Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano
Opening Statement
GREG SCHIANO: All right, fellas, thanks for sticking around. We ran into a buzzsaw tonight. Not acceptable by our team. I've got a lot that I've got to think about, a lot that I've got to do. As the head coach of this program, it's my responsibility and very disappointed. Very good football team, Oregon, there's no doubt about it. They played with a heck of an edge. We didn't. And that's really what -- wasn't for a lack of effort. It was not execution, and that falls back on the coach. So we will get it fixed. We've got six days to do it.
As a defensive coach, 750 total yards for Oregon, 415 rushing yards for Oregon. Are you embarrassed by those numbers?
GREG SCHIANO: "Embarrassed" is a tough word. Embarrassed would be if you didn't have guys and players and coaches that are working their tail off. I'm very disappointed in those numbers. I would agree with you, 750 is a huge number, one that I've never -- I can't say I've never seen it, but I don't remember it ever. So yeah, we have to -- again, I have to take a hard look at everything, everyone, and you know, 40 minutes after the game is not the time to take a look at it. I'll have to have some tough nights and days here and figure out what we need to do.
What's your message to fans after that game?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, you know, it was funny, before I come up here, I meet with Jimmy and some staff members, just to always gather my head, right. When you apologize for something, that means you didn't do the very best we could. We did the very best we could. It wasn't what was needed but that -- it wasn't where I look back at the week and say, what didn't we do. Now, I can't speak for everybody because I don't know what people do when I'm not with them. But I felt like it was -- they worked their tail off this week, everybody, staff, players. Sometimes this happens. 750, that doesn't happen. We've got to figure that out.
Can this defense get fixed? Seems like every week it's getting worse and gives up bigger numbers. Does that fix come with a change of staff or plays or a change?
GREG SCHIANO: Like I said, 40 minutes after the game is not the time to make critical decisions. I will do that and I will think about it. Been here before (shrugging shoulders) not like I haven't -- been here 37 years, been here before. But you've really got to think. You don't want to be impetus and just do whatever comes with your feelings, right.
How do you keep a loss like this from unraveling the season completely?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, I'll tell you, if you just watch the way they played till the very end, I mean, there's no unraveling. That's why I tell you, we're not at that level right now but it wasn't from a lack of fighting and trying and doing those things. It's just not at that level. Look, we ran into a team that they had a chip today, right, after what happened, and we didn't. We didn't play with that same violence or toughness that we played out in Washington. I told you after the game in Washington, I felt that they played -- then when I watched the game on the ride home, we played with physicality out there. I don't know. I've got to watch tonight's but it didn't feel that way to me, that same physicality. Now, again, everything goes back to your opponent. They are one of the probably top five teams in America talent-wise, and they are well-coached. So my hat's off to them but we have to figure out our situation. I'm not too concerned with theirs.
The offensive lineman managed 208 yards, Athan had his worst performance; the offense for the first time this season didn't get off to the fast start it's gotten off to. What do you attribute that to and how will you fix that going into next week?
GREG SCHIANO: Those are all questions that will be worked on. Heck, if I knew it this fast, I would have fixed it during the game, right. I don't mean that flippantly. Just we have to look at it and figure out what the issues are were. We turned the ball over more than we ever have, and that's not our formula for success. We actually took the ball away a couple times, which that's been hard to do lately. But I'm not into looking for any positives tonight. That's not acceptable. When you asked the question about the fans, the thing that bothers me is they did come out and they did spend their money to come here and I wish we could have done a better job for them. But that sorry part or embarrassed part, that doesn't fly with me. That should only be for if you didn't put in a hard day's work. I think everybody in this program did. It just wasn't good enough today. We will figure it out, though, I promised you.
I just spoke with the opposing team's head coach, and he had nothing but compliments to say about this team. He pretty much said, you know, this record doesn't represent how good this team is. Do you feel the same way, just how the season has gone? Do you feel the record represents how good this team actually is?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, I'm a believer you are what your record says you are. You can have whatever feelings and thoughts you want but they are theories. That's why you have a scoreboard and that's why you have a record. Right now, we are a 3-4 football team. But that's if you look at the whole thing. Right now we are 0-1. We put everything we've got into each week. So I look at it every week as this is the Oregon season. We put everything we had into the Oregon season and we're 0-1 but tomorrow we'll review it and then we've got to flush it because now we're on to the Purdue season. If you don't do that, guys, then it does. Then it can -- what was the word you used, "unravel"? I think one thing we've been able to do around here is keep it. This is a different season and we're going to go after it this week. That's what we'll do. And only those that show me that that's truly what they are doing will get the chance to go coach ask or play. I've got to look at everything. But it starts looking at me because I'm the leader and I didn't get it done tonight.
Ian didn't play in the second half. What is he dealing with, and are you concerned long term?
GREG SCHIANO: You know I'm not going to talk about injuries. But he had something that we felt was significant enough not to go back. He tried. And the reality is, heck, if it was a seven-point ballgame, would he have kept playing? Who knows? I don't know what level it is yet. We tried and it -- you know, it wasn't where he could play, and I didn't want it get him hurt worse. That's oftentimes what happens, if you can't play at full speed and then you take a shot -- the game at halftime was out of hand.
Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning
About expectations coming in
Dan Lanning: I was expecting our players to play with an edge. I was expecting them to execute and do their job at a really high level. I thought, you know, the things that we were asking our guys to do, that they were able to do, and they did that tonight.
On the Play of Dante Moore
Dan Lanning: He was out there playing with joy. You see the smile on his face, and there's still gonna be some moments that he's gonna want back, right, some opportunities that we missed and some things that we can improve. But overall, I thought he executed the plan that we asked him to execute at a high level.
About playing in New Jersey
Dan Lanning: It was perfect weather for football. Everyone here has been, you know, very hospitable, it's been a good experience. I came here once before as a GA, and we didn't win, so it's nice to come back and be able to get a W.
On Creating Turnovers
Dan Lanning: Yeah, you know, overall, it's going to lead to success when you can create turnovers. And we had some, too, so we got to make sure that we improve that, but we challenged our guys to be able to create some. And those showed up, we said a week, and really today, we're not chasing stats, we're chasing the standard. And I thought our guys did a good job of that.
About Rutgers
Dan Lanning: Yeah, I think Rutgers is an extremely well coached team. I think there's a lot of things that their team does that's really challenging, and we had to win some battles to have success tonight. And, you know, we were able to do that. We were able to win some one on ones, but they put you in a lot of tough situations, in all phases. They make it hard on you and I thought they had some good answers, too, for some things that we did. We were just able to out-execute tonight.
