Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State Football Notebook – Oklahoma Week
Sep 23, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Quotes, notes and observations from Tuesday's K-State Football press conference:
Building on the Bye Week
Here's the thing about turning points.
They usually show up in the montage before the bowl game or the feature stories that are written at the end of the year.
Picking out the turning point in a season as it happens is an inexact science, but for K-State football, the team meetings after the Arkansas State game deserve some serious consideration.
Chris Klieman and Justin Hughes both spoke about the importance of those moments during Tuesday's press conference.
"The meetings that we had weren't dealing with all that's going to happen on the field or on the scoreboard. Some of the things regarded the inner workings of our program," Klieman said. "We wanted to continue to improve upon and be better at challenging the guys, making sure the guys hold each other accountable to the standard that we expect, working on discipline, maturity, all sorts of things that just don't happen overnight."
The Wildcats will head to Norman for their Big 12 opener against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday - a challenge in any season and now more than ever with COVID-19 precautions in place.
For Hughes, success on Saturday and throughout the season comes down to a simple theme.
"The message was, everybody be disciplined. We have to be disciplined on and off the field," Hughes said. "The little things matter. The details matter and we have to execute those little things to a tee to be successful, especially with everything going on with COVID."
Preparing for the Big 12 Champs
Oklahoma kicked off its 2020 season against Missouri State, rolling past the Bears 48-0.
A comfortable win over an FCS opponent doesn't give the Wildcats a ton of tape to work with, but the Sooners might actually be one of the most recognizable things about 2020 so far:
OU is still a top-five team and still has a talented quarterback who's got the country talking.
Will Jones II was asked about Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler, who tossed four touchdowns in the first start of his college career.
"We're both young. I know he's a great player," Jones said. "We're just going to have to get it done on Saturday."
While Rattler should get the headlines ahead of Saturday's game, an interesting matchup to watch could be at the line of scrimmage. A talented K-State front seven will face a Sooners offensive line that enters 2020 as the most experienced position group on the team.
The Wildcats sacked Arkansas State's QB committee three times last Saturday and will look to keep the pressure on Oklahoma's freshman starter in his first Big 12 start.
That could mean calling on numbers up and down the defensive depth chart, as K-State continues to manage COVID-19 precautions.
"We're moving guys all the time, and that's what we did last week," Klieman said. "We also need to prepare for kids being able to learn and play multiple positions because you just don't know what could happen to you on a Wednesday or a Friday if a test doesn't go your way. At least you have some familiarity with a number of players playing different spots."
Looking Back on a Historic Win
The 2020 season was always going to be a challenge for the Wildcats, as it's been for every college football team in the country. With No. 3 Oklahoma on deck, Klieman took just a few minutes to reminisce about his program's historic win over the Sooners last season.
"It was obviously a big win because it was a home win, it was on Homecoming and those things. I guess I don't ever really look at that as far as where it ranks," Klieman said. "We have a lot of new offensive linemen and some new guys on defense, so the teams are different. The guys that played in the game, I hope, have some confidence to say that we had some success."
Fortunately, for those not calling the plays on Saturday, there's a little more time for nostalgia.
You can relive the 48-41 win over No. 5 Oklahoma right here, with all the photos, videos and social posts that made it a Saturday to remember in "the happiest place on Earth."
For Phillip Brooks, that game was as much about getting on the field as facing the Sooners.
"I was actually hurt the first half of that game…so I didn't think I was going to play," Brooks said. We were down early, we came back, took the lead and extended the lead. I love seeing my teammates succeed. My boy, Josh Youngblood, scored his first touchdown, I saw that. And us winning the game, those are the highlights for me."
K-State has played a team ranked among the top 10 in the country in every season since 2010, with three wins over top-10 opponents, including last year's victory over the Sooners.
"I know we didn't prove it last Saturday on what we can be, but it's just fuel to the fire being another underdog," Hughes said. "We're going to go out there and give OU our best shot [on] every play, each and every down."
Quotes, notes and observations from Tuesday's K-State Football press conference:
Building on the Bye Week
Here's the thing about turning points.
They usually show up in the montage before the bowl game or the feature stories that are written at the end of the year.
Picking out the turning point in a season as it happens is an inexact science, but for K-State football, the team meetings after the Arkansas State game deserve some serious consideration.
Chris Klieman and Justin Hughes both spoke about the importance of those moments during Tuesday's press conference.
"The meetings that we had weren't dealing with all that's going to happen on the field or on the scoreboard. Some of the things regarded the inner workings of our program," Klieman said. "We wanted to continue to improve upon and be better at challenging the guys, making sure the guys hold each other accountable to the standard that we expect, working on discipline, maturity, all sorts of things that just don't happen overnight."
The Wildcats will head to Norman for their Big 12 opener against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday - a challenge in any season and now more than ever with COVID-19 precautions in place.
For Hughes, success on Saturday and throughout the season comes down to a simple theme.
"The message was, everybody be disciplined. We have to be disciplined on and off the field," Hughes said. "The little things matter. The details matter and we have to execute those little things to a tee to be successful, especially with everything going on with COVID."
Preparing for the Big 12 Champs
Oklahoma kicked off its 2020 season against Missouri State, rolling past the Bears 48-0.
A comfortable win over an FCS opponent doesn't give the Wildcats a ton of tape to work with, but the Sooners might actually be one of the most recognizable things about 2020 so far:
OU is still a top-five team and still has a talented quarterback who's got the country talking.
Will Jones II was asked about Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler, who tossed four touchdowns in the first start of his college career.
"We're both young. I know he's a great player," Jones said. "We're just going to have to get it done on Saturday."
While Rattler should get the headlines ahead of Saturday's game, an interesting matchup to watch could be at the line of scrimmage. A talented K-State front seven will face a Sooners offensive line that enters 2020 as the most experienced position group on the team.
The Wildcats sacked Arkansas State's QB committee three times last Saturday and will look to keep the pressure on Oklahoma's freshman starter in his first Big 12 start.
That could mean calling on numbers up and down the defensive depth chart, as K-State continues to manage COVID-19 precautions.
"We're moving guys all the time, and that's what we did last week," Klieman said. "We also need to prepare for kids being able to learn and play multiple positions because you just don't know what could happen to you on a Wednesday or a Friday if a test doesn't go your way. At least you have some familiarity with a number of players playing different spots."
Looking Back on a Historic Win
The 2020 season was always going to be a challenge for the Wildcats, as it's been for every college football team in the country. With No. 3 Oklahoma on deck, Klieman took just a few minutes to reminisce about his program's historic win over the Sooners last season.
"It was obviously a big win because it was a home win, it was on Homecoming and those things. I guess I don't ever really look at that as far as where it ranks," Klieman said. "We have a lot of new offensive linemen and some new guys on defense, so the teams are different. The guys that played in the game, I hope, have some confidence to say that we had some success."
Fortunately, for those not calling the plays on Saturday, there's a little more time for nostalgia.
You can relive the 48-41 win over No. 5 Oklahoma right here, with all the photos, videos and social posts that made it a Saturday to remember in "the happiest place on Earth."
For Phillip Brooks, that game was as much about getting on the field as facing the Sooners.
"I was actually hurt the first half of that game…so I didn't think I was going to play," Brooks said. We were down early, we came back, took the lead and extended the lead. I love seeing my teammates succeed. My boy, Josh Youngblood, scored his first touchdown, I saw that. And us winning the game, those are the highlights for me."
K-State has played a team ranked among the top 10 in the country in every season since 2010, with three wins over top-10 opponents, including last year's victory over the Sooners.
"I know we didn't prove it last Saturday on what we can be, but it's just fuel to the fire being another underdog," Hughes said. "We're going to go out there and give OU our best shot [on] every play, each and every down."
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