Postgame Quotes: Illinois 45, Michigan 20
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Coach quotes courtesy of the Michigan Sports Network postgame show
Player quotes from the Michigan locker room
Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
On Michigan's second half ... "That's a lack of execution, and it goes down to us getting it right in practice. In practice, it seems like we are getting it right, but we aren't getting it done on the field. You've got to give them credit; they've got some players, but we've got players too. We have some young guys, but at the same time, we've got to make some plays that are there. We've got to make sure we get the fundamentals right, and we've got to stop dropping the dang ball and give ourselves a chance."
On U-M's defensive struggles ... "We are out of position. We are giving them way too many big plays and couldn't get off the field on third down. Third down was crazy; third-and-long we couldn't get off the field. We had pass-interference penalties and guys out of position not breaking on the ball right. You got a quarterback draw on third and two, and it goes for 50 yards. We've got to do a better job with our overall play."
On where the team goes from here ... "We've got to get back to work. I think the players will understand that. I don't think anyone is going to go through the Big Ten undefeated, but now we need help with that. But it starts with Michigan. We've got to get ourselves right, and it starts with the coaches tomorrow morning."
U-M Sophomore/Freshman Quarterback Steven Threet
On the added pressure to match Illinois' scoring ... "We just go out every time with the intention to score. Whether or not the other team is scoring points, we always try to establish drives, get first downs and put points on the board."
On offensive mistakes ... "We were executing a lot, we weren't beating ourselves. We were making some plays that obviously were there, that wasn't the issue, but then we had some mistakes that killed drives. You have to give credit to Illinois. They made some adjustments and started making some plays on defense to stop us, but I feel like we made too many mistakes that ended too many drives."
U-M Junior/Sophomore Linebacker Obi Ezeh
On defensive inconsistencies ... "It all comes down to consistency. Emotionally, I think that sometimes we are ready to go and then sometimes people are letting emotions taking over. We should be able to play composed, and we just couldn't do that today."
On the defense's third-down play... "Third-and-long you got to get off the field. We had third-and-15 a couple times and we had some missed tackles and missed assignments and we just couldn't get off the field. Against a team like that with that kind of offensive talent if you allow them to stay on the field they're going to put some plays together and get a touchdown. We can't let great players like that hang around. First and second down we would get them in third-and-long but then they would make a long pass or a long run and we can't let them do that."
Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook
On the game ... "Obviously I'm very proud of our football team. Anytime you go on the road and play in the Big Ten Conference, you better be strapped up. I think our guys took a little step today just growing up a little bit and taking care of it on the defensive side of the football. They did the things that they needed to do. I was proud of them. I told them it was going to be a 60-minute game, and it wasn't going to be over until it was over. I know the score seemed like it was a little lopsided, but it was the same way when they scored 20 points in the fourth quarter last week. So we constantly kept telling our guys that, and they continued to raise the bar."
On the swing in momentum ... "Even though football is a team game, the offense kept us in it. I think it was at one point 14-10, and the defense, once they settled down ... I mean they were just little, little things and once again it's good football teams that make bad things happen once they settle down. The defensive line were hitting them, but I'm so proud of them the way they hung in there. In the previous game, they let the second and third bad thing happen after one bad thing, and that's the one thing where we've made some progress today."
On getting a win after disappointing losses against Missouri and Penn State ... "I would say it's a big, big win for us, but we have to keep it in perspective and understand that every win is a big one. Michigan had a big win last weekend and understand that in the Big Ten, it's one game at a time and you have to stay focused on the game at hand."
On the performance of quarterback Juice Williams ... "Once again he continues to get better, and he does the things that Coach [Mike] Locksley and the offensive coaches have demanded him to do. He has his capabilities. Once again when he raises the bar, it helps his confidence level, it helps our team's confidence level, and he knows that we're going to keep pushing him to do better."
Illinois Quarterback Juice Williams
On Coach's challenge to play better this week ... "On a team you have great players, good players and role players. He really came to us and said, 'great players have to play great all the time.' They can't take games off. That was the challenge to us. We had to step up to the plate and play better than we had in our last two games."
On if tonight's game was the most complete game they played all year ... "It was good, but not complete. It wasn't perfect. It was a good game but there are still corrections to be made. We're trying to get better every day. "
On Michigan's defense ... "They were a great team. Obviously every defense has holes in it, but for the most part I thought they were a pretty good team and they were today. I was able to take advantage of the opportunities down field with the ball and everything worked out for us."
Illinois Center Ryan McDonald
On Juice ... "We've known he's had talent all the time. He's been better year after year. It was just a matter of time before he broke out. This was a very good team we played today. He played with confidence. A time or two we let a guy go free, and they got a shot on him, and he just said, 'don't worry about it - move on and get it the next time.' He does a good job of controlling the offense. "
On the defense ... "We had to feel them out and see what they were giving us. The coaches know exactly what's going on and they'll identify where we have advantages."
