Post-Game Quotes: Cotton Bowl Classic
1/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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MICHIGAN STATE
COACH Mark Dantonio: Great football game. Outstanding Baylor football team and we just kept playing. Really, fourth game in a row we were behind in a bowl game at half time, we bounced back to win the game.
This one was the toughest probably of those. We have to credit our football team. We just keep finding a way, sneak back into a football game, cut it to 20 or whatever, kept it at 20 and we made some plays.
After the interception, they lined up to kick a field goal. Huge play in the game when we blocked the field goal. But I don't know, we didn't win the turnover ratio, but we got the block. We stopped the run, but they were able to field the ball certainly. But offensively just kept playing, and it's just sort of crazy.
But so proud of our football team, like I said, out on the field for our seniors. You know, tied the all-time record, winning four years straight. I think it's 42, last year's senior class as well. So two years' all-time record (at MSU). Very, very good football players. Fourth time we've won in a bowl game, which I think is a record as well and has been done maybe three times in Big Ten history. Beat an outstanding football team and came back and did it with just grit really, just grit and guts and just belief in each other. So, so happy for our players.
Q. Where this game was in the third quarter and what's going through your mind at that point, the resilience of your team is going to be tested. The history, you've talked about the numbers. Can you put into words where this might rank in terms of all-time comeback wins for Michigan State?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, I don't know. I really probably can't put it in words, but we just kept pace. We didn't panic. We knew they had a good football team. And when they made a play, we regrouped and kept trying to play.
And we knew it would take around 40 points to probably beat them. So somehow, some way we limited them to 41. And we had some other opportunities to score but didn't get those in. But in the end, I just credit our team's belief system. I keep saying over and over we win because of chemistry on our football team. And chemistry is something that is almost magical at times or exists. It's intangible, I guess is what I'd say.
It's a feeling of belief in each other, and that's what we have. We don't give up on each other. Consequently, they don't give up in the game. We just keep playing hard. And that's what we've been able to accomplish.
Q. Mark, you talk about chemistry, like you just did. And there was several times in the game when the team was down. And the guys who weren't playing, the guys redshirting, maybe the third and fourth team were dancing and jumping -- Connor threw the interception. He comes off the bench, and they're dancing like he just threw a touchdown pass. That's what you mean about chemistry. How does that group now set a foundation moving forward?
COACH DANTONIO: We continue to recruit good players and they develop. And they're freshmen. As Coach Barnett said the other day, some freshmen act like freshmen as they move. And as soon as they get to be juniors and seniors, they usually take on a little bit different outlook. But these three guys up here -- and Connor is a junior, but these other two seniors -- have been tremendously successful so far in their lives. Not just -- we're looking at two guys who have graduated as well.
I don't know, you know? It's just a feeling we have on our football team. And when you have that feeling, that chemistry, you're difficult to beat. Inevitably, you may lose a football game, but you won't lose the war and that's the thing. Coming out of a football game, we'll still be okay regardless of what happens.
And we believe that, and there's no blame. There's no blaming anybody when something goes wrong. It's just, Okay. This is what we've got to do to fix it and let's move forward. That's the way we've always approached this.
Q. Mark, two questions. One: What was going through your mind at the end of the third quarter? They'd been moving the ball pretty well. You guys were down 20. And then secondly, what does it say about Connor? He didn't play a perfect game, but he made the plays when it really mattered for you guys at the end.
COACH DANTONIO: First of all, relative to Connor, he's always resilient. He can take a bad play and the next play he's going to play through it. And that is truly the key of a great quarterback. Down the stretch, our quarterback played very, very well and made the plays at the end of the game that we had to make. We were down there another time and we didn't get in it, had an interception. But nevertheless, you know, he rises to the occasion.
Q. What was going through your mind?
COACH DANTONIO: What's going through my mind? Stay the course. I knew our offense could score. I knew we could move the football. That was proven. We could move football. We just didn't have to beat ourselves. They make plays, too, so credit them.
We could move the football. We could run it some. Good things could happen. We got explosive wideouts. Everybody talks about Baylor's wideouts. We had some great wideouts here. They're very explosive as well.
I knew we would have a chance if we could just slow them down a little bit and we did. We sort of got off the field a little bit, had a field goal bounce out for them. And then we had a blocked field goal. When you have a blocked field goal -- RJ Williamson got the ball on the run, he almost turned the corner and scored. The way it really worked out, it took the clock away from them, too, at the end. So it took the game and the clock, which was beautiful.
Q. It got emotional with you and Pat Narduzzi. I wonder what it meant for you to close out your long time with him with a game like this.
COACH DANTONIO: You want the best for your people. To win the last game like that for Coach Narduzzi was something that we could to send him out with and that will be a memory for life. He's been incredibly loyal here. He's an extremely hard worker. He's been extremely successful. And now it's time for him to grow. He'll grow as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. They're getting a great football coach and a great person and a guy who is going to impact young people. So it's going to be very exciting for him as well as his family.
Q. Jeremy and Kurtis, you guys walked last week, finished your academic career at MSU. Today you win a game like this. Can you put into words your feelings about your time at MSU as you look back tonight?
Kurtis Drummond: I mean, me personally, we're just so blessed. It's been a long journey. We've had ups and downs, definitely grown a lot. Made some lifelong relationships and came in contact with some great people and allowed us to grow not only as football players but as people. And today out there on the field just showed the type of chemistry and the type of resiliency we have here. And it's just really -it really just gets passed down from the top down. And just guys continue to grow as they get older. And for us to end on this note, this is truly a blessing.
Jeremy Langford: Yeah, like Kurtis said, it is truly a blessing to be in this program. The coaches care more about you than football, your social life. Just a very special program. I'm glad I'm here. I have no regrets of my time here, and I'm glad we can go out the way we did today.
Q. Coach, could you describe the play of the defense in the fourth quarter especially and then overall holding the Baylor rush to negative 20 yards?
COACH DANTONIO: Well, they're a great football team. They threw for a lot of yards. I don't even want to talk about it. But we could stop the run. We had enough people in the box to stop the run. We made it a one-dimensional game and put pressure on the quarterback. At the end of the game, especially, I thought we did a great job starting to put pressure on him. Especially with - really in the last 17 seconds, every snap he had pressure. We also got pressure in the fourth quarter a couple times and had a couple sacks. So that's when we finally started to make some plays, I think. They still - they have great receivers. You know, he's a great quarterback and he had great rhythm, great throws right on the money down the field. We really were right there to make the play. You just got to make it. It's tough with your back to the ball at times, so credit Baylor and what they're able to do. As I said coming into the football game, extremely tough to stop. Not many people stop them.
But when you look at them, they had 74 plays. A lot of games we scouted, they had 115. So at least they gave us the ball some. We had 88 plays. So that in itself is a small victory. We got to shut down the big plays. And then a couple trick plays. We just got to be able to stop them. When the quarterback is under center, it's going to be a trick play. But they hit him anyway. So I don't know. I don't know if I'm answering the question or not.
Q. Before the blocked field goal, you guys had a play like that. Anything interesting said on the sideline? Did you have any scheme that made that happen from your vantage point? Who made a play? A couple guys made a play? How do you remember that play coming about?
COACH DANTONIO: It was pure and simple, we got to have a block. We got to get pressure, and we got to get a block. And that's what was said in there. Monster block and an effort guy -- two effort guys, Shilique Calhoun and Marcus Rush, got the push. Marcus got the block. Shilique might have got a little piece, but Marcus got it. So great effort, great penetration, and they got their hands on it. And much like the Georgia game and the Outback Bowl in 2011, huge block. You just never know when these opportunities are going to come. Ball gets knocked up to RJ Williamson's hands, and he turns the corner and is down the field. After that our offense took over. Connor took over.
Q. Mark, you got a lot of guys coming back next year. What kind of lift do you get from a win like this?
COACH DANTONIO: I think we'll get a great lift. It's a belief system that we have. It should impact recruits. It should impact our current players. And it should - you know, it sends us into 2015 swinging up. We should at least be - I would imagine we're probably No. 6 in the nation or whatever, at least at the minimum No. 6, which gives us two years in a row at a top 10 ranking, which is very, very difficult to attain. And we're an 11-2 football team. And we wanted more. But in the end, playing at the Cotton Bowl, the hospitality here, the environment that they presented to us is first class. And right now I would not be any place anywhere more happier than right now. Can't you tell?
Q. Kurtis, go back with me to media day this year when I asked you about what does being a Spartan mean as you go into senior year and you got emotional, talked about it being a blessing and you said a degree and being a Spartan. But you said playing for coach. I said, What does it mean? And you said, Ask me when the season is over. So I'm doing it now. What does it mean to you? You pointed out playing for him was probably one of the greatest honors of being a Spartan. So what does it mean for you to have played for Mark Dantonio?
Kurtis Drummond: Privileged, like I said. Not many people get this opportunity. A lot of guys have offers from all over the place, and it's crazy how God's plan works out and it brings you in contact with people you might not have come in contact with. Coming to Michigan State was the best decision I've ever made. Definitely have grown as a man not only on the field but off the field. And he put me in position to obtain a degree, and that's something that's made my family proud. Coach D has not only been a great coach but a great person and always staying honest whether we're in the hotel or in the classroom. He's a guy who doesn't change, and he's a guy who he is who he is from the time he's recruiting you to the time you take that graduation picture. It's just credit to him and the staff that he has and what God has done with him in his life. And he's definitely using him to impact other people's lives.
Q. Connor, I talked to you before the season about overcoming adversity and the fact you did it in the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State. You did it against Stanford in the Pick Six. And you did it again here today with the interception in the fourth quarter. How would you rank today's performance against those two? How do you feel about how you played today?
Connor Cook: Obviously would have liked to have played a little better. You never want to turn the ball over in the red zone like I did two times. But it's not about how you start. It's about how you finish. It sounds cliche, but it really is. Credit to the defense for coming up so big at the end and holding Baylor. And credit to the offensive line for keeping me protected all game. And J. Langford (Jeremy) for running his butt off. It definitely ranks up there pretty high. I never lost belief. I never doubted myself or our team. But when you're down like that against a potent offense that's pretty much scoring at will, it doesn't really look too good. But like I said before, never lost out, never lost belief. And it's just a true statement to never give up.
Q. Before the blocked kick, Baylor did not call a timeout to get set. Were you surprised by that? Did you think they were scrambling? And did it help you?
COACH DANTONIO: I really felt they were probably going through - they're not using their timeouts. They're letting the clock run down. They're eating clock. They're up by six. We had no timeouts left. So I think - I don't think you can criticize how they lined up or anything like that. I saw them align correctly. They didn't seem to be rushing. They were taking the clock.
Q. Connor, the go-ahead touchdown drive, fourth down to Tony Lippett, what did you see on that one? And the one to [Keith] Mumphery, what did you see on that one?
Connor Cook: The one to [Tony] Lippett, we just had a fader out of the sideline, lucky for me the cornerback - because it was a hitch fade, hitched by the guy on the outside, a fade by the inside guy. And the cornerback had his eyes on the No. 1 guy running a hitch. So safety was inside leverage. You know, had to put it over the linebacker, that's all I had to do. So luckily they were in the right defense that we wanted to go up against and just made an easy throw for me.
And then the touchdown, the go-ahead touchdown to [Keith] Mumphery, cover zero, he just ran a post. So basically one-on-one. Got an insider release and just ran a great route and got open. So those guys making it easy for me.
Q. Mark, I know you're upset with how many passing yards there were. But the fact that you took away the run as much as you did, do you think that helped them not be able to ice the game and maybe give you guys time to complete that comeback?
COACH DANTONIO: Yeah, I think they had difficulty running the football. They had some big plays on us. That's what they did. But they're a timing team. You're going to play with your back to the ball a lot the way they throw the ball. So nobody has really stopped them. The bottom line is how you win the football game. And it was going to be by controlling the football, by outscoring them at times, and then taking what they do - taking at least one part of their game away from them, which we took their run game away from them. That was a positive. And like I said at the end of the game, we started getting some pressure. And all those things are positive.
Q. Jeremy, you had a great day of rushing, three TDs, 162 yards. Take us through just your afternoon and then that big run that you had for 65.
Jeremy Langford: I know, from the beginning of the game, that's something we had to do. Control the line of scrimmage, keep the ball away from their offense. The offensive line did a great job of getting me through and getting me to the safeties. It's my job to make somebody miss or outrun somebody. And that's what I did today. Credit to the offense, receivers, offensive line, and fullbacks doing their job and then me just finishing off.
Q. Connor, for this team to have not played its best game and get that big win like this one and to really probably maybe never played your best game all year, how exciting is that for you guys taking this moving forward into next year?
Connor Cook: Oh, it's crucial. You never want to lose a bowl game. That just leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth throughout the entire off-season. And there's no greater feeling than winning your bowl game. No matter what it is. If it's Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, if it's Chick-fil-A Bowl, whatever it is, winning a bowl game is awesome. And that propels you moving into winter conditioning, off-season workouts knowing that you finished at the top and you finished strong.
For us to win in such an emotional and dramatic fashion like you just saw out there really just, I think, with all the guys coming back, all the juniors, underclassmen, really just makes us feel good and brings us closer together. I think wins like this, I think we're already a pretty tight group, pretty tight-knit group. I think wins like this bring you even closer. So I think it's crucial for us in 2015.
Q. Connor, you guys were down 13 points. Second-to-last touchdown drive, you seemed real patient. Seven runs, three runs by you. What was the huddle like? You guys took your time. And you had a feeling you guys were going to punch that one in? There was no panic, it didn't seem like.
Connor Cook: There's no panic. Looking into the offensive linemen's eyes, looking into everyone's eyes, everyone just seemed cool. I think I tried to keep my composure as best as possible. I was sailing it a little bit because I was a little nervous. But everyone was real cool. The guys on the sideline were cool looking over getting the signals. But, like I said, there was never a doubt in my mind. And I I don't think there was a doubt in anyone else's mind in that offensive huddle. But I think we've practiced situations like this in practice. It's stuff you dream about. You envision yourself being in those situations with crunch time and you've got to score a touchdown to win the game. There's under a minute left, whatever it is. But, yeah, everyone was super cool, calm, collected. And that just goes to show the kind of offensive guys we've got on this football team.
COACH DANTONIO: Big play of the game, that scramble down to the 1 (yard line). Huge play in the football game by Connor. We've been pointing to that all year long about how he has great ability to move in the pocket and get out of problems and run with the football. That's exactly what you saw there. You saw that on a number of occasions today by our quarterback.
Q. Kurtis, I guess first off, how difficult is it to contain Baylor's receivers? And they had success. But also did you feel like because they were so one dimensional throwing the ball that they gave you more time to make a couple stops and get the ball back?
Kurtis Drummond: They definitely have an explosive offense. Every week our goal is to make a team one dimensional. And we pride ourselves on stopping the run. And when we make a team one dimensional, good things can happen for you. They have guys who can run down the field and really know how to, I guess, attack a defender, a lot of speed on their team. But credit to our guys for keep fighting, bouncing back after giving up plays and just continue to go out there and fight. Riley Bullough coming up with that huge pick for us with two minutes in the game. Credit to everybody to keep fighting and it's almost indescribable how that game ended. I just love this team and this is definitely something that I'll remember forever.
BAYLOR
COACH ART BRILES: I'm proud of our football team. Any time you put so much into something for so long, like we do, like our players do, you know, it certainly is unpleasant when the outcome is a reality like what happened today.
I feel like we had a really good opportunity to come out of here victoriously and had a couple of unfortunate things that happened down the stretch that prevented us from winning.
Q. Coach mentioned the unfortunate things that happened at the end. Not taking anything away from Michigan State, but do you guys look at the mistakes that you made more than maybe the plays that they did?
QB BRYCE PETTY: Yeah. I mean, I don't know how you don't, especially when they threw - we were up 20 points, 41-21. You know, it's a tough deal, especially when you feel like you got the game, you know, in control. And then again, like Coach said, just had things go the other way. So, you know, momentum is a tough deal. When you got a team that's starting to build momentum, you got to shut it down and that's what we lacked, what we didn't do on offense when defense got the pick. So got to take care of that stuff.
Q. For Collin, late in the game, made some turnovers, forced some turnovers but also gave it some big plays, what was it like just going through those emotion?
COLLIN BRENCE: It was a roller coaster. Alfred Pullom comes in after Orion gets hurt, he makes a huge play. Started to gain momentum. We were able to end that with his pick. Same thing with Taylor Young's pick. So those are big-time plays by those guys. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make some of the plays that we should have down the stretch. And, you know, we just - we were at times not in the right position. In the future, we have to be in the right position. And, you know, credit to Michigan State for taking advantage. But definitely it hurts because we left some plays on the field.
Q. Art, Collin mentioned that you get the two defensive turnovers. You stopped their momentum but you didn't score off of them. How big was that?
COACH BRILES: It's huge. I mean, we got the penalty on Taylor's interception return that took seven off the board. I think we had a field goal hit the upright on that drive. And then they're late. We got a first and goal, we think, with Corey and get an offensive facemask on the receiver with the ball, which, you know, moves us back. And we consequently get no points out of that with a blocked field goal, which is a nine-point lead with 1:28 left, whatever it was with them, no timeouts, would have been a pretty good situation to be in to come out victorious. But, I mean, we let some things get on the table, let some things get away from us. It's, quite honestly, an embarrassment to me as a coach. I feel bad for our players. I feel bad for our football team. And I feel bad for our university.
Q. Art, this is for you or Bryce can answer it. But you had a horrible time running the ball. I think you ended up with negative maybe 30 yards. How much did that affect your play calling late?
COACH BRILES: I'll take that. We felt like we certainly would have liked to run the ball better down the stretch, of course, when you have the lead and you have a chance to put it away. We were being fairly successful throwing the football. When we did attempt to run, we - you know, we never really felt that we had the seams there that we wanted there to be able to sustain. So I think it was a combination. We should have run the ball better. You know, we didn't and it certainly hurt us down the stretch without question.
Q. Bryce, you had a lot of success there with the one-on-one matchups. Did they do anything to take that away in the fourth quarter?
QB BRYCE PETTY: No, I don't think so. I mean, they started blitzing quite a bit, which really I guess helped out with the one-on-one situations. We just didn't take advantage of it, you know? And that's on me. At that point, I guess it's 41-21. So that's 20 points if my math's right. But for that right there, I mean, that's where we got to ice the game. I mean, we got to put it in our hands, not their hands. That's not where it's supposed to be. That's not how we want to draw it up. So just missed opportunities here and there. And we let the game get close. Like I said, you got to kill momentum there when it starts to build for them. We didn't do that.
Q. Art, how difficult is it to pull back as a play caller when you have a quarterback that's lighting it up like that even though you know that running the ball will kind of run the clock out?
COACH BRILES: If you ever make positive yards, you run the ball. That's the whole deal. We were having pretty good success throwing the football, and Bryce was really accurate today. He was on. We felt like going into the game that we would need to throw the football to have an opportunity to win the game. They're a very good run-stop defense. But, yeah, that's -- you know, that's certainly something that you always would love to be able to hang your hat on, which we have been able to do most of the time. But you know, just didn't transpire that way. Like I said, a couple plays here and there and we're sitting in here feeling a lot different. But it didn't work out that way.
Q. Coach, Bryce mentioned finishing two of the last three games -- the Texas Tech game, also a big lead -- evaporate in the fourth. Do you see any similarities between these two games and, if so, how do you address that in the off-season?
COACH BRILES: You know, it's a 60-minute game. You got to play. You got to make plays when you're on the field. Like I said, you hate to "if" it. But if you don't hit the upright, if you don't get a field goal blocked, if you don't have an offensive, facemask penalty, we'd feel a lot better now. Those are points off the board in the fourth quarter when it gave us a chance to extend the lead. That's the reality of it. To me it's got nothing to do with a lead evaporating. It's just got to do with playing cleaner football. Play cleaner football, you win.
Q. After not getting into the playoff, the disappointment there, and then the way things turned out today, how do you put into words the way the season ended for you guys?
COACH BRILES: I feel fortunate that I'm being able to talk and maintain a sense of sensibility right now. And it's got nothing to do with the playoffs. It's just something to do with this football game. You know, we played a lot of really good games over the last seven seasons and won a lot of really good games. And this is one of the tougher non-wins that I've ever experienced quite honestly. So it's got nothing to do with the big picture. I mean, the small picture right now is letting a game get away from us today. Like I said, my hat is off to Michigan State. They came down the stretch and made some plays. Their quarterback did a good job. They converted fourth down and third down there late. And they consequently ended up feeling good, and we don't feel good.
Q. Watching Michigan State today, did they do anything that you weren't expecting after watching film and looking at them? Anything new? Anything that they threw at you?
COACH BRILES: They played just like we thought they'd play. We thought they were a really good football team and a team that's got a lot of poise. Coach Dantonio and his staff have done a good job. You're looking at a team that won 52 games in five years. Their last three losses (the past three years) were to Oregon, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. They're a good team, and we got what we expected from them.
