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Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU vs. Minnesota Postgame Quotes
September 02, 2007 | Football
Sept. 2, 2007
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -
Head Coach Gregg Brandon
When did you decide to go for two points, before or after the Minn. Timeout?
"Before. I think that is why they took the timeout. We talked about it that if we got to overtime on the road and that decision came up we would go for it. We made this decision long before tonight. In a hostile environment and the way the crowd was into it, we have to go for it."
Talk about Sheehan.
"I thought he was outstanding. He is a true sophomore. I thought he was remarkably poised for the situation. In a hostile environment he was great. We talk about character in the face of adversity, that kid's character showed up today."
Talk about Freddie Barnes
"Freddie [Barnes] proved a long time ago that he is a playmaker. Freddie emerged as an all-around playmaker today, and when Partridge went down he had to step it up and he responded."
Talk about Minnesota running the ball in the second half.
"I think they wore us down. Their quarterback is a tough kid. Penix did a nice job and their line is physical. I really think they wore us down in the second half. We hung in there and made some plays down the stretch to win the game."
What can this mean for the program?
"It is great coming off of last year, but I maintained all of last year because of our inexperience and youth. We played a lot of kids last year that were not ready to play. This is just one game. We have Michigan State next week."
Freddie Barnes
How was the pass from Sheehan on the winning two-point conversion?
"The pass was perfect. He put it right where it needed to be for me to make the play. I just had to keep my feet in and we could go home."
With Partridge out with an injury did you feel you needed to step up your game?
"That's exactly right. If it is not Corey [Partridge], it is supposed to be me. Coach gave me the opportunity to run the route and get open. Tyler [Sheehan] found me and threw the perfect ball."
How do you rate Sheehan's performance?
"I'd give him an A-plus. I have played that position before and I know it is tough. Trying to focus on our other 10 players and the defense, he did very well all night."
What were you thinking on that last drive, knowing you have to score?
"You have to believe and we have to score. If you believe in it, it will happen."
How important is it to get a win like this after last season?
"This is very important. Nobody wants to go home with everyone telling us we played hard against the Big Ten. It was very important for us to get this win."
Tyler Sheehan
What were your thoughts on that drive to set up the field goal in the fourth quarter?
"I was trying to show my leadership and execute the plays that I was given. We work on that situation all the time and I knew we had a good kicker."
Describe the two point play.
"We actually run that play every day in practice. When I was told we were going for two I knew what play we were running. That's our two-point play. We have a couple other ones, but that is our main one. We just have to get a guy in the flat before they can get to him."
What can this win do?
"We came here to prove that we can compete with anyone. We had a new attitude coming in this year. We had a new everything this year. We just wanted to prove that we could still compete."
How big was Barnes down the stretch?
"Freddie [Barnes] was huge for us. Freddie got open all night. He is just a real good athlete and he made the plays."
How much confidence did scoring on the first two drives help?
"It was huge. Those were the plays we have been running all week in practice. Everyone knew what their assignment was and knew what we were going to do. We just made the plays."
How did it feel to score your first touchdown?
"When I went to the huddle I told the guys that they were about to see me on SportsCenter. They all looked at me confused and I told them we were running the trick play that we have been working on. Corey [Partridge] played quarterback in high school, so when he threw it I just told myself to not drop it."
John Haneline
On the defensive effort in the first half and getting warn down in the second half.
"It's just Big Ten football. We knew they were going to grind. We knew we were in for a war when we came in for halftime. We knew they were going to try and pop us in the mouth. In the end we came though and did what we had to do."
They changed their offensive scheme in the second half. Did you guys have to change what you were doing?
"We knew their quarterback was an athlete. We expected to see some of that. We messed up on a few assignments, but we were just trying to play team defense and do our jobs to win the game."
