Football Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 16, 2000
Head Coach John Cooper Quotes
Opening statements about last Saturday’s loss to Minnesota:
“I was really embarrassed about the way we played Saturday. I felt that was the worst game we’ve played in a long, long time. I believe our offense got away from the game plan we had worked on. The defense allowed them (Minnesota) to spread out more than we wanted them to. They converted on third-down plays and we didn’t. Their wide receiver (Ron Johnson) made great plays during the game. Johnson caught all his passes. We played a lot better on defense in the second half. I think our football team did a little better job running the ball in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to win the football game.”
On B.J. Sander’s blocked punt:
“They kick off to you and you have to punt the ball, they come back and block the punt ball. That’s extremely embarrassing to say the least. It was probably the worst thing that happened to us the whole game.”
On the top-ranked teams getting defeated by lesser-ranked teams:
“You can’t take anything for granted. You have got to earn everything. There are not a lot of great football players in college, but I’m not sure there are a lot of great teams in college football right now. There are a lot of good teams. I think the past few weeks have proven anything can happen in this league. The team at the bottom can beat the best team in the league. You don’t take anything for granted and you work hard. You give it your best shot every day in practice. Certainly we need to play with a lot more emotion than we did last week.”
On what Ohio State needs to do in practice:
“If you don’t practice real well throughout the week you’re not going to have a good game. You don’t just turn it on and turn it off. You have to work hard and pay the price and earn a victory. And maybe we were getting a little bit big-headed. I’m not sure that’s the right word or not. But we were a little bit over-confident. You have to have respect for whomever you play.” On what he thinks Iowa will do to prepare for Ohio State:
“I’m sure Iowa is going to look at the game film and adjust their game plan to fit our game. But, you can’t just put in an offense one week and expect it to work really well. You have to work with it a while and work on it until everyone, including the quarterback, is comfortable with the game plan.”
Rodney Bailey quotes
“We have Iowa this week. It’s a big challenge and we have to go out and attack it just like we have before.
There’s a certain level where you have to keep yourself as a player. As an individual, win, lose or draw, you have to be on an even plane. There’s always work to be done-after a huge win and after a loss, whether it’s a one-point loss or a 40-point loss. So you just always have to want to go out there and continue to get better.
“We’re a unit, a whole team, and I could never single anyone out. I know that if the whole unit had played better, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. All we have to do is pull together as a team and have the tempo we always have and stay positive. We all have roles to play. If your role is to cover the receiver, that’s what you do. My role is to rush the passer and stop the run. I trust each and every one of my teammates. I’d never trade in any of my teammates. When I say it’s a whole team effort, [I mean] we all have our jobs to do and we just have to be ready to do them at all times. We’re all human. Minnesota came in here and played a solid game offensively. That’s done and over with and now all I want to do is move on to Iowa.”
On Iowa
“They like to run the ball all over the place, inside, outside. They have a pretty good passing game. I know that as a defense we just have to play our game, stay relaxed and poised and just go. I think every Saturday is a great Saturday for football. It’s time to go out there for another Saturday and work on everything we’ve worked on for a long time. For all of the seniors, this is another team we’re seeing for the last time. You want to cherish those moments. I know I say that every week but it’s true.”
Matt Wilhelm
On how the team chemistry was tested after Ohio State’s loss to Minnesota:
“All champions have to bounce back after setbacks and that is what we feel this was – a setback. We still have the same goals in mind. We want to win a Big Ten championship and make a BCS bowl game. These are both No. 1 on our list.”
On how much the loss affects the Buckeyes’ confidence:
“The loss brings us down a level. We might have been on cloud nine being 5-0, No. 5 in the country and in our eyes and in a lot of people’s eyes, a national championship contender. It brings us back to reality. We just need to get back to the grindstone and back to the things that got us to where we are. Reality for us is one week at a time. We can’t look at the big picture and I think that is what happened to us.”
On Iowa:
“They have a great wide receiver in (Kevin) Kasper who is one of the top receivers in the Big Ten and the nation. They’ve played some great opponents including Nebraska. They beat Michigan State. They’re tough. They’re just like every team in the Big Ten. They’re going to come out and they may be one team this week and another team a different week, but we’ve got to prepare regardless of which team shows up.”
On whether or not Iowa comes at a good time for Ohio State:
“With the Big Ten, nothing is an automatic. Some people might have thought Minnesota was an automatic win, but they came in here and beat our tails all over in our own home. Iowa may come at a good time with us being down just a little. I can’t say they come at a great time, but I think they come at a nice time for us because we’ve had a letdown.”
