I really like bye weeks early, |
I reminded them in the locker room, there's still a lot of football left in the season. This thing is going to be a wild race to the end, and hopefully we can keep getting better as a football team. |
I said it is going to be a crazy year and there are a lot of football teams that could win this league. I don't think that's changed. A lot of people can win the Big Ten, including the team we're playing this week and including us. Maybe I'm nuts, but I believe it. |
I think it was a good week for us. We accomplished a lot with some of the practice we had in the off week. We're trying to improve our execution and do the little things a little bit better. ... We think we can correct some of the problems we faced in the heartbreaking loss to Penn State. |
I think, in a lot of ways, the programs are similar. I think they had a better season than we had overall. But you've got two football teams that have come from behind and found ways to win and did some extraordinary things in difficult circumstances. |
I thought both defenses played better than the score indicated. I think our defense, which was much maligned, gave us a chance to win. They made some plays. |
I want them to be there next time. |
I would expect their return. But there are some things they have to do and some things outside my jurisdiction. |
I'll say what I say on the sidelines: There's a lot of football left, ... There's a lot of football left in this season a lot. We need a great off week. |
I'm always the bad guy. I tell the staff and the leaders of the team, 'It'd be nice if some of you would take a little of that on.' I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West all the time, but I'm not afraid of being unpopular. I worry about trying to do the right thing. |
I've been coaching football for 30 years. I've seen a lot of good football players -- but I haven't seen any better than A.J. Hawk. |
I've made clear my commitment to Northwestern. I'm not a 1-800 guy, calling everybody. Does everybody have a price? Sure. But there's a value in the kind of kids I get to coach, the institution I represent, where I live. I don't know if there's a better job. |
I've never seen anything like that. I can't even explain it to you. |
I've never seen anything like that. I can't explain it. We didn't execute the [onside kick] like we did against Iowa. |
If it hadn't been for him, I'd be dead right now and I know that. I'll go to court for him or whatever it takes. I don't want to let him down as much as he has done for me. |