Football Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2000
Head Coach John Cooper Quotes
On the Michigan State game
“It was a good win for us, it did not feel like we played our best ballgame. We’ve got to play better than that to beat Illinois and certainly a lot better than that to beat Michigan. It was good to win the game in spite of that. I guess you might say we won ugly. It’s good sometimes to be able to do that.”
On Illinois
“We have to have a good week this week. We’re playing an Illinois football team that really put a good whipping on us last year. That game was over at halftime, they had a really good second quarter. They have 10 starters coming back from that same offensive team that scored 47 points against us a year ago.
“Defensively, they have a five-man front. They play more zone than some of the other teams we’ve played so far this year.
“They’re primarily a passing team. They’ve got Rocky Harvey and I think [Antoineo] Harris is their other big running back.
“Offensively, we’re in the process of putting a game plan together. Obviously, we’d like to be able to run the ball. If we can run it and keep it away from them, I think that’s the best game plan. I’m sure they are going to crowd the line of scrimmage and put seven or eight people in the box to force us to throw the football.
“Weather could be a factor over there, it seems like it always is when you play at Illinois. It will either be cold or windy.”
On Ohio State’s defense
“They’ve won us a lot of games. I’m really proud of the way our defense has played as a whole. There have been some times when we’ve relaxed a little bit, including early in the ballgame against Michigan State. They caught us off guard when they came out with three wide receivers and spread us out a little bit. It took us longer than I would have hoped to settle down and start playing our style of football. In the end, our defense played well enough for us to win the football game. “Turnovers are the big difference this year. We’ve scored six touchdowns on defense this year. I think last year we only scored one. Right now we lead the league in the number of turnovers gained. It’s a two-fold deal. Number one, you’ve got to possess the ball on offense and number two, you’ve got to force turnovers and we’ve been doing that.”
Rodney Bailey
On the play of Ohio State’s defensive line:
“I think we have had a lot of fun this year. It’s basically fun and our routines are so consistent and are so determined. The defensive line is relentless. Our motto is, ‘We never want to quit and we never will quit until we get to our goal.'”
On the game against Illinois last year:
“Last year’s game against Illinois was not a great concept. It was not a great showing from the Buckeyes. We didn’t play up to the potential we had. There are still a lot of guys from that team last year who are still here. This is a different team this year. I don’t think we were mature enough last year to come back from such a deficit.”
What the team needs to do to prepare for the game Saturday:
“We are going to watch a lot of film. Have a great practice, tempo and attitude. Go over our keys and be ready for Saturday. We are focused on our opponent at hand. The only thing we are thinking about is Illinois and who we have to be to play our best.”
Joe Cooper
On what he remembers about the Illinois game last year:
“46-20 at the end of the game. That was the score. Nothing went our way that day. It was very embarrassing. We know that. It’s one of the games that I, myself, was looking at and pointing my finger on since the beginning of the season to get myself up, as well as the team, to go in on a high. Knowing what they did to us last year, we need to go in there with a chip on our shoulders.”
On whether or not the team is focused on Illinois trying to make a Bowl game:
“The team (Michigan State) last week was in the same position. I think we went in and handled them the way we needed to. We just worry about the game ahead of us and don’t worry about what the other team is thinking. Illinois is worrying about what we want to do, where we want to be at the end of the year and the fact that we will have to win this game on Saturday to achieve our goals. We will have to go in with our heads on right, keep our focus and play four quarters of ball.”
On Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner:
“He gets better every play. If we allow him to sit back there and get his confidence up, he can hurt you. Our focus is to put pressure on him and put him in situations he’s not used to being in and go from there.”
Chad Cacchio
On what he remembers about Illinois last season:
“They had an aggressive defense and they played disciplined football. They had a couple players that did a good job for them last year.”
On the play of Illinois:
“They do a lot of plays the way Iowa used to play. They play some more basic defenses and they play them well. They don’t do a lot of crazy stuff like Michigan State or Minnesota did. Illinois has some good athletes. They are not going to make any mistakes. They are not going to put themselves in a bad position. They are going to make you earn it (a win).”
On Ohio State’s offense:
“I think we have shown before that we move the ball well. It comes back to execution and being on the same page. We definitely have the capability of scoring at any point in the game. I think we are doing all right. We have some problems. I think Steve (Bellisari) and myself are on the same page on third-downs. We had to make split-second reads and adjust some things we didn’t expect in practice during the week last week. He was right there with the same thought process I had.”
