2000 FBL vs. Penn State -- quotes
11/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
On the game overall ... "I'm extremely happy for the 14 guys that will be leaving this program, that they can go out with a victory in their last game here at Michigan stadium. They've done so much and have been great representatives of this university. I want to credit the Penn State team and coaches. To go through the things they went through and come in here and fight as hard as they did -- I don't know what it looked like to you, but it was a hard-hitting, physical football game right to the very end. They've done a great job of keeping that football team together. I hope that if I ever have that type of adversity that I can handle it anywhere close to where coach Joe Paterno has handled it. He's kept his team together. Every guy in that program can be proud of the way they've continued to fight and compete."
Can you talk about the way your defense came back today after the defeat last week ... "The game itself, I don't like the way we played offensively because I don't like turnovers. I felt we were careless with the football. Part of that has to do with the way Penn State played, but for our defense to come back and play as hard as they did, well they were the difference in this game. They caused turnovers. They were tremendous in the red zone against a Penn State team that has been successful in the red zone. They had some big stops down there. Larry Foote and Todd Howard come up with interceptions. The defense played with a lot of intensity. Coming off a game like a week ago, there's a challenge of getting over feeling sorry for yourself or losing confidence. I was very proud that they competed as hard as they did."
Did you see that attitude in practice this week ... "Well, not really. Tuesday was not a very good practice, probably one of the few bad practices we had this week, this year. I was very upset. I talked about what we had to do to win and it certainly wasn't the way we practiced on Tuesday. And they responded, they came back with a great practice on Wednesday. Penn State vs. Michigan is always about intensity and being able to play hard for four quarters. I thought we did that on both sides. But, you can't turn the football over like we did and win a big game, unless the other team is turning the ball over like you. I think turnovers were the story of this game."
Was there any doubt that Anthony Thomas would come back after last week ... "No, there was never any doubt. Anthony Thomas is a man of character and I wouldn't have expected any less."
Is this one of the strangest Big Ten seasons ever ... "I liked it a lot better when I was coaching for Bo and there were only a couple games a year you had to win."
Senior Tailback Anthony Thomas
On the game overall ... "We just played our game. We got it done defensively. Our defense stepped it up when we needed a stop, getting the ball back on third down, when our offense could not get a first down. They did a great job."
On Drew Henson ... "When Drew has a bad day, our defense and special teams has to step up and make plays."
On the rushing record ... "Every week I'm told about the rushing record but Coach (Lloyd) Carr helps to remind me that I have to think about keeping my head in the game each week."
On the Ohio State game ... "It's going to be tough down in Ohio State"
Senior Cornerback James Whitley
On the defensive effort ... "Our defense played very well today. We made lots of good stops. Their offense made some big plays but our offense had more. On defense, we wanted to first of all stop (Rashard) Casey and limit his big plays. Winning this game will definitely give us momentum going into the rest of the season."
On the Ohio State game ... "It's a big rivalry. It's my last game against them and I'm really looking forward to it."
Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno
On the game overall ... "Our defense played good football. We had mental mistakes and they (Michigan) played better than we did. It was a hitting game and they made plays. We did not give ourselves a chance to win."
"The kicking changed the game. If we make a field goal or two, then it's a good game. Our kicker had a terrible warmup and it carried over."
"I'm satisfied with our effort. I don't want to finger-point. We have to look at our short-yardage scheme, plus when your field goal kicker goes bad, that's lack of confidence."
On the Michigan defense ... "They mixed up their defenses and substituted. We saw that they did the same stuff against Northwestern. We had difficulty in the red zone, but give Michigan credit. They made the plays."
"We have a little lack of confidence and it shows in our short-yardage game. We don't take off and we're a little undersized and it affects our confidence."
On the Big Ten ... "There's not a lot of difference in anyone right now. Coming in, we thought we had a good chance to win. Look at what Iowa is doing to Northwestern today."
On the last Michigan TD ... "There was one second left. The kids are just playing. They weren't rubbing it in. They could have rubbed it in worse by calling time out and setting up a play but they didn't. The kids were playing, that's all."
Junior/Sophomore Quarterback Matt Senneca
"This felt like every other Big Ten game to me. Getting hit proved it to me. Michigan is a physical team. I thought Ohio State was a little more physical but that's because I was in that game a lot longer and they had more chances to hit me. I was getting hit just after I threw the ball."
On the touchdown ... "Basically it was four streaks. We thought Bryant Johnson was a better receiver than they could cover on that."
"Rashard (Casey) is our starting quarterback. He deserves to play. If he gets tired, then they put me in for a few plays. I'm ready whenever they put me in."
Senior Kicker Ryan Primanti
On his performance ... "I just couldn't get into a groove today. I just seemed to be all over the place with my kicks. Even during warmups I was having problems with my kicking and I guess it just carried into the game, unfortunately."
On being replaced ... "I didn't have a problem with that at all. I thought it was actually the right move. I just didn't have it today. I don't know what else to say other than that."
On the effect of weather ... "The field wasn't in that great of shape and it was pretty windy out there but I can't blame my performance on things like that. Again, I just didn't have it today. So I can't really blame my performance on the weather."
Senior Free Safety James Boyd
On his 100-tackle season ... "Really isn't that big of a deal. We didn't win the game and that is what's most important to me. I suppose once the season's over I will be proud of my accomplishment but right now I'm just worried about winning football games."
On the last Michigan TD ... "I thought they were trying to rub it in a little bit. I told some of the underclassmen that if they get the chance next year to repay the favor. Those kind of things come back to haunt you sometimes."
On the performance of defense ... "I thought we played a good game. We were out on the field a long time. I thought the first half we pretty much dominated but the second half Michigan made some adjustments and we didn't. But I think if we would of played the same in the second half that we did in the first the outcome of the game would have been a lot different."
On the play of Penn State's offense ... "We can't worry about the offense. The defense has to play as well as we can and hope the offense can put some points on the board for us. If we start blaming the offense that won't help our situation at all. We just need to care of the defensive side of the ball and have the offense worry about the offense."
