Capital One Bowl Announcement Press Conference Coverage
12/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2010
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Hollis and Dantonio Press Conference | Players Press Conference
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Hollis and Dantonio | Players
Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis, head coach Mark Dantonio, and captains Aaron Bates, Kirk Cousins and Greg Jones met with the media Sunday night to talk about playing in the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Alabama.
Below is a complete transcript of the press conference:
MARK HOLLIS: Good evening. First of all, on behalf of Michigan State, just moments ago we received a call from Steve Hogan, who we know very well, at the Capital One Bowl, inviting Michigan State to play Alabama in a New Year's Day bowl game. Very excited about it. It's an opportunity to play an outstanding team. I think, as you look at the match up, I consider it one of the best ones of all the bowl games.
So we're very excited about that. Two years ago, when we were down there, we had over 25,000 Spartans show up in support. We anticipate that number to be matched and exceeded this year. There are tour packages out there through the MSU Alumni Association. To be on the official website, be sure to go to MSU Alumni Association and link through there. There are other packages available to move as many Spartans down there as possible.
At this time, I want you to ask some questions of the three guys up here because, believe it or not, they're student athletes and they need to get to class tonight and do some student projects. Going to let you ask them some questions, and we'll get Coach D up here and follow up.
Very excited to be playing in the Capital One Bowl. I think, when you look at the NFL, there's over 1,500 players who are looking to end their season saying, I want to go to Disney World, and we get to say it going into this game. We are excited. Questions?
Q. Kirk, I know it's not a BCS bowl, but how excited are you to go and play a program like Alabama?
Kirk Cousins: We're very excited. This will be a chance to sort of realize the fruit of our work and our 11 1 season and get to enjoy the work we've done so far. Hopefully (we'll) finish it on the right note and put a stamp out for these guys sitting next to me and the rest of our seniors to leave the legacy here and leave a great, great season in the right way.
We feel, although we're not in a BCS bowl, that we're playing in a BCS type game because of the quality of the season that we put together and the quality of the season that Alabama's put together. We feel like this is a BCS type bowl game.
Q. For all three of you guys, what do you guys know about Alabama that you've been able to watch this season?
Greg Jones: Yeah, I watched them a good amount. I really feel like they really have a lot of weapons on offense. Really respect the defense a whole lot. Really excited about the challenge that we have in front of us, especially for the defense. I feel like we can really improve ourselves and be one of the top defenses in the country.
Aaron Bates: We got to see them a lot over the last two years since last year's national champions and this year came in preseason number one. Been on TV a lot, so we got to see them a lot. Obviously, a well coached team. Great defensive team. Obviously, two people that are going to be probably first-round picks at least, maybe three. So it's a great team, great challenge for us.
Kirk Cousins: Really all I've seen of them is their offense because they played Penn State this year. When we were breaking down Penn State's defense, we got to watch Alabama's offense. Obviously, they have tremendous tailbacks. One thing that popped out as we watched them, the quarterback is a fifth-year senior, and you can tell he really runs the show and makes good decisions.
We'll have a great challenge, and I know a Coach Saban defense is going to be very solid and very difficult to play against. That's what we expect playing in the Capital One Bowl. We expect a great challenge.
COACH DANTONIO: All I know is Kirk is talking about playing Alabama, he's getting goose bumps up here. So I guess that's exciting.
Q. Any disappointment at all that it's not a BCS game? I know you came back to win a championship. Any disappointment at all?
Greg Jones: No, not at all. In some ways, I guess, like most guys, you want to play at the big time, but to play Alabama we feel like they're one of the top teams in the nation, almost beat the number two team, and I really feel like it's going to be a good game.
Q. There's a lot of hype that come with bowl games. How do you guys maybe deflect some of that and stay within your own group for this game?
Kirk Cousins: Well, we're excited to be in a game that involves a lot of hype. I don't think it's something we try to shy away from. I think we embrace it and prepare accordingly. I think it's a great match up...We're going to have a month to prepare for them, almost a month, and they'll have a month to prepare for us.
The past three years, although we haven't won our bowl game, I think we've played very, very well and played very, very sound. We expect to do the same this year.
COACH DANTONIO: I guess as an opening statement, I would say we're very, very excited about playing in the Capital One Bowl against the University of Alabama. I think they're an outstanding representative of the Southeastern Conference. When you look at football teams across this country and they talk about the greatest teams playing at this time of year, Alabama's name is going to come up. So we're extremely thrilled about this.
The Capital One Bowl is a bowl that we've been to before. It's a great, great bowl game not only for ourselves, but for families, for fans. Last time we went down there, we were very well represented there by the Michigan State Spartan faithful, and I'm sure that will be the case again. Alabama will bring a great deal of fans as well. So should be a very, very exciting game. Very unique in a lot of ways. We're looking forward to it and want to congratulate our football team on its co championship again.
You know, just sort of move from there. It's important that we win our last football game. We've been saying that now for quite some time. We were able to do it in the regular season, but we need to make good on that statement and represent this conference in our last game of the year, which is our bowl game, sort of springboard us toward our next season, 2011.
So we'll take questions.
Q. Mark, do you like or dislike playing against, coaching against guys you know so well?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, you know, do I like coaching against Jim Tressel or any of these people? No, because they're your friends too. But it's a unique situation, and the competitiveness in you as a person sort of takes hold of you, I think, a little bit.
And it's not about one coach against another coach. It's about an entire team. So there will be some fun spots there, and there will be some times where you just have to sort of reconnect yourself a little bit and understand what you're dealing with. You know, you're dealing with people who know you, but you're also dealing with people who we know too. As the defensive coach, Coach Saban really has been probably my biggest mentor as a coach. When I had the opportunity to come here - and I probably sit here now as a head football coach because of him bringing me here - I'm very, very appreciative of that. And all the time I spent five years with him.
So all those times Bobby Williams has been great to myself and my family. We're looking forward to that. Mike Vollmar is down there as well. Quite a few people with Spartan backgrounds. It will be good to get together on January 1, I guess. We're looking forward to it.
Q. Question for Mr. Hollis. When you were stating your case for a BCS bowl game this past week, did you feel it was heard and, more importantly, given fair consideration?
MARK HOLLIS: It was definitely heard. We made a very strong case, and we made it to the individuals that are making decisions both within the BCS, at the bowls, ESPN, and to our league office with Commissioner Delaney. I think it's a situation where you always want to step back and provide an opportunity to have the best teams play in the highest profile games.
You know, I think that's something that those discussions need to continue. And I'm not sure where they lead, but it you know, it's a situation where we went through the process. We knew what we were up against. We have great respect for Ohio State. We know what their tradition is all about, and we knew we had to be in a position to try and sell ourselves a little bit more than they would have to.
In the end, the decision was made. It wasn't totally you know, totally a surprise on our part by any means. But what we're looking at, as a league, is to go in and represent across the board in all the games that we have. I think when you look at our game specifically and you look at the match ups that are coming out tonight, Michigan State defeated four teams that are going to be playing New Year's Day bowl games. I think that's a pretty big statement in and of itself.
I think with our game specifically we're for sure not going to have any problem selling tickets with a match up like this, with Michigan State Alabama. I know the TV sets are going to turn on. I would estimate that this game will rival, if not win out, over most of the BCS ratings when it's all said and done.
I think this is going to be the one game that turns on the most TV sets, and I think, when you look at the match ups, when you look at Alabama and you look at Michigan State, it's as attractive as any BCS game that's out there.
So I think the goal is always to be the best. Not to be the best you can be, but to be the best, and that will continue to be our drive, continue to be our mission. And in order to do that, you need to make BCS bowl games. The process, you know, if there is a bias in the process, it is determined by individuals making decisions with polls on who the best teams are. And by nature, those tend to be biased a little bit for some of the more traditional programs.
So our goal is to get into that mix, to get into that fray, and continue the success that we have entering this game as Big Ten champs.
Q. Mark, you talked about respect from day one. Really in this season, you shouldn't have to knock off any more rungs of respect at 11 1. Do you think this is a chance for an Alabama team that's 9 3 that would really be perceived as a better team?
COACH DANTONIO: Absolutely. I don't think there's a game where they have not been favored. I don't think there's been one game where they've not gone in expecting to win. They were ranked number one preseason, carried that for quite a while. So it's a very well coached football team with star power in (Julio) Jones, star running backs (Mark) Ingram and (Trent) Richardson and a quarterback and great defense.
We strive - just to echo what Mark said, we strive to be the best. Three outstanding football teams in the Big Ten Conference this year. Outstanding in all respects. One of them was going to be left out. It is what it is. There are some things you can control, and there are some things you cannot control as you move forward. But that does not deter us from our attitude or enthusiasm to play in any football game.
Whoever we were going to play against, we were going to be excited to play against because we knew, if you could take LSU, Arkansas, or Alabama, we knew we were going to play a great football team, and we were going to play a team with great fan support and great tradition.
You know, those are the things we're trying to do. As we move forward, if we were to win this football game, and we move forward at 12 1, we'll get our just due. If we don't, maybe we shouldn't have been in a BCS game. So it all adds up. It all shakes out in the wash. We'll be fine. We're genuinely excited. The closer we get to this game, the more excited we'll be as a football team, and we will be motivated.
Q. Mark, you mentioned Nick being a mentor. How often do you talk to him or text him? Also, what are some of the lessons you learned from him that helped you make that leap from an assistant to head coach?
COACH DANTONIO: There are a lot of coaches I know, but really you don't stay in touch with many coaches during the season. You have a tendency to talk with them. Certainly, when I fell ill, I talked to Nick, I talked to Bobby as well. I've been down probably you know, I've been down to Miami when he was the coach of Miami. I went down to see his practice when he was at Alabama. So I've been down to see him a couple times as a coach, to watch what they're doing and those type of things.
I don't know if that gives us any kind of advantage in that respect, but I deeply appreciate all that he's taught me as a coach. You know, when I came here in '95, I came from the University of Kansas, and I was here for five years, coordinator with Nick Saban. He's an outstanding football coach technique wise, organizationally, defensively. He learned from Bill Belichick. So I'm off that same tree. I appreciate those things.
Q. I was wondering what kind of feedback you got from the Sugar Bowl. Do you have any idea how close you were at the end there? What was the communication like at the end?
MARK HOLLIS: I've never received a phone call from a bowl game that we didn't get into until this one. I received a call from Paul Houlihan, who was very gracious with his call, very complimentary of the process that we put forward. He said he's never seen anything like it in his career in the type of information and other item that's we provided to him in the process.
But it was a very good call. I think we have outstanding relationships with the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Rose Bowl, and we developed a very good relationship with the Sugar Bowl through this process. And even though not selected this year, (that) could come to bear fruit in the future.
Again, it's the first call I've ever had. I talked to John Junker quite a bit at the Fiesta Bowl, who's been a longtime friend. They understand the situation that we're in. We seem to be one of those schools who get rule changes for a variety of reasons. You know, this one they called for as well.
Q. Mark, could you talk about the allotment of tickets and how many have already been presold, please.
MARK HOLLIS: We're well over 3,000 sold, and our allocation is 12,500. We have requested additional tickets already. We're anticipating Alabama coming in with a pretty strong force, so we want to make sure that we cover everyone that needs to be.
When we went down last time, a bunch of fans purchased tickets directly through the bowl instead of through Michigan State. I don't foresee them having that opportunity this go around. I think the two teams are going to snatch up most of the tickets on the front end. So it's going to be important to get those orders in. I would anticipate we will go through the 12,500 quickly, go through the additional allocation that we requested quickly, and hopefully get 25 plus down there.
Q. My question is really for this Mark. You plan on leaving Christmas night, I assume.
COACH DANTONIO: We will probably plan on leaving Christmas afternoon so we can get down there and have a quick workout.
Q. For the other Mark, I think you might have just answered this. My question was going to be your campaigning, or whatever you want to call it this week, was done more than just for this bowl game. Aren't you laying some groundwork for the future? Wasn't that part of your motive all week?
MARK HOLLIS: Absolutely. Ohio State, their brand is a very strong brand. You know what you're competing against. I think when you look at Gene Smith, of all the athletic directors out there, he's one that I put very high and an individual that I like to follow. I admire him greatly, admire their program greatly. They're one of the best in the country.
And at the same time, I want to put us in that echelon. I want Michigan State to have outstanding programs across the board in everything that we compete in, and I think this did lay some groundwork. It opened up the eyes of some individuals, and people have foregone conclusions that the Buckeyes were in the Sugar Bowl. Paul Houlihan backed them off, and he said, `wait, we have a decision to make. It's not a foregone conclusion.'
You know, I think - Coach says you have to earn some things. You know, going 11 1, we've earned something. Winning a Big Ten championship, we've earned something. Defeating Michigan consecutive years, we've earned something. Winning the game at Penn State. We've had a year where we've earned a lot of respect, and at the same time, you need to do that year after year. Coach Izzo always makes that statement. When do you stop becoming a team and start becoming a program? He's still going through that process.
That's what we look to do with all of our teams. So, yeah, I give long answers (laughs). The answer is yes. We were laying the groundwork for the future.
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