NU vs. Boston College: Postgame Quotes
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2011
POSTGAME QUOTES
Boston College vs. Northwestern - Sept. 3, 2011
Alumni Stadium - Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Head Coach Frank Spaziani
Overall
"Congratulations to Northwestern. They came in here and did what they had to do. They scored more points than we did. I think in general, we couldn't run the ball the way we needed to run the ball. They had entirely too many yards on the ground. We made too many mistakes. We played too sloppy to win a game like that. The kids fought hard, played to the end. There is no doubt about it, but we need to play smart. We need to play with a lot more efficiency."
On the defensive effort of the Eagles
"We were softer than we need to be, or than we're accustomed to being. We weren't as sharp mentally for a lot of reasons. We had some mental mistakes out here that hurt us."
On the play of the BC Linebackers
"They looked like they made a couple of plays, like we expect and need them to do. We have to give them some help. We expect those guys to be productive but we're going to have to take a hard look at where we're at and how we are going to help ourselves."
On the performance of true freshman quarterback Chase Rettig
"I think we need to play better there. I have to go back and look at the tape but we're in the right plays, so that was good. We made a lot of the right reads. Once again we need to help him with some running game."
Junior LB Luke Kuechly
On Northwestern's high-tempo offense
"I think it's difficult when you face a team that had a tempo like that because you can't replicate it in practice. We tried as hard as we can and the guys did a great job but it's hard to replicate a tempo, no matter who is in the game. It was a difficult team that we played."
On Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter
"He moved real well. We were preparing for [Dan] Persa. I think that this guy moved just as well too. He was a challenge for us. He presented a lot of difficulties for us, especially getting outside the pocket, getting some good runs and converting some third-down situations."
Senior WR Ifeanyi Momah
On moving forward after the loss
"Honestly, even though the game just ended, we always have our heads up. We are ready for the next week and for the next challenge. We're disappointed that we lost this game but it's not the end of the world. The season goes on and are going to be a really good team at the end of the year, so we are going to start pushing, starting tomorrow at practice."
On the receivers' connection with QB Chase Rettig
"I think all our receivers are on the same page with Chase. He's done a really good job this offseason learning plays, his checks and everything as a quarterback. The receivers are just working hard to make it easier for him. Colin Larmond, Bobby Swigert, they all make great catches out there, working hard to make things as easy as possible for Chase and I think that he did a really good job today."
Sophomore QB Chase Rettig
On preparing for Northwestern
"I think we had a great look this week from our scout team and I think that is why we were able to execute some of the plays out there. Our line did a pretty good job. Andre [Williams] was definitely healthy and he was able to get out there and move the ball. We had some things going for us, but we left too many opportunities for touchdowns out there."
On the last play of the game
"I was going through my progression and your clock in that situation is the sideline. I probably wasn't going to have anyone open because they dropped eight guys, so that's a situation where I have to throw the ball up in the air and have one of my receivers make a play. I held onto the ball too long, unfortunately. I wish I would have thrown it a little earlier, but it didn't happen and I take full responsibility for it."
Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Overall
"Well, it's tough to win on the road, especially against a program like BC that knows how to win, so to come in here and find a way to get it done, I'm proud of our young men. There is a lot that we're going to need to correct and clean up as we move forward, but this is a journey and the first step of the journey was here today.
I thought we had a lot of positives that came out of today. Number one, I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well. We understood and respected their front seven, but we knew the tempo would play to our advantage, especially on a warmer day. I thought Coach McCall and the offensive staff and the way our young men went out and executed gave us a chance to do that. When you look at the way we controlled the ball on defense outside of the first play, it was pretty good. We've got little technical things, little formation variations, some things we really need to clean up on both sides of the ball that will give us a chance to improve. That's what our focus will be. Most teams make their biggest improvements from week one to week two and that will be our challenge here as we go back to work this week.
I'm proud of our young men. It's great to get a win and I cannot say thank you enough to our great fans. To have that kind of fan support in Boston on the road, that was special, that was spectacular and to all of our great fans, we cannot say thank you enough."
On his impressions of today's game
"Well, we won and that was the number one goal. A couple reasons why we are going to keep some things within our football family is, number one, you guys read way too deep into some things and that's not your fault, that's your jobs. We wanted to just let [Kain Colter] get prepared the way he needed to and not get bombarded. I thought he handled it really well. Unfortunately we had the pick that led to a touchdown. That was unfortunate, just some miscommunication, but the staff did a nice job correcting the play call down the road and fixing it, but I thought he really stepped up. You know, a true sophomore, first start on the road, he found a way to win, it was a good job."
On Dan Persa's return
"I'll probably tell you nothing this week or right now. I hate to say it that way, but I don't have a whole lot to share with you from the stand point of we are just taking it day by day. There's no grand master scheme or plan. We are just really taking it day by day."
On the journey that his defense took in the game
"If you look at our two-deep, we have a lot of little puppies out there. That first play they forgot how to get off the porch a little bit. When you've got 10 guys that fit right and a little freshman that fits wrong, now all of a sudden it's a 69-yard gain. What I liked was the response. We give them a big play, then we hold them to three. That's what great defenses do. [BC's players] are on scholarship too and they've got outstanding football players, but we've got to hold them to three or less and we did a really nice job with that. I'm proud of the way we responded, but we've got a long way to go. We had a lot of issues out there today that we've got to do better on."
On his concerns with BC's front seven
"Well they were the number one rush defense in the country last year. I believe we finished running the ball with about 227 yards. We felt like if we could play in space and play with the tempo, then we'd have a chance to really assault the belly of their defense after a while and I thought we really did that in the fourth quarter."
Senior WR Jeremy Ebert
On Kain Colter's performance
"I'm just really proud of him. He battled it out and played his heart out. You can't ask for anything more than that. He made some big plays when he needed to, he put it in the endzone, so I'm really happy with him. I'm proud of him."
On whether he sensed that his offense had BC's 'tongues hanging' due to the tempo
"Yes, that's what we like to do. We like to run people out. We like to get up and go fast. Not a lot of teams play like that, so hats off to our conditioning as a team to pull that off."
Senior OL Al Netter
On the mindset as BC was marching down the field trying to tie the game
"Since, I've been here, I feel like this was just déjà vu. I feel like we've been in this position so many times and there's a lot of leadership, a lot of guys with playing experience on the defense, so we trusted in them. We were just trusting in our technique. Like I said, it's something that we prepare for and go through all the time."
Sophomore DL Tyler Scott
On the defense's ability to pressure BC
"That was something we really focused on this offseason and this camp. Last season, we didn't really have too many sacks as a defense, so that's something we really wanted to focus on. I really thought we accomplished that today. There were more opportunities we had to have sacks, but I think we did pretty well."
On how it felt to see BC lose 10 seconds at the end of the game
"It was just one more play. That's our motto around here, just one more play. I mean when they ran that 10 seconds off, we thought we had to make a play, especially up front, we thought, 'hey we have to get home, we can end the game right here,' and that's exactly what Vince [Browne] did."
Senior CB Jordan Mabinbr>
On how it feels to know the defense won the game
"It feels good. It feels real good. We prided ourselves on finishing. It was fourth quarter, a close one-score game and we knew either time could win it. We had to finish the game and if we finished the way we knew how we could come away with the win. The defense took that personally and we played as a unit. We played as a solid unit this game and in the fourth quarter and we got the win."
