Inside the Lockerroom
9/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State vs. Notre Dame
East Lansing, Mich.
September 18, 2004
Michigan State Head Coach John L. Smith
Opening Statement...
"For the most part, you have to complement Notre Dame, their staff and their kids. They came in and played a good ball game. They did a good job, so congratulations to those people. I am proud of our kids. I thought that we hung in there and really fought. We didn't give up to the very darned end. We battled, so that is a positive."
On the Spartan loss...
"I told the team that we are all going to come in tomorrow morning to look at film from this game and we are going to be very ill. We are going to be sick after we look at it because the opportunities were there. The turnover ratio wins you ball games. That is the one stat, in my opinion, that really means a lot. You can't go up over the top and you'd better hang onto the football. We just turned it over too many times. Right to the very end, we had a chance (to come back); I thought we did. You can't turn over the football, plain and simple, that is the one statistic that matters. We threw a couple of bad balls and the one, late in the first half, didn't mean anything. But then we kept hanging onto the football and we have to learn to take care of it better. Hopefully, the young guys learned from it."
On MSU defense...
"There were a lot of times in which our defense hung in there. They played decently against a pretty darned good opponent. Notre Dame got a couple of passes on us, and we lost our eyes a time or two throughout action. But, for the most part, I thought that our defense did well."
On areas in which State was effective...
"Special teams, you can't fault those guys. They got us two touchdowns. We just need to do more offensively. In the second half, Drew (Stanton) provided us a spark. As for his running ability, from a defensive coach standpoint, his ability to run the ball made it a whole different ball game. I thought that he provided us a spark and that was good to see."
Notre Dame Head Coach Tyrone Willingham
On the adjustments Michigan State made based on what they saw on your run defense...
"First of all, we knew they were a good rushing team. They are better than what other people thought. We did not do a good job tackling in the first half. They were just a good team at running the football."
On Notre Dame's offense and defense...
"I think we had a 3-22 deficit coming into this ball game in the first half, so it was important to us to get off to a great start in this ball game, both offensively and defensively."
On using both RBs throughout the game...
"We're trying to develop a group of running backs who compliment each other in terms of their style and in terms of the offense that we need them for. We started the ball game primarily with Ryan Grant and Darius Walker being the two that we rotated. Ryan was not able to complete the game, so we came back with Travis Thomas to be that compliment when I thought Darius was getting just a little tired."
On his defense's mentality and their ability to force turnovers...
"It's just modern-day defensive football. I don't think it's anything unique just to us, but I think that everyone preaches it in modern-day football; that you have to create turnovers, that you have to be very aggressive in your defensive play and that's what we're trying to do."
On defense's play, forcing six turnovers on the road...
"I have always tipped my hat to my defense. Good defense will keep you in ball games and we have found that out this year in the ball games that we've played. We do have a good defense that keeps us close until something good happens, and our defense has done a great job in all three ball games of keeping us in the position to win the football game."
On the inconsistent play of Notre Dame's special teams...
"I love the word consistency and I think that our team shares it also. I think it's a good ball game that will allow a lot of those key points we talked about to come home to us. Unfortunately, we don't want them to happen in a ball game, but sometimes that is ultimately the best medicine to reinforce what the coaches are really saying and teaching."
Tyrell Dortch, Bandit, Sr.
On his interception in the endzone...
"They had a good drive going. As soon as they got in the red zone, we needed a turnover. We didn't want them to kick a field goal or anything. God willing, the ball got tipped up in the air and I just made a play on it."
On dealing with Notre Dame's perimeter speed on offense...
"We felt like we could match their speed. They've got some great playmakers on the offensive side of the ball and a great freshman running back. But we were athletic enough and fast enough to get to the ball. I think we did a pretty OK job today."
On possibly running out of gas late in the game...
"We could have stepped up and stopped them but things happen in this sport. It was a hard game between Notre Dame and Michigan State. They played harder than us today."
Ronald Stanley, MIKE, Sr.
On the difficult loss...
"I feel like we played a good game tonight. We played hard, but we just came up short. We couldn't get it done, but we've got to put it behind us and start getting ready for the league next week."
On offensive turnovers...
"Well, we're a team and we can't blame anyone. We all lost the game together. Our defense played pretty well and our offense will come along. They will get off on the right track and we will be good."
On the team's overall performance...
"I feel that we have a lot of room for improvement. We played a good game tonight but just didn't win on the scoreboard. As a team, we are not where we need to be, but we just have to go out and get better."
Drew Stanton, QB, So.
On his rushing efforts...
"It was just a matter of us being a spread offense and that's something they are going to give us. They don't really account for the quarterback all of the time, so we try to take advantage of them. There were some times in which they dropped so many guys into cover that I tried to make plays."
On getting through the next 24 hours with his knee...
"It reacted today, but I'm not too worried about it. It's been responding better and better. My knee feels great (right now). I felt really comfortable out there."
On Jehuu Caulcrick's fumble in the end zone...
"I just told him not to quit. There are a lot of funny things that could happen with four minutes left. People were starting to step up and say, `No, we won't allow you to quit.' In this type of game you needed everyone you could get because it was a dog fight out there."
On how close MSU was from a victory...
"We were two or three plays away from winning the game. I thought we were in the game the whole way through. We were very, very close to winning that game."
DeAndra Cobb, RB, KR, Sr.
On his 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown...
"It was a little bit different returning the kick for a touchdown today. I am used to seeing it change the momentum to our side, to help us get the win. I was dealing with a heel bruise the first few games and now I feel more comfortable hitting the holes."
On the kick return team...
"The kickoff return before the one I took back, I felt like I could have the opportunity to take one back today. It seemed like if I could get to the second level, I would be gone. I give credit to the guys up front."
On his kick return lifting the team...
"The defense came off a little slow, they were down and they needed a lift. Coach Smith just said that we needed to go out there and give the team a boost, and that's what we did. I felt that the guys were a little more into it after that."
Jehuu Caulcrick, RB, R-Fr.
On his fumble...
"Any turnover affects the game, but the team just has to rally and bounce back. That is something that I just had to put behind me so that I could keep playing the game. It hurts to let your team down like that. I just tried to stretch it out and I thought I was in. Looking back on it, I should have tucked it in, but it's easy to say that now."
On his game today...
"I felt very comfortable running the ball. Even after the fumble, if I went back out there, I'd still feel comfortable. I felt I was able to help the team today and that's a great feeling, to contribute. I had a good day until the fumble. I knew I was capable of running like that. For now, Jason (Teague) is still the starter, and I am just going to contribute however I can."
On the game and Notre Dame...
"There were a lot of breaks that went against us. If things went differently, we could have won the game, but you could say that after every loss. Notre Dame is a solid team."
