Northwestern University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Minnesota (Nov. 18, 2017)
Northwestern vs. Minnesota
Ryan Field
November 18, 2017
Postgame Quotes
Northwestern
Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement
“Thanks everybody for being here today on such a beautiful Chicago day, we really appreciate it. And a big shout-out to our fans, especially the students that braved the elements, because it was not a country club day, to say the least. So to everybody that could make it out today, you’re a diehard Wildcat, and we appreciate your support, and can’t thank you enough. Similar statement for our seniors, to send them off, send them out of Ryan Field here in their last game with a dominant performance, it was just a great exclamation point for an unbelievable group. I could go through each guy, but I think that would diminish the group. But I’m just so thankful for them, especially here on Thanksgiving week, I’m so thankful for their families, and just spectacular careers for the entire group, and to be able to get a lot of those guys into the game today was something that was really special. A neat little tradition that we do after the last game, we have the picture, not only with our senior football players, but with our senior students, and it was a lot of fun to be able to do that. But really proud of our guys—we were out all week saying we knew today would be a tough-guy day. Today was a Chicago blue-collar day—you just had to show up and impose your will, and I thought we dominated. I thought it was a dominant performance on the line of scrimmage, I thought our guys, from the minute we walked in the building today all the way through the end of the game, embraced the elements, embraced the opportunity, and sent our seniors out with an exclamation point. First and foremost, we did it with an attitude. Second of all, we did it physically. And I thought our guys really imposed their will. We got a lot of guys into the game, which was really neat, and a lot of fun to do. Any time you can do that in a Big Ten game, it’s special. But I’m incredibly proud of our guys, especially our seniors, on a dominant, dominant performance.”
On the benefits of having Justin Jackson in a poor-weather game…
“Well, you think about his career and the milestones that he set today… I’ll probably be more well-versed on all that by Monday, but there are very few men who had 1,000 yards four straight years, very few men who’ve gone over 5,000 yards for a career. He’s put himself into a rare position from a standpoint of a career. He’s a once-in-a-coaching-lifetime type of young man. He’s a terrific leader, he’s got an amazing work ethic and what you see on Saturday is a product of his preparation and he’s done it since the minute he’s got here. I mean you’ve got to give amazing credit to his family, Ryan Wilkens, everybody at Glenbard North High School that prepared him to be here. And he’s taken it and run with it. And to see the career that he’s had, again I don’t know if I’ll have the privilege of coaching one specific young man as special as Justin.”
On the team’s current six-game winning streak…
“I haven’t put a whole lot of thought into it because each game has been unique and has its own specific challenge. The last two games we’re playing teams that are fighting for bowl eligibility and we know we’re going to get their best shot. You know you go to Lincoln you’ve got to play in front of 90,000. You play two really good football teams in Michigan State and Iowa back-to-back. I think our guys have just been focused on that overall philosophy we have to go 1-0. And it’s up there on your guys’ left [in the conference room], the consistent preparation for victory, on that board over there. It’s our number one objective each week. And I think that’s really difficult for this age group. And to handle the way things didn’t go the way we wanted to at the beginning, I think they shut the noise off from an activity standpoint. I think they’ve had the same type of discipline to shut the positive bandwagon stuff that you get when you have six straight wins. So I think they’ve just been focused on that process of getting ready and to see the way we dominated today in the elements is a statement about our seniors, a statement about our leadership and a statement about the character of our squad. I don’t think we flinched all year. Maybe we haven’t played well, maybe we haven’t coached well but today was just a dominant performance. And it started up front on both sides of the ball.”
On when he knew the weather would be bad and whether it affected the gameplan…
“Yeah if you ask our coaches, they know I’m a freak about it. I check it when I get up in the morning before I brush my teeth. I take a look at it again at lunch just because I want to get our guys prepared. I mean if I’m going to say this is what’s important to us—the way that we prepare, the process that we prepare—then I’ve got to make sure we give our guys every opportunity for that. Sometimes you get lucky like we did this week. The Chicago weather I think really prepared us, I mean we were out every day this week. We were out Wednesday, it was really nasty. If we could’ve played Wednesday, I think we would’ve put 80 on the board. And that was no disrespect to Minnesota. But the way that they came out to practice on Wednesday morning, it was cold, it was nasty, it was raining, it was like a bunch of eight-year olds out jumping in puddles at a youth football practice on Wednesday. And their attitude was phenomenal. You know I was actually a couple seconds late to getting out when we do our early warm up. And I got out for on the field our early warm up and the guys were just embracing the suck. It was awesome. I mean they were just jumping around going nuts. And our strength coaches do a great job getting the juice going. But our guys embraced it. And then we came out as a full squad and, I don’t know if you guys could tell from where you were at, but there was no doubt our guys really embraced it. And you have to on days like today. Because it goes the other way if you don’t so I thought our guys did a great job with it.”
On the improvement of the offensive line throughout the season…
“Yeah I think they’ve worked really hard. I think that they’ve improved, they’ve gotten better. I think each team is different. You know even if you’re coming back, just because you played the year before, the next year is a totally different scenario. And we didn’t play well down in Durham and then I thought we played poorly in two quarters against Penn State and a quarter against Wisconsin. Outside of that I think we’ve fought pretty hard up front every game. I think that group has worked really hard to improve and get better.”
On how the weather affected the offensive gameplan…
“Yeah base offense today, today was a base offense day. We talked after the one series, we got the ball to the 50 and we threw it a couple of times just to try to get them off balance, and Mick just goes, ‘alright that’s done.’ And I just laughed and said, ‘yeah I think we’re probably done throwing unless we have to.’ And that had nothing to do with Clayton, catching the snap was hard enough as it is. And I thought it looked like again, we were 9-of-13, I don’t know if there were any drops. It didn’t really look like it, I just think we had a couple of sacks. And then we had the one throw that kind of slipped out of Clayton’s hand and went down. The rest of the day it looked like we caught it fairly well. I thought our center/quarterback exchanges, not only in the gun but also under center, in elements like today looked really good. A couple were high, but you’d rather have it high than on the ground. And then same thing with our snapping, that was Tyler’s first time in this type of weather as our short snapper and long snapper, I thought he handled it really well. But it was definitely base offense day.”
On the defensive performance and how far they’ve come as a unit…
“I think from a standpoint of our defense we’ve been really solid all year playing really solid team defense. We had a couple plays that popped today, we’ll take a look and see why we gave up some explosive runs, we’re usually pretty good with that. But it starts up front, I think that defensive line has been really our hardest working group, our most consistent group all year long. You know we’re playing, today skews it a little bit, about 8-10 guys in the rotation. And we’re playing a lot of young guys up there. Tyler Lancaster’s performance over his career speaks for itself too, it starts with the big fella. And then with Jordan and the guys as we get going in the rotation. You know I think Marty Long has done a great job with that group. We were able to keep it inside, tough day to throw. They ran a couple of double moves, that’s when we got some picks, and they tried to make some plays when they were down a handful of scores I think that was good decisions by them. Coaching that team, you probably got to try to make a play and we were fortunate enough on our end to end up catching the ball.”
On the current group of linebackers…
“He’s been outstanding all year. He’s had a great season. I think that group of three is as solid of a group as I’ve had, and we’ve had some solid linebackers in my time. Hall has been outstanding. He’s a complete linebacker, he can run, he’s physical, he’s got great hands, he’s got a high football IQ. You know, Paddy Fisher is having a spectacular rookie campaign. To play the way that he’s playing, he’s wise beyond his years. Paddy came in ready to go mentally, he’s worked hard physically, and then learned our system. He’s done a great job. The guy I’m most proud of is probably Brett Walsh. As a senior, he’s battled through a lot, he’s worked hard his whole career. He’s been banged up at times this year, he’s done just an absolutely phenomenal job leading that group. Because our only other senior in there is Warren, and that’s a positional move for Warren. It’s been hard… We’ve put him in different spots. Warren’s been a dominant special teams player for us. But Brett, from a senior leader standpoint, has been phenomenal. Just really thankful for that group.”
On shutting out Minnesota a week after they scored 54 points against Nebraska…
“Very different scheme, first of all. We’re very different than what they saw a week ago, I think fundamentally. We’re not a real sexy scheme team, we don’t do a million things. But what we do fundamentally I think gives us an edge. We spend so much time on the little things: playing with your feet apart, playing with your hands, being gap-sound, understanding where your help is, understanding how to properly separate and shed a block. When we do make formation adjustments, you know, why are we doing it, where’s the weakness, where’s the strength. And then, I think we tackled really well. We work at it every day, we work at it every day in the offseason with the footwork mechanics of it, and we pride ourselves in being a very fundamentally-sound defense that’s going to make you earn everything. A day like today, the elements were kind of like our 12th defender.”
On the thought process for going for two-point conversions…
“It looked like we gave up some push on a high snap on the PAT that got blocked. I don’t think that it was Charlie’s fault. So now we’re up 19-0, so let’s go for two. That’s a no-brainer. Then we’re up 25, so let’s go for two, that’s a no-brainer again. We weren’t very happy with the way we executed those plays. I think a guy got open and the ball got tipped at the line on the second one. And I think we over-thought the first one. I liked our call, and then we felt like maybe they saw our formation, and I think we over thought it. After that I think the next touchdown put us up 31, so an extra point makes it a four-touchdown game, with four two-point conversions. So no, I’m not just playing tiddlywinks. I’m not going rock-paper-scissors-go for two. We’ve got charts and all that. I’ve got a staff member who I’m talking through all those things with. We knew when we started the drive, we already knew we were going for two. That’s my job with the little stuff, to take that off of both coordinators’ plates and just tell them in advance “we’re going here.” On fourth down, I’m not telling Mick the play before that we’re going for it. Those are all thought-out processes that we go through all week, beyond the ebb and flow of the game. Going for two had nothing to do with the one being blocked. It’s just that the point total put us into that go-for-two mindset. We’re talking about it after every score to make sure you don’t leave room for your opponent to get back into it. You’re up 32, that’s four scores, four conversions. The analytics say… well, if you lose that game, how about that. I’ve been a part of some crazy games, so I’m never going to take anything for granted.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson
On Justin Jackson reaching 1,000 yards on the season…
“I didn’t know until we were out, and I asked him, and he just said “Yeah, I got it.” It wasn’t a concerted effort. It was in the game plan, and it was what they were giving us.”
On the impact of the weather…
“It was fun to play in inclement weather. I think regardless of what the weather was like, I think we would’ve still run it a bunch, because it was working for us. But I think you saw we handled the ball well—no turnovers, and they had quite a few. So we were ready for it in practice this week. Wasn’t a big issue.”
On the luxury of having Justin Jackson in difficult weather…
“Yeah it’s great, it takes a lot of pressure off the passing game, and he and Jeremy and all those other guys did a great job running the ball. But it started with the guys up front. And Garrett and Cam, they did a great job blocking. That’s where the game was won, and there’s not a whole lot more in it.”
On Justin Jackson’s season…
“Against a lot of teams, he’s looked really good. A lot of teams tried to take him away this year, and he still went over 1,000 yards. So it doesn’t matter what you do, you just can’t stop a guy like that.”
Suberback Garrett Dickerson
On using double tight-end formations…
“I guess we’ve started to use that more as the season has gone along. We just knew with some of our matchups that Cam and I would have a pretty big part in our offensive game plan today. He and I needed to come in and make our blocks, and catch the balls thrown to us, and try to help the offense in any way possible.”
On scoring twice in his final game at Ryan Field…
“It was exciting. I definitely had a lot of fun out there. We were just trying to do what we needed to do. We knew we were going to have to run the ball a lot, fortunately it set some things up for me in the passing game. But we just tried to come out and play a complete game as an offense, and do what we needed to do to win the game.
On embracing the weather during this week’s muddy practices…
“We knew that those conditions were going to be pretty game-like, so we had to go out there and attack practice like it was the game. We came out and did everything we needed to do and executed really well in practice, so it got us prepared to play today and play as well as we did.”
Offensive Lineman Brad North
On reverting back to the Wildcats’ base offense…
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to run the ball. I mean, obviously we want to be efficient in both aspects of the game, and of the offense, but personally as an offensive lineman, as much as I love Clayton [Thorson], I like to run the ball. I like to maul guys in front of us. Just glad we could do it today.”
On the offensive line’s success…
“We were struggling at the start of the season, but I think lately, we just had to make a concerted effort, and a conscious decision to flip the switch and just be better. And obviously it’s paying off. It’s very satisfying to look up at the stats board and see 266 yards rushing. I don’t know if that’s a season high or not, but it shows all the work that we’ve put in, and we’re not done yet.”
Cornerback Montre Hartage
On holding Minnesota to zero completions after the first drive…
“We knew that they were going to run the ball. We knew as the secondary that we couldn’t get lax. There were going to be times when they were going to sit back and throw the ball. Because the weather was so nasty out there, he wasn’t able to handle all the snaps. We tried to remain focused and challenged ourselves to each drive, each play, get better and better.”
On recording a fumble recovery and an interception…
“Yeah, it was a great game. Great team win. Honestly, wasn’t really thinking about statistics, after having those turnovers. That’s not really something I would dwell on, but just a great team win. The guys up front did a heck of a job today. Pounding day-in and day-out. The front seven did well. I got the turnover because Ben Oxley made a great punch on the ball. The ball came away, I just tried to make a play on it, and then we called a great play on third and five, put me in a great position to make a play on the ball.”
Running Back Justin Jackson
On playing with the implications of eclipsing 1,000 yards for the season…
“I was aware of the general idea of where I was, but for us we knew what the weather conditions were going to be, and I knew that we were going to have to run the ball to win. I’m glad we were able to go out there and impose our will like we did today, and credit to our linemen, they were really moving those guys.”
On taking more responsibility when the weather is bad…
“With the conditions we had today I knew that we were going to have to run the ball to win, and that comes down to our offensive line and us protecting the ball. Our defense did a great job against their run, and our offensive line and running backs were able to get things done.”
On rushing for 166 yards in his final game at Ryan Field…
“All things come to an end, and I think a lot of us were happy the way it ended. It was kind of a grade school type game with not very many people here, but we were able to go out and make our own energy and have fun. It’s a privilege to have been able to play here in front of a lot of good crowds with my boys.”
Safety Godwin Igwebuike
On preparing for a game in inclement weather…
“What’s unique about this team is that they are looking for every opportunity to get better. Regardless of the elements we are going to come out with the mindset that we are going to take advantage of the weather. We knew that it was going to be bad today, but we came out with great energy, and the leadership was great.”
On playing his last game at Ryan Field along with fellow safety Kyle Queiro...
“It was awesome, it was great. Speaking on behalf of Kyle, he has improved so much. He’s putting a lot more into the season and I think it’s paying off for him. It’s been a great blessing playing with him, and it will be exciting to see where the young guys take it from here. The ground work has been laid before us and we are trying to continue that.”
On playing with an active win streak…
“Our game plan each week is to go 1-0. But yeah, things are a lot more fun around here when you are winning. I’ve been a part of some not-so-winning teams and it kind of puts a damper on everything. It’s really special being a part of a winning streak like that.”
Linebacker Nate Hall
On having a career game and the success of the defense as a whole…
“We had a lot of fun, but the stats are credit to the guys up front. They did an incredible job controlling the run game and allowing myself and Paddy Fisher to flow freely. On the fumble recovery I was able to see the ball and run in to jump on it, and that’s credited to Paddy and the other guys up front for forcing the fumble. Also, a credit to the guys in the back for locking them up and allowing us in the middle to flow freely.”
On playing defense in rain…
“I don’t necessarily think it’s easier or harder, but it definitely presents a different challenge and a different game. We have to worry about slipping because if Godwin or anyone in the secondary slips up playing man-to-man coverage, that’s six points. It’s just a different type of game that presents a different challenge.’
Minnesota
Head Coach P.J. Fleck
Opening Statement
“First and foremost, thank you everyone for being here. I’ve got to give Northwestern a lot of credit. They played really, really well, especially at home in the conditions we were in. They did a tremendous job and won the football game. I told my team that we never really had opportunities to go win the football game because of the turnovers that we had – five turnovers – and six drops. When you have that, you’re not going to win many football games. Before we could even have an opportunity to go win the game, we were losing the game so fast that it just got out of control quickly. When you play a team like that and it gets out of control that way, and it keeps occurring, this team is very good. They do not beat themselves. We said all week that they never beat themselves. For us to be able to beat that football team, especially with the conditions like today, we were going to have to play like we did last week with the execution style and be able to mix it up. But we didn’t make enough plays in the passing game. I thought Demry [Croft] did a really nice job at times putting the ball where it needed to be where we can catch it. But then all of a sudden we get two possessions on defense where we stop them and it looks pretty good, then they have a possession where they go score, and then we give the ball back to them in our own territory, and next thing you know it’s 13-0. We give it to them again, now it’s 19-0, and then the whole game plan changes. And then when you have the weather like it was today, how the game plan changes does not lean in your favor. We’ve got to get better and respond the way we need to respond. But you’ve got to give Northwestern a lot of credit, they’re a really well-coached football team. Pat does a tremendous job. They took advantage of everything we gave them. No disrespect to them because they won the football game. But we did everything we could to give them the game every time we had the football. I’m obviously very disappointed, but we also had some guys that showed they could do some nice things. It’s unfortunate. It hurts. It was not pretty whatsoever, and there’s no excuses for us. And it 100% falls on my shoulders.”
On the impact of the turnovers…
“The magnitude of the score was five turnovers. Seven times five equals thirty-five. It was 39 to nothing. When you turn the ball over, when you turn it over inside your own red-zone as many times as we did, that team is going to score every time. They are one of the best teams in the country in scoring off of turnovers. They’ve done that all year. We gave it to them, and they took advantage of every opportunity we gave them. We moved the ball pretty well at times, but then we’d give the ball back to them.”
On the team’s receiving corps…
“I think this game shows how young and inexperienced we are at wideout, and how non-explosive we are at wide receiver. When the guys get their opportunities, do they take advantage of it? Or do they not take advantage of it? We just needed to make more plays.”
On Northwestern as a team…
“Their front seven, their run defense, is exceptional. One of the best in the conference. We knew we’d have a really tough time running the ball against them in between the tackles. We knew we’d have to get the ball out to the edge as much as we possibly could. Play-action game was going to be big for us. Field position was absolutely critical. We did well on first and second down, but when it got to third down we couldn’t convert. They have one of the best third-down defenses in the country. We figured we were going to have a tough day on third down and we couldn’t execute. We moved the ball okay, then then there’d be a sack or something that stopped us. It doesn’t surprise me how good they are. They’re the hottest team in the Big Ten – they’ve won six in a row, and they beat numerous ranked teams. I think they had 350 yards of offense. We gave them short fields to be able to execute, put plays together, and then make the plays that they did.”
On Quarterback Demry Croft:
“It was his fifth start. Everyone wants him to be Joe Montana already, but we have a very young and inexperienced football team. We’ve got to be better in the weight room. We’ve got to develop our players. We’ve got to be in our scheme longer. We’ve got to be able to recruit at an incredibly high level and that’s on the way. But for Demry, I think he’s done a tremendous job on the field and off the field in developing. Just because you lose the football game doesn’t mean that progress halts. It’s got to get even better because this is part of the adversity. Five weeks ago his feet were moving so fast there was no rhythm. Now we’re teaching him to throw in rhythm.”
Kobe McCrary, Senior running back:
On whether the game snowballed in the second quarter…
“Not really. I mean, Northwestern is a pretty good team. You’ve got to give them credit, they came out here strong. We just can’t turn the ball over, so I mean, that stuff hurts when we’re turning the ball over on our side of the field, we give them a short field so they could capitalize on it.”
On what it was like to play in the harsh conditions…
“It was muddy, it was hard. We’ve just got to focus on the ball, that was the biggest thing. Coach Burns told us pregame, ‘just make sure you focus on the ball’ and everything. We’re kind of disappointed, we turned the ball over five times.”
On running against the Northwestern defensive line…
“Yeah, their D-line is pretty good. Front seven is one of the top in the Big Ten. Everything we got was hard.”
Quaterback Demry Croft
On the result...
“It’s tough. It’s not always easy after a loss like this. But we’re going to grow from this, and get back to work tomorrow and the next week.”
On the weather conditions...
“It was a little tough. Wet balls. Cold weather. Wind. That’s a tough combination, but we have to maintain shape.”
On the interceptions…
“The first one, the corner sat on it, and he made a good play. So that’s that. On the second one, they rotated, we threw it into coverage, but I didn’t put enough on it, and that’s on me.”
On the Northwestern defense…
“They had two guys outside who could read. So they put a lot of pressure on. That’s about it.”
Linebacker Thomas Barber
On early-game issues…
“That was really just executional. We knew what was coming, and we practiced it all week. On defense we all say that we knew what was coming, and it was just the execution part, and staying disciplined in our gaps.”
On defending red zone passes…
“I think it was just our eyes. Staying disciplined. We need to focus on staying disciplined in crunch time down in the red zone.”
On playing defense after turnovers…
“It’s always difficult. When it’s the Big Ten, it’s always difficult to make stops. But it’s just what we need to do, doesn’t matter what the circumstance is. We’ve got to go out there and make stops.”
On what Head Coach P.J. Fleck had to say after the game…
“Once again, just execution. Just got to get the ball. Be disciplined and stay in the execution part. He was composed, he knew what was happening. He doesn’t let his circumstance dictate his behavior, and that’s what makes him an elite coach.”
