Post-Game Quotes: Rutgers
10/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
"We had an outstanding drive on the last series and we had big catches in the game. We were getting 15, 16, 17 on third down. (Quarterback Connor) Cook played well. He played under some pressure, which hasn't been the case. We've been able to protect him. I thought Macgarrett Kings had big catches, I thought R.J. Shelton's big catch on third down on that drive. And then DeAnthony Arnett had two big plays, a touchdown catch and a third-down catch, so two huge plays. We have to get better. There's certain things we can't have happen. We can't have a bad snap, we can't get a field goal blocked, we can't shank a punt, we can't throw an interception on the 7-yard line. We left a lot of points off the board and somehow we survived it. Good football teams do that.
"I want to congratulate Rutgers. They played with a lot of conviction, a lot of energy and when you let people hang around, they get stronger and stronger. It was a great crowd out there tonight."
On the offense coming around...
"We didn't run the ball as effectively as we have. Quite honestly, they had too much pressure. With that being said, I think we had to juggle some things around. I thought it was a good effort by our offense. They had to score points and that's what happened. We didn't punt. We punted I think once in the second half, so that was a positive."
On QB Connor Cook's game...
"I thought it was a game he needed to push through and take hits and make plays and he did that. He made some things happen."
On losing offensive lineman Jack Allen...
"We lost Jack and I wanted to center it up if we had to kick a field goal. I think it was third down and we did do that, so if we did do that, we were going to have to kick it on fourth down and if we were short, I wanted to be in the middle of the field. So that was the thought process there. But we have guys hurt, but we're not going to, pardon my pun, use a crutch. Things happen. Football's a tough game. You're going to lose some guys, but you have to play through those things and it makes guys around more experience. We'll get some guys back next week, so we'll see how it goes."
On the impact of Rutgers' Leonte Carroo...
"Carroo makes some big plays. Some of it was him, some of it was on us. But there's no question he makes some big plays. "
On the decision to pull Delton Williams' redshirt...
"First of all, he's had an impact in the locker room. He's been a leader and extremely positive with everything he needs to do. When we lost (Madre) London, I felt like we needed a lift emotionally as much as anything and he enters as the third back if Madre can't go. I just felt like there's things that he can do that can help this team win this year. It gives us another quality, physical back, so we needed him for this game."
On how the team is handling things at this point
"I think we're winning. The bottom line is that we're winning. We've had good practices during the week and the outlook is positive. Things happen and things change all the time. We're a 6-0 football team and I keep saying it. Across the country, you watch what goes on every week. There's tough games out there and we're struggling and I think we're getting everyone's best shot. I'm sure next week will be a great game."
On not having LJ Scott in the first half...
"You know, he was coming off the knee, so we pulled him. He didn't practice much this week, so we tried to hold him, but we felt like he could play if we needed him to play. But obviously we needed him."
On seeing Connor Cook under pressure...
"He's had a tremendous career up to this point thus far. He's used to playing in big games and he has the experience. He knows what to do with the football and he has a quick release. He made some great throws out there. Big time throws for big time yardage. So, he did a great job. He did have one pick, but it was a great play by the guy and he had the opportunity to hand it off, but it's his read."
On what happened on defense after the 24-14 lead...
"They hit (Leonte) Carroo. We had coverage blown on it. We rolled the corner up and we were left hanging out to dry. So, that's what happened. But, again, things were corrected. On fourth down, we had a freshman in there and he has to learn that things change, different things change. We have to correct things if there are mistakes being made. But I can't ever fault the effort of our players and how hard they play or our toughness. And when you win close games, you expect to win close games."
On Kodi Kieler's toughness...
"He was hurting out there and everybody recognized that. We tried to get him out a little bit, but I know he ended up playing at the end as well. He's a tough guy and he just kept playing."
On when Rutgers tied the game...
"We just have to go. We had five minutes and we wanted to take the clock down to two minutes. We didn't want to be in a rush and we had two timeouts. We wanted to make sure we took the clock to end the game, which I think we did. I can't remember what I said at the end, but it was a lot of energy down there and we kept playing. "
On the Michigan game week...
"I'm going to just delay that response and focus on the present. Getting on the plane, going home and making plans and looking for things we need to get better at and worry about our football team."
Michigan State senior quarterback Connor Cook
On teammates playing hurt...
"Obviously anyone who has watched us this year, we've had our fair share of injuries, but that's not going to stop us. We've got guys who are not as experienced playing o-line and the protection wasn't all that great, but its stuff you have to deal with. On the outside, LJ (Scott) came up so big on that last drive and the other guys in the passing game stepping up and bailing me out. I think it was second down or third down, it was the first drive we had in the second half, with Paul Lang on the corner route going out and making a hell of a catch. Credit goes to those guys."
On third down pass on the last drive...
"It was just man coverage. I just threw it up there for him to make a play and he made it. It was grown man play. It was plays like that you see in the NFL. Guys going up and over the top and making a play like that instead of waiting for the ball. That was just a hell of a play."
On getting hit...
"When you are out there, it doesn't matter who is playing for you, who you are throwing to, who is blocking for you, what kind of play I made before, whatever, if you think about stuff like that, you shouldn't be out there playing. The only thing you can control as a quarterback is going out there and reading the defense and throwing to the right guy and handing the ball off to the running back. I know the pressure is coming, but you just have to stand back there, make the right reads and deliver the ball."
On the health of the team heading into the Michigan game next week...
"Myself, I'm not concerned at all. Guys are going to get healthy. Next week we are going to have some guys back. Like I've said before, we have so many other guys on this team, obviously, they may not have the experienced but they are just waiting on their opportunity to step in there and shine."
On the final scoring drive...
"We just wanted to pound it. We felt like we had momentum at that point to grind it out and even get into the end zone. We felt like we had the edge and we weren't going to settle for a field goal."
On protection of the o-line...
"Looking back, besides Air Force, Purdue didn't bring a lot of pressure, Oregon didn't bring a whole lot of pressure, I really didn't get hit a lot against those teams. If you look at Air Force and the pressure they brought, I would say Rutgers brought more maybe pressure than them. With the o-line we had today, and the blitzes they brought, the pressure that I saw, they did a decent job."
Michigan State senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun
On Connor Cook's performance...
"I'd say the whole offense showed up. There were a lot of guys rotating and playing different positions, but you see everyone stepping up and that's the best thing about it. Guys are ready to come into the rotation and contribute to the team. He's done a great job of making sure the o-line is steady and protecting. Of course there are going to be mishaps where they get into the backfield, but he's come back every time, even after big hits. I give credit to him because I know he's stepping up and making sure they are motivated to move forward."
On Rutgers wearing down the team...
"I wouldn't say they were wearing us down. We were playing the way the Spartan dogs usually play. I think we lost a little bit of our focus. Drives before that kind of got us uneasy about other things. Toward the end we realized we could only do our job and trust and faith in our teammates to do what they need to be doing. That's what happened. We came up big in the end. It shows that if you trust in your teammates, good things can happen. All you can do is your job. You can't do someone else's job, that when the defense breaks down. I credit the defense for stepping up at the end and finishing it out."
On when focus was lost...
"It was more so in the third quarter. We weren't reading our keys the correct way. We made adjustments. We came to the sideline and realized our mistakes. Of course towards the end of the game, we cleaned everything up and got the win."
On playing near home...
"I had a lot of family there in the stands cheering me on. The main thing I was focused on was the game. I tried not to get too caught up in my family's presence. I was just focused on trying to win the game."
On celebrating the win...
"We still need to evaluate the film and understand what we didn't do so well. That's something we've always done and we are going to continue to do that. We respect every team we go against. The most important thing is evaluating ourselves. We are going to celebrate this victory and rejoice in it, but we still have to evaluate our film before we start moving on the next opponent."
