Oct. 4, 2008
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Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz
Opening comments…
We clearly were disappointed to lose. It’s tough. That’s three straight and you are probably counting those. It’s not much fun. It was a tough ball game. Both teams competed very hard and played hard. At the end of the day, we didn’t make enough plays to win the ball game. You can go up and down the list. We focused on a lot of different things. Bottom line is we came up short but our guys are competing hard and making improvements. It’s frustrating and disappointing. There is no solution but to keep pushing forward and clean up our play a little bit so we can get in the win column. That is what we are set up to do starting tomorrow.
On the last play…
Looked like a run play to our left and we came up short. It’s a little bit like going for a punt block at the end of the game. They stole it and stacked the box pretty well. They had one more guy than we had and it’s a tough deal. They came through and made a good play.
On not taking the field goal…
Thought about it and earlier in the game also. We decided our best shot was going for it. They do a good job. They put their big people out there and bottom line we weren’t able to execute the call.
On the sneak…
It had worked earlier but against a different defense. They had too many big people out there for it to be a realistic call.
On the moments of execution…
That is probably what’s lost in the last three weeks but there are some things we are doing well. On both sides of the ball, I thought our special teams looked more representative today of what we are hoping them to be so that is encouraging. What we need to do is tie it all together. We need to get points and we aren’t getting it done right now and that has been our problem the last couple of weeks and it continued to haunt us today. That, to me, is the story of the game.
On the two turnovers in the first half in the red zone…
Those two- plus the one where we let a guy come through virtually unblocked and gave them three points right there. I thought the defense did a good job at getting them stopped. When you turn it over like that, it’s going to be tough to win in our conference especially against a good team. Michigan State has a good football team.
On Tony Moeaki…
He got a leg sprain so nothing fatal, which is good news. But how realistic next week is, we’ll find out more tomorrow.
On the learning process for a young quarterback…
Everybody was rooting for him but that is part of the deal. I’m not pinning this on Rick [Stanzi] either and if anybody wants to, that’s just silly. It was a factor. That is the down side of youth and inexperience but on the upside he made a heck of a throw down in the end zone. He is showing the ability to throw the ball and put it where it needs to be put. There is some definite upside. I thought he did an excellent job of awareness and knowing what was going on. We are seeing growth there and he is one of the guys I’m referring to when I say we are moving in the right direction.
On slowing down Javon Ringer…
It’s tough. We have played three backs in a row. You have three guys that are top-notch running backs. It gets down to playing great team defense. That is one of the good things I will refer to there. I think the guys did a nice job against the run. He got loose once or twice but when you play a guy like that it’s probably going to happen. You are trying to minimize the damage with a guy like that. And I think that’s encouraging.
On having three or four tackles on the ball…
He is tough to bring down. He is a very determined runner. That was part of the plan. The guys were hustling and working hard. With the one drive we had a face mask penalty and gave up a big pass right after. So that was two plays that hurt us, but we settled down after that and I thought we played really good defense.
On the pass interference by Brett Greenwood…
I’m anxious to see the replay. I know what I saw, and maybe I saw it wrong. I thought I saw Greenwood get run over by a big receiver, that’s what I thought I saw.
On having a controlling offensive line…
We didn’t control it enough. We are gaining ground up front. Those guys are working hard and I think they’re maturing and competing really hard. I’m seeing improvement each and every week so that is encouraging. We have a young quarterback that is making progress and we have a running back that is playing so consistently each week, and I’m impressed with his yardage. His consistency has been really impressive. The surrounding groups are really trying to help him out too – so if we just pull this thing a little tighter together and smooth out some bumps, we will have a chance to be a decent offense here.
Iowa Player Quotes
Iowa Sophomore Defensive Back Jordan Bernstine
On Iowa’s defensive performance…
The defense made a lot of big plays and everyone was out there working hard. We’ve just got to finish better.
On the defense shutting down Ringer…
They did a good job of that. We knew they were going to go in and try to feed him the ball. He’s a great back, and the defense did a good job up front stopping him. Up front everyone was just flying to the ball and pursuing and gang-tackling. That’s what we knew we were going to have to do to stop him, so that’s what we went out and did.
On his 4th quarter interception…
It felt good to get the ball back for the offense and just let them try to get it in for the score. It felt good to finally get one. I dropped one earlier in the game, so to get one and get the ball back for the offense and try to contribute just felt good.
On the frustration of the loss…
Obviously we’ve lost three in a row, but we’ve done some good things. We just have to finish and keep executing at practice and work hard, and hopefully the wins will come. You never feel good after a loss, but everyone’s going to keep their head up and we’re just going to go back this week and keep working.
Iowa Junior Linebacker A.J. Edds
On controlling Michigan State’s run game…
That was the game plan we had. We had to come out and shut down Ringer. We knew if he got his 175-180 yards there was no way we were going to be in the game. We did a pretty good job against him, but we can’t have liabilities like we did today. We can’t be one-dimensional in how we play defense. We have to be able to play a complete game and we can’t ease into it, we have to be able to do it the whole game. We have to figure out how to do both well at the same time. We didn’t play poorly in the past game, we just kind of let them get a few on us. If we want to be a good defense we can’t let them do that.
On the defense’s weaknesses…
I think the big thing was that we were just reading run, we were just playing run pretty heavy. We knew they were going to try to run the ball. I think everybody was thinking run, that’s kind of what got us in trouble a little bit on some of those deeper balls. Again, these are correctible mistakes. The stuff we did wrong are things that can be corrected and things that we can get better at. So that’s the good thing about today.
On learning from the loss…
We can play good run defense. I mean, we knew could, but we know that defensively we’re good enough, and offensively as well. I think the offense is kind of kicking themselves a little bit. Defensively we gave them some plays early on that set up scores for them. It’s kind of the same thing as we’ve seen in past weeks. We played well at times, but we can’t play well at times if we want to win. We’re not USC. We don’t have the talent to play well three fourths of the time. We have to play a complete game, sixty minutes, or more, if we want to be able to get it done. There’s a lot of close games [in the Big Ten], a lot of games go down to a couple of plays here and a couple there, and these last couple weeks we haven’t been the ones making those plays. We’ve been close, and we have made some plays, but we haven’t made enough plays.
Iowa Senior Defensive Lineman Mitch King
On Defensive Coordinator Norm Parker’s game plan…
It’s amazing what a great game plan Coach Parker puts in for us every week. Every week he has something new, he has something to shut down the offense and it seems to work every time. It’s amazing how good of a defensive coordinator he really is.
On preparing for next week’s game at Indiana…
We’ve just got to pull through, there are a lot of things we’ve got to bite our lip for and just keep pressing forward.
On being 0-2 in the Big Ten…
We’ve just got to keep pressing forward. We practice well every week and we put a good game plan in defensively every week. We just have to squeak one out, because I think once we get a “W” in the win column we’re going to do some good things. I think that’s just going to be our jumpstart we need as a team and we need that.
Iowa Junior Wide Receiver Andy Brodell
On today’s loss…
It’s been tough. The last three weeks haven’t been easy on us as a team. We’re down right now but we’re not out. We feel like we have a lot to prove and ultimately I think we’ve got a great football team here but things haven’t been going our way. The biggest thing is we haven’t been executing the way we need to, and that’s especially in the red zone on offense. We gave them too many opportunities to get points early in the game and it came back to bite us again this week.
On improvements needed for next week…
We just need to come out with the same intensity. Our intensity has been good the last three weeks despite losing three close games and we’ve done a lot of good things out there. We have to continue to bring the intensity that we’ve had the last three weeks. Like I said we’ve had good weeks of practice and we’ve been improving each week but we have to do the little things right otherwise we’re going to get beat. In this conference if you don’t do the little things right, we get beat. The last two weeks are a good example of that.
On doing things right but still coming up short…
It’s frustrating. Anytime you lose a game its frustrating especially in the fashion that we’ve lost and we’ve lost three in a row and that’s kind of something you try and avoid every season. You try to avoid losing multiple games in a row and we haven’t done that. We’re running the ball well and defending it well but it comes down to the little things like protecting the football and we didn’t execute the red zone again and this is the second week we’ve done that. I feel like we improved a lot during the week but it doesn’t mean a whole lot when you don’t show it in the game and we were just trying to fight too much at the end and we ran out of time.
Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening Statement…
Great win again. Somehow we are just finding a way to get it done. I’m very proud of our football team and how they hung in there. Looking at the statistics for the first time it was an old-fashioned type game. I give a lot of respect to Iowa and what they’ve done. They played very well, I thought, other than the turnovers. But, if you look at our defense, we came up with three turnovers, two of them down in the red zone and two fourth quarter stops. Offensively, we did what we had to do. Brett Swenson was golden again and did an outstanding job. We had a couple of drives down the field where we made plays. We’re 5-1, thinking about the present, and moving forward. We are very excited about the win. We played a lot of our guys. We had a lot of players in that had not played before but they responded well.
On getting new players into the game…
The more players we play, the more experience we get, the stronger we become as a team. We don’t just become stronger on the field but also in football character, intensity, and confidence. The intangibles really allow you to move forward. Experience means a lot and it really makes us a stronger football team.
On Fred Smith…
Fred has been playing in a lot of games. We have a little package when Fred goes in there. He’s got to get his first catch and get rolling but we have been playing him in and out a little bit. We had no thoughts of redshirting him. He was going to play.
On Iowa stopping Javon Ringer…
I think that the first thing that they do really well is that they play football from a power position. They’re big, they’re strong, and they’re physical. This is a game of power and they played very well out there. They tackled well and I really give them credit. They’ve only given up 100 yards rushing on average and they are very tough to score against as well. [Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Norm] Parker has his guys playing very well and I give a lot of credit to them.
On finding the win this year compared to last…
I think that last year we looked to find a way to win but whatever happens at the end of the game is sometimes out of your control. Things happen so fast, but I think that we are gaining confidence that we can make that play at the end of the game. Adam Decker made the play of the game and it was chaos down there after that. Somehow we just got it done.
On errors made during the game…
We play so many different teams with so many different concepts. We will look to see what happened, correct what happened, and see if it was a structural, mental, or physical error. We will address those concerns and make changes as necessary.
On working as a team to get the win…
I just know that there is something special about this football team. We’ve been able to reach each other a little bit and play through some difficult times. That’s football character on the field and that is something that we need to continue to develop. We need to be able to win the close games and we need to be able to depend on each other to do that.
Michigan State Coach and Player Quotes
Michigan State Offensive Coordinator Don Treadwell
Opening comments…
We’re so proud of our young men and that was certainly a team win. Offensively, outside of our offensive line and Ringer, Swenson has just been a diamond in the rough. He has been so special and so accurate. He made the difference because when you are down in the red zone, granted our goal is to always come away with a touchdown, we will take points. Swenson has just been solid in that way for us and it obviously made a difference today.
On the play-calling of the final drive…
When you do the math with the clock, we still needed to run the ball and get the clock to go in our favor. Obviously the goal was to get the first down, which we did, and then there is no question. All of us were trying to be mathematicians up there seeing at what point we could go with our victory formation.
Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi
Opening comments…
Defensively, the kids played their tails off. We talked all week about playing 60 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes. We went in at halftime and we were screaming at them because we didn’t feel like we had stopped the run in the first half as well as we would have liked to. We did a solid job in the second half. Shonn Greene is a good running back and that guy is physical. Adam Decker had a huge hit that sealed the deal at the end. I’m just fired up for the defense.
On Iowa’s last offensive play…
We were thinking quarterback sneak and the defense ran a jam to prevent the sneak. The defensive line all slammed inside and took everybody out, and Decker just scraped clean. They tried to run outside, which obviously wasn’t a very good move. Decker just made a really nice, squared-up, middle linebacker tackle and that’s what it’s all about.
On players who substituted for injured players during the game…
Marcus Hyde came in and had some nice hits. That’s really what we’re talking about all the time, that you have to step up. If somebody is down you have to step up and fill in and we did that across the board, whether it was inside or outside. Our kids went out and played for 60 minutes and I’m excited for them.
On the play of Johnny Adams…
Johnny played a good game. We have a few corners that can get out there and play. Johnny Adams played a great game out there for us today and that’s his job.
On the magnitude of the victory…
Coach Dantonio said afterward that it was a huge program win. That is a good Iowa football team and we have to give them a lot of credit. They are a team that plays four quarters every game, like they did last week. It’s a great win. We’re 5-1 right now and we’re full- steam ahead.
Michigan State Sophomore Cornerback Chris L. Rucker
On the physical nature of Iowa…
Iowa is a really physical team. They are known for running the ball and playing tough football. We are a physical team too, and wanted to show that we can match their toughness.
On other defenders needing to step up with MSU’s injuries…
The coaches always tell us to be prepared. At any time, something can happen and your number can be called. Everyone needs to be able to get in and play when called upon. We have great depth and anyone can step in at anytime and get the job done.
Michigan State Senior Defensive End Justin Kershaw
On Iowa…
I really do not see how they are 0-3 in the Big Ten. They’re going to win games in the Big . It was a hard fought victory.
On the physicality of the game…
I would say it was the most physical game we’ve played all season. It was a classic Big Ten football game. Iowa is known for playing physical. They’ve got great offensive linemen up front and they’re the best offensive line we’ve played all year.
On the team’s confidence…
It’s good to know that we can win these close games. We didn’t play particularly well in the second half but we kept fighting and kept fighting. It’s definitely going to help our confidence.
Michigan State Sophomore Wide Reciever B.J. Cunningham
On the Michigan State locker room after the game…
Guys were real excited. Everybody was singing the fight song, clapping their hands, chanting. This was a big win because they’re a physical team. We’re just happy to come out with the ‘W’.
On the key to Michigan State starting 5-1…
We’ve won the battle up front. We’ve been playing very hard and physical. We’re a tough team.
On Adam Decker’s fourth down tackle…
That was crazy. It was a real big play by Decker. We were just on the bench with our fingers crossed, hoping the defense was going to make a play and it happened.
Michigan State Junior Offensive Lineman Rocco Cironi
On the Iowa defense…
I give a lot of credit to the Iowa defense; they played hard. They’re one of the best defenses in the Big Ten and they played us real well today.
On Adam Decker’s big fourth down stop…
Adam Decker came through in the clutch there. That was a big stop and we were pumped. After that we knew that if we got one first down the game was over.
On the physicality of the game…
We knew coming in that Iowa’s defense was going to be physical. We went out there and tried to match their physicality and I think that we won the battle.
Michigan State Junior Linebacker Adam Decker
On the fourth down stop…
Someone on the defensive line did a great job of holding up the linemen and not letting them get to the linebackers. Everyone executed and did their job on that play, and then some. It ended up being me making the tackle, but everyone did their job on that play.
I just had my eyes on (Greene) and followed him like I normally would. The defensive line was physical up front so that allowed me to have a seam to run through.
It definitely felt good. I was pretty worked up and people kept hitting me on the head. It actually started to hurt after a while.
On Iowa’s running game…
They were super-physical. We knew that they were going to do that coming in but they were pretty successful. You’ve got to give them credit because they came out and played real hard. It was definitely the most physical game we’ve played.
On Michigan State’s defense making big plays…
It seemed like somebody stepped up each time and made a big play. That’s what good defenses need to do.
Michigan State Senior Quarterback Brian Hoyer
On the play-action pass to Cunningham for 50 yards…
On that first big play to B.J. (Cunningham), the safety came up and we had something there. We know that with our running game we’re going to be able to play-action people. Today we were able to throw it around a bit.
On the fumble with less than a minute left…
You know that on a quarterback sneak that the defensive linemen are going to be coming hard. It happened so fast that I’m not exactly sure what happened. The Iowa guys were on top of me thinking they had stopped me; they didn’t even know that I had fumbled. I’m just looking for the ball and then I see Foreman with the ball with on the ground in the fetal position. I just said, “Thank God!”
On the excitement in the Michigan State locker room…
The excitement and the happiness that was in the locker room after the game was the first time I’ve seen it like that since I’ve been here. We’re playing for each other right now and different people are stepping up.
Michigan State Senior Safety Otis Wiley
On the defense’s effort today …
Big props to Iowa’s offense. Their record doesn’t show how good they are. They’re a powerhouse football team and we knew that coming in to the game. We knew that we had to play great defense on each side of the ball to win the game. They were getting some runs – six-yard runs per carry, but we never quit. When I went down and Marcus Hyde came in, everybody had faith in him. They’ve been here for a long time and that just shows how tough our team is. We’ve got guys filling in and our defense played great.
On the younger members of the team stepping up…
It’s good for their career and confidence. If you see the second string in, it goes to show that whoever gets their name called can go in and play. From day one of winter conditioning – training your mind, then going in and making plays.
On Marcus Hyde…
He’s solid. Ever since two-a-days last season, Marcus has been a solid hitter. He’s one of the most secure tacklers on the squad. You never guess whether he makes a tackle because he can and will. You see a glimpse of what they have next year.
On providing leadership to the younger members of the defense…
It goes to show that it’s a test for me personally because I got hurt and I couldn’t be out there creating plays. In a sense, I still have to motivate and encourage on the sideline. I didn’t focus on the injury, I focused on my team and the defense. The depth played a huge role in our defense, knowing we had to make the stop to win the game.
On the defense stopping Iowa on their last possession of the game…
I was feeling anxious and I really wanted to be out there. I knew that we should focus on penetration and it was great penetration on our part. It was the biggest play of [Adam Decker’s] life and the biggest play for us. It just shows that we can finish the game. We had a glimpse of last year – If they could’ve kicked a field goal, we would’ve gone into overtime. We had to make a stop and Decker did. Props to him because he helped us out.
Michigan State Junior Kicker Brett Swenson
On the importance of this play in close games…
This game was very important for me because last year at Iowa I went two for three, and I didn’t want to do that again. So today it was really nice to be able to make the three field goals in a row, and we ended up winning by three points so that shows that everything counts. That is going to continue as our season goes on because we will be playing some close games were every single play counts.
On his focus as a football player…
The biggest thing this season is our blocking and the snaps and the holds. That has really helps me execute out there and I’m really excited and grateful for that. That also helps me have one less thing to worry about so when I do go out there I am able to focus on the kick and relax a little bit. Being focused is really important not just for me, but for the team as a whole and I think today our focus really paid off.
On his play today in comparison to last years game…
I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice and miss a field goal like I did last year, so when I went out I knew I had to make each one count. The confidence the team and the coaches have in me also really helps, and it makes it easier for me to relax and come away with three points. Our coaches also really stress the importance of special teams and everyone knows how important our kicking game is which feels nice and helps me relax as well.
Michigan State Junior Free Safety Danny Fortener
On today’s close game…
You know, coming into the game we knew they were a good team and it was going to be a close game. I don’t think we were surprised that it came down to just three points, because they are a good team and that is what we practice for. We had to make some adjustments through out the game with injuries and the penalties we were giving up, but we were ready for them and I think it showed in the end result.
On what’s next for the team as Big Ten play continues…
We have some good wins under our belt now, but it only gets harder from here. We have to keep practicing hard and preparing well for the next games that are coming up on our schedule. I know we will continue to do so and as long as we stay healthy and confident. Our team is ready for anything and I know the coaching staff and all the players will put 100 percent effort into preparing for and playing the rest of the season.
On stepping up after Otis Wiley’s injury…
Everyone kind of stepped up in the huddle after Otis went out, which was good because he is such a dominant leader out there. Justin Kershaw really stepped up and was a vocal leader in the huddle, but we all kind of came together at that point in the game. We knew what we had to do and we didn’t want this one to get away from us, so everyone had to step up and make plays.
Michigan State Senior Guard Roland Martin
On Iowa focusing on Javon Ringer…
They stack the box already, but they were paying close attention to Javon, which is what a smart team will do. They have a pretty simple team defense and they don’t try to complicate it at all, but we couldn’t just relay on Javon to do everything for us. Everyone made plays out there and all contributed to our win. I think we may have come out a little flat, but once we got going we were making plays and having fun out there.
On Iowa’s Mitch King…
He was one of the toughest players out there, and I really have a lot of respect for him. He is as tough as advertised and plays his heart out. Going up against him I knew I had to be ready and play as tough if not tougher than him. But he played a good game, and gave me a run for my money.
On the team’s toughness and their improvement…
I think we have to be tough in every play of the game, and in every practice we have. When we run the ball, we have to be tough and when we throw the ball we also have to be tough. It is something that I think we have improved on and we need to keep it that way as our opponents are only going to get tougher. As we continue to improve as a team, we also have to remember not only our physical toughness but our mental toughness as well. You just have to go out there and experience toughness from other teams in order to really know what toughness is.