Quotes from John Cooper and Larry Smith – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/19/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 19, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Coach John Cooper Quotes
%^$Sept. 19, 1998 vs. Missouri
%^$”I’m really proud of our football team. We didn’t play our best game, especially in the first half. The credit goes to their offensive team. It’s a great victory for us. That was a good old rock ’em, sock ’em football game.”
%^$”Anytime you only punt one time in the ballgame, you’ve got to be pleased.”
%^$”We beat a good football team today. We took their best shot, and I don’t think we played our best game in the first half. A lot of guys played well – particularly Michael Wiley and our offensive line.”
%^$”We’re going to have to go out there and earn these victories.”
%^$”These guys are a good football team. I told Larry Smith and their athletic director that if they play like that the rest of the year, the won’t lose many football games.”
%^$”We were our own worst enemy early in the ballgame. We need to secure the football. We need to keep both hands on the football. We’ll work on that this week.”
%^$”Michael is having a great year for us. He’s an explosive back. I thought he was going to hit a homerun a couple times today. If you talk to Michael today, I’m sure he’ll give credit to the offensive line.”
%^$”Corby Jones is a great competitor. I thought he went out and competed until the final gun.”
%^$”I hope its a wake up call for all us – including the media. You can’t take anything for granted.”
%^$”We did everything possible to let them stay in the ballgame the first half. Our defensive team played a great game.”
%^$”We were making some good adjustments at halftime, particularly on defense. We talked about ball security, obviously. I thought Fred Pagac make some good adjustments at halftime to take the option away.”
%^$”They hurt us in the first half with misdirection. At halftime, we tried to school our defensive end and make him contain. We tried to crowd the line of scrimmage in the second half and take their running game away.”
%^$
Coach Larry Smith Quotes
%^$Sept. 19, 1998 vs. Ohio State
%^$”I think overall our football team played very hard and played very determined. I thought that in the first half, we were able to make plays on defense which got us on the score board.”
%^$”I think we had some pressure on our passing game that forced us to throw some quick passes. The guys were open but they didn’t have time.”
%^$”The second half they came out and controlled the line of scrimmage. Their offensive line did an excellent job and the run game is what really hurt us. They just kept drives going. The run is the thing that I think won it for them in the second half.”
%^$”We had a drive going in the second half that would’ve tied the score but we turned the ball over. We hurt ourselves offensively in the second half. “
%^$”I told them after the game that they played hard and went all out and one thing that they have to take from this game and learn is that Ohio State is a very fine football team. I think their defense is stronger than it was a year ago. We’ve got to go out in the next few weeks and improve our pass offense.”
%^$”We didn’t throw as much as we planned. We called more passes than it appeared, but sometimes Corby just ran the ball. Their defense are excellent pass rushers. They blitzed a lot. They put a lot of pressure on our passing game, so we gambled.”
%^$”Right now we’re looking for more than effort. We’re looking for a win. That was a loss and we can’t walk out of here being happy with giving a great effort. I don’t think our football team thinks like that. I don’t want them to think like that.”
