Oct. 20, 2001

Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes

Wisconsin vs. Illinois Postgame quotes
October 20, 2001

Head Coach Ron Turner

Turner on the momentum changes...
"We told our guys to just keep fighting and good things will happen. It's extremely difficult to get momentum back after you lose it, especially against a team as good as Wisconsin."

On Brandon Lloyd's catches...
"He was outstanding. He made some great catches at important times. You get in a game like this, your big time players have to show up and ours did."

On Kurt Kittner...
"The record is great but it means more to him and us that we are winning games. He deserves the record. It's good to see him get it and get a win on the same day. He is a great competitor and he also made some great plays with his feet on the run."

On the crowd...
"I'd like to thank the crowd. They did a great job. The sellout means a lot to our players. That might be the edge we need in tight games. Hopefully we showed the fans enough so they will want to show up again."

On getting win number six...
"Seven would be better but six is great. All we are going to think about is getting win number seven. We'll use the bye week to rest and prepare for a tough four game stretch and then focus on win number seven."

On the kickoff reverse...
"The reverse was called because we thought it was there. We wanted to get a spark. That play plus the pass from Kittner to Lloyd got us some momentum back. After those two plays, our sideline was on fire."

Illinois Player Quotes

Kurt Kittner
"I'm proud of the team. We had a good game in front of a great homecoming crowd. It feels good being 6-1."

"We made big plays in pressure situations and that's what football is all about."

"It was the most fun I've ever had at a home game and the most memorable game of my career. It's a great feeling to have broken the record in front of a homecoming crowd."

"The pass protection was good. They have really been stepping it up in the past two games. I did not get touched that much. Our next goal is to come out and be ready for Purdue."

Brandon Moore
"We had a great game. We did not fold. We switched the momentum and it was a great feeling to be in front of a homecoming crowd."

"We had some big plays from Brandon (Lloyd) and Aaron (Moorehead) that got the momentum back for us."

Antoineo Harris
"We are a great team. We have poise and great playmakers. We came out and make great plays. Kurt, Brandon, and myself came out and had a great game."

"Wisconsin is a good team but we got points on the board. We executed and got more points after they took the lead which showed our poise."

Carey Davis
"We had a great crowd, especially in the fourth quarter which may have been one of the reasons we won because it hindered Wisconsin."

Brandon Lloyd
"We were really about first downs this game. We kept running our offense and making things happen."

"It was great to be out in front of a sellout crowd with the boos and the cheers and to come out with the win. I have never experienced that in my life. It's the most fun I've had in a game because Kurt and I were talking to the Wisconsin players on the field and they were talking back. It was a great feeling."

"Wisconsin is a real physical team and they kept calling us soft. We came out and showed them how physical we are."

Wisconsin Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Barry Alvarez

Alvarez on the Illinois Offense
"I thought Kittner and his receivers did a good job today. When you have young kids in the secondary, things like that are going to happen."

Alvarez on sophomore split end Brandon Lloyd
"He is a gifted receiver. Kittner put the ball where he needed to for them to make big plays. They are good players."

Alvarez on his team's second half defense
"Our guys got tired. I hadn't realized we were out there for 20 minutes in the first half."

Alvarez on backup quarterback Jim Sorgi's effort
"He started a little slow, but he played well in the second half. His timing improved as he went along."

Alvarez on his team's first half play
"We were stopping ourselves in the first half. We jumped offsides and dropped balls. We didn't have to make any adjustments at halftime, we just had to execute better."

Wisconsin Player quotes

Senior receiver Nick Davis on the loss:
"This was a hard loss, especially because this was a game that we had a chance to win, but losing is part of the game and we have to deal with it. If you can't deal with it you shouldn't play."

Junior receiver Lee Evans on momentum:
"We got the momentum there at the end and we kept pressing, but we ended up with a couple of bad breaks and that was the game."

Evans on Sorgi:
"He has come in plenty of times when Brooks has gotten hurt and made plays and he did again today."

Evans on the offense:
"Our offense needs to stay on the field longer and make plays."

Evans on his receiving yards in a season record:
"I didn't know I even had it. The record is good individually, but individuals don't win games."

Sophomore safety Michael Broussard on his interception:
"It was a big play and I thought it would change the momentum of the game, but it didn't."

Broussard on Kurt Kittner:
"He was the difference in the game. He is one of the best I have ever played against. He is a good one."

Senior defensive tackle Wendell Bryant on the loss:
"It hurts to lose after coming back from so far down. It hurts a lot."