Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Quotes at Rutgers (10/20/18)
Northwestern vs. Nebraska
Ryan Field
October 13, 2018
Postgame Quotes
Northwestern
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement: "Great job going 1-0. Sometimes you don’t have your ‘A’ game. I talked to the guys after the game. I said, we’re in baseball playoff time right now. A pitcher goes out on the mound, warmed up great, had a great week of prep, like we did. And then all of a sudden things aren’t working the way you want them to work. You still have to find a way to keep inching to the end and get the win. Or get it to your bullpen in baseball terms. That’s what we did. We had some really good things happen today and we had some self-inflicted wounds. It’s a team that’s been through a lot of battles and found a way to get it done. A lot of young guys played. We came in really beat up. To see the way that Isaiah Bowser stepped up, especially at the end, really ran physical. (Offensive Coordinator) Mick McCall managed the end of the game really well. I thought the guys went out and executed really well. Our defense was outstanding. We mis-fit one play that led to the long run. But to come in here against a team that puts a lot of pressure on you, (Rutgers) coach John McNulty and his staff put a lot of pressure on your offensively, their young skill is outstanding, and you saw that this Rutgers team would respond. I thought Rutgers played really well against Indiana and Illinois here and had opportunities to win those games. So we knew what kind of a battle we were getting into and our guys responded.”
On Rutgers defense: "They brought pressure from the edges, field and boundary. I thought we adjusted well. They have some pretty good skill in their front seven. Mick did a great time adjusting some things at halftime and we had some more success in the second half.”
On RB Isaiah Bowser and the RB group: "Yea, we need him. I’m proud of our running backs. We had two young pups and Isaiah, that’s all we had today. All three of those guys contributed. This is Big Ten football and it’s not easy. We played a wounded animal today. Homecoming, we knew we would get their best shot and we did. And we responded with a bunch of young pups. We’re a very young football team, but we’ve been growing up as we go through some battles. We’ll continue to work to get better. That’s Big Ten football, win and advance.”
On success on the road: "I don’t think we flinch. No matter what the crowd is like. Our guys just handle things the same way at home and on the road. Our guys are pretty even keel. We knew what kind of atmosphere we were coming into. I thought Rutgers played really well on defense and I thought our defense played really well. It was just a defensive game.”
On Rutgers: "Chris Ash is going to do a great job. I think back to my time as a student-athlete. I think back to my time as a student-athlete at Northwestern and the support that needed to happen to turn the program around. The administration, the athletic department, the donors and the fans. Everybody had to be all in, going the same direction. And there’s going to be tough days. But it takes time to turn a program back around. It’s just going to take some time to get this thing back going in a direction they all can be proud of. And I hope they give him time. I think Chris is a great man and a great coach. It just takes time when you are in that foundation building stage. But he’s going to do a great job. He’s an outstanding coach.”
Northwestern Defensive End Joe Gazaino
On the message heading into the fourth quarter: “We had confidence in the offense the whole game, we knew they can put up the points we needed to score and needed to win the game. In the fourth quarter, I think we kind of looked at each other and said let’s do this and this is the time we step up and we were ready to fight and finish this thing out, we were kind of tethering on the edge of making plays and the guys were looking around for guys to make a play but in the fourth quarter, somebody stepped up and made plays and executed and we were able to win this game.”
On adjustments in the defensive game plan after last week: “Nebraska and Rutgers came out with their gameplan, the game and the clock was ticking off faster because of the way they were running the ball on offense and sustaining drives, so the amount of plays played into that but we were also able to be more fundamentally sound, last week we got out of our gaps a little bit, we were not playing to expectations that we had, so this week we got back to the basics and not let big runs happen.”
On message to the younger guys on defense: “They are all great players, they are here for a reason. Being in the leader in that situation is telling themselves to trust themselves, they are great players and put them in the position to make plays in the right situation.”
Northwestern Quarterback Clayton Thorson
On overall performance today: “Got to play better, made some plays on third downs but have to play better that is the bottom line, that is on me but great team win. It is tough to get wins on the road in the Big Ten and I think we have done it six straight teams so great effort by our team.”
On the slow performance in the middle the game: “We watched the tape, they have a great front seven, that is one of their strengths and I think Riley and Flynn made some adjustments and Isaiah had a big run and we did it a few different ways and that is what good teams do.”
On Running Back Chad Hanaoka: “He is awesome, he is one of my best friends, he has just worked his butt off through everything he has gone through and he has been a great teammate and the reason the young running backs are playing is because Chad is helping them a lot and so for him to get out there and get some production is sweet for all of us to see, he gives a big spark to us.”
Northwestern Running Back Isaiah Bowser
On being the difference maker on offense: “It feels good, other guys in the locker room are supporting me and saying congratulations and it was a great win.”
On scoring a touchdown: “The line got a great push on the play, just like they were doing most of the game and the hole opened. I put my shoulder down and was able to score there.”
On preparation going into this week: “I try to prepare for every game the same even if I am going to be the backup, I knew my time would come and this week I knew I would play a lot more than usual, for the most part I prepare the same every week and was ready to go.”
