Post-Game Quotes: Nebraska
11/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | USATSI Gallery 
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
"First thing I want to do is congratulate Coach Riley and Nebraska's football team. It was an outstanding win and they just kept playing. With that said, the first thing you've got to say to our football team is how we bounce from the bottom a little bit. We bounced around pretty well at the top but we're going to collect ourselves and understand that our destiny is still in our hands. We control our own fate in terms of winning the East (division) and that's the main thing we've got to focus on now. But it's disappointing the way it went down at the end of course and it shouldn't have. Guys made big plays and when defensively you didn't sack the quarterback, too many huge plays that he (Tommy Armstrong Jr.) created. We had a huge opportunity at the end of the game to come down with an interception. Then the controversial play at the end, but they should have never been down there in the first place. Credit them."
On Nebraska's controversial touchdown...
"I got an explanation. They said that the receiver was pushed out of bounds... everybody saw the replay. I'm not qualified for that job. My job is to coach and I'm going to do the very best I can. That's somebody else's job."
On the decision to run the end around on 3rd-an-8...
"If you throw the ball it can stop the clock if it's incomplete. That's always the risk. We ran on that just because we didn't think they would be expecting it, plus it was going to take a bit longer time to run that play rather than a direct run. I think we had like a 40-second clock and because of the penalty they moved us back, but actually they declined. I can't even remember the sequence of that. It went to a 25-second clock and we immediately lost 15 seconds on the clock. The two plays leading up to it, we've just got to make a play and we were out of position. Players make mistakes along with coaches, especially coaches."
On the defense's struggles tonight...
"Well we didn't get Tommy Armstrong on the ground tonight, that's the bottom line. We got beat on that post all the way to our hash and then the last one depends on how you see it, we'll see what happens there. The two other plays leading up to that they just need to be prevented. We've got to tackle the quarterback one time. They've got no timeouts left so we need to keep the clock rolling so we max pressured him, he stepped up and got rid of the ball."
On whether he expected a down to the wire game with Nebraska's previous struggles...
"Well when you say struggles I'd say they've lost on a lot of plays like we just lost on tonight. I wouldn't call that struggling, I would call that not winning at the end of the game. They very much so had a possibility at winning at the end of those games so their record is a little misleading. So congratulations to Coach Riley and his football team."
On whether they were sluggish after the break...
"We are what we are. They've got a good front four. They've got some guys so don't kid yourself. I don't know. We looked a little off on offense maybe initially but we gained our composure there and threw the ball effectively. (Connor) Cook had some big throws and our receivers had some big catches. We ran the ball okay. We ran it initially very very well. We left some points on the board the one time we didn't get it on a 4th-and-short. Maybe we could hit the field goal there but I felt like we could get 1 yard. The bottom line is when you don't sack the quarterback and he keeps plays alive and he makes a couple plays with his feet, bad things start to happen when you don't play the deep part of the middle of the field. That basically sums it up defensively. Could we have played a little better defensively on the run? Probably, but they didn't beat us running the football, they beat us with the deep ball."
On the last play of the game...
"We were trying to get something fast. We just wanted to go 10 extra yards. If we had got 10 yards we thought we had a shot at a field goal to win the football game. But they got pressure there and we had to hang on to the ball. I didn't know whether there was one second left there or not. I thought maybe there was because everyone was stopping but whatever. There's some things you can control and some things you can't."
On losing the game in the fashion they did...
"It's no more difficult than losing on a blown coverage or tackle or anything else. Mistakes are made out there whether it's not calling the right defense or not calling the correct offensive play. Everybody is going to take responsibility for this, I can tell you that our offense will take responsibility, the coaches will take responsibility, the defense will take responsibility, every individual player will so there's plenty to go around. With that being said you have to credit the people we played against and I didn't think the officiating lost us the game."
Nebraska head coach Mike Riley
Opening statement...
"Well, I guess we found out it's not over 'til it's over. I'm really thrilled for these players and our coaching staff. I think that besides winning the game, which is the key to everything, I suppose, I just think the fact that everybody, the coaches, the players kept working so we could get to this point and win this game. When you go through a stretch like we have, one of the things that you fear the most is that people lose hope, stop working, kind of start losing that identity. From the minute that I started getting to be around these guys, I liked this team and our coaches have continued to work, and it's paid off in just an effort that went right down to the wire and didn't look good a number of times, but they never quit."
On the postgame celebration on the field...
"I was really happy for (the players). I was really excited for them and everybody was happy, so that's a good feeling. I had just wanted to make sure that last second had ticked off, I wasn't sure if it had."
On Michigan State's final drive...
"Well, we all know anything can happen, right? There was enough time in there to get a couple completions or maybe one good one and take a shot at a field goal. Of course, we didn't make the two-point (conversion), so we opened the door for that. Our intention (on the ensuing kickoff) wasn't quite that, but Drew (Brown) kind of just missed that area that would've been kind of a clean, bouncing ball in there, but the guy made a nice play on it and cut it off and that gave them a chance to have a shot, I guess."
On whether this game proved anything to the players or fans...
"You know, I'll just take it as this, it's just proof that if you keep working, you can do good things. I think that every week, but particularly where we've been, the thing we talked about is there's no sense in playing this game unless you believe we can win. Belief, that's OK, but then you've got to practice. You've got to have a good week of practice and you've just got to perform. It's like I told them during the week, I said 'It's not going to take a superhuman effort to beat these guys, but it's going to take a really good human effort.' Everybody playing well, playing hard, making plays and then you can win games like this. Then the other thing is, whatever happens, don't ever blink, because you're going to have to play to the end. If you're going to beat somebody that's ranked in the top 10, you've got to play it right down to the wire. That's the way they all end up. That's what it says to me about this group. I think that what they've proven to me over time is that they have enough in them to stay with it. I'll just keep saying it again, that part of it when you get into losing games is scary, but this team's got character, it's got some leadership. Our coaches are good, they just keep coaching, and so all of that eventually pays off with a win. We've been in a lot of games like this that we've lost, but the only thing that we have for the moment is right now, tonight, and the kids won the game, and that's a good thing and then we can start again on a new game on Monday."
On Brandon Reilly's effort on the game-winning touchdown catch and his thoughts during the official's review...
"Well, we really thought initially it was going to be ruled out of bounds, so we were getting ready for another play from about the 30-yard line, is what we were actually preparing for and then we were actually surprised when they signaled touchdown. I think they were actually reviewing whether or not he caught the ball in bounds but that didn't even appear to be close, so that was how it kind of came down."
On if the way the game ended served as justice after all the team has been through...
"Was it justice? I don't know, Tom, if you'd call it justice or not. The kids earned this win tonight. It's just like every game and the games that we lost that came down to the wire. Those things are so haunting. I could very easily be talking to you about that drive that we just messed up on the 4-yard line. That would be the hot topic right now had we lost the game, so I don't look at it like that. I think that we made the plays to win the game and we never quit and boy, were those big plays coming out because I really debated whether or not to kick an onside kick. But we did, but we did because I didn't want to not give it that shot because we had enough time as we already proved that if we could kick it deep and stop them, then we'd get the ball back. But, we had plenty of time, so it worked out. But those are always the things that you think about in that scenario right there."
On how well he thought Tommy Armstrong Jr. played...
"I thought that was a gutty, gutty performance. I think it pretty much describes Tommy. He's a battler. He never stops. A lot of it is kind of up and down, roller coaster-like, but boy he makes a bunch of plays and never stopped fighting and made some big-time throws at the end."
On how pleased he was with the running game...
"Against this defense, I was really excited about how we were running the football. I think that really gave us a chance to win the ball game, doing that. Otherwise, you don't want to pass protect against that defensive front all day. We had a hard time as it was and a lot of our good stuff came out of getting out of the pocket and bootlegs. We did, however, at the end hold up pretty well to throw some drop-back passes down the field on that last drive, but running the ball was a key, key factor so that we didn't have to pass protect all day. They've got some real good people up front."
On how critical the first play to Jordan Westerkamp on the last drive was...
"Absolutely big. You need a big chunk play. You need something to get the momentum going, and you know what that play did is it puts the other team back on their heels, because all of a sudden, boy that ball's out by midfield and it becomes real and there's enough time as we all know. That's what I loved about that play."
On what a big win like this could possibly build to in the future...
"I think it's real, real good. It's a really good win obviously for this team, for right now. What ramifications it has, it's certainly a sign of who we want to be and what we want to do. But for just right now, this is great for that group of kids, for this 2015 team to play like they did and beat that team. That's just a good night for them."
On his thoughts about the defense...
"It was tough-sledding. We came up, made some plays, made some stops, thankfully made them have to punt it at the end. I tell you, in that second half, that quarterback and what they were doing, it was hard to stuff and they made a couple great catches for them. There were a couple times I think that we really blew an opportunity to make a play on the football, but Cook is a good player, made some big throws. Number 16 is a good player and the guy that made a play right over Josh Kalu down to about the four, that was good coverage, good throw, good catch, good football. That part of their game is really, really different in a good way for them."
Michigan State junior linebacker Riley Bullough
On how they felt coming in to Nebraska...
"Each week that's what we are thinking we are going to get, we are going to get everyone's best game. Especially coming here to Nebraska, hostile environment, great tradition. We know they had great players and coaches, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. We just want to finish better."
On the momentum after the interception...
"Yes, and even going into the fourth quarter, I'm not quite sure when the pick was, going into the fourth we were confident. We were making plays on both sides of the ball. Nebraska just kept fighting back. They fought to the end so give them credit. They have great tradition here, and like I said they have great players and coaches."
On if he thinks there is a shortage of killer instinct on the team...
"No, I definitely don't, it just comes down to making plays. We've got competitive guys I would say, and they want to make plays and they would do anything for a win. These guys want to win more than anything. I do not think there is a shortage of that at all. It is just that other guys are making great plays."
On how to bounce back...
"We are going to bounce back, I can assure you that. We will practice hard next week. We will play our tails off at Ohio State. We will control our own destiny. If we win the East and go to a championship, we control that."
On if the feeling is more stunned rather than anger...
"No, just disappointed. We wanted to come out with a win like we always do. We knew it would be tough, but you know whenever you lose you're not excited. So you know I'm just disappointed."
On how the game got away...
"It is always hard not looking at the film, but I think our guys played hard. I think there is never a shortage of that. Just missed assignments here and a lot of plays. I think Nebraska made a lot of plays and sometimes you can't do much about it. That's just how the ball goes."
On the talk in the locker room...
"You know, we just said you have to move on. You can't dwell on it. In the end it's a football game. You have to keep moving forward as a man and as a football player. You can't dwell on it. And the older guys as leaders on this team, we realize you can't dwell on it and we will bring the younger guys with us. So that is really what we are trying to do."
