Post Game PC
Postgame Press Conference From No. 1/1 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
No. 1/1 Ohio State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) 37, Cincinnati (1-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) 7
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Sept. 16, 2006
COACH TRESSEL: I think when your defense holds folks to seven points and gets three take-aways and seven sacks, holds them to minus yards rushing, you're going to have a great chance. And so I think we're getting better all the time over on that side. I think offensively we improved as the game went. I don't know that we were as sharp at the beginning, but I think you have to talk about Coach Dantonio and his staff doing a good job of preparing and getting a good plan put together and until we really had a great feel for the plan, I'm not sure we did as good as we would like to do from that standpoint. Special units-wise, it was good to see the field-goal kickers being solid and kickoffs were good, except one that we let out.
Our punting was probably not as extraordinary as it was a week ago, but it certainly didn't hurt us, whereas theirs hurt them through the course of the game. So I think special-teams-wise, it was a pretty solid day and I think we're all anxious to get into the Big Ten season and we perhaps played a little bit like we were anxious to get into the Big Ten season, but we did what we had to do and it was led by an excellent defense.
DATISH: First off, I've got to say thanks to the defense for really helping us out. The offense couldn't get it going. They did a great job, tremendous job for us. Offensively, you heard Coach Tressel, we got a feel for what they were doing, tons of blitzes, tons of stunts, they had a great plan put together. Once we decided we were trying to get on the field and see things better, we got things rolling. So from the standpoint of that, I thought we did a pretty good job. Offensive line, I thought we could have done a better job opening holes, protecting Troy maybe a little better.
SMITH: Can't give Coach Dantonio and his staff enough credit. They did a great job today coming out, mixing some things up. Offensively I can't make any excuse, whatever it is, we have to get the job done. Defensively they did a great job. Anytime you can come out and hold a good team like that to under 10 points, double digits, that's a good job. At home, coming back, the defense riled everything up and got us going.
PATTERSON: On the defensive side of the ball, I think we came out a little slow, but I'm just happy that we got better every quarter we've really been stressing that this week, getting better every play, every quarter and we knew it was a matter of time until the offense just exploded because we knew they had the capabilities to. We have some great senior leadership, especially by
Quinn Pitcock. He played tremendously today and the guys on defense played well also.
PITCOCK: As the defense, going into this game, we felt like we needed to stop the rushing. As we've all seen, we haven't been able to stop the running the last two games. I felt like we were able to do that today. I don't know what our stats were, whether we hit our goal, but we did, were able to hit our goal of holding them under the 14 points, winning the turnover margin, and with that, I think we were confident we were able to win the game.
REPORTER: Jim, in the first two games, it seemed like it was Troy and Teddy who got the offense going. Did
Antonio Pittman kind of get you guys over that hump today with the couple of nice runs he had, I think first in the second quarter and early in the second half?
COACH TRESSEL: Yeah, I think after the first quarter we had a little better balance. I think we rushed for like two yards the first quarter, someone whispered in my ear. And I think after that first quarter, Antonio did a good job of making some things happen for us, and we did a better job of doing the things that we ought to do, perhaps against what we were facing, but we need to be balanced and I don't know if we got to our 200/250, I'm not sure we would have with a first quarter like that, but Antonio certainly was a spark, especially, the one that closed the door was the long one, that was big.
REPORTER: This question is for Quinn. Quinn, I think the final -- over here. I think the final number was something like minus four yards rushing that they had. You mentioned the first two games you guys weren't real happy with the performance you had against the run offense. Was that a major motivating factor for you guys coming into this game to stop the rush like that?
PITCOCK: Yeah, I think we definitely feel like every game, that is our first goal is to stop the run and then react to the pass. With the last two games, we've been working hard on filling our gaps and getting better pursuit angles, which hurt -- and tackling, which hurt us. I feel we've improved each quarter in each game with that.
REPORTER: All this week there was talk about this being a let-down game. It seemed like perhaps it was a let-down half, with some penalties and dropped balls and things. What did you do to adjust in the second half and how did you come out to make sure you didn't have a let-down game as opposed to a let-down half?
COACH TRESSEL: It just didn't look to me like we had quite as much pep in our step as we came into this football game. You liked that, didn't you, Mr. Hunter? I saw that smile. But it just didn't seem like we were quite as explosive and just moving to the -- flying around to the degree that we like to. And I think as the game went on, we did pick up steam and that made me feel better. After the first half, you know, quite honestly, it looked a little bit like a let-down situation. And none of us, I don't think, cognitively thought we were doing that because we worked hard and prepared hard and so forth, but for whatever reason we didn't have that burst within. And again, you can't take anything away from Cincinnati. They came in, they were flying around and they're part of the game as well. But what I liked is what these guys said is that as the game wore on, we got better, and to me that's a good way to end things and learn from the times when we weren't quite as good, but we got better as we went along.
REPORTER: Coach, you've got a lot of fifth-year guys on that front line on the defense, you've got a lot of red-shirt freshmen and sophomores playing behind them, how much has that group behind them grown up in the last few weeks?
COACH TRESSEL: I think the older guys like
Joel Penton, Quinn, and David, and
Jay Richardson, I think they've done a great job of setting the tone, here's how you prepare, here's what you need to do if you really want to be a good D lineman in the great history of D linemen here, and I think those guys have paid attention and we do have some young guys that have given us some time and rotated in there. These guys could answer better as to how much they've progressed and so forth, but I've liked what I've seen from a standpoint of their willingness to learn and be taught by the guys that really know.
REPORTER: This is for Coach and Quinn, just talk a little bit about the pressure he was able to get on the quarterback, get a couple sacks, three, I think, in the game, and Quinn, the way you were able to get after him.
PITCOCK: I think with that, it just came along with watching film and preparation. I was able to see, feel like I found some weaknesses within the offense and took advantage of it when I had the opportunity. And I'm really still kicking myself in the butt because I did miss two other sacks I should have had.
COACH TRESSEL: I don't know what to say, Dom, he made all those sacks, I can't help with how or why.
Quinn Pitcock, I've said all along, our two inside guys, Quinn and David, I don't know I don't know if anybody in America has a pair like that.
PITCOCK: He showed me the pass rushing move.
COACH TRESSEL: I did?
PITCOCK: Yeah.
COACH TRESSEL: No wonder we didn't have pep in our step.
REPORTER: Troy, what did you guys see, you kind of went to the underneath stuff obviously with Teddy especially for the two touchdowns and stuff, what were they taking away from you passing-wise and what did you change after that?
SMITH: I don't think it was anything they were taking away from us, just minor things as far as protection goes that that's the key to everything, that's the start. It starts up front. And as the game went on, our protection got better and things started to open up. It takes a lot of time and protection to hit a guy coming across from one side of the field to the other side. So as the feel of the game went on and we got a better feel for the Bearcats, things started to open up, just by play design, you just stay within it, hit them, and make a good play.
REPORTER: Troy, you guys both talked about the problems at the beginning of the game. You guys were trailing for the first time all year. How frustrating was that and then how did you or the offense kind of fight through that?
SMITH: It was kind of frustrating from the jump because it was just things that we weren't doing and as a football game goes, you face adversity. There's things that you go through all the time. We sat and we looked at each other, whether it be on the huddle or on the sidelined understood that the group of guys that were in the game would have to be the group of guys that would have to get the job done and we did just that. We didn't whine, we didn't fuss, we didn't bicker with one another, when someone was giving constructive criticism to one another, you know, we listened. It's not about bickering back and forth because at some point in the game, there are things that you do wrong and someone else sees and they can help you out.
REPORTER: Quinn, Cincinnati came out of the box fast on their first possession and it seems like there was just a little frustration for the defense, but then you began to turn things around. Just when do you think you had confidence where you saw frustration in Cincinnati and things began to roll for you?
PITCOCK: I think the biggest was we had problems, I think, with the quick passes to the outside and they were able to get 10 yards, but I think it goes along with Dave, I, Jay, and Joel just sitting back and telling everybody to calm down, you're not to get so overworked-up about one play, they're a great team and they'll make good plays, settle down and focus on the next play, and I think that's what we were able to do all game and when a big play happened, just focus on the next play and just do our jobs.
REPORTER: Was it during the first or second quarter that you --
PITCOCK: Just all the time. They threw a couple of those passes and that happened. I think we always just kept it rolling, just keep on going. I think after the first touchdown was when we really stepped it up.
REPORTER: Could the captains talk a little about the excitement of preseason with the exception of Bowling Green and nonleague schedule's over, the excitement of playing the Big Ten schedule now and what happened here as well?
DATISH: In my experience, the Big Ten, tough, tough road. You go through that whole schedule, it's every team's tough. You go to great places to play, fans are crazy, they come here, our fans are crazy. Great environments, great schedule. With we know our goal here every year is to win the conference because you win the conference, you go to a Big Ten bowl game.
SMITH: I'm kind of biased when I say that I think Big Ten football is the best football in the nation. You get all sorts of weather. You get cold, you get hot, you get rain and you get all kinds of teams. Just like Doug said, it's crazy fans. The love for the game in the Big Ten is unparalleled across the nation and I think it's the best football all around.
PATTERSON: I'm looking forward just to the physicalness of the Big Ten season. I mean, when you play Big Ten football, you're going to test your heart and your toughness, so the more we prepare for the Big Ten, I think that makes us get better and better every week.
PITCOCK: They've basically explained it perfectly. I feel like it's one of the best league there is. It's the most physical. All those teams I've played in the past, they've been the hardest games ever. And I think it's tough looking at maybe other teams' losses when it's really all of us beat each other out of the race in the Big Ten and with the national ring, it's definitely great football in the Big Ten.
REPORTER: Coach, with Pittman obviously, in the second half, on that first touchdown drive in the third quarter, you guys had a couple of options in a row where you got him outside, is that something you thought at half time you needed to do, to get him outside? Do you think that maybe opened up the rest of the game for him?
COACH TRESSEL: One thing Cincinnati was doing is they were coming after us, if you can get outside of people when they're attacking, you have a chance. We had run one or two options, I think, in the first half, but we felt as if it was something that would be good for us based upon what they were doing and the coverages they were playing and whatnot. When you get a good back out in the open, you have a chance. So that was something that Coach Bollman talked about at half time that he wanted to add to the package a little bit more.
REPORTER: Coach,
Alex Boone sat for a long time at the end of the third, beginning of the fourth, was that because of his holding penalty? And also could you talk about
Roy Hall being able to play?
COACH TRESSEL: It was good to see Roy back out there. He's probably 85 to 90% healthy now. In fact, the catch he made was really good. He plucked that right off the grass and it was good to see him get one there. It wasn't any big gain or anything, but it was neat to see him get it. As far as Alex goes, I think he got dinged up a little bit in the second half and just wasn't to the level that he or we felt that we needed at that point and so as I listened, I think Coach Bollman felt as if it was time to give him a little bit of a blow.
REPORTER: Troy, you and Teddy get a lot, deservedly so, get a lot of attention for this offense. Can you tell us a little bit about the spark that Antonio provided for you guys today?
SMITH: I think I've been telling you all along that the spark that Antonio provides for the offense. It's all kind of unsung heroes within any football team. Too often a time, you get a couple guys that get all the ink and the people that are really doing the grinding day in and day out at practice or games don't get enough. That's why I talk all the time about the offensive line and that's why I've been talking about Antonio Pittman from the start. You give him enough carries and enough opportunities, he's going to make a play, make something happen.
