Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller holds the Old Brass Spittoon alongside interim head coach Harlon Barnett following MSU's victory at Indiana on Saturday.
Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Post-Game Quotes: Indiana
11/18/2023 9:16:00 PM | Football
Harlon Barnett | Michigan State Interim Head Coach
Opening Statement
Great win by our guys. They finished, kept competing and applied what we have been talking about. You guys have been hearing me say, "finish, finish, finish", and that's what we did. I'm really proud of our guys. They played really well and kept fighting.
On the final drive to put Michigan State in the lead…
I'm thinking of finishing by any means necessary. Everything is four downs, and we can't punt it back away. Our guys did a good job of making plays down the stretch. That's what you have to do when you are going to finish a game like that. Great throw and catch by Katin (Houser) to Maliq (Carr). That is a big, physical guy. That guy is a player, and you can't just shove him to the ground. You have to wrap and squeeze to get him down. If you don't, then he is going to do what he did. He is similar to Sam (Leavitt) in that he is very confident. I love those guys because they believe in their abilities, and that allows them to play at a high level.
On having several scholarship players out today…
We were an NFL team out there today. There were 45 guys on scholarship that were available to play. We got it done. We have a great coaching staff, and our guys did a great job. Whoever is available is who we are going to play with. Nobody is making excuses, it's what we do. Nobody was complaining, it was, "let's go play."Â
On managing the defense in the fourth quarter…
We knew what we had available, so the next guy was up. We were prepared in a lot of ways for it, so when those guys were going down it was a blessing that some of those guys were able to come back. We were getting really thin, but we were prepared for whatever happened. It wasn't quite panic-mode, but it almost got there. We talk about that in meetings prior to the game. I asked about another guy going down and the coach said, "I'll be in, coach." That's how it goes sometimes.
Tom Allen | Indiana Head Coach
On how frustrated your defense is on the field after not being able to close out the game …
Very frustrating. Obviously our guys had a chance to go win the game defensively; didn't do it. Obviously when you try to play a certain way, you know, when you are with to sack the quarterback, there are certain rules that apply to that. So we want those to be enforced, but that obviously didn't happen today.
At the same time that's reality. So guys didn't finish. It's frustrating, without a doubt. Got a lot of young guys out there playing hard, but defense didn't finish. Defense didn't finish.
On the ref's explanation on the potential hold on the touchdown, pass interference and the intentional grounding…
I was told -- you are asking the question I asked specifically. He said that he was not -- his forward progress was not impeded.
On the intentional grounding he said that the receiver wasn't close enough. I said we have a read progression. He is reading the route, and obviously they weren't on the same page.
So obviously didn't agree with the explanation, but that's another discussion.
On the physicality the offense showed running the ball…
Yes, it was. Over 200 yards rushing, which is why at the end with 22 seconds to go in the game, we had two timeouts. I changed my mind. I decide to go for it. I thought we could get the first down and get a little closer, try to take another shot to the end zone, which we did.
I liked their matchup with their outside receivers. Obviously it didn't work out, but that was the logic there, but I was just trying to get closer. So dual purpose.
Already missed a field goal that we should have made. They were getting a lot of push on our PAT. For those of you who watched, the PATs, a lot of push. The one was blocked from the interior. They have some big guys in there.
I was concerned about that, those longer kicks that were lower trajectory kicks. So it was going to be a 54-yard field goal earlier in the third quarter.
So that was the thought process. Obviously didn't work out. That's why we did what we did.
On keeping the emotions stable in the locker room heading into the final week…
We're playing Purdue, period. And I got this team's back, period. They know it. We're going to fight to the finish. I promise you that.
On keeping the locker room together as you get ready for Purdue this week…
We're playing for the Old Oaken Bucket, the biggest trophy opportunity this team has in a given year outside of the postseason. So huge game, massive game.
Once again, we've got guys that are going to be playing their final Old Oaken Bucket game, so that's going to be the motivation, without question.
There's a strong locker room, I promise you that. Strong locker room. Once again, I've got their back.
Opening Statement
Great win by our guys. They finished, kept competing and applied what we have been talking about. You guys have been hearing me say, "finish, finish, finish", and that's what we did. I'm really proud of our guys. They played really well and kept fighting.
On the final drive to put Michigan State in the lead…
I'm thinking of finishing by any means necessary. Everything is four downs, and we can't punt it back away. Our guys did a good job of making plays down the stretch. That's what you have to do when you are going to finish a game like that. Great throw and catch by Katin (Houser) to Maliq (Carr). That is a big, physical guy. That guy is a player, and you can't just shove him to the ground. You have to wrap and squeeze to get him down. If you don't, then he is going to do what he did. He is similar to Sam (Leavitt) in that he is very confident. I love those guys because they believe in their abilities, and that allows them to play at a high level.
On having several scholarship players out today…
We were an NFL team out there today. There were 45 guys on scholarship that were available to play. We got it done. We have a great coaching staff, and our guys did a great job. Whoever is available is who we are going to play with. Nobody is making excuses, it's what we do. Nobody was complaining, it was, "let's go play."Â
On managing the defense in the fourth quarter…
We knew what we had available, so the next guy was up. We were prepared in a lot of ways for it, so when those guys were going down it was a blessing that some of those guys were able to come back. We were getting really thin, but we were prepared for whatever happened. It wasn't quite panic-mode, but it almost got there. We talk about that in meetings prior to the game. I asked about another guy going down and the coach said, "I'll be in, coach." That's how it goes sometimes.
Tom Allen | Indiana Head Coach
On how frustrated your defense is on the field after not being able to close out the game …
Very frustrating. Obviously our guys had a chance to go win the game defensively; didn't do it. Obviously when you try to play a certain way, you know, when you are with to sack the quarterback, there are certain rules that apply to that. So we want those to be enforced, but that obviously didn't happen today.
At the same time that's reality. So guys didn't finish. It's frustrating, without a doubt. Got a lot of young guys out there playing hard, but defense didn't finish. Defense didn't finish.
On the ref's explanation on the potential hold on the touchdown, pass interference and the intentional grounding…
I was told -- you are asking the question I asked specifically. He said that he was not -- his forward progress was not impeded.
On the intentional grounding he said that the receiver wasn't close enough. I said we have a read progression. He is reading the route, and obviously they weren't on the same page.
So obviously didn't agree with the explanation, but that's another discussion.
On the physicality the offense showed running the ball…
Yes, it was. Over 200 yards rushing, which is why at the end with 22 seconds to go in the game, we had two timeouts. I changed my mind. I decide to go for it. I thought we could get the first down and get a little closer, try to take another shot to the end zone, which we did.
I liked their matchup with their outside receivers. Obviously it didn't work out, but that was the logic there, but I was just trying to get closer. So dual purpose.
Already missed a field goal that we should have made. They were getting a lot of push on our PAT. For those of you who watched, the PATs, a lot of push. The one was blocked from the interior. They have some big guys in there.
I was concerned about that, those longer kicks that were lower trajectory kicks. So it was going to be a 54-yard field goal earlier in the third quarter.
So that was the thought process. Obviously didn't work out. That's why we did what we did.
On keeping the emotions stable in the locker room heading into the final week…
We're playing Purdue, period. And I got this team's back, period. They know it. We're going to fight to the finish. I promise you that.
On keeping the locker room together as you get ready for Purdue this week…
We're playing for the Old Oaken Bucket, the biggest trophy opportunity this team has in a given year outside of the postseason. So huge game, massive game.
Once again, we've got guys that are going to be playing their final Old Oaken Bucket game, so that's going to be the motivation, without question.
There's a strong locker room, I promise you that. Strong locker room. Once again, I've got their back.
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