Oct. 11, 2015 Recap | Box Score | Notes
Rutgers Assistant Head Coach Norries Wilson
COACH WILSON: He played like I've never seen him play, who weren't perfect but ran a ball against a team that people said we couldn't run the ball against in the second half. And protected the passer, gave up a couple sacks, caught some big balls, and just played hearts out for each other.
At the end of the game, the clock management is 100 percent on the guy in charge and I'm the guy in charge. So I mismanaged the situation. Chris Laviano did what he was told to do and I told him the wrong thing. So don't think that he screwed it up.
I want to say I appreciate the fans who clapped those young men in and gave them support and showed them that they cared. They could have just as easily turned their backs on him through all the things we've been through.
You're going to ask me about Leonte Carroo, I'll say, you need to ask me about Carlton Agudosi, who had to sit and not play. So our best player could play (tearing up).
So if you've got questions, I'll answer questions.
Q. Would you clarify, was Laviano told to spike the ball --
COACH WILSON: He did what he was told to do.
Q. Where does this emotion come from -- the loss --
COACH WILSON: No. It comes from taking away a chance to win from some guys who played real hard.
Q. What did you tell the team --
COACH WILSON: That it's my fault and we've got to play again next week. That it wasn't perfect. But that's why we play. They put themselves in a position to have an opportunity to tie the game and win the game, and that was taken from them. And fair is a four-letter word like some of those other words you can't use on TV, but it ain't fair.
Q. How would you assess the way Chris played?
COACH WILSON: I think he did okay. I haven't looked at the stats. He threw the ball -- he had some guys open. He had some pressure on -- he might have got happy feet one or two times. He didn't turn the ball over. He missed a handoff and he got back on the ball. I thought he did a good job without seeing the film.
Q. Can you just talk about the decision to blitz so much tonight? You had not done a lot of that, either in the run game or the pass game, and blitzes came from all over?
COACH WILSON: I think the defensive staff did a good job putting the plan in place. I think for the most part, we held back some running backs that I thought were very good running backs. Those kids, the coaches at Michigan State, they are good players. I watched them on film and they can run the ball downhill and I think our defensive line and linebackers stepped up and outside of that last run, they got them down to the three and did a good job containing them.
So I think Joe had a good plan. I think we came free a couple times. Got some hits on the quarterback, made him throw some balls away.
Q. Quentin Gause played a hell of a game today and has been a big key for you guys in the defense. What can you say about him and what he's meant to this team?
COACH WILSON: Well, he's been here a long time. He's a quality person. He's raised by good people. He's from Rochester. Just being here and trying to be a positive leader. He's not perfect.
I'm sure there's going to be some mistakes on the film that he's made but he plays with a lot of emotion and he plays with a lot of heart and the kids know that when it comes from him, it's honest and it's genuine. And he's not going to give them something that's not genuine. He's not going to ask his teammates to do something that he's not willing to do himself. We enjoy having him as part of our program.
Q. PJ had the 72-yard run and I think he had maybe one more carry. Did he get banged up?
COACH WILSON: He did not get banged up. That was actually a function of the rotation. It wasn't on purpose. It's just how the rotation came out and when we came out in 22 personnel and ran it with Josh. And the next rotation was on Rob, then can he came out and ran it with Rob. And they kept the ball for the first drive, was seven, eight minutes, and we went three and out and they came back and drove again in the third quarter and scored again. So that quarter was gone before Rob even got his set of plays.
So it was a tough deal on PJ even though he had the big run. Wish we could have got him some more.
Q. How about the interception --
COACH WILSON: It was very important. I thought in the first half that we played very good first and second down defense. I thought that we were struggling on third down and that was a big third down play. And it got us, got the defense off the field, and stopped a going ahead drive on an opportunity to kick a field goal to make it 14-13. So I thought it was a huge turnover for us to get.
Q. You said you talked about Agudosi but just how much did Carroo add on the field?COACH WILSON: He added a bunch. He caught some big balls. He did a good job blocking. He did a good job finishing plays. I'm sure he's going to be very sore tomorrow, just working out a lot different than going out and banging and hitting guys all night and having contested throws, and he brought a lot of energy to the stadium with his play and he brought a lot of energy to the sideline with his play.
Q. Going back to the interception afterward -- do you look back at that situation --
COACH WILSON: We weren't content to go into the locker room with a lead. We had an idea what we wanted to do and we weren't efficient on first down to carry on with the plan. So it wasn't as if we sat on the ball. We had something we wanted to do and then there was a mix-up on personnel on second down which forced us to call time out and at that point we decided to just not throw caution to the wind and then to go into the locker room.
SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER Leonte Carroo
On his emotions entering the game …
"I was very excited to get out there and play today for my team. It was unfortunate that we lost, but I was just very excited all day. I had a lot of momentum coming into this game. I was excited to be back out there with my teammates and I was going to do anything I could to perform at a high level for them."
On expecting to have the impact he did after his absence …
"The bottom line is I'm a competitor, so I was going to go out there and play as hard as I can no matter what the situation was. No matter what game I came back, I was going to approach the game the same exact way, so that's exactly what I did tonight."
On Michigan State's Arjen Colquhoun's pass break up on his potential go-ahead touchdown …
"It's a football game. I made a bunch of great plays tonight and he made his great play. He did a good job playing it and he deflected the pass."
SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK Chris Laviano
On taking positives away from his three-touchdown performance …
"I think the offense fought really hard. I think there's things we can improve on obviously because we didn't score as many points as them. Ultimately we had chances to win the game and we didn't."
On making good decisions throwing the football throughout the game …
"I think I took care of the ball well and made plays when they were there. We were in a tough situation in the final seconds and it just didn't go in our favor."
JUNIOR LINEBACKER Steve Longa
On unit's confidence after playing Michigan State tough …
"Confidence gets built throughout the week and I feel like we practiced well enough and we were confident coming in. The way we played is just a reflection of how we practiced."
On Michigan State's success on third down in the game …
"We just didn't play well. We're a team. It's like the chain in a bicycle. If one link is missing, it's going to mess up so you can't ride your bike anymore. We weren't able to execute as a team and that's what happened."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Quentin Gause
On his message to the rest of the team after the game …
"Just keep going, don't stop. That was a close game. We could've pulled it out - could've, should've, would've. But we've got to come back tomorrow, get in the weight room, go over the film, and get back to it. We've got Indiana next."
On assistant coach Norries Wilson's emotion following the loss …
"He cares just as much as we do. We were right there. We were right there but we've got to move on now."
Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement: "I thought we played good on special teams. We had an outstanding drive on the last series and we had big catches in the game. We were getting 15, 16, 17 on third down. (Quarterback Connor) Cook played well. He played under some pressure, which hasn't been the case. We've been able to protect him. I thought Macgarrett Kings had big catches, I thought R.J. Shelton's big catch on third down on that drive. And then DeAnthony Arnett had two big plays, a touchdown catch and a third-down catch, so two huge plays. We have to get better. There's certain things we can't have happen. We can't have a bad snap, we can't get a field goal blocked, we can't shank a punt, we can't throw an interception on the seven-yard line. We left a lot of points off the board and somehow we survived it. Good football teams do that.
"I want to congratulate Rutgers. They played with a lot of conviction, a lot of energy and when you let people hang around, they get stronger and stronger. It was a great crowd out there tonight."
On the offense coming around: "We didn't run the ball as effectively as we have. Quite honestly, they had too much pressure. With that being said, I think we had to juggle some things around. I thought it was a good effort by our offense. They had to score points and that's what happened. We didn't punt. We punted I think once in the second half, so that was a positive."
On QB Connor Cook's game: "I thought it was a game he needed to push through and take hits and make plays and he did that. He made some things happen."
On losing offensive lineman Jack Allen: "We lost Jack and I wanted to center it up if we had to kick a field goal. I think it was third down and we did do that, so if we did do that, we were going to have to kick it on fourth down and if we were short, I wanted to be in the middle of the field. So that was the thought process there. But we have guys hurt, but we're not going to, pardon my pun, use a crutch. Things happen. Football's a tough game. You're going to lose some guys, but you have to play through those things and it makes guys around more experience. We'll get some guys back next week, so we'll see how it goes."
On the impact of Rutgers' Leonte Carroo: "Carroo makes some big plays. Some of it was him, some of it was on us. But there's no question he makes some big plays. "
On the decision to pull Delton Williams redshirt: "First of all, he's had an impact in the locker room. He's been a leader and extremely positive with everything he needs to do. When we lost (Monty) Madaris, I felt like we needed a lift emotionally as much as anything and he enters as the third back if Madrey can't go. I just felt like there's things that he can do that can help this team win this year. It gives us another quality, physical back, so we needed him for this game."
On how the team is handling things at this point: "I think we're winning. The bottom line is that we're winning. We've had good practices during the week and the outlook is positive. Things happen and things change all the time. We're a 6-0 football team and I keep saying it. Across the country, you watch what goes on every week. There's tough games out there and we're struggling and I think we're getting everyone's best shot. I'm sure next week will be a great game"
On not having LJ Scott in the first half: "You know, he was coming off the knee, so we pulled him. He didn't practice much this week, so we tried to hold him, but we felt like he could play if we needed him to play. But obviously we needed him."
On seeing Connor Cook under pressure: "He's had a tremendous career up to this point thus far. He's used to playing in big games and he has the experience. He knows what to do with the football and he has a quick release. He made some great throws out there. Big time throws for big time yardage. So, he did a great job. He did have one pick, but it was a great play by the guy and he had the opportunity to hand it off, but it's his read."
On what happened on defense after the 24-14 lead: "They hit (Leonte) Carroo. We had coverage blown on it. We rolled the corner up and we were left hanging out to dry. So, that's what happened. But, again, things were corrected. On fourth down, we had a freshman in there and he has to learn that things change, different things change. We have to correct things if there are mistakes being made. But I can't ever fault the effort of our players and how hard they play or our toughness. And when you win close games, you expect to win close games."
On Kodi Kieler's toughness: "He was hurting out there and everybody recognized that. We tried to get him out a little bit, but I know he ended up playing at the end as well. He's a tough guy and he just kept playing."
On when Rutgers tied the game: "We just have to go. We had five minutes and we wanted to take the clock down to two minutes. We didn't want to be in a rush and we had two timeouts. We wanted to make sure we took the clock to end the game, which I think we did. I can't remember what I said at the end, but it was a lot of energy down there and we kept playing. "
On the Michigan game week: "I'm going to just delay that response and focus on the present. Getting on the plane, going home and making plans and looking for things we need to get better at and worry about our football team."
Senior QB Connor Cook
On teammates playing hurt: "Obviously anyone who has watched us this year, we've had our fair share of injuries, but that's not going to stop us. We've got guys who are not as experienced playing o-line and the protection wasn't all that great, but its stuff you have to deal with. On the outside, LJ (Scott) came up so big on that last drive and the other guys in the passing game stepping up and bailing me out. I think it was second down or third down, it was the first drive we had in the second half, with Paul Lange on the corner route going out and making a hell of a catch. Credit goes to those guys."
On third down pass on the last drive: "It was just man coverage. I just threw it up there for him to make a play and he made it. It was grown man play. It was plays like that you see in the NFL. Guys going up and over the top and making a play like that instead of waiting for the ball. That was just a hell of a play."
On getting hit: "When you are out there, it doesn't matter who is playing for you, who you are throwing to, who is blocking for you, what kind of play I made before, whatever, if you think about stuff like that, you shouldn't be out there playing. The only thing you can control as a quarterback is going out there and reading the defense and throwing to the right guy and handing the ball off to the running back. I know the pressure is coming, but you just have to stand back there, make the right reads and deliver the ball."
On the health of the team heading into the Michigan game next week: "Myself, I'm not concerned at all. Guys are going to get healthy. Next week we are going to have some guys back. Like I've said before, we have so many other guys on this team, obviously, they may not have the experienced but they are just waiting on their opportunity to step in there and shine."
On the final scoring drive: "We just wanted to pound it. We felt like we had momentum at that point to grind it out and even get into the end zone. We felt like we had the edge and we weren't going to settle for a field goal."
On protection of the o-line: "Looking back, besides Air Force, Purdue didn't bring a lot of pressure, Oregon didn't bring a whole lot of pressure, I really didn't get hit a lot against those teams. If you look at Air Force and the pressure they brought, I would say Rutgers brought more maybe pressure than them. With the o-line we had today, and the blitzes they brought, the pressure that I saw, they did a decent job."
Senior DE Shilique Calhoun
On Connor Cook's performance: I'd say the whole offense showed up. There were a lot of guys rotating and playing different positions, but you see everyone stepping up and that's the best thing about it. Guys are ready to come into the rotation and contribute to the team. He's done a great job of making sure the o-line is steady and protecting. Of course there are going to be mishaps where they get into the backfield, but he's come back every time, even after big hits. I give credit to him because I know he's stepping up and making sure they are motivated to move forward."
On Rutgers wearing down the team: "I wouldn't say they were wearing us down. We were playing the way the Spartan dogs usually play. I think we lost a little bit of our focus. Drives before that kind of got us uneasy about other things. Toward the end we realized we could only do our job and trust and faith in our teammates to do what they need to be doing. That's what happened. We came up big in the end. It shows that if you trust in your teammates, good things can happen. All you can do is your job. You can't do someone else's job, that when the defense breaks down. I credit the defense for stepping up at the end and finishing it out."
On when focus was lost: "It was more so in the third quarter. We weren't reading our keys the correct way. We made adjustments. We came to the sideline and realized our mistakes. Of course towards the end of the game, we cleaned everything up and got the win."
On playing near home: "I had a lot of family there in the stands cheering me on. The main thing I was focused on was the game. I tried not to get too caught up in my family's presence. I was just focused on trying to win the game."
On celebrating the win: "We still need to evaluate the film and understand what we didn't do so well. That's something we've always done and we are going to continue to do that. We respect every team we go against. The most important thing is evaluating ourselves. We are going to celebrate this victory and rejoice in it, but we still have to evaluate our film before we start moving on the next opponent."
