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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Postgame Quotes - vs. South Dakota State
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
POSTGAME QUOTES
Minnesota (6-5, 3-4) 16, South Dakota State (7-3, 6-1) 13
Nov. 14, 2009 – TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minn.
Attendance: 50,805 (sellout) - Kickoff: 11:04 a.m. (CT)
Minnesota Head Coach Tim Brewster
On offensive performance today:
"I wasn't pleased with some of the things I saw today, particularly from an offensive standpoint. As far as protecting the quarterback and making some plays, we had time of possession really in our favor. Third down conversions, obviously three of sixteen is not acceptable. It's not acceptable. Against any team it's not acceptable. We did enough to win the football game and we're pleased to win the football game but we still didn't play very well, particularly on offense."
On Simoni Lawrence's interception and role of turnovers today:
"That was a big play and we really played well defensively. I think we gave up a couple of plays but overall defensively I thought we played the way we needed to play. I'm disappointed that we gave up a couple returns in the kicking game, that's something we've been sharp at. Overall, again like I said, pleased to get the victory but we've got some things we need to work on before we head down to Iowa City."
On how the kicking game affected the game:
"Eric (Ellestad) again, all season long, has been very solid kicking field goals. We need to do a better job with the kickoffs, kicking the ball off. That last squib we obviously wanted to hit a whole lot harder than that. We really wanted to drive the ball in that situation and we didn't do that. Again, Blake Haudan had eight punts, he averaged almost 44 yards per punt. He's been a good punter for us all year."
On running a no-huddle offense against South Dakota State:
"We were calling the plays at the line of scrimmage and really giving the quarterback some time at the line of scrimmage to look at the defense and get us in and out of different plays. That was beneficial."
On defense being short-handed after the Simmons injury:
"We’ve had some issues (with injuries). Ryan Orton played for Matt Carufel on offense and this time of year guys are going to have to step up and really play. Again, defensively I think we stepped up and did some really big things today."
On Michael Carter's sack on O'Brien, leading to a Minnesota score on the fumble return:
"That was a great job on the blitz. We brought Michael (Carter) off the corner and he did a great job of getting the quarterback and D.L. (Wilhite) did a great job scoring. We got good pressure and forced the quarterback into some bad throws throughout the game, again like I said defensively I thought we were pretty solid. We only gave up 12 first downs in the game and were only on the field (defensively) for 25 minutes."
Freshman DE D.L. Wilhite
On his fumble recovery for a touchdown:
"Obviously Mike Carter made a great play. The quarterback just threw it up, and it seemed like it just hung there forever, so I was able to grab it and run it in."
On SDSU's quarterback, Thomas O'brien:
"We were able to get after him a lot, but he was still out there making some great plays."
Senior LB Lee Campbell
On the victory:
"Any time you win it feels like a victory. A win's a win. It wasn't pretty, but we got it done."
On defense controlling the game:
"We're focused on one play at a time. The defense has to help the offense, and the offense has to help the defense and the special teams. It's a team effort for a reason, and today I think we showed it."
On how Minnesota prepared for today's game:
"We prepared the same way that we do for every game. South Dakota State, I give credit to their defense. They played well.
Junior C D.J. Burris
On how the offense played early:
"I mean, we were moving it pretty easily in the first couple drives. Maybe we got satisfied, and a guy missed something here, and another missed something there. It seemed like the rest of the time we were kind of off rhythm."
On whether SDSU's defense did anything, unexpected:
"No they didn't run anything different than what we have seen. After we went down the field a couple of times in the first quarter, and then they started blitzing and putting more pressure, so that's where some of our problems came, I guess. There were a little bit of communication issues."
On how injuries affected the team:
"It might hurt a little bit, but I mean in practice we all play together so much. We're constantly rotating guys in here and there, so we're ready for when things happen like that."
Junior quarterback Adam Weber
On how the team feels after the game…
“It’s a win. We’re bowl eligible, and we came away with the W. The defense has every reason to be joyful and excited, but our offense has to realize that we can’t play the way we did. That is the way we’re going to lose football games. Our defense did a heck of a job, the offense struggled. We came away with the win, and we are going to take that into Iowa and try and get the pig and give them our best shot.”
On SDSU’s effort…
“They’re football players. It doesn’t matter what school you go to. You have to have pride in yourself and the school you go to. They came out today and we knew that a team like this will build off momentum. If we give them any shot and don’t make plays they will feed off that, and they did. We didn’t do our job on offense picking up crucial third downs and even getting ourselves in third and long. We allowed them to make plays on us, and they did a heck of a job making plays, bringing blitzes and not sitting back on their heels because they are playing a Big Ten team. We didn’t do a great job of answering their call.”
Junior kicker Eric Ellestad
On how the wind affected his kicks…
“One second it was going from left to right and the next it was going from right to left. The wind was just unpredictable today.”
On the change of the kickoff style…
“I worked on it a lot and we actually changed up our strategy a little bit. They got a couple big plays off of it so we switched it back, and there were no problems after that.”
On how his confidence has changed since the beginning of the season…
“When I went into Syracuse, I just had the feeling that it was another kick, and kicked it. Now, I think I have the confidence that I will make it when I am called on.”
