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Around the Big Ten: Weekly Press Conferences

With the weekend’s games fast approaching, here’s a look around the Big Ten at quotes from various team’s weekly media press conferences.

 Illinois – Ron Zook

Summary:

Everybody is excited about getting started in the Big Ten conference, and not so excited about the team we're playing. It's really a good football team. Anyone who has seen them play understands that number one, they have a program that has tradition and so forth, but number two, we think they're a better football team than they were last year.

On Daniel Dufrene:

Well I think if you go back and look at how we felt last year, we didn't feel like Rashard Mendenhall was going to be an every down back. It just turned out that way. Ever since we've been here we've been fortunate to have more than one back, and I think a lot of times you need more than one back.

 Indiana – Bill Lynch

Summary:

Knowing that the Big Ten season is here, and certainly our guys have a tremendous amount of respect for Michigan State. Not only what they've seen on tape this year, but certainly our game with them last year where they got after us pretty good. So we're anxious to get after it today when we're in full pads and really get in to the gameplan.

On stopping Javon Ringer:

Ringer's really good. But I'll tell you what, their scheme is good… They're very, very well coached up front. They're very physical and then (Ringer) is a great back behind it. He's also the kind of back that's durable enough to carry the ball 40 times and he's done it week after week.

 Michigan – Rich Rodriguez

Summary:

Michigan will be back. Michigan plays error-free football and hard-hitting defense and we have to get that back.

On Steve Threet:

Well, he's going to be the starter, yeah. He played well enough in that game for us to have confidence in him. Nick is still in the picture, too. Nick was in a tough situation. We were behind. I think he tried to maybe force a few things and all that. But Nick is still in our thoughts a little bit.

Iowa – Kirk Ferentz

Summary:

We’re obviously excited about homecoming weekend. I know it’s a little bit special for everybody and certainly good to have a lot of folks back on campus. We’ll have a great challenge on our hands with Northwestern.

On Northwestern’s defense:

Probably the biggest ting I’d say about them, they’re just not giving up big players. They’re playing very, very well right now. Playing smart. Making you work for everything. When you do that, that’s the sign of a good defense.

 Ohio State – Jim Tressel

Summary:

We've got to make sure that we step it up. We did step it up a little bit this past weekend. We've got to take a larger step this weekend because there's nothing more critical than the beginning of something and beginning of conference play is what we're looking forward to.

On Terrelle Pryor:

The thing that's best about his decision making is that when he errs he knows exactly why. Sometimes I've had guys come off the field and say, why did you throw it there? I don't know. And he's not that way. He knows where everyone is. He's got a great ability to keep his head up, a calmness about him to see, and he had one throw that probably shouldn't have thrown and he knew the minute he let go of it.

 Penn State – Joe Paterno

Summary:

You never know what to expect. I don't, really. I was just hoping we could play well enough to win a couple of games. I thought we had the potential to be a decent football team. We've been fortunate. We've played some people that haven't played really well against us, so I'm still reluctant to get too excited. But I hoped we could win all four of them, if that's what you're driving at. Yes, I had hoped we could win all four of them.

On stopping Juice Williams:

There's no best way. I think it isn't as if you can just gang up on one aspect of the game, whether it's their option game or their sprint out pass game or whatever. I think you've got to be balanced. If there's a tendency, as your game goes on, hopefully you can pick that up and take something away they might want to use in a key situation. But it's a game of chess. He's good. He can beat you running. If you play the pass and if you don't play the run, he can beat you throwing the football. They have a good screen game. We didn't do a very good job against the screen against Temple.

FACT OR FICTION: Week 5 Edition

Before I get into the truths and untruths of various media reports about Northwestern football, a quick thought on the betting line for Saturday’s game at Iowa. Now, I know that the Wildcats have basically feasted on cupcakes so far this season – they haven’t played a single team that currently has a vote in either the AP or USA Today/Coaches Poll. That being said… eight-point underdogs? Really? I mean, Iowa’s biggest win came against Big 12 patsy Iowa State, and they lost to a Pittsburgh team that may or may not be mediocre. The skewed line is yet another example of NU being shafted by the general public. Maybe a win would shut the naysayers up. Which leads me to…

FICTION: “The difference comes at the line of scrimmage, where Iowa’s defense overpowers Northwestern’s new-look offensive line and neutralizes Tyrell Sutton.”
-Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Big Ten blog

Maybe if Sutton were still favoring the left hamstring he strained last Saturday. But with him 100 percent, look for a repeat of last year’s performance against the Hawkeyes (159 all-purpose yards and a touchdown)

FACT: “But it’s worth pointing out that two teams experiencing an early-season renaissance are the spread teams Minnesota and Northwestern, both 4-0.”
-New York Times, The Quad Blog, Big Ten Notebook

NU has run the spread for years now, but the advent of new offensive coordinator Mick McCall’s no-huddle offense has certainly helped the Cats this season. Minnesota might even be more impressive, where sophomore quarterback Adam Weber in second in the conference in pass yards per game and passing efficiency. Oh, and the Gophers have already quadrupled last year’s win total.

FICTION: “If Northwestern can shut down Iowa first downs early and force (Iowa quarterback Ricky) Stanzi into second-and-longs, some experts are predicting a surprisingly fulfilling afternoon for the purple passionate at Kinnick Stadium.”
-Jim O’Donnell, Chicago Sun-Times

Don’t get me wrong, NU has a great chance at victory on Saturday. But defense intensity on first down is far from the key to a win. Much more important is the ability of NU quarterback C.J. Bacher to avoid mistakes, the turnover battle, and the red zone efficiency of both teams.

Also what “experts” are predicting a Cats win? ESPN’s Rittenberg picked Iowa 20-17, and as I said earlier, Iowa is an eight-point favorite. But that’s just me.

Bye now.
-Jake Simpson

ON THE TURF: Wednesday Practice

ROUNDUP

Following yesterday’s gorgeous weather, Wednesday’s practice featured an escape from the sun, but pleasant, pristine conditions. The team returned to shorts and shells, a standard procedure for midweek practices.

The best news of the day?

Tyrell Sutton practiced and showed flashes of why he’s the most dangerous running back in the Big Ten. And C.J. Bacher practiced for the second consecutive day without tape on his hand or fingers. All is well on the injury front for the Wildcats.

“If it's not broken and I can walk, I'm going to play," Sutton said after the morning session. “I’m 100 percent.”

And just one day after the offense witnessed the wrath that is Mick McCall, the Cats’ defense felt the same from Mike Hankwitz. After a series of missed tackles, the new defensive coordinator tore into the lack of effort and the need to finish plays.

If it wasn’t enough, McCall made three players do pushups for the length of post-practice interviews, which lasted at least 20 minutes.

FIVE RANDOM THOUGHTS

-Redshirt freshman quarterback Dan Persa lined up in the slot on a third-and-long. Yes, as a wide receiver. Persa ran a slant, juked a defender, and went into the end zone untouched. Current Northwestern receivers Eric Peterman and Andrew Brewer were high school quarterbacks who now line up on the outside. Could we have witnessed the beginning of a position change for Persa, who also saw time at running back during the Spring Game?

-For the first time all week, the Cats’ offense ran third-and-goal situations and ran various plays from a multitude of formations. The favorite play? Omar Conteh on an option pitch from Bacher. It has worked twice this season in short yardage situations because Bacher’s field vision as a runner is second-to-none. NU also ran several playaction passes where Bacher rolled back to the left and found Peterman in the corner of the end zone. While the team has been perfect in the red zone thus far, it has had difficulty from inside the 5-yard line.

-While senior defensive tackle John Gill noted that every team in the Big Ten is strong, physical, and tough, he said that the contest with Iowa might be the most physical game the Cats play all season.

“It’s going to be a tough, hard fought game,” Gill said. “Iowa’s one of the most physical teams we play all season.”

-While Kinnick Stadium is one of the toughest venues in the Big Ten, it has one of the most interesting locker rooms in the conference. The opponent’s locker room is painted pink.

“Everyone loves the pink locker room,” senior offensive lineman Keegan Kennedy said. “Everyone is fascinated about that. To tell you the truth, it’s the nicest away locker room we play at, even though it’s pink. The pink doesn’t distract us; we think its funny and a joke. We get ready for the game and go play Iowa.”

And Tyrell Sutton, the usual jokester that he is, agreed.

“I want to paint my room pink,” the star tailback said.

-Gill, a monster in last year’s game against Iowa, had a stellar practice on Wednesday. He was in the backfield swarming the ball multiple times. A season ago against the Hawkeyes, Gill had two sacks and broke up a pass in the loss.

“I’m not sure we blocked John Gill more than three times in 70 plays last year,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said to the New York Times college football blog. “He really gave us problems.” 

Around the Big Ten: Tuesday Update

The Terrelle Pryor era is underway in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel announced Tuesday that his top recruit will get his first start against Minnesota.

And barring any significant setbacks, running back Chris “Beanie” Wells will return to the starting lineup after suffering a foot injury against Ohio three weeks ago.

At Penn State, suspended players Maurice Evans and Abe Karoma returned to practice on Tuesday for the first time since the two were charged with possession of marijuana. While the stud defensive lineman practiced, there is no official word whether or not they will play this weekend against Illinois.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno will return to the sidelines to coach against the Fighting Illini this weekend after watching the second half against Temple from the coaches box last weekend. Paterno suffered a knee injury three days before the opening game of the season and aggravated on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

After seeing Paterno’s injury, and hearing of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis’s injury, coach Pat Fitzgerald addressed whether he worries about injuries on the sidelines.

“Every single rep I worry,” Fitzgerald said. “Somebody asked me a couple weeks ago why I move around so much. It’s because I’m getting the H away from the ball… You’ve got to really be careful on kicking plays.”

Fitzgerald said he questions the no sideline warning rule, stating it was a knee-jerk reaction to what happened in the Texas-Rice bowl game a season ago.

Fitzgerald said he has taken a fair share of hits, but hasn’t suffered injuries like that of Weis or Paterno.

“I’ve had about three guys go through my legs, which has been fun,” he said. “I had to jam some headgear down one time and play a cut like I was a linebacker. It’s a dangerous world out there.”

While Northwestern fans have been concerned with the status of star running back Tyrell Sutton, other Big Ten fans have been doing the same. A variety of injuries surfaced on Tuesday around the Big Ten.

At Indiana, starting cornerback Chris Phillips tore his ACL, and will miss the remainder of the season. Nick Polk, a starting safety, also suffered a knee injury against Ball State that will force him to miss the Hoosiers game against Michigan State in Bloomington. Polk’s fellow safety Austin Thomas is questionable for the contest.

Purdue will be without linebacker Jason Werner, a force on the outside this weekend against Notre Dame, the lone Big Ten team playing a non-conference opponent. Werner has missed the Boilermakers first three games after having a bone chop removed from his back.

Two Purdue offensive lineman, Kyle Adams and Jared Zwilling, are listed as questionable for their game with the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind.

The most impressive freshman running back in the Big Ten, Sam McGuffie, of YouTube fame, will have two key pieces blocking in front of him when Wisconsin travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday. Mark Ortmann and Mary Huyge should be back to help bolster Michigan’s rushing attack against the No. 9 ranked Badgers. 

ON THE TURF: Sutton and Sunshine on a Tuesday Morning

ROUNDUP
It was a gorgeous, sun-filled morning as the Cats took the field for practice, and it seemed like the team’s fortunes were as bright as the weather. Tailback Tyrell Sutton, who injured his left leg in NU’s 16-8 win over Ohio on Saturday, was working out on the sidelines while his teammates practiced on the field. While Sutton did not take the field, head coach Pat Fitzgerald was confident his star back would suit up for practice on Wednesday.

“We upgraded him from good to great,” he joked.

On the field, the Cats’ offense got a taste of Mick McCall’s wrath near the end of practice. After a series of lackluster plays, the offensive coordinator chewed out his squad on the sidelines. Considering the team’s anemic performance in the second half against Ohio, McCall should be lighting a fire under quarterback C.J. Bacher and the offense.


FIVE RANDOM THOUGHTS
-Redshirt freshman Vince Browne continues to make a name for himself just four games into his collegiate career. Browne was named the co-Defensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten after he recorded three sacks, a forced fumble, and a blocked field goal in Saturday’s victory over Ohio.

In practice, the player Fitzgerald said has “a motor that never stops” continued to play to the whistle, knocking down quarterback Dan Persa on the final play of practice.


-With a seating capacity of 70,585 and a horde of screaming Hawkeye fans, Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium is one of the Big Ten’s toughest road venues. The Cats are just 2-6 on the road in conference play the past two seasons, but one of those wins was a 21-7 victory at Kinnick in 2006. It’s a win senior safety Brendan Smith remembers well.

“Those fans are right on top of you,” he said. “I remember having a father with his son saying some ‘nice’ things to me sitting on the bench.”

Fitzgerald tried to prepare his players – particularly his offense – for the hostile environment by blasting simulated crowd noise from a golf cart on the field.

“It helps,” Bacher said of the pumped-in noise. “You’ve got to able to play through distractions.”

It may help a little. But you could hear players and coaches from across the field. That will not be the case on Saturday.


-It was back-to-school day for the players, who must now juggle classes and football. Smith explained his strategies for getting all his work done.

“It’s about managing your time,” he said. “Film is tougher to watch, so you’ve got to go through your notes and your playbook, reading it before you go to bed. Bring DVDs home with you so can watch them in your free time.”


-While injuries have plagued the Cats’ players recently, NU’s coaching staff has remained unharmed. After Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis tore his ACL when one his own players was tackled into him, staying safe on the sidelines is not a foregone conclusion, and Fitzgerald offered his strategies for staying out of the field.

“Somebody asked me: ‘Why do you move around so much on the sidelines?’” he said. “Because I’m getting the heck away from the ball. If the ball’s down there, I’ll be all the way down on the other end. I’ve had about three guys go for my legs, which has been fun. I had to jam some headgear down one time and play a cut like I was a linebacker.”


-Big Ten openers have not been kind to NU in recent years. The Cats last won their conference opener in 2001, when they beat Michigan State 27-26.


QUOTABLE:
"When the alarm goes off, the first thing in your head is. ‘Aww, really, it’s already that time?’ But the day is so much better. There’s something about waking up and going to play football."
-Senior safety Brendan Smith, on morning practices

Monday Press Conference Observations

Here are five observations from Northwestern’s weekly press conference.

INJURIES:

Coach Pat Fitzgerald knows what it’s like to be injured.

As a junior at Northwestern, Fitzgerald bolstered the Wildcats’ defensive attack in the 10-1 season that led NU to the 1996 Rose Bowl appearance. Fitzgerald’s season ended early when the Big Ten defensive player of the year and Chuck Bednarik Award winner broke his leg in the second-to-last game of the season.

It’s something he still thinks about today.

“You get a sense that I don’t like talking about injuries,” Fitzgerald said Monday at his weekly press conference.” When you miss the Rose Bowl, come talk to me.”

It came as no surprise that Fitzgerald was mum in talking about the status of senior quarterback C.J. Bacher and senior running back Tyrell Sutton.

MORNING PRACTICE:

Tomorrow, NU returns to its regular practice schedule. The team meets at Ryan Field at 6:45a.m. for team meetings and is expected to be on the field by 8:30a.m. Shortly thereafter, practice begins and runs for two hours.

Fitzgerald thinks the morning practice schedule helps the team off the field.

“It actually I believe helps our guys academically,” he said. “Our GPA the last two years has been higher than it’s ever been.”

A season ago four Cats were awarded with Academic All-Big Ten honors.

It also gives NU an advantage in morning games. With four of the next five games definitively scheduled for 11a.m. start times, the Cats are well accustomed to competing in the morning.

DUALING QUARTERBACKS:

While junior Jake Christensen entered the season as the starter behind center, the left-handed gunslinger has been splitting time with sophomore Ricky Stanzi, a right-handed passer.

“They’re not the same guy, obviously one righty, one lefty,” Fitzgerald said of the signal-callers. “One’s from Ohio, one’s from Chicago. I could keep going on and on about their differences. But schematically they’re very similar.”

Coach Ferentz expects his quarterbacks to manage the game, and get the ball in the hands of the team’s playmakers. Whoever has the hot hand will get the nod against the Cats.

OTHER INJURIES:

Junior wide receiver Andrew Brewer suffered an injury on kick return coverage in Saturday’s win over Ohio. Brewer limped off the field under his own power, and Fitzgerald updated the former quarterback’s status for Iowa.

“From an injury standpoint, Andrew Brewer won’t play on Saturday based on things as they’ve progressed though the weekend,” he said.

Fitzgerald also updated the status of junior right tackle Kurt Mattes, who has missed games due to a knee injury. The lineman is working hard in rehabilitation, and is currently day-to-day, however is not expected to play this week.

FAN SUPPORT:

While the attendance for Saturday’s game against Ohio was listed as only 4,000 more people than the Southern Illinois game, Fitzgerald said there was a noticeable difference.

“I want to say a big thank you to our students,” Fitzgerald said. “It was awesome to come at 8:35 for the Walk with us down Walker Way. And then to walk out to the pre-game”

During New Student Week, Fitzgerald taught incoming freshman, “Go U Northwestern,” the school’s fight song.

“It was great to see the class of 2012 out at the soccer game and to teach them the fight song,” he said. “We’ll be a little better moving along hopefully singing the fight song. But a big hearty thank you to our students.”