Oct. 16, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema
Opening Statement:
“I think, our kids, going back to last Sunday to where we are today, really just stuck to what the plan was. Obviously, playing Ohio State, the No. 1 team in the country, and all that goes in to it, but I think our kids, now so more than ever, believe in what we’re selling as coaches. They really believe in the things that we practice every day, offensively, defensively and special teams-wise. They stayed through with that, and it was a good week of preparation.
“Out there today, we executed some fundamental things that really gave us the win in the end. I think there were great examples all during the game. The opening kickoff return by David [Gilreath], we felt great about that all week, and then Mike Taylor goes down and Kevin Claxton pops in.
“No one knew about this story, I kind of kept it under wraps. Kyle Wojta, our snapper for the last two years, tore his ACL in Tuesday’s practice and snapped in the game today. Kid tore his ACL and was not going to be denied the opportunity to snap. Believe me, no one in the stadium knew that our second-string snapper was going to be on that punt team, and he delivered a strike, James McGuire.
“I didn’t mention it last week just because I didn’t want to draw things out of the norm, but today we wore these special [pink shirts] for breast cancer awareness. My mom is a 20-year survivor. There were so many things that just felt good about this week and the confidence coming into it. I was excited for this day, not only for our players, our coaches, our administration but our fans, to give them this environment and come through is really special.”
On finishing against Ohio State:
“It felt great finishing this game because they believed in the plan. Before we took the field, before the game, I talked about us playing 30 minutes, executing Wisconsin football and that we’d come in at halftime and talk about where we’re at.
“Everybody in the room, you just felt the anticipation, the excitement, but there was also a calmness in our approach to the day. There weren’t people bouncing off the walls or going berserk. It was a calmness of excitement, I guess would be the way to phrase it.
“At halftime, I went in and told coaches, the players, approach the second half the same way as if the score is 0-0. But I did point out right before we left the locker room that we’ve been in four-quarter games this year, whether by choice or not, we’ve been in them, and I didn’t really think Ohio State had been. I really wanted our guys to believe in what we were talking about. That drive in the fourth quarter when they got within three was a great example of believing.”
On challenging the offensive line:
“I did challenge them. I don’t do that very often as a head coach. I don’t want to set kids up for failure. If I do something like that, it’s usually that I have a really strong belief that it’s going to come through. I challenged the offensive line and defensive line, to be quite honest. Everybody made a big deal about the 29 games that Ohio State had played without a 100-yard rusher. I threw it in those guys’ faces all week. I threw it at our running backs, but it all starts up front for us. For us to have success, we have to play well at the offensive line. I thought the leadership that Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt gave us was priceless. I can’t put it into words.”
On success when executing the fundamentals:
“I really felt that we would have success if we do what we do. If we go out and execute the fundamentals of what our plan is and move forward, and they were able to do that. I remember looking at stats at the end of the first quarter. I always want to be conscious about that and be able to say that to our team. I believe we almost had 95 yards rushing in the first quarter, so if we were able to keep that through, we were going to have success.”
On chemistry between John Clay and James White:
“I think we have a really nice chemistry going there. John Clay was so excited. You could tell all week. He practiced as hard as I’ve ever seen him practice and really executed, ball security, and he gave the tribute to the five offensive linemen, shaving their numbers in his head. It was a way of John saying, ‘I respect what you guys have done.’ His success is a lot about what they do, so again, just a good example of team chemistry.”
On the impact of this game in the big picture:
“I think it’s another step in the right direction. We’re only three games into the Big Ten schedule. We’ve done some good things, but to beat the No. 1 team, to beat a ranked opponent, people talk about it. It’s good. To watch this on national TV, I’m sure it gives us some good exposure, but I’m happy for the people that are involved. In the bigger picture, it’s going to be a nice reward for us, but to see your players play the way you coach them to play and see them execute against good personnel is really rewarding.”
On Terrelle Pryor:
“He just kept staying alive and moving around, and he could see the ball down the field. He’s just a big guy, so it’s hard to tackle him. He’s an exceptional player.”
On Nick Toon:
“He was huge. I was very happy during the game. I like to play physical football, and Nick really delivered some blows at the end of runs there when he was given the opportunity to lower the shoulder. He’s been playing with some energy. It’s great because the Nick I saw in fall camp, that’s the guy you’re seeing now. He’s playing with some aggressive nature and really making himself a great player.”
On looking ahead to Iowa:
“This is a game that, I believe in my career, we’re 2-2. Iowa is a program, much like Ohio State, that we have a lot of respect for because of the way they handle their business, the way they execute. There is a great deal of respect, but we all want the same thing. That’s what this week will be about, getting a W.
“It was very fulfilling to walk off the field. The plan is to enjoy and celebrate today’s victory, but tomorrow we’ll go to work. We’ll grade the film and move on and look to get a jump start on Iowa, get ready for the next leg of this race.”
Senior DB Aaron Henry
On beating Ohio State:
“(It has) not quite sunk in. I know when it first happened, the clock ticked down to zero, It was just an amazing feeling. Nobody believed in us except ourselves. Nobody expected us to go out and beat Ohio State the way we did. I can’t even explain it.”
On Wisconsin’s confidence entering the game:
“We were so confident because in the previous years, we were on the edge. As a defensive back, we knew what to expect and it was just a matter of having it there and letting it go. Last year, they had a special teams touchdown and two touchdowns on defense. So we knew if we kept them from scoring on defense and made Terrelle Pryor throw the ball, they weren’t going to beat us.”
Senior OL Gabe Carimi
On celebrating with the fans:
“It was crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life. It’s something I’m always going to cherish. I’m surprised the fans didn’t come on earlier.”
On beating Ohio State:
“I waited three year to beat them. It was great as a senior.”
On the environment entering the game:
“We came in here confident and there was such a calm in the locker room beforehand. We are all on the edge of our seats. We were locked in. That’s quiet intensity.”
Freshman RB James White
On his fourth-quarter touchdown run:
“They saw me trying to get to the outside a little bit before, so I figured if I set them up outside and just put my foot down, they wouldn’t be able to tackle me. So once I made that one cut, they both tripped up a bit and I ran through the seam.”
On playing a big role in an important win:
“It means a lot. This team has a lot of capability, and we showed it out there today. We have to keep moving forward to next week against Iowa."
Junior DE J.J. Watt
On dynamic of John Clay and James White:
“I think overall this was the best game they had. They had a balance and they ran really hard today.”
On regaining momentum after the team’s first touchdown:
“Coming back and being able to play well was a big step for us. We made some mistakes and I let a ball go down, but mentally we still were in it and didn’t give up.”
On importance of the defense overall:
“I cannot say enough about the play of the back seven. They played unbelievable. Ohio State has some of the best skill players in the nation. Our guys at linebacker did a great job staying with them and denying them opportunities to make big plays. We were then able to get sacks and pressure up front, so it was really important."
Senior LB Culmer St. Jean
On containing Terrelle Pryor:
“On the fans’ post-game celebration:
“It was nuts. It was a big win for the team and fans, as well. That was huge. It was awesome.”
On the role of special teams and offense:
“That was huge. To open up a game with a returned touchdown gave us a lot of confidence. Offense played great. All around, we played a great game.
On his interception in the fourth quarter:
“It was bizarre and all a blur. Being mobbed, it was just a ton of fun. It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life."
Senior LB Blake Sorensen
On the fans’ post-game celebration:
“It was nuts. It was a big win for the team and fans, as well. That was huge. It was awesome.”
On the role of special teams and offense:
“That was huge. To open up a game with a returned touchdown gave us a lot of confidence. Offense played great. All around, we played a great game.
On his interception in the fourth quarter:
“It was bizarre and all a blur. Being mobbed, it was just a ton of fun. It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel
Opening Statement:
“Well, it was quite a battle here at Camp Randall and tip your cap to the Badgers. They did the things you need to do to win a tough ball game. It started with their special teams play and they ran the football well and came up with the key passes when they needed to. They put a lot of pressure on our offense as well. It was a tough Big Ten football game.
“I was proud of the way our kids fought back. It was 21-3 there and I think a lesser bunch in an environment like this would have folded their tent but they came back and did just what we hoped they would do. First bring it to 21-10. You have to take one step before then next. Then take it to 21-18. But to Wisconsin’s credit, when it got to that point, they stepped up and kept that 10-point cushion on us thoughout the rest of the second half and came up with the win.
On Wisconsin’s ability to run the ball:
“I don’t know if we ever sit around wondering about effort. We work on individual plays and individual situations. Football’s a real game of execution. It’s one thing to talk about football and another thing to draw it on the board but the real part is execution and they executed. When you execute, most things are engineered for success, most defenses and most offenses. I never thought anyone would run on us. It’s a one play at a time world that we live in.”
On the play of Clay and White:
“They’re great. They’re a great tempo change. The big power guy then the quickness with White. We were saying that the whole week as we were preparing. It’s a great one-two punch. They’ve always got a good one-two punch. You just kind of change the jersey numbers and the names, they’ve always got a good one-two punch at Wisconsin.”
On the pressure of the No. 1 ranking:
“I’m sure that’s an individual thing probably. It didn’t change how we went about preparing for things. That’s just part of what goes on each week. If you’re distracted at all by that, if someone was, perhaps it affects your ability to execute your job, but I did not sense that.”
On what the team talked about at halftime:
“We really just talked about going out and making sure we played this thing one play at a time. We had to have some balance. We could sit here and say its 21-3 and we have to throw every down and catch up on the first play. That we had to methodically catch up and I was proud of the way the kids did that. All of the sudden you turned around and it was 21-18 and felt like we had a little bit of momentum – it’s hard to have momentum in someone else’s house – but we had a little bit of momentum and they delivered.
I guess not unlike 2003. We fought and scratched and clawed our way back to 10-10, then they hit a big play. Other years perhaps we do the things you need to do to execute and win. They’re a very good football team. They’re going to do good things. They’re a little healthy than they were earlier in the season and they’re a fine team.
On the kickoff return to start the game:
“What can I say about it happening on the first play? Obviously, I would rather it didn’t. I’m sure someone did not execute, (do) what they needed to do. I’m not exactly sure what lane or exactly what occurred. When you’re on the road, if you don’t at least match their special teams, if you let the home team win the special teams part, it’s going to be difficult to win."
