Post-game quotes from KSU after the MAC championship

COACH DARRELL HAZELL

“Well what a great football game, it’s a tough one for us to swallow right now. That’s a great football team we played and they did an excellent job and I was proud of our football team for keep battling back after being down by 14 points, we just needed to make a couple more plays at the end on both sides of the ball, but that’s an excellent football team and the quarterback is an exceptional player and we had a hard time tackling him all day. Again, I love our guys and our locker room and they are all in there hurting and this will take a couple days to get over this one.”

Q: What were you able to do in the second half to get the offense moving after they were struggling?

A: “We had trouble running the football in the first half and we just thought we got to live and die by the zone and we came back out with the zone play and tried to run Trey (Durham) and Dri (Archer) and try to establish three or four yard gains and we were able to pop a couple. “

Q: Why did you elect to play defense in the second OT?

A: “You always want to play defense if you can first. “

Q: Can you talk about the character of your team in a game that isn’t going so well and the other team is statistically dominating finding a way to get back?

A: “Well that’s what this team has been about all year, they have had tremendous resolve. We have been down quite a few times this year in the second half and found a way to scrap back into the game and make enough plays to win the football game. That’s the character of this team, it’s been amazing all season long. Obviously we didn’t get it done tonight but it’s been like that all season.”

Q: Can you talk a little bit about this season?

A: “Well again, the players in our locker room and the coaches in our locker room that have made this entire season special, tremendous belief system, never quit attitude and a very, very tight locker room and I can’t put into words how proud I am of this football team and the organization.”

QB SPENCER KEITH

Q: What were you able to do in the second half passing wise?

A: “We just had a quick passing game going, guys were catching the ball, they were getting open and I was hitting the target.”

Q: Take us through the 4th quarter

A: “I always tell the guys to stay calm and take it one play at a time and that’s what we did. Even when we got to third down and ten, that type of situation, we were just focused on the next play and try to execute that. Like I said earlier, the quick passes were working, guys were getting open and the line did a great job protecting in the fourth quarter and in overtime and we just got things rolling with that. “

RB DRI ARCHER

Q: Can you talk about the line pattern, the one that you did catch?

A: “Earlier in the game we called that play, safeties bit on the fake, I got behind him and I dropped the ball and we just went back to it and I was wide-open again.”