Post-Game Quotes: Indiana

Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker

Opening Statement
First, I want to thank our medical team that has given us an opportunity to play. You can see around the country, there are teams that don't have the opportunity to play, and we've been able to stay above the line and give our guys a chance to play because we need to play. We need to be able to get out there and play football, so we can see what we have and who we are and continue to build. So I'd like to thank them for that.

Obviously, turnovers and penalties in the first half, against any type of team, any team, you do not give yourself a chance. That's basically the story of the game.

Guys continue to play hard, we had a shutout in the second half, defense continued to play hard, but we lost the battle of field position. I think their average starting position was the 47-yard line and ours was the minus-20. Even though we took the ball away a couple of times, that's not complementary football. Offense, defense and special teams, everyone doing their job on a consistent basis. And consistency in performance again is a killer for us. We're inconsistent. We have some efficient plays on offense and then nothing. And you can't take the defense off the hook as well. We had opportunities to get them stopped and then special teams, obviously we just have to be more efficient, we need to be more explosive and win the battle of field position and be more physical and make more explosive plays.

That's just the facts. It's just straight down the middle. You see it, it's obvious. You turn the ball over and you have critical penalties against a good football team, you are going to get beat. That's what happened and we need to figure out what we can do with the guys that we have. One thing we are able to do because we are able to play is we are able to evaluate who we have and what they can do. And who wants to or has the ability to play the type of football we need to play here to be successful. We're going to continue to move forward with our process, which we believe in, which is, stick with the facts, see what happened, look at the film, identify the mistakes and make the corrections – structural, mental or physical. And then evaluate the roster and see who needs to be in what positions and then turn the page and prepare for the next game. So that's what we're going to do.

On making the change at quarterback…
We thought it was some decision-making early in the game in the first half and then Payton (Thorne) was the next man up, so we gave him an opportunity. It was as simple as that. We'll look at the film and we'll evaluate it more and we'll see what we need to do moving forward. But there's no position set in stone on this team, quarterback or any other.

On whether the offense moved better with Payton at quarterback…
We're inconsistent. We were inconsistent with both guys in there. We have some efficient plays and then we were inefficient. We'll know more when we look at the tape tonight.

On the play of redshirt junior cornerback Shakur Brown and his two interceptions…
We continue to work with him because he's a talented young man and there are things he needs to do to get better and improve. We've been working on those things; he's been working on those things and so just his approach to the game. When you do that and you improve and you work on the things you need to work on at that position, you're going to get an opportunity to make plays, and he's making some of those plays. Also, at that position, you have to be very, very efficient because at a corner or safely position; you may only be at the point of attack seven or eight times in a game when it really matters. So, if you give up a play, is that a winning performance or not? You have to look at it that way. Has he made strides? Yes. Does he need to continue to make some strides in technique and fundamentals? Yes, and from what I've seen from him, he's willing to do that. And so I'm encouraged by some of the things I've seen from him so far this season.

On the running game and how an improvement might open up the offense…
We have to figure out what we can do with the guys that we have and when the holes are there, we need to hit them. And if they're not there, we have to figure out why and can we run those play? Or do we have to come up with something else. At the end of the day, it's a very simple game. You can only scheme your way so much in a run game. From a running game standpoint, you have to be able to get a hat on a hat, move people and hit the hole with velocity and fall forward on contact. That's what has to happen. We've given guys opportunities to run the ball and we'll make a decision going into this next game on who is going to get the lion's share of the carries and who is not. It's a constant work in progress, but we need to be able to run the ball and we're going to continue to attempt to run the ball so we can have some type of balance on our offense and not be one dimensional.

On playing next weekend and potential uncertainly with Maryland's game having been cancelled for this weekend…
We're expecting to play. I don't know what their situation is. I'm not sure why they are playing or not playing. We're going to be prepared to play as long as we can meet the thresholds in terms of players available and the COVID numbers that are set forth by the Big Ten. As long as we can stay within those numbers and field a team, we're going to play. We're going to prepare to play until we're told differently. We need to play football.

On if there will be more juggling of players in the lineup…
Much of it is about execution because we're inconsistent. You see us able to make plays on both sides of the ball – in the run game, the passing game, and then at times we're not able to. That's being inconsistent. Everything is an evaluation. Every game rep, every practice rep, how guys pay attention in meetings, what type of notes they take. We collect their notes and look at their notes. What they do in the weight room. What they do in from a nutrient standpoint. Punctuality. Everything is an evaluation for us. It's ongoing, and it's never going to stop. Based upon who we have in our evaluation, then we'll put the guys out there that we feel like give us the best chance. Then we need to work for better execution. We need to work harder, we need to be tougher – mentally and physically. And we need to keep hammering our culture of accountability, attention to detail, a sense of urgency and grinding and not making excuses and finding a way to get it done. That's what we're going to do every single day.

On how the pass defense played...
I'd really have to look at the tape. I thought we were soft on some of their quick game things. I think early in the game; we were exposed down the middle because of mental errors for lack of execution. We wanted to make the quarterback win outside. You always want to make quarterbacks win outside from the pocket, but the yards after the catch were too much. The guy throws the ball outside in zone coverage you should at least be able to contest the throw, or at least be right there in a position to make an immediate tackle. We played a couple of different guys out there, obviously with Gerv (Kalon Gervin) being out, with Tre Person being out. We gave Angelo Grose an opportunity, we saw Julian Barnett. Guys are getting out there and getting plays. We're seeing what they can do, and we're working to teach, motivate and develop those guys. At times, it was tight covers, and at times it wasn't tight enough. So we'll look to be more consistent in that regard. And again, rush and coverage have to work together. So even though the ball was out quickly on some of those plays, and there was not an opportunity to get a rush. There were other times we had an opportunity to get a rush and the quarterback had too much time. So we need to make sure the rushing coverage is working together. So, we have a tremendous amount of work to do, trust me on that, a lot of work

On the difficulty of evaluating players...
It is not hard to evaluate players. We film everything that we do. We see them everyday; we talk to them. We have numbers; we have reports. We have the information that we need. Just because we don't have success on the field, I don't know why that would be an issue relative to getting their attention. Because if you want to play, and you want to get better, then you need to pay more attention. If there's a lack of attention, then that means you don't want to be here then that is part of the evaluation as well. I don't really see that being an issue but if it is, then that will be addressed. We're gonna move forward with the guys who do want to pay attention who are paying attention, who do want to get better, and who want to go out there and win their one-on-ones, and play at a high level on a consistent basis. I'm not worried about getting guys attention.

Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen

Opening Statement
I'm just really proud of our team. Coming on the road with a lot of distractions this week, a lot of things that you have to deal with and learn how to stay locked in and focused in this environment that we are in, and with the success we are starting to have and everything. I'm just really proud of our guys to come here, it's been a tough place for us to win over the years, and to get a shutout here is pretty special. That doesn't happen very often and to get our fifth Big Ten win in a row, fourth of the season, it's a pretty awesome thing. I'm proud of our staff. I still thought it was ugly. I thought we were sloppy and didn't execute well enough, especially on offense and had some special teams' mistakes, missed a field goal for the first time this year. Defense held them to 200 yards and four takeaways, which continued to be gamechangers for us, three more picks. I'm just really proud of our guys, I mean that's just how you win football games and you got to go on the road and win some ugly ones sometimes. Especially how the game started, I thought we kind of put ourselves in a tough spot, but our guys bounced back, they got a 14-point lead and then never looked back, so I'm proud of this team. Big road win. Go Hoosiers!

On what the win means for you…
We came up with goals and one of the major things the guys wanted was win our trophy games and so that's what we did, we won our first trophy game. We haven't beaten them since I've been the head coach here and you know the history, we haven't beaten them very often recently. First time winning here in East Lansing in 19 years, so continuing a whole long list of things they gave me of firsts, or tied this, or tied that, or firsts time since this, you know just continuing to make history here and it's a big win. It's a big win on the road and such a devastating loss a year ago coming here, but I'll tell you what, I think that was a real defining moment in our program. The way the players responded, the way I challenged them the rest of that game and kind of where we've gone since then has been pretty amazing. A lot of respect to Coach Tucker and their team. Their kids fought hard, they are big physical players and I talked to several of them after the game, a lot of respect for how hard they play and how tough they hard and I love being able to compete and fight, claw, and scratch, and then shake a guy's hand and give respect and the respect is given back. That's pretty cool. It was a good day.

On how the last 12 months changed since the loss to MSU last year…
I think it's significant, that was a tough loss and here's the thing that I think really sticks out to me about that. I was trying to convince them that we were a really good team because I thought we were, even though we fell short, we didn't finish and I knew were we getting frustrated and didn't win, we were close again. That's just what prompted me to respond the way I did in the locker room after the game and in the press conference because I knew that team in that locker room was a really good football team, but we hadn't proved it on the field, so it didn't really matter what it think. The players responded and it was really the beginning of the Maryland game that I've always pointed too to say that was the game when we physically finished and won on the road and then starting winning after that, but it was this loss in East Lansing, I thought a year ago, that really was the catalyst to help this team realize if we can just stay the course and just keep believing, and keep fighting, and keep demonstrating tremendous grit, and relentless mindset that we are going to figure this out and it's going to come together. I talked to one of our players afterwards, and he's been here a long time, and that was kind of his response, he was impressed with what you guys have done here in the last several years. He was very complimentary of how our kids play and where we have taken this program. It's something that you have to know what it's about, proving it on the field, and so a year ago this time, a lot was left out there. Now you feel a whole lot different about where we are and where we headed.

On Ty Fryfogle's impact…
They are big plays in the game, for sure, but they are. He's a big, strong guy. We got a lot of good size receivers that can to be able to go up and use their mass and use their catch radius to make plays and he's a tough kid. He loves football, he loves to work, never says much, I mean he doesn't talk hardly at all but he just makes plays and like you said tough contested catches, tough runs, just grit, toughness, fight and that's our program. To me that's an awesome thing and the team is full of guys like him and it's neat to see a kid come from South Mississippi believe in us, come all the way up here and be rewarded with great opportunities and now being apart of a football team that's doing special things, that are historic. That's a message to a whole bunch of other guys that are in the country and want to come be apart of what we are building in Indiana, whatever state you ae from, we don't care, I just want guys to who want to be here and I want guys that believe in us and want to work, want to commit, be disciplined, and buy in to the culture, and he's one of them.

On the offensive line concern and Caleb Jones status…
First of all, Caleb was not active today, so that's all I'm going to say about that. Bottom line is that I thought Luke did a great job and yeah it's a concern. You know Mike Katic is still out and so next man up, and Luke came here to play, came here to compete and have opportunities, and now he's got one, so bottom line is that that's how we have to approach this every single time we take the field, whatever position it is, the guys got to realize that if the guy in front of you goes down and can't play then now it's your time so what are you going to do with that opportunity.

On son's health…
He's going to be all right, he's a tough kid. I love him so much, but it could be pretty serious. It's hard to see your son out there and I knew, as tough as he is, I knew by how he responding it was serious. It's hard to stand there and see that and then have to keep coaching, but that's what you got to do. You got to be able to compartmentalize those things and we had a strong embrace afterwards and shed a lot of tears together, but he's a fighter and the good lord is putting him through that refining fire right now and that makes us who we are and it makes us special, it makes us great and it creates good grit that will make him a better man. Just like always he's going to fight through this and he'll find a way to overcome it and come back and play again one day. It's tough to do and it's tough to see that from your son.

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Players Mentioned

Julian Barnett

Shakur Brown

Kalon Gervin

Angelo Grose

Tre Person

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