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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Northwestern Quotes
10/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Minnesota Quotes
Minnesota Head Coach Tim Brewster
On today...
"It's hard to find words right now. It's just gut-wrenching to lose that football game today, with the effort that our kids put into it. We just didn't make the play to win the football game. I feel for our kids because our kids poured it out there today and they didn't get the reward. That's really disappointing for our kids. There are a lot of young players. We're in perfect position to make a couple of plays to win the football game and we don't. We'll go back and we'll look at the performance. The kids played their hearts out and did a lot of things well, obviously, but not enough to win. That's the disappointing thing. These kids are absolutely crushed."
On TE Eric Lair's contributions...
"Eric's a good tight end. He gets better and better every time he gets on the field. I thought we utilized him well today on the back side of the slot."
On the Gophers' offense...
"I can't say enough about what these kids put into it. I thought the coaches had a really good game plan offensively. We had them off balance. We ran the ball on them extremely well in the second half, but just didn't make the play to win the football game."
Minnesota Players
QB Adam Weber
On the team's response after a tough non-conference run...
"The entire season has been pretty tough, but we keep bouncing back every week. We're a strong team, a team that's strong in character and integrity so I'm happy with how we responded this week."
On his feelings after the game...
"Coming out it was a great crowd and a beautiful day on homecoming, but to lose a game like that it's tough."
On the Gophers' defense...
"Our defense came out and played a great game. They gave us some crucial, crucial turnovers. Northwestern came out up 7-0 and I believe they were driving again. Give credit to our defense for playing a heck of a game, bending and not breaking and coming up with some big plays.
On the way the game ended...
"It's really too bad. All you can ask for is having the ball with a chance to win at the end of the game and we had that. Unfortunately, we came up short."
On the run-first game plan...
"You have to stay with the game plan. (Northwestern's players) are on scholarship too. They are going to make some big plays. You can't run the ball and get eight yards every single time. But, by running the ball and by showing similar looks it makes them commit more to the run and when they do that it opens up some big plays for us. Some of those big plays we got wouldn't have been so open if we had not stuck with the run game."
On the final drive...
"We practice that situation quite a bit and we're pretty confident with our two-minute offense. But it's not always going to be perfect and sometimes it's all about making plays. We gave ourselves an opportunity. It was a great call by coach Horton on the QB boot to get on their side of the field. It's just too bad that we weren't able to execute in that final critical moment of the game because that would have been a great way to cap off the game."
On carrying the load in today's game...
"Everygame, [Donnell] Kirkwood, [Duane] Bennett and I feel like you are going to get some plays.Coach [Brewster] always says he is going to go with the strong hand. I was having a good game, so he just let me continue to carry it out."
On what was working so well today...
"Just the blocking, The whole offensive line just did a tremendous job blocking and the holes were there."
On how tough is the loss...
"It was extremley tough, every loss is tough. Going into Big Ten play we wanted to come out with victories. It is a huge disappointment, but I think we are going to bounce back and play better next week."
On does the slide feel like 2008?
"We got a lot of returning players from that year and I think the team and even the coaches are just trying to stay together as a team. We have been drilling that and I don't see a lot of players departing from us being a team. So as long as we stay as a family and play hard ever game despite the outcome it will start the momentum towards next season.
TE Eric Lair
On ability to get open with today's gameplan...
"We worked on play-action all week and setting up corner routes to the post. I knew I was going to be open. I knew it was going to be there, me and [Adam Weber] worked on it all week and even after practice."
On catching passes from Duane Bennett...
"Everyday since two-a-days, we work on it every single day. We worked together so much that he saw the defender on the side of me, he led me enough so I could go up and get the ball."
On would a victory over Wisconsin overshadow the rest of the season...
"Definitely, I think it will help us move forward from all of these loses. Once we play the game, we put everything behind us regardless of the result. So when we're playing Wisconsin, we focus on Wisconsin. A win would help us gain momentum going into next season."
LB Gary Tinsley
On the defense overall...
"I think we played a pretty good game. Coach Brewster gave us a good game plan and we just went out there and tried to execute it and to make no mistakes-we just tried to play everything right. They made some plays and we made some plays and that's how everything came down."
On containing quarterback Dan Persa...
"He was a pretty good quarterback-a speedy guy. It was tough trying to get him, but we worked all week on trying to contain him. He's a pretty good player."
On Persa's big third down play...
"We made some adjustments at halftime to try and contain him, but he got out on some [plays]. Everyone did their jobs and he just snuck out."
DB Kyle Theret
On trying to contain quarterback Dan Persa...
"Guys like that are always tough. You got a lot of them in them in the Big Ten. He's a small, shifty guy and it's tough when you take away some aspect of the game and you really can't control that. The guy just comes in and does the fundamentals-staying in our gaps and people are doing their jobs, but those quarterback scrambles killed us and we can't have that."
On the feeling going into the half...
"We've been confident all year and we felt like we could've won any game this year. We expect to be winning at half time and we came in wanting to put the pedal to the metal and that's something we've really struggled with-finishing. That's what we were trying to fix this year and that's what it comes down to-finishing. When we have a lead like that in the third quarter against a Big Ten team, with the season we're having, we have to learn how to finish."
On the locker room atmosphere at halftime...
"It was pretty much how it was before the game. We were confident and we just said we have to keep doing what we're doing-keep doing our job. We made some adjustments. We pretty much knew what we were going to get into,it was going to be a dogfight, it was going to be close. It always is with Northwestern. We knew we had to come out and finish that second half, but there's a difference between knowing it and doing it."
Northwestern Quotes
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement...
"It is great to come up on the road and find a way to go 1-0. We had overcome a lot of self-inflicted wounds: turnovers in the red zone and giving up big plays from a lack of discipline and focus in our eyes on defense. I have to give Minnesota, Tim [Brewster] and his staff a lot of credit. Schematically they did a great job. They put a lot of pressure on you from a standpoint on what they are trying to do and execute. I thought we adjusted well at halftime and found a way to come out and win in the end. Arguably, outside of the extra point that we did not get, I thought this may have been one of our better special team performances of the year. I thought we controlled the field position and it gave us an opportunity to make them play on a long field."
On the difference between the first half and second...
"I thought we moved the ball really well in the first half. We just shot ourselves in the foot with a couple of turnovers in the red zone. We have been pretty good at that in the first four games. I have got to give Minnesota credit. They pulled the ball out and that is something that we cannot have happen and we need to fix. I thought they were putting their hand on the ball really well."
On the mistakes...
"Just a lack of focus and discipline with our eyes. It was not anything magical. They were things we practiced and it was disappointing. So to find a way to win a Big Ten game on the road and go 1-0 and have a lot to coach is encouraging. This stuff has got to get fixed and we will work diligently to get it fixed. We cannot have that happen and continue to win football games."
On quarterback Dan Persa...
"He is one of the best players in the country in my opinion. The guy makes plays. He is tough. He executes our offense. He gets battered around and gets right back up. He throws a pick, flushes it and comes back. He fumbles a ball, flushes it and comes back. At halftime he just talked to the guys about settling down, refocusing, and coming out and winning this football game. That is Dan Persa as a leader. That was before any of the coaches got into the locker room. I walked in and heard him and I could not have been more proud of him. He is one heck of a football player and I am glad he is on our side."
Northwestern Players
QB Dan Persa
On difficulty staying confident after first half mistakes?
"Not really, my teammates keep telling me to be confident at all times and I didn't want to let them down so that was my diving force the whole game."
On being more annoyed by the fumble or interception...
"Both, but probably the interception more. It was a first down and fumbles are going to happen but interceptions, I can totally control that. It was a stupid throw, on first down I should just throw it away"
On having a short term memory...
"Earlier in the season I did a bad job of flushing things and getting rid of them, but Coach Fitz has stressed to me especially never having bad body language. That each play is its own entity and just take it as that"
WR Jeremy Ebert
On his touchdown catch...
"It was a great feeling. They had great coverage. Dan[Persa] trusted it and threw it before I was even open and I was lucky enough to go up and make a play"
On Dan Persa's play...
"That's just been him all season too, just stepping up and it's him as a competitor. He's a great competitor and he steps on when we need him to and that's what quarterbacks are supposed to do. I'm glad he's on my team"
LB Bryce McNaul
On coming back home...
"It was kind of a trip you know. Going through high school watching the Gophers, you couldn't help it with them being in your backyard. Actually, I grew up in Wisconsin so I'm just a Big Ten fan at large, but it's a dream come true when you're out there playing Big Ten football and Fitz [head coach Pat Fitzgerald] explained that to us, to the guys that hadn't been in the Big Ten arena and it lived up to the bill. They are a big team upfront, and to their credit they played very hard. It's a big win for us and shows that we can win these close games, and the good teams do."
On Minnesota's size up front being a factor in the rushing game
"They had some success against us. They're definitely are the biggest offensive line we played against so far this season and probably one of the biggest that we will. The Gophers and probably Wisconsin and Iowa, but every Big Ten offensive line is going to want to come out and hit you in the mouth and be able to run the ball and their size helped them do that, but we like our chances when we are out there swinging with anybody."
