University of Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema addressed the media Monday afternoon to answer questions about the team's game against Minnesota this Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
A complete transcription of the news conference follows below. A video archive of the news conference can be found by clicking on the red "Audio/Video/Photos" link on the right side of the page.
BRET BIELEMA: After watching the film, we decided to reward the following players with the offensive MVPs, we co-shared this with P.J., obviously for his performance, but also Travis Beckum, thought he made a gigantic step forward, not only in the passing game, but some of the things he was able to do in the running game.
Defensively, Matt Shaughnessy had his best performance of the year in conjunction with Jack. Jack Ikegwuonu really isn't having as many stats as, you know, we would like to see, but it's basically because they're not really coming his way and there's certain things he's doing during the course of the game, not only on defensive but also within special teams. And then on the special teams standpoint, Taylor Mehlhaff for his performance, five-for-five on his PATs as well as two-for-two on the field goals.
Our offensive scout was Niles Brinkley, and our defensive scout, Jay Valai. Jay really had a great scrimmage last Sunday and doing a lot of good things during the scout team to make our offense better. This week the Minnesota game is a trophy game, rivalry game, border battle, as well as homecoming. And all those things together will help our units, offense, defense, and special teams, focus on the 1-0 mentality, which will get us through this week as well. With that, I'll answer any questions.
QUESTION #1: Bret, do you have an update on Paul Hubbard's condition' Did he practice yesterday' Do you anticipate him playing'
BIELEMA: Some of the week been practicing. Sunday's practice yesterday, what I did is I kind of scaled back a little bit from what we normally do. I just figured we 're halfway through the regular, the normal part of the season, wanted to just be able to take a step back and make sure all of our guys that were banged up a little bit be able to get a . . . maybe an extra half a day. They still went through their regular stretching and everything that they do with John Dettman at the end, but we had a little bit more extended practice with our development squad. But Hubb, we expect him to be full go out there tomorrow and be able to bounce back.
QUESTION #2: Bret, you maybe just hit on this a little bit, but you're at the midway point of a kind of grueling 12-week stretch. How fresh do you think your team is, and do you plan to pull it back at all a little bit with them'
BIELEMA: Well, it'll kind of go week by week . . . really. As we look at it and what we try to do is understand exactly where we are, you know, with our players. Some guys are just, are the types that, no matter what you do to them during the course of the game, they're always going to come back fine on Sunday, especially giving them Monday off, coming back for a strong practice on Tuesday. But as the season goes along, some guys get injured, nicked, and you've got to be able to understand the most important day to have them ready is Saturday.
Mentally you've got to get them ready during the course of the week. Like a little thing pops up this week. This is a heavy test week. And so I always say that our players have a workman's mentality. What we have to do this week is tomorrow we 'll come in and watch film tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. 6:00 to 6:30 will be our special teams meeting for a half hour. And then we'll go offense/defense from 6:30 to 7:30. Then they'll turn around and lift after that with Dett.
And then we'll come back later in the day and practice, because tomorrow night at 5:00 and 7:00, there are four classes that have a test, two hours each session, where we would lose as many as nine starters if we practiced during our normal time. So the flexibility that we have to have as a staff as well as our kids is just ingrained in their mentality. I don't care what time of day or what it is, we have to go out there and be able to perform.
QUESTION #3: Just along those same lines, if given your druthers, would you prefer a bye week somewhere in here'
BIELEMA: I don't have anything to compare as a head coach. As an assistant coach, you always look forward to those off weeks because you do have a chance for your players to get healthy and as coaches kind of take a step back and breathe. I know the part that seems to make a lot of sense to me in listening to the older coaches when I was at Big Ten meetings and at the national coaches' convention was if the NCAA would allow us to play just maybe a week earlier and give us here a week to play with in between.
What they did is they okayed us to have a 12th game, but they didn't give us another week to play, which forces everybody, if you want to get done before Thanksgiving, to go nonstop. And I don't know if that's in the players' best interest, and not only as health reasons, but also as student-athletes.
QUESTION #4: On the same topic, this is P.J.'s first year of going through this grind. How is he holding up physically, and have you tried to help him in practice with anything'
BIELEMA: There are certain things that we've done . . . during the course of the week. We'll make certain adjustments to practice, maybe things that he goes through or doesn't go through, and also just limit the contact that he has from our own players during the course of the week. And there's certain things we can do as coaches, as well as I think our guys realize and understand too we're a better ball club with P.J. out there, so no one's taking any unnecessary shots at him during the course of the week.
QUESTION #5: Bret, this is obviously a good rivalry. In the last year or so, you 've gone head-to-head with these guys for recruits and for an assistant coach. Do you see this rivalry escalating even more'
BIELEMA: I don't know if it can escalate any more . . . probably going to be able to just maintain, you know, the fact that my first year here and it is, made aware of the situation through Coach Alvarez and the other assistant coaches and . . . understanding of what this game was all about. And then able to see last year firsthand how crazy of a game that was up there in the Metrodome and kind of the series that they'd had. And, this year I don't expect it to let down at all.
QUESTION #6: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa all kind of have mini-rivalries going with each other. Do you promote rivalries' I mean, do you like the whole concept, or do you downplay it'
BIELEMA: I would say I probably favor more to the side of promoting rivalries. Anytime you can give guys an extra incentive to play the game, and you know me, I'm a very firm believer in week to week. So in my opinion, it helps you even just focus in that much more than anything else. I know one of the things I brought up on Saturday was the axe and, you know, it's an important thing to our guys, and we're hopefully going to be able to carry that through this weekend.
QUESTION #7: You mentioned how crazy last year's game was. What comes to your mind first when you think back, especially about that finish to last year's game '
BIELEMA: Rob, probably the best memory I have is, you know, we're making a fourth down, or a third-down stop. When I told the guys before they took the field, we don 't have a chance if we don't make a stop here, we were able to come up with that. And then I had kind of turned away and didn't actually see the punt get blocked, saw everybody go nuts and was watching the replay to see who came up with it.
But the best part was then when we went to kickoff, I'm over on the sidelines and, you know, guys are going nuts, and I knew they were going to come out in their two-minute offense and try to advance the ball. And somebody keeps grabbing my shoulder and I keep knocking them away because I'm trying to go through it. They're like, no, no, they fumbled, we have the football, we don't have to take a snap. And it kind of just makes you take a step back and appreciate the moment.
QUESTION #8: When I asked Glen Mason before the season about that game, he said if he had it to do over again, he'd have gone for it on fourth down. Here's someone who's shown a tendency to like to go for it on fourth down. Would you have gone for it in that situation'
BIELEMA: I'll keep that decision in my deck of cards until I have to disclaim.
QUESTION #9: Bret, Bryan Cupito, I don't know if he gets a lot of attention even within the league because of all the quarterbacks in the league, but what kind of problems is he going to present with what he does' I know they like to use him now with play action passes and that. But, and also their receivers, in particular that 84, Logan Payne'
BIELEMA: You're right, Jeff. I think probably Bryan's biggest strength is as a . . . quarterback. Cupito has, year in and year out, done certain things. I think last year, you know, they played to the strengths of their running backs. With those two guys in the backfield, they relied on them to win ballgames and did certain things down the stretch to highlight that.
But this year, as is any good coach, I think Coach Mason in particular and their offensive coaches have made an understanding that their quarterback is a very, very strong influence in their offense. Ever since I've been trying to defend Minnesota, I really believe they do a better job of making their run game and passing game look similar with their actions of not only their running backs, but offensive line and all their receivers. They really set up some big play opportunities.
And you're exactly right, their receiver corps is a strength again for Minnesota, and he's caught, I think, 31 balls, if I'm not mistaken, and you can see that Cupito definitely looks for him in certain situations. And Wheelwright 's not a bad player either. He's a guy that, you know, last year I was concerned about coming into our game, just because of his big-play ability.
QUESTION #10: Coach, can you talk a little bit about cracking the rankings for the first time this year' You're at the midpoint in the season in first year as a coach. What, if any, stock do you put in that, and how do you deal with that with the team '
BIELEMA: I appreciate the ranking and everything that comes into it, but I made our kids understand yesterday, because I knew that it would become an issue not just from the media and the questions that they're going to get asked, but now they're going to walk in the classroom and people are going to make reference to it. Their parents are going to ask about it.
The reason we're in this situation is because of the focus we've had as a 1-0 mentality to get where we are right now. If we falter off of that, we can lose that same position as fast as we earned it. So I really don't see it being an issue with our guys, and that's just kind of the way we ingrained it in their heads.
QUESTION #11: You mentioned just briefly Jack's play. I'm just curious what you see in him as a guy who comes up and lends support, not only Jack, but also Allen on the other corner.
BIELEMA: Well, just a little thing as a coach's point of view, for instance, you know, they have done a fairly good job of supporting the football all year long and the run game. But if you think back to this past weekend, Northwestern had an opportunity and we actually eventually held them to the field goal, but on second and whatever it was, second and eight, second and seven, they tried to run a crack and go on Jack. They tried to, on the first play, they cracked down on our safety with a wide receiver. Jack 's support was a factor in the run game.
But on the very next play, they tried to run a similar type of play with the crack and go and Jack almost came up with a pick in the back of the end zone. And to me, that 's when you begin to take a step forward, when you're able to play one play to the next, almost the exact same type of read, but understand the situation. Now you 're taking a big step forward as a football player. And Jack has a long way to go, but he's fun to be around and I definitely like the way he's practicing.
QUESTION #12: Coach, on Saturday you talked about Zach Hampton in the sun. At this point in the season, do you have your guy back there and you work through the mistakes, or do you maybe dabble a couple other guys'
BIELEMA: As a punt returner'
REPORTER: Yes.
BIELEMA: Well, Stellmacher thinks because of the speed he's shown on that interception return he should be back there. He was lobbying with Coach Doeren on Sunday. I heard that conversation. But I think Zach has demonstrated to us that he's more than competent to be back there. The first one of the year in the Michigan game, because of the situation we were in, and like I talked about previously, with a left-footed punter, it definitely was a bad situation that we didn't take the best advantage of.
And what we try to do is get as many kicks in, punts in, in pre-game warm-up to try and put Zach in that position, but for some reason, the sun changes, and by the time he got back out there, it was a little bit different and he wasn't able to field that ball cleanly. But that's why we had the two returners back there, which put us in a position to be able to recover that football.
QUESTION #13: There were some concerns about the offensive line coming into the year. Where do you think they're at, and especially with pass protection in the last couple games'
BIELEMA: Well, Tom, you're exactly right. Anytime you replace four offensive linemen, you're going to have concern coming into the year. I really liked the development they had during the spring. Bob Palcic has done a tremendous job of continuing their development, not only from spring but where they are right now.
You mentioned pass protection in particular, Tom. I thought, and Coach Palcic, in reviewing the film that this is probably the best performance this past weekend of overall pass protection from first quarter to fourth quarter that that group had provided. And I can't say enough positive things. Joe Thomas, if there's another offensive lineman out there right now that's doing the things that he's done on a consistent basis, especially I think I go back to the Michigan game. That to me was when he really took a step forward against the competition he was playing against.
And on Saturday you saw him finish some things. I think he finished one play in particular that was actually held against him, you know. And if you take that play and rewind it a little bit more, he actually gets, the guy he's going against gets his face mask caught up in Joe. Joe has his hands removed and gets his head pulled down right away, and it didn't sit very well with him, and then he decided to finish it off in a certain way that drew a little more attention than we want.
QUESTION #14: Coach, at this point in the season, obviously midway point, but to look at yourself and say a little here I am, can you appreciate the fact that you are a 5-1, first season, you know, second-youngest coach in Division I football' Do you have time to appreciate that'
BIELEMA: There's certain parts. I mean, on Saturday, you get done with a game, and I always tell our kids, no matter what happens, you need to enjoy the day. And as coaches, we love those 11:00 kickoffs because you ought to be able to sit back and hopefully come out with a victory and enjoy the day for what it is, being around family and friends and the people you care about, and more importantly, in that locker room with the kids afterwards. But after that, reality snaps back in early.
And I'll be honest, you know, Justin e-mailed me in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, he wanted to fill me in about the ranking because I wanted to be able to address that with our kids and make them understand it, but as a coach, all you have to do is live in the now. And there's certain things I already have to plan out what we 're going to do for the Iowa trip and way beyond Purdue and Iowa, and there 's certain parts of my week that I have to be so far in advance and not even bother the rest of my staff or my players. That's just your responsibility as a head coach.
But really what you try to do is maintain that 1-0 thought. You'll get tired of me saying that, but if you ever get outside of the realm of that, you're going to be cheating yourself and your players will catch on to that. So I just try to live in the now and understand where we're at, and we've worked very hard to get where we are. I am so happy to be around the players that I am and the coaches that are here and make up my staff because they really have done a tremendous job to get where we are right now.
QUESTION #15: Bret, you mentioned rivalries. When you were, first when you were a player and later as an assistant at Iowa and Kansas State, who were the teams you really wanted to beat the living daylights out of'
BIELEMA: As a player, ironically, as a player, I don't think you ever really felt it as much as maybe you do as a coach, because players, you know, you deal with the student body and you deal with your family, but there isn't as much of the rivalry buildup as there is amongst the fans and maybe in the media. The only rivalry that I really remembered, you know, when I was playing was the Iowa State rivalry because it was in-state. It's been well documented that I got into that game very well at certain points in my career.
But the Minnesota game, we always talked about it being a rivalry, and that was my last college game as a football player. I remember it more so as that than I do a rivalry game. I remember being in the Dome and being penalized for crowd noise. I think that was the first time that had ever happened in college football history, being on the road and penalized.
At Kansas State, every game was a rivalry game. In that conference, I think you had to kind of just walk with a chip on your shoulder and do certain things. And then once I came here to Wisconsin, this was the very first big one that I was a part of, you know, because just the way it felt during the season. We were doing very well.
If I'm not mistaken, Coach might be able to remember, but I think we were 8-0 coming off a bye week, if I'm not mistaken, going into the Minnesota game, or the second week after a bye week, and it was kind of a, everybody's worried about where we're at and what we're doing, and we came out and performed very strong in the first and second quarters against a good team and was able to put the game out of reach from the get-go.
