Northwestern University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
9/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 20, 2008
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Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening statement:
"First and foremost, I want to give a lot of credit to Ohio University. Coach Solich has his team a couple plays away from being undefeated. I'm proud of our guys, the way we fought. It wasn't a thing of beauty but our defense picked up our offense and we stuck together like a family and the way we responded in the second half almost gift-wrapped the game for them. We talked early in the week about doing our job, the touchdown play, the big play to get them down there and we had a guy drop coverage. There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds with turnovers will get you beat. I'm proud of the way our defense responded, I'm proud of the way we finished drives. We had some turnovers, blocked field goals and had TFLs and sacks. I'm proud of the way they did that. It was a great challenge this week and it's nice to be 1-0 today, but our focus is we'll be 0-0 tomorrow. We need to load it up and get ready to get back into Big Ten play."
On Northwestern defensive linemen blocking field goals...
"Playing with effort, playing all the way through and making them take one more snap. Good things happen for a defense when you make them take one more snap. And that's what we did. Lining up to block those field goals was huge. Thought we had a good plan going into it. Obviously we study that, play hard and figure out where we can bring our best pressure to maximize what we're trying to do and I think Coach Hankwitz and the defensive staff had a great plan."
On the play of C.J. Bacher...
"We cannot turn the ball over like that and expect to win football games. It's on us as coaches to get it fixed and it's on our players to take responsibility for maybe some choices and decisions and work together to get it fixed. It's the little details that help you win football games and it's also the little things that make you get beat. So there's a lot of work to do, but it's nice to work when you go 1-0 on the day."
On execution...
"I thought our guys did a nice job executing. There were two big plays they had up the sideline where we dropped coverage. We didn't stay with our men. I'll keep that to me, but our execution was pretty good for the most part, but it needs to get better."
On the play of Vince Browne...
"He's got a great motor. Every rep he has, he gains more and more and more experience. He gets to learn from a couple special guys in front of him. He's doing a great job of learning. One of the last plays of the game we said, "Just run to the ball as hard as you can." He's just learning, growing, he's a redshirt freshman, but he has a relentless motor and it's fun to have him."
Northwestern Players
On Vince Browne...
"He played a great game. He's a young guy out there and he played all out. He hustles on every play, and he only knows one speed, which is fast. He just had a great game today."
On the defense...
"Ohio is a great team, with a great quarterback in Boo (Jackson), who is very elusive. He made us work for it today, but we had a great game plan presented to us all week. We practice all week and it worked out for the best for us. We have a lot to prove; we've always been a question mark as far as the defense, and we've been looked down on for the last couple of years. A lot of guys play with a chip on their shoulder. It's also our new coordinator and our new schemes. It is a very aggressive style of defense, and it allows our playmakers to be playmakers."
On picking up the offense...
"The offense did struggle today, obviously, with Tyrell (Sutton) being a big part of the offense and going down. Football is a team game though, and when the offense doesn't perform well, the defense has to pick them up, and vice versa. We were told at halftime it was going to be a little more on our shoulders, but we just went out and played, and that's what we try to do every week."
On forcing fumbles...
"Everybody was going for the strips. The first man would secure the tackle, and the second would come in for the strip. We practiced it all week; we were hounded on it. We spent an entire section where we were just stripping the ball. We saw film that showed they didn't really have the best ball security, and we took advantage of it."
CB Jordan Mabin
On the defense...
"We came out today as a whole defense completely focused. We knew OU was going to come in here ready to fight, and we knew it would be a four-quarter battle. Coach stressed that this whole week, that they would fight hard, even though they were 0-3. They were probably the best 0-3 team in the nation, he said. We came out there early, got a couple of three-and-outs, and we were feeling it. Our backs were against the wall a couple of times but we definitely responded well. We had a couple turnovers, but the defense rose to the occasion. We got a couple of big plays from the defensive line and the linebackers, which made our life a lot easier. The defensive line was getting in there very quick, which made our coverage much easier."
On the difference from last year...
"The defense this year is just playing and having more fun. Coach stresses all the time to just play physical and have fun, and just fly around out there. Last year we did a little too much thinking and we'd be a second late or a couple steps to short. This year we are thinking less and just reacting. We're playing physical and we're playing fast, from the defensive line to the defensive backs."
On the attitude of the defense...
"We always have something to prove. Last year, I sat on the bench as a red-shirt, and watched us get picked apart a little bit. Now that Coach "Hank" is here, it's a completely different mentality. We are more of an aggressive defense this year, not sitting back as much as we did last year to wait for things to happen. Everyone is trying to make plays. There's also a ton of competition at practice, keeping us all working hard to be aggressive."
Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich
On the missed field goal opportunities and turnovers...
"We had opportunities with our field goal team to gather some points today and we left them all out there on the field. That played a huge role in the game. We had trouble with their defensive front, getting anything started. It's obvious we didn't get any kind of ground game going and when that's the case, you're back on your heels a little bit as far as an offensive football team. I thought that our defense played exceptionally well in the second half and played fairly well in the first half. I think they got something like five turnovers against a team that has not really turned the ball over that much. The problem is that they got four from us so that balanced out to some degree. We had enough opportunities to put points on the board, but we were just not able to get anything going offensively with any kind of consistency to make it work."
On Northwestern's defensive line...
"They're very good up front. They've got good movement. They've got good size. They're strong. That all adds up to being a pretty good defensive front. We tried at times to get the running game going and tried to establish something there, but it became pretty clear that that was not going to happen with any kind of regularity. Then you're searching to try to get an offense that works. That was the thing that stood out a little bit. We got some pressure on those field goals inside. They got a little bit of movement and one might have been kicked a little low. Some other phases of the game, in special teams, I though we did pretty well. We fielded punts and returned them a little better."
On whether Tyrell Sutton's absence in the second half changed Ohio's defensive plan...
"No, it's pretty tough to build it around one guy. I just thought our guys played well the second half. I thought we were breaking on balls pretty well and that caused C.J. [Bacher] a little trouble. I think he became a little hesitant at times and probably wasn't on rhythm as much as he's been when we've seen him play. He's really excellent on that end of it. I think we were able to take him out of that a little bit and that helped us a great deal. Sutton's a great runner. He gets yards after contact, but their second team running back is pretty good, too. I'd give a lot of credit to our defense in terms of what they got done, especially in the second half."
On what, if any, changes need to be made after an 0-4 start...
"We'll continue to evaluate. We'll look at what's gone well for us and what we're not doing so well. We'll continue to look at what's going to give us our best chance. We've been in the games, never been out of one, so you don't want to just throw everything away and hang your head. There are an awful lot of good things happening on that football field with what we're doing and the way our kids are playing. We've just got to find a way to maybe improve two or three percent and find a way for each individual to pick his game up just a little bit to be the kind of team we want to be."
WR LaVon Brazill
On the Northwestern defense...
"They were showing a lot of blitz. They were throwing all kinds of blitzes at us. Boo couldn't really get the ball off our line. They were ready for it, but they didn't see it coming."
On the next step after a tough loss...
"Back to the drawing board. Go back to the plays, practice hard and hopefully get a win."
On Ohio failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities...
"It was very tough, very frustrating. We should have scored several times. We had opportunities to score but Boo and I couldn't connect."
SS Michael Mitchell
On the feeling of the team during the game...
"I'm a defensive guy so I don't really move around the whole sideline. But defensively, I feel like we were upbeat, especially in the second half. I feel like we fought hard. I can look at every guy on that side of the ball and say that they gave it their all. I can say the same and they can say the same to me. From knowing those guys on offense, I know they did the exact same thing. Down 16-0 to a good team, we tried to come back and fight but couldn't get everything going together."
On whether or not he was pleased by the defense causing multiple turnovers...
"I probably would've been pleased if we had won. We tried to give the offense the ball as much as we could. I'm proud of the guys on defense for causing turnovers. Our goal is to get three a game. This whole season just isn't going our way right now. We've got to find some way to get it turned around."
