Wisconsin Coach Paul Chryst Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
Oct. 29, 2016
Camp Randall Stadium – Madison, Wis.
OPENING STATEMENT: Extremely proud of the way our kids battled and played and overcame all the adversity that usually comes in a game. I think the one thing that sticks out is that they played for each other and guys got to step up. They find their way to step up and it doesn't matter what happens, they keep playing the next play and I'm proud of that. Nebraska's a heck of a football team and that was a good win. And every game plays out differently. I thought that the defense did a ton of good things and the takeaways were big. We struggled a little bit, had a good first drive and then struggled a little bit offensively. (We) weren't converting on third down, so weren't able to really create any rhythm. And yet I thought the way we finished the game, I thought the run game was big and made enough plays. But I appreciate this group and what they did to give us a chance tonight. They found a way to win.
Q. Dare (Ogunbowale) was very effective. What did you see from him that was allowing him to be so productive tonight?
COACH CHRYST: Yeah, Dare, he came up big. I thought that a lot of it, he hadn't been doing a ton of running out of our three wides. I thought that had a pretty good plan going in. Kids executed and I thought that he ran hard and I thought he was decisive. I thought it was a big part of getting us going.
Q. What went into your decision-making process with the rotations at quarterback and running back? Was it play calling, hot hand, gut feeling, what was it?
COACH CHRYST: I think that we went in and knew that we wanted to play both Bart (Houston) and Alex (Hornibrook) at the quarterback spot. As you saw earlier in the game, we wanted to get Bradrick (Shaw) involved and knew that Corey (Clement) and Dare (Ogunbowale) were going to go. So you're trying to manage a little bit the production. But that's so, for a running back, it's what are the other 10 doing; and for a quarterback it's kind of the same way. So you can't just base it on that. I think that for us to, in moving forward, for us to be the best team we can be, we have got to have everyone. I think I got to do a better job of helping the quarterbacks. I thought they did good things. It was a big play that Alex made on the touchdown and I thought both had some really good moments. Those picks hurt you, but that's — I also want them to play. I don't want them playing on edge, but I thought that we knew we were going to play them … and I'm glad we did.
Q. Why did you choose to go with Bart for the overtime period instead of Alex?
COACH CHRYST: He had just been going and I thought that, depending upon what we might need, it gave us our best chance. But really both could have gone and it was just stay with him, as much as picking one over the other.
Q. The challenge at the line of scrimmage tonight on both sides. Was it the toughest maybe you guys have seen this year?
COACH CHRYST: Yeah, I think they're a really, really good team. On both sides of the ball. We knew we were going to have our hands full there and you saw it in the first half. Offensively, we couldn't get much going. And I think that their quarterback adds a whole other dimension to what they're doing. So, we knew that the game was, I don't want to say just won or lost at the line, but it was going to be a big part of it. But, yeah, I thought our (defensive) line played well and I thought that defensively we were good in a lot of areas and we knew them. They're an explosive offense and we knew they were going to make some plays. You had to just withstand that. I thought that as the game went on, we were able to get some things going in the run game and that's why I appreciate what the kids did.
Q. What do you have to say about your linebackers tonight, playing without Cichy and you got Watt in and out with injury and guys stepping up and making plays.
COACH CHRYST: That's a big part of this team — guys stepping up — and I think that one thing that sticks out to me about this group is that they care a lot about each other. And therefore when they're in that situation, they will put it all out there. I think that the coaches did a really good job of preparing them and giving them confidence in what we're doing. And yet what's fun about the game is that they still got to go out and execute it. I thought that there were a lot of guys that stepped up in that moment and my hat's off to the kids, they played the game. They're fun to be around. It doesn't always go the way we want it and adversity hits you, but they turn their focus to the next and that's fun to see. I appreciate that. Because Ryan (Connelly) had made a big play a number of times, Leon (Jacobs) made a couple plays and certainly TJ (Watt), Vince (Biegel), Dools (Garrett Dooley), they were good. And like I said, up front, I thought our (defensive) line did a nice job and corners were challenged and made some plays. It was a team defense. I think it starts with a good plan and the guys are going out and executing and they're playing the game.
Q. Affect Ohio State lost a lot of guys talked about how too often you guys end up coming close but not on top and then ultimately the final score was only what mattered. How big is this for the locker room and the confidence that you guys get in a close game and are finally able to put it over the top and come out with a victory?
COACH CHRYST: I think any time you play and you put so much into that week, the game that week, and when it doesn't turn out the way you would like it, it hurts. And that's what I've appreciated from this group, they do put themselves out there and when it does go your way, you feel good. And you still know we didn't fix all of our problems, there's things that we can do to get better at. But I don't think the team lacked confidence. We have been in a lot of close games. I don't feel that, as much as you put it all out there and you do it to compete and to win, and when you do, it feels good and when you don't, it stinks.
Q. Just with Leon Jacobs and going to fullback, switching back to linebacker, how did he perform in terms of just what did you see out of him, the positives and then was there anything that you saw that maybe he needed to continue to work on with his game?
COACH CHRYST: I'm sure when we look at the film, there's going to be some things that Leon can do better. But I think Leon's another great example of a guy that will do anything he can to help this team. Whether it was going to fullback and then going back to linebacker, he's on a bunch of our special teams. I think he is an example of this group and that they will do anything they can to help this team be the best it can be. So, I don't know, as far as grading him out, but I know that he showed up on some plays and I know he showed up on some special teams. I think that he represents this group and that's a guy that's unselfish and will do all that he can.
Junior OL Ryan Ramczyk
On the missed extra point:
"That was unfortunate to miss an extra point, but our defense came out strong and finished the game off for us, so it was pretty awesome."
On Dare Ogunbowale vs. Corey Clement tonight:
"I thought they both did a great job. Upfront, I know we missed a couple assignments and has to do with their success as well, obviously, but I thought both backs did a great job tonight."
On how big this overtime win was:
"It's awesome. We had a bad taste in our mouth from last time we were here and Ohio State, we lost that in overtime. To come out tonight and get that win in overtime was awesome."
Sophomore OL Michael Deiter
On nerves after the missed extra point:
"Obviously the nerves were high, but I had a whole bunch of confidence in those guys. They were playing great all night long. The nerves were high, as you would expect in a situation like that, but I still had the utmost confidence in those guys that they were going to get it done."
On the successful draws with Dare Ogunbowale:
"I don't know. It was kind of a scheme that was going well tonight. I don't know if there's any one particular thing about them that caused it to go. I think we were blocking it well. It was the scheme that we were fitting right, so simply that is a reason for it to go."
On what makes Dare special:
"Not only his leadership and all that stuff, but the way he can make people miss. When he gets out in space he's pretty lethal. He's quick side-to-side and makes good decisions when he has to, and it shows up."
Junior TE Troy Fumagalli
On flashbacks to the Ohio State game:
"Not really. As an athlete you try to do your best to kind of block that out. Kind of focus in on what you can control."
On this being a big game for the standings in the west:
"Every game from here on out is big, so I don't think there's any emphasis on this specific one. If we want to win the Big Ten west and reach our goals, we want to win every one from here on out."
Senior RB Dare Ogunbowale
On his effectiveness against a stout Nebraska defense:
"We were able to get the short pass and get me running. The wide receivers did a great job blocking downfield."
On his touchdown in overtime:
"It was big. We have guys playing tough all season and coming up short in situations obviously that we don't want to and for us to get that, win a close game like that for 60-plus minutes, was awesome."
On the magnitude of this game:
"Every game is big for us, especially playing against the Big Ten West. All those games matter. We definitely want to make sure we win this game and we did that."
Junior S D'Cota Dixon
On the last play of the game:
"I was just reading the quarterback with two-man under, so I told Sojourn, 'trust the safeties, trust Leo and I, we will be over the top,' and he threw it. I was just trying to make a play on the ball, fortunately it was in our favor and he didn't catch it."
On the speed of a play like that:
"I think it's more instinctive, because apparently he ran a double move and I didn't see it. I was just going off the quarterback, I was just off his eyes the whole time and it took me exactly where I needed to be. I wasn't trying to catch an interception, especially in overtime, though I should've caught the one before that. I have to have those, that was mine. I'm glad that he threw it that way."
On if he felt as though the second play was redemption:
"I wouldn't call it redemption, just trying in the technique, trusting in the game plan, trusting in the coaches. The coaches call the plays, we're just the players. It's all about making plays and that was my main focus, just trying to make a play. Trying to make a play under all circumstances, I think we did a good job of that."
On the defense needing a last stand after the offense came away with six points:
"If they hadn't scored in the first place, we wouldn't have been in the position we were in. So, I felt like it was our job to keep them off the field, keep them out of the end zone the whole game. We didn't do a good job of that today. I wouldn't say picking up the pieces, obviously there are some mistakes we have to clear up and fix, but it's just responding to adversity and pushing through it. I think we did that very well as a team today."
Freshman QB Alex Hornibrook
On his play tonight:
"Whatever it takes to win the game, but also I know where I can improve and places I can get better at."
On the specific areas he can improve:
"The one today, I just need to have a plan in my head and execute it. I could've thrown it underneath instead of forcing it downfield. But I'm going to improve on today.
On getting into a rhythm with the quarterback rotation:
"Unless you let it get to you that you're coming out, it shouldn't affect you at all. I don't feel a difference."
On not being the QB in overtime:
"Yeah I obviously wanted to play, everybody wants to play, but at the end of the day it was good to get a win."
Freshman RB Bradrick Shaw
On watching Dare play running back:
"It's great watching Dare. Team leader, excellent running back, and when he is doing good, the team does too."
On what he brings to the team:
"I don't really know what is different from them, but I just try to go in there and make my opportunity count when I get in, and just try and spark something."
Senior QB Bart Houston
On rotating quarterbacks throughout the game:
"You know there's a lot of things we have to work on. It was a tough overtime victory, we haven't had many of those especially when I've been here. Three my freshman year and the one to Ohio State this year. But it feels good, our defense really picked us up. Corey (Clement) and Dare (Ogunbowale), our offensive line, really picked us up."
On getting the nod in overtime:
"I didn't really think about it. It's just, let's go."
On coming back in after the interception:
"I threw two picks against LSU, and you flush it. On a big stage like this, if you let that affect how you're thinking it's going to affect a lot more plays."
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley
Opening Statement:
"It sure is disappointing to lose. It looked for a while like a pretty typical game of ours, we came back and scored some points in the fourth quarter and we kicked the field goal to tie it, which ended it up in overtime and it sure would have been nice to score right then. And then when they missed the extra point there in overtime, I thought 'okay, this is it.' But, it was not to be. So, it's really, really disappointing to lose it. I will say that everything that I know about our team is confirmed, which is that they'll continue to fight. We certainly got to improve some things to finish out where we want to, there's no doubt about it, but as far as what we have to work with, it's all good. We'll see about the injuries, of course you know we lost Tanner Farmer pretty early on, and [Jordan Westercamp] sprained his ankle a little bit, Devine [Ozigbo] did and Terrell Newby did too—sprained his ankle—so we'll see about those guys, I think they all kept playing."
On if he thought there was pass interference on the third down play of OT:
"It looked like it, to me. I don't know, I didn't have the greatest vantage point, so I don't really know that it's necessary for me to comment any further, but it looked like something was going on over there where he was impeded but I couldn't see it really."
On the final play of the game:
"It wasn't ideal, but it had a shot. In a hole, their guy made a pretty good play on it, but we had a shot at it."
On the play of QB Tommy Armstrong Jr.:
"I thought Tommy fought like crazy. You know, I think especially in a tight, close-to-the-vest game like this, everybody will evaluate very, very closely the reads that he had to make, both in throwing the ball and running the run-pass stuff, but Tommy played like Tommy. Competed like crazy, made some plays when it looked like we were kind of down and out, and he competed and brought us back into it so that's really about how I summarized his night."
On Nebraska's running game:
"It was going to be hard, we knew that. I think that we might have had a chance to make it better than it was, and I thought we hit some nice runs, but it was tough sledding and it wasn't as consistent as you need to be probably to score more points than that to win the game. There was still some pretty good stuff there and like I said, in some of our read stuff, we'll probably look at it and find that we can do it a little bit better."
On the play-calling following Nebraska's final interception:
"That was really a disappointing series, there's no doubt about it, it felt like such a big opportunity for our team and then to get nothing there was pretty scary as to the outcome of the game, I mean that's what it felt like. Will we evaluate what we had and what we called, yeah those are the hard ones in a game like this, probably you go over and over that way."
On what he said to the team in the locker room following the game:
"Well I talked about the fact that their team was to be congratulated. We appreciate, all of us in the room in the room in there, appreciate how each other competed and played and fought. We're going to go back home and start practicing and get ready to play a better game next week, get ready to win next week. So, those were the three things basically that I mentioned."
On what the game confirmed to him:
"Well, I thought that once again we really kept our poise when we were down in the fourth quarter. I thought that that did not deter us from getting back into it, you know we didn't get the final result that we have been getting, but we sure got to the point where we could have. That is so much fun to be a part of a group like that, they don't blink, they have poise, they persevered and we gave ourselves a chance to win against a good football team and just didn't quite get it done."
On the play of S Nathan Gerry:
"Man, I think he's really been playing a lot of good football lately. Nathan is a good, physical football player that has a lot of good football awareness and that's where you get in those positions to intercept those balls like that."
On the defensive performance in OT:
"I kind of was, and I'm not, there's a wear-down factor here. What you find is some of the plays early, you're right on the right edge of the blocker, right in the position in your gap and then I think that we got out-positioned just enough in some of those runs at the end that hurt us, and that was the difference-maker."
