Postgame Quotes: Maryland 23, Michigan 16
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Brady Hoke
Opening statement ... "Obviously, we're really, really disappointed. Disappointed because of our seniors, the 12 guys who are graduating, 12 guys who are playing their last games. We're always talking about playing for them and coaching for them. We just didn't execute at times when we had opportunities. And at times we did. We had some mistakes in the kicking game that obviously hurt us as a football team, and some of those are very aggressive mistakes, and you appreciate that kind of effort and that kind of aggression, but at the same point we've got to be a little smarter if that's the right word. But the one thing, in our locker room there's a lot of disappointment, and there's also a lot of pride that these guys have. How they've practiced and how they've done things all year. Obviously we've got the greatest rivalry game, in my opinion, in college football coming up, and that's what we're going to focus on."
On the play on the punt return and the field goal ... "Some of this is subjective and not seeing the whole thing from the angles that maybe you all get. I'll have to wait and see, especially on the block in the back. On the field goal, the guy was trying to make a play, and he was a guy who was supposed to be coming hard off the edge, and I guess he hit him hard enough for a 15-yard personal foul."
On the timeout and decision to go for it on fourth down instead of a field goal ... "Number one it would be a long field goal, and I believe there was some wind coming out of the south. Matt (Wile) could've taken the opportunity. Punting it, I thought pooch it there, but I was a little worried about Will (Hagerup) getting too much of it. I thought our defense was playing every well at that time. I believed in the call and what the kids could do, still do.
"In my mind I wanted to make sure I talked to (offensive coordinator) Doug (Nussmeier) about it all, how he felt about it, having the right play, and I felt very good about it."
On the fake punt and if he called the game more aggressively ... "I don't know if it was more aggressively. We had seen on film that we could take advantage of the fake. We go for it on fourth-and-one, and we have the penalty so it knocks us back. When you look at different punt teams, you look in different zones of the field, what they like to do, what they like to be in, we got exactly what we wanted. Joe (Kerridge) has the ability to call it off. He's a really intelligent guy football-wise, and it was there so we went with it."
On the difficulty stopping the run in the third and fourth quarters ... "They got a little up-tempo. We lost some of our discipline a little bit. We missed some tackles in there; we tackle a little better than that. That, as much as anything, hurt us a little bit. And I'll give them credit too. C.J. Brown is one of those quarterbacks who's a little bit of a gunslinger and does a nice job with running that team, and he's a good athlete."
On quarterback Devin Gardner ... "I thought Devin did an awful lot of good things today, just like everybody else. He wasn't perfect, but this is the first game he's been healthy in about five weeks where he's felt really good with his ankle, and that allowed him to make plays with his feet. He had some balls that were catchable that we didn't catch, and we have to do a better job with that."
On the message to the players in the locker room and refocusing them for Ohio State ... "From what I've seen of this team, every week, I don't think that will be a problem. I do know that the opportunity to play in the greatest rivalry in sport, that kind of gets your juices going."
On taking two timeouts in the third quarter and game management ... "(We were) Trying to help the defense a little bit. And at one time we had the wrong personnel group coming off, obviously didn't want to get caught with 12, and the other one we just wanted to settle them down a bit. I don't like doing that, and (defensive coordinator) Greg (Mattison) doesn't like doing that, but the way the game was going at that time we thought we'd try to slow it down a little bit. You always want to keep them (timeouts)."
On the run game ... "We thought we could run the ball, and I thought Drake (Johnson) took it up in there pretty physically, had some pretty good vision. I thought De'Veon (Smith) did a couple times. Devin (Gardner) being able to create with his legs also was huge for us. I thought the offensive line created some space. But that was great. Now you want to score touchdowns too."
On the passing game ... "We didn't want to throw it a whole lot. We didn't think we needed to as much. We thought we could run the football, and we did pretty well. It's always a combination of things, it's never just one thing. Maybe the ball placement one time was bad, maybe the hand placement on the receiver was bad, maybe the defense was pretty good. You always have all those things."
U-M Senior/Junior Center Jack Miller
On missed opportunities ... "We had a number of opportunities. Our defense was able to hold them a few times, but the penalties allowed them to go in and score. We need to be better in those situations."
On the seniors ... "The fourth- and fifth-year seniors, they have been through a lot here, and it takes a lot to stay at a program like this, or any program of this caliber, but especially Michigan. For those guys to be here through that, they deserve better than that. I am one of those guys that wanted to do better for them."
On not quitting or giving up and possibly getting frustrated ... "It's not just me, everyone is frustrated. We're not playing as well as we should. I wish I had the answers, but like you said, this team has never quit. This team won't quit, and we're going to go back to work tomorrow and get ready to try and beat Ohio State."
U-M Junior Linebacker Joe Bolden
On the outcome of the game ... "It's definitely disappointing, especially for our seniors. But then again you get to come in tomorrow, you're going to analyze film -- what you did right, what you did wrong -- and then focus on Ohio and what needs to be done in order to take care of business next Saturday."
On whether the team will be able to turn the page and be ready for Ohio State ... "Yeah. I think we have in the past, I think we have this year. We've turned the page, we've come together. This team is the closest team I think I've ever been on. We support each other and come out each day ready to work."
On whether he put more pressure on himself to get a stop down the stretch ... "Personally, I think pressure is what you think of -- it's a figment of your imagination. You put it all on yourself. If you're thinking about going out and executing and making the play, doing exactly what you're taught -- and if all 11 guys do exactly what they're taught, then the play is not going to succeed."
On what the Ohio State game means as an Ohio native ... "It's the biggest rivalry in all of sports. It's the last Saturday in November. Going back to your home state, in front of a lot of people that don't like you anymore, but obviously it's a meaningful game. You can throw out the records, you can throw out what the point difference is -- it's a football game. It's played like every other football game, and at the end of the day you're going to see who is better."
U-M Junior/Sophomore Running Back Drake Johnson
On his performance today ... "The O-line played amazing. When we called run plays, they were called upon to make plays. They made great blocks and made holes where I wasn't sure there would be holes. They made my job really easy today."
On going to Ohio State next weekend ... "I think it's the biggest rivalry, and we are going to go out there and give 100 percent. It's Ohio, and we are going to give them that extra (attention). Especially since it is the last game of the year with everything riding on it."
On the message from Coach Hoke ... "I support Coach Hoke more than anybody. He gave me a chance when a lot of people wouldn't. He was saying that we have to focus on next week and get this win next week. It is rivalry week."
On how they will prepare differently next week ... "We have to be clean, crisper in all of our stuff. Running backs, we have to crisper in our reads and blitz pickups. I am sure that there is something everyone on the team can do to be better."
On the good things that are going on within the program ... "I think people don't see our team dynamic because people only see what happens on the field. It is easy to critique things that you don't see the inner workings of. Inside the locker room, like I have said before, we are closer than any other team in the past two years. It is very easy when things go downhill, to give up and start blaming each other. But no one does that. This team is very close knit, and we are never going to out in a game and not care. We are never going to go down in a game and start to give up. We are going to try to do our best."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Linebacker Jake Ryan
On taking in his final home game at Michigan Stadium ... "I was doing it the whole game. It's the greatest stadium in college football, and you can't take it for granted. Those younger guys have to learn that. It's tough, but you have to move on."
On the upcoming Ohio State game ... "It's the biggest rivalry in college football. I've played in it, and it's going to be a great game. I can tell you that much. We're going to treat it like every other game, but it's a rivalry game, so it'll be more amped up. We're excited for it."
On the defensive play near the end of the game ... "It's a matter of execution. It's a matter of getting on the field after sudden change and playing our defense like we know how to play."
On Brennen Beyer's play ... "Brennen Beyer has great instincts. That little dump pass that they tried, he played really well. Brennen is a heck of a player."
Maryland Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening statement ... "I'm just really proud of our players and happy for them. To come out there, their first experience playing Michigan and coming to the Big House and coming away with a win -- and the way we did it, coming from behind, ending the game like we did, running the ball -- I'm just proud of them. I really challenged our offensive line last Sunday and through the week and challenged our whole team -- they came out and responded. It's hard to win on the road, it's hard to win here, but these guys showed their determination, their heart, their character, so like I said, I'm very proud of them."
On the performance of Maryland QB C.J. Brown ... "He's a competitor, and he came out today and did all the things we needed him to do. He played the way that he's got to play to be successful. He was using his legs, moving around back there. Again, we did some things to help him. We said we were going to let it fly, and we needed him to be the guy to run the ball for us. We got him on the corner a little more, he threw the ball pretty well, and he didn't get down when we had four drops in the first half. He just kept battling. As I told you guys, I didn't want to make a change. And I don't know if that motivated him, but he was a warrior today. He was a great leader in the huddles and on the sideline, he kept everybody pumped up. I'm so happy for him. As a quarterback and a head coach, we both get too much credit when we win and too much blame when we lose, and I know he's feeling good and he should -- he played a whale of a game."
On his postgame jubilation ... "The seventh win is huge. Six wins doesn't guarantee you anything. I was watching the NFL Network on the flight in yesterday and they had a show on with Jim Kiick, Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. They showed after all these years these guys on a fishing trip in Alaska. And they were reminiscing about the days and times they had with the (Miami) Dolphins. That's something I told our guys this morning, we needed to come out here today and create some memories. So 20, 30 years from now, we can sit around and tell these stories and have a great time. I was happy for them because to come out here and beat this team, there are great memories. To beat Penn State on the road and Michigan on the road during your first year in the league, that's something that's very special. Going 5-1 on the road tells you the kind of young men we have in our program, because that is very difficult to do. I'm happy for them and knowing how much we got after them. I just felt great for them getting that win."
On Michigan QB Devin Gardner's ability to run vs. the Maryland defense ... "I think what you saw was a young man who is a tremendous athlete who had a week to get healthy. We knew he was really good, and giving credit, he makes things happen. But we did enough to contain him. And sometimes we gave up our lanes going against him, but he's an outstanding football player. But we did enough to get the win. We didn't turn the ball over, and we played good defense and good special teams, we've got a chance to win a lot of games."
On K Brad Craddock's four-field-goal performance ... "I'll put him in any situation where Brad tells me he can kick it from in terms of the distance. It was automatic. At halftime, I was talking to our coaches and when you get those fourth-and-ones, you may think 'go for it,' but when you have a young man like Brad when you know it's almost automatic, you can't do that. He epitomizes what hard work is about. He epitomizes leadership. His kickoffs were great, too. If he's not the best kicker in the country and if he's not a top-three finalist for the Lou Groza Award, then I don't know much about football."
Maryland Junior Kicker Brad Craddock
On the roughing call ... "I didn't see [the defender] at all. I got hit and then went down and did my job. It was great for the team; we needed it. Seven points is a lot better than three."
On playing in games that field goals are relied on ... "It is just my job, I guess. It is what you get ready for every week. You expect to kick the ball every time you drive the ball. Hopefully it is for one-pointers, but we got a lot of threes."
On how preparation for Michigan changed as opposed to previous weeks ... "For me, preparation is the same every week and you don't change that. You do what you know, I guess. For the team it is a big game, this is a big program history-wise, and me growing up I didn't know anything about football. To me it is just two poles. Kick the ball between them and it doesn't really matter what the other team looks like."
Maryland Senior Quarterback C.J. Brown
On responding to questions about his play ... "Any time you get a win you are going to be happy regardless of the situation. You feel a little bit better knowing that the audience stepped up to the challenge. We put a lot of pressure on us, including myself, Coach Locks, the offensive line, the running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. We knew we needed to step up. The defense has been doing a great job and we had not been pulling our slack. To be able to come out today and finish the game was huge for us."
On the big pass play to sophomore WR Amba Etta-Tawo ... "We had kind of a fake zombie, a fake bubble, and they bit up and Amba took off down the sideline and I just put it up and let him fun underneath it."
On playing at Michigan Stadium ... "Any time you get to play in front of 100,000 people it is exciting. To come out here and get the win, get number seven under our belt, and go into next week for our senior night is huge. Everyone is excited, we are thrilled, and it should be a good ride back."
