Oct. 30, 2004

Recap |  Final Stats

Illinois Head Coach Ron Turner...

...on the impact of the wind:
"The impact was huge for both teams. We work all week and come up with our game plan, and then the wind becomes a factor and it throws the game plan out the window for two quarters. Even when we were with the wind, it was very difficult to throw the ball. The wind decreases your chances of being accurate when throwing the ball long. Going into the wind, neither team could throw the ball more than a few yards down the field so you have to be able to run the ball. Iowa was fourth in the nation against the run, so our plan coming out was to throw the ball early and often. We had the wind in the first quarter with great field possession and took the ball down the field to score. Then we only had one more possession with the wind the whole first quarter. That second possession was from our two yard line, so that changes the game plan. We didn't take advantage of the situation."

...on the second half:
"Obviously the turnover hurt us. We had the ball in the third quarter but they had the wind. We needed to do something and we did. We got a first down on a positive six or seven-yard play. It gave us chance to get another first down which is what we were trying to do going into that wind and we fumbled. We turned it over and gave them great field possession, and they took advantage of it. It wasn't a matter of not being motivated or not competing; we made mistakes. It is tough to win when you make mistakes."

...on the team learning how to win again:
"There is no question about it; the whole football team needs to learn how to win again. We are fighting, competing, and doing some good things but we don't know how to win right now. We had the game tied at halftime with an opportunity to come out strong and we made mistakes. We make mistakes and the other guys don't. When we turn the ball over and the other team doesn't, it makes it tough to win."

...on the quarterback situation:
"Right now Brad is our starter. We still have a lot of confidence in him and we think he can play. Brad was under difficult circumstances today. In the first quarter when we had the wind, he was able to do some things. We only had two possessions with the wind and we scored on one of them and were backed up on the other, and that makes it tough. The other time he was in we were going into the wind which basically eliminated 90 percent of our game plan. The things we were working on and wanted to do we couldn't because of the conditions."

Illinois QB Jon Beutjer...

...on getting into the game:
"It felt good to be out there and play again. Any time you get to go out there and play and compete it's a great time."

...on the windy conditions:
"It was pretty windy, but we knew going into the game that it's always windy in Champaign and both teams had to play with the wind. It's not like it's windy for us and Iowa goes out there and it's not windy for them."

...on playing against his former team:
"It was pretty emotional for me to go out there. My adrenaline was definitely pumping."

...on Illinois' last drive:
"It was a good finish. Against Michigan, at the end of the game we got down there, and we didn't finish. So it was very important for us to finish and get the touchdown."

Quarterback Brad Bower...

...on Illinois' mentality:
"It's a confidence thing. You've got to get that swagger back in your walk, the way you play, everything about you."

...on his performance:
"I didn't get things going in the second quarter, and we had a lot of three-and-outs. I have to execute better."

Defensive tackle Ryan Matha...

...on scoring first:
"That's one of the first times in the Big Ten that we've gotten out to a quick lead. Everybody was really energized. We've just got to finish the rest of the game."

...on Illinois' third down defense:
"We've done a terrible job on third downs all season, and that's one of our big problems. If we can figure out a way to get off the field on third down, we'll have a better shot to win this ballgame."

Punter Steve Weatherford...

...on how the wind affected his punts:
"I just got the ball up and let the wind do the job. That was the worst wind, I've ever kicked into. It was a bad day for kicking and punting, but you've got to do a better job than the other guys do."

...on punting the ball quickly:
"We knew that anything inside the 20, they would be bringing the house. So I tried to get the ball off early even though I'm going into a 40 mph wind. I'm not really worried about where it's going, I'm just trying to get it off and get some field position."

Linebacker Mike Gawelek...

...on getting a win:
"It's really important to get a win because people in there (the locker room), with loss after loss after loss, they're getting used to it and you can't have that. Once you get that win, it changes everything. It's a lot better atmosphere once you get that win."

Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz...

...on today's win:
"We're thrilled to get the victory. We expected the game to be hard fought and Illinois gave a great effort and were very tough. We did the same. We found ways to get things done. We're doing things well, making plays and playing well defensively. We're making plays out there."

...on the game after halftime:
"We made some adjustments. We didn't know if they were going to take the ball in the second half or the wind. The fourth quarter was going to be tough either way - if we get the wind, we've got to make hay, if they get it, we need to play some defense. Wind is the biggest factor out there in sports."

...on locking up a bowl bid:
"It's terrific. Things weren't looking good four weeks ago. I'm happy we went undefeated in October. Now, we've got another tough month ahead of us. We need to make sure we've got some gas left at the end of the season for a bowl. All the credit goes to the players."

...on this team's toughness:
"Nothing came easy. I give a lot of credit to Illinois for their toughness, but ours, too. Nobody's moping around about injuries or moping around about this and that. We're the kind of team that toughs things out, which is great. That's okay, the guys are really playing hard."

LB Chad Greenway...

...on the win:
"Considering the circumstances and a road game in the Big Ten, I think we did pretty well because anytime you can travel in the Big Ten and get a win you have to be satisfied no matter what the score is: 6-4 or 23-13. I'm not satisfied to the point of where we need to be, but we're satisfied with the win. We know we can build from this."

DL Matt Roth:

...on Illinois' first drive:
"On the first drive, you have to give them credit. They came out getting rid of the ball quick and making catches. They put a good drive together and put seven on the board quick. Then we got into a rhythm and settled down; we started playing our football, and we weren't giving up much. We got the hang of what they were doing, changed our scheme a bit, and took away the run."

...on the third quarter:
"This was definitely a game of field position because it was so windy out there. It was huge to keep them held down and get our offense good field position."

WR Ed Hinkel...

...on going up the middle:
"It seemed to be a good route for us today. The line was doing a great job up front, giving Chris some time. That play takes a little more time to develops, so they were giving him time to put it in there. It doesn't bother me at all going across the middle. Once that ball is in the air, it's just me and the ball, and you have to go get it."

...on today's performance:
"We're really excited with the win today. It puts us in a good position right now. We just have to keep taking one game at a time and focus on what to do next week."

QB Drew Tate...

...on Hinkel's performance:
"He did a good job getting open and the guys up front did a good job buying me time to see him open. He's a playmaker, and he got the ball in his hands and just did what he could do with it."

...on today's performance:
"I think we did a better job at seeing things. I found things I didn't find last week. Illinois' record was down, but we knew that they were going to be ready to give us their best shot. I thought we played real well as a team and everyone was real positive."

...on the second half:
"We left a lot of plays out there is the first half. We knew that if we could capitalize on a lot of those plays we barely missed the first half, we could come away with a win. Finally we did that in the second half."