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Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Iowa
Oct. 3, 2015
Camp Randall Stadium – Madison, Wis.
Opening statement:
“Today was a really hard fought, tough, physical game. I’m really proud of our football team and the effort that they put out. It was something we knew would have to happen. We have tremendous respect for Wisconsin and their football team. They’re a tough team to play. It’s tough to come up here. It’s always a challenge to come to Madison, and for our guys to persevere and fight the way they did, I’m just really, really proud of them. That’s something we’ve talked about all week long. Coming into a tough environment and the focus it was going to require. The effort and the paying attention to details – obviously, when I talk about tough, we were going through the ups and downs that happen when you’re playing a great opponent. Today, there were a lot of those ups and downs on both sides of the football. Both teams really competed hard. It went right down to the wire quite obviously. We’re just extremely thrilled to get the victory and head home with the trophy, so we’re happy about that. Beyond that, it was obviously very positive stuff for our football team. We’re excited about the opportunities of this 2015 season. This was going to be a tough challenge, it was a tough challenge, and it’s good to start out 1-0 in Big Ten play. Just a really positive chapter for our football team. We’ll enjoy the ride home and learn tomorrow and get back to work on Monday.”
On the team’s defense:
“Yeah, they played a super game. (It) Wasn’t always pretty and it wasn’t always clean, but that’s really how the football game was. We kind of anticipated that coming up here, that it might be that type of football game. We’ve been through these types of games with them before. I thought both defenses really played hard and a lot of statistics that came out of the game were born out of that. It’s just two tough defensive teams. Our guys really competed hard. We came up with some big plays, especially in that first half. A couple turnovers, Drew Ott with the great strip. Again, it went right down to the wire and the guys did a great job.”
On the Joel Stave fumble and the A-gap:
“That’s why he’s there, but you probably had a better look at it than I did. To that point, part of the reason we won today and part of the reason we’re playing well right now are our older guys. Guys like Nate Meyer are really doing a great job. I would say that about our whole senior class. They’re out there playing their best football. Nate is a tough guy to block, even though he’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he’s got a heart that’s really big. He plays hard and he’s extremely tough. If that’s in fact what happened, and that’s what it looked like from where I was standing too, then that’s a great effort on his part.”
On why he called a timeout when Wisconsin was in 4th and 2 late:
“It appeared to us that they had their play called at that point. We wanted to make sure we had the right call as well. There was some confusion from our standpoint of who was going to be in the game or not. They were running guys around, so we didn’t know who the personnel was going to be. We got a good look at the formation and then with the call, obviously, they could’ve changed their call too. It’s just the game. It wasn’t a game of anybody out-witting each other. It’s just two teams really fighting hard, two teams competing and we were fortunate to come out ahead.”
On the importance of their running game today:
“I just mentioned our seniors, and Jordan Canzeri‘s been playing well each and every week. To that point, he came into campus our second (running) back. I said back on record in August, we felt like we had two starters back there. Jordan is a team guy who works extremely hard and is clearly playing his best football. What a great time for that. Every yard out there today came really hard. We knew it was going to be like that, he knew it, and all of those little things add up to helping you get over the hump.”
On if he believes that last year’s team would’ve won this game:
“We had a great game with Wisconsin last year. That was their 2014 team, our 2014 team, so it’s hard to say. I thought we competed well and last year was a great game, too. Very similar.”
On Iowa’s growing confidence:
“We’ve had two really good road victories, so that’s something that everybody can feel good about. We’ve had two games that have literally gone down to the wire. You talk about playing the full 60 (minutes), and both of those required that. This one maybe just a little shorter than that. Those are things that all help build a football team if the team has the right attitude. That’s probably what I’m most pleased about. All of the coaches are really pleased with the attitude that our team has. I’ll go right back to the seniors, they’re doing a great job of driving this team.”
On if he offered any words of wisdom to Cole Croston on his first start:
“I didn’t say a word to him and I don’t think anybody did. He’s done a great job. He’s not a senior, but he falls in that group. The bottom line is that Boone Myers has started four (games) and now Cole’s started one (game), so he’s catching him. He’s three away. He’s been practicing well. We’ve got a lot of faith in Cole. You have faith in what you see players do and he has been playing this year and doing a good job.The challenge here was the guys that we had to block. The interior guys are really good. They’re strong, tough players. Both their outside (line)backers – the senior is just a tremendous player. I don’t want to miss-pronounce his name. (Joe) Schobert, boy I’ll tell you, he’s a football player. That doesn’t surprise me. He played like that last year. Last year, I thought he was a great football player and he’s playing at a really high level right now. He’s done that every week out there.”