Post-Game Quotes: Ohio State
11/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
COACH DANTONIO: I would like to congratulate Ohio State for a great football game. Especially Barrett. I thought he played very, very well. 100 yards plus rushing, 300 yards passing. They played extremely well. So congratulate them.
From our standpoint, I think the game, even with three or four minutes to go in the first half, they fumbled a kick off return after we score. We got a chance. We go in for a touchdown. Get a holding call. Makes it 28 14, but he takes it off the board and we miss the field goal.
So the next play is a 79-yard touchdown. So it goes from 28 14 to 21 21, and all of a sudden momentum just flipped. I thought it was pretty equal back and forth.
So, we got to try and counter that. We came out in the second half, I thought we did. But the bottom line was we didn't stop them, we couldn't stop them. And we got to evaluate that and say, was that physical sometimes? Yeah. Was that structural sometimes? Probably yeah. And was that mental sometimes? Maybe we didn't get the correct adjustment or whatever the cause was.
So, have to play better in that area. Offensively, I thought we played pretty well. Two times on fourth down, we decided to go for it, which I thought it above been a long field goal. We didn't come away with production there.
So when you look at those things, that would be the downfall of that area. But I think our guys kept playing. That was the important thing to me that we keep playing, we keep our head up, and it's a game, it's a disappointment. We had big hopes.
And in this football game, great stage, great environment, great fans, everything you want in a college football game. I thought it was a great game. But at the end of the day we got beat and that's what life is. So we regroup, we move forward, and that's what we have always done. So I'll take questions.
Q. After the holding penalty call after the touchdown, the cameras caught you shaking your head there as if you kind of knew you had just given away a great opportunity. What's going through your mind in a moment like that when you give away points like that?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, I saw - you mean when we missed the field goal? Or after the hold? Yeah. Things are happening very fast out there. So I'm not sure, I didn't see the replay on the hold itself.
But bottom line is they called the hold and we didn't get seven. And it backed us up. And we didn't overcome that and we missed the field goal on the next play. And then I forget really what happened.
They got the ball at the 50 and put number 9 in the slot, didn't recognize it, boom, we're in cover one, and the safeties had to get over to go seam to seam, it was a touchdown, it was a great throw. A great throw, great catch, and speed of the receiver. So, all of a sudden they were up by seven.
I think that was a big part of the game, but I think we came out and responded in the second half. We were right there.
But a 13 play drive, in the third quarter, where they hit it was third-and-23 and they hit the fade. I think Hicks had him covered, had him cut off, ball was thrown over the back shoulder there. Great catch by Smith, great throw by Barrett.
So, yeah, they make the conversion, Third and 23, they were getting off the field, and I think we were still - I can't remember what the score was, but we were right there.
Q. Pat talked about Barrett's accuracy being a bit of a surprise. Anything else they did offensively that caught you off guard?
COACH DANTONIO: Yeah, I think that - I'm not real sure, because we haven't seen film, obviously. But I think they had some different formation things.
Because they ran the ball more effectively and that's positive for them. I'm not dissing them, but I thought they ran the ball more effectively with their tailback runs than we were expecting.
Credit their offense a lot. We had two sacks, but they kept them off of him. They play actioned it and got the ball out really quick. Really, offensively, they didn't have any turnovers. They had a turnover on the punt and the kick off return. So offensively, I thought they played extremely well. So credit them. Good plan by their coaches.
Q. In the Big Ten Championship game there was a period in the third quarter where they had similar momentum and were rolling around and you guys stopped that. Is that something that this defense maybe doesn't quite have the same feel for or is it more just the difference of scheme and talent and situations?
COACH DANTONIO: I don't know about that. We played pretty well. But we gave up some explosive plays, too many big plays. When that happens, it's tough to win. Those plays sometimes are made by inches.
So that's the game we play and, but, it's tough to evaluate all those things until I think you see the film and you study it and see what happened.
Q. Did Barrett play better than you expected, better than you had seen him on film at this point?
COACH DANTONIO: I thought he threw the ball, I thought his arm strength was very, very good out there. I thought he was very accurate. You look at - he throws the ball for 300 yards and rushes for 100 more. And he played very, very well. He threw the ball well.
And I think, again, they're playing this good, they play actioned us and in the pass sets sometimes there was draws and things of that nature. And they played very well as well. They ran the big option play, he goes out gate, and that's uncharacteristic, and then they hit another one, too.
Q. On Ohio State getting to the edge of the field...
COACH DANTONIO: Well, that's the thing that we have to evaluate. For me, especially on the field, it's very hard to see, but there's certain things where they should not have got the edge. They cracked our safeties some, our backers, and we didn't support off that crack and they got the edge on the defense a couple times. But probably have to watch and see. But they outflanked us. One of the times, I know it was structural, we missed a tackle, just had the defense read the other way. But it's tough to see without the film.
Q. This is your biggest adversity of the season, you don't do it tonight at midnight, but how do you move forward now when you had so much to play for?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, it's a disappointment in your life. We're going to have a lot of disappointments in our lives. That's what we talk about all the time. It's going to be how you respond to those disappointments. Are you going to hang your head and go south or are you going to get up and play better and are you going to get better because of it and how you handle yourself after a loss.
Very easy to coach, be a head coach up here after a win. Everybody's happy, everybody's happy with you. But how you respond after the fact is to me sometimes more important. How we grow on every experience is just as critical. And so that's what we'll look for and that's our deal.
This is important, I don't want to say this is not important, with all the TV cameras and all the people, but this was a game and as long as our players will play as hard as they can play and play with effort, we're going to deal with it.
I felt that they did that and they kept playing through it and even at the end of the game we kept trying to push it.
So, congratulate them, move on, let's get things back in order here and we'll go next week. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have a chance to play and try to get number 8.
Q. You talked about trying to keep the playoff talk away from your players and things like that. Do you think any of that...
COACH DANTONIO: I do.
Q. But do you think any of the outside stuff affected them?
COACH DANTONIO: I don't. We focused on this game. We had Ohio State coming in here. We understand the ramifications of everything, playing them, they got a food football team. I knew that there would be a push from them, based on last year, that they would be an emotional football team. I thought they would push back. I thought it was important to respond to that push back and play through it and come out the other end and regain momentum, basically.
I thought we did that at times and I think the biggest turning point was that big 13 point swing in there. The way you look at, it might be even a bigger swing than that, at the end of the half. We had three minutes to go in the half, we go in 28 14 there's a different feel, there's a different, there's a little bit more like, okay, we got them. But they get two big plays in that three minutes and so you deal with it.
Q. You kind of alluded to it, can you talk a little bit with a what revenge I guess is a motivator could be for a team when what happened in the Big Ten championship last game last year?
COACH DANTONIO: I think everybody was trying to measure up in football or any sport or anything that you do, they're trying to measure up. Sometimes measuring up creates that drive and I'm sure that was their, of course, their MO. They wanted to come in and play well and win.
But that has nothing to do with us. That's them. Okay? How we respond to that and how we handle ourselves all has to do with us.
So that's what happens in every football game. That's coaching, that's psychology at its finest, that's, you know, team, all that kind of stuff. Team chemistry, team leadership, all those kind of things.
So it's a loss in November, it was not fun. It's a drive in November for the championship, that's not fun. It's disappointing. But you better get back to doing what you're supposed to do and get better yourself. You can't feel sorry yourself, there's no question about that. You just have to keep pushing through.
Q. You mentioned the likelihood that this ends your hopes for a college football playoff appearance. What do you think about that?
COACH DANTONIO: I didn't mention that. I didn't say that.
Q. Okay. All right. Well, what do you think about the way that the four team playoff has made us look at these games every weekend and turning these types of games into potential elimination? Is it good for college football, do you think it's healthy? Do you enjoy it?
COACH DANTONIO: I don't think it's any different than the BCS. No difference. It generates conversation. It's good for everybody. It generates conversation. You guys have something to do during the week.
So, but the bottom line is, if you win your conference, you win your division, you win your championship game in your conference, good things are going to happen for you.
And that's the way it happened last year. So we had a great season last year and we're going to have a good season this year.
Q. Now that you played them, what are the biggest differences between this team and the one that you beat last year in Indianapolis?
COACH DANTONIO: I'm not sure. I'm not sure without watching the film. They're both - the team last year was a good football team. But we played better defensively, we didn't give up as many deep balls in that football game.
I think that the bottom line last year was the quarterback hurt us scrambling the football, he didn't really hurt us running the football. He was scrambling and getting out and taking a bad play and making a good one. And then Carlos (Hyde), you know, he goes for a period of time and then we were able to stop that.
So in this situation tonight, we didn't get off the field, I don't think, with a three and out, which is uncharacteristic. They controlled the ball. We did not own the possession time, which is a little bit even more misstating, because there was some big plays there that didn't take long.
And they won the turnover battle. Which I think we were, when we're plus 2, we're 31 2 when we're plus two. We didn't win it this week. So those type of things. That's a very good football team and that's all I can tell you.
Q. On the rest of the season...
COACH DANTONIO: No, I think you play it out. Right now the most important thing is that we only have one loss in the Big Ten and an important thing right now is, don't get two. And that's what we can control. We're a one loss team right now. Don't get two losses.
And that starts tomorrow. So we will regroup and I think that should be what sports teaches you. Somebody is going to win, somebody's going to lose. And we'll learn this side of the lesson right now.
But that's life. I'm not going to sit here and be depressed about it. So, we'll move forward. Thank you, guys.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports....
Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer
Opening Statement
Thanks for coming. I want to give the fans here a little shout out. This is a great environment to come watch a game. I told Coach Dantonio they've got a great team. Great opportunity for two good football teams to go play and I'm very proud of our guys. A young team grew up tonight. I told them in there that the future is extremely bright here at Ohio State. A bunch of young players out there playing that acted like older players. Really, really proud of them. I'll answer any questions.
On his emotions after the game with his wife
Me and Shelly have a bunch of moments together. I've been married 25 years. We won here a couple years ago. This is a tough place to play. That's an excellent defense out there and a lot went into this. We can't exhale very long. We go on the road next week against a team that whooped Iowa. So, we had a great moment there.
On the big plays from the OSU offense
Their offense, that's what is different about the team we just played. As opposed to two years ago, this is a dynamic offense. I think he had 300 yards against us, the quarterback is terrific and the receiving crew. I don't spend a lot of time watching opponent's offenses, but every Wednesday I do and I was like my goodness, I didn't realize how good their skill had become in the last couple years. We had to answer each of one of their hits and we did. JT, boy is he playing well. He was 16-of-26, 300 yards throwing and very accurate on the deep balls. Also Devin Smith, that's his best game that we've had in the past three years. He's one of the best, if not the best, deep ball players we've ever had. He tracks the ball very well. Once again, we answered their hit when we had to.
On the play of the OSU offensive line
Terrific. Billy Price is a guy that gave up a sack early in the game. Early in the year, we had a little problem where freshmen linemen were playing like freshmen linemen and he (Price) grew up tonight. Taylor Decker is the leader of that whole crew. When you get that kind of yardage against a defense like that, it all starts with an offensive line driven team. Tom Herman did a nice job in that locker room, crediting the offensive linemen with all those yards.
On the aggressive style of offense vs. the MSU defense
That kind of defense forces you to go over the top. Any time they play press quarters as they call it, very similar to what we play, they force you to go over the top. We felt like we had some matchups somehwere, we would take that shot. We had that planned really at the start of last year. We went into the Big Ten Championship game and just missed on some of those. Remember we threw it down the field, and we just missed. And this year, we hit them.
On if he considers OSU a playoff team
I don't know enough. I think it is. I love my team. I haven't studied the other teams really. If I have to go fight for this team, what they've done is very impressive. That loss the second game hurts us. I'll take the hit for that, because that was a young team that's playing at an extremely high level right now.
On what tonight's win means to his players
This is one for the ages. That's how much respect we had for our opponent going into it. We saw what they did. They had one loss and were actually winning that game until it got away from them somehow out in Oregon. We played a top-10 team and we really played our best and on the road. Once again, I look at our players and I see how many young guys are playing for us that are going to be around here for awhile. So, the future's pretty bright."
On the timing of tonight's win
I'm glad we got to play in prime time. GameDay was here, I'm glad everybody got to see the Ohio State Buckeyes. Because this is a different Buckeye team than it was early in the season. When you have six or seven true freshmen starting for you, we're a much different team. This team right now is playing on a very, very high level. I'm not sure what all that means other than we got to get ready to play next week.
Michigan State defense coordinator Pat Narduzzi
Opening statement...
They did a great job executing, and we didn't do a great job of executing. I obviously didn't do a great job of coaching them up and getting them prepared and ready to go. We are going to bounce back.
On defensive end depth...
I don't think that hurt us. Shilique (Calhoun) had a good motor. We will go back and look at the tape because I am sitting up a mile away from the field. They did a good job schematically and had a couple of big plays on us. They played with good technique, and it seemed like they were one step ahead of us.
On whether or not he thought about switching to zone coverage in the second half...
Our kids have confidence in what we do. They threw and unbelievable fade and made a catch way out there. We had great coverage on that. On the slant, they went the distance, and that comes down to technique. We play a lot of zone. My thing is man, but we do play a lot of zone. They do a good job and we weren't getting reroutes. They did a nice job. You have also got to get enough guys up there to stop the run. It's a fine line.
On whether he was surprised at what he saw pre-snap...
They had a couple of different routes, but it was nothing we weren't able to adjust too early. We have got to make plays, and that is what it comes down to. They are a talented football team. We weren't playing a slouchy football team. That is a football team with great athletes, and they made plays and we didn't.
On whether practice this week concerned him about tonight's performance...
Not at all. Our kids practiced well all week. We had three good practices. They were better than our scout team offense, let's put it that way. They played their best. They came in for revenge, and they got it. We didn't step up and meet the challenge.
On keeping kids confident...
Those things are going to happen. The kids are confident in what they are doing. I call a play and the guy runs straight through us and the safety has got to get there. Again, they have some good players too. We have to give our offense a chance. We should win when we score 37 points.
On JT Barrett's accuracy...
That guy made about every pass he could. He threw seven routes on target. He hadn't shown to do that really consistently, but we had a lot of respect for him. He is a great football player. He played big in a big game. He didn't throw off the mark at all and those guys were ready to make the catch. That goes to having a guy who throws the ball where it needs to be thrown. He is a heck of a quarterback.
On lack of pressure...
They got the ball out quick when we did pressure. It was almost like they knew it was coming and got the ball out quickly. We did pressure them; we just didn't make plays and they got the ball out quick. The quarterback did a good job of recognizing it.
Michigan State offensive coordinator Dave Warner
On the fourth down play call...
That was a bad call on my part. That was a critical part of the game because we needed to score to put the pressure back on them. I thought we were going to get them with their defense with sort of a surprise, but not a very good play at all.
On whether he would have done anything different about the game plan...
Probably not about the game plan. Otherwise, I would have made some different calls. That turnover in the redzone and didn't score, I would've made a couple different calls. I think our game plan was okay. I think our players executed. We ran the ball. In the second half, we had to become more of a pass team and did okay with that.
Senior safety Kurtis Drummond
On the team's mindset moving forward...
We're still working. We need to come back in and work tomorrow and keep going forward. That's the great thing about this team. Guys aren't going to quit, guys aren't going to give up, so we're going to keep working.
On if J.T. Barrett made throws that the MSU defense hadn't seen before...
That's something we harp on every week. Explosive plays. You need explosive plays on offense, and you can't give them up on defense. We did a bad job tonight on eliminating explosive plays, and that's something we'll work on.
On if MSU had trouble adjusting to the game plan...
They're a good team with a good game plan. I've got to look at the film first, that's kind of hard to say.
On the momentum change after Jeremy Langford's TD run was called back in the second quarter...
We've just got to make a play. Credit to them on making guys miss and making a big play.
Senior wide receiver Tony Lippett
On the difference between this year's OSU team compared to last year's...
That's a good team. They came out there prepared. I would just say they're more prepared this year. They came out there aggressive and not just trying to hold on. They came out here aggressive.
On OSU seeking "revenge"...
We beat them last year. They came out there with an edge. They came out there with a great game plan and they executed.
On mindset of entering the game as the favorite...
I feel like we've just got to come out there ready to play no matter what. No matter what everybody else thinks of us because we're out there playing. You just got to go out there and finish what we do, not think about what anybody else is saying.
On the opportunities lost by this game...
It was a big opportunity for us but there are still some goals out there we can obtain. We're just going to preach that and not let this loss linger. Get back to the drawing board and move on.
On if it's frustrating to score 37 points and lose...
Sometimes that's just the way it is. I'm not going to say we're upset about it but, we've always got to have each other's backs out there. We came up short, and we'll watch it tomorrow and try to execute next week.
Sophomore kicker Michael Geiger
On the initial missed field goal attempt...
With the first one, I felt like I got a good hit on the ball, it just stayed left. I probably could have compensated for the wind a little bit more, but the snap and hold were both there. I need to execute under that type of pressure. It being a close game at the time and then they turned around and scored 79 yards the next play, it definitely hit hard with me.
On the importance of rebounding on the second field goal attempt...
It was nice to come back and make the next kick. Every kick, I want to make [the kick] and help the team as much as I can. I'm still disappointed about the first miss. Despite a loss, making the second helps my confidence, and I'll be looking forward to the next game.
Junior quarterback Connor Cook
On Ohio State's offensive performance compared to MSU...
Early on, getting the ball down in the red zone and walking away with no points on that turnover off the kick off hurt us with the momentum. We didn't get things going the way we wanted to, especially in the pass game. In the second half, we came in and put some points up, but just couldn't keep up with the Buckeyes.
On the Ohio State defense...
We saw exactly what we thought we were going to get. We just didn't make the plays. They had a good defensive line in my face a little bit, but maybe I could have had better pocket presence sliding up, maybe getting rid of the ball quicker. I was maybe holding onto the ball a little too long. I thought our O-line still did a great job.
On the passing game...
I'd say that it was just a couple of plays off, me missing some dives and not putting the ball in the right spot when I need to be. It's just unacceptable.
On his message to the team moving forward...
Put it behind you. You can't focus on the negative stuff being a quarterback. You have to put stuff behind you, whether it's a bad play, a bad game, whatever. That's what we need to do as a team - put this behind us. If we keep looking back on it, it will only make things worse. It's a game that we take very seriously like Coach D said, but you have got to have fun with it, whether you win or lose and look at the bright side of things to find the good in the bad.
Michigan State sophomore cornerback Darian Hicks
On improving to the next game
I am disappointed in the big plans I had but I know I can bounce back. That is what great corners do; they just bounce back if they have a bad game.
On not having the best game...
I mean we all did, I know they made plays on me on running and passing, I know I can do better. The whole defense knows we can do better.
On the play of Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett
I mean he had a good game. Their whole team game planned well. Some of the plays he made, the throw to Devin Smith, there is not much I could really do about that. I thought I was in coverage, I thought I was in position, but he just happened to put it over the shoulder and got Devin on the sideline for it.
Moving on to the next one...
We are just going to keep playing. We are just going to be playing out the Big Ten. Whatever happens, we still have a chance of going to the Big Ten Championship. We still have a chance of doing something special. We just have to take it one game at a time.
Senior Running Back Jeremy Langford On the feeling of being knocked out of the college football playoff discussion
It definitely hurt, it was a big game. At the same time we have to move on and go watch film tomorrow and put this behind us and get ready for Maryland.
On his touchdown run being called back in the second quarter
I think it was really critical. If that score would have counted, we would have went up by two touchdowns. It changed the momentum of the game.
On what the offense could have done in particular to change the outcome of the game
We just have to score more points. That is the goal. They scored a lot but we just have to score more. That's the game we need to score more points to win.
Senior Offensive Lineman Travis Jackson
On his reaction to the loss
After a loss you have to be critical of yourself. I think offensively we would have liked to play a little better. Going back to the fumbled kickoff, we really needed to put some points on the board. That was a huge momentum shift. We need to look back at the film and see what we need to do better. With the loss we're pretty unsatisfied as a team.
On not being able to put points on the board after the fumbled kickoff in the first half
When you get the ball down there in the redzone you need to put it in. They came up with a big stop and that's something that's unacceptable for our offense. There's a couple little things we left out there on the field as an offense, and that is upsetting especially when you walk away with a loss.
On how the team will respond after the loss
We have a really resilient team. After a loss it's really tough, but we're going to get over it. We have our 24-hour rule and then start preparing for Maryland. They're a good team that we play at night, so that will be a tough one.
Ohio State sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliot
On his night...
The line played great. They came out and blocked their butts off. It wasn't hard running behind them. We came into this game with a chip on our shoulder. We knew we had to come in here and take their will away. We were the underdogs; everyone was against us. We had so much emotion, so we just came out and played our best.
On last year as motivation for their 'chip' on OSU's shoulder.
Not just last year, but all year, everyone has been down on us. They've been saying we're too young.
On what OSU proved as a team.
On being the underdog through practice this week.
We had something to prove after last year. They took it away from us last year. We knew this year we'd have a chance to get back and prove something.
On the offensive line.
Man, they're amazing. It's really easy to do anything when those holes are that big, that you can drive truck through them. I love my big fellas and they better keep playing well. They're the drum majors of our offense.
On the capabilities of J.T. Barrett.
We knew J.T. was a great leader. We knew he was a dude. We knew he wasn't going to back down to any challenges. The thing was just getting him that experience and every week just getting better and better.
On the turning point of the game.
I think the turning point was definitely when we came out and just marched down the field of the first drive of the second half.
On the atmosphere of the locker room after the game.
It's ecstatic. Everyone's in there smiling; too many smiles, big beautiful smiles. We love each other, we came out and played for each other, and we're just happy we could win for each other.
On if OSU proved something.
We definitely had something to prove. People were questioning our ability to come out and play on the big stage. Just coming into this game, no one believed in us. We had no one behind our back except for Buckeye Nation and ourselves. We just had to come out and prove to the world that we're ready.
Ohio State Co-offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Ed Warinner
On how satisfying the game was...
It's a great day for the program and for us to come up here and play a really good football team, a very good football team, play them on the road, execute well on offense. I thought we did a pretty good job in all areas on offense, from the offensive line, to the quarterback, obviously he played well, running backs, tight ends. We had a complete game, and wide receivers did a great job with big plays. It's very satisfying to come up here and beat a really good football team, especially when you're an underdog.
On if he saw the result of the game coming.
We prepared well. We believed that we could play well. And then you just come up here and give it everything you have and let it happen. Good things happened with the players believing in the plan, executing the plan and great preparation.
On if there was a chip on OSU's shoulder.
This team was highly motivated, highly motivated to try and stay in first place in our division, in the Big Ten, to win a road game against a team that knocked us out of a possible championship game last year. There was a lot of motivation in a lot of areas. First and foremost was let's stay in front in our division of the Big Ten and let's beat a team that's favored on the road and that's a challenge.
On the keys of the offensive line coming together.
I just think experience and maturity and confidence and excellent play-calling by Tom (Herman) and Coach Meyer, and playing to our strengths. There's a combination of things that brings along a unit. I think all those things combined have helped.
On the balance of the offense.
We had really good balance, obviously. We were trying to probe the defense and keep them off balance. I thought we did an excellent job of executing that. We hit some big pass plays in the first half were we found some individual coverage and held up in the protection and gave J.T. a chance to throw it to our wideouts down the field. In the second half we ran the ball pretty well and were able to grind some clock and have some good drives. It was a good balance of trying to keep them off balance.
On what OSU earned back.
I think we earned back our confidence. I think we earned back the belief our players have in our program, belief in how we do things at Ohio State, how Coach Meyer runs his program. We just got our confidence back that we can win a big game, especially on the road.
Ohio State junior center Jacoby Boren
On how they were able to perform so well against MSU's defense.
Our coaches had a great game plan for us. I think it just came down to execution. We did a great job executing what our coaches gave us. I think the offensive line did a good job, and the skill guys were phenomenal. They were making plays left and right, which makes our job easier.
On if there was any element of the game that shocked him.
We all knew as a team that we can do the types of things that we did tonight. It was just a matter of some the little things here and there for our offense that we lacked on executions. That was what was holding us back.
Ohio State freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett
On the Buckeyes' offensive approach...
Coach Herman calls an aggressive style of play. I think that's how we wanted to come in here. We didn't want to come in here and be conservative. We wanted to go out swinging. That's how we approached this game this week.
On the Buckeyes having a chip on their shoulder...
Last year, they got us in the Big Ten Championship, and that was what we rallied around in the offseason. This is what we talked about. We knew we would see them again in East Lansing, and we knew we wanted to make sure to take care of this opportunity.
On what the win means to the Buckeyes...
I think it was just another great win for us. It gives us confidence going into this stretch, so we're going to try to keep on rolling. It really gave us confidence that we could play with the best of them because there was talk that we could only play well against very bad teams. This was a very good team in Michigan State, and we came out and played well.
On the impact of Michael Thomas...
He's a big receiver. I led him on slant routes, and he's not scared of getting there. He'll take it if he has to. He just did a great job of stepping through a tackle and broke away.
On his comfort throwing the ball deep...
I'm getting more comfortable each and every week. We just make sure we're getting that connection in practice so we can bring it out on game day.
On being the underdog...
It motivated us a little bit, but we had our own agenda and task at hand with what happened last year. I've always liked being the underdog. I think it definitely helped our guys out there.
On the upcoming weeks...
One of the main things we need to do is just make sure we practice hard. We're going to enjoy this, but knowing that we still need to play better next week. It's all about preparation. I think that's one of the keys to what we do offensively. Coach Meyer and Herman get us prepared every week. I wasn't really a practice player until I came here, but I now know how important it really is.
Ohio State senior cornerback Doran Grant
On what the Buckeyes took back tonight...
A victory, plain and simple. The taste they left in our mouths after that loss (in the 2013 Big Ten Championship game) was terrible, so I feel pretty great right now.
On being the underdog...
I'm kind of used to it because it seems like everyone always has something to say about the Buckeyes regardless of what happens. We just go out there and worry about what we have to do and play ball.
On what enabled the success against Connor Cook...
Film study, trusting one another, and just doing your job. If you do your job, a lot of things will come easy, especially when you have trust in the ones around you.
On what was said to Eli Apple...
We just told him to keep his head up. Of course, he's a great ballplayer. That's why he's here. That's why he's on the ball field. I don't doubt him at all. We're going to hug him up and he's going to get better.
On what the victory means moving forward...
We're about one another. That's what's going to take us forward. We're all about each other.
On whether Ohio State is a playoff team... Yes. The way we prepare and the way we practice, we have the coaching staff to put it all together and be a pretty good team, in my opinion.
On this season's progression...
Like I said in previous interviews, we're just that ticking time bomb that's getting closer and closer to going off. I still think we haven't made it there yet, but we're going to continue to get better as a team.
