Sept. 11, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
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Iowa State Head Coach Paul Rhoads
What caused the most struggles on defense?…
“First of all, a very good Iowa defense. Secondly, against a defense like that and with an offense like ours, you have to find a rhythm and we couldn’t find a rhythm. You do that by having success on first downs and we couldn’t find any first down success. When you’re faced with second and longs, it turns into tougher third downs. When you’re facing a group like that, it’s hard to be productive and get into a rhythm. You’re not going to get big plays against Iowa. That’s how they’ll defend you; they’re going to make you run it underneath and move the ball. With a front four and a pass rush like that, it’s very hard to do.”
What do you tell your defensive line moving forward?…
“You have to see the film and find out why we weren’t making plays with those guys. Were they just physically getting whipped in one-on-one situations? Were they getting their gaps and forcing the ball to cut back to the linebackers? It’s hard to see those things completely and thoroughly to give a rating and evaluation on our positions.”
In your 15 years of coaching is this the best team you’ve ever seen?…
“Yeah, I would agree with that. Top-to-bottom, there are no weaknesses. They have the ability to run it. They have the ability to throw it. People are not going to score very many points on them. They have a heck of a punter. I made a comment from the sideline at one point in the game that they kicked off and 11 defensive guys came off the sideline. They don’t play their starters on special teams because they don’t need to because they have great depth. Yeah, I think it’s without a doubt, the best team I’ve faced since I’ve been here.”
On Shontre Johnson’s kick returns…
“We didn’t want to put him back there for the first opportunity of the season, but then after that we wanted to get him involved. He’s dangerous in the open field as he showed. When I went down and evaluated him, I don’t know that I’ve seen a high school back that was more of a violent runner. I think he showed that. Number nine came up and laid the wood one him. It was a crack and he spun out and still made five yards on the play. He’s going to be a heck of a football player for us.”
Can you talk about your team’s effort in the second half?…
“I challenged them. I challenged them to play with that kind of effort and they did. When you’re down 28-0 you don’t go in there and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go win a football game’. You talk about having the opportunity to win a football game if you go out there, play well and play with great effort. That’s what we did and I’m proud of my kids for that.”
Iowa Player Postgame Quotes
RB Adam Robinson
On the team’s performance against Iowa State…
“The offensive line did a great job like they did last week and I think they even stepped up a little bit. Jewel [Hampton] came off the bench and did a great job for us and provided a spark. Ricky [Stanzi] was making great reads. I think everybody, as a team collectively, played as one.”
On making a statement…
“We wanted to make a statement as a team that we are for real and we can compete with anybody. I think we did a great job today.”
On the play of the Iowa offensive line…
“They did a great job just like they did last week. I saw glimpses at the end of camp and I knew if they could get things fined tuned they were going to be a good unit. So far, so good.”
QB Ricky Stanzi
On the team’s performance against Iowa State…
“We were very fortunate to have everything go our way. Offensively, we were able to call the right plays at the right time and get ourselves in the right looks. We executed very efficiently in the first half. We were happy to get off to a fast start. It definitely takes some pressure off when you can start fast. Credit goes to our offensive line. It is very hard to have 13 play drives if the offensive line is not on the right page. That is where it all starts. Not many people think about that. They have done such a great job. James Ferentz is leading those guys. I am very impressed with the way they have been playing. They get the game ball.”
On the offense’s first half performance…
“The offensive dream is to score every possession, regardless of how it happens. We just want to execute every play that is called. We want to start fast and that was our main goal. Our goal was to get some points on the board, execute and stay on the field and convert on third down and we were able to do that.”
On winning three straight against Iowa State…
“It feels good. They are a tough team and it has not come easy. They are well coached. We have practiced very hard and I think they guys have done a good job. We can do things better. We will have to look at the film. We are happy about the win but we need to move on. There are a lot of things we can improve on.”
RB Jewel Hampton
On getting into the end zone…
“It felt great; just how I remembered it. It was a great feeling.”
On the great start…
“That’s what we practice for, and we just went out there to execute and obviously we did that.”
On the offensive line…
“They did an outstanding job. They really broke the holes for us and I guess the stats showed it.”
On getting a hit…
“It was great. I was looking forward to my first hit and then after that all the nerves went away and the butterflies went away. I was pretty gassed out there so, I don’t remember that at all.”
On the dominating performance…
“I took it just as the team took it. This is a very important game for us, every year it is an important game for us because it is the in-state rival. We really focused in on it all week and we came out to execute today.”
On being surprised by Iowa’s offensive accomplishment…
“Not at all, it’s just like we’ve been practicing all summer, repetition, repetition, repetition. The outcome showed what we have been practicing.”
His thoughts during the timeout before his first carry…
“Just patiently waiting for my time to get the ball. I’ve been waiting for a long time for this and I was happy when I got it for the first carry when I went out there.”
LB Jeff Tarpinian
On being back…
“It felt great to get out there and finally play. I’ve got a long way to go, though, I made a lot of mistakes, but it was great to just be out there and be a part of the defense and just help out any way I could.”
On playing without Coach N. Parker…
“We had a similar thing happen last year where he wasn’t around, but those coaches, between Phil, Coach K and Coach Wilson, they do a great job getting us ready. And, we know Norm is with us either way if he’s not out there. Coach Wilson makes the calls and he signals them out to me. So, he is making the calls. It’s good because we know and can find him and know what’s going on and know where he’s going to be so yeah, it helps out.”
On the stretch in the 3rd quarter…
“The defensive line did a great job going after the quarterback and the secondary did a great job of making plays out there. Nielsen had a heck of an interception, [Shaun] Prater as well and [Brett] Greenwood had a great play, as well.”
On the three-snap 1st quarter…
“I know I kind of wanted to get out there and just get going and get the pregame jitters out of the way. We only got three snaps, but it was fine. Once we finally got out there in the second quarter and got playing a little bit, it was fun. I guess they want to keep us off the field so that’s probably a good thing for our defense. We knew we just needed to keep coming after them and not let them get anything easy.”