Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs Michigan State
10/24/2015 9:08:00 PM | Football
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Michigan State
October 24, 2015
Indiana Head Coach Kevin Wilson
Opening Statement
It was a decent game for a while. Our guys played really hard and had a few big plays. At the end we kind of just let it get away, which was pretty disappointing. I was really proud of the energy and the effort and the way the guys played. A lot of credit should go to Michigan State - they're a tremendous team. They're really good in all phases, so congrats to their team.
On the struggles of sophomore kicker Griffin Oakes today...
Griffin is a really good kicker. He missed a couple, but if he makes those couple extra points and a field goal its 31-26. I didn't like his body language after a few of the misses, so I just told him that he was a great kicker, so go out there and make the next one. He's human, so I think it got to him a little bit.
On the low percentage passes that Connor Cook was throwing, yet completing ...
Burbridge has made a bunch of great plays for him and a couple of plays to Shelton in the past few weeks have been very much covered. He throws to covered receivers in reasonably tight coverage, but he puts the ball where he gives his guy a chance. If you were to talk to a pro scout or coach they would talk about challenged throws. When the guy is really getting challenged he throws it at his player where he can make a play on the ball. I think one of the differences in the game is that he's got some guys that made one-on-one plays. We couldn't quite come down with those plays. We had a few passing plays that were good but the maturity of their receivers and the physical strength allowed them to make a few more competitive plays. Connor puts in a certain place, but his receivers have also done a great job for him.
On the amount of close games they have been in this year where they are on the losing end ...
We've had the No. 1 team and the No. 4 team in the fourth quarter, and played pretty good football. You're seeing a lot of good football, but the defense finally wore down. Our no huddle offense had nothing to do with them being 7-10 on third downs in the first half. We had to deal with the monsoon in the first half and I thought we managed that well, because that was hard. Our defense wears down because we don't get stops. I don't like moral victories, but it shows we're going toe-to-toe with some pretty good teams. I'm not into moral victories and I'm not trying to justify anything because we need to win. That's what we talked about after the game. We need to learn to close games.
On the return of junior running back Jordan Howard...
He did pretty well. It's hard to run on these guys. The way they work their backers and edge players it always feels like they have hats in there. That is why you have to throw on these guys one-on-one sometimes. I thought he did well. It was good to have him back.
Indiana Players
Nate Sudfeld | Sr. | QB | #7
On being close once again to beating a highly-ranked opponent...
It's frustrating because close has been our word for what it seems like the last two years. We have to make those plays to get over that hump. That word close is really driving me nuts nowadays but it's what we are. We need to keep battling, have a great bye week, stick together and keep fighting.
On how tough it was to play in during the heavy downpour in the first quarter...
I've never experienced anything like that. It was like I was showering out there. No excuse, I need to hang onto the ball better. I'm just glad there were no turnovers in that situation. I've never experienced anything like that. It was like trying to catch a bar of soap.
On whether it is a good time for a bye week...
I think it is a good time. It would have been a better time if we would have won today though, we would have had some better vibes going in. Those guys with little injuries, it'll be good to let them recover a little bit. Again, we just need to link arms at this point and fight for each other and continue to keep battling.
T.J. Simmons | Jr. | LB | #2
On the younger players hitting a wall in their development...
I just feel like we have to step up and make our plays. It doesn't matter what wall they hit - it's inexcusable. We need to step up and make plays.
On whether the bye week is coming at a good time...
Definitely. We need to take time to get right mentally, physically and refresh, recharge-up and come back at it.
On whether he felt like the defense was out on the field a lot today...
We're used to it. Our offense moves the ball fast, so we're used to that. It wasn't that big of a deal.
On Michigan State's efficiency on third downs...
We need to do better on our third downs. We put a lot of emphasis on it so it's inexcusable. We knew what they were going to do, but we still let them do it.
Indiana vs. Michigan State
October 24, 2015
Indiana Head Coach Kevin Wilson
Opening Statement
It was a decent game for a while. Our guys played really hard and had a few big plays. At the end we kind of just let it get away, which was pretty disappointing. I was really proud of the energy and the effort and the way the guys played. A lot of credit should go to Michigan State - they're a tremendous team. They're really good in all phases, so congrats to their team.
On the struggles of sophomore kicker Griffin Oakes today...
Griffin is a really good kicker. He missed a couple, but if he makes those couple extra points and a field goal its 31-26. I didn't like his body language after a few of the misses, so I just told him that he was a great kicker, so go out there and make the next one. He's human, so I think it got to him a little bit.
On the low percentage passes that Connor Cook was throwing, yet completing ...
Burbridge has made a bunch of great plays for him and a couple of plays to Shelton in the past few weeks have been very much covered. He throws to covered receivers in reasonably tight coverage, but he puts the ball where he gives his guy a chance. If you were to talk to a pro scout or coach they would talk about challenged throws. When the guy is really getting challenged he throws it at his player where he can make a play on the ball. I think one of the differences in the game is that he's got some guys that made one-on-one plays. We couldn't quite come down with those plays. We had a few passing plays that were good but the maturity of their receivers and the physical strength allowed them to make a few more competitive plays. Connor puts in a certain place, but his receivers have also done a great job for him.
On the amount of close games they have been in this year where they are on the losing end ...
We've had the No. 1 team and the No. 4 team in the fourth quarter, and played pretty good football. You're seeing a lot of good football, but the defense finally wore down. Our no huddle offense had nothing to do with them being 7-10 on third downs in the first half. We had to deal with the monsoon in the first half and I thought we managed that well, because that was hard. Our defense wears down because we don't get stops. I don't like moral victories, but it shows we're going toe-to-toe with some pretty good teams. I'm not into moral victories and I'm not trying to justify anything because we need to win. That's what we talked about after the game. We need to learn to close games.
On the return of junior running back Jordan Howard...
He did pretty well. It's hard to run on these guys. The way they work their backers and edge players it always feels like they have hats in there. That is why you have to throw on these guys one-on-one sometimes. I thought he did well. It was good to have him back.
Indiana Players
Nate Sudfeld | Sr. | QB | #7
On being close once again to beating a highly-ranked opponent...
It's frustrating because close has been our word for what it seems like the last two years. We have to make those plays to get over that hump. That word close is really driving me nuts nowadays but it's what we are. We need to keep battling, have a great bye week, stick together and keep fighting.
On how tough it was to play in during the heavy downpour in the first quarter...
I've never experienced anything like that. It was like I was showering out there. No excuse, I need to hang onto the ball better. I'm just glad there were no turnovers in that situation. I've never experienced anything like that. It was like trying to catch a bar of soap.
On whether it is a good time for a bye week...
I think it is a good time. It would have been a better time if we would have won today though, we would have had some better vibes going in. Those guys with little injuries, it'll be good to let them recover a little bit. Again, we just need to link arms at this point and fight for each other and continue to keep battling.
T.J. Simmons | Jr. | LB | #2
On the younger players hitting a wall in their development...
I just feel like we have to step up and make our plays. It doesn't matter what wall they hit - it's inexcusable. We need to step up and make plays.
On whether the bye week is coming at a good time...
Definitely. We need to take time to get right mentally, physically and refresh, recharge-up and come back at it.
On whether he felt like the defense was out on the field a lot today...
We're used to it. Our offense moves the ball fast, so we're used to that. It wasn't that big of a deal.
On Michigan State's efficiency on third downs...
We need to do better on our third downs. We put a lot of emphasis on it so it's inexcusable. We knew what they were going to do, but we still let them do it.
Players Mentioned
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