Quotes and Notes from the Ohio State-Michigan State Football Game – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/7/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
November 7, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Notes and Quotes
%^$John Cooper Quotes%^$Ohio State vs. Michigan State%^$Nov. 7, 1998
%^$”Give them credit, they out-coached us and out-played us and they came away with the victory.”
%^$”It seemed like anything that could have happened to us did happen to us and like we say in coaching it doesn’t catch up with you until it catches up with you.”
%^$”Offensively we did not do a good job handling the pressure and they did.”
%^$”The kicking game was a factor in the game. The one that hit our guy in the back, I have no idea what you do about that.”
%^$”After the game I kept telling our football team now we’ll find out what were made of.”
%^$”Realistically, I don’t think we have a chance of winning the national championship. I lot of things would need happen and I don’t have a clue how far we’ll drop.”
%^$”They made plays and we didn’t. When we were blitzing them, they threw thew ball down the field and their wideouts made great plays.”
%^$”The key play of the ball game, obviously, is when Joe Germaine fumbled the ball. We’re lucky they didn’t score a touchdown.”
%^$”We let them in. Instead of putting them away, we let them beat us.”
%^$”This one hurts. There’s no question about it. But we can still have a good season. We still have a chance to win this league. We need to regroup, have a good week of practice and do something we haven’t done in a while and that’s beat Michigan.”
%^$%^$Joe Germaine%^$Ohio State vs. Michigan State%^$Nov. 7, 1998
%^$”I think Michigan State’s defense had a great scheme. They challenged us and out-played us.”
%^$”We’ve been in positions like that before and we got close and we never doubted that we could do it. We just came up short.”
%^$All losses hurt, But this one especially. It was very quiet in the locker room and it should be. We had some high expectations for this team. We can still have a good season.
%^$%^$Nick Saban Quotes%^$Ohio State vs. Michigan State%^$Nov. 7, 1998
%^$”Obviously a great day for Michigan State University. I’m very proud of the way our players competed today.”
%^$”Our team showed a lot of character, maturity on their part to get back into the game and play their way to finish strong.”
%^$”We have been inconsistent this year. We are a young team. For us to grow up in the last two games and make the plays at the end of the game is a real positive step for us, our team and this program. I just can’t tell you how proud and pleased I am.”
%^$”We had to come in today as the squirts who had to pick a fight with the bully. Not that we wanted to pick one, but it was on the schedule, so we had to do it.”
%^$”Our team played great against Notre Dame, our team played well today, Ohio State’s got a good football team. We played the game like we had nothing to lose.”
%^$”Funny things happen in football and that’s why we play these games. Because when a team plays possessed and are really inspired about what they can do, we have good football players, they have good football players, but ours played good enough to win.”
%^$”I still feel Ohio State is capable of winning the national championship. I still think they are one of the best teams in the country.”
%^$”I told the team it was going to be a 15 round fight and we needed to be Rocky in that 15th round.”
%^$Ohio State vs. Michigan State Game Notes%^$Nov. 7, 1998
%^$Biletnikoff Semifinalist – Wide receiver David Boston has now caught at least one pass in the last 29 games.
%^$Dee Day – In catching five passes for 74 yards, Dee Miller passed John Frank to take over fourth place on the all-time career receptions list. He has also caught a pass in 24 consecutive games.
%^$Lumpkin Scoring Streak – With his 41-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, tight end John Lumpkin has now caught a TD in three consecutive games.
%^$Wiley Scoring Streak – With his one-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter, tailback Michael Wiley has now scored a rushing TD in the last four consecutive games.
%^$Wiley over 100 – In rushing 22 times for 100 yards, Wiley went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season.
%^$Forcing Things – Antoine Winfield’s second quarter forced fumble and recovery were both his first of the season.
%^$Moore Scores – Safety Damon Moore’s third quarter interception return for a touchdown marked the second of his career (11/16/96 at Indiana). The score was also OSU’s fourth defensive TD of the season.
%^$Today’s Attendance – Today’s attendance was 93,595, the largest home crowd at Ohio Stadium this season.
