Northwestern University Athletics
Post Game Quotes
11/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 10, 2007
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
AP Photo Gallery 
|
Photo Gallery
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening statement...
"I'm very proud of our seniors. Four or five years invested in our program, to walk off Ryan Field one last time as winners, I couldn't be more proud of that group. What we've gone through in the last two years as football family has been very challenging, very difficult. And to watch them walk off their last game at Ryan Field, I couldn't be more proud of that group of 19 men. It's going to be an important week for us to prepare and a challenge to make sure our attitudes are in the right spot and we understand the challenge that we have in front of us."
On the team's attitude in the fourth quarter...
"Just keep doing what we do. That's what we talked about all week. It wasn't about the fourth quarter. It wasn't about winning our sixth game or becoming bowl eligible. It was about doing what we do and doing it as well as we possibly can. That is what I sensed their attitude was in the fourth quarter."
On Eddie Simpson's interception that gave Northwestern some momentum...
"It was huge play in the game. I couldn't be happier for Eddie [Simpson], who has had as hard of a road as anyone in our program. Last year, losing Coach Walker going into camp and then losing his mother during camp, last year was extremely difficult (for him). To have his father and his brother here today; what a great way to go out as a senior. I couldn't be more proud of him. I think back to when I first saw him at the Houston Touchdown Club Banquet, the first time I got to know him five years ago and to see him walk off Ryan Field, I couldn't be more proud."
On there being 10 bowl-eligible teams in the Big Ten...
"It's an extremely competitive conference and on any given Saturday, anyone can win. There's great talent in this league, exceptional coaching. There are great fans and there is no better league than the Big Ten Conference. I'm just honored and I know our guys are honored to be a part of it."
On becoming bowl-eligible...
"I'm proud of the players. I'm proud of the way we've stayed the course this year. We've had some real highs and some real lows and to stay the course over the last month and a half of the season and to rally back and get to number six is a great feeling. But we've got to worry about what we control and what we control is coming back to work and getting ready for next week. It's going to be a great challenge. We're playing very good football to go on the road against our in-state rival. It's going to be a great game."
Northwestern Player Quotes
DT David Ngene
On forcing the fumble at the end of the game...
"I just had to make a play. I saw an opportunity so I just decided to go and make a play. It wasn't anything special. I just kept doing what I was doing."
On whether it was advantageous to have Kellen Lewis scramble up the middle...
"I guess it wouldn't be called an advantage because he's a good scrambler up the middle. Our job was to keep him contained. Keeping him contained up the middle was a tough duty but we got it done."
On the forced fumble as his last play at Ryan Field...
"That's a great play at the end, especially in my last game at Ryan Field. It's my last game and it means a great deal."
QB C.J. Bachér
On the mindset of the offense going into the last drive...
"The last couple of weeks have really tested us. We've struggled these last couple of weeks in the fourth quarter and when we got the opportunity, it was like 'ok, let's go now. Enough waiting around.' And we were able to do it."
On the mindset heading into the last drive...
"The coaches had a little more of a lax attitude toward the fourth quarter this week. The program's been built on the fourth quarter and finishing so it was less of them stressing that and more saying 'You guys know what to do.' They took our leashes off a little bit and we went out and made plays."
On whether there was any doubt in the fourth quarter...
"You have to take each situation individually and really take things one play at a time. We were able to come back and the offensive line did a great job all day. Dylan Thiry had [DE Greg] Middleton up against him, the guy with the most sacks in the nation, and he did a great job. We had no sacks and there was barely any pressure at all. When you have time like that and when you've got Tyrell [Sutton] back there, you really just take it one play at a time, wanting to go out and wanting to make plays."
On rushing the ball in the fourth quarter...
"I didn't expect too much. The one thing is to play hard and do what you can for the team. No matter who gets the ball, we have a lot of playmakers on the team. It was clear throughout the day."
On the mindset going into the final game of the season against Illinois...
"We're going to go into it with the same attitude. This is the last game and it's the seniors' last game, potentially ever. We're not focused on making a bowl game. We're focused on getting the seniors a remarkable season and giving this year's seniors a great sendoff."
WR Kim Thompson
On catching the Brandon Roberson TD pass...
"That's something we've practiced pretty much every day. Usually he takes his time with it. I don't think he was expecting anyone to be up in his face like that. He had a good throw and it got tipped and I made the catch. I knew I was going to be wide open right when I turned around and I was thinking 'Throw it, throw it. Come on, what are you waiting for?' I didn't know how I was going to get back and make a good play on the ball and luckily he tipped it pretty much right into my hands."
On whether he is now playing with a greater sense of urgency...
"A little bit. I told the guys before the game to play to win. I think I'm playing to win and I think everyone's getting on board with that. I think we lost sight of that for a couple of games and I think we're back to that."
Indiana Head Coach Bill Lynch
Opening Statement...
"It's a tough football game to lose. There were a lot of momentum shifts in the game and when we finally got back the lead, we just couldn't hold them off and make the stop when we needed to. When we got the ball back we got ourselves close to field goal range so it's a tough football game for those kids to lose. They battled hard and so did Northwestern's kids. It was the four-quarter game that we anticipated it to be, but they made a couple more plays than we did so we have to bounce back and get ready for next week."
On Eddie Simpson's interception return for a touchdown...
"It's one of those plays-you can't get it back once it happens, but we fought back and got ourselves the lead with five minutes left. All the plays add up in a game, there isn't one play that makes a difference and you never know which play will make the difference; you just have to play each one of them."
On Northwestern's third-down efficiency...
"They were 12-of-17 on third downs. We've got to get them off the field, but they're a good offensive football team and we knew that going in. We just didn't make enough plays to get them off the field and sometimes they just made some really good plays."
On the two offsides and timeout at the goal line on defense...
"The first one we just lined up in the neutral zone and they got it anyway and on the second one our guy just got a little edgy and jumped, so that's what happened there. Then we had to call a timeout because they ran in a different goal line group and from where we were, it takes a while to get a different group in."
Indiana Player Quotes
OL Charlie Emerson
On the mood in the locker room...
"It's honestly disappointing. Coming up here, I thought we played pretty well. We came back at the end but it's never easy to lose on a play like that. It's pretty somber right now, we're going to move past it and watch the film tomorrow, learn from our mistakes and we have Purdue next week."
On Kellen Lewis' fumble...
"I was right there. I thought he was either down or threw it forward. Obviously the play stood and there's nothing you can do about it. It's football. We just play the next play and unfortunately it came up that way. Any loss is difficult; this one maybe more than others. Coach gives us 24 hours to get over it and once Sunday comes around, we move on to next week."
WR James Hardy
On Lewis' fumble...
"I couldn't believe it. I thought his arm was going forward. I actually said to the ref 'Are you serious?' I want to see it myself to see exactly what was going on. From the view I had, it looked like his arm was going forward. I didn't understand."
On the big plays called back by penalties...
"I mean they're big plays. We have to have a certain amount of big plays to win a game; today it was the one with Ben Chappell. We can't really dwell on it, we just have to come back and do it again. We had the opportunities, we just didn't make anything of them."
QB Kellen Lewis
On the play he got hurt...
"I threw the ball and then the guy wrapped me up, he turned me on my back and my legs got caught underneath me. I've never torn my ACL or MCL, so I don't know what that feels like. I was pretty scared out on the field."
On the result of the game...
"I'm upset that we lost. We have to cut back on the mistakes."
On the fumble decision...
"People were telling me that my knee was down already. I thought I did a good job of bringing my arm forward. I was surprised [it was ruled a fumble]. I would've liked to see the replay, but that's the call on the field."
