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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota vs. Penn State Quotes
10/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
POSTGAME QUOTES
Penn State 28 (4-2, 2-1), Minnesota 27 (2-4, 0-3)
Oct. 7, 2006
Attendance: 45,227
Head Coach Glen Mason
Opening Statement:
“That was a great college football game, it doesn’t get any better than that. Well, it would have better if we had won. I’m very proud of my players, they played a whale of a ball game. We overcame mistakes, and put ourselves in position to win. It all came down to fourth and nine, and I was halfway on the field because I thought we won. I really hope the penalty they called was a blatant foul on my guy. I really hope so, I haven’t seen it yet.”
“Logan Payne is playing as good as any other player in this league right now. He is a product of our program. He came in, worked really hard, and now all that hard work has paid off to get him to where he is.”
“I really feel for the kid (Giannini). I’ve always looked at coaching my team the same way I would want my kids to be coached. I don’t think there’s anything I can say to him right now to make him feel better. That’s what I think the great thing about playing in this league is. This game teaches you how to be a man.”
“Bryan Cupito really played well. He made the plays when he needed to, and had an overall great game. He got banged up a bit in the first half, but really responded in the second.”
“I thought we handled their run a lot better than we did last year, when they ran for over 350 yards. We have a really young defense with no depth. We don’t have the luxury to rotate people in the way I would like, especially in a close game like this. I’m very proud of them, I thought they played well.”
“We gave them their first TD with the muffed punt. And then we gave them too much time at the end of the first half, and they capitalized. Those were two big plays in the ball game.”
Minnesota Running Back Amir Pinnix
“We came out and played pretty hard and we fought to the last second.”
On the last drive in regulation:
“We felt like there was enough time. We don’t give up and we don’t quit. We said to each other that we have to keep pushing and keep playing hard.”
On the loss testing the team and its character:
“We have some strong leaders on this team. They keep us up and they keep us going, no matter what happens. We’re a pretty young team and we’ll continue to grow.”
On Jason Giannini:
“That’s football. He’s a teammate and we’re a team. No one player dictates the outcome of the game. We’ll give him all the support he needs.”
Minnesota Wide Receiver Logan Payne
“It was tough. I’m speechless. Coach Mason tells us every day that you never know what play is going to make the difference. You never know what play is going to change the complexion of the game. This loss is definitely a tough one.”
On starting the season 0-3 in the Big Ten:
“It’s definitely a tough hole, but I think we’ll be fine. We’ve lost a couple games we thought we could have won. It’s the same old story and our team is sick of it. We’re going to approach the Wisconsin game with a chip on our shoulder. I think we’re still going to make some noise.”
On his 43-yard catch late in the fourth quarter:
“They were giving us that play almost all day. I ran a good route and [Bryan] Cupito gave me a good pass. I had a chance to make a play for our team and I’m glad I made it.”
On Jason Giannini:
“I talked to him and told him that if I would have made a play on the reverse, it would have been a different story. Sometimes people look at it as one play making the difference in the game, but its really not like that. It’s not one guy. It’s a team game. We win as a team and lose as a team.”
Minnesota linebacker Mike Sherels
On the overtime pass interference call:
“You can’t put this game on one call or one play. We had plenty of chances throughout the game to make a play and we didn’t, so this is the outcome we have to deal with.”
On the play of the defense:
“The whole second half the offense kept coming back and said ‘Get a stop, get a stop. If you get us the ball we’ll get in there.’ We just went out there with that mentality every time that we just had to get the ball back to the offense and they’d take care of it.”
On the team’s improvements:
“As a young defense, our goal has been to get better every week. Today we came out and we fought really hard, played real tough. I don’t really want to say we feel good about our performance, but if we’re going to take something positive out of this we’re continuing to get better. That’s the goal, to come out and get better every time.”
Minnesota quarterback Bryan Cupito
“We missed some opportunities here and there, special teams, offense, defense. It seemed like the whole team we had opportunities at each position and we didn’t take them when we needed to.”
On the pass interference call in overtime:
“He called it, so whether he called it or not I can’t control that. It didn’t win or lose us the game. It would have helped us definitely, but I can’t do anything about it now and I’m not going to critique the officials.”
“We’re 2-4 overall, 0-3 in the Big Ten. We’re making mistakes. We’re in games and making crucial mistakes. That would be a huge win for us next week if we can go in and get a win, get the Axe and get back on track.”
On the last drive:
“We were going to go out, pass the ball and see what happened. We had some good play calls and things went well, and we came down and scored. We just need to do that more often. It was definitely a good drive by the offense.”
On the play of the receivers:
“Spaeth had a huge game, he made some huge catches. Logan Payne on a fourth down took that slant down the field, that was a huge play. Ernie had some catches and Chambers and Decker had the huge touchdown. The receivers played well today. Logan had the huge play on fourth down, Spaeth played well. If we just do that more often we’ll be all right as an offense.”
Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno
On the game:
“Good news and bad news. You hate to go ahead and in a couple of minutes, let them go right down the field in a couple plays, but you gotta give Minnesota credit. They hung in there and that kid [Bryan Cupito] made a couple great throws. We were lucky to win it but we’ll take it.’’
On the Minnesota pass interference call in overtime:
“I don’t think there was any question there was interference.’’
On his offense:
“I thought Morelli really stayed in there when things were getting tough…One of the unsung heroes is obviously Tony Hunt. I thought he gotta lot of tough yards on his own.’’
On what the win means to his 4-2 team:
“It means a lot to you. It’s a little bit like that Northwestern game [Penn State won] a year ago, when we were down 23-7 and we had to make a great play to win the game.’’
Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly
On Jason Giannini missing the extra point in overtime:
“It’s real frustrating when it happens, especially in overtime. So, I feel for (Giannini). I tried to find him after the game. I couldn’t find him. It’s a process you have to work through and I think he will be fine.”
“What happened in the Orange Bowl last year, I was in that situation last year. He is a good kicker. He just didn’t hit the ball right that time. It’s unfortunate and he will bounce back.”
“It was real emotional. We started out slow. Then we came back and I had a chance to help the team out with a field goal and I missed. That’s real frustrating. To be given to come in and hit the extra point. That’s real gratifying.”
Penn State defensive end Tim Shaw
On Jay Alford’s play:
“As good as he always is. He took advantage of the guys that were blocking him. He did what he does best. I knew he could do it. He had a big day.”
“We have a lot to learn and a lot of improvement. At the same time, we have a lot of heart so we will keep fighting and keep balanced and do what it takes to win. That is what we are all about.”
“We felt like it shouldn’t have been that close. We felt like we let them back into the game. We have had things going well for the past couple weeks. I won’t say this is a turning point for us.”
Penn State long snapper Joe Cianciolo
On the fumbled punt recovery
“A lot of times, they don’t leave me covered, so it was pretty much pure hustle.”
“It definitely turned the tide. I felt like they went down and scored real quickly. Getting that score back was a pretty big deal.”
On the play of Penn State punter Jeremy Kapinos:
“(Kapinos) has been doing a great job for us all year. My job is to get it back there so that he has no problem and he’s in rhythm. So he can hang it up there so I can go down there and make tackles or today, recover a fumble.”
Penn State linebacker Dan Connor
“That was tough but it was hard to overcome but that shows the maturity of the team to be able to do that on the road and come back and make a play.”
“That was tough but at no point did we think we let the game go or was it out of hand. It is one of those things where you have to get back in the huddle. They made a great play and you gotta line up, strap up and turn the game around.”
“It is a tough place to play. You’re indoors, the crowd is incredibly loud so coming down here and squeaking by in a close one is huge. It helps the team. It helps the guys to mature and get used to a tough game and an overtime game. It’s a great learning experience.”
Penn State Running Back Matt Hahn
“I was hoping I was going to be that open. As soon as I started running out I was hoping Morelli was going to throw a good ball, which he put right on the money, and I was able to catch it and score.”
“We are a tough team even when our back are against the wall. Getting that pass interference on fourth down and then being able to plug it into the goal line with Tony Hunt. I think it shows how tough we are.”
