Iowa State football: Mark Mangino takes blame, team has to ‘overcome adversity’

Iowa State offensive coordinator Mark Mangino was pretty straightforward to reporters following Tuesday’s practice. The team needs to do a better job of “overcoming adversity” — himself included — and the next has to be ready to step up.

More from Football

• Iowa State football: DeVondrick Nealy, Tad Ecby leave the program
• National Signing Day 2015: Iowa State picks up stealth RB from California
• Iowa State football: 2015 National Signing Day tracker
• Iowa State football recruiting: Cyclones gain 3-star Kansas OT commitment
• Iowa State football recruiting: Cyclones pick up Florida defensive tackle

Two key players were injured early on in Saturday’s loss to North Dakota State — wide receiver Quenton Bundrage and center Tom Farniok. Bundrage came into the season as the team’s leading receiver and Farniok is the heart and soul of the offensive line. Both losses were catastrophic, but Mangino blames himself that the team wasn’t more prepared to have guys step in.

“We got to do a better job of responding to adversity,” Mangino said. “I don’t think we did a real good job of that, and I’m talking about myself as well as the players.

“This is how life works — It’s just like football. You got lemons, you make lemonade. Not everything’s going to go your way. You have to overcome it. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it…It’s my responsibility to get them to do that.”

During the media briefing, Mangino continued to reiterate that there were no excuses coming from him, and that if one player goes down, another player must be ready to step onto the field and help the team succeed.

“When somebody gets hurt, somebody’s got to step up,” Mangino said. “Injuries are a part of college football. There’s no excuses. I don’t accept any, and I don’t give any. We’ve got to get it done.”

The offensive coordinator was obviously not pleased with the results of the team in the second half, and that contributed to the whole idea that the they need to improve overcoming tough moments of a football game.

“We started some series in the second half down in our end of the field and couldn’t get anything put together,” Mangino said. “We just have to do a better job of understanding collectively that you have to be able to overcome adversity during the game.”

It wasn’t all bad, however. Bundrage may have gone down, but Mangino liked what he saw in the true freshman, Allen Lazard.

“He responded really well,” Mangino said. “He’s going to be a phenomenal player in this program. He’s smart, he’s mature beyond his years. He takes coaching really well. He’s a detail guy. For a freshman, he pays attention to the details. That’s remarkable.”

Quote source: Cyclone Fanatic TV