Post-Game Quotes: Northwestern
10/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
Obviously a lot of things happened in this football game. It sort of went back and forth a lot. I thought we started fast, we had good energy coming out. Big pick by Justin Layne obviously for six. Not sure where you go from there, you know, it's back and forth a little bit in the second quarter. They're up by two in the third quarter. There were just a lot of things going down at the fourth a little bit. Obviously the big problem, the biggest play of the game, may be the kickoff return when we got it back to two, so we gotta look at that. That's a big play.
All I can say is it's disappointing in our locker room. We need to get back at it, come out Sunday, tomorrow, and figure it out. There's no easy fix. It's not easy, I thought we worked. We did some good things in the game, it was exciting to watch. The game sort of caught up a little bit in the second quarter, probably a little bit, whether it's quarterback reads or whether it's the rock we covered when we covered a different person or whatever the case. We made the decision after a series in the second half and then made the decision to go back to Tyler, which was the plan if the things didn't work. I thought Tyler responded and played pretty well. A lot of big plays. R.J. Shelton had a big game.
Bottom line is, our inability to stop the run, our inability to stop the pass, and this enacts pressure, leads to this display on defense, and this obviously their two turnovers that were overturned. So, it's difficult but you deal with it. And on the offensive side of the ball you're going to run the football, protect the quarterback. I thought we had some big plays beyond the field. Special teams wise, you know, the big play, the big play. We had a big play by Tre Barksdale to block the punt there at the end. But ah, the big play."
On the defense today...
We tackle all the time (at practice). I'm not going to sit up here and point fingers at particular people. They're good players. Justin Jackson, a good back, we gotta tackle him. At the end of the day, it's a team sport and that involves coaches as well. The long end of this, they make certain people tackle, whether if it's your corner tackle, if you put all your backers in the box. Then your backers are tackling and those types of things. Without watching the film it's difficult to say who missed what, but I would agree that we have to tackle better.
The big play in the game was when we were out in the very beginning of the second half. But Justin (Layne) will learn that was something, that was a freshman defensive back out there playing. He's got skill and he continued to play. So he'll get better and he'll continue to learn from those mistakes. We overcame that when we got back within two. Any way that you cut it, you get back to it within two and it's a new football...But we could never really get that stop to get the ball back to where we had the chance to. It definitely really got to that position.
On third down conversions...
My one thing is that we're not getting, we had the two turnovers that were overturned, and I'm not saying that that's wrong, but our turnovers, we went 1-1. We blocked the kick and they got a touchdown. We basically say those are two more big plays. But our turnover margin hasn't been what it's been, so we have to fix that. We lost possession time. Can't always run the football on offense. Which, I think we've done okay. We haven't been able to do that with any consistency today. Check the quarterback on defense, when we're back on defense, we've got the pressure on the quarterback, we've got some sacks and max blitz. When you max blitz, the quarterback retreated and picks it up one time.
We got to get on top of them and play coverage. It's difficult out there. So I'm not pushing fear into anybody, I just have to execute better.
The reoccurring theme to me is, back in the beginning, we sort of got things squared away, we're moving forward pretty good. We're in the game, I mean every one of these games we're in the game. And we gotta turn the corner. And finish. And that's the thought of mine. To find some way to finish, whether that's a call, a play, whatever it is.
On the frustration of not finishing...
That's frustrating, you lose four straight, that's frustrating. Especially here at home. I thought our crowd was outstanding. Outstanding. I think they showed, they stayed, they were into the game. I appreciate them and I thank them very, very much. But we gotta get a win.
We start back tomorrow. And all I can tell you, all I can say is, that nobody gives you a hall pass, hey you know come out of that corner man, it's okay, come on in. You gotta fight your way out of that corner, and that's what we have to do. And it's disappointing for everybody, the bar has been set very high here, rightfully so, there you go. The climb up is very, very difficult. That ride down, is tough to take sometimes. We have to deal with it and get on with it. We have half a season left.
On if he still has a quarterback controversy...
Well I think right now it's too early for me to say anything. I thought both guys did some good things, and both guys did some things that they'd like to have back. So, we'll look at it and evaluate, but I do think that (Brian) Lewerke gave us a spark initially. I thought he did some good things for a redshirt freshman. I also think (Tyler) O'Connor went in there in the second half and showed his maturity as a person in handling what went down. He showed why he was elected captain here. I thought he came in there and did some really good things, passed for a bunch of yardage and three touchdowns. We'll evaluate and see where we are.
On if his team is "too young"...
We have enough good players here to put a good football team on the field and win. Why haven't we? One reason you can look to is turnovers. Look at the Notre Dame game. We put our offense in some good positions. You look at that game, and then you look at the last four games. I'm not ever going to say we're not good enough. We have to play with more consistency.
On the arrival of a "down year" ...
It does seem like that. It's a case of some guys being injured. It's a case of losing Jon Reschke, possible, and Ed Davis not being able to come back fully yet. It's supporting cast. It's playing some younger offensive linemen in there. There's a whole litany of things that you can point to, especially when you look at film. When you look at film and you see a guy miss a tackle, you're going to say `oh, if we make the tackle right there then we're off the field'. You're going to see the ball come in on a wide receiver and you're going to say `if he had gotten a hand in there, that's an incomplete pass. But that's what we deal with. That's what we're dealing with on too much of a consistent nature. And that's why I always go back and say you have to find the inches. And those inches become big. That's why you coach. You figure it out and get everybody ready to go. From my perspective, yeah we have six games to go - hopefully we get a little tougher every game. That old phrase, `tough times don't last, tough people do'. That applies.
On if he would play Brian Lewerke over Tyler O'Connor or Damion Terry simply because he is younger ...
My obligation is to all of our players. Whether they're seniors or freshmen. We're going to play the best player, and we're going to allow things to take shape. Certainly that can happen at any position, so it can happen at quarterback. I'm not going to say `hey, that guy is a senior so we don't need him to play anymore.' I'm not going to do that to a guy. We'll try to play the best players, we always do. We'll try to the best of our ability to put people in positions to win, but I do think that Lewerke did some good things out there. Possibility of him playing is good. I also think that Tyler O'Connor went out there and had a nice game. Again, credit him in terms of how we brought things back and brought us back a little bit. Credit to him, his personality, and who he is as a person.
On how to motivate his team going forward...
You know, if you're an athlete, that attitude comes from within you. Certainly as a coach, you feel that way. As a player that goes out onto that field, you feel that way. Like I said earlier, if you're a competitor, the more difficult it becomes to defeat you. So, we're going to dig deep. We have competitors in there, and if we don't, and somebody is not competing, then we're not going to play that guy. If a coach takes that kind of attitude, then that coach is not going to coach, but that's never been an issue here. I don't expect it to be an issue. We had a great week of practice. I felt like we came ready to play. We'll get ourselves up again. We're not the only team in the country that's struggling. I guess what comes around goes around, that type of thing. We'll get ourselves ready to go.
On if his message to the team changes at this point ...
Yeah, we changed it just this last week. It's one focus. One focus. One moment at a time. As I said earlier, every play out there has got a life. Every single play has a life of it's own. You have to win in those moments, certainly. You also have to win in those moments like right now. When you get back and you're sitting in the locker room, and you're the head coach or assistant coach, or you're sitting at your home as a player. You have to be able to win. It's a mental game at some point. I'm talking about winning mentally in terms of how you handle yourself, and how you get ready to go. You just can't cash out. As I said before, I think we'll be fine.
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening statement...
First of all, a great road team win, I thought obviously the game didn't start the way we wanted it to and credit Michigan State. We knew they were going to try to knock us out early, their backs were against the wall and anytime you play a wounded football team, we basically got what we expected and it was disappointing with our start and that's on me, obviously to get our guys a little more focused but I really love the way our young men responded. I thought that we didn't flinch, I thought we kept on battling and some big plays for us, and unfortunately some big plays against us that we got to improve and get better, in a hurry as we play a very good Indiana team next week for homecoming. Great team win, a lot of, I think, outstanding performances individually, but more importantly collectively as a team. We had big plays on offense, big plays on defense, big plays in the kicking game and just really proud of our guys, resiliency to come back, find a way to win on the road and get us back to .500 for the season.
On scoring 54 points against Michigan State...
Not against Michigan State's defense, no. I think Coach Dantonio and his staff do a terrific job, but we had some huge plays offensively today. I thought some of the corner balls that were caught by our wide-receivers, needed great protection and needed a great throw and then they finished the job and to see the way that our guys are executing right now at a pretty high level, I think makes it challenging as a defense. We've got a pretty good balance, 209 on the ground, 281 in the air, I think anytime you've got that type of balance it gives you an opportunity to have some success. But to be able to run the ball the way that we did today, really great credit to our offensive line, especially those guys up front taking a lot of grief and they understand their role, I think they really stepped up today.
On the team's play...
It's critically important to be able to run the ball, it then gives you the two-dimension because you got play-action pass and then you got people able to come down to the box and throw the ball over their head. A year ago we couldn't do that, right now we're able to do that and I think that's through a lot of hard work, I think our guys have really been grinding. Earlier in the year we weren't a very good team, we had some guys come out of camp that didn't practice a lot because of some injuries in camp. Again, I'm not trying to make excuses it just was what it was and we can either pout and feel sorry for ourselves and start to point fingers or we can just stay on the grind and keep the pedal down and that's credit to our coaches and most importantly credit to our players. The only way we were going to get fixed is us, that was the only way. We're far from the finished product as a team but we are definitely giving ourselves a chance to win games because, at least for the most part, offensively and the kicking game we're executing. Our secondary play on the other hand was abysmal, our focus, our discipline, our communication. We're getting some guys right now with a baptism under fire, so to speak and they've got to grow up and they've got to grow up in a hurry. Some of our other players that are veterans have got to make plays, if you're in a position to make a play, you have to make a play. You can't tip for a guy to score, different things like that so that groups got to get a lot better.
On Michigan State's momentum...
Momentum went right over to their sideline. I thought we started the third quarter really well and then give up two explosive plays for touchdowns which one we tipped the ball and the other one we have two safeties on a different page. I thought Mike [Hankwitz] called a great call, he expected them to take a shot down the field and we got two safeties looking at each other at the end of the play. Those guys got to get a lot better, that whole group and it starts with us as coaches, we'll look at things, I'll look at it, Mike [Hankwitz] will look at it. It'll start with us, we'll grind on it and we'll present solutions.
Michigan State Co-Offensive Coordinator Dave Warner
On the decision to start Brian Lewerke over Tyler O'Connor...
We had a certain evaluation period all throughout the week. Made a decision, basically Thursday, to go with Brian and just give him an opportunity, shake things up a little bit and try to create some life in our offense. He played well to start things off here in this game, just felt like he got a little bit stagnant as the first half went on and the beginning of second half. Thought there were some plays there to be made, and so made the decision to go with Tyler just based on his experience. Damion Terry is very much in the mix though.
On running up-tempo offense earlier on in the game...
No, our defense was on the field for some long drives, and that doesn't do us any good as a football team to go out there. If we're moving the ball, obviously, it would be great, but it's not necessarily our style, so if we got to go three and out, not necessarily a good situation for the defense.
On the running back rotation...
Yeah, LJ [Scott] didn't see a whole lot of action in the second half as it became a little more of a passing game. Gerald [Holmes] has served as our best pass pro guy and has locked in his assignments very well, so that's pretty much what happened.
On fixing mistakes on passing on the edges situations...
Yeah there is. There's opportunities for the ball to come out sooner and there's chances we knew that had a good pass-rush. We tried to have our protection such we're using our backs and so forth to give the quarterback a little longer of a chance to throw it or an adequate chance to throw it. We didn't use that always and there were times that we didn't use it and we paid for it. I guess we just needed to use it a little bit more where our back is involved for protection, just helping out.
On what lies ahead for the rest of the season...
Well, when you're two and four, you're always worried about the future. Immediate future is the most important thing right now. We're halfway through a football season, we're not where we want to be or where we expected to be. So in our minds, the future is the next six games and we're worried about it because we need to improve and get better. So yes.
Michigan State Co-Defensive Coordinator Mike Tressel
On the uncharacteristic missed tackles...
Well, I'll tell you this. I'm used to seeing in the previous nine years that you mentioned, when the first person gets there, even if he's just hanging on, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth guys that are there just like bam bam bam bam; and I'm not seeing that right now. It's usually not just the initial guy that's there, it's the next five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten hats that make you look like a good football team. So, we need to do a better job of that. You know we probably tackle more in practice than just about anybody in the country, so I promise you we're working at it, but obviously, we need to get better and it's the point of attack guy but it's the other ten getting there.
On the back end coverage...
Well, honestly, a couple of those routes, our guys knew were coming. They we're talking about it on the field. They [Northwestern] executed it and they made plays. They [Northwestern] could go to the corner route where the inside receiver breaks through the sideline and just throw that up and complete it pretty much when they wanted to. So we're going to have to figure out some answers to that. We did try to get pressure. We probably blitzed a little more than we have been, but it's frustrating when you know something that's coming and you don't make the play.
On Justin Layne's defensive play after transitioning from offense...
Justin Layne is a very talented player. He's a tough player. He's explosive. He's going to be very, very, very good but he's having to learn a lot fast. And there's going to be some growing pains but obviously we can't allow those growing pains to be the big ones. They can't be the six-yard touchdown passes. And that's on us as coaches.
On creating better outcomes of the third down conversions...
Yes well, you know to start the year, we've done pretty much exactly like we've done over the past nine years and have been very successful. We did try to give a little bit more of a four down rush look with some stand up linebackers and off the edge today. You know we've mixed up three deep, two deep, our normal quarters, blitz man, blitz zone, so we're sort of working with just about every coverage you could figure and trying to shrink it down, but honestly we went into it this week, and said we need to have just a couple things and try to get real good at them and that's what we're going to have to continue to do because we don't adjust real well right now.
On defensive performance being a lack of technique or personnel...
Well the personnel we have is the personnel we have and we recruited these guys and we love these guys and they're some good football players out there. So, we need to obviously get better technique-wise and we need to have better attention to detail, that's probably one of the biggest things that we need. Ten of 11 guys being perfect on a play doesn't get it done. So, we love our personnel, there's no doubt about it. Those are guys we brought in and they are working hard, but our attention to detail and technique both need to improve.
On how to improve the defense overall and see lower numbers on the board...
Well, first thing is confidence and pride in the Spartan Dawg defense. We have confidence for a certain amount of time but it doesn't seem to last a full 60 minutes. Some leadership from players and coaches is a big thing right there. It is stunning to see a 54 on the board and there is a lot of pride of what we've done here in the past and people that we have here right now, so I do expect to see people coming back swinging, but we need to watch the film and be honest with it and see who is really flying around on the ball like we have in the past.
On second half defense performance...
Really what I think it is right now is when we give up a big play or we give up a big drive, we don't respond very well. If you go and look at how people are attacking us in the second half, it's not like it's a whole different offensive game plan like people are flipping the second half game plan and we're not handling it very well. We need to handle adversity right now. We need to play better after we give up a play as opposed to waiting for someone else to make a play or going out there and saying what's going to happen now.
On Riley Bullough's performance and how he can improve...
Well like all coaches say, no better answer to that than when we watch the film, but it was great to have him out there. He did bring an emotional lift especially early. There's no doubt the checks we ask him to make, he's able to make, and I think that he'll have as much of an impact coming off of a loss like this than at any other time, because after the last few weeks, he's been a guy that wasn't even on the football field. So it's hard to lead when you're not even playing. He's a fighter, he's a fighter. So he'll be in the forefront of getting this thing right.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brian Lewerke
On how he felt coming out of the gates and what he wanted to accomplish...
It has obviously been a while since we have gotten a win, so I was just trying to go out there to do everything I could to get a win for us. That first drive worked pretty well, but we have to keep that up more often.
On if he put too much pressure on himself to make plays...
I don't think so. I think the guys were good about letting me know they had my back and they were there to protect me and all of that.
On how he graded himself...
I would probably give myself a B+. I think I did pretty well, but there were obvious mistakes that still need to be corrected. I would probably stay in the pocket more. I skipped too much.
On how it felt to get that first touchdown...
It was pretty cool. I hit Josiah (Price), who has the most touchdowns for a tight end ever, so that was pretty cool. We are pretty close, so it was good to have it go to him.
On what he saw on the touchdown play...
He was on a post route. The safety came down or went with someone else, so there was nobody over the top. I lobbed it in there and let him make a good catch.
On how he looks at this week with his prep and possibly getting to start at Maryland...
I am going to keep doing what I have been doing all year. I am going to practice hard and show the coaches what I can do.
Senior tight end Josiah Price
On what he can do as a senior...
Be the best leader I can be and be as positive as I can and try and keep these guys going. I can try and help us come closer together and grow because of these hard, tough times, not split apart and point fingers and blame. We have to come together as an offense. We did a lot of good things today. We put up a lot of points, a lot of yards. We didn't run the ball well, so we need to do better in that area. It is a lot of different things. If there were a magic formula, I would do that. We just have to stay to the grind and work our tails off.
On what the mood in the locker room is right now...
It is tough. How do you think it is after four losses? It definitely is not what it was in 2013 and definitely not what it was in 2015. But, we have guys that are giving it their all. I think there is a lot of effort out there. Guys are working hard. Things aren't going our way or bouncing our way, guys aren't making plays and we need to come in and make plays. Things happen that are breaking our back, so it is tough. We are trying to keep our locker room positive. We are trying to keep guys working and on task, but it is tough when you lose four games in a row. A lot of guys on our team that has never happened to. They were state champs in high school and have won a lot, so it is tough. We just have to try and grow as a unit and overcome it and get tougher because of this hardship.
On what he can do to create a spark in the locker room...
I think you have to win games. I think we have to start winning. It is tough to be all happy and positive and go-lucky when you are coming in the locker room and you lose. That is what is going to turn this locker room and really get us going in the right direction again. But, like I said, we just have to come together as a unit and get better because of these tough times, not split apart, because that is something you have to watch out for when you lose a couple of games.
On blowing and missing tackles, and how to correct that...
No, that is a one two thing, that is not really anything else. We have guys that can tackle and that's not really a problem.
On who steps up to try to galvanize this team...
Obviously the three captains, really we just have to take accountability. Everybody on every play, in every practice, we've got to take accountability for ourselves and get our job done.
On always being on top the past years, where do you get the motivation...
I mean it just comes with adversity, it's just life, it's just a game. It means there could be a lot worse things, but really we just have to understand that everybody is coming at us, we were Big Ten Champions, everybody is going to come give us their best. We can either roll over or we can fight back, win, win, win.
On the defense as a whole...
We had young guys out there, I could have played better on the last touchdown. It's just really technique things that we have to be better at. We knew what was coming, and we just didn't capitalize on it.
Michigan State senior wide receiver R.J. Shelton
On the year so far this season...
You have the passion enough to do anything for that, you come to work everyday, the preparation before the game. Everyone on this team loves the game of football, so you just come to work everyday.
On if the quarterback change is encouraging...
I mean it wasn't encouraging, I trust any quarterback that comes in there, whether it's Lewerke, whether it's Tyler, whether it's Damion, whether it's deWeaver if he gets the chance to play. I trust anyone that goes out there and throws the ball and takes control of the huddle and the team.
On how important it is to give the defense a break given the hurry up offense by Northwestern...
It is important. We needed to make critical third downs, and we didn't with me dropping that ball midway in the field, but we don't point the fingers. We go in as one, we come out as one. We win as one, we lose as one, it's a team effort. Again we get to play again, we have Maryland coming up next week, so we just need to get back to the drawing board like we did before and just keep working.
On stretching the field vertically, and would you like to see it more consistent in the future...
Whatever the play call is, whatever Coach Warner calls, we just go out there and make the play. Whether it's going deep, whether it's a short 10 yard out, whether its a run play, we just want to score as many points as we can and win. We want to give our defense a break when it is needed, and we want to put ourselves in good situations.
On the running game, and how can they turn it around to help the defense...
It's not one particular unit on our offense, everyone has to do their job. From wide receivers, to the offensive line, to the running backs, to the quarterbacks, it's a group effort. So with the runs, guys like me, have to get on linebackers, O-lineman have to make sure they're doing the right thing, running backs have to make sure they're going through the right holes. It's a group effort, it's not just one particular person or one particular unit.
Michigan State senior linebacker Riley Bullough
On losing four games straight...
Obviously it's tough, none of us really in college or high school, have ever lost four games straight, so it's tough. It's unchartered territory for us, but we're here and all we can do is work as hard as we can to try to get a win. So from here on out, week to week, work as hard as we can.
On trying to find the answers to their losing streak...
It's tough because we feel like we're playing hard, that's the tough part. It's the little things, we'll get in there and watch film like we always do. But at some point we just have to make plays, and we're not making enough right now. That's really what it comes down to.
On the differences he's noticed in his teams since he's been out injured...
It's hard to say right now. But, like I said we have guys that are playing hard that's not the problem, it's just things here and there that we have to clean up. Penalties, not filling gaps good enough, or whatever it is we have to do better.
Michigan State senior quarterback Tyler O'Conner
On coming off of the bench...
It's a different feeling, but like you said I was ready. I waited for my moment and I've been doing that for a while now. The first drive is a tough pill to swallow. But, like I said, I've been ready I've been preparing for these moments for the past three and a half years.
On the teams feelings of "desperation" towards the end of the game...
Not from myself, not from the seniors I don't think. It's a lot of frustrated people, it's a lot of people that have been beaten mentally, just from being stunned.
Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson
On scoring 54 points...
You know, I think it's something we're working on. We've been working at it for a long time, and the start of the season, you know, I think those first two games, a little bit of dud game there, we were playing what I think we were capable of. And, I think putting up points is what we need to continue to do in order to win football games. It was a good one today, but I think we are just showing what we can do.
On the mood on the sideline right after ...
I think the mood was good. I think everyone kind of realized that the interception for a touchdown was my fault and there is nothing else anyone else could do about that, there's nothing else I could do about it, just make a better read. I think it was good, just trying to weather the storm a little bit, and I think we picked it up after that.
On the attribution of increased productivity ...
I definitely feel more comfortable, but you see these guys around me. I can throw it to one of the best receivers in the country, I can get it handed off to one of the best running backs in the country, and our coach is doing a great job putting us in positions to be successful, and you can see with the 54 points obviously they're doing a lot of things right. So, yeah, I think everyone has bought in and it's a byproduct of that.
Northwestern running back Justin Jackson
On the first couple of games and how they feel now...
We were a completely different team, we really learned from those games. We've applied it to these past few. It's taken a continued effort every week, coach just pushing us, like they've been doing and us responding to that and coming into the game and just playing and putting everything out on the field and not thinking too much or anything, just going out and playing and trusting our preparation and trusting ourselves to go out there and make plays.
Northwestern wide receiver Austin Carr
On the small mistakes in the game and what was stressed...
We knew this would be a physical game. We knew that if you're gonna beat a Big Ten team, especially like Michigan State in their own home, you're gonna need to be able to take hits, you're gonna need to be able to run outta stuff, and, coming into this game with just a physical mentality, beginning up front and then extending to the running backs and wide receivers, put us at the advantage to win.
On the final touchdown...
Great play call, great protection, great throw, that makes my job a lot easier when it just drops right in there. I felt like the ball was in the air for a long time, maybe Clayton could put it on the line next time? But, you know what, it was great.
