QUOTING ILLINOIS HEAD COACH Ron Zook...
Opening statement...
"What a difference a week makes. Our guys understood that we had to go to work after last week. Our season wasn't over and I think the leadership was good. Our seniors led not only by example, but in terms of what it would be like. As I told them, we're still in this thing. We have to keep playing. Indiana played tough and gave it their best shot and we were able to hang in there. I think the first series in the third quarter hit the nail on the head. We made improvements, and we're continuing to improve. We have a lot of young guys who were able to play well today and they all understand that next week is a big game."
On freshman running back Jason Ford...
"The last few weeks he's been practicing well. He's a physical runner and he's a tough guy to bring down. Jason got hot and we were going to leave him in and let him go. You can see he runs hard, is physical and he's hard to bring down."
On quarterback Juice Williams and wide receiver Arrelious Benn...
"That's the first time it's been done since the 1990's and Regis (Benn) has had four straight games over one hundred yards. I don't want to get caught up in that right now. I'm proud of them and I think the coaches are doing a great job, but we can't be thinking about those things right now. It's Wisconsin next and it's one game at a time. We learned a valuable lesson last year at a Big Ten venue with an opponent who was backed up in a corner and we found out what happens. So we're going to have to be ready to play and go in there and give them all we've got."
On the game preparation...
"The coaching staff did a great job of preparing them. I got a drift that people were bummed out and you want people to care about the program, but we've still got a ways to go. We're in a learning phase. This is the first time that anyone on our football team has played under expectations and are expected to win. That's something that is different and we can't be afraid to fail. You just have to step out there and go, and we were able to do that today."
QUOTING ILLINOIS PLAYERS:
Defensive End Derek Walker
On the game plan for the defensive line...
"We have been talking all week about getting after the quarterback. We were preparing for a mobile quarterback like Kellen Lewis, but when Chappell was in there, we were working more on our pass rush and keeping him contained. We had our chances to get after him."
On how the defensive line is playing...
"Our defensive line is getting better and better each week. We have a lot of expectations of ourselves and so do a lot of other people, and now people are starting to see the potential we are supposed to have. I think we are getting more comfortable with each other each game."
Running Back Jason Ford
On the toughest part of the offense...
"I just had to get used to the signaling. Coach (Reggie Mitchell) is always signaling so fast, so I had to concentrate on that. Throughout the week, it got better and better."
On how he prepared to play...
"Coach just told me to do what I did in high school and that is what I did tonight. I just want to keep working hard to be ready for next week."
Receiver Arrelious Benn
On the play of Juice Williams...
"He's playing how he is supposed to be playing. He's not making many mistakes, running the offense and just doing his job as the quarterback."
On Juice's passing numbers over the past three games...
"Those are video game numbers."
On coming back after the loss to Minnesota last week...
"It was a tough loss last week but we just needed to regroup and keep going. We just needed to keep fighting."
Quarterback Juice Williams
On people's expectations...
"The expectations are higher. Everyone is expecting us to come out and perform the way we did tonight."
On Jason Ford's play...
"We all knew that he had the talent. He showed us that at camp. He did a great job of coming out every day and working to get better."
On his own performance...
"I've been blessed with the opportunity to come out here and showcase my talent. Coach Locksley has done a great job with me. The more throws you make, the higher your confidence is, and we just want to keep this thing going."
INDIANA HEAD COACH BILL LYNCH QUOTES
On Illinois...
"They are a very, very good football team, offensively in particular. They have weapons everywhere, starting with Juice. They have big strong wide receivers, they have good backs and they've got a great scheme. They are very capable of exploding and they showed that tonight."
On Indiana's Performance...
"We didn't get stops throughout the night. Same thing on offense, we put together little drives and we didn't finish anything. They converted six out of 10 third-down conversions and we were down at about 25 percent again. We tried to run more, but if you can't convert, you put yourself behind. We gave up way too many big plays."
On Ben Chappell filling in for Kellen Lewis...
"We knew there was going to be some pressure. He didn't have any interceptions and he threw some in there. A lot of the incompletes were throw-aways to avoid (losing the ball). He did a good job at getting the ball where we needed it. I think he handled himself well."
On what Indiana needs to improve upon...
"Our third-down conversion, you have to be able to convert more than that to give yourself a chance to score. Also, teams have done a good job of taking away our big plays. Some of that is the defense that's not allowing us to get our big plays. We only had two fumbles tonight, but the turnovers are also what has been getting us in our previous games."
On what's ahead for Indiana...
"You just have to go back to work and keep going - there's no magic to it. Part of it is getting people healthy. We are a little thin in some spots, but you can't make excuses. We just have to go back to work on Monday and we've got to play better."
QUOTING INDIANA PLAYERS:
Quarterback Ben Chappell
On the state of the team...
"We have five games left and need to focus on one game at a time. We just need to put this one behind us and move on."
On this season...
"The bottom line is we haven't played well enough to win. Today, you have to hand it to Illinois. They played tough and deserved to win. We just haven't done the things we need to do to win."
DE Jammie Kirlew
On the team's defensive play...
"I think we a good job at times. We just need to make sure we are always on the same page. When we aren't we make mistakes that cost us."
On mental state of the team...
"Its tough right now, but we aren't quitters. We need to go back, regroup and prepare for Northwestern next week."
On momentum...
"We (the defense) need to make our own momentum. If the offense is doing well that is a plus, but we need to find it inside of ourselves to get the job done. We just didn't find it today."
RB Bryan Payton
On the team's offensive struggles...
"Flat out not finishing drives and not being able to establish the run. That is definitely what it takes to win games and we haven't done that as well as we need to. Maybe tonight we showed small steps, but not up to par. We need to get better."
