Louisiana Tech Head Coach Quotes
Head Coach Skip HoltzOpening statement…“Let me say that, what a football game, huh? What a great football game, what a beautiful day. It was a gorgeous day to play the game and there was a great crowd playing at a Big 12 site against Kansas State, who have won more games the last four years in the Big 12 than anybody. It was a great opportunity for our players. I was really proud of how they came out and competed in this game. I was proud that they did not let some mistakes get them down or hang their heads. They just came back and kept competing. They had that 90 yard drive at the end just to get the game to overtime. They had no timeouts with their backs on their own nine yard line. The clock was running, but they made some plays to get it to overtime. It certainly was not a perfect game on our part. We put our defense on the field three times inside the 30-yard line, which you cannot do against a really good football team. I have great respect for Coach Snyder and I congratulated him and his team. I thought they did the things they needed to do to win the football game. I am just really proud of the way we competed. I thought the defense played really well outside of that last play – the third down and 16, where they gave up the touchdown, but I thought they played their tails off today. I thought some individuals competed extremely hard. We learned a lot about our team today. I liked what I saw with how they competed. We played 15 freshmen, which makes us the 14th team in the country playing the most freshmen. To play 15 freshmen in an environment like that and a game like that – for it to be only their third game of experience – I think that is invaluable for our football team. We have to grow from this and continue to get better. I look forward to getting into conference play and going home.”
On quarterback Jeff Driskel’s play…
“I think Jeff was really seeing the field very well. He was making really good decisions with the ball and not putting it in danger if it was not there. There were a couple balls that might have looked like bad throws but they just were not there. He understood the challenge our offensive line had against their defensive front. He knew we had to get rid of the ball and he threw it out of play. I think he made some really good decisions. I feel like I should have helped him more when we saw a lot of man coverage at the end of the game, but I am really proud of how he played. He is a real talent, but I am impressed with his maturity and the way he manages the game and sees the field.”
On the game going back-and-forth…“We talked to our players about how this was going to be a staring contest and it was going to come down to the first one to blink. That was how this game was going to be. I heard one of our players say going into overtime, ‘Don’t blink.’ We just had to keep believing in what we were doing. Both teams play a lot of plays on both sides. I knew there was an end, but it was just about who was going to make that critical mistake to lose the game.”
Louisiana Tech Player Quotes
Quarterback Jeff Driskel On a tough loss…“It is tough. It is a disappointed locker room. We expected to win the game, the whole game. Coming into the game we expected it, during the game we expected it and in overtime we expected it. It is tough to come out with a loss like that. I am proud to be a part of this program, to be with these guys. We just have to bounce back.”
On similarities between last two losses…
“We had a chance to win both games. We did not play our best either game, but I thought we played hard both games. We stayed together. We never showed that we were going to quit. We are a team that believes that we are going to win every game we play. This one is going to be a tough one to swallow. We have a lot of games left. We have to build off of our positives and learn from the negatives and move forward.”
On Trent Taylor taking the blame for the loss…“That is what competitors do. I am kicking myself for the beginning of the game, missing a touchdown pass there that almost got picked at the goal line. That is a sign of a team that stays together. No one is pointing the fingers at anyone else. We are all going to be accountable for our own actions. In no way was that his fault, in no way was it my fault. It was a team effort, we win as a team and we lose as a team. We lost as a team today.”
Linebacker Nick ThompsonOn a tough loss…“It is always tough to lose. It is even tougher to lose when you are that close. We came here to win, we did not come here to play tough against them. It is pretty tough.”
On coach’s postgame speech…
“Do not hang our heads. We fought all the way down to the wire. We had some bad plays, but we fought, so he said just keep our heads up and move on to next week.”
On moving forward this season…“It is tough, but we have a pretty tough team. I am not going to sit here and pout and let it derail our whole season. We will be ready next week.”
Wide Receiver Trent TaylorOn atmosphere of locker room after game…“It was pretty silent. A bunch of people were let down. I put that loss on my shoulders. When you got 100 guys out there fighting their tails off and going 110 percent and you have your leaders out there making mistakes – you are not going to win football games like that. So, I put that game on my shoulders. Hopefully, we can bounce back next week.”
On turnovers…
“It was very crucial. We just did not give ourselves a chance to win with turnovers like that. You are not going to win games, especially with your leaders out there making mistakes. I got a lot to do with myself. I got a lot of film to watch and a lot to improve on.”
On quarterback play…“Jeff (Driskel) played an amazing game. You could not ask for much more. He is just fire out there. He is a guy that you love to have on your team. He gives 110 percent effort.”
Head Coach Skip HoltzOpening statement…“Let me say that, what a football game, huh? What a great football game, what a beautiful day. It was a gorgeous day to play the game and there was a great crowd playing at a Big 12 site against Kansas State, who have won more games the last four years in the Big 12 than anybody. It was a great opportunity for our players. I was really proud of how they came out and competed in this game. I was proud that they did not let some mistakes get them down or hang their heads. They just came back and kept competing. They had that 90 yard drive at the end just to get the game to overtime. They had no timeouts with their backs on their own nine yard line. The clock was running, but they made some plays to get it to overtime. It certainly was not a perfect game on our part. We put our defense on the field three times inside the 30-yard line, which you cannot do against a really good football team. I have great respect for Coach Snyder and I congratulated him and his team. I thought they did the things they needed to do to win the football game. I am just really proud of the way we competed. I thought the defense played really well outside of that last play – the third down and 16, where they gave up the touchdown, but I thought they played their tails off today. I thought some individuals competed extremely hard. We learned a lot about our team today. I liked what I saw with how they competed. We played 15 freshmen, which makes us the 14th team in the country playing the most freshmen. To play 15 freshmen in an environment like that and a game like that – for it to be only their third game of experience – I think that is invaluable for our football team. We have to grow from this and continue to get better. I look forward to getting into conference play and going home.”
On quarterback Jeff Driskel’s play…
“I think Jeff was really seeing the field very well. He was making really good decisions with the ball and not putting it in danger if it was not there. There were a couple balls that might have looked like bad throws but they just were not there. He understood the challenge our offensive line had against their defensive front. He knew we had to get rid of the ball and he threw it out of play. I think he made some really good decisions. I feel like I should have helped him more when we saw a lot of man coverage at the end of the game, but I am really proud of how he played. He is a real talent, but I am impressed with his maturity and the way he manages the game and sees the field.”
On the game going back-and-forth…“We talked to our players about how this was going to be a staring contest and it was going to come down to the first one to blink. That was how this game was going to be. I heard one of our players say going into overtime, ‘Don’t blink.’ We just had to keep believing in what we were doing. Both teams play a lot of plays on both sides. I knew there was an end, but it was just about who was going to make that critical mistake to lose the game.”
Louisiana Tech Player Quotes
Quarterback Jeff Driskel On a tough loss…“It is tough. It is a disappointed locker room. We expected to win the game, the whole game. Coming into the game we expected it, during the game we expected it and in overtime we expected it. It is tough to come out with a loss like that. I am proud to be a part of this program, to be with these guys. We just have to bounce back.”
On similarities between last two losses…
“We had a chance to win both games. We did not play our best either game, but I thought we played hard both games. We stayed together. We never showed that we were going to quit. We are a team that believes that we are going to win every game we play. This one is going to be a tough one to swallow. We have a lot of games left. We have to build off of our positives and learn from the negatives and move forward.”
On Trent Taylor taking the blame for the loss…“That is what competitors do. I am kicking myself for the beginning of the game, missing a touchdown pass there that almost got picked at the goal line. That is a sign of a team that stays together. No one is pointing the fingers at anyone else. We are all going to be accountable for our own actions. In no way was that his fault, in no way was it my fault. It was a team effort, we win as a team and we lose as a team. We lost as a team today.”
Linebacker Nick ThompsonOn a tough loss…“It is always tough to lose. It is even tougher to lose when you are that close. We came here to win, we did not come here to play tough against them. It is pretty tough.”
On coach’s postgame speech…
“Do not hang our heads. We fought all the way down to the wire. We had some bad plays, but we fought, so he said just keep our heads up and move on to next week.”
On moving forward this season…“It is tough, but we have a pretty tough team. I am not going to sit here and pout and let it derail our whole season. We will be ready next week.”
Wide Receiver Trent TaylorOn atmosphere of locker room after game…“It was pretty silent. A bunch of people were let down. I put that loss on my shoulders. When you got 100 guys out there fighting their tails off and going 110 percent and you have your leaders out there making mistakes – you are not going to win football games like that. So, I put that game on my shoulders. Hopefully, we can bounce back next week.”
On turnovers…
“It was very crucial. We just did not give ourselves a chance to win with turnovers like that. You are not going to win games, especially with your leaders out there making mistakes. I got a lot to do with myself. I got a lot of film to watch and a lot to improve on.”
On quarterback play…“Jeff (Driskel) played an amazing game. You could not ask for much more. He is just fire out there. He is a guy that you love to have on your team. He gives 110 percent effort.”
