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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota-Ohio State Postgame Quotes
10/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Opening Statement...
"Obviously Ohio State was the dominating football team tonight. They beat us in all three phases of the football game. They came out moving the ball and scoring. I thought we answered really well in the beginning to tie the score up. We just had trouble slowing them down. We broke down defensively. We did not protect as well as we wanted to."
On Ohio State's response to Minnesota's first drive...
"They just kept doing what they do. Their front seven is great and strong and hard to run against. When the game starts turning and you are not running the ball, then you are playing into their strengths. That is when it started to get away from us a little bit."
On the young players getting in on defense...
"We did some good things with it. We did a good job rotating some people in there. Obviously Ohio State is just a better football team than where we are at this point in time right now. We tried to do things against them and tried to make some things happen and force issues, but they did a great job in responding."
Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel
Opening Statement ...
"Well, we knew they would come out trying to throw the ball deep, and max protecting and so forth. To their credit, they put together a good drive there to even it at seven. I thought our guys did a good job making some plays offensively, and then defensively, and obviously special teams with the blocked punt. The defensive score at the end was obviously decisive. I think the reality of our situation is that we get to head home tomorrow and catch up a little bit academically and get some guys healthy and then we've really got to look and see where we've got to get better. There were some obvious things like kickoff coverage, and you can't miss field goals. There are probably a multitude of things that we've got to get better if we're going to go into November and have a chance to contend for the conference championship, so we'll make great use of this week."
On the play of RB Dan Herron and QB Terrelle Pryor...
"[Herron] is a player. He has good vision and breaks tackles and we really think he lifts us up. Terrelle I thought really did a good job. That one big step-up run was huge for us at a time when we needed about a 30-some-yarder, and he came up with some big passes."
On taking a timeout before Minnesota's punt and then scoring near the end of the first half...
"You always are discussing about when you're going to use your timeouts near the end. You don't want to do it too quickly because all of a sudden you give them more time to make good on a score. The last thing we wanted them to do was score at the end of the half and then get the ball to start the second half. Once it became apparent they were going to be punting the ball to us, we wanted to get that clock stopped and get lined up to after the punt a little bit."
Minnesota Player Quotes
Keanon Cooper, LB
On the Ohio State running game...
"They weren't real complicated, they just ran right at us. We just have to make stops. Every guy needs to do what they need to do. A lot of times we missed assignments and we have to hold ourselves accountable on every play continuously throughout all 60 minutes of the game."
On allowing big plays on third down...
"Anytime you get a team on third down and you have a chance to get off the field, you have to take advantage of it. We work so hard to get a team in a third and long or any third down situation. I wouldn't say it's discouraging, but we have to make those plays and get off the field and give our offense an opportunity to get points on the board."
On Ohio State's offense compared to Wisconsin's...
"I wouldn't say they are the same, but they didn't do anything different. Obviously they're a good offense, but we have to make stops on defense. As far as that goes, we only made them punt two or three times and as a defense, that's unacceptable."
DeLeon Eskridge, RB
On feeling after scoring right after Ohio State first touchdown...
"The feeling was good. I was real excited. I knew that on that play, basically, I wanted to try my hardest to get in. I didn't want to leave any extra plays or chance for us not to score. It was open and they opened it up and it was a happy experience."
On whether the missed field goal was deflating...
"I would say no. I mean, it was a close game. I didn't think it was too vital. We wanted the points, but you can't really blame anybody for that. It's pretty much we have to just keep the chains moving and try to just score points more than, I guess, just kick field goals."
Ohio State Players
Zach Domincome, SS
On what it meant to score on the fumble recovery...
"It meant a lot, having grown up watching the Buckeyes, it meant a lot."
On scoring against Minnesota...
"I actually thought I was owed one against Minnesota, I returned a kickoff against them last year and they called it back."
Cameron Heyward, DE
On stepping up the pressure after the Minnesota touchdown...
"I think they had some quick passes, but we just needed to settle down and keep our composure on the road. I think our guys stepped up to the plate."
On what the win means...
"We just need to build on the result. We got great pressure from the linebackers, and we need to just keep getting better."
Terrelle Pryor, Quarterback
On evaluating his night...
"I think the offense played great. We needed the good start from an offensive perspective because we have not played very well on the road. We really needed this game to start early."
