.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Quotes-Penn State
10/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Penn State vs. Minnesota
October 17, 2009
Opening Statement
Obviously, disappointed to lose the football game. We didn't play well enough offensively to sustain anything really from the beginning. Give credit where credit is due. Penn State was better than we were and I thought they played extremely well. Penn State's defense is outstanding. We still, obviously, have a lot of things that we need to improve upon offensively to be a better football team, a better offensive football team. I thought our defense was very resilient for the most part, holding that football team to 20 points total. They fought their guts out. We still have an issue on third down defense and getting off the field. We have to do a better job getting off the field on third down and the third and longs are the ones that are really hurting us as a football team. But again, I'm going to give credit where credit is due. Penn State was better than we were today and Joe (Paterno) was better than I was today. They've got a good football team.
Q: You kept holding Penn State to field goals. Did you feel that if you could get something going offensively that you would be alright?
A: We were not out of the football game and, again, I give our defense great credit to hold that unit to 20 points. We never sustained anything offensively, we never really got any continuity offensively and against a good football team, you've got to be able to make a big play. I thought in the second half, we made a big play down the field and I thought we had an opportunity to knock one in and if we knocked one in, then maybe we could get some momentum going, but we just couldn't knock the football in the end zone.
Q: Talk about the goal line stand in the fourth quarter when you were stopped.
A: We had an opportunity on a scramble for Adam (Webber) to get in. We thought we had a good opportunity on the fourth down play, a toss away from (Eric) Decker, who we had in motion on the play, and we thought we had a great opportunity to get it in the end zone and to their credit they made a play and we didn't get it.
Q: How deflating was the touchdown that Penn State got right before the end of the first half?
A: It was tough. Our defense was scratching and fighting, It looked like the guy was out of bounds and there were two officials on the play, they call him out of bounds and they look at it upstairs and they say it's a touchdown.
Q: Did you find out a lot about this team today, playing in a tough environment?
A: Our football team is a resilient, tough group. Our kids are going to learn from this experience, playing the 14th-ranked team in the country. They are an outstanding football team and, obviously, playing in this environment right here is a tough environment to play in. But know what? We have no excuses. We came in here and our kids played hard. Our kids played hard until the end of the football game, but we just didn't play well enough and that's the bottom line.
Q: Derek Moye really created a lot of matchup problems. What was it about him that created a lot of matchup problems for you?
A: He's just a big body. He doesn't run real fast, but he does a great job of using his body and shielding his body. We had a smaller corner on him and he used his 6-6, 230-pound body on a much smaller defender. To (Penn State's) credit, they did a nice job. I thought (Daryll) Clark of putting the ball where he could use his body and shield defenders and make catches.
Q: What is the issue with third down on the defensive side?
A: You just have to make plays. You just have to make plays when plays are there to be made, that's all. When you have an opportunity to bat a ball, when you have an opportunity to sack the quarterback, again, it's about making plays on third down. Our guys made a lot of plays today, but it's the third downs that are the ones that continue to bite us. We just have to continue to emphasize and continue work on third down and that's exactly what we'll do.
Q: What did Penn State do with Eric Decker to limit him?
A: (Penn State) didn't do anything that anyone else doesn't do. They rolled coverage some to him. Played a lot of zone coverage. They bracketed him quite a bit. Obviously, that's what Eric Decker is going to see. To Eric's credit, he's very poised and he hung in there. That's going to be the deal for him. We know that we are going to see two and three defenders in zone coverages, they are going to slant everything to Decker. We've got to make some plays in other areas.
Q: Does it make it tough (to get the ball to Decker) when you can't run the football?
A: Absolutely. Anything on the offensive side of the football is not as good when you're not running the football.
Q: How do you think Adam Webber played today?
A: I think Adam (Webber) did some good things today. I mean, shoot, he needs help. When he gets help, obviously, the stats show up big in his favor. I don't have anything to not feel good about Adam Webber's performance. I thought he was like Houdini a few times in the second half, getting out of sacks, staying poised, throwing the football and getting first downs and doing a nice job.
Q: Penn State dominated time of possession; do you think fatigue became a factor?
A: I don't know about fatigue. I know you have to get off the field on third down, that's the bottom line. Our defense fought extremely hard all game long and we just have to do a better job of getting off the field on third downs and offensively, we have to be able to stay out there some more.
Q: D.J. Burris was a center, do you feel he was the strong one during the week?
A: Yeah, he just got most of the work this week. Trey (Davis) was not 100%. Trey could have played in the game, but I felt good about D.J. playing and we will have to take a look at how he played.
Q: How do you think your defense played against Penn State's running game?
A: I thought we did a nice job for the most part. (Penn State) got some cutbacks. They've got a good running attack. They've got a good offensive line and their backs are good backs.
Q: Why wasn't the production there between Adam Webber and Eric Decker today?
A: We had a couple of opportunities that we missed on some corner routes and on some isolation things and we just missed him a few times. That's football.
Minnesota Postgame Player Quotes
Penn State vs. Minnesota
October 17, 2009
#8 Adam Weber
Jr./Jr., Quarterback
Q: First plays of drives it seemed like you couldn't get off to a good start. Can you talk about that?
A: Yes. When you get behind the chains against a great defense, you're going to hurt yourself. They will give you some completions, but it's only for five or six yards and then you are fighting for those extra yards to get a first down. I think Coach Fisch told me we had 44 plays on offense, which is not good enough. You are not going to put up enough points; you're not going to be able to do enough stuff on offense that you want to do. You won't be able to keep the defense off the field if you are running only 44 plays.
Q: Are you frustrated?
A: Very frustrated. This game hurts because granted, they're a great team, but we really felt that we worked hard enough and we had the right personnel and game plan to go into this game and compete better than we did.
Q: Do you feel that you would have a chance if you would've punched it in down by the one yard line?
A: Sure, definitely. As long as there's time on the clock, you have to think you are going to win. When we got on the one-yard line, I thought it was a smart and safe call, and we had the opportunity to score. That kind of sums up our offense today. We had opportunities and we couldn't get that extra foot.
#27 Kyle Theret
Jr./Jr., Defensive Back
Q: Can you evaluate the play of the defense?
A: I though we played well. I thought we made some good plays in the first half and holding them to field goals is a big thing for us. We can't give up touchdowns like that when it's a field position game.
Q: It seemed like you struggled on third down and were one play away from making this an interesting game. Can you talk about that?
A: In order for us to be successful for the rest of the year, we have to get off the field on third down. That's been our downfall this whole season. We have to learn how to improve it. So that's going to be the big thing for our defensive game to get off the field on third down.
Q: What do you guys do after a loss like this?
A: Study the film tomorrow, see what we can improve on, and clean slate and don't let Penn State beat us twice. We have a big game this weekend on the road in Ohio. It's not going to be hard to be motivated for that and we will use this game for motivation.
#30 Lee Campbell
Sr./Sr, Linebacker
Q: You only allowed 20 points, but was it the third down defense that stuck out?
A: Yes, plus we didn't cause any turnovers. We lost the turnover battle and third downs. Those are two really big statistics that will determine who wins the game. We didn't do good enough and we have a tough game next week. We will definitely get in the film rooms tomorrow and work out the kinks and get ready for a good Ohio State team.
Q: If the offense would have scored a touchdown, would that have changed the phase of the game you think?
A: Anytime your offense puts points on the board, it's going to change the phase of the game. To be a good defense you have to handle adversity well. In some situations we did it and in some situations we didn't. We need to work on the little stuff and become a good defense and get off the field on third down.
Q: When the time of possession becomes lopsided, does that wear the defense down?
A: No, we train to play for 60 minutes. It's a team effort and it's another opportunity to go out there and play football for me.
