Post-Game Quotes: BYU
10/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
Obviously, very disappointed. As I told our football team after the game, this program has been built on a pretty solid foundation. It has taken nine years to do that. It's taken that long to get to where we've been. The ride up the mountain is very difficult at times, but the ride down can be very quick. The reality is that we're a 2-3 football team. Should we handle ourselves with conviction, there are some things we need to be able to do in order to turn this thing around. Looking at the football game itself, being able to go down and score on the opening drive, that's pretty much the end of that. We had bad field position two times. That one series set us back with the hold, the problem with the snap or whatever the case was. It was 10-7 at the end of the third quarter, and we were sort of hanging defensively. And then all of a sudden, we couldn't tackle them. Have to get off the field on third down, we didn't have a sack. Trying to create situations where you'll have sacks. Got to come up with turnovers. You'd think that at some point one would just fall into your lap but that hasn't happened. You have to challenge each other and challenge yourself as a coach. As the game continued to go on, they seemed to get a little stronger. Good running back. Taysom Hill - got out of problems a number of times and made runs.
On what went wrong...
There were some big plays - especially at the end. Two big plays that got them to 24 and then to 31. We had chances to get off the field on third down and seven, six, or eight - whatever it is, and we need to see exactly why it is that that didn't happen. Whether it's pass rush lanes, or a couple of times the quarterback scrambled. Or a late crossing route where we know we should have had somebody out there on that. You have to get off the field in those situations, then some of this other stuff doesn't happen. Long drive in the third quarter by BYU, you got to get off the field. Maybe three times it was third down. That's why you have to go back and look at things. Evaluate what we did. Who we did it with. How we did it. Was it execution? What exactly did happen? It was disappointing. Very disappointed locker room.
On not throwing many passes after the opening drive, and benching Tyler O'Connor...
Starting off on the five-yard line twice in those last two drives of the first half, you know, you have to run the football there. Then in the second half, it was the sacks. Bottom line is production. At some point in time you have to be productive. If you're not productive and you have seven points on the board, then you have to make a change for the sake of change. I didn't think he was playing that badly. I really don't. But, you cant take the sacks. We have a good guy that can get out of there in that case, or whatever. It was 10-7. I believe it went to 17-7 before we made the change. I don't want a quarterback controversy. Tyler has done a great job leading. He's been okay. I felt like we needed to do something for the sake of change at that point in time. If anything, what happened in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter was I think a defensive meltdown. It's all inclusive ; it always is. There's a lot of blame to go around. Offense, defense, special teams, whatever it is. Like I tell our football team all of the time, `Hey, if you think you have it bad now, it can always get worse. I promise you.'
On play calling...
I think you look at everything involved. I already said that. It's not one person's fault; it's a cumulative effect. Play calling, structure, execution, it's all of it. At that point in time, I felt like we needed to make a move. The last thing I want to do is create controversy. I just felt like we needed to provide a spark and have something happen. Damion Terry came into the season thinking he was going to take some reps. It wasn't out of the picture that we should see him. He did some things and took us down the field on that one drive. Had a poor throw on the interception. I'm not here to blame Tyler O'Connor for this. It's not his fault we lost.
Do you consider Tyler O'Connor your starting quarterback...
We have to evaluate exactly who did what and evaluate in practice.
On Gerald Holmes...
I don't think he saw limited action, you know, he was in there. I think it sort of turned with the long drive defensively, against us. Their offense against our defense. LJ Scott had three carries. Madre [London], I think, had one. So, Gerald [Holmes] was in there. I think LJ is a good player, he's been our starter. He's been a spark. Madre [London] has been a good player for us, too. I don't really have a great answer for you on that one. I think the game turned with eight minutes to go when we went down 24-7. We needed three series to be able to get back into the game so it became a two-minute type game and a passing game. You go from 10-7 at the end of the third quarter to all of a sudden, eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter and in seven minutes time, it's 24-7. We need three series and we can't afford to run the football, just milk the clock. We had three timeouts and we scored. Kind of like `keep it away.' Three timeouts. Get the ball back around midfield or so. Kick it away. I'm not really sure where they had the ball. We had a chance to tackle the quarterback and he slipped us and got a first down. Those are the problems you have to deal with and they're `one-play-at-a-time problems.'
On the injury situation on defense...
Well, I mean, you know, we've got some guys out, but that's not a crutch. We've got other players. We played Justin Layne in the second half almost exclusively, certainly in the fourth quarter. He had a good week in practice and we put him at corner and looked at him and liked him. So we played him. I can't tell you who played, who got nicked up. I think our secondary is pretty status quo with the exception of that one substitution.
On if he will take over play-calling for a game ...
No, I am not going to do that. Absolutely not. That will not happen.
On how the team gets sacks and take-aways...
Well, we pressed the pocket a number of times and he stepped up in the pocket. It's hard to say from the field level exactly what happened, but you have to push the pocket inside as well, so he can't step up. So it looked like it separated itself in the pocket. He made a couple runs and he made a couple throws like that. I think we had some times when we had some pressure on him and didn't get him down. As far as what we ran, it's all sort of running through my head right now. We pressured a lot. We played base. We did a lot of stuff. He's a running quarterback. He's got power and he ran through some tackles. I think [Jamaal] Williams ran through some tackles, obviously. We use gap integrity, which means you have to stay in your gap. You have to play the correct leverage in that particular position. I know our linebackers got cut a couple times and the nose tackle got cut on the long run. You can't allow the ball to be run straight downhill. It hasn't happened much on us in the past number of years, but we have to go back and look at things structurally and everything else. It's troubling. Usually they come in batches. The ball didn't come out. We didn't get any tips. We didn't pick any. Give BYU credit. I mean, if it were the other way around I would be sitting here saying, `Wow, we didn't have any turnovers. We did a great job.' So I guess I have to say that as well. You have to get turnovers to win in football too. We were minus one and that's a big one. That was the one, I believe, that we went down 17. That was the other big play. It was 10-7 at that point, we made them kick a field goal, it's 13-7.
On what made Jamaal Williams so hard to stop...
He's a great running back and he runs through tackles. I think as much as anything, he was downhill in a hurry. He ran with power. We have to tackle better, we have to do better, but he is a very good running back.
On Malik McDowell...
Well it impacted the first half to some degree, but we made our way through it. They had three points at the end of the first half and really, probably, should have had zero. If we would have got them at third down, twice, they would have had zero. So we hung in there the second half and we will have to look at everything. He was playing the second half, I know he made some plays. We have to look at everything.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake
Opening statement...
Great game. Proud of our players and surely happy it was playing a complete game. All three phases were clicking and we hit some adversity early on and it seemed like they were up 7-0 for a long time. You know our guys kept fighting through and second half was ours. I think I made the statement before, we could win this game at the line of scrimmage and I thought our guys did a great job on the offensive line, defensive line and so great win proud of the guys and looking forward celebrating this one and getting on to the next one.
On both sides of the ball playing hard and completing the game...
Really quality opponent and has so much talent and so much size. You see how big they are. We challenged our guys this week to own the line of scrimmage and I think are guys kept fighting through. It was tough, but just really proud of the way they ran the ball on offense and pass protected and also happy with the way the defensive line played on the line of scrimmage as well. Obviously we always want to get more disruption and get the quarterback more than that, but we will take it the way it went.
On what this win means to them...
Well I mean having all those close games earlier I think paid off this week. Having our guys keep fighting and believing in what we are doing as a team and as a unit. The leadership took over. So nothing I did as a head coach. I think our players, our leadership was the key and to be honest with you, our coordinators did a great job, Ed (Lamb) with special teams and Ty (Detmer) offense and E with the defense. They did everything and I just had to decide if we wanted to go for it on fourth down or not. Two-point conversions didn't' come into play this week but it was actually a relief. We'll build on it. I don't know, when you play college football, I think the wins are hard to come by, so you need to celebrate them as much as possible and we plan on doing that.
On the field goal momentum going into the second half...
Well the goal on the end was to go for it on fourth down close to mid-field, we hesitated just to burn more clock. If we could get three points out of it on that fourth down, converting it, we ran the time, but I just think that Michigan State has too much talent, where if you give them a short field and a minute on the clock, then they're dangerous and can get a score. So trying to create momentum. We got stuff on the one fourth down earlier, but had to just trust our guys but everything as far as because everyone asked me why we hesitated and it was just to burn clock. That was the only reason.
On Sae's impact on the game
Yes, Sae is just starting to just really trust the technique and everything that he worked on he's starting to come along on me and obviously last week we didn't get to see it because he got that targeting penalty. And this first half it was hard for him. But he came in, and was hungry and ready to go and I think I don't know exactly what he got, but he had a lot of great stats. He had two sacks and that made a lot of difference for us on the pass-rushing. Getting to the quarterback, and I think he was able to have the presence in the pass-rushing, where he got some error throws, and we got a pick from Mike Davis on one of those.
On being involved in a defense turnaround
Well Toledo, they exposed every problem and every mistake we made. It was a team like this, perfect storm for getting crushed and when you made a mistake, they exposed it and you know they capitalize on every little mistake we made and so it just seemed like everything was going long last week and this week it seemed like a lot was going really well in our favor. But from last week, we talked about doing the fundamental part of the game, and tackling and blocking on offense and just being able to have a good presence as far as the fundamentals of football. Toledo, even though we made mistakes and didn't help ourselves with the missed tackles, and this week, although we did have a couple missed tackles that cost us a little bit in this game, it wasn't as bad as last week so we are improving on that and it comes down to it, you have to tackle and you have to block and you have to be able to own the ball. That was our opportunity.
On moving Harvey's position and other position changes...
Yeah well I thought Harvey (Langli) had so much experience playing inside linebacker position, so this week coach Tuiaki decided to use him more in the hybrid role and we will use his as defensive end and also as a middle linebacker and I thought he did a great job with all of the in-strong and having playing defense and playing the entire season, making that move was really good for him. I think people have a hard time targeting him because they don't know if he's playing inside linebacker or defensive end. And we will keep working that. With Butch being out, I thought utilizing him and his inside linebacker position and I thought Tuiaki did a great job with him and you saw him fill up, and also (Adam) Pulsipher out there so we used him in different spots and I thought it would help our defense.
On the defensive block to kill the clock...
Well he's running the ball a lot more different than he used to and is getting a lot more confidence with it and if it's a big play that we need then it's going to be guys that we count on like him and Jamaal (Williams) and around the big offensive line that we have and it worked out that way. That play was just all desire and wanting to make the first down and it was huge for us. Hopefully keep doing that.
On physicality of Michigan State and challenging guys to match...
Yeah they challenged themselves. We talked about it a little bit, but I don't really have to give a tough speech to get them going. They understand where we're at and what's required of them. The leadership took over and you give them a little too much credit as a coach, just being honest, and the leadership just took over and they demand a lot of each other and our coaching staff did a great job preparing them. The x factor is just that our players are great leaders and have great guys like Jamaal (Williams) take over the offense and have guys on the defensive side like Kai take over them and also Hard. That was the x factor in all of it.
On second half performances...
Let's do it at whole game and see how it works. There's always room to improve and you have to give a lot of credit to Michigan State. They're a great team and have a lot of talent. They're banged up a little bit but in the first half we were just competing and competing and we had to have them and we had some issues with a few missed assignments here and there but other than that, once the guys were comfortable with it, I thought we were able to roll with that and they made some big plays and our guys broke some tackles. Jamal and Squally (Canada) broke some tackles and that just worked out. Those guys work hard and they deserve all the praise that's coming their way.
On defensive stops on third and fourth downs...
Yeah it was huge. We were excited about it. We took the win from the beginning and we just felt like we were comfortable with our defense and our offense. Being in a position where our wins, our help and our guys kind of felt that. We wanted to start fast in the second half and we did so yeah.
Michigan State offensive coordinator Dave Warner
On the play-calling after the first drive...
On the second drive we were three and out, after that we had two situations inside the 5-yard line, so my play calling was reflective of those situations. Tyler [O'Connor] is certainly not to blame for our struggles offensively, he knows what the deal is but the bottom line is only scoring seven points through the first half heading into the third quarter there...discussion was made and Dantonio made the final call with Damion [Terry].
On the quarterback competition...
That's something you have to bring up with the head coach, you know he makes those final decisions. But again, Tyler [O'Connor], you know, I thought he played fairly well in the first half, he threw the ball well, there were some drops there for sure that didn't help him, but it's a team game and we needed everybody in making plays.
On replacing O'Connor with Terry...
It was just a situation, a discussion basically was that as I mentioned the points on the board are really what the quarterback's measured on; is he moving the team, is he getting in the end-zone? And again it includes the whole football team, but everybody looks at the quarterback. So that was really the main thing there with making a change and we'll see what happens when we move forward.
On the first drive after halftime...
I don't remember all the details to it but I think we got a first-down, first play-action pass, started running the ball a little bit but I can't remember the exact details of why we ended up punting. But I think that's where we might have had a dropped pass in that series and then didn't convert on third-down, if I remember right.
On the decision to pull O'Connor...
It's always a team decision, Coach Salem, the quarterback coach, is very much involved, I'm involved and then Coach Dantonio is involved.
On the play of Gerald Holmes...
Gerald [Holmes] had an excellent, you know, he played well in situations last week and a really good week of practice and we thought he deserved to start. So we'll see after we evaluate the film and go from there.
On what's not working offensively...
I think you go back and you dissect it over the last three weeks and it's truly a breakdown here, breakdown there, myself included. It's either a bad decision by the quarterback or it's a missed block and protection by the offensive line or missed block in the run game or a dropped pass or a miss read or a bad call by me. I mean it's total team effort that's not getting it done.
On third and short situations...
I know in third and short in our second coming out there we sort of went hurry up, we're not staying on blocks so we have to stay on blocks up front.
Michigan State Assistant Head Coach and defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett
On the struggles of the defense in the second half...
For whatever reason, the first halves are always good and second halves aren't good at all so we got to figure that out on defense. We talk about it constantly, we know we need to finish, you know we always talk about keys to victory, dominate the fourth quarter, finish the game, all those types of things, so we're not getting it done so we need to figure it out.
On playing new guys that aren't the starters...
It's good in some ways that we're playing some guys that weren't the starters because of injuries, but there's a reason why some of those guys were starters also. You would like to think that the guys that were their back-ups could come in and prove that `I need to be a guy that's considered as a starter' but again there's reasons why starters are starters, guys that have earned those positions and the best players play. So we do miss that a little bit but there's no excuses, you still got to come in and play, whoever you are, you better come in and play and play well.
On having trouble with third downs...
We know the routes and things that people are going to run, we anticipate, we coach it up and for whatever reason you get 10 guys doing everything right and then one guy and it hurts you that way sometimes. Again, something that we just got to put more emphasis on and we try to put more emphasis on it already, maybe even more. You're always trying to find something that you can do even better and nobody wants to lose and nobody wants to keep having the same problems, like third downs. We got to think of something that will make us even better at it and we'll figure it out.
On moving Justin Layne to cornerback...
We moved him there this week throughout practice and we liked how he looked and we wanted to get him in the game. We said to him we were going to play him and so it wasn't just about late, we could have played him earlier in the first half too, but we didn't. But we committed to saying we were going to play him because there is some ability there that we could see could be a special player at corner. Not that he doesn't want to continue to play some receiver but he could be a really good corner for us.
On struggling to make big plays defensively...
How do you make a play, exactly right. I don't even know how many opportunities we even had today, as far as getting guys down on the ground, missed them here and there. Some other previous games we've had our hands on balls, we got to make the play. You got your hands on the ball you got to make the play, interception or what have it, whatever it may be. Turnovers are a funny thing sometimes, as far as they come in bunches and then sometimes you have a little drought here and there. That's why when you get an opportunity to make those plays, you must make them, get your hands on balls and you gotta make it. And then as far as sacks and things like that, you know again another emphasis that we've been talking about to our guys about getting up the field and going after the quarterback and trying to make plays, using the proper technique and it's just not working out for us right now.
On the problems with pass rush on third downs...
You feel like you got some guys up there that can get after the passer, we got some guys we feel comfortable with that have shown in the past that have the ability to get after the passer and for whatever reason we're not getting it done and we just got to figure it out. You can only scheme up so much and eventually you got to start making plays and you can't over-scheme either, you know you got to let guys be in a position to make a play and sometimes it's going to get blocked up and you got to beat one-on-one blocks and things like that and I'm not pointing the finger at anybody, it just is what it is. We're always just trying to find a way to get better, get guys free, get guys in situations where they can get after the passer.
Michigan State Quarterback Tyler O'Connor
On how BYU was able to disrupt their rhythm to start the game...
Obviously in the first half they won the field position battle. We were pinned back a few times. I think there were only 4 possessions in the first half, two of which were inside the 5 and then there was one I think where we were almost back inside the 5. That hurt us definitely within the first half and we played differently within the second half but just never got rolling.
On the first two drives of the second half...
The same thing that I think has been happening here and there. It's a block here or there. We executed plays and everything, but we'll see it on film and I could briefly see it on the field. It's a block here or there that we missed, or a missed assignment, or something. It's the little things.
On being replaced by Damion Terry...
(The conversation was)...that something needed to be changed. We needed a spark, obviously, at that point. To get a spark, I think that's the easiest way to do it, is to switch out the quarterback position. It was their decision.
On whether the change was disappointing...
I mean you can't sit back and say you're not upset about what's happened and obviously it's frustrating as an offense to not put up more points or go down and drive. I've been for this team the whole time I've been here so what they think we have to do, I have their back on it and we'll roll with it. I'm going to continue to give it my all and do everything I can for this team.
On the run-heavy play call...
Like I said, it's tough. We were pinned back inside the 5 on two straight drives and it's tough to call plays in that situation. You've got to at least get that first down and after you have that first down you'd like to maybe throw things on the outside. Even the quick third down we went with, I thought it was a good call. We had third and short with the run and it was whether he finds the hole or finds the block, but we struggled getting that third every time.
On certain play call decisions...
I'm sure we all evaluate ourselves. I'm sure Coach Warner will do the same thing, but nobody is pointing a finger. We all have to execute.
Michigan State Running Back Gerald Holmes
On establishing rhythm...
I feel like personally I kind of like it when the game is like that. I'm a real personal dude. When you know you're a good athlete and can make plays, you have to do that. They always start with the individual person. A better player makes a better team. I feel like guys need to come out and believe in themselves and trust themselves and then as a unit we'll just click.
On dropped balls and missed plays...
It's probably mental and confidence. Coming off two losses is not easy, we haven't done that in years. It goes without saying that you need to be a play making athlete and capitalize. A handful of them didn't do that so we've got next week to look forward to. It's already in the past. We need to lock in. We need to get together as an offense. We're not doing it right now and we need to.
On identifying the moment BYU took over momentum...
I can't even say to be honest. I feel like that first three and out we had. Not getting the ball into the end zone and coming into the second half, momentum changed. You can't come out like that or they'll steal the game easily. We kept the defense on the field longer. I know we're not putting points on the board so our defense is actually working harder than they're supposed to. So there's a lot of factors to that.
On the frustration level of the team...
We're just not being Spartan football. We're not playing the quality of football that we're used to. We've got athletes, we've got guys who can make plays, but I feel like we're not clicking as a whole team or as an offensive unit. We've got to score points. Our defense is staying on the field too long. That's not good on their end, they're getting tired on their end. They're wearing them down.
On being named the starter at running back...
I want to say two days ago, maybe. It's always good. I know my abilities, so starter or not I'm going to make the plays and I'm going to have the success I need to have. I'm going to do what I have to do to help this team win the game. I started the last seven games last season, so starter is nothing new. I just knew that when my name was called, I was here to make plays and that's what I came here to do.
On his touchdown...
Touchdown doesn't mean much now. It happened in the first quarter. Coming out the start, you want to be that guy to lead and I do my best to do it. I try to be verbal, in the huddle and off the field. I just try to do my part because at the end of the day I need to do my part and hopefully the team will see the same thing and do theirs. So we just need to keep it together.
Michigan State offensive and defensive lineman Brandon Clemons
On issues with blocking...
I'm not sure how to answer that question. I think the rotation is fine. I think it's mainly the execution, just staying on your guy, keeping leverage on your guy, technique, getting back to the point of play.
On the team's inability to build momentum...
It is weird. In the past we've seen it, but we always end up on top, but it hasn't been going well for us lately. I'm not sure what is different, but the whole point is to try things and get to the finish. If Coach D wants to try things, I'll try to make the play.
On everyone not being on the same page...
Everyone has their own responsibility, but if you miss an assignment you need to get to that gap. If you get bumped off the ball, then the linebacker needs to step up and make that play. There are guys that are going to fill gaps, there are guys who are going to get leverage. It happened here and there, but when it happened they had guys who got big yards off the mistakes. It's a game of chess and whoever makes the fewest mistakes usually wins the game.
Michigan State senior wide receiver R.J. Shelton
On what the biggest issues the team is facing...
We just have to execute as a whole. Offense, defense, execution is the biggest thing for us right now. We have the talent. We have the players. We just have to execute.
On what he has to do as a leader to rally the team...
Same thing I have been doing. Leading and teaching these kids the preparation for the games, which they did a really good job of this week in the wide receivers room. In the end, you just have to believe in yourself and when it comes to Saturdays, we have to execute as a team. A whole team, it is not an `I,' it is `We.'
On what Dantonio's post-game message was to the team...
It is us. Whatever happens, win or lose, good and bad, we go down as one. That's how it has been since I have been here. We don't point the fingers. We take the losses when they come and the wins when they come as well. It is a team game. We don't point the fingers at anybody. It is on all of us. Special teams, offense and defense.
On the personal tone in the locker room...
It is a team game. We have guys that can play. You win and you lose as a team. Don't point any type of fingers at anybody. We are here to go to work. We have Northwestern coming in here, who is a good team, and we need to come together and find the little inches and find the things that we need to do to get better. Execution is number one.
Michigan State junior Linebacker Chris Frey
On what BYU changed in the second half...
I don't think they changed much; I just think they were more physical than us. That is something that we pride ourselves on, is our ability to be more physical than other teams, and I think they did that to us. Defensively, we just didn't do our jobs. They were falling forward on every play, and we need to be knocking them back.
On the frustration level after missing tackles...
"We shouldn't have been in that spot to begin with. We should have stopped them before then. It is just the frustration that we had opportunities to make plays and you failed to do it. It is that gut feeling that you could have stopped him. You never know what happens if you can make that play. It is a terrible feeling, and it hits deep."
On the frustration level of the team...
"It is pretty high. We are in a spot now that we haven't been in, in I don't know how long. I came back in the locker room after the game and everybody is heated and upset. I went around to every guy on the defense and just said, `I love you guys. You guys are my brothers. It is easy; we just have to get better. We need to be better.' We come out in the first half and played really well and dominated the line of scrimmage and then come out in the second half and give up how many points? That is not what we do and every guy on the field will tell you they are tired of it and we need to fix it."
Michigan State junior safety Montae Nicholson
On missing some players on defense...
It is taxing, physically and mentally as well. We know we are better than that. These next few weeks we will really just have to clean it up. We know we can do it.
On third down situations...
Little things. There is not a lack of effort or a lack of toughness. For lack of a better word, it's execution. That's basically what it comes down to. We know what to do, we just have to execute it the right way and follow the game plan that our coach came up with. And when we get back, I think we will be good.
Michigan State sophomore linebacker Andrew Dowell
What is it about third downs...
A lot of moving pieces on third down. We have another defense that runs onto the field on third down, so it's different people moving different places, but we should be better on third down.
On if [BYU] did stuff [MSU] didn't see on film...
Not necessarily, but they came ready to play. They had a good team and had a good way to tackle our defense and played ball.
On how to regroup...
They had a great team and we also killed ourselves at times. They capitalized on our mistakes.
We are going to have some new goals to finish this season. We have a lot of things to work on and that starts tomorrow when we report for film. We don't even actually know what the mistakes were today. Right now we have to sit down as a team and as a unit and figure out what we need to get better at.
