Post-Game Quotes: Nebraska
10/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
| Photo Gallery
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening Statement...
Things can turn very, very quickly as you saw tonight. First of all, I'm proud of our football team. We started well and played a tremendous football game, especially on defense for three and a half quarters. Then Nebraska caught fire a little bit and we had a missed interception. Next thing you know, they return a punt and you find yourself in a game. It is good that you have a close game. I don't like them, but it's good to have a close game and win it in the end. We thought our players played hard. Obviously, our defense played extremely well. Offensively, we didn't run or pass as effectively, but things are going to happen. We will take 4-1 and will move on to Purdue next week.
On the ending of the game...
Things change. Something happens and can spark a team and it changes things very quickly. I thought Marcus Rush and Shilique Calhoun played very well. We came up with turnovers. The last play of the game, we came up with pressure and it was a great pick by Trae Waynes. It was a gutsy call by Narduzzi and we went after them. Credit all people concerned with that.
On holding Nebraska's run game in check...
We had to take away their cutback angles and have good pursuit to the ball. We had to pay attention to details and have good scheme and structure. You have to do your job and we had a lot of guys do that tonight. Our whole defense did, especially in the first half when they were put in some bad positions. You have to credit Nebraska in terms of what they did. They are a good football team that came into today 5-0. They are well coached and know how to take things away from you. Schematically, what we do is stop the run. Whether it is zone pressure or the way we get guys in the box. They were able to run the ball a little bit and had 100-plus yards in the first half. It was the pursuit angels, tackling in space, guys doing their job, and great structure, something that is our trademark here. We tackled very well on the perimeter. We won this game on defense, let's just call it what it is. That was a very good thing to have happen to us. That is what you need to be an elite football team. I told them at halftime that we have been there and played in big games before. We had to rise up, this is our time. And we did.
On the team's identity heading into the Big Ten season...
You are looking for an identity throughout the year and moving forward. Last year, we developed one as we went forward. This year, we had the Oregon game and the others were blowouts. Tonight was 27-3 and in control. I am just glad I am not sitting here talking about how it slipped away. I do think you develop an identity in how you play and finish. Somehow, we finish. Our guys are more ticked off than lacking confidence. It didn't go that way, but we just had to find a way to get it done. We missed a field goal at the end of the game, which is uncharacteristic and things happen. This is not a perfect game. We found a way to win and that is the important thing.
On players relaxing with the lead...
It is uncharacteristic of us to get a lead like that and let teams back into the game. It happened tonight so we have to deal with it and learn from that. You got your hands on the ball for an interception that likely leads to six points and it slips through - that is tough to deal with. You have to get back out there and play. I believe you have to get through adversity. Great punt return by their guy and he busted it. All of the sudden, they were right back in the game. We didn't panic and just had to bear down.
On Connor Cook's night...
I think every player is going to have better games than other. Connor probably didn't play his best football game, but he will regroup and play extremely well his next time out. That is just his nature. I thought we had some great catches by our wide-outs and the ball was right on the money in those situations. The consistency that has been there wasn't today. You have to credit Nebraska too because they were ready. We didn't run and pass the ball as effectively as we have and they held our offense in check more so than any other game this year. It was a good football game.
Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini
Opening Statement
"Obviously I'm disappointed. We didn't play well enough to win the football game. I give them credit. They played well. We didn't play well and therefore the outcome was what it was. We had plenty of opportunities and we couldn't maximize our opportunities. Therefore when you go on the road, you've got to take advantage of those things and we weren't able to do that, so we didn't win the football game."
On the health of WR Kenny Bell
"We'll evaluate as we go. We have a bye week, so hopefully he'll get a chance to get some rest."
On Nebraska's final two pass plays
"I couldn't see it over in the corner. I know it was close. On the final pass, our receiver got knocked off. Maybe I was the only one who saw it."
On his team's comeback attempt
"It didn't surprise me. Our team's going to fight. That's who these kids are."
On the struggles of Nebraska's offensive line
"It was pretty obvious. It surprised me. We didn't play well enough the whole game. We didn't play well enough in the second half either. Give Michigan State credit. They took it to us up front. It wasn't blitzing or scheme. They outplayed us."
On the play of the Nebraska defense
"I thought our defense did a lot of good things tonight. I thought defensively, we played well enough to win the football game."
His thoughts on the comeback
"We lost the football game. I don't care whether it was by 30 or whatever it was. I'm not into moral victories. We lost the football game and we need to get better."
When asked if he takes any solace in his team's comeback effort
"Our guys played hard. They played hard from start to finish. We made a couple mistakes. We gave up a couple plays. They're a good team. You're not going to just shut them out. There's some things that shouldn't have happened that we need to get corrected. I thought we played pretty good against the run game. Our tackling for the most part was pretty good. When you miss a couple tackles, it hurts. There were times in our secondary where we were not executing our game plan the way we needed to execute it in terms of playing your leverage and using your help. At the end of the day like I said, we didn't play well enough to win the game. That was obvious."
On his decision to onside-kick with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter
"I thought that was the time to do it. We didn't have any timeouts left. That gave us the opportunity to get the football right there with plenty of time to score."
On the health and toughness of QB Tommy Armstrong at the end of the game
"He was fine at the end of the game or we wouldn't have had him in the game. We don't put hurt guys back in the game. He showed me what he always shows me."
On the offensive game plan
"I don't care what your plan is. When you're getting your butt kicked up front, it doesn't really matter what the plan is. Whether it was in the run or pass, they dominated us up front in the first half."
On the physicality of Michigan State
"They played their butt off. Like I said, I give them a lot of credit."
On the injury to DB Daniel Davie
"I mean it hurts you when you lose a guy that's played well the way Daniel has. But it's part of the game. I don't think it's long-term. We thought he was going to be able to go back in, but he just didn't feel like he could run full-speed."
On the play of punt returner De'Mornay Pierson-El
"He's a weapon. The guys were blocking well for him."
On the play of the Nebraska defensive line against the Michigan State running game
"Played well. It's team defense. If you don't play well up front, they're going to run the football on you. That's part of it. I felt our linebackers and secondary showed up in the run game. I don't know how many yards they had rushing. I thought we did a pretty good job for the most part against the run game. Did a lot of good things defensively. Just wasn't enough to win the football game. It's a team game and as a team, we didn't play well enough."
Michigan State associate head coach and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi
On their attempts to stop the run game tonight...
It all starts off in the first half - I think they had 13 yards as I looked at the quickie stats at halftime. In the first half, that was the game really as far as stopping the run. We shut down the run about as well as we've stopped it against these guys and that was the key to the game. We made it a passing game. They made some plays; we made some plays. We should have had an interception for a touchdown on that last touchdown they scored while they were on offense. Our kids played pretty darn well today.
On pressuring the quarterback...
No doubt about it, we put a lot of heat on the quarterback even with just four men. We had great four-man pressure out of kids today. Shilique (Calhoun) and Marcus Rush - I can't say enough about the heat that they put on them. Ed Davis made an unbelievable effort on them. Overall, when you beat a great Nebraska football team, you have 11 guys playing well.
On what he was telling the guys late in the fourth quarter leading into the last play...
Great teams make big plays at the end of the game and we got an interception. We blitzed them on that down, one of the normal things we do, and I think we had ok pressure - not good enough, but we had guys in the right spot.
On play-calling against a more one-dimensional offense in terms of the pass game...
It should be easier when we do that. Again, like I said, we should have had a pick six series before that when we were on the field and we gave up a 41-yard pass. It should have been a pick six the other way. That's the way it goes.
On the effort of his team, getting the win...
That's a great football team. They rushed for I don't know how many yards-per-game. I don't think they had over one hundred. It was a heck of a job by our defense.
Michigan State offensive coordinator Dave Warner
On what was working when MSU had the big lead early on...
I mean, early on we hit some big plays helped us early with the pass and a couple big plays I guess. I don't know if we ever got in any rhythm. I mean, we scored points the first half, but I never felt that we were in any rhythm. Hats off to Nebraska, they did a very good job defensively and we were just able to hit some big plays. I think that's the difference in the game. I'm sure that if I had go back over it again, I'd do some things differently, but those big plays were the difference in the game.
On using some of the misdirection that had been introduced against Wyoming...
We always have to do a little something different in certain situations and that's a play [Tony Lippett's reverse for a touchdown] that we've had in our repertoire for years and run it once a year. About every time we run it, it works and I'm thankful for that.
On Connor Cook's performance...
He hit some big passes. I think our receivers played really well. Some of those catches out there, I'm not sure who made them all, but I think we did a great job of fighting for the ball and bringing the ball down. Connor fought through what was not his best game. He'll freely admit that but he fought through to the end and he'll learn from it.
On the running game...
Again, that's somewhere we need to gain a little consistency where we're getting four, five yards a clip. It's seems like we were either hitting a big run or two yards. It's tough to keep banging your head against the wall there if you're only getting two yards.
On the difficulty of trying to run the clock while also trying to score nearing the end of the game...
Do you keep the clock running or do you try and take advantage of them packing the box and trying to stop the run? We tried to keep running the clock the best that we could. We made a critical error there at the end of the game when we went out of bounds, but we've just got to run the ball and get first downs. That's what we have to do.
Junior cornerback Trae Waynes
What is going through your mind late in the game...
Just to stay calm and have a short memory. Do everything as a team to put the game away.
On the last play of the game...
Luckily I was able to get a good read on the ball, make the play and put the game away.
Sophomore linebacker Riley Bullough
On MSU's game plan heading into the game...
Coming in, we knew (Ameer) Abdullah was a great back. He's quick, he was going to try to cut back on us, so we preached all week that we all got to swarm to the ball. We all know schematically what we want to do and I think for the most part we achieved it. The big thing was we wanted to get heads to the ball and I think we did that.
On Nebraska's last couple of drives...
At the end Nebraska got some momentum. They made a couple big plays and we had an opportunity to make plays and we didn't. That's what happens when you play a good team, they're going to bust a couple out, which they did. Thankfully we could hang on to it.
On if this performance was the MSU defense "coming of age"...
I think it is. I wish we could have held on a little bit better at the end there but through three quarters we played well. I wish we could have finished but I think we definitely made a statement and we showed what we can do. We understand what kind of defense we are, what kind of guys we have. We lost guys from last year, we all know that, but our guys are stepping up, filling in, and I think we're going to be a great defense.
On Nebraska saying they would run on Michigan State...
We thought about it a little bit but not really. Like I said, we knew Nebraska's a good team, they're always tough to play. Abdullah is a great back. We just tried to go out and make a statement and hold them to as few amount of rushing yards as possible and I think we did that.
Freshman safety Montae Nicholson
On when he found out he would start...
They told me I might be starting earlier in the week, but they told me it was set in stone Thursday.
On if starting changed his mindset...
It really didn't change my mindset. I always prepare like I'm starting, that's what they tell me to do, and that's how I prepare during the week, whether it's film or during practice as well.
On how he felt on the first play...
There were so many things running through my head. It was a great feeling to say the least. Nervous, excited, especially as a freshman coming in and starting in a Big Ten game.
Junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun
On if he has ever seen a game "flip" the way Saturday's did...
I've seen games flip like that from time to time so it wasn't a shock. The adversity was going to hit and the biggest thing is how are you going to react to it. I feel as if we did a great job today and we need to keep that up. We do need to correct a lot of the mistakes that we had, but I feel like we stepped up to the task and were ready to go.
On building a big lead then the game being tight at the end...
It gives us a lot of confidence when we first get that lead, coming out of halftime, we understood that it was a 0-0 game because things like that can happen. We just tried to come out in the second half and play our best football. Granted we did have a lot of mistakes, we still have improving to do. It hurt a little bit when they got up and we were a little shocked. But like I said, we were ready for the task.
On if it's frustrating they didn't finish the game the way they wanted to...
You always want to be better and you can always improve each and every game. I'm not going to let it frustrate me. It happens, it's football, it's just a game.
On if it was the best MSU's defense has played all year...
The first half was our best football we've played all year and I do want to improve upon that. I feel as if we did a great job with third downs and we did a great job stopping the run. We're going to correct our mistakes and try to improve upon that even more. I think we were just ready to go. A lot of people just say that we're defending Rose Bowl champions and defending Big Ten champions but we're not defending anything. That's in the books already. We're trying to focus on another championship and we came out with that attitude.
On his fumble return...
I don't know if I had six. That guy was pretty fast, I expected him to catch me, he's a shiftier guy, a lot faster. I did want to score, but I did what I could for my team and I hope that helped them throughout the game and kept them motivated. It was a collective effort, it wasn't just me. Ed Davis came down and made the hit that knocked the ball out and I was able to scoop it and try to take it back.
On what he told his team after the missed field goal...
I just told them that it's our time. This game is in our hands, what are we going to do with it, how are we going to leave our mark. How are we going to be known? That's something I feel like we try to do each and every game.
Senior running back Jeremy Langford
On lessons learned during this game...
Definitely lessons learned. In the second half, we have to play a lot better. We have to put teams away and not give them a chance or make us nervous. [On the] last drive, we've just got to finish on offense.
On feeling relaxed during the game...
At some points of the game I did think it was over. We've got to get better at not letting off. We have to continue to finish strong and not worry about the score - just play the game we play.
On why the team felt relaxed tonight...
During the first half, our defense was doing a great job to not let them score and we were doing well on offense. I think we came out and put a lot of pressure on our defense to make plays.
On attention surrounding Ameer Abdullah...
Coaches talk about him, but I just play the game I play. I don't really worry about anyone else but our team and getting a win.
Freshman defensive back Montae Nicholson
On finding out about starting...
They [coaches] told me early in the week that there was a good chance. It was pretty much set in stone on Thursday. Once they told me that [I was starting] it was pretty much just going from there.
On feeling settled into this game...
Honestly, after the first play. After the first play, I realized that it was just another game. It's the Big Ten and everyone is going to come harder, including my team as well. I had to step it up.
On holding Ameer Abdullah down...
Hats off to [Ameer] Abdullah. Hats off to Nebraska. They're a great team. We felt that we had to come into this game physically and mentally prepared to stop the run. I believe that we did that.
On overall performance in first career start...
I think I did pretty well. I won't be sure until I can go back and watch film.
On ability to contribute to this game...
Everybody has an individual assignment. We feel that if everyone executes their assignment, then we should come out with a victory every time. I feel that I executed my assignments pretty well, and everyone else did theirs [assignments] really well too. I believe that's why we won.
On nerves in first career Big Ten night game...
Oh, not at all. I kind of feed off of that, and our team does as well, especially in Spartan Stadium. The crowd is loud and we feed off of that.
Junior quarterback Connor Cook
This being an identity forming game
I would say as a defense we made a statement, on defense we looked tremendous from start to finish. I feel on offense we did not play well, including me, obviously with the completion percentage. We have to execute the run game; we have to execute the pass game. I feel defensively we took 10 steps forward; offense we kind of took a couple of steps back. That's why there is next week. We have a week to improve, we will go to the film room, and we will correct our errors, execute better and develop a better game plan for next weekend. We will be ready to be productive.
This being an identity forming game
A win is a win no matter how you cut it. If it's pretty, if its ugly, we are all pretty thankful to walk away from this game, if it's a blowout, if it's a close game, we were up early, then they came back. A win is a win, they all count as one. So we are happy, we are going to enjoy this for 24 hours, when it is over we are on to the next conference game. A win is a win no matter how you cut it. Pretty sure all of us are happy that we won.
Senior defensive end Marcus Rush
Nebraska definitely came out and challenged us. Ameer Abdullah, Coach Bo Pelini, they challenged us that we couldn't stop the run. We came out and we did that. So I am proud of our defense, there were a lot of sudden changes. We did our job and we answered back.
Senior wide receiver Tony Lippett
Basically we told each other that we just have to finish this game. Just to play hard and negate the unsportsmanlike conducts and continue to keep our focus and know what our goal is.
Knowing that we could have executed better in all three phases of the game. We know we could have executed just a little bit better as far as a block here, or a catch here, or anything like that, a read here. We always know that we shoot high and we know that the sky is the limit. For this offense, for this defense, for this team. We aren't satisfied with how we played throughout four quarters of this game. Like Connor (Cook) keeps saying, we are going to go back and watch film, correct our mistakes and come out there next week and have a good game plan.
Senior Defensive end Marcus Rush
Saw on the film going into the game...
I don't know what numbers they really were. I had to go up against both tackles. On the film both tackles had knee pads, they soft setted sometimes, then they would hard set at times too. I watched a lot of film this week; I think the whole d-line did. It definitely paid out.
Reasons for success today...
That all 11 people on the field did their job. We came out and did that for sure.
Michigan State safety Kurtis Drummond
On Marcus Rush...
Marcus is a guy that comes in and works hard. He's a guy that pushes Shilique [Calhoun], and him and Shilique feed off of eachother . Marcus has been making plays for us his whole career, but I don't understand how he doesn't get the recognition that he should get, but Marcus is a great player and makes big plays for us.
On Trae Waynes' game-clinching interception...
He was just in good coverage and made a play on the ball and sealed it for us. On the dominant play by Michigan State through the first three quarters...
It just shows the type of team we have, and the ability that we have. We need to play that way for 60 minutes and it's going to be tough with teams like that. We'll get back and watch the film and see the plays we need to have corrected or the plays we should've made coming out of this game. We got the W and we're happy about that.
Michigan State linebacker Taiwan Jones
On the overall play of the Michigan State defense...
"I felt really good about our defense. I was really proud of the new linebacking core that was in. We communicated well. The young defensive line played really well. The secondary, with Montae Nicholson starting, did really well too, especially in his first Big Ten game. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season, seeing how much we get better, seeing how many corrections we make.
On the difference in the defense's play this week...
The difference was just the way we came out and practiced, and the way we were enthusiastic about playing the game. We knew Ameer Abdullah was a great back, and it was a challenge to us as a defense to stop a great back and have a great run defense, and I feel like we did that tonight.
On the new linebackers making their way in to the rotation...
"Darian [Hicks] and Riley [Bullough] did a great job. I'm really looking forward to continuing watching them get better as the season goes on."
On Montae Nicholson's performance in his first career start...
He did a really great job. He was fearless. He wasn't afraid to make a mistake and continued to play hard and give it his all, and that's all we ask for here at Michigan State." On what was said before the final Nebraska drive...
Basically just to pick our heads up. Some people had their heads down, but I went over there and told them to pick their heads up, and we're winning the game. Everything is within our control and we can stop them. We stopped them, got the ball back and won the game."
On what it means to stop the Nebraska offense...
"I feel like we take it as a challenge. We take it personal. When a coach says they never have had a problem running on us before, we take it as an insult and come out and practice hard. They had a great back, so I feel like we did a great job defensively as a whole. I feel like this defense could be really special."
On his overall performance...
"Basically, I just try to come out and play hard for my team. I try to communicate as best as I can. I try to put myself and my teammates in the best position to make those plays, and I feel like I did pretty well tonight, and I can only get better."
Nebraska senior corner back Josh Mitchell
On the difficulty of the loss...
It hurts, but at least we fought until the end. That's all you can ask of your teammates.
On when they thought they could turn the corner in the fourth quarter...
When we got that first touchdown, all we do is we go out there on defense and stop them from scoring then we had a chance.
On wanting another shot at MSU in the Big Ten Championship...
Definitely, if we take care of our business, I don't see why we can't get there. They're a good team, so I see them getting there, too, so it would be a nice little rematch.
Nebraska sophomore receiver Jordan Westerkamp
On the fourth-quarter comeback
It was real close. It showed a lot about this football team and that we are going to keep playing until the clock strikes zero. We had a big play with the punt return and we had big plays left and right in the fourth quarter and it gave us momentum. Then we had that real deep bomb going into that last drive that was almost complete. Michigan State is a good program and a great team and they were able to make that stop.
Overall it was a good game. Obviously we came out a little slow but started to pick it up a little bit offensively. Our defense played outstanding, we kind of let them down. We are going to learn a lot from the film of this game and we are just going to keep improving. We look at Michigan State as being the best in our conference. It was a great game we were able to hang in there with them. We had our opportunities to come away with that game, we just didn't execute. We are just going to have to watch this film and improve. Have a bye this week, which is good to get some rest as we head into Northwestern next week and we will be ready to go.
On the slow start slow...
Not sure, maybe it was due to a lack of emotion in the first half. We started to show some in the second half. They were executing, we just weren't executing. We will watch this film figure out why and then we will improve.
On what he saw on the final play...
We ran pretty much corner routes on the inside and stutter routes on the outside. Our receiver was in the air and I think it was the linebacker who hit him in the air and you can't do that. That's the game the referee's are human. Calls such as that will or won't get called, it just happens. We got our own calls during the game. It was unfortunate, but Michigan State played a great game.
Nebraska senior linebacker Trevor Roach
On the play of the defense as a whole...
Defensively it is hard to tell when you don't watch the film. But I do think we played pretty well. We let up some big plays happen which killed us.
On the fourth quarter comeback...
I was on the defensive side and we were just trying to pump everyone up, saying that it's never over. Even if it may be over it is about pride. That's what it came down to. Even though I never thought it was over, because of two years ago we came back so I always believed.
Nebraska sophomore quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.
On how he feels after the game...
I'm all right. I'm beat up here and there, but I'll be fine.
On the fourth quarter...
That's just us playing our football. The first three quarters we struggled; up front we struggled, out wide we struggled, myself, I struggled. We just couldn't get the groove, couldn't execute and it came back to haunt us.
On the first half...
Just a lack of execution. We had turnovers here and there. We talk each and every week about protecting the football and being able to just run our offense. Honestly we just scrambled, we didn't know what we were doing. It just made us struggle a lot more with a lack of execution. We had a bunch of third and longs, and had a bunch of flags here and there that got us back into our own territory. We started off right - our defense gave us some great looks and put us in great opportunities to put points on the board. We just couldn't execute. It sucks, but we just have to drive on and learn from the film. Honestly, it's not the last time (MSU) is going to see us, I can promise you that. We plan on going 11-1, making the Big Ten Championship. We plan on seeing MSU again.
