Postgame Quotes: Michigan 31, Western Michigan 7
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
On the team's impressive performance despite being young... "We had two true freshmen playing quarterback. It doesn't happen very often at this level and I thought they were pretty composed and did a nice job. There were a lot of teachable moments, which we'll get better at each week."
On the performance by Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson... "I don't know if it was completely clean. There's a lot to the system. There's a lot involved. The quarterback has to make decisions with every snap, both run and pass. Both of them made some very good decisions; and there are other times when we can coach them up and they can get better. We put a lot of pressure on them in practice to make those same decisions. They've executed very well in practice so you hope it carries over to the game, but what you don't know is with 100,000-plus fans and national TV, how many jitters you're going to have especially in your first game."
On the offense's explosiveness... "I think we executed pretty well, but even in the first half there were a couple of drives we could have cleaned up. That third quarter was a little strange because they were only two or three drives the entire quarter and we had a touchdown called back because of a hold. We have to be in a rhythm offensively. We had a couple of holding penalties that got us out of a rhythm. We have to be able to come in and get better."
On the defensive depth... "I'm still concerned with our depth on defense. I will watch the film and see exactly where we can improve to that end. I thought the first half we were phenomenal. I don't know what Western had in total offense, but our defense had a whole bunch of three-and-outs. We got pressure on the ball and tackled well. In the second half, we didn't do that so much. We will watch film and develop more depth."
On the fans' vocal support throughout the game... "It's unbelievable. I can't thank the fans enough for how they supported this football team. They always have. Thousands and thousands of fans lined up for the Victor's Walk. It sent chills down all of our young men's spines. They were in the game from the very start. We have a tremendous fans support, and we felt it all week."
Western Michigan Head Coach Bill Cubit
On the game... "We had to start fast. We didn't get it done. We had some throws early where we were just trying to [get first downs]. We didn't want to put [quarterback] Tim Hiller under a lot of pressure back there and holding the ball too long. On the first series on defense we had [Tate Forcier] dead to right and we missed the tackle and it turns into a scramble drill, which is something we've done before, but it happened. On the second touchdown, [Denard Robinson] fumbles the ball, picks it up, and makes a very athletic move. We have to look over and tip your hat to him, he did a great job. I think with the speed of the game, it's just different. You go into [Michigan Stadium] and there are 110,000 people there. There's a lot going on. We were ready to play, but the speed of the game was a little bit different. You tell these kids that, but until you see it, it's hard.
"In the second half, I think we came out there and we played better. What I was looking for was just how our kids would react. That was the biggest thing for me -- whether they were going to point fingers or give up, and they didn't do that. They worked hard; [the defense] got some three-and-outs. We moved the ball and turnovers just killed us. There were three more times we were down there and we turned the ball over. That's not like Tim Hiller. He'll get better. He's a guy that hasn't played since Texas. He didn't go through spring ball and in the summer we had to take it easy on him because of his knee -- he's seven months post-operative. We had to give him some days off during the summer and during camp we didn't want to mess that thing up. We're going to be fine. There were some good things. This is really the week to like coaching -- after the first game -- because now is when you can try to correct the mistakes and see where they're at and move on."
On keeping perspective with 11 games still remaining... "It's one game. We didn't play well. Why didn't we play well -- were we that overmatched? I don't think so. I just think there was some inexperience there and we let the game get out of hand early, which is what has happened to us in the past [early in previous seasons] against Nebraska and West Virginia. But those are good teams. And then here, [Michigan] was juiced up. They have a nice home crowd and they want to prove themselves after last year's season. They played together and that's what good teams do."
