Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Michigan 10, Northwestern 9
11/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Northwestern vs. Michigan
Ryan Field
November 8, 2014
Postgame Quotes
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement...
"Thanks everyone for being here tonight. I'm wearing a wristband tonight to support (former Michigan head) Coach (Lloyd) Carr and his grandson's fight, his grandson, Chad, so I'd like to lift Coach Carr and his family up in our thoughts and prayers and a number of guys on our staff that were wearing those in support of Coach Carr and his family, so we want to express our thoughts and prayers to Coach Carr. You know, disappointing way to lose. I thought our defense gave us every opportunity to win a football game today, and you know, to come up three yards short in one play is very disappointing. So we'll take a look at the tape, see how we can correct some things, and kind of go from there."
On deciding to go for the two-point conversion...
"It was a max blitz, Trevor [Siemian] checked the play, and we were going to win. I made that decision with six minutes left in the game. If we scored, we were going to go for two. So not really chaotic, already had our plan in place and knew what we were going to do. We didn't score a lot of points, so I felt like I'll take a one-play opportunity. You know, three yards, one play, try to go win a football game. Being aggressive."
On using quarterback Matt Alviti...
"We had about five plays, give or take a little bit, that we thought about with Matt [Alviti], and then we'd see how the game went, the ebb and flow of it. And some of the plays that we had run with when he was in there, we really didn't block very well at the point of attack. But it was right to get him out there. I thought he prepared well, and we'll see how things go in the future."
On the defensive play...
"Well, we hold them to 250 total yards; really we hold a team to three points defensively. We muff a punt and give them a short field, and you know, they had obviously seized momentum and had to be, I think we were 11 for 12 (defensively) on third downs, and if you include the fourth downs, I think they were one for 14 and third on fourth down. So that's pretty darn good performance by our defense. That gives us a chance to win."
On looking at the rest of the season...
"We don't need to worry about winning out, we need to worry about winning next week. So it goes back to how you prepare. That's what I challenged the guys with at the end of the game. I think some guys really stepped up. I mean, as poorly as we played a week ago, I thought some guys really prepared well, I thought we came back and had a great week of practice, I thought the guys, especially defensively, came out and came out with a purpose. And at the end, we just ended three yards short, and you just keep going. We've got a group of seniors that we want to get into the post-season, and you know, if you focus on that, you're not going to focus on the preparation. It's not about the outcome, it's about getting yourself ready to go out and do it and do it. So hopefully we will."
On the offensive play in the fourth quarter...
"I thought we executed a little bit cleaner. It looked like our whole line gave Trevor [Siemian] more than a nanosecond to throw the ball, so that was productive. Looks like we caught it pretty well, a big catch by Cam [Cameron Dickerson] there to get things moving, and obviously the great touchdown catch by Tony [Jones], and a bunch in between."
Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke
Opening Statement...
"I'm really happy for our kids. You know, again, they work hard. They've done a great job all year coming to work and competing. It was not pretty in some ways. From an offensive standpoint we've got to do some better things. When you look at converting third downs we weren't very good, especially in the first half, and defensively in the first quarter we weren't very good on third downs. It took a while to get in a rhythm a little bit. I think we're still not getting in the end zone like we'd like to. That's something that we've got to continue to work on and continue to get better at. Defense answered the bell a lot. They faced some challenges, some adversity and did a nice job with it, but that's why they came to Michigan to play defense and so they count their blessings every time they get to go out on that field and play defense. That's kind of the mindset and mentality that this group has had...I think we've all felt, you know, the last few games we've gone into overtime with Northwestern and Pat's teams and it looked like we were going there again and we were fortunate enough...really Frank did a nice job and the coaches in the box did a nice job because it was the same two-point play they had ran a year ago and they really had a great idea. So I think that helped and obviously the performance is always with what the kids do. So I'm happy to win, very excited to win. We get a little bit banged up like you do in every game and we have an opportunity for guys to rest and then finish like we've started a long time ago."
On Northwestern going for two...
"I think I was a little surprised, but at the same time I think Pat (Fitzgerald) has shown his team he's got a lot of faith in them. I think as a coach you always think about what you would do. I can't tell you what I would do. I know in that drive to get them down there they were pretty successful and so maybe that was a part of the thought process."
On special teams...
"I think they had a big role. I think Will Hagerup probably had his best day punting. You know, they fumbled the punt and we're down the filed doing what a gunner should do...overall we had the one block. I think that was a combination of two things. It will be interesting to look at on film. Some of it...Matt tipped it a little low and I also thought he didn't do a good enough job on the wing position getting a piece of that guy, but...we talk about those teams it's really a microcosm of your whole team because you've got offensive guys and defensive guys playing together on those."
On third downs...
"I think they're a byproduct...some of it is what you do on first and second. I think that's always part of it. There's certain distances that you'd really like to plan and I think that's part of it. We had some opportunities, and it'll be interesting to watch on the way home, that we could have taken advantage of. Either the receiver was not in the progression or in the progression. The quarterback gets off his mark a little bit. They brought more pressure against us then they have anybody else all year and they really upfront and the backs did a really good job of picking it up."
Northwestern Player Quotes
On the decision to go for the two-point conversion at the end of the game...
"With six minutes left, Coach Fitz came to the offense and said they're (Michigan) going to kick a field goal here, and we're going to go for two and win the game. I thought it was the right call. Everybody was pumped up about it. We thought we were going to win this thing."
On team's early offensive struggles...
"They have a good front seven, an active front. We knew that coming in, but we did not execute either. If they have a good defense, and we aren't doing our job, that's not a good thing."
WR Tony Jones
On going for two at the end of the game...
"I think had the game gone to overtime, we were playing well on offense, we could have gone out there and got another touchdown. But I definitely like the call, going for two. I think that showed great courage. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out for us."
On the team sticking together during a rough stretch...
"We are a close-knit football team. We are going to stick together. We are going to bond together. We will find a way to respond. We will come back tomorrow and watch the film and get our bodies right. We are going to come ready to work next week."
On the play of the defense...
"We know we are capable of playing that type of game, playing a full game and shutout defense. We put the pressure on ourselves to do that, and we were almost able to do it but not quite."
On the defense's turnaround from Iowa to Michigan...
"I think we were a lot more focused. I don't want to say we weren't ready last week, but we just didn't play like we were. We play better when there is pressure on the line. We know we had to go out there and get a win but just didn't do it today. We have full confidence in each other. I feel like we did everything we could to win the game."
Michigan Player Quotes
RB De'Veon Smith
On the running game...
"The offensive line is making holes for us, we're hitting those holes, and all of the credit goes out to them. Really, that's the only reason we're getting the yards that we've been getting these past two weeks."
On Devin Gardner...
"Devin's a great quarterback, a great leader. For offense he's the guy that motivates us and pushes us. He definitely gets on me. I look up to Devin as one of my mentors."
OL Jack Miller
On the Michigan fumble that hit a player in motion...
"Usually, to be honest with you, the motions don't matter to me much unless we're shifting the total formation. I didn't even know what happened. I thought it was totally my fault and then I threw a bad ball back there to Devin (Funchess). We'll have to go over timing wise what went wrong, but I didn't know about it until I came off the field."
On the running game...
I think the offensive line played well. I think there were a lot of holes, and I think we were physical up front and that we moved the line of scrimmage. Things weren't perfect but they rarely ever are up front. So I was happy with the way we played up front. De'Veon (Smith) and Drake (Johnson) both did a great job.
LB Jake Ryan
On being comfortable in his position...
"I'm comfortable. I'm learning every single day. Every single game, every single practice. Coach (Greg) Mattison has done a great job, and Joe (Bolden) has definitely coached me up and helped me along."
On going one-on-one with wide receiver...
"Joe (Bolden) and I talked right before the play and saw the guy was tight to the line of scrimmage so we yelled 'Cut' to each other and it was a cut split by the wide receiver so that if there were any crossover we'd be passing it off. Just knowing that, I kind of had a jump on it and it worked out."
On Northwestern's conversion attempt...
"I wasn't surprised they went for it. It's a competitive game. The Northwestern coach is a great guy and he knows exactly what he wants to do. I give him credit for going for it."
