Football Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2000
Head Coach John Cooper
On the effects of having an off week:
“We went back to fundamentals in practice this past week, hopefully correcting some of the mistakes we’ve had in the previous four ball games. I think the off-week helps in healing some of our players. They should be a little more rested and ready to play to come Saturday against Wisconsin.”
On the timing of the off week:
“I think the off week came at a good time for us because we have some injured players that were able to get healed and it gave us time to rest up. It also gave our coaches a chance to go out on the road and catch up on some recruiting. We took two evaluation days last week and went out on the road and pretty much solidified who we were going to be offering scholarships to in the future. In addition, it gave us more of an opportunity to look at Wisconsin more closely and get our game plan in one day earlier.”
Thoughts on Wisconsin:
“Wisconsin is a good football team. They play real good run defense and good defense – period. Wisconsin is good at taking the run away. They will put seven, eight or nine people close to the line of scrimmage and really shut down your running game. Wisconsin did that against Michigan and their secondary people made a lot of tackles.”
Thoughts about the game ahead:
“This will be a real challenge for us. It will be a real physical game. We have got to have a great week of preparation and a good game plan. Our players have got to be on the same page. They have to know who they have to block.
“Defensively, we have got to stop their running game. They have the leading rusher in the country in Michael Bennett. He’s an outstanding football player who will pose a real threat to our team. He carried the ball 48 times in the Northwestern game and carried the ball almost 39 time in the other games so far this season. Also, Wisconsin has all of their players back now, so this will be a real test for our football team.” On Wisconsin’s Michael Bennett:
“Whoever plays running back for Wisconsin is going to get a lot of yards and a lot of carries. They have a big offensive line. They do a good job with the inside and outside zone plays, they are not very fancy on offense and they protect the football. They are an old-style football team.
“Bennett is an exception because of his speed. He ran the 100-meters in 10 seconds flat and qualified for the Olympic Trials. I don’t know if we’ve ever faced a guy that fast. He didn’t get any home runs against Michigan, but still managed over 100-yards rushing against one of the best defenses in the country. We will have to stop him on Saturday.”
On whether or not he’s surprised that Ohio State has moved up in the polls:
“Not when you’re undefeated. All I think you have to do is go down the list and see who the good teams are. If you keep winning, you’re going to keep moving up in the polls. If some of those heavyweights get beat then you’re going to move up more.”
