Opening Statement:
"We're not where we'd like to be, obviously, but we're getting into the Big Ten. That's something that I told our team last night, particularly the young guys, is that the more they are around here, they are going to realize that this is what makes Big Ten football exciting: they have the opportunity to play a very, very good Iowa football program. A program that Coach Ferentz knows probably exactly where we're at. He's been there before and has done a great job. And that's kind of the direction that we're going with our program.
"I'm a guy, obviously I'm optimistic, and we're going to be where we're supposed to be. It's not happening as fast as a lot of us would like for it to happen. I did see a lot of improvement this past week. Obviously it's going to be important that we improve as we get into the Big Ten schedule.
"The attitude about practice last night was excellent. These guys are really doing the things that we are asking them to do. We had a good, high, energetic practice and I think we got a lot accomplished.
...on the quarterback situation:
"One of the big questions is what are we going to do at quarterback. If I was sitting in your shoes, I'd be asking the same thing. It's kind of a delicate thing, what you do. I'm not trying to elude the question or hide anything. Once again, it's something that we have to do what's best. There are a lot of things that you think about, good and bad, that could happen either way, so that's something we are talking about as a staff while watching them practice. They both practiced well last night. I feel bad for both of them to go through it. But like I told Juice and Timmy yesterday, this is kind of one of the great things about big-time college football. Whether it's good or bad--it could also be one of the negative things--but you talk about wanting to be in the limelight and wanting to be asked a lot of questions. Well, this is kind of it, and the people want to know what is going to happen, they want to know everybody's feelings. But I think it's best right now that once we know something we'll address it at that time."
...on the running back situation:
"The running back situation is another situation that has come up. I'm very, very happy with the way Rashard ran last week, and I think he deserves to get more touches. The things that we've been concerned about in the past, he's got to tuck that ball away, his pass protection has gotten much better. He does give you that little extra step. There is no question I think that Pierre and E.B. both have shown what they can do in the Big Ten Conference. And when you head into the Big Ten Conference, you want guys like Pierre and E.B. who've been there in this kind of game."
...on the punting situation:
"I'm very happy with the way Kyle has continued to improve. It's going to be very important that we continue to work on our schemes, as well, this week, because they do a heck of a job in the return game. But Kyle has continued to improve. He's more and more relaxed, booming them last night. And also I like the idea of being able to have the rugby(-style punt) as well, for a lot of reasons. Once we continue to work with that, there will be more and more options for us down the road.
...on incorporating the tight ends more in the offensive game plan:
"We felt like we had them open a couple of times and didn't get the ball to them. We played a little bit more four-wides Saturday, which obviously is going to take away their involvement. But we feel like when you have DaJuan and Jody, they are pretty good players as well."
...on Iowa:
"I'm so impressed with the job that they've done. We're kind of in the same situation they were in during Coach Ferentz' first two years. I think what they did, the same thing that we're trying to do, is just stay the course. You continue to bring in quality guys and they haven't had a lot of turnover in their staff. They have done a great job of recruiting, and they bring guys in there and coach them up. They've got six guys in their two-deep roster that are from Illinois. You hate to lose anyone in-state, but I've said it many times, 'you are not going to get every person, but it's our job to get the ones that we feel we need to get.'"
...on Rashard Mendenhall:
"There is no question: Rashard is a very talented young man. He's going to continue to improve and get better. He's had some success there and he builds on that. Some guys need that to really get going. We feel that he had a good week last week, and there's no reason to think that he won't have a good week this week."
...on the things Rashard needs to improve:
"Those are the big things: Ball security and pass protection. But he's been getting much better there. Obviously, on third down we'd like to get EB in there. EB is one of the better backs in terms of blocking and catching the ball in the backfield.
...on the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette photo showing him with fullback Russ Weil:
"Football is an emotional game; I was wrong, and Russ kind of joked with me afterwards. Anybody who knows how bad my shoulders are knows that there couldn't have been too much contact because my shoulders would pop out with a little bit of movement. But once again, it's an emotional game. I think we had a first and ten on the 30 and we ended first and thirty at the 50. It's a frustration thing. As I apologized to the team last night, I asked them to keep their poise and it's obviously very important that I keep mine as well."
...on the amount of penalties against Syracuse:
"Penalties come out as being undisciplined and un-coached and those kind of things, and coaches have a lot of pride, also. That's one thing that you don't want said about your football team is that it is undisciplined and has no pride. Maybe we are trying too hard. I know as a staff we're pushing and coaching as hard as we can coach and demanding perfection and pushing, pushing, pushing. These guys are good; they want to win, too, its important for them. Maybe we are pushing too hard. Maybe we all just need to kind of relax and go have fun."
...on Iowa QB Drew Tate:
"You see a guy that is a big play guy. A guy that throws the ball extremely well. If you look at the Syracuse game and then you look at the game last week, you see a big difference in the football team. He is the leader, and they got an awful lot of talent surrounding him. He's done a great job. The thing that sticks to me in my mind is a couple years ago before I was even here, the bowl game against LSU and the job he did. I think that he is a very talented young man, and they do a great job with him.
"Not only does he try but he makes plays. I think that he has a nice supporting cast. They've done a great job. When you look at them it's hard to get a beat on what they're doing. They really have a nice grasp as to what they want to do offensively and do a nice job with it.
"Coach Ferentz and his staff know that this is the Big Ten and you can't afford to slip up. I wish you could say they are overlooking, but they know they have to be ready to play."
...on the defense:
"I told the team, the game Saturday came down to two fumbles: One of theirs that they scored on and one of ours that they scored on. But I think that the defense has really continued to improve. The thing that really excites me is the way that they're flying around and making things happen and chasing the football. We kind of had a lull or two in series against Rutgers and then probably about a series-and-a-half against Syracuse. Once again, the energy level may have fallen off a bit. But for the most part we're improving there, we're chasing the football. Obviously, we can't have busted coverage where we have guys running free, but those things that we have to continue to improve and keep on getting better at, and with the work ethic and with what they're doing, they will."
...on Chris James:
"C.J.'s getting in there more and more. He played 15 or 16 plays last week. He's a guy that's getting more and more in the mix. It's an awful lot of football to learn in a short amount of time. A lot of times as a coaching staff, when you want to make a decision, you have to kind of guess what he is going to be, like around week five or week four or week six, when the football begins to settle down a bit and it gets kind of in a routine. I just think that he's one of those guys who is just getting into a routine."
...on the defensive front four:
"They performed probably as good as what we expected and probably a little above that. I think Coach Sims and Coach Okruch have done a great job there. They're playing extremely hard. We're trying to play a bunch of numbers, keep them fresh. That's helping us out a bit. We've got some athleticism. I thought Derek Walker is truly becoming a Big Ten-type defensive end, we're going to see this in the next eight or nine ball games. He's playing well, and then Will Davis is starting to come on. Remond (Willis) is a guy who is on the edge there. Chris Norwell is playing well inside. Josh Norris, he's way above where I thought he would be. Not only is he an instrumental leader, but he's holding the point, moving around and making a lot of plays."
...on the team's progress in the past two season:
"I don't believe that there are any points where we have gone backward. I said at the beginning of the year that we are a much-improved football team and I really believe that we are. I also said that I wasn't sure if that was going to show up in wins and losses, and I still don't know that yet. There were some flashes this past Saturday, and we have to continue to get better and improve, and we will. Any time you are a football team with as much youth as we have, you are going to get better with every game. Hopefully you get better with every practice. That's kind of our thing; we're going to improve every day, every practice and every game. Obviously, we're going to get where we're supposed to be.
"I don't know many coaches that enjoy going though it, but it would be a lot worse if we didn't believe. Just like anyone else, you constantly evaluate where you are at, where you are going, and what you're doing. Is there any decision since I've been here that I would change? There is not really anything that I would change, and so if you feel great about your plan and you feel like you're going in the right direction then you just got to stay the course."
...on Iowa's defense:
"The thing that impresses me the most about that defense is that they just line up and play. They are just tough, they get after you, they're well-coached guys that chase the football. That's the biggest thing. They do a heck of a job. Their linemen are back, they have two of their linebackers back, playing extremely well, they've got two defensive backs back. The thing that impresses me the most is how good they are and it's not like they do a bunch of things."
...on the offensive line:
"The thing that all of us are most upset about are the penalties. We have to get those corrected. We have to get those things cleaned up. It's a different football game when you don't put yourself in a hole like that. On the same token, you can't blame where we are at solely on the offensive line. As I told our football team after the Rutgers game, we've all got part of this. This is not one side of the ball, or coaches, or players. Offense, defense, special teams, we all played a role in that."
