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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Postgame Quotes - Iowa
11/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota (6-6, 3-5) 0 at Iowa (10-2, 8-2) 12
Nov. 21, 2009
Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Minnesota Head Coach Tim Brewster
Opening statement
"Obviously, it was a heartbreaking defeat. If you look at the numbers, our defense played extremely well. They played better than extremely well. Offensively, we had opportunities we couldn't capitalize on and didn't take advantage of. In a big game like this, taking advantage of the opportunities you get is the key to the game. That was the story of the football game. I couldn't be prouder of our football team, period. They came in here and fought their absolute guts out. We had an opportunity to win the game and didn't quite get it done. It hurts, it stings, it's all of that, but again, these kids played their guts out today."
On Iowa's fourth-quarter goal line stand
"Iowa is in the top ten in defense in the country. They're an outstanding defensive football team. A lot of the problems that we had today, offensively, were certainly a result of the Iowa defense. We had opportunities against an outstanding defensive football team to make some plays that we didn't make and we need to make those plays when they present themselves. But again, I give great credit to Iowa's defense. Their whole defense is excellent. They've got as good a front four as there is around. They play well in coverage."
On assessing his offense overall
"The consistency we're looking for is not there. The fact we lost our best player, Eric Decker, and that we didn't have Brandon Green today in the passing game hurt us. Not having that experience on the field. We had some very good offensive games this season, and we had some poor offensive outputs. Am I pleased? No I'm not. We're going to continue to work to get better and do the things you have to do to get better, offensively.
On battling frustration
"It's tough, when your defense is playing as hard as they're playing and doing the things that they're doing. Again though, we knew what we were getting into today. Iowa is a great defensive football team, top ten in the country. They didn't get there by accident. They got there because they're really good. We weren't as good as we needed to be offensively."
On regaining confidence going into the bowl game
"We just have to keep going to work. We have so many young kids playing. We had a lot of freshman receivers playing today. We have a lot of young guys that have to continue to grow and get better. We just have to continue to go to work, every single day, to continue to improve and get better. I promise you this much, when you have a group of kids that works like our kids, fighting and working, they're going to get better."
