Post-Game Quotes: Oregon
12/31/2018 8:14:00 PM | Football
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement…
Outstanding football game, very tight football game. We want to express our appreciation for our seniors and what they've accomplished here. Tough way to go out, but everything they've done here, from a player standpoint, chemistry standpoint, leadership standpoint.
Secondly want to congratulate Oregon. Tight fought game. I thought the game really hinged on two or three things. One of them certainly is that they put together one drive in the game. Hit a 'bubble' play and then sort of a 'bubble go' on quads (four wide receiver set), and then makes a great catch.
Obviously played very well on the defensive side of the ball. The offensive side of the ball, I thought that we lacked explosive plays. We had production, if you look at the statistics and see that we ran 26 more plays than they did and had 15 minutes more of possession time. Sort of scratch your head, but they did a nice job of eliminating the explosive plays. Did run the ball effectively, ran the ball over 40 times. Obviously the field goal at the end of the game, we'll never know. But I felt good about him kicking that one. We had the wind at our back. He's usually been pretty good inside 46 with the wind at his back. But we'll never know.
Â
On Kenny Willekes' injury…
As the season would go, broke his leg, so he's out, broken fibula. But he'll heal. That's kind of the season we've had, basically, in that respect.
On the offense…
I thought we changed up things. We ran out of the pistol, we went no-huddle, we did a lot of different things at the line of scrimmage. We put in some new plays, but as it is with most people, if the play doesn't work, they don't think it's a new play. I thought we did some things well. From the consistency standpoint, four or five yards, I thought Brian (Lewerke) did a nice job scrambling with the football, made some big plays. But we never got that bust-out play from our passing game. Even in the very last play of the game, as I said, hangs on a thread. If Cody (White) comes up with that catch, it's a first down and we're in field goal position again with 36 seconds left. That's the way these games go. You're looking for more production. You're not going to win many games scoring six points. In the first half, we had the opportunity to kick, lost the football. Guy makes a nice interception. I decide not to kick it and we go for it on fourth. I thought we had an opportunity for the big play, but they came off the edge and the guys made the play. Then we missed the one field goal. You want more production, there's no question about that. But I thought we worked at it.
Â
On the coaching staff…
I've always stayed the course. I've worked with people and people work with us. I have value in our players and in our coaches. That's how I've always done things. Football's a game of execution. I say this all the time, it's a team game. Depends on 11 players playing well at once, and it's about repetition. So the guy that comes up with the catch, is it a great catch or a great play? Or if the guys drops the ball, is that a great play or is that a bad selection of play? You've got to evaluate all those things. We got opportunities to win a football game. Things happen sometimes, whether it's special teams or whatever. I was deeply involved with the offense for the last month, so put some of that one me too.
On the receivers…
I didn't think we got separation from their defensive backs. We tried some stutters, we tried to go by them, tried some deeper routes. Also thought the quarterback got pressure in his face. When people are coming up field, it's difficult when you haven't played in a month. It's very difficult to simulate an opposing team's pressures for real. So some of those things happen. As I said, I thought Brian did a nice job getting out of the problems. But at the same time, he got caught some too. He had situations where he had to dump the ball down or force the ball or not be able to throw the football.
Â
On if Oregon did anything Dantonio wasn't expecting…
Not really, no. I thought we had them down pretty good. I'm sure there's something they did that we didn't see. We practiced the one four-receiver set one, but we didn't defend it right and got the wrong coverage.
Â
On any frustration…
Glass is always half-full for me. There's no frustration, it's a team game. I don't sense that on our football team. They can talk to that a little bit. I do feel like we played very well defensively. I thought we won the field position battle in the second half, especially. They did punt the ball out of there and put it back down on our 35 once. But we got the ball on the 50 and 47 two successive times. And we had them backed up. They had one drive down the field 80 yards, or 78 yards.
Â
On the defense…
I think we're playing championship defense. If you look at what we've able to do, we're playing as well as any defense we've ever had here. Probably need to be able to press/pressure the quarterback a little more effectively. When you look at the statistical evidence, it's very very good. I think our guys play very well together and the coaches have done an outstanding job.
Â
On the offensive injuries…
We've had a lot of injuries. We've had a lot of injuries on the offensive side of the ball, and we've lost some very very close games. When you lose your quarterback for five or six games who accounts for 3,000+ yards, or your tailback who accounts for 1,000 or a wide receiver who counts for 800, that's a lot of production lost. You're trying to simulate that, you're trying to give others opportunities, but it's not the same. There's a foundation that's built. As soon as Felton Davis isn't in, then the coverage gets tilted a little more towards Cody White. Makes it more difficult for the other players. It is what it is, but when you look at our football team, what I can get from this season is that we played extremely hard and were competitive in every football game, every one of them. We have great chemistry, that we did things right. We've left the place better once we got there, when we leave the hotel or wherever we're at better than when we got there. Very proud of our football team, proud of the chemistry and I'm proud of the way they handled themselves. Still 7-6. Like I said earlier, some people celebrate that. We're just not at that point right now, in terms of what we've been able to accomplish in the past. So 7-6 is a little bit of a downer. But we'll rise back up. Â Â
Â
Opening statement…
Outstanding football game, very tight football game. We want to express our appreciation for our seniors and what they've accomplished here. Tough way to go out, but everything they've done here, from a player standpoint, chemistry standpoint, leadership standpoint.
Secondly want to congratulate Oregon. Tight fought game. I thought the game really hinged on two or three things. One of them certainly is that they put together one drive in the game. Hit a 'bubble' play and then sort of a 'bubble go' on quads (four wide receiver set), and then makes a great catch.
Obviously played very well on the defensive side of the ball. The offensive side of the ball, I thought that we lacked explosive plays. We had production, if you look at the statistics and see that we ran 26 more plays than they did and had 15 minutes more of possession time. Sort of scratch your head, but they did a nice job of eliminating the explosive plays. Did run the ball effectively, ran the ball over 40 times. Obviously the field goal at the end of the game, we'll never know. But I felt good about him kicking that one. We had the wind at our back. He's usually been pretty good inside 46 with the wind at his back. But we'll never know.
Â
On Kenny Willekes' injury…
As the season would go, broke his leg, so he's out, broken fibula. But he'll heal. That's kind of the season we've had, basically, in that respect.
On the offense…
I thought we changed up things. We ran out of the pistol, we went no-huddle, we did a lot of different things at the line of scrimmage. We put in some new plays, but as it is with most people, if the play doesn't work, they don't think it's a new play. I thought we did some things well. From the consistency standpoint, four or five yards, I thought Brian (Lewerke) did a nice job scrambling with the football, made some big plays. But we never got that bust-out play from our passing game. Even in the very last play of the game, as I said, hangs on a thread. If Cody (White) comes up with that catch, it's a first down and we're in field goal position again with 36 seconds left. That's the way these games go. You're looking for more production. You're not going to win many games scoring six points. In the first half, we had the opportunity to kick, lost the football. Guy makes a nice interception. I decide not to kick it and we go for it on fourth. I thought we had an opportunity for the big play, but they came off the edge and the guys made the play. Then we missed the one field goal. You want more production, there's no question about that. But I thought we worked at it.
Â
On the coaching staff…
I've always stayed the course. I've worked with people and people work with us. I have value in our players and in our coaches. That's how I've always done things. Football's a game of execution. I say this all the time, it's a team game. Depends on 11 players playing well at once, and it's about repetition. So the guy that comes up with the catch, is it a great catch or a great play? Or if the guys drops the ball, is that a great play or is that a bad selection of play? You've got to evaluate all those things. We got opportunities to win a football game. Things happen sometimes, whether it's special teams or whatever. I was deeply involved with the offense for the last month, so put some of that one me too.
On the receivers…
I didn't think we got separation from their defensive backs. We tried some stutters, we tried to go by them, tried some deeper routes. Also thought the quarterback got pressure in his face. When people are coming up field, it's difficult when you haven't played in a month. It's very difficult to simulate an opposing team's pressures for real. So some of those things happen. As I said, I thought Brian did a nice job getting out of the problems. But at the same time, he got caught some too. He had situations where he had to dump the ball down or force the ball or not be able to throw the football.
Â
On if Oregon did anything Dantonio wasn't expecting…
Not really, no. I thought we had them down pretty good. I'm sure there's something they did that we didn't see. We practiced the one four-receiver set one, but we didn't defend it right and got the wrong coverage.
Â
On any frustration…
Glass is always half-full for me. There's no frustration, it's a team game. I don't sense that on our football team. They can talk to that a little bit. I do feel like we played very well defensively. I thought we won the field position battle in the second half, especially. They did punt the ball out of there and put it back down on our 35 once. But we got the ball on the 50 and 47 two successive times. And we had them backed up. They had one drive down the field 80 yards, or 78 yards.
Â
On the defense…
I think we're playing championship defense. If you look at what we've able to do, we're playing as well as any defense we've ever had here. Probably need to be able to press/pressure the quarterback a little more effectively. When you look at the statistical evidence, it's very very good. I think our guys play very well together and the coaches have done an outstanding job.
Â
On the offensive injuries…
We've had a lot of injuries. We've had a lot of injuries on the offensive side of the ball, and we've lost some very very close games. When you lose your quarterback for five or six games who accounts for 3,000+ yards, or your tailback who accounts for 1,000 or a wide receiver who counts for 800, that's a lot of production lost. You're trying to simulate that, you're trying to give others opportunities, but it's not the same. There's a foundation that's built. As soon as Felton Davis isn't in, then the coverage gets tilted a little more towards Cody White. Makes it more difficult for the other players. It is what it is, but when you look at our football team, what I can get from this season is that we played extremely hard and were competitive in every football game, every one of them. We have great chemistry, that we did things right. We've left the place better once we got there, when we leave the hotel or wherever we're at better than when we got there. Very proud of our football team, proud of the chemistry and I'm proud of the way they handled themselves. Still 7-6. Like I said earlier, some people celebrate that. We're just not at that point right now, in terms of what we've been able to accomplish in the past. So 7-6 is a little bit of a downer. But we'll rise back up. Â Â
Â
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
DE
/ FootballJonathan Smith Postgame Comments | Iowa
Saturday, November 22
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Nov. 17 2025
Monday, November 17
Jonathan Smith Post Game Comments | PSU | Nov. 15 2025
Saturday, November 15
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Nov. 10 2025
Monday, November 10