MANHATTAN, Kansas – Texas players were forced to address the media once again after a 24-21 loss against Kansas State on Saturday. After a 2-0 start, Texas is now 3-4. The Longhorns will need to win three of their next five games to become bowl eligible, which seems like a very difficult task.
Here is a postgame wrap-up from Kansas State:
- Texas senior safety Dylan Haines said the goal is to make a bowl game when asked what the team will be playing for: “We still have a chance to make a bowl. That’s something we want to do, especially I want to do being a senior. I’m sure some of the other seniors ... not making one last year is probably one of the worst feelings you can have, especially at a place like Texas. Coming in here as a walk-on, I thought I was going to be part of one of the greatest football teams in the nation. Be in that national championship talk. Obviously, that hasn’t been the way things have been going, but that just falls back on the players. We've just got to go out and find a way to get it done. Like I said, to have a chance to make a bowl. We can win the rest of them if we want to. It’s on us. We played well in the second half. We have the ability to do it. We created turnovers. We’re getting better. We’re just not there at putting that full game together.”
- When asked if the team felt like they were letting down Charlie Strong, Haines said, “Obviously, when we get a loss, we feel like we let him down because he does so much for us. He just wants us to be successful. That’s what he’s there for. He’s said it multiple times, he doesn’t care about himself. He cares about us. Obviously, we feel like we let him down, but I think that’s a good feeling because we know we have a coach we want to go out there and play for. You look at the locker room, the way it was after the loss, everyone was kind of sick to their stomachs. That’s what you want. You don’t want guys to be okay with losing. I think we can just take that energy, we can take this mentality, take this loss, learn from it and go out and get the next one.
- Texas running back D’Onta Foreman said, “Coach Strong is a strong man. I definitely play for him. I can’t speak for anybody else, but I feel like as a team, we all play for him. It’s definitely hard to lose games like that knowing a lot of people say they don’t want him here, whatever they say. I know I definitely play for him. I definitely want him to be here, so I give my all for him and this team.”
- Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert was asked about not getting Devin Duvernay more involved and said, “Some scheme reasons. We were just trying to take advantage of things they were giving up.”
- Gilbert said he is satisfied with how running back D’Onta Foreman is being used in this offense. He said they cannot hand the ball to him on every play, but can give him a breather and reinsert Foreman into the game.
- Texas has struggled to score points off turnovers since the Oklahoma game, and Gilbert said, “I don’t think there’s a pinpoint reason. We've just got to be able to capitalize and execute. When the defense gives us the ball, we've got to go down and be able to capitalize and get points out of that."
- Longhorn receivers Dorian Leonard and Armanti Foreman had two crucial drops during the loss. On fourth-and-3, Leonard dropped a first down pass that could have extended his team’s drive in the third quarter. One quarter later, Foreman dropped a touchdown pass on fourth-and-7. When asked about those drops, Gilbert said, “Those just would have been huge plays for us … I don’t know about pressing. Guys have got to make plays. If the ball is in your hands, and it’s there, you've just got to make a play. That’s what we've got to continue to do, and what we have to coach to get done.”
- Kansas State’s times of possession was 38:27 compared to Texas’ 21:33. Gilbert said you have to make your possessions count, get first downs, score points and execute against Kansas State.
- Gilbert did not believe he had a conservative game plan when asked about the loss: “Just what they do schematically. You've got to be able to be patient, do some different things. That’s what we tried to get done today.”
- The offensive coordinator believes there is still plenty of fight in this team. Gilbert said the squad will continue to battle.
- Texas quarterback Shane Buechele said the team needs to start faster when asked about scoring only seven points in the first half. Buechele said the team needs to execute from the moment it steps on the field, and keep fighting.
- Buechele said Kansas State was giving up the short plays and did not want Texas to go deep. He tried to create drives off what was given to them.
- Here is Buechele’s assessment of the game: “It’s hard just to see the things that you could have did, or could have done. That’s just stuff we have to work on.”
- Linebacker Edwin Freeman was disappointed for not scoring after grabbing an interception and returning it 33 yards. Freeman wished he cut in a different direction and scored a touchdown.
- Freeman said the seniors need to step up: “The older guys need to be leaders of this team. That’s all I've got to say.”
- Receiver Devin Duvernay said it was frustrating for his team not to capitalize on Kansas State’s turnovers. Duvernay said the team just did not execute.
PLAYER NOTES (provided by UT)
• D’Onta Foreman eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the eighth consecutive game (second in school history), which leads all of the FBS. It was his sixth (T-10 single season) 100-yard game this season and 10th (T-10 career) of his career.
• Foreman finished the game with 124 rushing yards on 24 attempts. He did not have a touchdown, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games with a rushing touchdown.
• Foreman now has 1,609 career rushing yards, good for 24th in school history.
• Devin Duvernay caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. It was his third-straight game with a TD (tied 7th school history), and his third TD reception is tied for second most among freshmen in school history. The 80-yard touchdown reception was tied for the fourth longest reception by a freshman in school history and the 18th reception in school history of 80 yards or more.
• Shane Buechele’s 80-yard TD pass in the second quarter to Duvernay was the third-longest pass by a freshman in school history, while it was the 18th 80-yard pass in school history.
• Buechele finished the day 17-of-24 for 222 yards. He now has 1,722 yards this season and is fourth all-time among freshmen at UT. His 15 touchdown passes are third all-time
• Buechele made his seventh start of the season today. It is second among true freshmen all-time behind Bobby Layne’s (1944) eight.
• Tyrone Swoopes rushed for 11 yards and a touchdown in the game. He now has 927 career rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.
• Edwin Freeman recorded his first career interception and fumble recovery on Saturday against the Wildcats.
TEAM NOTES (provided by UT)
• With the loss, Texas falls to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12.
• Texas is now 7-10 all-time against Kansas State and 1-7 in Manhattan vs. the Wildcats.
• The Longhorns had a season-low 344 total yards of offense. It ended a streak of six consecutive games with at least 400 yards, the second longest streak in school history to begin a season.
• D’Onta Foreman had 124 yards rushing in the game. It was just the fourth 100-yard rushing performance in 17 all-time games against Kansas State.
• Shane Buechele’s 222 yards passing marked the sixth 200-yard passing performance in school history against Kansas State.
Here is a postgame wrap-up from Kansas State:
- Texas senior safety Dylan Haines said the goal is to make a bowl game when asked what the team will be playing for: “We still have a chance to make a bowl. That’s something we want to do, especially I want to do being a senior. I’m sure some of the other seniors ... not making one last year is probably one of the worst feelings you can have, especially at a place like Texas. Coming in here as a walk-on, I thought I was going to be part of one of the greatest football teams in the nation. Be in that national championship talk. Obviously, that hasn’t been the way things have been going, but that just falls back on the players. We've just got to go out and find a way to get it done. Like I said, to have a chance to make a bowl. We can win the rest of them if we want to. It’s on us. We played well in the second half. We have the ability to do it. We created turnovers. We’re getting better. We’re just not there at putting that full game together.”
- When asked if the team felt like they were letting down Charlie Strong, Haines said, “Obviously, when we get a loss, we feel like we let him down because he does so much for us. He just wants us to be successful. That’s what he’s there for. He’s said it multiple times, he doesn’t care about himself. He cares about us. Obviously, we feel like we let him down, but I think that’s a good feeling because we know we have a coach we want to go out there and play for. You look at the locker room, the way it was after the loss, everyone was kind of sick to their stomachs. That’s what you want. You don’t want guys to be okay with losing. I think we can just take that energy, we can take this mentality, take this loss, learn from it and go out and get the next one.
- Texas running back D’Onta Foreman said, “Coach Strong is a strong man. I definitely play for him. I can’t speak for anybody else, but I feel like as a team, we all play for him. It’s definitely hard to lose games like that knowing a lot of people say they don’t want him here, whatever they say. I know I definitely play for him. I definitely want him to be here, so I give my all for him and this team.”
- Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert was asked about not getting Devin Duvernay more involved and said, “Some scheme reasons. We were just trying to take advantage of things they were giving up.”
- Gilbert said he is satisfied with how running back D’Onta Foreman is being used in this offense. He said they cannot hand the ball to him on every play, but can give him a breather and reinsert Foreman into the game.
- Texas has struggled to score points off turnovers since the Oklahoma game, and Gilbert said, “I don’t think there’s a pinpoint reason. We've just got to be able to capitalize and execute. When the defense gives us the ball, we've got to go down and be able to capitalize and get points out of that."
- Longhorn receivers Dorian Leonard and Armanti Foreman had two crucial drops during the loss. On fourth-and-3, Leonard dropped a first down pass that could have extended his team’s drive in the third quarter. One quarter later, Foreman dropped a touchdown pass on fourth-and-7. When asked about those drops, Gilbert said, “Those just would have been huge plays for us … I don’t know about pressing. Guys have got to make plays. If the ball is in your hands, and it’s there, you've just got to make a play. That’s what we've got to continue to do, and what we have to coach to get done.”
- Kansas State’s times of possession was 38:27 compared to Texas’ 21:33. Gilbert said you have to make your possessions count, get first downs, score points and execute against Kansas State.
- Gilbert did not believe he had a conservative game plan when asked about the loss: “Just what they do schematically. You've got to be able to be patient, do some different things. That’s what we tried to get done today.”
- The offensive coordinator believes there is still plenty of fight in this team. Gilbert said the squad will continue to battle.
- Texas quarterback Shane Buechele said the team needs to start faster when asked about scoring only seven points in the first half. Buechele said the team needs to execute from the moment it steps on the field, and keep fighting.
- Buechele said Kansas State was giving up the short plays and did not want Texas to go deep. He tried to create drives off what was given to them.
- Here is Buechele’s assessment of the game: “It’s hard just to see the things that you could have did, or could have done. That’s just stuff we have to work on.”
- Linebacker Edwin Freeman was disappointed for not scoring after grabbing an interception and returning it 33 yards. Freeman wished he cut in a different direction and scored a touchdown.
- Freeman said the seniors need to step up: “The older guys need to be leaders of this team. That’s all I've got to say.”
- Receiver Devin Duvernay said it was frustrating for his team not to capitalize on Kansas State’s turnovers. Duvernay said the team just did not execute.
PLAYER NOTES (provided by UT)
• D’Onta Foreman eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the eighth consecutive game (second in school history), which leads all of the FBS. It was his sixth (T-10 single season) 100-yard game this season and 10th (T-10 career) of his career.
• Foreman finished the game with 124 rushing yards on 24 attempts. He did not have a touchdown, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games with a rushing touchdown.
• Foreman now has 1,609 career rushing yards, good for 24th in school history.
• Devin Duvernay caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. It was his third-straight game with a TD (tied 7th school history), and his third TD reception is tied for second most among freshmen in school history. The 80-yard touchdown reception was tied for the fourth longest reception by a freshman in school history and the 18th reception in school history of 80 yards or more.
• Shane Buechele’s 80-yard TD pass in the second quarter to Duvernay was the third-longest pass by a freshman in school history, while it was the 18th 80-yard pass in school history.
• Buechele finished the day 17-of-24 for 222 yards. He now has 1,722 yards this season and is fourth all-time among freshmen at UT. His 15 touchdown passes are third all-time
• Buechele made his seventh start of the season today. It is second among true freshmen all-time behind Bobby Layne’s (1944) eight.
• Tyrone Swoopes rushed for 11 yards and a touchdown in the game. He now has 927 career rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.
• Edwin Freeman recorded his first career interception and fumble recovery on Saturday against the Wildcats.
TEAM NOTES (provided by UT)
• With the loss, Texas falls to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12.
• Texas is now 7-10 all-time against Kansas State and 1-7 in Manhattan vs. the Wildcats.
• The Longhorns had a season-low 344 total yards of offense. It ended a streak of six consecutive games with at least 400 yards, the second longest streak in school history to begin a season.
• D’Onta Foreman had 124 yards rushing in the game. It was just the fourth 100-yard rushing performance in 17 all-time games against Kansas State.
• Shane Buechele’s 222 yards passing marked the sixth 200-yard passing performance in school history against Kansas State.
