Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. New Mexico
September 8, 2018
Camp Randall Stadium - Madison, Wis.
OPENING STATEMENT: I was certainly proud of the way the day finished, and what's fun about the game is you've got to play it, and you've got to earn everything. Certainly, (winning) the game is the number one, and turnovers are a big part of this game. We had some early, was proud of the response defensively.
I think the big swing came on Scott's (Scott Nelson) pick.I think Gink (Andrew Van Ginkel) had some pressure on it, and then the offense scores off of that. And then the fourth down where they're going for it on (third) down, get the fumble. I think Kayden (Lyles) recovered it, and then the score after that. I was proud of the response, the way guys individually handled things and collectively.
We've certainly got a lot of work to do. I think there's some good things that we can continue to find, that we'll continue to build on, and then we've got to eliminate some of those things that got us in trouble. We've got penalties on special teams, and that's never good, and taking care of the football.
Q. Paul, you mentioned guys recovering from early mistakes. Obviously, Jonathan (Taylor) did that, running the ball better. But what do you do with the fumbles? Is there anything more you can do, other than stressing ball security?
CHRYST: Yeah, you're doing that. And I thought — I'm anxious to see. On the field, I felt we kind of lost Alec (Ingold), and he had to cover for someone. It was a pretty good play, but certainly I'm not — you know what, we've got to take care of the football. Alex (Hornibrook) is stepping up in the pocket, and it gets tipped, and all those things. (Garrett) Groshek had one at the end of the first half.
Those are things you've got to — you're going to be in those situations again, and you've got to just work at it. What you feel as a coach, not one of those guys is going out there and saying, 'you know what, I'm going to try to fumble right here.' So I think the whole thing is how do you respond?
And then certainly, part of that response is how do you practice? And how can you put yourself in those situations? That's part of the response. But there's also a mentality of, all right, I'm going to clean this up and keep going, and then there's a response by all the other players, whether it's the defense coming out or the offense, how they respond to something, and that's playing the game.
Q. Paul, how concerning is it with Jonathan that he can't get over this? It's the second time now this year after last year.
CHRYST: Yeah, it's something that he's — we're going to work on. He'll continue to work on, and he brings a ton to us. And the best part about J.T. is he'll work at it.
Q. Did you guys do anything different defensively after that first drive, or was it just a matter of staying calm and playing better after that?
CHRYST: There's a lot — as you go and come out and seeing it, and I thought, you know what, coaches, players did a nice job of — you can hear coaches talk about adjustments, and some of them are schematic adjustments, and some of them are 'this is how we play it' and 'this is the angle that you've got to take.' And players do a good job of adjusting in the course of a drive, in the course of a game. So there's a little bit of all that that goes on in it.
Give credit to them. They made some plays. They converted on two third and — we had a third and 11, and they converted on it early in the drive, and then the touchdown was a third down. So you give them credit, and there's certainly things that we can look at and get better at in all phases.
Q. I won't even ask about Jonathan's fumbles, but what do you think allows him to respond the way that he does? What did you think of what he did there, and did you say anything to him after the fumble?
CHRYST: He's competitive, and he cares about this team. He doesn't want to do that. I just like the way he keeps an even keel. He's competitive. He doesn't want to do it, but he knows too that he can pay it back.
Q. I think you alluded to A.J. Taylor's ability in the opener to overcome a couple of balls he thought he should have had. I don't know if he should have had the one down near the goal line today, but did he show again he was able to put a play behind him that maybe he couldn't finish and make some plays for you?
CHRYST: I thought A.J. was big in a lot of areas, and certainly I'm anxious to see that one. I thought we certainly had an opportunity. When you probably go back and look at it — and this is what's kind of neat about football is probably everyone can do a little bit better in making that, and those add up. Touchdowns instead of field goals are big, and yet I thought A.J. did a nice job of just continuing to play, and like you said, he came up with some big plays.
Q. You guys have kind of started slow offensively these last two games. Are you concerned about that at all? What's your worry level there?
CHRYST: The biggest focus and the concern I have is how do you help this team individually and collectively get better?
Q. Paul, how nice was it to get Danny (Vanden Boom) in the game at the end there and have him throw that touchdown and lead the offense down for the final score?
CHRYST: It was great — any time guys can get in and play. It was good getting a young offensive line in there. It was good getting Mason Stokke in there and defensively get some guys in there. That's always good. We talked about it probably more last week, but for some of them, that's their first, and Danny set the bar high. Downhill from here.
Q. Are you guys planning to redshirt Jack Coan this year, or is there a different reason Danny went in there?
CHRYST: Jack's had an opportunity to play. I thought this was a good opportunity for Danny to get some snaps, and it was.
Q. I didn't see if Jon Dietzen came in the game late, but was he not available today? Was that the decision that led to go with Cole (Van Lanen) pretty much the whole way?
CHRYST: Yeah, he was dressed and ready should he need to, but also thought, if we could not play him, it would probably be good for him. Yeah, just keep him healthy.
Q. What did you like about (Isaiahh) Loudermilk today? And overall the adjustments in the front seven after that first quarter?
CHRYST: I thought certainly it was great to get Isaiahh and Zander Neuville back. I thought Isaiahh was really good, especially for his first snaps. I was glad to see Olive (Sagapolu) showed up and made some plays. Kayden (Lyles) made a play. I think we'll look back, and I'm pretty sure Matt had some. I thought we were a little more active up front. Isaiahh was certainly part of that. He's one of those guys that lifted up our team a little bit when you see him out there.
Q. New Mexico's offense is quite a bit different than yours. How are you guys able to replicate that in practice? And is that an issue to try to replicate that as effectively as possible leading into a game?
CHRYST: I think that's always — you know, it's something that you try to deal with throughout the season. That onus falls on certainly coaches and how you prepare them, and that's why every guy on this team has a significant role. There's a number of guys that become the look team for the offense, for the defense, and the special teams.
I think that's another part of growth that isn't seen by everyone, but we've got to do a great job of learning how to practice and taking pride and giving the best look that you can. And the details. Certainly, it's going to be different on gameday, but they've got a good idea what to expect. I think you're always trying to work on and improve on how you practice.
Q. I know they tweaked their offense in the off-season, New Mexico did, but when their quarterback starter went out, did they do things differently than you anticipated, and did that either force to you do some things differently defensively or to do more things defensively with the new guy?
CHRYST: You never — it's not like you've got such a solid book on them. Here's with the starter. Here's with the backup. So I thought that you've got to be careful of trying to reinvent the wheel, and yet you're taking it all in. That's where I thought defensively coaches, players did a nice job of just kind of seeing how they were playing the game and kind of calling it accordingly, and players adjusting accordingly.
Q. Any update on Tyler Johnson after he went out?
CHRYST: Nothing yet.
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On being "the guy" in the backfield:
"The whole getting in the flow of games is new to me this year. Drive in and drive out being with the guys, it's the first time I've done it in my career. The more I grow from that the better."
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On Jonathan Taylor's fumble and whether he spoke to him about it:
"Our whole running back room is tight. We trust each other. I really don't have any worries about JT fixing anything… He's going to get it done for us and you trust him back there."
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On Jonathan Taylor bouncing back to have a great game after the fumble:
"It speaks a lot to his character. He does it in practice every day, every rep. He's going to attack it like anything else he does, which he did today."
On the turnaround in this game:
"You feel it over the course of the game on offense. You keep chugging away at runs, chugging away at runs. Defenses just don't want to do that for four quarters and you really actually feel it. They don't hit as hard as they used to, they don't seem as bought in the more you keep hitting them with runs and hitting them with runs. It opens up big play-action plays. I think it's just a slow, methodical flip. Obviously you want to do that from the start but if you have to do it over four quarters, so be it."
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On how satisfying it must be to wear teams out like that over four quarters:
"It's super satisfying and its fun. When you feel them not giving the same effort as they were in the first quarter and the second quarter, it's what you take pride in. You almost feel yourself playing harder than you were then too."
On whether or not he knew he would be the second guy in:
"Yeah. Coach talked to me a few weeks ago and told me to be ready to rock in late-game situations. My number was called today and I feel like my preparation allowed me to do my job."
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On whether or not he was surprised he got to throw the ball so late in the game:
"I was a little surprised. It was 3rd down so I thought we would maybe have a shot. When I saw the signal I was really excited. It was a good time."
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On the biggest thing he did to get ready for game situations:
"Prepare like you are the starter. Regardless of the situation, prepare like you are going to get called because you never know when you are."
On Jonathan Taylor always finds the hole:
"Coach always talks about how it is a matter of inches. Six inches can matter from a 5-yard play to a 60-yard play. John finds those tight holes and we obviously try to make them a lot bigger. He can make a lot more plays with that. He had a hell of a game."
On Jonathan Taylor responding to fumble:
"I thought he did a great job. He broke some really good plays out after that. Obviously, you just got to get back to the fundamentals and tuck it away. We always have confidence in all of our running backs. I don't think it is a problem. It happens, you always got to bounce back. You just have to remind him little things here and there, it's all about the fundamentals of the game. He bounces right back. It's the same Taylor you see. How he walks, how he talks how he runs. He's the same guy and he bounces back really good. He's one of our leaders out on the field. I think he did a great job coming back from the fumble. I think all of our running backs came back really good. It's really important [to have a guy that doesn't sulk after a fumble] because we're blocking for him. Our offense as a group, and our team as a group does a really good job at encouraging him to go out there and be himself."
On A.J. Taylor stepping up:
"He did a great job of getting open, especially downfield for us. He had a good game. I think it's been great for him. He's done a good job just improving this whole time. He's always been that guy we can depend on. It was a good job doing that today."
On touchdown to A.J. Taylor:
"We just had a few routes coming across the field there and he had good leverage. I knew that he would be good coming out of that one. That's how the play opened up."
On Scott Nelson's interception:
"That was huge. They did a great job today getting us the ball back in those situations. Scott and Madison (Cone) had some interceptions that helped us as well."
On the mentality coming out of the half:
"We didn't change too much it was just to execute and get the ball in the end zone. You just got to execute from the beginning. There's not too much to overthink there. We just got to put the ball in the end zone early."
On the defense's response to New Mexico's quick start:
"I think we weren't necessarily surprised. I think it happens to everybody. I was really happy with how we responded to it. We kind of came together and figured out that we needed to make adjustments as we needed to. I think we really did."
On having Isaiahh Loudermilk on the field again:
"It was really nice seeing him fly around with the ball."
On Coach Chryst's message after the game:
"One thing is 'How do you respond?' He always talks about how the game won't always go our way, we're going to face adversity, but the number one thing is how we respond. Everyone leans on one another, so we all have to respond back from adversity."
On how he responded from adversity:
"I feel like I did some good things on the ground, but there are definitely still a few things I need to clean up. That's why you work during the week, so that you can get to the game and put it into action."
On having a career-high game:
"I did see that today was a career-high for me after the game. That was a good thing, but at the same time, I've got to look at the film and correct things that are simple."
On him and A.J. Taylor both performing well during the game:
"We know A.J. makes explosive plays, and I'm just happy to see him explode and make plays like that. We see him do that all the time in practice and having him do that in the game and in front of all the fans and people back home watching him. It was a really great day to watch him do that."
On his interception:
"We were just in man and I was reading up the quarterback's eyes and I was playing in the post. Coach (Jim) Leonhard told us that we'll have some opportunities to make plays off that, if we read the quarterback's eyes and trust what we see. And that's how he showed where he wanted to throw it to."
On how he feels his contributions to the team:
"I don't really try to think about it like that. I'm just trying to be dependable where my teammates can count on me. Being able to make plays for them and having my teammates be able to trust me when we're making plays."
On what he's worked on the most:
"The biggest thing I've worked on is focusing up and using my other guys as energy, and really just playing with purpose, which is playing for the guy next to me."
On his one-handed catch:
"To be honest with you, I really wasn't thinking. I saw the ball and I thought it was going to be a little bit further than it was, so I was slowing down to jump for it, and I guess the guy had my hand, so that's the only hand I had. I decided to go for it, and it ended up working out."
On his touchdown catch:
"I knew the guy was playing a little bit of an outside leverage, so I knew I could get inside if I just pushed at him a little bit. I ended up doing it, and he stayed still, and I cut it from him and made the play."
On the second half of the game:
"I think we started to really click in the second half. We've been doing this a lot, playing well in the second half. But I think we started to come together again as an offense and start feeding off of each other, feeding off the defense and that's what ultimately helped us."
On Jonathan Taylor's performance:
"He's a great back. I mean, he had a little bit of adversity, but we all do. He overcame it and he played really well. He's a mentally tough dude and he's a great athlete. Those two combined makes for an unstoppable guy."
New Mexico Head Coach Bob Davie
OPENING STATEMENT:Â "What a great opportunity to come up here to Madison, Wisconsin. To be able to experience this atmosphere in an impressive place with an impressive football team that we played against. Everybody saw what it was. I really felt offensively that we had a great rhythm early in the game. I thought honestly schematically there were some things that we could do. When our quarterback went out, I don't know exactly what time it was in the second quarter, we didn't get much done after that."
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"For the people who don't follow us, we had a heck of a quarterback battle in camp between Colton Gerhart and Tevaka Tuioti. Colton Gerhart got hurt last week in our game against Incarnate Word so what ends up happening is Sheriron (Jones) is your third quarterback. Sheriron had a hamstring all through camp. He was a guy who just got in here this summer and didn't practice a whole lot in summer camp because he had a hamstring (injury). So all of a sudden in a situation like this against a team like this, you don't have quite the confidence, quite the rhythm, and that was apparent."
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"We couldn't stop them running the football. We knew that was going to be an issue and I think most teams will have a hard time stopping them running the football. But the bottom line, it was 10-7 in the third quarter and we create the turnover and we have a chance. Then we turn the ball over three times in the second half. Defense got worn down. They kept continuing to pound us but then they took advantage of a couple of play-action passes when you're running the ball so successfully."
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"I'd like to see what would've happened if Tevaka would've played the whole game, but that isn't the way football goes. We had to play our absolute best. We had to get some breaks. We actually had a couple of those things happen but we just lost our rhythm offensively once the quarterback went out. Even though we made a couple plays, we turned the ball over three times in the second half."
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"I'm proud of our effort. I think this is a great experience for us. In a lot of ways our season starts next week quite honestly. If you look at Incarnate Word, our first game, most people would think we would beat them. If you look at Wisconsin, obviously most people would think we would lose to them. Now we start into the meat of our schedule. We've got a lot of concerns. Sheriron Jones will most likely be our quarterback next week, but at least we have a week here of practice with him to work on doing the things he can do."
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"I talked to Barry Alvarez before the game and talked about how you don't develop an offensive line like they have overnight. That is a consistent recruiting effort, consistent development effort, and you don't solve problems against their offensive line overnight. That's impressive. That's impressive the length they have, the size they have, and then they take advantage of it with the scheme."
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"We leave here disappointed because I know we could have played better but in the end we are who we are and they are who they are and it was neat to come up here and see what the Big Ten experience is. I don't take this for granted. This is a heck of a setting, heck of an environment, heck of a football program we got to compete against."
