John Cooper Media Luncheon Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/26/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 26, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – John Cooper Press Conference Oct. 26, 1998
Thoughts on the Northwestern game “We are happy to come away from Northwestern with a 36-10 victory. After the game I may have said something different, but after looking at the film, I feel we played a very good ballgame.”
Scouting the Indiana Hoosiers “This Indiana football team we are playing this week is with out a doubt, the most improved football I’ve seen in this league in a long time. Cam Cameron and his staff have done an excellent job. The player that makes their offense go is of course their quarterback. They are second in the league in rushing behind Wisconsin. They are a real scrappy football team. Defensively, they have 16 interceptions. They have some real good individual football players.”
The Bowl Championship Series rankings “Basically, I know about it but the only thing I’m concerned about is the way our football team plays. If we are No. 1 in the country all year long, I don’t see how in the world you cannot play for the national championship. If we keep winning, everything will take of itself. There will be some upsets between now and the end of the year, we just have to make sure one of those doesn’t happen to us.”
Indiana Quarterback Antwaan Randle El. “He’s real dangerous. First of all, he’s a great athlete. He’s good enough to play for Bobby Knight’s basketball team. He makes things happen. Maybe the worst thing you can do is cover all his receivers. Than he’s going to be a ball-carrier. He’s a real gifted athlete, blessed with a lot of talent and can makes things happen.”
The improvement of the Indiana football program “They have made tremendous improvement from one-year to the next, there is no question about it. The quarterback may be the biggest reason for that. They are always a very scrappy team and play us tough over there. Two years ago, we had to really, really struggle if you remember, to win that ballgame on a great defensive play.” Indiana defensive lineman Adewale Ogunleye “He’s got a lot of sacks and he had a great game against us last year. They have some great individual football players. They don’t have the talent of Michigan or Penn State or Wisconsin or even Ohio State but they’re still a very good team.”
The Ohio State punt return “One of the problems is we’ve used to many people back there. Early this year and all of last year David (Boston) was back there. We haven’t popped any touchdowns this year so we’ve gotten a little bit impatient. Also, why put your best receiver back there to return punts. So we put Ken-Yon (Rambo) back and he sprains his ankle. Gary Berry was the next guy and we’re still unhappy. But I’m not as unhappy with our return game than our judgment on when to handle the ball. Use good judgment. Either get the ball or let it go and never touch it inside the 10-yard line. It’s not bad to make the fair-catch and get the ball.”
The Ohio State defensive line “We’ve been talking about the improvement in the defensive line play all year. That’s probably the most improved area in our defense. We are playing a lot of players and keeping them fresh. And it’s starting to show. They are not getting fatigued and are making some plays.”
