TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: KANSAS STATE v OHIO STATE

January 2, 2004

Tim Anderson

Michael Jenkins

Craig Krenzel

Will Smith

Jim Tressel

MICHAEL JENKINS: I haven't really thought about it that much yet. It is a special honor to be up there with those guys that's been here in the past, Cris Carter, Joey Galloway, Dave Boston. It's a nice feeling right now..

CRAIG KRENZEL: Yeah, that was definitely my intention, just like it's everyone else's intention on this team, to go out last game of the year and play their best game of the season. We came out, I was a little rusty, made a few throws that I needed to be better. I could have had Mike a couple more touchdowns and some more yards to extend his lead in the receiving yards. But, you know, we settled down and we found ways to get the ball in the end zone.

CRAIG KRENZEL: We had some new wrinkles coming into this game because we know that Kansas State is very well-coached. We knew their preparation and their game plan, they would have studied all of our films this year and come in ready to play us. We did have a few new things. A lot of things we have run this year, we ran them a few more times tonight and we executed.

WILL SMITH: I think so. I think his head wasn't in the game the first half. I think they underestimated our speed on defense. I mean, they made some good adjustments the second half.

TIM ANDERSON: I think we kind of took them by surprise because, you know, normally we come off the ball hard and fast, you know, try and get pressure. Tonight we came in knowing that we had to stop the run. We really didn't come off the ball that hard. We were just kind of trying to stay on the line of scrimmage and play the run. I think that took a lot of their runnings away.

WILL SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. You know what I mean? We know those guys was coming back. Same old story when they had the ball with like six seconds left, you know what I mean? We knew they were a good team and they were going to come back. When it was like six seconds left, they had one play left, we knew we had to make a play. It was going to be up to the D line to contain them and get some pressure, the safeties and corners to back the ball up.

TIM ANDERSON: Well, I mean, three weeks ago this team went in and beat up on Oklahoma pretty good, the number one team in the country. We knew we were in for a 60-minute fight. We knew they weren't going to quit. Despite how many points they were down, they were going to come back. It wasn't unexpected. We kept playing and did what we had to do.

CRAIG KRENZEL: That was crucial. Every time our defense gives up a touchdown, you know, offensively we try to look at them and tell them, "Don't worry, we got you." A lot of times we end up punting, they have to go back on the field, make a stop. We got that back to a two-touchdown lead, they went out and did a great job. I think it definitely helped. Any time a team scores and gets momentum, it's very important to answer back.

WILL SMITH: Yes, it was. Also we watched the film of Oklahoma. They missed a lot of tackles. We knew the key to the game would be tackling Sproles and Roberson. They're little guys, can make you miss. First couple days when we got out here, that's all we were doing, tackling. We had one of the fastest, quickest guys on the team running around, making plays. Even after the play was over, he was still running around.

TIM ANDERSON: The biggest thing I noticed on film, especially in the Oklahoma game, when guys tried to get the big hit on Sproles, he would make them miss. The key for us, we all knew it coming in, we couldn't try and get the big hit; you have to wrap him up, try to take him down. We worked a lot of drills on wrapping up. I know even the D line did drills like, that just working on wrapping up, because he was such a quick spin runner, that type of things. Definitely what happened in Michigan was in the back of our minds. We didn't want that to happen again.

CRAIG KRENZEL: This group of seniors, you know, we've been fielding questions all week about, "How are you emotionally going to get up for this game when there is nothing on the line?" We found that to be kind of a slap in the face. We did not want to be a senior class that contributed to a national championship and went out losing their last two games. We kind of took that as a personal statement. The whole team backed us up. We went out and played for our pride tonight, to show the country that we belong in a BCS Bowl. That we belong playing the best guys in the country.

COACH TRESSEL: What a football game, I tell you. Kansas State is an outstanding team. Coach Snyder and his team is first class. Their preparation is extraordinary. We knew it was going to be a battle. Our kids worked extremely hard back in Ohio in December, and took six or seven days off there for the holidays, then came out here and worked extremely hard. The people here, the greater Phoenix area, are extraordinary. The hospitality was beyond. The folks here at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, they're about the only ones I've met that are even more detailed than Bill Snyder and some of us. It's extraordinary, an extraordinary opportunity, great football game. So proud of our staff. So proud of our players. They played so hard. That was a hitting football game out there. Both teams got after it. You had to be proud of both teams.

COACH TRESSEL: You know, we were just fighting hard every play. You know, I can't even tell you what was all a part of that drive. Every play we were fighting like mad to figure out what to do, see if we could do it. You know, their athletes and their coaches are tremendous. They're the Big-12 champions. I don't remember what all was involved in that drive, but I do know this: we needed to move the ball and we needed to score points, and we did.

COACH TRESSEL: I think any time you can have a big play in the punting game, you know, it's probably the difference. I suppose if you look at the game and really analyze it, it was a tie game except for that. We always say that special teams make the difference. That one certainly did give us some confidence and momentum, put a little pressure on them, put them behind the count. We've had good fortune to have excellent special teams. Our special teams have made the difference in many games.

COACH TRESSEL: We felt good about some of the things we did. We would have liked those last two or three drives to do better, you know, on the offensive side. But I thought we did some good things. Early on, I thought we missed some balls, some throws that were possibly open. We didn't hit them. Then we had a couple protection problems there in the middle a little bit. Then we didn't really step up very well those last two or three drives. But there were some good things. You know, 28 points worth of good things. Usually with our defense, if you score four touchdowns, you're going to win the game. You know, we were proud that we did that.

COACH TRESSEL: Oh, I would have preferred it ended differently, you know, like with the second unit in there taking a knee or something. But, you know, we're playing Kansas State. They're not going to stop. They've got great athletes, great coaches, great belief in their system and their program. You knew it was going to be a 60-minute game. We're just happy that at the end, when that final tick went off, we get the win.

COACH TRESSEL: I think in the case of Branden Joe, we would have liked to have Branden Joe doing that type of stuff all year. But, you know, he had the injury pre-season and missed the first six or seven games, kind of tried to rush back a little bit, had a setback near the end of the season. Then he had a little bit after hamstring problem in the last game or two. So we really didn't get to use Branden Joe. Fortunately, he had those 30-plus days to get ready for the game. We felt going into the year that he was going to be an important phase of our offense. As far as some of the other things, I thought our offensive staff did a nice job of really studying hard. Had a little bit longer time to study. We had, I don't know, 12 videos, those kinds of things. I thought our guys worked hard. Coach Bowman and his staff really studied it hard. Coach Bollman and Tim Spencer and Bill Connolly really working hard to get that run game rolling. You know, Joe Daniels did a great job of putting together some thoughts in the pass game. You know, we felt good about the time we had to prepare.

COACH TRESSEL: I haven't had any tonight with him. We've had discussions in terms of trying to get as much information as we can, then for him and his family to make the best decision. But, no, here in the last half hour, I haven't had any discussion with him. But, you know, as far as, "How are the cupboards?" The cupboards are going to go to work here in a couple weeks, see what we can do. You know, we have to open up against Coach Dantonio. We better get back and start practice tomorrow.

COACH TRESSEL: Well, you know, Craig is a competitive guy that has got an unbelievable passion to do what his team needs and for his team to succeed. You know, I'm not shocked that he was the MVP again because he prepared extremely hard for this football game. In terms of, again, any discussion with Chris, you know, I haven't had any.