Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano
Opening Statement: Okay. Guys. The guys played
hard but we really didn't play a very clean game. Hats off to Penn State. I thought they played very well. We struggled to handle them up front, especially offensively, and certainly wasn't for lack of fight. The players fought throughout the game. But overall we didn't coach well enough or play well enough to win, so Penn State deserved to win today more than we did. Questions?
Q. Can you talk about the thought process going for it on fourth and one from your own 45 those two times in the first half and then were you okay with the play calling or was it a matter of getting physically beat up front?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, I was good with everything. Good with the decision to go for it. Good with the play call. I believe in our guys. I believe that we can convert those. We just didn't do it. There's been many times we have and that didn't happen this time. But I knew we were playing a good football team, so I knew we were going to be aggressive for sure.
Q. What it you see from Noah, and what made their the defense so tough today?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: Well, I thought Noah actually did a pretty good job today. He was under duress much of the day when he dropped back, we didn't protect very well. Again, hats off to Penn State. You could say we didn't protect well or they did a great job generating pass rush. So it's always a two-sided situation. We just -- we didn't play clean. Our guys played hard. It wasn't -- they fought the entire game to the last snap but hard isn't good enough in this league.
This is big boy football, and you've got to play clean. You've got to play precise. You've got to coach that way, and just as an organization, we didn't do well enough.
Q. Just curious, Tyshon Fogg didn't play much. Is that an injury thing? I know he was dressed. And Isaih [Pacheco] only had five carries. Did he get dinged up or did you just move away from the run?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: You know what, it was so disjointed the entire game offensively. I don't know if anybody really got into a flow. We were hunting and pecking, trying to find some things that would be effective. So I don't think it's anything about Isaiah. I know there was no injury to Isaiah. It's just -- it wasn't on purpose. It was kind of one of those -- we were struggling to find success on the offensive side today.
With Tyshon Fogg, Tyshon he had an injury he fought through this week but really, didn't get enough practice and was able to do some things. I think as the game went on, it maybe wasn't strong enough to go anymore. So you know, he tried.
Q. [Olakunle] Fatukasi had 18 tackles on the day. Can you talk about his play and what his contributions mean to the defense?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: 03 is a very special player. He has a very good nose for the ball. He's a very good tackler. Glad we have him. I think he plays very smart football. Understands what offenses are doing. I think the other thing I didn't mention when I talked to Fogg's injury, I thought Rashawn Battle, without watching anything, I thought Rashawn Battle stepped in and did a solid job. Yeah, just not well enough to win.
Q. Penn State is going to be a measuring stick for your program for a while now. When you look at this game now, is it a matter of you needing to get more talent to compete at the level that they have recruited at?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: Well, I think, again, as I have talked before this year, just because we are doing things the right way and we're developing and all that, so are other programs and they have been doing it longer than we have.
So we have, when I took the job, we not only have to catch up to people but we've got to pass them. Certainly Penn State is one of those programs. Today we didn't -- you know, we didn't show that. So is it recruiting? Sure. Is it better coaching? Sure. Is it everything? Better execution, all those things add up, but you're right. They are a talented team. They have had some tough losses, but you know, you look at them on the, just looking at them and then you watch the way they play, they are a talented team.
Q. Brendon White was ruled out again today. What's the latest on him and what did you think of Jones filling in for him today?
COACH GREG SCHIANO: You know, I think first off, Brendon wasn't good enough to play health-wise, so we didn't -- we didn't risk that.
And then as far as -- as far as Naijee Jones, I think he did pretty well. It's hard. You're watching everything as a head coach, so I wasn't just watching him, but I thought he -- I thought he played solid.
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin
Opening Statement: "The weather conditions were significant during the game and went into a lot of the decisions. Our defense played extremely well. That's now two weeks in a row, especially on short yardage situations. We won the penalty battle, except for the very first game, which is very unusual. We've gone back to being one of the more discipline teams in the country, when it comes to penalties. We won the explosive play battle, surprisingly. The biggest thing in the game was the front, our offensive and defensive line. That offense had been pretty much been able to move the ball and score points on everybody and our defense was able to be able to play really at a high level. Even when we turned the ball over on our side of the field, our defense stepped up in sudden change defense and played extremely well. There were a lot of good things to build on, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The running game on offense, I thought that we had a really good plan and a good feel for how we wanted to attack their defense and then they made some adjustments. And then we adjusted from there as well. The special teams are probably the area that was impacted the most from the weather. Most importantly, we are 1-0 this week on the road, we're going to enjoy this trip back to Happy Valley.
On defensive line stopping fourth and shorts: "That's been two weeks in a row with those stops. They had a lot of window dressing on their plays with the speed sweeps and the fake speed sweeps. I thought we did a really good job of playing in the box, making sure there our front seven handled the box to get our perimeter players to handle the speed sweeps and things like that. We were able to come off and be disruptive. We thought we had a chance with our defensive line on their offensive line. That's two weeks in a row in critical times our defense was able to make significant stops."
On QB Will Levis: "We have to miss some passes in there, no doubt about it. The weather was also a significant factor, but we have to mix some passes in there to be sure they respect in."
On the 4th and 13 call to go for it: "We weren't close to field goal range. That's also why we kind of went to a four-minute offense there. When we know when we were in that situation in terms of going into the wind trying to eat the clock up so we could get the ball back, with the wind, and take advantage of that. Again, we were kind of in no man's land. So, we made it made the decision to go for it there, but yeah the wind was the biggest factor."
On defense: "We've gotten back to playing how we played for the last six years which is making sure to limit explosive plays, make people earn it, run to the ball, gang tackle, the basic fundamentals of defense which we've done a pretty good job of here for a long time. And we got back to that. I think a lot of it deals with our defensive line and our front being explosive and being able to handle the run or get penetration. I still think we can be a little bit better when it comes to pressuring the quarterback and sacks, but overall it's hard to argue with what we've done the last two weeks specifically on the defensive side of the ball."
On QB Will Levis and his usage: "It's primarily been a short yardage offense that we've been using that for. That's been the plan from the beginning, but we'd like to mix some things in there no doubt."
On fundamentals and lack of it heading into the game in relation to COVID protocols: "Our focus from the very beginning with our administration and players was to keep everyone safe and healthy. We did take an intentionally conservative approach because of what our primary goal was from the beginning. You also factor in different rules for different states, what other teams may have gotten in during the spring practices. That's very difference across the conference. I'm very proud with how we have handled COVID, knock on wood, up to this point. At the end of the day, that's really the most important thing. Our responsibility is to keep our student-athletes safe and healthy and we've worked hard at that. Has there been impact on other things because of that? Yes."
On play-calling in second half with weather: "It affected both teams, us specifically significantly on special teams and offense."
On QB Sean Clifford: "I thought early on he played really well. Obviously, the turnovers, we can't have them. When he missed today, he missed high, which puts you in jeopardy of tipped passes and things like that. Early on, he looked very confident and comfortable in managing the game. But we've got to do it consistently and not put the ball at risk."
On turnovers: "The fumbles, its ball security, technique, understanding that people will go for the ball. We've done a good job of it in previous years, but it's been an issue for us this year, it has had the biggest impact on our season, the turnovers, no doubt about it. We have to be able to push the ball up the field more. Not just this game, but in general. By doing that, it opens up the underneath stuff. We have to threaten people down the field more. We have to get better in that area."
