Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU-Wisconsin Quotes
September 02, 2006 | Football
Sept. 2, 2006
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The University of Wisconsin picked up a 35-14 victory over the Bowling Green State University in the 'Clash in Cleveland' Saturday night (Sept. 2). The game, the season opener for both teams, was held at Cleveland Browns Stadium. To follow are some quotes from the game ...
BGSU Coach Gregg Brandon
(Opening Statement)
"Well, I think our kids played hard, I really did. We had too many
mistakes to win this football game and that was the disappointing
thing. There was a lot of good I saw in that football field tonight. We
have to correct mistakes which we will and get ready to beat Buffalo."
(On Freddie Barnes being a standout player) "He is a pretty good player. He did a nice job and set a school record for quarterback rushing yards. It kind of reminded me of Josh Harris's game at Ohio, the first year when he carried the ball about 30 times. Freddie carried it 29 times. We aren't going to make a living out of him doing that."
"We had to do what we had to do to have a chance to win this game tonight. We didn't execute the kick and that really got us. It's frustrating on us, because we really worked hard on that during the off -season. We have young guys and we have to fight through the growing pains. We have to make up for that with some other guys and step up and make some plays."
(On how well BG played overall)
"We really did a nice job and managed to run the ball extremely well.
We just rushed for over 200 yards against a really salty defense."
"That defense was pretty good. We gave them the short field twice in the first half with the blocked punt and the shank. Our defense had a goal-line stand early which was pretty impressive, but then I think they wore out. We needed to finish that drive with about eight minutes to go. We had a fourth-and-5 around the 30 and we needed to convert. If we had finished that drive, who knows?"
(On BGSU's young defense) "We had a pick and knocked some balls down. I think (UW quarterback John) Stocco is a good football player; their line is a Big Ten line. We had trouble at times tackling them but I think our defense hung in there pretty well."
"They only ran 56 plays and had 300 yards of offense and that is a lot better than last year. We have come a long way on that side of the ball."
"Our best defensive player, Terrel White, didn't play and we had guys pick up the slack for him today. We just needed to make some more stops and finish that last drive. If we could have gotten it to 28-21, I think it would have been a barn burner."
(On Freddie Barnes starting next week against Buffalo)
"Well, Anthony Turner earned the starting position in the spring and kept
it in camp. The question is what to do with Anthony and Freddie
because they aren't standing next to me."
"Myself and the offensive coaches have to sit down and figure that out, But, that's a fun problem to have."
(On the first drive)
"I knew we could execute the game plan and my biggest concern was if we
could block them, so after that drive I thought, 'hey, we could get after
them.'"
"There were so many questions with the youth of that football team. I had no idea how we would come out and we slugged it out with them and we just made too many mistakes."
Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema
"One thing I always talk to my team about is not what happens during the course of the game, but how you respond to it, and today was a classic example. The way we started defensively, we thought that it was one of our stronger units, especially with John's (Stocco) help."
So, I wanted to put our defense out there. We deferred on the opening toss and we knew we would be kicking off, and the defense didn't respond well on the opening drive, and more importantly BG executed, the quarterback (Freddie Barnes) did a good job of moving the ball down the field."
"And the way our offense responded, again, a classic example right there, is it's not what happens but how you respond."
"Paul Chryst is always on those guys about needed to respond to a bad situation from our defensive side and that's exactly what they did."
"The way they came out in the second half; same exact thing, special teams created momentum in the first half. In the second half, we start off with a fake punt that was successful on us after our offense had a three and out."
"Just the way the whole flow of the second half went, almost identical as the first half. They changed the response mechanism and had positive results. I can't say enough about the group of coaches I hired; I thought during the course of the game they really handled the situations well."
BGSU's P.J. Mahone
(On playing against a team like Wisconsin and the size of running backs they have)
"It was real difficult. I myself missed a lot of tackles. Their backs were a lot bigger then I was used too."
(Do you think playing a big team like this can help you in the future?)
"I think this will help a lot in the future. I don't think the running backs in our league will be as big as these guys, so I think it will help out a lot"
BGSU's Freddie Barnes
(On setting the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback)
"I would have much rather had the win. We prepared so long for this game, we just fell a bit short and shot ourselves in the foot a bit."
(On running the ball so many times)
"I was just trying to make plays for the team. Whatever play Coach called I was just trying to execute and make first downs. That is my M.O. I just try to do what I am asked."
(On the opening drive of the game)
"That was such a big boost for us. I was happy I was able to rally the guys and drive us 80 yards."
(How will it feel next week if you are not starting)
"No matter what happens next week I am pretty sure I am going to play, whether it is running, catching or throwing the ball. Either way I feel I will be on the field helping the team."
(You looked so comfortable out there and it looked like you knew exactly what to do. Can you comment on that?)
"That's because I did know exactly what to do, from practicing all the time, and I just relaxed and trusted my teammates."
UW's Bill Rentmeester
"It was real nice to get that touchdown. They had run the play earlier so I knew the linebacker would come blitzing in and I would be wide open."
"It is real important to come out fast. When the offense got that touchdown it was huge, go the momentum swinging our way. It's great to get that first win for Coach Bielema."
"John's (Stocco) great in the huddle, he walks in and every one's eyes go on him. He knows exactly what is going on, knows what everyone is supposed to be doing."
"I thought PJ (Hill) played great. He knew he was going to get the carries; he knows he's a big guy and he just gets his shoulders downhill and runs people over. On the touchdown he dragged in like three people, I loved it."
UW's Ben Strickland
(On his long punt return)
"They showed a tendency to kick that way and normally I was lined up on the left side for the rugby punt. But Coach Doeren made me move because they were going to directional (kick) it that way. I just saw a short kick and just took it and tried to make the most of it."
"It's been a really big emphasis for our team this year, especially with all the young guys that have the ability to step in, that when you get on the field and have the opportunity to make a play, you have to make the most of it."
UW's John Stocco
"I stayed sharp by taking a lot of mental reps in practice. I missed playing so much. At practice I would watch every play and just take a bunch of mental reps. I think that really helped a lot."
UW's Joe Thomas
"I was really happy with the way our running backs played today. They ran really hard, especially PJ (Hill). He looked great out there."
