Post-Game Quotes: Michigan
10/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
Great football game; very excited obviously for the win. I think the game sort of had it all. It had weather, it had a lot of defense. Can't say enough about our football team. We came down here on a mission sort of with the idea that we were going to have to do certain things to win and we did those things. However it shakes out, we won the football game and that was what was the most important thing. So I think the best way to do this, since it's late, is just to take some questions.
On how satisfying this win is after last season and the offseason last year...
It's up there. It's way up there. We did, we battled some adversity last year, we had some things going on. Obviously we needed to bounce back, we made a commitment to do that as a football team and as a program way back in the spring. You know, obviously we had some different things going on in the second semester as well, but I knew we would rally up. I knew that our football team and our program would basically come back up to the top. That's what we're trying to do. We're just trying to do it step by step. I'm extremely proud of our guys with the way they kept playing. Really what we did was just, we just played, literally, we played one play at a time. We made some mistakes there that drives you crazy, but hey, we survived it.
On playing with the weather...
Well, you know obviously the weather was hampering everybody and we came up with the turnovers which is obviously big when you go 5-0 in the turnover margin, but every time we got a turnover, we had a penalty which made it seems just like they were punishing both of us so that sort of set us back. Credit to Michigan, I think they played extremely well on defense. They made some things happen. They had a nice drive the first drive of the game. They are a very good football team and everybody understands that.
On Brian Lewerke's play...
I thought Brian played very (well), he didn't have the numbers maybe, but you know he was solid; leadership, and big first down at the end of the football game to sort of take the clock. I thought we were going to just be able to kneel it down early, but all of a sudden, you know, things happen. I thought he played extremely well, just being a leader on the field. We came into the football game saying that we had to run the football, as difficult as it is to do here. We had to run the football in terms of taking the clock. We couldn't just all of a sudden say, `hey, we're going to throw the football 50 times,' especially with the weather being as it was going to be, knowing that, and then also with facing the team with the number one sacks in the country. We couldn't make it a negative yardage, a long yardage game, we couldn't get behind the chains and I thought we did that. Great call by Dave Warner on the screen pass for the touchdown.
On Lewerke's legs on the first touchdown drive...
Yeah, he can create, he can create. He had the one dropped pass there in the second quarter as well otherwise we probably would've gotten more points there which would have been nice. We hurt ourselves sometimes, credit to them, but also we found a way to win and I think that's what good teams do. We're becoming a good team, I don't know if we're there yet, but we're forming one. On how playing smart with the weather was the key to the football game...
Well I think we played through the weather. We didn't gamble too much, you know we didn't go down the field with the ball at all the second half because of the weather. You know it was blowing out there and it was wet so everything was intermediate. We tried to run the ball and take the clock as much as we could and just make them beat us on defense which you know we were able to do.
On an update on LJ Scott and an overview on how Gerald Holmes did...
No update, he was just nicked up and didn't play. He probably could've played, but we felt like we couldn't risk having him out for another couple of weeks. Gerald went down a little bit with an ankle, he came back. Madre (London) filled in, Madre had a couple of really nice plays I felt. He creased them one time and then the big screen pass so that was very productive. I thought those guys played well. Connor Heyward stepped in there and played well as well.
On if he ever thought they'd be 8-3 against Michigan in his 11 years at the helm...
I told our football team and every player that comes here to dream big, and I'm no different. You know, I'm going to dream big. We've been in the playoffs, we've won three Big Ten championships, and we've beaten our rival. We've fallen down in other areas, but we're going to try and always rise up.
On Kenny Willekes' play and impact in the game...
Yeah, it's tough for me to assess that without seeing the film, but Kenny is a guy who walked on here. He was a linebacker/fullback and he's grown up. He's about 250 pounds now and he's transitioned into a defensive end. He just goes hard, he just goes hard. He's athletic, he has linebacker skills and he's athletic and is a very powerful guy. I guess he must have played pretty well, I guess everybody did on defense.
On how he felt after the ball hit the ground on the final drive...
Wow. Look at that. I'm not a real emotional guy. I mean, I just, I wish it wasn't that close at the end of the game because I thought we could kneel down, I thought we could basically just get out of the series and be done, but nothing ever goes the way you want it to go. The win sometimes, I mean, they're high, but sometimes it's the losses that hurt you a little more. I just was very proud of our football team. I enjoy seeing the players happy. I enjoy seeing Spartan Nation happy; that's what drives me. You know I don't get that much personal, I mean I get personal satisfaction out of this, don't get me wrong, but I enjoy watching other people.
On the next steps...
Well, we're 2-0 (Big Ten). We've got to go up and play a very good Minnesota team. It's another road game for us so we've got to get ready to go. We've got to put this one away in less than 24 hours. This is a big win.
On the pass rushing...
I thought our guys did a nice job. We mashed it up, obviously their quarterback got it out and he created. There were some times when we got pressured but he was able to create. On if tonight is validation for past years...
I don't know, you know we've done it eight times, so I don't know why there's a lot of doubt. You know we'll do it again or somebody else will do it again at some point in time. For this year, that's the way it went down. Doesn't mean that it's going to happen next year, they have a very good football team. They are extremely, extremely well-coached. They ran 40 different formations in the first half. Forty. So they are a very well coached football team with great talent, but we have some guys too.
On Coach Warner's play calling...
A lot of it is, we've got a wide variety of plays to call so a lot of it him making the decision. He's got to make split second decisions and I thought he made some great decisions. Obviously it worked, so it's not like we've got 60 plays to run and we're going to run 60 plays in a row. We've got an opening set of plays that we use and then after that it's all down and up.
Sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke
On the satisfaction of this win...
Definitely the best win I've ever had, probably in my life; high school or college career, so I'm very pumped.
On playing in the weather...
It was a field position game at that time. Obviously we couldn't really move the ball, I think we had two first downs in the second half and those were probably on the final two drives. I knew that it was more of a field position game so as long as we didn't turn it over, we'd be fine.
On how the Michigan defense stacked up against other defenses this year...
I think they definitely deserve the attention that they're getting. I think they did a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback. Like I said, I am not going to shy away from scrambling, I'm not going to shy away from running the ball. I took some pretty good shots today too, so obviously I'm not going to shy away from any of that.
On what went through his head on the last first down...
Yeah, I dropped it, obviously it was hard to get the ball and I was just trying to fake it too quick. I knew the run was designed to go to the left so I just picked it up and started going that way. It was a quarterback designed run so I knew where I was supposed to go and I knew I'd have blockers on that side, so I just tried my best to get the first down.
On playing with the lead...
Going into the game we definitely knew there was going to be rain around 9:30 or 10. My dad had told me to score as many points as you can in the first half because in the second half you're not going to be able to pass the ball. I'm glad we did that, we got two touchdowns in the first half. I definitely took what he said and applied it. On how gratifying this win was after last season...
Fantastic. This was good for me because this was the game I got hurt in last year. Obviously I took a lot of shots today, I have some bumps and bruises and stuff like that. It was great to come down here; this was my first time coming down here, obviously so it was a very good environment for us. Michigan State senior linebacker Chris Frey On if this win comes with a sense of relief...
You know there's a little sense of relief there. I think it just shows honestly that all of the things that we've been through as a team and all of the adversity that we've faced, we've fought through that. We've stayed strong together and that really showed tonight. We have a great group of guys that's on this team and we've been through so much this offseason that the little adversity we faced with the rain and whatever else was going on in this game, it just allowed us to fight through that. On realizing the defense had to win this game due to the weather...
This is a game that we play in every year that the defense plays a huge role in and we knew that regardless of what the weather was going to be like coming into this game. Hats off to the guys on this defense, the guys who stepped up and made huge plays in this game, because, we talk about this every week, we're a young team. A lot of guys have never played in this game before or played limited snaps in this game and a lot of those guys stepped up and made huge plays tonight. On this being the final time he will face Michigan...
Emotions run high in this game. Yeah, it is my last game against this team and I'm just glad that we came out on top. I'm 3-1 against them and I couldn't do it without these guys next to me and the guys that are in that locker room. We gave our blood, sweat and tears from day one of the offseason and all of it is just coming to fruition now and it's paying off. On how practice last week translated into the game...
Yeah, we knew coming into this week that practices are going to be longer and they're going to be harder, but we've just got to put our heads down and fight through it. We know that the hard work that we put in at practice is going to pay off on game day and it surely did today. On the sense of relief when the ball hit the ground on the last play after picking up the personal foul and what he said to Paul Bunyan...
There's a huge sense of relief there. They had a little bit of time left to go down and score the ball but our defense stepped up and made plays. I started to go celebrate and then I was like, `all right, I've got to go get Paul'. You know, he's back home where he's supposed to be and we're excited to have him back. I gave him a kiss and said, `welcome back.'" On where this win ranks...
They all count one. It's a huge rivalry game, it's a huge game for us, but you know we're 4-1 and we're looking forward to next week now. On what the atmosphere was like on the field post-game...
For me, I've been in that situation before and I told the guys before the game, I said, `remember the feeling we had last year when we lost the game. And for the guys who were here two years ago, remember the sense of joy that we had after that game.' We don't want to feel like we did last year, we want to feel like we did two years ago. That's the mindset that we took into this game. We wanted to be celebrating on the field after the game and celebrating in that section with all of our families and friends that were there. On Brian Lewerke's play...
I think he stepped up and made critical plays for us in critical moments. He fumbles a snap late there, but he's able to pick it up and make a huge play. I give huge props to him, the things that he's gone through, the adversity that he faced after his injury last season. The mindset that he's taken into every single day, I give him huge props for that and like I said he made huge plays for us today and that's probably the reason why we won this game. On the physical nature of the game and the last personal foul...
We tell our guys, there's going to be penalties in the game, like we said there's going to be adversity but we've just got to fight through that adversity. Penalties are going to be called, good or bad it doesn't matter, we just have to fight through that and step up our game and that's what we did after that last penalty. I take full responsibility for that penalty. I should have honestly just let him go, but our defense stepped up and made big plays late in the game, late in that series. Michigan State sophomore linebacker Joe Bachie On if this win comes with a sense of relief...
I'd say it's just a little bit of relief. We came down here with the mindset that we were going to win. The defense had to step up in certain situations and I'm just excited that we did that, but we're not done yet. Go Green. On the game plan coming in to stop Michigan...
We talk about turnovers all the time, it's something Coach D preaches. If you win the turnover margin, you have got a very good chance of winning the game. Our goal was four coming in, we got five; we exceeded that. That was great to see. It plays a huge role in the game and the momentum can swing. I'm just glad that we were on the flip side of that. On what the atmosphere was like on the field post-game...
That's why we come here. We come here for atmospheres like that, for game situations like that. You come here to play Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and it's just so joyful to be out there and to see that and to see the fans who put so much pride into us. It was just an awesome atmosphere and I am just glad to be a part of it. On the last pass of the game...
I was back there in the pile, I just said go up there and get it. I was glad I was in the front of that pile and I was glad to get my hands on it. When I saw it hit the ground and the clock was on zero, that was a feeling you can't explain. Michigan State sophomore defensive end Kenny Willekes On if this win comes with a sense of relief...
It's a little bit of relief. You put in so much hard work, every day all week and it's definitely exuberating after you get the win. There's nothing like winning down here. On what the front line did to make Michigan's quarterback John O'Korn uncomfortable...
We made sure this week in practice to really focus on bull-rushing a lot more and collapsing the pocket instead of trying to go to finesse moves. We mixed up the looks a little bit, mixed up the blitzes in delta, so I was able to get a lot more pressure on the quarterback. The guys in the back held up well so I had a lot more time to get after him. On what the atmosphere was like on the field post-game...
It was a pretty incredible feeling. It was my first time coming in here and playing in the Big House, so to be able to get a win like that with my teammates...it was just a back yard, scrap it out, every man for himself, Spartan teammates, it was such an incredible feeling. On the last pass of the game...
I was on the bench linked arms with a bunch of my teammates just watching it. We didn't see who had the ball so when the ball finally rolled out of the pile it was an incredible feeling. We just stormed the field and there's nothing like it.
