Postgame Quotes
Illinois 42, Texas State 35
Memorial Stadium // Sept. 20, 2014 // Attendance: 41,019
Illinois Head Coach Tim Beckman
Opening statement:
"I'm probably as excited as you should be for a 'W'. You only have 12 opportunities in a football season and it was a 'W'. Hats go off to Texas State, they're a good football team. Offensively and defensively, I thought they did some outstanding things in that football game until we got things rolling. Hats go off to this football team for continuing to compete and getting on track to get a 'W' in the book."
On being 3-1 heading into Big Ten play:
"Any time we take a look at this record at the end of the year, there are three 'Ws' in the book. I am getting a lot of grey hair with some of these game but it is a 'W'. You've got to cherish these opportunities; you've got to be excited about winning football games and don't be shocked when you fight for four quarters and end up winning."
On the team's mindset during the weather delay:
"We tried to utilize it as a, 'Hey it's a halftime break, let's go.' Basically what we did was split up offensively and defensively and special teams and made our adjustments. Right at the start, we utilized the delay as a halftime. Bill has been through this, Timmy Banks has been through this, but this is the first time I've been through it. So we talked about this prior to the game, about two or three weeks ago, and knew that it had been an issue. We said, 'Well, what do we want to do? Do we want to take them indoors and walk through stuff? What did we need to do?' So we came in there and let all of our players relax instead of being tight for an hour and thinking about all of these things. We turned on the TV, let them watch some of the football games that were on in our locker room, and then we turned on some music. When we realized that it was probably the last 30-minute stop, we gathered them up and told them the adjustments that we made. And I told them exactly how we were going to use the 10-minute break."
About scoring on the opening play from scrimmage:
"It was surreal, it happened so quick. I got a great block from a freshman and I applaud him for that. I'm grateful for that. Starting fast with that long run was great."
On making adjustments:
"It has been a little frustrating, but we worked on it all week. I'm just happy that it worked out today and hopefully we can carry that over into the Big Ten season. This week we did extra work, practiced, (watched) a lot of film, fixing the mistakes we did make, whether it be a running back missing a hole or a guy missing a block. We just had to fix those mistakes."
On Josh Ferguson's big game:
"Josh is a huge spark for our team, like him on that screen making a play and on that long run busting up the middle. Josh is an electric player and we're lucky to have him."
On his second touchdown pass:
"They were bringing 'swarm,' I just checked it and rolled out. I kind of threw it up and he (Mike Dudek) made a great grab."
On what he did during the weather delay:
"I just stretched, talked to Coach Banks, talked about what they were doing and talked to the secondary just to get a gist of what they were trying to do to us."
On his interception return for a touchdown:
"He called the slant in the first series and I was like 'Coach they got a big play out of that, they're going to run it again. I'm just going to play a little more inside.' He said, 'You did your film study and that's what you believe in, so go ahead and make the play.' Then I just used my abilities to make the play."
On the impact of kick returns:
"Returns feed the team. It's one play where you can either mess up, you can do well or you can do nothing. It's not a repeat type play, like after first down you get a second try and third try. It's one play. I think it is definitely a spark for our whole team, especially offensively. It gives them some momentum by putting them in scoring zones or anything like that. After the punt return, Josh Ferguson had that screen and ended up scoring. So I definitely think it's a spark and I just want to go out and play, have fun and make plays for the team."
Texas State Head Coach Dennis Franchione
Opening statement:
"We were pla ying on the road, our kids kind of got it there with the interception at the end. It kind of iced it for them. But our guys got it right back, drove down the field and then Illinois recovered the onside kick to win the game. I'm proud of our guys and the way they played, they battled and fought hard. I don't want to take any moral victory away, just because we came to play a `Power Five' team and we played them well."
On Illinois' fourth quarter comebacks:
"They've come from behind against three of the non-Power Five teams. Let's see if they can do it against the big boys. I'm sure that gives them confidence to keep playing, it's a 60-minute game. There was nothing settled early and then they came out in the third quarter and changed the momentum of the game. Their defense got some stops and they got some quick strikes on us and turned things around."
On Bentley's interception and return for a touchdown:
"I think the corner just made a great play. He just made a good guess. He's a good corner; I thought he played great all night. He made a good break on the ball, made a good play and he deserves a lot of credit for it."
On Texas State quarterback Tyler Jones' season thus far:
"He's played well. For the most part, he has given his team a chance. He really played well in the first quarter. I thought he made some pretty good decisions and put us in good position. He's been pretty cautious with the football, which is good. We'll find some plays we wish he'd done a little better tonight, but he gave his offense a chance. We ran 95 plays tonight. He's handling what we're doing with the tempo and executing the offense pretty well. The guys played pretty well around him tonight, so I'm glad we got him."
On Texas State RB Robert Lowe's performance tonight:
"Rob does it week-in-and-week-out, we've just come to expect it. The offensive line deserves a little credit; they did some good things tonight. I think this year's line is a lot better than last year's. Rob is very good at seeing things and his awareness of where to take the football is very good. He had 117 yards tonight and he did a great job."
