Head Football Coach Mike Leach Quotes
October 23, 2000 | Football
Oct. 23, 2000
"I thought it was the best game we've played offensively and defensively and, I think, there are certainly some bright spots. As far as improvement we made from one week to the next was really a bright spot. We have to understand that we made too many mistakes to win this game, and those mistakes can certainly be eliminated, and we need to overcome of obstacle of expectation. We need to expect to win games like this."
On throwing the deep ball more "I think Kliff [Kingsbury] throws that ball pretty well. Kansas State was crowding [the line of scrimmage], and Derek [Dorris] is doing a good job of catching it. So really it's a combination of everything. I think we're pretty good at, and then also that's what they're giving us, too. We should have caught more of them."
On Derek Dorris "I thought Derek had a great game. He played really well. I think, now that he's settled in there the last couple of weeks, he had some injuries and things like that to overcome, he's settled in and really taken control of the position and really had a good game from beginning to end. He played 80 of the 84 plays."
On other players stepping up "We need to continue to get other players to step up and fill those roles, and some of those roles you need to kind of manufacture your own role. I think as we get two or three more people doing the same thing Dorris and [Tim] Baker are, the stronger we're going to be. I thought we did a better job of protecting Kliff, although we've still got a ways to go there, too."
On the defense "I thought our defense played really well. I thought the speed of our game on both sides of the ball was the best that we've had all year. Our defense played hard and fast, and they made some things happen. The good things we did certainly didn't get in the way of coming up short. It was mistakes we could have controlled. As we grow in this thing, we just have to be stronger in controlling those things."
On Kansas "They're playing really well. Kansas is doing a lot of good things. They're on a two-game winning streak, and I think they've gotten better as the season has gone along. And it's up there, so we have our work cut out for us."