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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 2, 2019

Les Miles

Lawrence, Kansas

Kansas State - 38, Kansas - 10

LES MILES: Well, we've not started fast in the last several games, and it's what we've got to work to accomplish. We put ourselves in a bind and then expect us to come find our way out of that hole. We're not going to do that. We're not going to do that. We're going to start fast. We're going to take this week and the open week and pursue improvement, and certainly starting fast has got to be the key piece, see. We'll be good at finishing games. We just need to start.

Oh, excuse me. I want to say this: I was never -- I never so enjoyed an environment, atmosphere. I can only tell you that our guys truly appreciate those people that were in the stands and rooting for the Jayhawks. I did not notice a lot of purple. It looked like to me that this was bought by guys from Kansas and guys and gals that wanted the Jayhawks to win. It was a loud stadium, and it was a Jayhawk loud. I truly appreciated -- I know our players, too. They're sick right now. They wanted to come and play a great game for you. Another time.

Q. What kind of concerned you most about the offense's kind of lack of production today, and then what led to Carter's interceptions?
LES MILES: Carter's interception was one that was just a poor throw. When you don't start fast, you've made some bad decisions, okay, and you've got to come off fast. If we do that, we'll score and have success because we'll get in the groove in the back end because that just seems to be what we do.

Q. What were you most concerned about with the offense today?
LES MILES: Most concerned that we had teed up a great opponent, the opportunity to play and play extremely well, and we did not start fast. I mean, it's something that we're going to work on. We're going to change the practice schedule. We're going to -- we're going to reevaluate all the things because I really thought we were doing really well, and I think that we have everything in place that we need. It's just we need to make first steps differently.

Q. Of the mistakes that happened, which ones are most correctable?
LES MILES: Well, each play has a series of, you know, commands. This is the first read, the second read, this is the third read, okay. And those plays are most easily corrected, okay, because they have such a direct path, okay. And those are the plays that we're going to use and make ours and have success with, that style of play. That's it.

Q. What's been holding you guys back on 3rd down this year on defense, not being able to get stops?
LES MILES: Yeah, this team that we ran into ran the football and kept all of their 3rd downs into real manageable down and distances. I think that's one of the reasons that D.J. and Crude didn't have more success on 3rd downs.

Q. Are you seeing a theme this season, though, as a whole?
LES MILES: I certainly hope not, okay. I kind of look at it that way, that in this bye week, we'll do, again, a self-scout and kind of figure out kind of some of the things that we did and didn't do in the last couple weeks well.

I mean, if you look at how we played in the last couple weeks, you'd never figure that that would start that way and finish that way. At least I didn't.

Q. Carter got hurt late; is he okay? And then is there any kind of second-guessing about having him in at that point when he gets hurt late in the game?
LES MILES: We made a decision that we were going to stick with him and take him to the -- hopefully get a drive and get him back on track so that when we get to the open week, it wouldn't be that bad. I don't think it is. I think he's nicked, but I don't think there's anything serious. I immediately talked to the trainer. The trainer said, we just need to take him out. So then we took him out.

He's our quarterback, and we want him to know that, and we'll make our quarterback and our offense better.

Q. And then it looked like you guys kind of switched things up defensively, maybe going away from Kyron Johnson and putting Jay Dineen in. Can you kind of explain what led to that?
LES MILES: Yeah, I don't know exactly why. I know that there was some conversation on headphones that I think we wanted Kyron in, and that would certainly have been the thought.

Q. With the bye week coming up, does this give you a chance to get out and recruit and do some of that?
LES MILES: Absolutely, yeah. We'll be out on Monday some, and then we will leave Friday after our workout and go see Friday night football.

Q. We asked you earlier in the week about this rivalry but you'd never been in it, never played in it. Now that you have, what are your thoughts? What did you feel out there about KU-K-State?
LES MILES: Yeah, I think it's exactly the style of rivalry that I'm used to seeing, close proximity, people that knew -- they know us, we know them, and it was a hard-fought -- certainly a hard-fought game. Yeah, they're pretty talented.

Q. Are you a believer in emphasizing a rival maybe throughout the year more than the 11 other games or opponents?
LES MILES: You know, every victory right now is kind of at this point in time awfully important, including the one we just walked off the field and did not achieve, did not get. Yeah, I'm kind of looking at each game, kind of balance.

Q. Besides Carter, many of your players have had to seek medical attention. How much was this a game of attrition?
LES MILES: Attrition? Yeah, I don't think -- I think the next guy up goes and plays pretty well for us. I didn't see the -- I mean, I knew that a couple guys got nicked right away, but one of them came back in, and I don't -- I try not to emphasize guys that are injured more than the guys that are in the game.

Q. You guys' first sellout I think in 10 years. Coming into the game, what kind of opportunity did you and the team see this as?
LES MILES: Well, I can tell you this: I'm going to draw a picture of a player. He sits just about right there. I told him, I said, we're -- I told the team, but I just happened to watch one of the players. I said, we sold -- we're 4,000 tickets from being sold out at this time. I said, it's pretty conceivable it'll be a sellout come game time, and I said, and certainly it will be TV -- as I painted the picture of the environment that we were going to play in, he closed his eyes and he ducked his head, and he wasn't even knowing that I was watching him, and this smile came to his face, and he said, without ever saying a word, oh, how cool. And we appreciated that. And I promise you, that was relived time and time again.

This team enjoyed playing in front of that crowd. Wish we would have played better.

Q. Was that an upperclassman, a guy who's been around here?
LES MILES: A guy that's been around here, yeah. Now, he cheated the way he jumped in front of everybody. Listen to me. I kind of understand that. Emotional questions just come from the heart. (Laughter.)

Q. Is there anything K-State did that was more difficult for you guys than what Texas and Texas Tech had done?
LES MILES: They kept the ball on the ground the whole day. I mean, if they threw a couple passes, it's a -- so you had to tackle, and I think that that was certainly the tough piece of the way they ran offense.

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