2004 FBL vs. Michigan State -- Postgame Quotes
10/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr
On what this game means ... "There are so many heroes. When we look at this game on film there are going to be a lot of things from a technical standpoint that we did not do particularly well. I think this game speaks to the spirit of this stadium, to the tradition, and this rivalry. Michigan State was an unbelievable foe today, they gave everything they had and anybody who saw this game either in this stadium or across the country on television saw one of the greatest football games, in my opinion, ever played. When you look at the drama of the fourth quarter and the overtime and all of the plays, its going to go down as one of the great games in the history of the Big Ten Conference."
On his mind set in the fourth quarter being down 17 points ... "As a coach you are always thinking about what we have to do, we were talking about getting down to the two minute mark and I was thinking about when we were going to use our timeouts. And then they broke that play and I think the truth is it was not a good moment. When you think about all of the alternatives as a coach one of the things you have to do is continue to convince your guys they can win. I knew we still had enough time, but we had to hit some big plays. I told them, Look, what we have got to do is score fast. And I was talking to the kickoff return team and then the ball went over Breastons head. When they got that bounce that is when I thought everything was going their way. But then we hit a couple big plays and got down there and got back into the game."
On the teams resilience ... "We talked at the half and we hit that field goal in the second quarter to make it a seven point game. I told them we are going to kick off into the wind, we have to hang in there and get them stopped. We probably wont have great field position. Then we put a great drive together and turned the ball over deep into their territory. We went into the fourth quarter and they got a field goal to make it 20-10. We talk all of the time about how if you are going to be a championship football team, you have to be able to play and win the fourth quarter. Most of these games today in this conference are going to go down to the fourth quarter. There are so many guys that made so many plays, particularly Garrett Rivas. If he misses a single kick we are not talking about a win."
On Braylon Edwards ... "With the exception of one great drive for a touchdown, we did not do much of anything for the first three quarters. We had a hard time protecting the quarterback and we had too many sacks. There is no question that Braylon made plays he has to make or we dont win. Those were great catches. All three of those catches were plays where the defender was in pretty good position. It wasnt like we just ran by somebody. Michigan States secondary was right where it needed to be. Henne made some great throws and Braylon made some great plays."
U-M Wide Receiver Braylon Edwards
On his emotions after the win ... "I almost cried. It was magnificent. I love my teammates to death and they never quit. They stood strong in the fourth quarter. We imposed our will on Michigan State in the second half. We had a never-say-die attitude and we refused to lose this game."
On his game-winning touchdown ... "Being the older guy, a veteran and the leader and the person people look to, I had to make the play. I said to myself that I had to make the play. The line gave excellent protection and the ball was right there and if I didn't make the play it was my fault. Everybody contributed on that play."
On the win as a team effort ... "We had a sense of urgency about ourselves as a team, as a whole. The guys on the sidelines, the people in the stands, everyone contributed to the win."
On if fatigue played a factor ... "I wasn't fatigued. It is one of those things, that when you are a senior, you don't get tired. When you are one the line, you have to make plays. You can't afford to get tired. You are looking forward to the chance to make a play to help your team win and that's what happened. From the overtime periods, the fourth quarter, we weren't fatigued. We were just ready to make plays and we did."
U-M Senior Cornerback Marlin Jackson
On the attitude on the sidelines when the team was down 27-10 ... "Defensively we were thinking that we have to stop them the next time. We just had to get a three-and-out or turnover. We didn't get them to turn it over, but the defense stepped up and stopped them and the offense turned it into points. They did a great job, Chad (Henne) and Braylon (Edwards) on the deep passes that ultimately won the game for us."
On his feelings after the game ... "It was the greatest game I have ever played in. The feeling is unexplainable, it is just such a great feeling. It is the greatest victory I have ever been part of and maybe the greatest victory ever at Michigan."
U-M Senior Safety Ernest Shazor
On Michigan State's quarterback changes effecting the game ... "(Drew) Stanton is a great runner. He can make plays with his feet and arms. I think it gave us a bit of an edge when he went down. Dowdell is not the runner like Stanton. He ran for a few first downs but we were able to contain him for the most part.
On Michigan State's two long rushes ... "They exploited us on those plays. I think we only had one or two linebackers in box on those plays."
On the final overtime period ... "After we scored I told all the guys that we had four or five plays to get the win. They all came up big. I just kept saying we had four or five plays. Each time they ran a play without getting a first down, I would say this many plays or this many plays. They just kept fighting"
On the attitude when the team was down 27-10 ... "I don't think we ever gave up. We all just kept fighting. Coach Carr kept telling us that it wasn't over and that we can do it. We believe in Coach Carr and what he tells us and we went out and did it."
Michigan State Head Coach John L. Smith
On the game ... "There's not a lot to say, other than you have to give them credit. They're a great football team; they've got some great athletes. When it came down to having to make plays to win it at the end, they made the plays. They won it and we didn't make the plays to win. But I'm proud of our guys. We played a good football team and we played well. At times we made some mistakes, but for the most part we controlled the football game. But when it came time to win it at the end, they got a lot of momentum there."
On the loss of Drew Stanton ... "He's your leader, he's the guy thats really done a lot of good things for us lately. He had a spark and we were rolling. That's the game of football, the second-team guy has to be ready to come in and I thought he came in and did a good job. He performed well. He gave us opportunities to win. We just had to make the plays."
On moving on from the loss ... "There's no consoling. We're going to take a look at it tomorrow. We're going to come back and go to work. For them to lose this game the way they did, we're going to kick ourselves, and they are and we are as coaches."
MSU Sophomore Quarterback Drew Stanton
On having to leave the game ... "I got hit and landed on my shoulder. I don't really know what the injury is yet. I have to wait until tomorrow to get re-evaluated. It's just real hard because I want to be out there. I felt like we were gaining momentum the whole time."
On what his absence is going to mean to the team ... "It's not going to mean anything because Damon showed that he can play. Now he needs to step up and be the leader. And today we showed that we can play with anyone in this league."
On the emotions he experienced as Damon Dowdell took over ... "I couldn't really go out there and do anything, but at the same time, Damon went out there and did everything that was asked of him. He moved the chains, but unfortunately we didn't get it done when it counted."
On how hard it's going to be to pick up the pieces again for next week ... "You realize the things you did well and know how to critique the things you didn't do well. We have to pick up and move on because we have Ohio State coming in next week and we don't have an easy road ahead. But this shows that if we work hard we can beat anyone."
MSU Senior Guard William Whitticker
On Drew Stanton's injury ... "It didn't affect us that much emotionally. We just wanted to go out there and play hard for Drew and Damon. He got out there and helped us put up over 500 total yards offense. We just have to step it up and play hard against Ohio State."
On the difference between this year and two years ago ... "A loss is a loss. Two years ago we didn't have a good game. We got killed two years ago, but this year we just couldn't finish it off. With that offense of ours, they had nothing for us. They couldn't stop us."
On how difficult it was keeping things together without Drew ... "It wasn't that difficult. We know we can come back in with a second quarterback, and with him, we can do the job too. He prepares every week just like Drew does."
