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University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Nov. 5, 2016
TCF Bank Stadium
Purdue at Minnesota
Tracy Claeys, Minnesota Head Coach
On his overall thoughts...
"I thought for the way the first half ended, I told our kids to have a next-play mentality. That's all I told them at half time. Forget what's happened, go out there and play hard, do what you are supposed to do, play every play at your best and we will get what we deserve in the end. I think in the second half we played awfully well and created some turnovers, kept the ball in front of us. The offense continues to take the turnovers and turn them into points. I was very pleased with the way we reacted in the first half."
On what happened at the end of the first half...
"We'd been getting behind them so I told the guys, `Let's throw the ball deep and go four verticals.' Obviously that did not get communicated so that's my fault. At least it didn't get communicated to Mitch [Leidner] so that's my fault. I thought we would try and get behind them and throw it up and see what happens. It didn't get communicated that way so that's my fault. There is a lot of plays in that game and there was a lot of time left. Our kids took advantage of it."
On if the team heeded his halftime message...
"I don't think there is any question about that. We have a good team and they know what they are capable of doing. We were within a score and anytime you are within one score anything can happen. Defensively, I think they did a great job in second half of getting that thing shut down and getting us field position. Ryan [Santoso] punted the ball better and Emmit Carpenter came out and got us right off the bat with the 50-plus-yard field goals. We made it a little more difficult than we had to but we got things done and we are right where we want to be."
Mitch Leidner, Minnesota Quarterback
On feelings going into halftime after the interception…
"I mean it was something that was frustrating at first, but once I got into the locker room, I could see the guys start rallying. So we knew we were going to come back and not let that instance define us as a team."
On the team feeling of winning four straight games in Big Ten play…
"It feels really good. We are really happy with where we are at right now going into the last three games of the season. I love being around these guys every single day in practice. There is a lot of competitive spirit with these guys and it's fun to be around."
Rodney Smith, Minnesota Running Back
On his determination to get back into the game after an injury…
"I just was nervous. I panicked. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but as a running back, and I hurt my ankle last year, I was nervous about it. Once I settled down, I knew it wasn't that bad."
On his feeling about scoring the game-sealing touchdown at the end of the fourth…
"It felt good. I didn't have to do much. The line blocked well, great play call, and all I had to do was beat the linebacker."
Gerad Parker, Purdue Head Coach
"Our guys battle our tails off. So proud of them. Just puts tears in my eyes not to be able to get them to point where they are able to finish...We got to do that and relate to them that it is not okay for us to finish short and just be close. Those guys are battling their tails off and I truly believe in my heart that there is a lot of mental game to this, then there is physical, but they certainly fought their hearts out. Certainly didn't quit and got to do things better all those things…We will get back to it and I will continue to give every ounce of my body to this program, to the players and the coaches, to try to make them happy and continue to enjoy their college experiences rest of these three weeks."
On the thought process of the fourth down play call…..
"The thought process was that they called a timeout. We struggled in the first half when we didn't get one when we snuck, so we thought let's run a play we ran hundreds and hundreds of times to similar looks. They brought pressure inside. We didn't climb to well enough to get six inches. That was the thought process and gave David (Blough) the option of pulling it and we thought we had options to take care of it and we didn't get it done.
On scoring points in the second half…..
"It will be tough without looking, but we sure sputtered out and the biggest thing is that we turned it over again…But there is also no secret that when you are not able to hand the ball off, for a yard or so, that is a factor in a game...There is nobody in the world that loves to throw the football like I do. I mean we got to throw to much right now and those things effect, but turnovers, too…"
Cameron Posey, Purdue Wide Receiver
On the offense struggling in the second half...
"That's obviously the case. I don't really know exactly why, I don't know if anyone knows why, but that's definitely a problem that we need to fix right now. We come out playing with a lot of energy and making a lot of plays in the first half, and for whatever reason not being able to do it in the second half. I know that Coach Parker is definitely going to stress that this week and going forward, but that's our main focus right now, to come out and make plays in the second half as well."
On being happy with the way he played…
"Yeah, but I think at the end of the day you really just care about winning. I could care less if I had 500 yards, if we don't win, it means nothing to me. It's all about winning or losing. I don't think anyone on our team is selfish like that. No one really cares about personal stats, it's more about the team and team effort, and if we can win the game or not."
On going into the last drive…
"You always feel confident going out there with your offense and you do great work every week and practice those specific situations, so we felt confident. It's just whether or not you go out there and execute those plays or not."
