Northwestern University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement...
Today I'm most proud of the offensive line. We had three new starters in there and if you include Desmond Taylor, we had four new starters for the first time. We went out and performed, I'm very proud of our team.
On Tyrell Sutton...
He's healthy, and we have a great one-two punch back there with Omar [Conteh]. I am not surprised by the way he played today. He ran behind his pads, he was physical and he is in great condition. He had 185 all-purpose yards, and that's what he is. He can do it all for us. He's hungry; he's real hungry. To sit out and have the experiences he had last year were tough.
On the defense...
I really love the way they responded today. Their backs were against the wall on a number of occasions. I thought they went out there and fought to get the ball down and get the ball back for our offense. If we finish that one tackle we hold Syracuse to three points off that sudden change in the second half. It's a good first step, but we've got a long way to go. We'll learn a lot from this tape, and well have to look hard at it and evaluate exactly where we are at.
On the speed of the offense...
The no-huddle definitely adds to the wearing down of the defense. That's why we practice the way we do. We practice like our hair is on fire. We go at a very quick, up-tempo pace, and it allows our guys to be ready for Saturday. The game slows down for them a little, but the other side is that they are in great condition. We'll have to prepare for next Saturday in Durham, because we know it will be hot.
Northwestern safety Brendan Smith
On how the defense played against Syracuse...
"I thought we did a great job today. Week one you never know how you're going to do since we've only been playing against our offense in practice all summer. I thought we did a great job staying disciplined other than a couple personal fouls. As a whole, everyone came out and did their job and then made plays so I'm really excited."
On his interception and return for a touchdown...
"I can't tell you how excited I am. I was a quarterback in high school and I was involved in a lot of touchdowns and I haven't scored one in a while. It was really nice to get back in the end zone. I read it well because I saw the No. 1 option receiver just sit down and do a curl and I just hoped he would throw it that way. I got a good jump on the ball and after that it's just a matter of not dropping it."
On the style of play under defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz...
"I love Coach Hankwitz. I think his defense allows me to be a playmaker. If they run a certain route, I'm allowed to just read the quarterback and be a robber. It allows me to play with a little more aggressiveness. It's great. We have a different energy level and guys just feel more confident. I expect big things from us this year."
On using this game as a building block for the future...
"It's huge because it showed us what we have to work on. We put some points on the board but we didn't play a great game. We can always improve the little things and we had too many explosion plays on the run where the runner got outside. But we held them to a field goal in the first half and we feel like we should have had them on the sudden change on the fumble. Just little things we have to pick up on and improve on for next week."
Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton
On getting back on the field after being injured last season...
"Well, we've been working in the locker room and on the field for eight months with nothing to show for it yet and this was our payday. We got to go out and hit somebody else and show what we've been preparing for all year. I think our offense came out a little slow but as the game went on we got in sync and started moving the ball on the ground."
On his confidence level after this game...
"It was a big confidence boost to get out and perform behind an offensive line that might be a little inexperienced but definitely didn't play inexperienced today. They played like they had been out there blocking together for the last two or three years. It was fantastic the way our offense was able to get on a roll. Whenever I'm on the field I try to make the 10 other guys around me better whether it's with the run or the block or whatever.
On responding after fumbling close to Northwestern's own end zone...
"Our coaches use the term, "flush it." If we do something good, we have to flush it from our memory. If we do something bad, we have to flush it from our memory. It's all about response. We let it go and got back on the horse and proceeded to ride. We need to come out and avoid those mistakes and get it going right from the start."
Northwestern linebacker Malcolm Arrington
On whether the defense has a different mentality on the field this year...
"Of course. It's a new style of defense. It's a more aggressive, attacking style and everyone is playing for the man next to them. There's a real feeling of family."
On responding to Northwestern's fumble near its own end zone...
"It's going to happen where the offense has down days and the defense has down days but we're a team and we need to play off of each other. A mistake was made and we responded. That's the way football is played, as one unit."
Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bachér
On getting the offense started early in the game...
"We had a tough time on third downs and it's something we stress throughout camp but it took a little while to get the jitters out. They came out and did some things we didn't see on film and you can expect that with a new defensive coordinator but it took a while to adjust. We did a lot of film study this week and I did a lot personally but when they came out and did something new that we weren't expecting it was a little tough to make the transition."
On how he would grade his performance and that of the offense...
"Maybe a C. I think I need to be more accurate and see the defense better. We were able to come out with a victory because of the play of our offensive line. They were opening up holes and giving me lots of time to throw. We dominated up front and often that's going to decide who wins. The offense I would give a B or B+. This is the first time we've seen Tyrell Sutton healthy since his true freshman year and so you saw some of the things he's able to do when he's healthy. He was setting up blocks and feeding off what the offensive line gave him. I think our receivers did a good job getting open and I need to do a better job getting them the ball."
On how Syracuse defended the passing game...
"Well, Eric (Peterman) was talking about how there was one guy on every play playing him man-to-man whether they were in zone or man. That's something we weren't expecting but when you have as dynamic of a player as Eric who can make plays, you've got to expect their going to do something to try to limit him. I thought Jeremy Ebert and Charles Brown did a great job and then Sidney Stewart came in to fill in for Rasheed (Ward) so we have seven or eight guys who can make a difference at receiver and that's not even counting the running backs and superbacks who can catch the ball. There's a lot of guys who can get open for me so I'm excited."
Northwestern defensive end Corey Wootton
On the battle with Syracuse's offensive line...
"I think it went well. Corbin Bryant stepped up and did a great job attacking the line of scrimmage and he was in the backfield all day. Adam Hahn and Kevin Mims were in the backfield as well. I thought we did a good job attacking and knocking them back with the new defensive style of Coach Hankwitz."
On the confidence boost of playing well without John Gill...
"It's a really big confidence boost. The first game you're always seeing what you can do and you try to play as hard as you can. We did a good job up front and linebackers did a good job coming downhill. Our secondary did a great job covering. I'm really happy with our performance."
Syracuse Head Coach Greg Robinson
Opening Statement...
Tough day. I really felt like that first half and through the third quarter we were playing the way I thought we would. Offensively, I felt that opening drive was a good opening drive to come away with a field goal, and defensively for a long period of time I thought we played really well. [Northwestern] is going to make some plays periodically but I felt we kept them under control. After they went up 9-3 at half and then we score to make it 10-9, all of a sudden it's 23-10, and I felt right there is where we needed to respond. I don't think we got what we needed to get right there. I give Northwestern a lot of credit on both sides of the ball. I thought their defense played tough and offensively, if you give them enough opportunities they are going to make something of it. I thought [Tyrell] Sutton did a nice job and then [Omar Conteh] finished it up, and they are impressive players. My hat's off to them, and we're disappointed because I think we could have done a lot better.
On the two big plays in the third quarter...
When we made the play at the start of the half, it gave us the chance to take the lead, and we did that. But my point is that it doesn't really change you. You're playing for 60 minutes. Yes, it's an opportunity but you've got to keep going after that. After we got the setback and threw the interception, I hate to say it, but it deflates you. If they get enough shots on goal, it's going to start adding up after a bit. After that I felt like they could pin their ears back more and all of a sudden it's a different game. It's obvious that we need to stay in games. We can't let a team get out on us where they have a two touchdown lead and expect that we're just going to go "presto" and start playing. We've got to play tough and keep it close until we're firing on all cylinders.
On the low numbers the offense produced...
I will tell you this: I thought the field position played a big part on the offensive stats. I think it may have been right around the safety time that we started getting pushed back. All of a sudden we punt, the ball goes out of bounds and they have it on the 50. I think we stopped them, but now we're pinned. I think we even punched it out a little bit, but it's a lot harder to run your offense when your back is against the goal line. I felt like in the latter part of the first half that field position played a major factor in the game and it stymied our offense.
On if he expected more from the offense...
Yes, I do, and I think there will be more. My biggest thing is when it was 16-10 and we threw that interception, we needed to come back and respond. That's where a good football team has to be able to do that, and right now we proved that we're not there yet.
On if he was pleased with his defense...
All I know is that our defense played these guys very tough. Their touchdown late in the first half, I felt that one was on me. We were in a situation where we were uncertain about coverages, and to me, that's on me. They didn't recognize the formation and we turned a guy free and he burned us. But overall, we had a couple of turnovers and they punted five or six times, and Northwestern doesn't do that very often. I thought our defensive kids scrapped in there and played well for a period of time. But when the game got out of hand there a little bit, I didn't like how our tackling fell off.
Syracuse running back Curtis Brinkley
On SU's touchdown...
"(The defender) came pretty fast as soon as I got the ball, but his angle was a little messed up so that gave me the chance to break the tackle."
On the feel of the game following the touchdown...
"Coming out of the locker room, going into the third quarter, we knew tat the offense needed to make a play and change the momentum. Defensively we got a turnover and the touchdown, and that gave us momentum and a chance in the game. But they came back fighting and ready to respond."
Syracuse quarterback Andrew Robinson
On the team's overall performance...
"Personally, I didn't have the best game, obviously, throwing an interception. I didn't complete as many passes as I'd hoped. We have to run the ball better, we have to pass the ball better, we have to protect better, we have to do a lot of things better. The good news is that this is the first game of the season. We still have 11 more games to go. We'll take about 24 hours then have to prepare for the next one.
Just speaking from an offensive perspective, we were backed up a couple times and we have to do a better job of getting the ball out of our territory. We can't go three and out and put the defense back on the field, especially against an offense like that runs no-huddle. We have to go back to the drawing board a little bit and get ready for next week.
Syracuse strong safety A.J. Brown
On the overall feel of the game
"We just happened to miss a couple of tackles and they took advantage of it. We knew they were going to come out and run no-huddle. We were kind of prepared for it. It wasn't a shock. They ran the ball, they passed the ball, they are going to be a good team. They got the win."
