.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Postgame Quotes
8/31/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Aug. 31, 2017
TCF Bank Stadium
Buffalo at Minnesota
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota Head Coach
On his general thoughts on the game…
"We have got to be able to play better. We had to do what we had to do to win the football game. That's exactly what we did. Our defense was playing outstanding. We knew that we couldn't lose the game on offense. When you get to the point where you're missing field goals, you throw an interception in the end zone, you're moving the ball really well and you stop yourself, you have to make sure as a head football coach you don't keep beating yourself and don't finish beating yourself on the final score. I probably agree with most people that you want to make it more wide open and we would like to do things. But things that we were doing, we would stop ourselves. But you have to give credit to our defense. I thought they were outstanding tonight. I thought our quarterbacks played really well at times and they moved the ball really well. We will continue to give them more the more they can handle. But they have to continue to get better and grow. One thing they don't have is experience. They don't have anything to reflect back on. Everything they do is for the first time. You've got two first-year starters, who have never really played college football running the offense. I'm just proud they found a way to win, proud of our special teams, I thought (Ryan) Santoso had an incredible night. (Emmit) Carpenter comes back. I have all the faith in him in the world. I will never stop kicking him. It was fourth-and-1 to end the game and I thought I would end it with Emmit. I thought he came back with incredible resiliency. I'm proud of our guys for finishing the job. We have a lot to get better at and a lot to improve on."
On the second-half run game…
"I think those 1-to-2-yard runs in the first quarter become 2-to-3-yard runs in the second quarter and all of a sudden they become 15-, 16-yard runs. You have to give Buffalo a lot of credit. Lance Leipold is in his third year and he is transforming that program. They had everybody back from last year, added a ton of guys and they were hungry. That quarterback, you're going to see him in the NFL. He is going to be that next MAC quarterback that comes up. You saw some of the throws he made today. We didn't want anything getting behind us. We wanted to keep it all in front of us and beat us with a 14-, 15-play drive."
On the defensive effort…
"I thought we tackled really well. I thought the play calls were mixed up. Their juco transfer receiver they have took advantage of our man coverage. We broke up I don't know how many. They hit a couple."
On Carpenter's struggles…
"They are 17-to-22-year-old young men. That's why you continue to believe in him. I believe in Emmit. I thought he responded perfectly. Our culture is about serving and giving and responding the right way. I know he missed the last two. I believe in him. This will help the rest of his life. He had to come in to seal the game with 1:40 left from 40 yards. It just shows his resiliency and response. You can see the culture working inside him."
On Tyler Johnson…
"The biggest things is that Conor (Rhoda) has only starting one game and Tyler (Johnson) has never been the guy. Now he's the guy. It's a different role to be in. I'm sure Tyler got thrown more balls than he's ever seen in his entire life during the game and it's only going to be more. We need him to rise up and he's only a sophomore. We are one of the least experienced teams in the country and this is something we are going to need to have. Tyler has continued to get better. His work ethic is phenomenal. I think he could start to see himself in that role. Now he's got to continue to get better because we need to make some more plays."
On the quarterback situation…
"I was proud of both of the guys. We turned the ball over one time. For guys not starting and for what we ask them to do in their first game. I thought they handled it beautifully. They ran the offense successfully. We have to continue to ask them to do more but I was proud of both of them. They did what they had to do to win the football game."
On enjoying the win…
"We are going to enjoy it tonight. I've learned in my short career you never not enjoy a win. We have make sure that we continue to do all the right things. Tomorrow we are going to be on to Oregon State because we have a long road trip ahead of us. They are going to get better. Gary Andersen is a phenomenal football coach. I'm sure they are going to respond. We have to worry about us. We can't worry about other people. We have own issues. We have to get better. I'm proud of our players for finding a way to win."
Tyler Johnson, Wide Receiver
On confidence…
"The coaches helped me be very confident coming into today. Again, the game plan this week helped me realize how the defense would be playing… I felt very confident out there.
On P.J. Fleck's demeanor…
"I would say nothing really changed from the time of spring ball to now. The energy was still the same. He told us that he was excited coming into today's game just like we were. Nothing really changed."
On his improvement since the start of camp…
"I would say I have improved a lot. I have to give credit to our receivers coach, Coach (Matt) Simon. He is hard on me every day in practice, making sure I am doing everything at the highest level. Thanks to him. He has helped me grow as a wide receiver."
On playing receiver for a full year after playing quarterback in high school…
"I would say I'm very comfortable. I have a good understanding about what I need to do, what release I need to do, what break point I need to make coming off of the line and things like that. So, I'm a lot more comfortable now."
Conor Rhoda, Minnesota Quarterback
On the emotion of throwing his first touchdown of the season…
"It was a really cool feeling. I threw one at Maryland last year, but being able to do this in front of the home fans and a tone of family tonight was special. Everything I have gone through in the last five years played through my head. I really tried to feel the moment."
On what makes Tyler Johnson a great teammate…
"The kid comes to play when the lights are brightest, first and foremost. He's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's a gamer. Tyler is a really smart kid. He comes to work every day and has improved tremendously since he got here.
On his interception in the end zone…
"It was a play we run every week. They threw special looks and that time they just fooled me. But I still have to throw a better ball."
Demry Croft, Minnesota Quarterback
On how the split play between him and Conor Rhoda at QB worked out in this opening game…
"It was a great experience. It was like what we do in practice every day. It really was not much of a transition. I felt very comfortable."
On his thoughts about the running game struggle…
"Buffalo is a great team up front. They have a great defensive line and we have a great offensive line, so it was a stalemate up front all night. It is a part of the game and the rest of us have to be ready."
Lance Leipold, Buffalo Head Coach
Overall thoughts…
"As I told my team after the game, we didn't come here for moral victories. We are disappointed. We had some more opportunities to put some more points on the board and we didn't, and that's disappointing. That being said, I am also proud of this team. I think we took a big step forward as a program and what we're hoping to develop in regards to playing with a relentless attitude and battle to the end and make it tough on people, and I thought we did that."
On the run defense …
"I thought it was improved. There wasn't a lot of huge runs, but there were some times there where, especially at the end there…Those are two good backs. They are a good tandem. They run hard and they are physical, and I know they have been battling some issues trying to develop five linemen, and get enough people practicing. I know P.J. will have that turned around in time. As far as our front seven, I am proud of where we went."
On the offense and Anthony Johnson …
"During the spring, we thought we had a pretty good football player. As you can see he has the ability to be pretty explosive and to do it against a Big Ten opponent, I thought he did very well."
very well.
Anthony Johnson, Buffalo Wide Receiver
On how it felt to play in his first game in 19 months…
"It felt great… It was a great experience playing tonight."
On if he planned to get as many looks as he did…
"Yeah, that happened in practice. The game plan was to get me the ball a lot, get it flowing, get the ball going, so I can make a lot of plays to help this team. I did some of those, and I left some of those out there. I just have to watch film and get better."
On the go route before his touchdown…
"It was a hitch at first, but me and Tyree (Jackson) are always on the same page. If he's pressed, I'm just going to convert it. He has faith in my speed and I don't really believe in man coverage, so I knew I was going to win that."
On his touchdown…
"It was a great experience. My first touchdown and I was very happy. It was a fade route, I just had to make the play and I did… I just had to help my team get on the scoreboard and that's what I did. Had to get the team flowing and then I scored and the defense gained momentum and helped the offense get going as well."
On the positive takeaways from competing with a Big Ten team…
"I feel like the team is way better this year. We're all on the same page, everything's been flowing at practice, everybody's getting along, and we're all on the same page and everything. We have great communication and we're just getting the job done. We're not too far away from getting a victory."
On if there is any disappointment following the loss…
"We're disappointed we lost, but at the end of the day we have to make up for our mistakes and hope we win the next game."
Tyree Jackson, Buffalo Quarterback
On how he's feeling after the loss…
"We're all upset in the locker room. We didn't come here to play against Minnesota, we came here trying to win. I think everyone in our locker room is pretty upset right now."
On if he felt the team was where it wanted to be at halftime…
"No, offensively we left a lot of points on the field in the first half. We weren't happy with just a 14-7 lead, we felt like we missed a couple times in the red zone where we could've had it or made some more plays, so I don't think we were happy to be down at halftime."
On the success of wide receiver Anthony Johnson…
"Everyone in the program kind of knew, even though he hasn't played yet because he red-shirted last year. He's a big-time receiver, he makes plays. I think everyone just got to see what we've been seeing the whole time."
On the connection with Anthony Johnson before the touchdown…
"That was all him. He made a great play. The guys up front held it down, overall he made a great play and the guys up front made it kind of easy."
On the game…
"We got out of the red zone a couple times. We got out there for a field goal, offensively it shouldn't come down to that, we should convert and score touchdowns."
