to possibly win the game after a turnover...
"I feel like the mindset for me this year has really been good play, bad play, next play. So not dwelling on the past if I missed a block, or if we had a turnover on downs. Let's go get the next one. And I feel like the defense did a good job tonight, and they gave us opportunities, and I feel like we capitalized.”
On being able to see where Avery Johnson was going to make the play...
"That's just a credit to our coaches, especially Coach Wells, he's been harping on closing out, getting guys blocked up on the perimeter. So as soon as I didn't get the ball and I saw him tuck it, I was like, I need to try to make a good block for Avery.”
On getting the first quarter touchdown to lead the game and sitting on the limestone near the fans...
"I told my family before the game, because they were on the other end, I was like, if I could score on that end, I was going to jump in the end zone or in the stands. But it just so happened to be on that end, so I just jumped in there.”
On being able to take a tough game and still make the right plays for the games that matter...
"I just feel like that's who I am. I feel like I pride myself since I picked up a football on making those plays in the big time. Moments that I feel like when it really matters, and I feel like we all did a good job, Jerand Bradley made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Jaron Tibbs had some big third-down conversions. So I'm just proud of my guys in the room that we have this year and what we did tonight.”
ERIC SCHMIDT, NORTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"We didn't do a very good job of coming out at halftime. It felt like the third quarter we just did things that teams can't do on the road. You got to do a better job of coming out of the locker room communicating. Really had a hard time with some cramping issues and things like that and just got to play better. In the third quarter, we just didn't play really good complimentary football. You know, offensively, we weren't getting it out of our end. And defensively, we weren't doing a good job of making teams drive it. I did think that we did a good job of keeping them off balance offensively. If we throw it and catch it better and get it to the guy on the right pack, and the guy turns into the ball and can get up the field, there's a lot more yards there to get. I did think we ran the football well, especially inside the red zone, it was good to see us score while running the football, I think it is something that's important to us. And then defensively, we just got to do a better job against an athletic quarterback. He [Johnson] scrambled at the end of the game, we're kind of calling it to try to make sure that he can't scramble, and he beats us from the pocket, and he gets out there, and that's something that we got to continue to work on. Develop some rushers up front, guys that we feel can go rush there as a group and be able to end a football game. Hats off to K-State and Coach Klieman. When they really needed something at the end of the game, they put together a drive to be able to win the football game, so congrats to them. For us it's the response, that's what we've talked about with our guys now. How are you gonna respond to this with some adversity now in your life and get ready for Portland State next Saturday?”
What are you going to remember most from today...
"I mean, it's probably what you won't forget, right? Like you're going to go back over in your mind all the time at the end, and how you're calling games at the end, and hey, do you do things differently, you know. I think that's the one thing you really try to figure out early in the season. I think that's the art of coaching, what type of team are you and are guys better for calling it when they can play on their toes and play downhill. Will you be the aggressor? Just where is that, that risk reward factor, as far as you know, making those decisions. So, you know, I think that was the biggest thing I just came out of halftime, I just felt like we were really good at halftime, there was obviously a lot of, you know, confidence and a lot of energy in the locker room. But to go back out there to know you're getting the ball in the second half, and to be able to go up two scores would have been huge. And I just thought we had a little adversity there, and it took us too long to be able to respond to that adversity, so I just think little things like that. The other thing I was encouraged by, like, thought our receivers really played well tonight. I thought they were a handful. I mean, you see a lot of guys, you know, Nate [Nathan Hromadka] comes in and catches a big pass at the tight end position. There's a lot of young guys playing out there. So just encouraged as far as the development of those guys, and those guys being able now to see it that, hey, they can be players that are winning players, you know, at this level, so excited to continue to see those guys develop here.”
On how he felt in his debut...
"I mean, there were a lot of people like, you know, are you nervous? Are you? I mean, I really felt good, man, we day after day after day, putting in real work and just giving the guys real confidence. I just really felt like, you know, we would come in here and play well, I really felt that way. I knew Jerry [Kaminski] was going to do good things. You know, Javance [Tupou’ata-Johnson] comes in and puts it on Korey Tai right away. We have a lot of guys that we just have to keep coaching them and keep pouring into them. This means nothing if we don't continue to get better throughout the season, it'll instill some confidence in guys, but to me, it's all about the response. Now, like, how do we respond to this? Do we respond to it like even more starving? It gives us some confidence, but yet, there's a burn inside you that, hey, if I would have done this or that better, we could have had a different outcome. Because 30 years from now, it's not going to be like, we beat K-State, it's going to be that we were close to beating K-State. There's learning that needs to take place in order for you to be able to be a champion. And I think there's got to be some adversity in order for you to be a champion as well. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond here, moving forward.”
JERRY KAMINSKI, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how his first career start went...
"There were ups and downs. The biggest thing I look back on is that fumble in the red zone. I just can't have that. You look at that, we had at least a field goal. That's a huge turning point in the game, a point where we could have got points and maybe had a chance here at the end to do something else. I thought our O-line played great, our receivers did a great job catching the ball, we did a great job running the ball, but we're not taking any moral victories from this. I mean, we came here to do one thing, and that was win and we didn't get that, we didn't get that done. So it's on to next week.”
On the struggles offensively to begin the second half...
"I think it was just us beating ourselves a little bit there. But the thing I was proud of with our team is we didn't give up. We didn't doubt ourselves. We kept our confidence all the way through, and that goes all the way back to our summer training. Coach [Eric] Schmidt talks a ton about the year long calendar, and that goes back to those extra drills we were doing, extra is the standard here. It's important in summer training and winter training that you do it with your brothers. And I think that's the most important, because when things got tough, we got to the sideline and nobody flinched. I mean, defensive guys were coming up to offensive guys, offensive guys talking to defensive guys. Nobody flinched. So I'm really proud of the team for that.”
On if this game was a statement for North Dakota...
"I think it just proves what we have in this facility and we already knew. I mean, we can play with anyone in the country. We can beat anyone in the country. So it's just exciting for that reason. But I mean, you're bummed. You come here to get a win and you fall just short. It's frustrating.”
MALACHI MCNEAL, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On the importance of setting a standard by playing one of the top-25 teams in the country...
"I mean I’m not happy at all. Like when you said that it has to be good to go out there and show a statement that we competed, I don't think we made a statement yet, because we didn't win the ballgame. I think it just looks to what Coach Schmidt said, “Just got to play better in the third collectively, everybody, including myself.” So I think that just about the response, everybody get back in the locker room, get back in the film room and really take a look at what went wrong here and really get back on the same page, man. So we can really go get a W because I think that this should be the worst we play all year. That's just how I feel about it. I think it will be really good throughout this season. Just got to get the communication right and everybody is playing on the same page”.
CHRIS KLIEMAN, KANSAS STATE COACH
"Really poor first half by us with discipline errors, really frustrating for me and for our staff, and honestly for the kids that have been here for an awful long time, that we had some really disciplined things that cost us. We regrouped at halftime. I challenged them pretty good at halftime, and we came out and we had real good urgency and energy about us, and got the two-score lead again.
North Dakota came back and took the lead. And because I've been on the other side of that stuff so often, being at FCS, and if you give teams life, they're going to stick around the whole time. And I told the guys, you're never assured of anything. You're never given anything. You never deserve anything. You've got to earn everything you have. And in this new era of college football, nobody knows what other teams have. Nobody knows how good teams are, how much they improve through new players, improved staff, whatever it may be.
I knew we were playing a good football team, because they're from the Dakotas. Those four Dakota schools are really well coached. They're physical, they're going to play their tails off. And if you feel like you got a chance, if they feel like they got a chance to beat you, they're going to grind it all the way out.
All that being said, fourth and six, we throw the incompletion with 2:05 left, and the resolve of the older kids showed up, and we were able to get a quick stop, punt the ball away, and have to go 81 yards, and that's going to be a defining drive for Avery Johnson, because he was as calm and cool. He made play after play after play, even when we had a drop, didn't bug him, came back, made a play, and then we ultimately got a score.
And then we still have to stop them, because those quarterbacks are really good players, and they've got a good scheme, they score a lot of points. They did last year at the same offense step, and then our defense stepped up again and got to stop. So all that being said, we've got to get a lot better. We've got to improve in all areas, not just one area, in all phases we've got to improve. But I've been in this business too long. You'd better enjoy every opportunity you have to get a victory. So we're happy about the victory. “
On the mixed feelings after a back-and-forth game...
"Yeah, it always is, but it's relief, and then I'll be up late tonight, watching the film and writing a lot of notes on where we broke down, where we need to improve, where we have to address because if we just throw it under the rug, say, ‘hey, great come from behind win,’ and don't fix the issues we have, they're going to keep coming back.”
On the main struggles of the defense...
"Our eye discipline was awful. Our guys' eyes were in the backfield when they're supposed to be on the tight end, on the wide out, on the motion. It was terrible. And that's the discipline I'm talking about. We work on plays, and I watch the video plays, and we've worked on those during the week, and we screw them up. That's a lack of intentional focus that my eyes are supposed to be there and that eye candy is coming for a reason to pull your eyes. And it worked, and it pulled our eyes.
It's something that [Defensive Coordinator] Joe [Klanderman] and I know and talked about at nauseam, we have to get it cleaned up. Some of them are new players, and for whatever reason, they haven't figured it out. And it's frustrating because we're going to get them to figure it out, Klanderman and I are going to fix it.”
On something positive to take from the game...
"Honestly, I thought we had good energy through Friday and Saturday, I really did. And we were up 3-0 and then gave up the touchdown. I think it was just one problem compounding. Because then guys start saying, I got to make the play, I got to make this play, and then the quarterback beats this by running the ball. Because everybody thinks I've got to take the guy that swipes across and stuff. There are a lot of things that I would say it is and were on both sides. We had third, fourth downs that we converted or didn't convert on the first drive, and those are tough spots. And I wasn't going to go for it on fourth down as much around midfield because we weren't snapping them on defense. I wasn't going to give them a short field.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"DeVon has been getting better and better and just needs an opportunity. And with Dylan Edwards down, he was able to get that opportunity, he runs really hard. Make no mistake, we miss Dylan Edwards, that guy's a home run hitter, but I was pleased with the way DeVon answered the bell, Joe Jackson answered the bell. We had to throw it a little bit more. Being down a running back, we ran Avery a little bit. Avery did a really good job scrambling around. But, you know who I was impressed with was Jayce Brown. Jayce Brown keeps getting better and better and keeps having a chip on his shoulder of wanting to have the ball thrown to him.”
On how getting back from Ireland might have affected today’s game...
"Potentially, but that's an excuse. And all the coaches I talked to that went over there said, you're going to have a hangover game. It's either going to be game two, game three, or game four. And I look at our schedule, and that's before that we got four in a row before we get a break, I told the guys, I hope this was our hangover game. And that's no disrespect to North Dakota, because they're a good football team that came in here and beat us. We beat them on the scoreboard late. So hopefully that is, but only if you're not tired, if you don't get your eyes right on defense, and that's where I'm frustrated.”
On how the players feel in the locker room...
"The older guys were happy with the win, because make no mistake, you're going to enjoy wins however you get them, because they're hard to get in college football. Ask anybody across the country, it's hard to win in this game. So we're going to enjoy that. But we know, and the older guys are telling the new guys, the younger guys, we have to fix some of the discipline issues we have. Discipline does not mean cheap shots and stuff. Discipline means a lack of intentional focus on where our eyes are supposed to be, or who we're blocking, or who we're not blocking. It's everybody across all three phases.”
DEVON RICE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK
On seeing Dylan Edwards go down and getting the nod as the starter...
"I just wanted to be there for my team. That was the main thing, I felt like I let them down last week, as we didn't really get the outcome we wanted. I worked myself very hard this week in practice, was coached very hard by my position coach who was on me all week, and this is just a product of his teaching. Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week.”
On if he felt he gained more confidence after this game...
"Yes, sir. I definitely do think I gained a lot more confidence, especially after my teammates as well, they all were supporting me throughout the week. So I do.”
On the attitude in the huddle with just under two minutes to go...
"The offense knew that we just had to win. Credit to guys like Avery [Johnson], who drove the ball, was a big part of that, and then Joe [Jackson] finished off, and everybody was just able to stay calm, stay collected, and then we all were able to get the outcome that we wanted.”
On Dylan Edwards mentorship heading into this week's game...
"Yeah, Dylan, he's been a great mentor. He's definitely been in my ear as soon as he went down. He's definitely been telling me, like it helped me break down film, helping me because we got similar plays, so he kind of helps me see the game, how he kind of sees it. So he's definitely been there for me.”
On playing at home after being in Ireland week one...
"It was great. The crowd was great, the environment was great. All the vibes were great. I got my first cat walk in, that was great. I had a great experience, so I was very excited.”
CODY STUFFLEBEAN, SENIOR DEFENSIVE END
On emotions after this win...
"Coach [Klieman] says it all the time– it's hard to win at this level, so it's cool to be able to go and get a win. I think we all kind of know that we're going to have to play better than that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve.”
On his first half strip sack fumble call...
"I didn't think that he started to lose it in the beginning, but luckily, it worked out for us.”
On the defense’s mentality in the final two minutes...
"That's what we have to win and have confidence in ourselves, [we] know that our offense can execute and we just need to go out and play well.”
On fatigue and recovery from week zero in Ireland...
"No, I wouldn't say that is what attributed to this. I just think that we weren't disciplined enough tonight.”
On what made North Dakota’s offense successful...
"Us not fitting the plays we needed to fit well. [It] just wasn't a good execution on our part. I mean, they have good discipline. [They] play physically too. We just have to play better in the future.”
AVERY JOHNSON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On getting a chance for redemption on the last offensive drive...
"It meant everything. It's frustrating coming off the field on the previous drive, just because I kind of took my eyes off the snap and kind of bobbled it and gave it out to Jayce [Brown] in the flat late and put it behind him. So not being able to put a drive together right there to go solidify a win was definitely really frustrating. But you gotta have a short memory at this position, and be able to go rally the troops, and I had all the confidence in the world in my teammates, so we go out there and finish the game, and we were lucky to do that tonight.”
On Coach Klieman calling the last drive “a career defining drive for him”...
"I was just kind of telling the guys on the sideline like this is what we do every Monday. And [Offensive Coordinator] Coach [Matt] Wells spends a lot of time in our position meetings going over two minute situations. We've watched the Cal game from a long time ago with DeSean Jackson, where they end up letting the time run out and they could have just kicked a field goal, we watched that a whole bunch of times. We watched a whole bunch of situational games where I just felt like we were really prepared, and we rep stuff like that, so there's really no need for us to panic. Just kind of trying to go out there and have a calm demeanor, because I know the guys feed off me, even if we have a bad throw, an incompletion, we drop a ball, whatever it is, we got three more downs to make something happen. Never, never, never out of the fight until the clocks hit zero. So we're still on the sidelines talking about, okay, what if we go to overtime? You just want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And luckily, we didn't have to go to overtime tonight. But I think all the guys were confident that we were going to win that game.”
On if he feels more poised in a two minute offense...
"Yeah, I've been in situations like that before, not at this level, unless you want to kind of go back to Rutgers, was maybe a little similar in that way. But, I've always been the person to think, if we get the ball last, we should win the game. And I'm always going to have that type of confidence in myself and my teammates and I think that kind of helps with poise and confidence and calmness. And I think everybody kind of feeds off that. So I'm continuing to be a great leader even in adverse times.”
On if there’s a sense of relief after getting the first win of the season ...
"Yeah, it’s just a one week season, like I said last week, we got to grab the good and fix the bad, and we'll continue to learn from it and get better. But we got to focus on Army now and figure out how we're going to go 1-0 again next week.”
On DeVon Rice’s performance today...
"I was really confident and pleased with how DeVon played tonight. I think he really stepped up big for us. And just talking to him at halftime, when I was talking to running backs, we gotta get the run game going, we gotta be the more physical team coming out in the second half. And DeVon did a good job of getting two scores up for us, and I think it really is going to help with his confidence, because he's a really talented player, and he can be dangerous at this level. So he did a really good job, and I'm really excited for him tonight.”
TOBI OSUNSANMI, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END
On the difference makers between the third and fourth quarter...
"I just feel like it just came from where our feet were. I mean, we look up at the scoreboard and it was nowhere near our standard as a defense, so I feel like we took it upon ourselves to start playing just how we know how to play.”
On pressuring North Dakota in the final two minutes...
"Yeah, this is a player-led team, so I feel like it's not any single person or any couple of people that lead. I feel like it was the whole defense that took it upon themselves to go out there for the two-minute drive and get a stop when we needed it.”
On a second week leading a four-man front...
"I feel like it's good for our defensive line to get active and get knocked back and move around a lot more. Which we're good at– having an athletic defensive line room. I feel like there are a lot of things we still need to work out. It's a good defense whenever we all execute. We just need to work on that.”
On adding pressure in the second half...
"I guess it's just starting better. [It] feels like we started off flat and shouldn’t have. We can't just wait for a third quarter to start feeling our way into whatever it is that we’re doing.”
On improving eye-discipline moving forward...
"Just at practice, I mean, getting reps during it. I feel like the only way you can get better at football is by playing football. Moving forward, it's just going to be a lot more reps, and how important that is going to be when we have Army coming to town next week.”
JAYCE BROWN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On his overall thoughts about his performance tonight...
"I think I had a pretty decent game, but there were some mistakes I wish I had back. But we still have yet to put a full good game on tape, but I think the only way we can go from here is up.”
On what it was like getting the ball back to possibly win the game after a turnover...
"I feel like the mindset for me this year has really been good play, bad play, next play. So not dwelling on the past if I missed a block, or if we had a turnover on downs. Let's go get the next one. And I feel like the defense did a good job tonight, and they gave us opportunities, and I feel like we capitalized.”
On being able to see where Avery Johnson was going to make the play...
"That's just a credit to our coaches, especially Coach Wells, he's been harping on closing out, getting guys blocked up on the perimeter. So as soon as I didn't get the ball and I saw him tuck it, I was like, I need to try to make a good block for Avery.”
On getting the first quarter touchdown to lead the game and sitting on the limestone near the fans...
"I told my family before the game, because they were on the other end, I was like, if I could score on that end, I was going to jump in the end zone or in the stands. But it just so happened to be on that end, so I just jumped in there.”
On being able to take a tough game and still make the right plays for the games that matter...
"I just feel like that's who I am. I feel like I pride myself since I picked up a football on making those plays in the big time. Moments that I feel like when it really matters, and I feel like we all did a good job, Jerand Bradley made a big catch in the fourth quarter. Jaron Tibbs had some big third-down conversions. So I'm just proud of my guys in the room that we have this year and what we did tonight.”
ERIC SCHMIDT, NORTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"We didn't do a very good job of coming out at halftime. It felt like the third quarter we just did things that teams can't do on the road. You got to do a better job of coming out of the locker room communicating. Really had a hard time with some cramping issues and things like that and just got to play better. In the third quarter, we just didn't play really good complimentary football. You know, offensively, we weren't getting it out of our end. And defensively, we weren't doing a good job of making teams drive it. I did think that we did a good job of keeping them off balance offensively. If we throw it and catch it better and get it to the guy on the right pack, and the guy turns into the ball and can get up the field, there's a lot more yards there to get. I did think we ran the football well, especially inside the red zone, it was good to see us score while running the football, I think it is something that's important to us. And then defensively, we just got to do a better job against an athletic quarterback. He [Johnson] scrambled at the end of the game, we're kind of calling it to try to make sure that he can't scramble, and he beats us from the pocket, and he gets out there, and that's something that we got to continue to work on. Develop some rushers up front, guys that we feel can go rush there as a group and be able to end a football game. Hats off to K-State and Coach Klieman. When they really needed something at the end of the game, they put together a drive to be able to win the football game, so congrats to them. For us it's the response, that's what we've talked about with our guys now. How are you gonna respond to this with some adversity now in your life and get ready for Portland State next Saturday?”
What are you going to remember most from today...
"I mean, it's probably what you won't forget, right? Like you're going to go back over in your mind all the time at the end, and how you're calling games at the end, and hey, do you do things differently, you know. I think that's the one thing you really try to figure out early in the season. I think that's the art of coaching, what type of team are you and are guys better for calling it when they can play on their toes and play downhill. Will you be the aggressor? Just where is that, that risk reward factor, as far as you know, making those decisions. So, you know, I think that was the biggest thing I just came out of halftime, I just felt like we were really good at halftime, there was obviously a lot of, you know, confidence and a lot of energy in the locker room. But to go back out there to know you're getting the ball in the second half, and to be able to go up two scores would have been huge. And I just thought we had a little adversity there, and it took us too long to be able to respond to that adversity, so I just think little things like that. The other thing I was encouraged by, like, thought our receivers really played well tonight. I thought they were a handful. I mean, you see a lot of guys, you know, Nate [Nathan Hromadka] comes in and catches a big pass at the tight end position. There's a lot of young guys playing out there. So just encouraged as far as the development of those guys, and those guys being able now to see it that, hey, they can be players that are winning players, you know, at this level, so excited to continue to see those guys develop here.”
On how he felt in his debut...
"I mean, there were a lot of people like, you know, are you nervous? Are you? I mean, I really felt good, man, we day after day after day, putting in real work and just giving the guys real confidence. I just really felt like, you know, we would come in here and play well, I really felt that way. I knew Jerry [Kaminski] was going to do good things. You know, Javance [Tupou’ata-Johnson] comes in and puts it on Korey Tai right away. We have a lot of guys that we just have to keep coaching them and keep pouring into them. This means nothing if we don't continue to get better throughout the season, it'll instill some confidence in guys, but to me, it's all about the response. Now, like, how do we respond to this? Do we respond to it like even more starving? It gives us some confidence, but yet, there's a burn inside you that, hey, if I would have done this or that better, we could have had a different outcome. Because 30 years from now, it's not going to be like, we beat K-State, it's going to be that we were close to beating K-State. There's learning that needs to take place in order for you to be able to be a champion. And I think there's got to be some adversity in order for you to be a champion as well. So I'm excited to see how our guys respond here, moving forward.”
JERRY KAMINSKI, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how his first career start went...
"There were ups and downs. The biggest thing I look back on is that fumble in the red zone. I just can't have that. You look at that, we had at least a field goal. That's a huge turning point in the game, a point where we could have got points and maybe had a chance here at the end to do something else. I thought our O-line played great, our receivers did a great job catching the ball, we did a great job running the ball, but we're not taking any moral victories from this. I mean, we came here to do one thing, and that was win and we didn't get that, we didn't get that done. So it's on to next week.”
On the struggles offensively to begin the second half...
"I think it was just us beating ourselves a little bit there. But the thing I was proud of with our team is we didn't give up. We didn't doubt ourselves. We kept our confidence all the way through, and that goes all the way back to our summer training. Coach [Eric] Schmidt talks a ton about the year long calendar, and that goes back to those extra drills we were doing, extra is the standard here. It's important in summer training and winter training that you do it with your brothers. And I think that's the most important, because when things got tough, we got to the sideline and nobody flinched. I mean, defensive guys were coming up to offensive guys, offensive guys talking to defensive guys. Nobody flinched. So I'm really proud of the team for that.”
On if this game was a statement for North Dakota...
"I think it just proves what we have in this facility and we already knew. I mean, we can play with anyone in the country. We can beat anyone in the country. So it's just exciting for that reason. But I mean, you're bummed. You come here to get a win and you fall just short. It's frustrating.”
MALACHI MCNEAL, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On the importance of setting a standard by playing one of the top-25 teams in the country...
"I mean I’m not happy at all. Like when you said that it has to be good to go out there and show a statement that we competed, I don't think we made a statement yet, because we didn't win the ballgame. I think it just looks to what Coach Schmidt said, “Just got to play better in the third collectively, everybody, including myself.” So I think that just about the response, everybody get back in the locker room, get back in the film room and really take a look at what went wrong here and really get back on the same page, man. So we can really go get a W because I think that this should be the worst we play all year. That's just how I feel about it. I think it will be really good throughout this season. Just got to get the communication right and everybody is playing on the same page”.
On what his biggest takeaway is from the game...
"I love how the guys fought today. I loved how we never were out of it. I loved how the leaders kind of kept each other up and, you know, even Coach Schmidt, he's coming over there, he's coaching us, and he's getting us right. So you know, I love that part of it and I just think that, yeah, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, I'm pretty upset about it right now, but I think that, you know, like I said, I feel like this should be the worst we play all year. And so I think that we can learn from this, take it away, go, have a hell of a response for it.”
On why there seemed to be a different feeling this game compared to past games...
"If you want me to be completely honest with you, it's Coach Schmidt right here. He instills that belief in us, and we feel like we can go beat anybody you know. He's a tremendous coach, he's here for us, he gives us a great game plan. The speech he gives, he gave us before we went out there, he just basically said, like, we ain't here to just be here, we are here to win a football game. We aren’t here to just take pictures and be like, oh, and observe the atmosphere. We're here to win a football game. So when you get a guy like that that truly believes in you, it instills belief in yourself. And so I think that that's what made us all want to go fight and go fight for him. Go get him his first win as a head coach.”
On what his biggest takeaway is from the game...
"I love how the guys fought today. I loved how we never were out of it. I loved how the leaders kind of kept each other up and, you know, even Coach Schmidt, he's coming over there, he's coaching us, and he's getting us right. So you know, I love that part of it and I just think that, yeah, we fought, but it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, I'm pretty upset about it right now, but I think that, you know, like I said, I feel like this should be the worst we play all year. And so I think that we can learn from this, take it away, go, have a hell of a response for it.”
On why there seemed to be a different feeling this game compared to past games...
"If you want me to be completely honest with you, it's Coach Schmidt right here. He instills that belief in us, and we feel like we can go beat anybody you know. He's a tremendous coach, he's here for us, he gives us a great game plan. The speech he gives, he gave us before we went out there, he just basically said, like, we ain't here to just be here, we are here to win a football game. We aren’t here to just take pictures and be like, oh, and observe the atmosphere. We're here to win a football game. So when you get a guy like that that truly believes in you, it instills belief in yourself. And so I think that that's what made us all want to go fight and go fight for him. Go get him his first win as a head coach.”
