Northwestern 36, Nevada 31

Sept. 8, 2007

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

Evanston, Ill. - Ryan Field -

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening statement... "I'm very proud of the character of our football program today. They continued to fight and battle. We knew it was going to be a game full of adversity and I'm so proud of our team and our staff. We adjusted extremely well at halftime and obviously we have a long way to go and a lot of wins left. To be 2-0 and fight the way we fought and stuck together, I couldn't be more proud of our guys."

On the improvement between last week and now... "We got a couple turnovers and sacks, so I saw some improvement. When there is adversity, you can't let the passion of the program sink down, especially there at the end of the first half, but I love the way our men were talking at halftime and I love the way our men were excited to come out there and win the football game in the second half and that's why you play for 60 minutes."

On the team character... "I believe it's the character of people we recruit. When we recruit, we look for guys that have a backbone of character. When you have that within you, you've got an opportunity to be in every football game and that's why we've been successful in these games in the past and hopefully we'll continue to be in the future."

On the end of the game... "When we're playing teams, we're going to try and take advantage of areas where we think we have an edge. We thought we had an edge from what we saw last year and this year. Obviously, we would've liked to have a little bit more success, it would've opened up the run a little bit more, but we moved the ball well and were efficient when it mattered."

On the changes at halftime... "I think number one was our attitude. I thought we came out of the tunnel ready to play. I couldn't hold them back in the locker room and they were excited to play the game. As we continue to mature as a program, you need to stay in the ebb and flow of the game and we scored early and then we faced some adversity. It was the first time we faced adversity this year and I thought we handled it okay, but the guys went out and executed and kept fighting and it turned out well in the end."

On Tyrell Sutton's injury... "He thought he had an opportunity to get back out there and had a nice little run and it just wasn't where he thought it was. We trust our players and he did a great job communicating with the medical staff, but my hat goes off to Brandon Roberson and Omar Conteh. They've been chomping at the bit to take advantage of their opportunities and to step up the way they did, I was very proud of those two young men."

On winning the game... "There was hope the whole game. We believe we can win any football game we're in. When we went down and scored and strung a couple stops together, I could really feel momentum swing to our side. There were a couple balls that were on the ground that we have to have, we need to have in order to win football games. We need to work some drills this week for our guys on special teams to react to those balls and get them."

On blitzing... "We blitzed a few times in the first half and they burned us so we switched it up in the second half. Our guys did a nice job of adjusting. I thought our guys reacted well and finished strong."

On C.J. Bachér running the two-minute drill... "We practice that situation a lot. I'd guess we did the two-minute drill roughly 20 times at camp. I thought his poise was tremendous and our protection was outstanding and I thought he made really good decisions. You don't necessarily always have to run out of bounds in those situations, sometimes the middle of the field is wide open and you get the first down and the clock stops as they move the chains and that's what's great about college football."

Northwestern Players

Adam Hahn
On getting into the backfield... "We wanted to get as much pressure as we could and keep him (Graziano) inside the pocket. At halftime we talked about attacking more. We had the right game plan coming in and we just wanted to come across the ball and cause disruption. We think we are the best-conditioned team in the NCAA and we just want to keep coming off the ball and tighten it down in the second half. They play in Nevada with the light air, so I don't think being tired had anything to do with it."

On Nevada's offense... "I think in the first half we were used to the zone Northeastern ran last week and its two totally different zones so it took a while to transition. You just can't get a look like that in practice. We got our feet back under us and you saw a different team in the second half."

On halftime... "There were a lot of emotions flowing. We always emphasize play the next play. There were a lot of emotions but none of them were negative."

Brandon Roberson
On his confidence... "My confidence has always been there. The most important thing to me is to get the win. We think we have the guys to have a special season and I'm just glad I could go out there and help my team win today. I have complete confidence in what our offense does and whatever the coach wants us to do, we'll do it."

On getting a chance to play... "I was really excited to show what I can do. I haven't had a whole game like this in a long time, so it was exciting to go back out there and show what I can do.

On his relationship with Tyrell Sutton... "Tyrell and I talk a lot and we talk a lot during the game so he kept telling me to push it and hit the pedal and that helped me out a lot. Our running back group and coach McPherson are like a family and it was great to have those guys there to pat me on the back and keep me up."

On waiting for his chance... "My first priority is winning, and whoever is the guy, I'm totally behind that person. My opportunity came today and I'm just glad I could step up."

On Trevor Rees... "It was great having Trevor back. He's a big presence up front and we played high school together so having him out there today was great. He's a beast. A great motivator. Our offensive line was really clicking today."

C.J. Bachèr...
The last play... "They were going in cover four-two deep safeties. The purpose of the cover four is for the safety to take the No. 2 and Ross had to beat that guy. It was one-on-one coverage and I have a lot of faith in Ross and if he's ever one-on-one I'll throw it out to him."

On his communication with Ross Lane... "We had a lot of adjustments that went on during the game. Sometimes we had some miscommunications. A lot of plays are double-reads and it's going to happen sometimes. It's football."

On his performance... "I'm just happy with the win. I felt like I didn't play that well, but when we got that opportunity I felt like we could really salvage ourselves as an offense."

On the close victory... "We haven't had any close victories in the past 16 games or so and you really find out who you are when you are faced with adversity. We showed today how we can respond and we are very mature as a team."

On the game plan changes... "We have a game plan going into every game. We lost Tyrell and I didn't think that would happen and that changed up our game plan a little, but Roberson and Conteh came in and really made a difference for us. It was like our offense didn't miss a beat with the running game."

On his decision not to slide while running... "I normally slide. When we're in the fourth quarter and trying to get that extra yard, I didn't know exactly where the sticks are at and we needed first downs to stop the clock and that's all I was focused on. I really love these guys and am willing to put my heart out on the line for them."

Ross Lane
On if this comeback was better than at Iowa in 2005... "This season is really all I care about right now and this one is big."

On his feelings during the review of his touchdown catch... "I really wasn't that worried, but we were ready to go out there and score if we had to."

On the receiving corps... "We've got a great group of receivers. The first game we got seven guys the ball and everyone can make plays. I think we're going to have a real big year this year in the passing game."

Amado Villarreal
On confidence... "Coming into this year, my confidence has always been there. I've always known I can make kicks. Making kicks in the first two games helps it grow, but I've always worked on that and have always known I can make kicks."

Special teams goals... "Our goal is to be great and coming into the year our goal was to make every kick whether it is a field goal, punt or kickoff. Make every kick count and hit the target. For all the specialists, that's our goal and so far we're doing it. Hopefully we can continue to do so, but we're taking it week-by-week."

Difference between this year and last... "We're all still the same group of guys, still close and still have the same expectations. I feel like this year we're pretty confident and happy with the results we've been having. The same goals that have always been there are there this year and our main focus is to set the bar high and continue to achieve our goals."

On the 46-yard field goal... "In high school, my first field goal attempt was a 47-yard kick and I made it, but for college it was a career-long. It's fun because the guys are encouraging and they pat you on the back and they're with you like we're with them."

Nevada Head Coach Chris Ault
On the emotion of the game... "It was a good game and I really thought our defense played well in the second half until the last series. Our offense did not play well until the second-to-last series and then a critical part of that offensive deal was when we had the ball that last time and (John Bender) got that 15-yard penalty because that would've been second and five. We had the opportunity to burn the clock out. So, that young freshman, he had a rough day today."

On the back-and-forth nature of the game... "Our defense played well in the second half until that last series and the offense, we struggled. Northwestern did a nice job defensively and we stubbed our toe a few times and it added up to some tough times in that second half, offensively speaking. The bottom line - we had the game, we had the chance to win the game. We had that opportunity and found a way not to win it. The penalty's a key, obviously, and then we tried a pooch punt and he kicks it in the end zone. And that's a veteran kicker - he punted poorly all day long, which put us in a hole. Then, those two scrambles were costly scrambles at the end. We lost containment and C.J. (Bachér) scrambled out of those two costly scrambles."

On the switch in momentum after the interception by Reggie McPherson... "You could feel it. You could feel the switch then. On the same token, our defense held them to a field goal. So I really felt defensively we played well. We held them to two field goals when they had chances to score. I also felt it was a matter of getting the offense on track and doing some things."

On what the offense did well in the first half... "We were able to mix it up pretty good. In the second half, when we came out in a lull and then (Northwestern did) some things to us blitz-wise, we'd shoot ourselves in the foot with a mistake - a costly mistake, whether it be a missed block or an audible read. It kept putting us in a hole until the fourth quarter. And then we regained a little bit of momentum and started to move the ball and played a little better in that fourth quarter."

Nevada Player Quotes

Running back Luke Lippincott
On the emotion in the fourth quarter with a fumble and a touchdown... "We were driving down, I don't know where we were at. I think it was the 30 or something. No one really hit me. It was just like one of my fumbles from last year. I fumbled last year the same way. It was definitely all me, so I put that on myself. We just got back on the sideline and I told them, "I'm sorry. We're going to get it back." And then we got the ball back. The defense did really well stopping them. And we got the ball back and we got together and drove down and scored. And the end of the game ... they have that two-minute offense where they just got some big plays with their quarterback running the ball. They just went down and scored. It kind of reminded me of a game like Miami, where you get down to the end and lose it."

On his touchdown in the fourth quarter... "I didn't think that (it was going to be the winning touchdown) necessarily, I was just glad that I was able to come back from the fumble. I didn't want that to be the endpoint of the game, my fumble causing us to lose. It was still a big, big thing that helped with the loss of the game and I put that on myself."

Cornerback Paul Pratt
On being close late in the game... "I don't think it was nerves. We knew what was at stake. We knew they were going to drive it. We knew we had to make a couple plays. It was unfortunate for us when all we needed was one stop and we couldn't get one stop."

Wide receiver Kyle Sammons
On his touchdown catch in the second quarter... "I was just trying to get behind the defender and I ran right by him and turned around and (Nick Graziano) just threw the ball downfield. I just kept my eye on the ball and wound up in the end zone."

On his comfort level... "I feel good. I'm kind of breaking the rust off a little bit because I've been out for a year with my shoulder. But, I'm starting to come into my own right now. I'm starting to understand the offense a lot better."

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

C.J. Bachér

Omar Conteh

Adam Hahn

Ross Lane

Tyrell Sutton

Amado Villarreal

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