It's a physical game. When you play them, you're playing a different scheme on defense. Offensively, they present you with multiple looks that most teams don't present you with.

So it was a challenge that we presented to our football team. I thought they did a great job this week of preparing, taking care of their bodies, and coming out ready to play.

Started that game 21-0 and then to finish the game the way we did, I'm really excited about the way our football team played today. Questions.

Q. Could you talk about Gary becoming the all time leading touchdown passes today and kind of what that says about him. What that means.
Coach Kyle Flood: Sure. It really wasn't anything that I focused on before the game. Jay told me afterwards that he had broken the record. I guess on some level I knew he was close, but it wasn't something I was tracking. Not because -- I just felt like at some point this year he would have it. I think it demonstrates that he's played good football over a long period of time. When you get into all time career leader in a category like victories or touchdowns or rushing yards or passing yards, you have to play a lot of football to do that. And to play a lot of football, you got to play well. Gary's not perfect, but Gary has played a lot of good football for us.

Q. Talk about what you saw in a Ken's play and if Andre has to start next week just your confidence level in him.
Coach Kyle Flood: I didn't really see much of it. I saw the play, but it was on the other sideline. They made the call, they reviewed it and that's the way it works. So there's no appeal process. It is what it is. He was suspended for the second half this week and he'll be suspended for the first half next week and over the next couple days as we get closer to Tuesday we'll figure out who is going to start the game.

Q. Was Gary -- not that there's ever a bad time to throw four TD's, but was it especially important with Paul James out and questions how the offense was going to jump start?
Coach Kyle Flood: I don't think it was so much the fact that Paul James was out, but the way they played defense, they load the box.

They are committed to stopping the run and they're going to create one-on-ones. We needed to it make some plays in the passing game to loosen them up a little bit.

So I think that was probably more important and more of a reason -- not really Paul James, because I think we have got talented guys carrying the football. Both of them were over 80 yards today.

Q. Initial impressions on Des and Justin today.
Coach Kyle Flood: I thought they ran hard, they ran well for the most part. I'm sure there will be corrections. Des ran it 21 times, Justin 12 times, so 33 carries. I thought Gary had two third down conversions with his feet today. I think it was two. I think those are big plays in the game as well. So and good decisions by him.

Q. Talk about Carroo today, his performance and -- is he bringing it to another level?
Coach Kyle Flood: He's been making spectacular catches now for the last two years. So I don't know if it's to another level or not. I think he's played at a very high level now for close to a year and a third, I guess it would be.

I thought he made two catches today that were really spectacular catches, one of them on the corner in the end zone for the touchdown and the other one on the sideline. The ball was down below his left hip and he caught it with his fingertips and then went up the sideline for another 20 yards. So I think he made some high level of difficulty catches today. That's probably why he jumps out.

Q. The ability to stay with the run in the second half and kind of get it churning, how important is it just for the psyche of a team to do that?
Coach Kyle Flood: I think it's really important. I think it's really important because it's what we say we are. And if we're going to say we are, then you have to be able to do it.

We had a six-play drive, a seven-play drive and a 12-play drive in the second half and that's really good. And then I don't know how many plays that last drive when we got a chance to finish the game. So that's a good thing when you can finish the game with the ball in your hands.

Q. From your advantage point the Turzilli play, how did that unfold and was that mostly Turzilli making a great route or how did that unfold?
Coach Kyle Flood: The first read was Leonte. Gary didn't think it was a good look, so he came to Turzilli, it was the second read, and he hit him in stride and it was a good throw, it was a good catch. And if you can catch it in stride clean, you got a chance to run away and I think Drew has got good speed and he was able to do that.

Q. I know you believe in momentum in games, did you feel like that was a knockout blow or a turning point?
Coach Kyle Flood: I didn't feel it was a knockout blow, it was too early in the game for that. But it's a big play in the game. That play, that play got us up 21.

Yeah, you get up 21-0 on somebody, I would imagine your chances of winning the game go pretty high. So the game's not over, there's a lot of football left to play, but it certainly gave us a lot of momentum. You start with the minus one yard line and three plays later you score a touchdown, there's some momentum to be had there.

Q. On the defensive communication without Kevin Snyder
Coach Kyle Flood: I got to watch the film. I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure. I think as a team we played good defense, he's a part of that. So he certainly helped us play good defense today. But I think we're really going to have to examine how well he played and then see what Kevin's availability is going forward and then decide again who is the best person to start the game for us.

Q. How was the communication on defense with Kevin out most of the last two games, was that just Waters takes that over and how does that go?
Coach Kyle Flood: The middle linebacker has got to do a lot of that job. Lorenzo does that on the back end, but that's even when Kevin is in there. So I think that, watching it on the sideline today, I thought the communication on defense was very good. Thank you.

Student-Athlete Quotes
Senior QB Gary Nova
On becoming the school's all-time passing touchdown leader: "I didn't know until halftime when I came into the locker room and Delon Stephenson told me congratulations. It didn't really hit me about what I had accomplished until after the game. When you commit to a school, you can only hope to end up as the guy who leads them in touchdowns, passing yards, wins, everything like that. Especially at a school that has so much tradition and has been playing football for such a long time. It's a great accomplishment, but these individual accomplishments don't really mean that much. I just really want to win with this team. We did a good job of that today, we just have to do a better job and focus on getting our first Big Ten win next week."

On his relationship with WR Leonte Carroo: "They used a lot of man coverage. When I get 1-on-1 with Leonte, our odds are pretty good. The offensive line did a great job, Leonte ran great routes, and I just had to put it on him. "

On the team's start: "Coach Flood has been preaching to us about how teams have done the week after they play Navy, so we knew we had to come out quick today and score some points."

On WR Assistant Coach Mike Teel: "He tells me about just staying the course, being a good leader for this team. In practices and on the sidelines we are talking about plays. He just gives me advice. He's a real mellow guy, so I know I can go to him."

Junior WR Leonte Carroo
On the running game: "We have a lot of trust in Desmon Peoples and Justin Goodwin. They do a great job making plays. Desmon did a great job in the backfield making plays, breaking tackles for extra yards."

On how Tulane covered him: "I just trust my technique. I played with great technique due to what my coaches teach me. Anybody who lines up against me, no matter what coverage they may be playing against me, I'm going to trust my technique and go out and play hard. The game was a man-to-man game, so we knew it would be a big game for the receivers. Going in to a game, I've never felt so confident, because I knew they were going to play a lot of man-to-man and that equals a lot of big plays."

On QB Gary Nova becoming Rutgers' all-time leader in passing touchdowns: "I'm very happy for Gary. Gary and I have been doing this for a long time. It's well deserved. He's been doing this for a while, we've been doing this for a while, and I'm very happy for him."

Sophomore RB Desmon Peoples
On the team's production without RB Paul James: "I feel we did pretty well. He was a vital part of our offense, but we picked up for it today."

On making more plays after contact: "Yea definitely. I knew I needed to make more plays than I've been making, so that was a big point for me."

On looking for his first career touchdown: "It just makes me want to keep working, keep running, and keep grinding for it."

Senior DE David Milewski
On the defense: "That's a testament to how our defense is. If you play consistently, do your job, you'll be good. We had just one bad play and they hurt us for it. Other than that, I think our defensive performance was pretty good. We stayed focused for the most part."

On LB L.J. Liston: "It was a good game to build off of. In terms of his communication, we had no issues, he stayed calm and confident."

On the defense feeding off an early lead: "Absolutely, we're challenging each other. We had a three-and-out on the first drive; they went down and scored a touchdown, so we're trying to go back and forth on who could play a better game. That first quarter especially we did a great job with that. "

Redshirt DE Kemoko Turay
On the game: "Our performance was very good. We showed each other that if we all do our job, the defense is going to work; the scheme is going to work. Nobody is going to be able to stop us if we do our job. We've been listening to the coaches and going out and doing our jobs."

On taking this win and going forward: "We all will carry this momentum. I tried my best to help the team on third downs and help the team out. Even if there's a little mistake, I just try and go back out and go 1-0 on the next play."

Tulane Head Coach Curtis Johnson
Opening statement: "I thought Coach Flood did a great job with his team. They run, they are physical, they are a very athletic team. He's even kicked it up since Coach Schiano was here. Those receiving corps played really, really well. They've got a real tough defense. They blitzed us some. We had some sacks. They are a really good football team."

On injury to QB Tanner Lee: "He's injured right now. He'll get evaluated. He went out in the second quarter and he couldn't finish.

Tanner practiced all week and you do some reps with Devon (Powell) and a little bit with Nick (Montana), but they don't get a majority of the reps. We had to cut down some of exactly what we do. We weren't very effective."

On mistakes early on in the game: "We made some mistakes. We are playing some kids that probably, right now, shouldn't be playing. We had some early on mistakes, some penalties and some mishaps early on. Actually, we cut our penalties down. "

On getting behind early: "I thought we got behind. We gave up some big plays. Usually we don't give up big plays. Defensively, we gave up some really, really big plays early on. It's a credit to Coach Flood and his group. Those receivers caught the ball well. The quarterback was very poised and played like a senior."

On cornerback Lorenzo Doss: "You want Doss to play just a little bit better, but he managed to get one pick. He didn't play as well as I wanted him to. I thought our defensive line got a little manhandled early on, especially in the passing game. I thought we did a decently on running. Passing game, they did a great job of protecting their guy."

On Rutgers' first three drives: "I think they play a mix game. I think those first three drives, they got some big plays. Uncharacteristically, they earned some big plays and after that we kind of settled down, pushed the defense a little bit and kind of settled in a little bit. They are a good team and I thought they played outstanding."

On Tulane's growth: "I think they are growing somewhat. If you look, Tanner (Lee) was 7-of-9 for 81 yards. He's come a long way. He didn't throw an interception. He moved the ball. I think our running game is pretty good. Sherman (Badie) had over 100 yards. Lazedrick (Thompson) was almost four yards per carry. That's a big, physical tough Big Ten team that you're playing against. (Nick) Montana came in with a little practice and he was 5-of-5. We've got to cut down on the sacks."

On the kicking game: "In years past, we were a little bit spoiled. We had Cairo (Santos) and it was just automatic and you play games a little differently. Now all of a sudden you have a true freshman coming in. I think he's a little bit nervous. He's got stage fright. This kid comes in, kicks an extra point and he doesn't make that. He hits the goal post on another. We just have to get him practicing and get him doing better."

On penalties: "They are very detrimental. We got seven in this game and that's the least we've gotten. Usually it's more. We're playing a lot of young players. I think it's the second most freshmen and sophomores in the world, I guess. These young players get in the game and they are a little bright eyed. They just can't sustain it."

On the upcoming bye week: "Perfect. We have to clean up some stuff."

On quarterback Devin Powell: "I liked that drive he had right before that half. And understand, you don't practice the second team or third team quarterbacks very much. He's doing a lot of stuff off memory from training camp. I thought he did well. He got a couple of throws in there and had a nice run. When you lose your starter, especially your freshman who needs all the reps in practice, you don't get very many other guys reps at quarterback."

On the team's confidence going into the bye week: "We haven't won in a long time and the confidence is one of the things you like with a young team. We have to figure out a way to get some our confidence and get our swagger back. Going into this (season), you knew it could happen. You are playing the AAC, ACC, Big Ten, that could possibly happen. We have to do some things in practice to build momentum.

On the quarterbacks:We are going to look at both of them (quarterbacks Devin Powell and Nick Montana ) and if (Lee) Tanner isn't back this week, we'll see who does best. It's perfect for the off week because we can test both of them and see who is going to be in."

Tulane Player Quotes

QB Devin Powell
On entering the game for Tanner Lee: "I had to go in and play. I had to do my job, handle my business and go in and execute."

On motivating the team: "The mentality I had was to keep the team up. We had to try our best to score points and stay in the game. We had to focus on executing plays and scoring touchdowns."

On stepping in to the new leadership role: "I feel that I have to step up to the plate. With Tanner down, I have to step up big time and lead the team to more victories."

RB Sherman Badie
On keeping up the mentality when behind on the scoreboard: "We try not to get down on ourselves, even when we are behind. We continue to play. We are not going to give up a game because of the score. We are going to keep playing until the clock hits zero-zero in the fourth quarter."

S Sam Scofield
On giving up big plays: "The secondary has got to play better -myself and everyone. Those three big plays cannot happen. I thought we did a decent job stopping the run, but those big plays can't happen. We are going to work hard next week to not let that happen ever again."

On the team's progression: "We showed positive signs in some aspect, but we haven't put together a full, offensively, defensively and on special teams. Look at the second half, that is how the game should have went on defense. We knew they were going to come out pounding and throwing deep balls, but they aren't a high scoring team. We can't let ourselves get behind that quick."

On keeping up a positive attitude: "The biggest thing is that if a big play does happen, we cannot get down on ourselves. We have to keep fighting. When they get a big play, we have to keep a positive attitude and not let them get another. Which happened on multiple drives today. WE have to stay more positive and focused."

On the timing of the upcoming bye weeks: "I think the timing is a good thing, especially going into conference play. We need to regroup in practice and get ready for UConn."

CB Lorenzo Doss
On executing the game plan: "We had a good game plan against them. We just didn't execute it. That is on us as players. We have to execute. It was really on us."

SS Darion Monroe
On moving forward to the second half of the season: "We are a second half team. Last year we made the run in the second half, winning four straight games. That is the type of team we are. We have a lot of things we need to fix and we are going to fix them in the bye week. After that we are going to hit the ground rolling."

DT Tranzel Smart
On the upcoming bye weeks: " We have to practice hard. I think it can help us tremendously. We have to come together and practice how we play."

On the mentality moving forward: "We have to have a positive attitude and bring everybody together."