Postgame Quotes

Oct. 30, 2010

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Iowa Player Postgame Quotes

Ricky Stanzi

On offensive effectiveness

“I think we started fast and that was a huge key that we were focusing on all week. We wanted to start fast and get some points on the bored and get that momentum going for our defense. They played outstanding; they played lights out the whole game. Both our lines, our offensive line and our defensive line, played tremendously. So when you have that going on both sides of the ball you usually execute very well.”

On it looking easy

“No, it is never easy out there, especially against a defense as good as Michigan State. And, we had a lot of help with the turnovers and the special teams. There were a lot of factors that put us in great field position. That really helped us cash in on a short field which is huge for an offense when you only have to move the ball 50 yards.”

On perfection by all phases

“I mean there are still a lot of things we need to work on. It is like any other week. There were a lot of things we were able to get a lot more consistent play out of all three phases, and when that happens, you’re setting yourself up for success. We were fortunate to come out with a victory.”

On being ready for the stretch run

“Yeah, we have been taking it one game at a time all season, and that doesn’t change now. We are worried about next week.”

On being surprised about the final score

“Yeah, you expect every game to be a 60 minute battle, especially with these two teams and the style of play. Just kind of how the series has gone, it has never really been a blowout. We expected a very close game and we kept that mentality all the way through it. You kind of have to think the same way and keep that attack mentality. That’s how you keep your edge. It gets easy to relax when you get up 30.”

On being that good (to win by 30)

“I’m not into saying who is better and who is not, we let that stuff figure itself out at the end of the season. We’re just trying to play our best football each week and that’s what we’re trying to do right now. Just focusing on improvement from this game, and there is still tons of room for improvement which is a good thing. We’ll take tomorrow and get back to work on Tuesday.”

On Halloween causing Tyler Sash to make crazy plays

“I think so. I don’t even know if he can give you an explanation on that one. It was a heck of a play on his part and it was very cool to see. It really sparked us, the momentum just kind of shifted with that play. And, how couldn’t it? It was a tremendous play by both of those guys. Getting points off turnovers is huge. It really helped out our offense and overall it really helps out the whole team.”

DB Shaun Prater

On Tyler Sash’s lateral to Micah Hyde off the interception

“It was amazing. We have talked about it all season but I never thought he would be able to do it. I remember last year he was always getting tackled on his interception returns so I said from now I just try pitching it to me. Instead he pitched it to Micah, but that’s alright.”

On having Coach Norm Parker back in the stadium

“It feels good knowing that he is up there watching us.”

On his interception

“I saw that he was trying to hit the guy that went in on the dig route. Then he looked back to me and just floated it up in the air. I just made sure I caught the ball.”

On today’s win over No. 5 Michigan State

“It just shows that when we all play together, error-free, this is what happens. We just have to keep playing like this week after week.”

DB Tyler Sash

On his lateral to Micah Hyde following his interception

“I just ran underneath the out route by the receiver. I don’t even know what I was thinking. I saw Micah out of the corner off me eye and I just dropped it off to him and he did the rest of the work. He made a heck of a run back on it.”

On the reaction of the coaches after the play

“It is kind of like one of those basketball plays where somebody pulls up for three about 40 feet deep. If it goes, you’re fine. I guess I had an assist today to Micah.”

On the play of the Iowa defense

“We came out, executed and we made some big plays. We had three interceptions today. The defensive line did a great job getting pressure. Some new young linebackers came in and played lights out.”

On practice this week

“We had a good week of practice and a good week of preparation. We had a feel for a lot of the things they were going to try and do to us. We executed well. They are a good team but we are a good team. It came down to execution and we executed better than they did. We made less mistakes than they did and I think the scoreboard showed that.”

On having Coach Norm Parker back in the stadium

“It was huge, just knowing that he was there was a good feeling. We found out last night. We got reminded of it this morning again. It was great knowing he was there.”

Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio

Opening Statement

“Obviously a disappointing performance by us today. We are still an 8-1 football team and that is something that we need to recognize. We have to make plays. The game started out badly with the reverse and not getting off the field on a third down. To me, we need to run the ball effectively and we can’t turn the ball over three times and not get anything done on defense. You can’t win if you can’t sack the quarterback. You can’t win if you can’t stop the run. There were just too many of those things. Did we come unprepared? I don’t think so. Did things snowball on us? I guess they did. The beauty of playing football needs to be that when you get knocked down, you get back up, that is what life teaches you. Everybody has been patting us on the back for quite a few weeks here, so now they will kick us to the curb a little bit. We will respond and be ready to play next week and move forward. Congratulations to Iowa, they played very well. I do think our football team will handle this. The reason I thought our team was special when I said this to them in February was because we can handle adversity and that has to take place now. We will find out a little bit more about ourselves next week.”

Did you see this coming this week?

“No, I did not see this coming. Our guys prepared mentally and emotionally. We came like we always have but when things start to snowball on you it’s hard to stop it and that’s what I think we ran into. When you have an interception and runback for a touchdown, things start to snowball on you. We still have a lot of great opportunities in front of us. We are still an 8-1 football team and we have to recognize that.”

On Iowa execution in the first half

“I think about everything went right. I was impressed with their secondary and getting off the blocks. Obviously their front four are probably one of the better ones, if not the best one in the Big Ten. I think compared to the teams we have played against, Iowa has the best front four. They are a well-coached football team and they didn’t beat themselves and we beat ourselves. They play very good football here (at Kinnick Stadium). We have to play well against a good football team and need to have good things happen early too.”

What did you learn about your football team today?

“We aren’t going to learn about our team right now. Right now everyone is hurting, our coaches and our players. Nobody likes to come in and play like this or coach like this. We will find out about ourselves next week. I don’t think right now is a good time to judge. The proof of our team will be in how we play next week.”

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