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University of Minnesota Athletics
Northwestern Quotes
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
POSTGAME QUOTES
Northwestern (7-2, 3-2) 24, Minnesota (7-2, 3-2) 17
Attendance: 54,122
November 1, 2008
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
What is it like to get that big play:
“We played pretty well the entire year on defense. We kept talking on the sideline about our opportunity is going to come to make a play. We thought we were close earlier in the game. It was a great tip by David Oredagba and a tremendous interception and a great run. It was a great job for our entire defense having an awareness to stay up and block in front of the ball carrier and it was just a great run.”
On turnovers and the game plan:
“At the end of the day, we finally got the big one that mattered. I thought that Mike managed the game well. We like to have one throw back. But outside of that I thought that he managed the game really well. I am really proud of our coaches. They stepped up. I thought that we had a good game plan. The guys bought into it earlier in the week. I thought we really got better this week in practice and it showed today. I thought that we kept fighting. It was obviously the biggest crowd that they have had this year. It was a hostile environment and I thought that our guys handled it well.”
On guys stepping up to play:
“Like I said Monday at the press conference, when a guy goes down it is unfortunate and your heart pours out for them. It is a member of your family that gets banged up. The way that you can raise them up the most is to step up for them and that is what our guys did today. Mike stepped up for C.J and he stepped up for our entire football team. I thought that Omar Conteh played well. The play of our defense gave us an opportunity to win the football game. I don’t know what the yards are in the football game but I feel that we won field position and the seven times that we have won that battle, we have won games.”
On today’s game:
“I believe that we are a disciplined football team. I believe that it goes back to the young men that we recruited. We recruit high character people who understand to win a football game you have to fight, scratch, and claw for 60 minutes and good things are going to happen for you, you just don’t know which play it is going to happen to you. I thought our guys did a nice job continuing to fight. My hat’s off to Tim Brewster and his staff and their program. Minnesota has obviously improved from a year ago. They took everything we had today to fight and scratch to win. Our hats are off to them and I am really proud of our guys.”
Northwestern Players
Safety Brendan Smith
On his interception returned for a touchdown:
“It was the end of the game and I made a big play. The defense did a good job blocking, which allowed me to get into the end zone and get the win.”
On turnovers:
“It’s a 60-minute game and you never know when turnovers are going to come. You have to always be prepared to do your job on every single play. It seems so simple to say, but it’s really a tough job to keep yourself focused on the play. Sometimes you try and get in the play, but you do too much. You need to rely on your teammates and hope they can help in the play.”
On Northwestern’s defense:
“It was a great game. The defensive line really did their job. Everyone did a great job to get the victory. It was an overall team effort today. Offensive, defensive and special teams all came through when we needed it.”
Wide Receiver Jeremy Ebert
On quarterback Mike Kafka’s performance:
“Mike prepares every week like he’s going to start. We were ready from the start and it wasn’t much of a change for us offensively. The offensive line played great, which let Mike make awesome plays all day. He really stepped up for us today.”
On his touchdown catch:
“It was man coverage with the defender inside. Then I beat him over the top. Mike threw a great ball, which starts with the protection by the offensive line.”
On Brendan Smith’s interception:
“It was unbelievable. All the wide receivers were on the bench and just went nuts. Words can’t really describe what happened.”
Quarterback Mike Kafka
On Northwestern’s game plan:
“The game plan coming in was to take care of the football. Our offensive line played great. They gave us the opportunity for the playmakers to go out there and score some points. We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and take care of the football.”
On Minnesota’s defense:
“I think they’re an aggressive team. They were flowing hard and hitting hard. I know I took a couple hits. However, the majority of the game our offensive line took a lot of hits off of me. They kept giving me cutback lanes and I took advantage of them.
On responding to Minnesota taking the lead:
“Our coaches do a great job of telling us that when adversity hits, just to flush it away. At that point in the game there was still a lot of clock left. We took the approach of getting back in the game and start fighting. I love the way our team responded today. Our team responded very well after losing last week. I’m really excited for the rest of the year.”
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