Postgame Quotes: Northwestern 21, Michigan 14
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Player quotes from the Michigan locker room
Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
On the outcome versus Northwestern ... "It was a very similar scenario to a lot of games this year. It is very frustrating. I thought we took a step forward in the first half today and then took a step back in the second half. Guys are playing and competing, we just have to come up with more plays when it counts."
On Northwestern's defensive scheme in the game ... "They were doing the same thing all game and that is the most frustrating part about it. We had success in the first half but couldn't get anything going in the second half. We have to keep grinding away though and work on our execution. It certainly isn't for a lack of trying, but we just have to do a better job of getting the job done and making plays."
On Northwestern's passing attack in the second half ... "They picked the pace up a little bit in the second half, and I thought they would come out and start the game that way and use the spread, no-back to spread things around. I don't feel like they caught us off guard at all, but they hit that big pass play in the second half, and I will have to look at the video to see what happened there. That was really disappointing."
On Michigan's turnover and special-team miscues ... "As disappointing as that was, more disappointing to me was the inability to take advantage of when we had good field position ourselves. We had great field position a couple of times off of turnovers and didn't do anything with it. That is something we have been good at all year and today we just didn't do it."
On the growth of the team and overcoming adversity ... "It is not good enough to play poorly in spots. We have to play a complete game. We have to really execute and make plays when they are there because we aren't good enough to mess around and win a game. That is what happened today."
Junior Super Back Carlos Brown
On his game ... "It felt great to be able to contribute. I felt like I have missed out on a whole lot. I wished I could have got back a whole lot sooner, but I felt like there were a couple things I could have done better today to help us out a little bit more. I feel like the O-line did a pretty good job; they did a good job actually. They got me to the second level, and the receivers blocked well. I feel like there are just a couple things that I need to work on and execute a little bit better, and we will be okay."
On his 100-yard game ... "Like I said earlier, the O-line did a great job of getting out on their guys and getting their guys reached, and the receivers were doing a good job blocking downfield. (Mark) Moundros did a good job also. It was just a step away. We are just going to get that corrected and hopefully next game we can seal the deal."
On returning to the lineup after the injury ... "It felt great. It is miserable when you are watching all the time and there is nothing you can do to help contribute. Now, I feel a whole lot better knowing that I can come out and I can actually practice. I know coach feels comfortable putting me in the game and therefore I can play. It feels great to be back."
On the wet conditions ... "Our main goal is to hold on to the ball. You are a whole lot more successful when you can hold onto the ball. The team that has the least amount of turnovers usually does a lot better than a team that has more turnovers. Coach (Fred Jackson) stressed the issue of holding the ball high and tight, and he said don't try to make any extra long strides and keep your feet close together. We just tried to concentrate on doing that."
U-M Junior/sophomore Quarterback Nick Sheridan
On the weather conditions ... "It was tough out there, but we're not making any excuses for that. They have to play in the same weather. We just weren't able to get it done today."
On making adjustments because of the conditions ... "I think it forces both teams to adjust a little bit, but that is more for the coaches. They adjust to what they think is good for us. We just go out and run the plays."
On the play of Carlos Brown ... "Carlos has been banged up a little bit, but he has had big games here in the past -- last year against Illinois and Minnesota. He's very capable, he's a good athlete and he ran hard today. I'm happy for Carlos."
U-M Junior/sophomore Linebacker Jonas Mouton
On losing on senior day ... "It's definitely tough to go out for our seniors in our home stadium and not come out with a win for those guys, for the team, for the program. It's definitely tough.
On salvaging the season against Ohio State ... "I'm not looking at it as salvaging or anything. It's the Ohio State-Michigan game next week, so that is what we are getting ready for."
On preparing for Ohio State's version of the spread offense ... "It's going to be a different type of spread. Every team runs its own version of the spread and it's going to be a little different. We just have to watch the film, see what is going on and get ready for it."
U-M Sophomore Defensive Back Donovan Warren
On his interception return ... "I felt like I was in bounds trying to make a play and get to the end zone. I didn't see a replay, but I was just trying to score."
On whether or not he heard a whistle ... "I kind of heard a whistle, but I just kept going. I saw green in front of me and I was going to try to score. Whether I heard the whistle or not, nobody was going to stop me."
On Northwestern's second-half adjustments ... "In the second half, they kind of bunched things up a little bit. They knew that we were playing man a lot so they wanted to get guys open in space. So we zoned up a little bit and they picked us apart a little bit. Also, they ran a little bit of a hurry-up offense to try to get us off-balance and confuse us and it worked for the most part in the third quarter."
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
On today's game ... "It was a hard-fought victory. I credit our young men for responding again. I thought we had a good week of preparation. I thought we carried that in and started pretty well. The turnover, and the response by our defense, was pretty impressive. We went out, put the fire out, and got off the field. Then to flip it right back over and get a big punt and a fumble recovery, we stayed the course. I thought we adjusted well at halftime. Our guys kept on battling. This is the kind of game we won. It was a two-score game going into the fourth quarter, and we were a very confident football team in that scenario. I'm very proud of our young men. I'm very proud of our coaches and extremely proud of our program for staying together. This is a big-program win for us. To come back and respond again, and beat a very improved Michigan team that was playing their best football of the year on their senior day, I'm very proud of our seniors."
On the importance of overcoming obstacles this season ... "We focus on the next guy in. We focus on whose opportunity it is next. It's their responsibility to step up. It's their responsibility to step up for their teammates. We don't focus on the negative, we focus on the positive. When a guy goes down, we feel terrible for that young man, but it's another man's opportunity and they need to be prepared. So far we have done a good job doing that."
On the character of the team on the road this year ... "It goes back to the character of the young men we recruit. We pay attention and they listen. They take things to heart that we're trying to coach them on. They try to go out and execute to the best of their ability, and that's all we can ask of them. It's not always going to be perfect, but as long as we keep learning and growing we have an opportunity to improve. I think we've gotten better throughout the course of the year, especially with November being a significant month. To come on the road, and for our seniors to get a win against an opponent they haven't beaten yet, speaks about where our program is going and the direction that we're headed. It's a huge challenge for us this week to refocus, grow, handle the victory the right way and get ready to go against our instate rival."
On the progress of the defense throughout the season ... "First and foremost, in the offseason our guys have a very hungry attitude to get better. That improved attitude is continued on throughout the entire course of the year. When we get in off the sidelines after series, there are a lot of things we can learn. Eyes wide open, ears wide open listening to the coaches. Our coaches are doing a great job adjusting. We get in at halftime and talk through some things, make some little tweaks, and a lot of times our young men from the field are giving us some ideas. When you have that kind of communication, and that kind of trust, you have an opportunity to continue to improve."
NU Senior Defensive Tackle John Gill
On the victory over Michigan ... "It feels really good. It was special for me, because I'm a true senior. For the fifth-year seniors, Michigan was the only team we never beat. So, it's special that we could beat this team. I don't that it was too big part of the conversation [during the week]; it was mentioned once that this was the team we hadn't beat, so that's all we needed to know."
On the defense's second-half performance ... "The coaches do a great job making adjustments. They keep us going in the first half, make adjustments and put us in a good position to make plays. We know that we have to come out in a lot of games and do everything we can to help the team. I don't know why, but we just bring something extra in the second half."
NU Senior Wide Receiver Eric Peterman
On the Northwestern win ... "It was a big step in the right direction. Each week we practice to have the mindset of staying in that week and focusing on that week, trying to get to 1-0. It feels good to accomplish that. As coach [Pat Fitzgerald] says, when we stick to our values and we stick to what we believe in, then we've proven eight times. We've gone 1-0 eight times this season."
On the offensive improvement from the first half to the second ... "We finally got a rhythm going. That's what we try to work on; coming out fast at the beginning of the game and the beginning of the second half. It helps when you've got some rhythm going. We have all the confidence in the world in [quarterbacks] C.J. [Bacher] or Mike [Kafka], whoever is going to be in there. It's not like we took a step back when we switched quarterbacks."
On his touchdown catch ... "It was a cover two, and the safeties were working off the hash. Andrew Brewer ran a good route to take the option safety away, and I just cut in front of the near safety and was wide open. C.J. [Bacher] threw a great ball. Protection was great -- an 11-man operation."
