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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota vs. Nebraska Post-Game Quotes
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Head Coach Jerry Kill
Opening Statement
"It is one of those things where our kids were down at halftime and this bunch---I give all the credit to the players. They are mentally tough, we talk about mental toughness throughout the season and to be physically tough. Today our kids were mentally tough and just hung in there and played hard. Nebraska is a great team, coming into here, it is difficult. Our kids though, I would like to tell you why but they are a mentally tough group. We lose in my opinion one of the best running backs in the nation (David Cobb) and Donnell Kirkwood and Rodrick Williams stepped up. We only had two running backs, our kids up front bowed up and we made plays at the end. It is certainly a great win for us and we will enjoy it today and then we go to Wisconsin to do something we haven't done here in an awful long time."
On the final drive and big plays in the game
"Those were big time plays, we ran the stutter route and KJ (Maye) got behind him and we always talk about you have to have receivers step up and make big plays in critical moments and KJ made a great play. Mitch (Leidner) made a great throw, giving him a chance to catch the ball--it was a huge play, it was third down and five or six, so you are just playing the game and we got the ball again. Then we held on there at the end, sometimes I think you score too fast. They started driving and our secondary really bowed up there at the end and made a play. Then we were able to run the clock out because they had three timeouts left. We were able to run power and get the first down. I was worried about having to punt the ball into the wind so the three timeouts were a concern but the first down at the end got us the win. Everybody stepped up when they needed to, and made plays we needed to make. They made some plays in the first half, a big swing in the game was when they blocked the field goal. Our protection was great, but they have a young man that can jump and has a heckuva vertical. He has long arms and just went up and got it, it wasn't a low kick so that just shows you how good of an athlete he is. That changed the game, so we came in at halftime--we did not come in and start screaming and yelling at the kids. We felt we were playing pretty good, they had just found a couple breaks and I just tried to convince the kids that we had to just go out there and make plays. They did a great job."
On going for it on fourth down
"We went back and forth on the headsets there for a while, and at the end of the day, you are on the road in Lincoln, Nebraska. Roll the dice a little bit--we had to have two scores so if we don't get it, it is not too good. I felt that we needed momentum and we felt that we had a good call and it was a big play in the game. Sometimes when you are on the road, you have to go get the win. If it wouldn't have worked, right now everyone in America would be telling me how stupid I was, but now every once and awhile they work. Great job."
On final Minnesota defensive play
"We talk about our secondary all the time. Briean Boddy (-Calhoun) coming off major knee surgery. He is an unbelievable player, I will say that. He is an unbelievable kid. Good things happen to good people. He has played as well as anybody in the Big Ten, and we are blessed to have good corners. They also can play safety, so it was a great play. Like you said, he is a great kid. Again, good things happen to good people."
On what this win means for the Gophers
"You guys have been here a lot longer than we have, but I know from our standpoint coming in four years ago I would say that I was begging administration that this whole process would take seven to eight years. I think you all know, living in Minnesota, we still have a lot of work to do. We really do in a lot of areas to get where we want to be. I think it has happened a lot faster than I would certainly think. We came a long way, but that is because of the players and their effort in what they have done all offseason. We all came back from the bowl game and met, and were not happy, so I said that we needed to be `starving' going into the next season. And again, Mitch--once we named him the starting quarterback, they work endless hours to get where they are at. Mitch played well today, he really played well. He did not panic when we got down, made great decisions and throws and running the ball. He really did a nice job."
On Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah
"He is a heckuva back and he is another one that is one heckuva kid. Before the game he came over and shook my hand, that is what college football is all about. Classy-classy young man.
Sophomore Quarterback Mitch Leidner
On what he said to his guys in the fourth quarter
"Coming in the huddle it was just a lot of laughs and fun. That's all we do in the huddle. We know if we stay relaxed and just play our game, good things will happen. Early on in the game we were making some drives but just not able to finish them. The second half was big for us."
On throwing big-time passes
"It's never really thinking about it. I like throwing the deep ball and we don't take too many opportunities but when we do we got to take advantage of them."
On the mood at halftime
"I thought guys were relaxed. Coach Kill came in telling us how we are a relentless group and to keep fighting. We have been in this position before. Guys were not really concerned about it because of the way we were moving the ball early in the game. We weren't finishing drives. We had a feeling we were going to go out there and start finishing drives.
Senior Offensive Lineman Zac Epping
On his recovered fumble
"We ran a zone read and Mitch (Leidner) kept it. He saw me wide open and decided to pitch it to me so I grabbed it and got five yards out of it. Unfortuntately he fumbled it, but I was in the right place at the right time."
On running back David Cobb's injury
"It sucks at first. He's a great back, the best running back on our team. When he came out we were still confident. We have a lot of great running backs. They stepped up and did a great job for us."
On next week's game against Wisconsin
"This is what we have been working for all year. Who ever wins gets to go to the Big Ten Championship Game, and everyone is excited for it. We get to battle for the ax. It's going to be a helluva game."
Senior Running Back Donnell Kirkwood
On how far the program has come
"It's came a long way. I was part of two 3-8 seasons. I've been a part of those seasons and being a part of this one now you can see how a program develops and guys buy in."
On his opportunity to play today
"I'm always prepared. I wouldn't say I was waiting behind David (Cobb). He's a great person. He's a helluva running back, I'd be the first one to say that. It's just being prepared. I get my reps in practice. Coach always harps on you never know what's going to happen. You get in and do your best job, and I just felt like today was an opportunity where I can know what I am doing out there even though I am limited in game time."
On what this week will be like in preparation for Wisconsin
"I think it's going to be the same. I mean we might get a little attention. I think we knew we got that after we beat Michigan. But I think we will do a good job with that. This is a mature team and I don't think it will bother us at all."
Junior Defensive Back Briean Boddy-Calhoun
On the interception he missed early in the game
"Dropping the interception, I held on to it until the ball was snapped for the next play. I knew I needed to regroup and get it back together because I had a whole other half to play. Whenever I make a mistake I try to make up for it, and I kind of carried that throughout the game."
On getting the strip later in the game
"In little league my coach taught me the play isn't over until the ref blows the whistle. That's been something that's been grinded in to me since I was younger. I am always chasing the ball, I am always trying to go and fight for the ball until the ref blows his whistle."
On where the program is at right now
"It's telling us that we have made tremendous strides and we have worked hard in the offseason. I came here two years ago and we got smashed, and right now two years later it's a completely different team with a completely different feeling."
