2002 FBL vs. Michigan State -- Quotes
11/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr
Opening statement ... "I'm very proud of the way our football team played. I thought they played hard and with good emotion and intensity. Michigan State played hard and we all recognize that they were shorthanded. It was not the typical Michigan-Michigan State game. I thought it was a clean, hard-fought football game. I think it's very important that (MSU head coach) Bobby Williams be given the opportunity to fulfill his requirement at Michigan State University. This game is about the players, trying to get an education and compete in an arena that is very competitive. We had a lot of guys who played well today. I should have moved B.J. Askew back to tailback a week ago. I think it hurt our chances to win a week ago. I thought he ran well and we blocked well up front."
On B.J. Askew's determination ... "I asked B.J. to play tailback for us and go in there and carry the load. If you can't run the football you'll have a hard time winning. We did a good job there today."
On the running game opening up the passing game ... "Anytime you have success running the football, it creates one-on-one situations outside. I thought we did a pretty good job protecting John (Navarre) and our receivers did a good job of getting open. The good news for us today is that we executed."
On U-M's coverage of MSU receiver Charles Rogers ... "We had a plan to be able to defend the run, and second, we had to be able to keep Dowdell running laterally. We wanted Rogers to catch the ball in front of us to prevent the big plays. I think Ernest Shazor and Jon Shaw played pretty well."
On Ernest Shazor ... "He has a lot of range. He can run and he's tough. But you worry about him making mistakes because he hasn't had that much game experience. But I thought he really played his position."
On whether the team was angry entering the game ... "I don't know. This team was determined to win this game. We've talked about this game and it's been marked all season. They came out today determined to win the game."
Senior/Junior Quarterback John Navarre
On the win ... "It was a great win for us. It feels good to play well personally. The scoreboard is one thing, but it is a better win because we played well."
On the running game ... "We got the running game going, that helps a lot. It opens up the passing game and as the quarterback that is good to see. That was our game plan going in, to run the ball. We wanted to keep the ground game going, especially after last week. Once B.J. (Askew) got off to a good start we were going to keep it going. We knew if we controlled the line of scrimmage and got the running game going we were going to have a great chance to win.
On the offensive success ... "It was the game plan. In the practice all week we talked about taking care of the ball. Our adjustments were great. At halftime we changed a few things and that was evident in the second half."
Senior Running Back B.J. Askew
On thoughts of last year's game with Michigan State ... "It was on my mind a lot during spring ball and two-a-days. That made it even more important of us to win this one."
On the running game ... "We are always determined to run the ball. You go into the game with the idea of running the ball hard each play and that is all we did today. The offensive line opened big holes and the receivers continued to block downfield for me."
On the win ... "This feels great. I am excited and everyone in the locker room is happy. Now we have to carry this into next week's game against Minnesota."
Senior Wide Receiver Ronald Bellamy
On scoring two touchdowns ... "It's a great feeling. I haven't been in the end zone in a while and John (Navarre) threw some great balls to find me for the touchdowns."
On the physical play of this game ... "It is always physical. They try to knock our heads off and we try to return the favor on each play. Today was much of the same thing out there."
On the long touchdown catches ... "I told the coaches they were sitting on the routes. Coach (Scot) Loeffler called a great play and they bit on the out and I was all alone along the sideline.
Senior Linebacker Victor Hobson
On limiting the big play ... "I have said that pretty much each week. We want to limit the big plays during the games. Today we stepped up and contained their offense and didn't allow that big play to hurt us. If we continue to do that we will continue to be successful."
On containing the mobile quarterback ... "Today our defensive line, linebackers and secondary did a great job containing their mobile quarterback, Damon Dowdell. It was a total team effort. We just want to carry this performance into next week when we play another mobile quarterback at Minnesota."
Michigan State Head Coach Bobby Williams
On how he feels about the game ... "There's not much I can say about this game, from my standpoint. We were totally embarrassed today and I'm quite disappointed. I thought maybe we'd show a little something in the second quarter, but other than that, there was nothing. This is probably the lowest I've been."
On his reaction to the game ... "I'm hurt ... very hurt. And I told them, 'Don't forget what happened today.'"
On moving on from this game ... "The big thing is, we need to find the players that want to keep fighting. We'll find that out starting with the ride home, when we get back, tomorrow and when we start getting ready to play Indiana."
On his interaction with Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr ... "I told him, 'Good job,' shook his hand. That was it."
On what went wrong ... "We had some plays there, and we're not making them. We're not throwing it, and we're not catching it. We're not blocking. We didn't do anything from an offensive standpoint, we didn't do anything on the defense, and we didn't do anything with kicking."
On the distractions surrounding his team ... "The media constantly create all of these rumors, say all of these things, write these stories, and 99.9 percent of them aren't even true."
Sophomore Tight End Jason Randall
On the problems of the game ... "It's the same problems. We can't convert from the practice field to the playing field. After a team starts scoring on us, people give up. That's what Coach Williams is searching for right now -- people that will stick with it. We have people giving up on the field."
On his teammates' giving up ... "There aren't many, but all it takes is one person giving up on a block or a tackle. I keep playing and I try to keep my teammates playing. At this level, you're always supposed to have fire in you."
On coach Bobby Williams ... "If you don't play [hard], you're making him look bad. He's a good coach and we're making him look bad."
Junior/Sophomore Quarterback Damon Dowdell
On the loss ... "I pretty much feel like it's my fault. But some things are out of my hands and I just have to take the good with the bad. Some guys just don't have heart. They just don't keep fighting."
On the state of the team ... "It's rough right now. We're going through a hard time. We just have to keep working, keep fighting."
Senior Offensive Lineman Paul Harker
On the play of his team ... "I don't care if it's 63-3, 73-3, 103-3. As long as there's time left on the clock, you've got to keep fighting for pride -- for school pride, family pride, hometown pride -- and you never give up."
On the offensive game plan ... "After watching the Iowa tape and watching how they came off the ball, we thought there wasn't any reason why we [couldn't run wide]. We should be able to get on our blocks and stay on our blocks and run the ball."
On the significance of the loss ... "Any loss hurts, but a loss of this magnitude against your instate rival, your archrival, [hurts even more]. Even coming from Ohio, before I knew I was going to Michigan State and growing up an Ohio State fan, there's that bitterness there so it's a really, really tough one to swallow."
