Football Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2000
John Cooper quotes
On Wisconsin game
“I’m very pleased with the way we played last week against Wisconsin. I think it was important that we got off to an early lead. We took the first possession 80 yards for a touchdown, Derek Combs of course had a great run for the opening touchdown. The next time we got the ball we actually went 92 yards for a touchdown-we got penalized and started on our own eight-yard line-so that was a good drive. Anytime you can jump up on Wisconsin early enough on the road and take their crowd out of the game and force them to make slight adjustments in their offensive game plan, that’s what helped us win the football game.
“I don’t think there’s any question that was the best defensive game we’ve had this year. The guys up front in the trenches certainly played their best ball game. Mike Collins jokingly told the linebackers and defensive backs they need to take him out for a steak dinner because he took all the blocks and the linebackers and the secondary were free to come up and make the tackles. Wisconsin is a physical football team and they do a good job blocking at the line of scrimmage. The credit goes to our guys up front for shutting down their offense.
“The highlight of our game last week was the pressure we put on their quarterback without blitzing. The credit goes to Rodney Bailey, Brent Johnson, Ryan Pickett, Joe Brown, Mike Collins and Will Smith, the freshman who came off the bench and played a great ball game. Courtland Bullard played his best ball game, particularly when we turned him loose and put him in a rush mode and he sacked the quarterback. We’re getting pretty good effort out of those guys up front.” On Minnesota
“We have a very tough ball game this week against Minnesota. They’re coming in here playing their best football of the year with a two-game winning streak in the conference. They beat Illinois and last Saturday they beat Penn State.
“They’re really aggressive on defense. They play with a 9 to 10 man front and play more bump-and-run coverage than anyone we’ve played so far this year. Their corners get right up on the line of scrimmage and get in your face. They do a lot of blitzing and their secondary is very active.
“They’re running a spread offense with one back and three wide receivers most of the time. There will be a lot of what we call zone play, similar to what we faced last week against Wisconsin. We’ve got a lot of adjustments and a lot of things we need to get straightened out, but we’re looking forward to the Homecoming game this week.”
Joe Cooper
On Minnesota’s similarity to Wisconsin’s offense:
“They are similar to Wisconsin. They line up and come at you. They’re big up front also. We need to be ready for the challenge this week because they’re 2-1 in the Big Ten. This is a big chance for them.”
On Ohio State’s attitude toward the polls:
“We try to look at one game at a time. When you start looking at rankings, you start to worry about what is going to take place in the next three or four weeks. That takes the focus off your next challenge and we don’t want that to happen here. The biggest game this season is Minnesota right now. We just have to look at it like that.”
LeCharles Bentley
On the Wisconsin game:
“We had a good game against Wisconsin. That was the best we’ve played but this week we’re going to play even better.”
On teammate Derek Combs:
“He’s hitting the holes, sometimes when they’re not even there. He makes it look real good.”
On the Buckeyes and the polls:
“We notice the polls but we can’t put much stock into it. If we start doing that we’ll start losing and next thing you know, we’ll be out of the Top 25. We don’t worry about that stuff. We know as long as we go out there and keep winning and keep playing our game and stay focused things will fall into place for us.”
On Minnesota:
“They have good players. A couple of their defensive linemen are pretty talented. They have several good, young players rotating in.”
On the confidence of the OSU offense:
“We’re a very confident team but we can’t let it go to our heads. We have to just get better and continue working toward our goals.”
Rodney Bailey
On the captains:
“All four of us (Bailey, Steve Bellisari, Ken-Yon Rambo, Joe Cooper) are team players. We all represent different ideas and egos. We all have positive attitudes. There are so many elements that we can each bring to the team. When everything is put together you have a great group of leaders – not just us but the rest of the seniors as well.”
On co-captain Steve Bellisari:
“To me, Steve is like John Wayne. He’s a tough guy that everyone on the team looks up to. He’s younger than the rest of us but he has the heart of a champion”
On co-captain Ken-Yon Rambo:
“Ken-Yon is a fiery individual. If he could go out and play by himself, he would win a football game. He wants it that bad.”
On co-captain Joe Cooper:
“He’s worked hard to get where he is. He brings a toughness and an attitude to the team and to the younger guys.”
On the difference between Wisconsin’s offensive line this year compared to last season:
“Wisconsin’s line for the last couple of years has been huge. This offensive line was no different than last year’s line. They’re good, strong and big, but we were mad. I was mad. Knowing what happened last year is probably one of the biggest things that’s talked about in last year’s 6-6 season. The way Wisconsin scored those points on us. That was a dejected team last year after the loss to Wisconsin, but we went up there this year as a defensive front and accepted the challenge. We faced it and we were successful.”
On Minnesota’s offensive line:
“They are a very talented offensive line all the way across. They are well-coached and they execute well.”
Derek Combs
On Ohio State’s offense:
“This is a team offense. We don’t depend on one person to win the game. We depend on everyone: the receivers, the quarterback, the line, tailbacks, tight ends, everybody. Everyone has to contribute in order for this offense to be successful.”
On Minnesota’s defense:
“They hustle. Their defensive line is quick off the ball. They have a tackle who is really big, like 6-7, 350-pounds. Compared to last year’s defense, their safeties don’t make as many plays as Carter did, but they’ll still come up and hit you. They’re really aggressive.”
On his own goals:
“To tell you the truth, I don’t have any personal goals. I just want to do the best that I can every game. As long as we just get that “W” that’s all I am worried about.”
