Postgame Quotes From No. 13 Ohio State vs. Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 13/11 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) 30, Illinois (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) 0
Ohio Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 26, 2009
Attendance: 105,219
OHIO STATE POSTGAME QUOTES
Todd Denlinger, senior defensive tackle
On the victory
“It feels great. I’ve never seen the lockerroom so excited. We were all congratulating the Tressels on winning 500 games. It’s a great day to be a Buckeye.”
On shutting out Illinois
“It feels great to shut them out. Illinois has a high-powered offense. They’re going to win a lot of games this season.”
On the defensive game plan
“We knew we had to take the game out of Juice’s hands. He’s a great player and killed us in 2007. I’m sure the rain probably played in our favor.”
Aaron Pettrey, senior kicker
On his kicking
“I’ve been trying to work on my consistency. My snapper and holder have been doing a great job. If all three of us click, we’ll be a force the rest of the Big Ten season.”
On his long range ability
“I think it makes us dangerous. If we don’t move the ball far on our first drive, it still allows us to put points on the board.”
Jermale Hines, junior defensive back
On the shutout
“It feels good. We knew they would be a good offense. We worked hard all week in practice and it paid off.”
On how Ohio State contained Juice Williams
“We threw a whole bunch of different things at him, whether it was schemes, shifts or movements.”
On the defense’s steady improvement since the Navy game
“Coach Heacock is an aggressive guy. He and the rest of the defensive coaches have been pushing us and challenging us each week. The results show the work is paying off.”
Justin Boren, junior offensive guard
On the offensive line
“We’ve been working hard each week at getting better. As a unit, we feel we’ve been improving. Practice has been going well and we’re getting results in the game.”
Kurt Coleman, senior defensive back
On stopping Juice Williams
“We were hitting every chance we got. We hit hard no matter the play, if it was passing or running. We were setting the tone early. That’s how we were able to get to him.”
On the feeling of the defense
“We are definitely thriving on the fun we are having. We always have a go get them attitude. I feel like we are the best of the best out there right now. We have to prove that each and every week and let the fans decide how good they think we are.”
On producing a third shutout next week
“We are not thinking about a shutout. We’ll just go out and play and do our best. If it happens, it happens but we need to prepare all week to be able to make it happen.”
On the silver bullet defense
“It was something the defense started in 1996. We fly around and make plays and hit like bullets do. The seniors every year make a game plan of what we want to do and what we expect of ourselves for the year.”
Austin Spitler, senior linebacker
On Brian Rolle’s interception
“It was huge for us. It was a definite momentum changer. We were able to get the ball middle of the field and take away a big opportunity from them.”
On the key to containing Juice Williams
“We had to stop their run. If we forced them to throw the ball it would be great. The weather conditions were not right to throw the ball so it made it really tough on them to do anything productive.”
On playing behind the front four on defense
“It makes it so much easier on those of us in the backfield. They are able to give us a lot more time. We can go back and cover the guys deep better and break up a lot more plays. They’re a great group to play behind.”
On the second consecutive shutout
“It was a huge confidence booster. The offense and the defense are both looking great and we know we can trust each other. The defense is keeping points off the board and the offense is moving the ball down the field. The whole team feeling is fantastic and we just need to keep this going.”
Brian Rolle, junior linebacker
On the no-name no blame mentality
“It is going to keep going and be there throughout the season no matter who stands out. Austin Spitler or I or whoever, we’ll keep that mentality. It makes it a lot more fun to play and everyone does a lot better. We all go out there and just hit hard right now.”
On his talent
“I’m lucky because I’m a natural athlete but there is so much more to it than that. There is something you have to learn in the game of football. Luckily here at Ohio State we have great coaches who teach us the lessons of the game and put us where we should be and can help the team the most.”
On revenge from 2007 game
“We didn’t come into today with revenge. We knew what had to get done and we came in here to prove ourselves and win the game. We knew they’d come in strong and fighting and we had to play our game. This was a new year with a new team many of us myself included were only freshman or sophomores that year and didn’t play much in that game so we just wanted to come in today and get out on top.”
On his jersey number
“Most people think I chose the number because of Spielman. I have a lot of respect for him but I didn’t. My oldest brother, William Rolle, wore number 36 at Illinois State. Growing up I said I always wanted to be like my big brother so when I chose my number I wanted to be like him.”
ILLINOIS POSTGAME QUOTES
Ron Zook, head coach
On his team’s determination
“We told them we have got to keep plugging away. Some have written us off and I don’t blame them. We are a much better team than this. For whatever reason we’re not playing a 60 minute game and we’ve got to start doing that.”
On Illinois offense
“We moved the ball but then we would keep getting penalties and shooting ourselves in the foot. Eventually, it’s going to work for us but right now we’re just not consistent.”
On putting together offensive drives
“We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to put together some big drives in the past. Today was more difficult and during the second quarter the rain made it hard.”
On his team’s confidence
“I saw a lot of fight in this team today. I saw a lot of energy and a lot of excitement. We made some progress but we’ve got to maintain that energy.”
On turnovers
“Coming into the season, I felt we had improved in the turnovers but obviously we’ve still got some problems. Right now, some of it has to be mental.”
On Ohio State’s defense
“We were able to move the ball throughout the day. They weren’t letting Juice Williams run the ball, but they weren’t the whole reason we played like we did today.”
Juice Williams, senior quarterback
On Ohio State’s defense
“We tried to take what the defense would give us. We wanted to take shots downfield but it’s hard to go up top with three guys covering deep. It was difficult not scoring a point, though. We need to keep fighting and have confidence.”
On the offense
“It was a nightmare. It was like one of those dreams when you can’t wake up. I’m still in awe. We have to do something to fix it.”
On improving the offense
“We have to go back to the basics, back to what we did well in camp and spring ball. We have to do whatever it takes. I have to try to hit every pass. The offensive line has to protect and open up running lanes. The running backs have to power through the hits. It’s an entire team effort.”
Arrelious Benn, junior wide receiver
On Illinois’ offense
“Our offense would drive and drive but we couldn’t finish. It’s something we have to go out and fix.”
On mistakes
“The offense would be chipping away and then we would have a penalty or an interception. Mistakes happen but we have to keep executing plays and keep playing.”
Ian Thomas, sophomore linebacker
On Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor
“We knew he would be good. Now we just have to regroup for next week. We tried to get it together at halftime. They were well coached.”
On the way Illinois played
“We worked really hard, but we didn’t play like we were supposed to play. We have got to work on our consistency.”
On the difficulty of playing with no points on the scoreboard
“It is hard to stay fired up with no points of course. It’s hard definitely, but we must keep playing.”
Josh Brent, junior defensive tackle
On the problems Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor presented
“He is a very athletic guy and he completed well over 50 percent of his passes and made very smart decisions that didn’t hurt his team.”
On the passing game
“Neither team really passed because of the weather. Ohio State had good backs. They saw the light of daylight today. We gave up a lot of rushing yards.”
On the combination of backs Ohio State used
“They used two great, unique backs that will give everyone some trouble this season.”
On the shutout
“You remember this feeling in your heart. You never want to feel it again. We were definitely focused. I give credit where credit is due. Ohio State flat out beat us.”
