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University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
10/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Oct. 22, 2016
TCF Bank Stadium
Rutgers at Minnesota
Tracy Claeys, Minnesota Head Coach
On his message to the team after the win…
"Our offense gave us a chance. We moved the ball and had a chance to score. We did a great job of finishing but I don't care how big the lead gets early in the game. You are playing against quality, Big Ten opponents and they are going to keep fighting. For some reason, I guess we thought that because they hadn't won a game in the Big Ten that they were just going to lay down with the big lead. So it's a lesson to be learned there but again we made the plays at the end that we needed to make and now we go back to work on fixing some things."
On the shift of energy after going up big…
"All of a sudden we had some three-and-outs and defensively we couldn't stop the run. You can just tell when you are down there. Kids are kids, if you can ever solve that, you are going to make a lot of money. One thing they do is they compete. They compete hard. The defense came up with a big stop there at the end that we had to have and our offense went down the field. Emmitt (Carpenter) made up for his missed field goal and hit a big one there for us to win. Whether they are ugly or whatever, they are all wins and they count the same. They all feel pretty good when they are done."
On Rodney Smith's performance the last couple weeks…
"You watch any team in the country and you ride your best horse. There is no question, everybody is doing it. We are fortunate to have him on our team. We game plan a lot around him and Shannon (Brooks) both. We try to get them involved. They want to be involved in special teams which is a good thing. Some kids don't. They did their part. One thing we struggled with the defensive line moving around on us in the second half. That's something as a staff that we have to discuss. The fourth-and-short threw us off when they moved. That's what people are doing right now that's giving us a little trouble in the running game. That's something we have to figure out as a coaching staff."
On the plan at the end of the game…
"Emmitt (Carpenter) was solid there at the end. Nobody feels worse about missing one than him. We started somewhere around the 40-yard line. Since we had the good field position we thought we should get a few first downs. They had two timeouts so if we could get them to use those two timeouts then we would play for a field goal. They did a good job. Our offense in that situation has driven the ball down the field all year. I'm pleased with them getting us down there. I'm pleased with the defense making a play. But we have a lot to work on before the next one. We are back to even in the Big Ten after starting 0-2. We are in a position where we can do somethings if we continue to get better."
Mitch Leidner, Minnesota Quarterback
On coming back from injury...
"It has been an interesting process, I'd say. A lot of ups and downs. Last week was pretty tough for me, but luckily after not traveling to Maryland I was able to feel pretty decent on Sunday. I felt pretty confident I would be ready to go today."
On his desire to get back on the field…
"Anytime you are sidelined with something, you want to get back out there at all costs. The concussion deal was unique because it really isn't something you can just play through. It was challenging for me because I felt like throughout most of my career I have done a good job of staying in games and being able to play through different injuries."
Rodney Smith, Minnesota Running Back
On his kick return touchdown…
"They had everyone over to left boundary and only two guys on the right side. All I had to do was beat the kicker. I didn't have to do much because it was great blocking."
On the timing of his touchdown…
"I'm the type of guy who tries to provide a spark for anybody that needs it with a big play. Whether that's on special teams or offense. In the back of my mind I didn't have to do much, I just ran it."
Damarius Travis, Minnesota Defensive Back
On if Rutgers offense did anything unexpected…
"No, they pretty much did everything they did on film. We knew their quarterback could run the ball and we knew he could pass the ball."
On mindset on interception to end first half…
"I just wanted a touchback. I saw 12 seconds left on the clock so I just thought to go down and take it to halftime."
Emmit Carpenter, Minnesota Kicker
On his mindset on the last drive…
"I had a ton of confidence in the offense. I knew they would either get it down field and get a touchdown or get in field goal range. As I was running out there I was just really excited for the opportunity to go out there and have a kick like that. Just confident in myself and confident in my holder and snapper. They always do a great job."
On freezing the kicker and what that does to him…
"I went out there with the expectation that they were going to use that timeout. I just took the time to gather myself and relax a little bit more and just think through the situation."
Chris Ash, Rutgers University coach
Overall thoughts…
"I can't express how proud I am of our players. The effort they have continued to put forth. The preparation they had throughout the week. A lot of people have written this team off; this group of individuals off and they just keep coming back to work every single day and we are getting better. They went out and took Minnesota's best punch in the start of the first quarter. Minnesota came out, had a good game plan and started the game off fast. If you don't have good character kids, you fold and in that situation. Especially with that losing streak that we have been on the last few games. We have great kids that care, want to do things right, have a chance to be successful, and play so hard for each other.
On Giovanni (Rescigno) performance….
"A lot of heart, a lot of spirit. Made a lot of plays. It wasn't perfect. Had a misread on the interception at the end of the first half. We wanted to fade to Carlton (Agudosi) where it was a fairly safe throw and he saw something from the safety that took his eyes to a different read and that's due to some inexperience. You know we had a fumble as well as another interception into coverage where they rolled up, but I thought Gio played his heart out for his first start. Really happy for the kid and excited about what he can do as we move forward. ."
On Special Teams…
"Well, it starts by kicking the ball better. We had the interception for the touchdown. We go out and miss the extra point. We had a lot of defensive players that were on field that ran a lot on the interception return for a touchdown. We wanted to go sky with the kick. Have a short kick and hopefully force a fair catch because we had a lot of tired guys run down on that kickoff.
Giovanni Rescigno, Rutgers Quarterback
On game day preparation…
"I think it went really well. I don't think I went out there nervous at all. I think I owe that to the preparation throughout the week. I was making sure I was calm. We just want to play football the way we do in practice."
On team mentality…
"We just keep staying positive. That's kinda the epitome of what we are as a team. No matter what happens we keep working hard, keep running, and we will be alright."
Andre Patton, Rutgers Wide Receiver
On team's mentality…
"We need to go out and win, go out and do our job to the best of our ability. I felt like we all did that."
On bouncing back from today's loss…
"At this point we just have to keep our spirit and keep our heads high. We didn't come out and not execute and not do well. We came out and did a lot of good things on the field. There are just sometimes where we have to finish certain situations and if we do that we can come out with a win."
On upcoming bye week…
"I think it will give us time to get our bodies right and minds right. It will give us some time to get healthy."
