Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Illinois 47, Northwestern 33
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Illinois 47, Northwestern 33
Ryan Field
Nov. 29, 2014
Postgame Quotes
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
"I want to first of all congratulate Coach Beckman and his staff and their young men. The way they started the game really put us behind the eight-ball from the standpoint of being down multiple scores. Congratulations to them; I wish them the best of luck in the postseason.
"Turning to our guys, I want to thank our seniors. They're 22 great guys who unfortunately won't get to be a part of a postseason or be on the field or in the locker room ever again. As you can imagine it was a somber locker room, and my heart goes out to those guys. I'm very thankful for them; everything that they've given to our program, first and foremost as students, but then also as they've poured their hearts and souls into this program on a daily basis, and probably most importantly, who they are as men. They're a very special group of guys and talented men who will go on to be great fathers and great husbands and great in their communities. Whatever it is they choose to be professionally, they'll be doing it as champions. So I want to say thank you to them.
"Looking to the game, from the early start, we hurt ourselves. We turned the ball over and Illinois was able to capitalize on it. It had been kind of the reverse of our last few games, where we'd been opportunistic and had taken care of the ball fairly well. Today we weren't able to accomplish that."
On looking back to the last two years and gaging where the program is at...
"I'd say they were two different years. We're close to being where we want to be, but close isn't good enough. Our program is as stable and as strong as it's ever been. We've got unbelievable leadership. The people haven't changed we just need to coach our guys to come out and execute more consistently, and I think we'll be right back to where we were a few years ago."
On how losses due to injury affected the game and season...
"It is what it is. We need guys to some in and pick up the flag. It limited some of the things that we could call today because of matchups... If I knew how to change it, I would've a year ago. The reality is we need to coach our guys better, the next guys needs to step up. There were a pretty fun five years where we were pretty fortunate and now it's been a pretty tough two years dealing with injuries. We just need to continue to develop our guys in all aspects. I thought there where a couple of times today when our depth really hurt us, especially from a standpoint of our experience."
On competition for starting roles looking to next year...
"I think Clayton [Thorson] is probably as excited as anyone about the next class being in the mix of playing from a competition standpoint. I'd say based on a lot of factors, we'll have a great competition this spring, not only at quarterback but at a lot of positions. We need the guys up front to come on so we can have some competition. That next level of guys that has not stepped up yet needs to."
Northwestern Player Quotes
QB Zack Oliver
On his performance...
"It wasn't good enough. Came out in the first half and turned the ball over four times. You can't win like that, and that's on me as a quarterback and I've got to be better. Something that I'm going to focus on in the offseason is really getting in the film room, learning the ins and outs of these defenses and then we're going to be better. We've got to be better."
On his preparedness...
"I don't think that you can be too prepared. I went into the game with the feeling that I was prepared and I knew what they were going to run, I knew what we were going to run, and it came down to just execution and I didn't execute to the best of my ability."
On sliding short of the first down...
"I thought I had the first down, and that was just a lack of awareness on my part. I'm definitely not afraid of contact, so I honestly thought I was doing the guys in the athletic training room a favor by sliding, and I shouldn't have. I should've just put my head down, and that won't happen again.
RB/KR Solomon Vault
On his kickoff return touchdown...
"I finally got the ball and I knew I had to make a play for my team, we were down by I think 19, so I had to make a play for the game."
LB Drew Smith
On adjusting the scheme...
"The scheme didn't change. Guys have been stepping up all year. We had Collin go down early, we had Green go down early, we had young guys step up. So as far as that aspect, we didn't really change. We just had guys step up to make the plays that we know they can make."
On taking on leadership...
"Just bringing people along, that's the biggest thing. Personally, I think I've figured out what I have to do. But, I think the big thing for me in the future moving forward is those young guys. To bring those freshmen and those sophomores, to get them watching film and form habits to get them to perform well."
Tony Jones
On the development of the program...
"We're starting to bring in a different group of guys that come in and expect to win and put in work. Unfortunately these past two years haven't necessarily gone as well as we'd have liked them to. I think it's evident the amount of fight in the guys that Coach Fitz is bringing in to this program. I think that's something that you'll really be able to see over these next couple years. It's just the continued fight in the guys that are here.
On the play of NU's QBs today...
"You know I'm proud of both of those guys [Zack Oliver and Matt Alviti] and how they fought. Definitely in the second half, you could see how Zack started to get going, and he started showing great poise. I can't thank those guys enough for the effort that they took into this week preparing. The execution wasn't there but those guys busted their butt throughout the week with all of the extra film sessions, the staying after to talk after practice. So, you know that leadership and that drive in both of them I'm forever grateful for. "
Head Coach Tim Beckman
Opening statement...
"This game wasn't about stats. Two years ago, I walked in here and was as disappointed as a football coach as I could have ever been. Not with our players, but with the way the program had turned out. I felt that we needed to get more, and I asked these seniors two years ago -- they were sophomores at that time -- to step it up and build this team for the future. Now we're back, we have six wins under our belt. I don't think anyone in here thought we'd win six; you look at the way we were, and I don't think we were expected to win many football games, but we did. It couldn't have been done without the senior football class. This program's not about the coaches, it's about the seniors, it's about the guys that wear the orange and blue now, and it's about the former guys that still wear the orange and blue. We get to play with them another week, or two or three, for another bowl game. I can't tell you what that means to this football team -- the tears, the water thrown, Gatorade thrown -- the opportunity alone to be able to play with one another. We talk about being a family, and there is no question of that being the case for this team. I hope you saw some of that on Thursday when it was about Thanksgiving and not football. Players went to coaches' houses and were with their families. That, to me, is what college athletics is all about and I get an opportunity -- selfishly, I guess you'd say -- to be with those great seniors again for more time on the field.
On the win against Northwestern...
"You put your time into these seniors, this football team, and it's so gratifying to see them. This was a goal, of course you always want to be national champions, Big Ten champions, and you put those things up there, but to beat Northwestern was one of their goals, to be bowl-eligible was one of their goals. When you see your players do that -- because you're with them all the time, they become your sons -- you get to see the ways in which they are so gratified by the victory. That locker room is going nuts, and I challenged them to make sure they continue to go nuts."
On what contributed to the win...
"The players. I'm not going to point fingers at three years ago because it had nothing to do with them; it was all on me. These players have bought into exactly what we've been asking them to do on and off the field. They buy into how close we want to be as a group. We all get so enamored with the sport itself that people sometimes don't realize all the things these kids are doing as human beings, as men. It's been a pleasure to be the head football coach here, and I can't tell you how much these players mean, each and every day."
On his future as head coach...
"Again, I'm not worried about those types of things. I want our players to be happy. Of course I'd be happy to be the Illinois head football coach because that's what I want to be. I know this program's gotten better since we first started it -- in every way, not just on the football field. I challenge the negativity; it's about building something, to me. We can always point fingers, but that's the easy way out. Instead, change, be positive, for the kids' sake. Be positive for them, don't worry about me. You have no idea what's going on in that locker room right now."
On Reilly O'Toole...
"Reilly O'Toole has three victories in the Big Ten, and I don't think we were supposed to win any of them. He won Homecoming, he won Senior Day, and now he comes up here and wins on the road. Reilly helped this football team win, and he is one heck of a leader, competitor. He'll be one of those names that I'll always remember as long as I coach. He is a special individual."
Illinois Player Quotes
WR Mike Dudek
On being bowl-eligible...
"It was pretty awesome, just talking to the seniors who went to a bowl game their freshman year. I'd really say there's nothing like it, just the memories they build that week they're together -- it's just the greatest time in their lives. I'm just excited."
On beating Northwestern...
"There was a lot of stake for both teams; we were both 5-6, rivals, so coming here and beating them like that was a program-changing win for us."
On the team's reaction to the win ...
"It was just like any other win, but up a notch. Everyone was excited and you could really see how much it meant to the seniors, to know that they are going to get another game. Coach was all smiles. He told us that it was not the end of our journey and there are still goals to accomplish. It's going to be fun for the next 24 hours, but we're going to go and try to win this bowl."
RB Devin Church
On Illinois' consistent offensive play...
"We knew that's what we would have to do, because they don't quit, and we're the same. We knew we would have to keep scoring to help our defense."
On Coach Beckman's reaction to the win...
"I'm sure it was very satisfying for him. There are a lot of naysayers out there, and for us to get that win today was, I'm sure, a huge weight off of his shoulders. He just wanted us to win and send these seniors out on the right note."
DB Taylor Barton
"On turnovers and the evolution of the defense...
"We always preach turnovers. It's a game-changer, and we've been able to create some in the last few games. I'm happy for our coaches and happy for our team."
On playing against Northwestern's back-up quarterback...
"We knew that there was a back-up quarterback and it would start off with short passes. I think the best thing we did was the turnovers."
On defensive confidence...
"I think we're definitely playing well on defense. The last half of the season, we really turned it up a notch. Guys are flying around, and they just don't give up."
On Reilly O'Toole...
"I'm just happy for our seniors and happy for Reilly. He just makes plays. He's always prepared, makes big plays, leads us to victory.
