Here are the official transcripts:
An Interview With:
COACH JERRY KILL
COACH KILL: Thanks for coming out. We appreciate it. And you know, we've had an off week. You know, hopefully, you know, our kids did a good job. We worked a lot on fundamentals and things we need to do. We also gave them some time off.
I think they needed it from a mental capacity, and a little bit of fatigue. And so you know, I think our kids have responded well, and had a good practice on Sunday, and looking forward to the rest of the week, and then certainly Saturday. So with that, any questions.
Q. Did you feel like you would have handled this bye week a little differently than you did the first bye week after Michigan partly because of what happened at Illinois?
COACH KILL: No. I don't think it was different in the fact that, you know, where we're at in the season. And you know, we adjusted recruiting a little bit because I wanted to make sure we gave our kids Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off, and Wednesday and Thursday I wanted to do a little bit more preparation toward Iowa. And so get us ahead of things a little bit. So that was a little bit different approach. We didn't give them as much time, you know.
But we needed it. I mean, you know, you can tell when kids are fatigued a little bit, and so we needed to get them back to playing fast and get them going.
So we were careful with them, but we felt like we needed to kind of move forward there, so we were smart in recruiting and preparation for the kids?
Q. Practice outside all this week in preparation for Saturday or how do you handle that?
COACH KILL: I don't think that, you know, yeah, we'll be outside, you know, today. I mean as far as the preparation and things of that nature is that we've been out in the cold, the heat and so forth. So we might, if there's a situation like Friday, sometimes we go inside just because, you know, to have better focus and so forth. But it won't be any different than what we've done in the past.
And with our situation, not having two practice fields, you know, sometimes, like our defense may be inside today so we can throw the ball down the field and things of that nature. So sometimes we're inside because of our situation, not having two fields.
So sometimes you see us inside, but not all of us are in there. But offensively we'll be outside.
Q. Defensively, Iowa defensively seemed to start pretty slow as they're coming on. Can you talk about their defense?
COACH KILL: I think their team's always been that. If you follow Iowa in the past, is that they are always a football team that gets better. Everybody says things and then all of a sudden they just keep going in a direction, so I think that's the nature of who they are, and the job coach does.
But from a defensive standpoint, they've got two their defensive line is very, very good, and their two deep tackles down the middle make them special. I mean those guys are hard to handle, and not very many people have handled them. And they're playing young linebackers, and they've gotten better each week, just like some of our freshmen have gotten better the more they play. And they're very well coached.
I mean I just watched, I don't know, six games of, you know, third down and seven or more, and you can count the numbers that people have gotten first downs in those situations. So we better stay out of third down and long or we'll be in trouble. So there's things they do that they just do a great job of scheme wise and coaching that makes them good, but it's also the strength and the size, but that's who Iowa has been for a long time.
Q. You talked a lot about fundamentals during the bye week and all that. One thing Mitch mentioned last week was just getting from the huddle to the line of scrimmage quicker, and it might seem like a small thing to us, but is that kind of a point of emphasis for you guys?
COACH KILL: I think a lot of it is just timing, trying to develop some timing and getting in and out gives him more time to make decisions and checks and those kind of things.
Again, I mean I just think it's a part of little things like that are important. Using your hands. Iowa does a great job with their hands, and as an offensive lineman and defensive lineman, you can use those hands, you gotta keep them in, but getting your right hand in in a run play to the right, you know, from a receiver, not raising up on a hitch route or a comeback route.
The great players, you know, fundamentally are so sound you don't know what they're doing. So I think that's what we mean by fundamentals, from route running to low pad level, et cetera.
Q. How much has Drew been able to practice this last week?
COACH KILL: Drew Wolitarsky, oh, he's not practicing at all. He is very questionable, and I don't think he'll play. So that's his I just don't think you know, we've got two or three like that right now.
Q. Where does that leave you at at wide receiver? Are you still contemplating taking a redshirt off or are you kind of good to go?
COACH KILL: I'm trying not to think about it right now. It's Tuesday. We've been repping a couple of guys, but you know, it's hard to do this late.
But you say that, we've got five games left, too, counting this one, so we'll have to see. A lot of it has to do with how Drew is going to come along. I don't know where he's going to be.
Q. The impression that Logan Hutton has made, does he fit into that mix a little bit?
COACH KILL: Yeah, we've got five we've got Eric Carter. We've got some guys there and they'll step up and do a good job. Just you can't afford any you know, you can't afford anything else to happen. But that's part of the decision making when you're trying to figure out what you do.
Yeah, we got a core group of guys that are, you know, five guys that we'll be fine, but we're losing a very a guy that's been getting better and better, and at this point in time, anyway, and his physical size.
But you know, the pool of five, if we lose one more in there, then you're really stretching things a little bit.
Q. How do you figure that team out? They lost to Iowa State, they barely beat Northern Iowa. They had a field goal to win at the end, and Maryland kind of completely outplayed them, but the last three games they've scored 30 points in all three games. What's turned a team around like that?
COACH KILL: It's, I think, that you know, as coaches, I think that's how things go sometimes, and when you're dealing with young people and so forth, you know, you get on a roll, you gain confidence.
Iowa's always done that. I mean they've always, you know, and they've gotten better as the year goes on, their quarterback is playing at a very high level, and you know, they're a team that always seems to get better as the year goes.
Everybody starts to question them, and then they roll it off and all of a sudden they got nine, 10 wins. And that's a credit to their coaching staff. They just stay with what they do. They don't panic. They don't listen to anybody outside. They just keep doing what they do.
And their kids believe in what they're doing. You can watch that on film.
Q. I'm sure Mitch had some throws against Illinois he wants back, but would it be fair to say that you'll take what he did in the first three BIG TEN games from him for as long as he's here?
COACH KILL: I mean I wouldn't say that with anybody. You know, I want we got a lot of room Mitch would be the first one to tell you he's got a lot of room to improve. All our guys got a lot of room to improve. We certainly don't want to take any steps back, but you know, he's certainly moving forward. But you know, we all including myself. You know, I've been in it for 31 years, and I'd hope to think I'm going to be better as it goes and keep getting better.
But where he's at right now and where he's going to be, I think there's a huge difference, just like a rookie going into the NFL. You got a young man right here in our hometown, Teddy Bridgewater. They're going to bring him along, got a great offensive coordinator, but you know, it takes time. There's ups and downs and so forth, and that kid's going to be a great player, but it's going to take time.
And there's a lot of room, I'm sure coach will say, to improve there. And we've still got a lot of room to improve with Mitch as we go.
Q. Is it one thing with your experience with young quarterbacks that kind of the consistency is what comes?
COACH KILL: Yeah, I think the consistency, and you know, being able to read all the coverages. You know, that's not easy to do. Getting in the right checks, throwing off the blitz right sets. Making that big throw. You know, it's just but most of it is reading coverages and being able to handle all the stuff at full speed situation.
Be able to handle pressure. You know, the pocket collapses, being able to get out of it, not take a sack, all those things, you know, throwing the ball away when you need to. It's third down, you force something, you know, and they pick it or whatever. It's not bad to punt sometimes, so you gotta be smart, and that only comes with maturity and playing. You know, I guess the best example is David Cobb, you know, as a running back, you know, how he's improved and got better.
He had a good year last year, but he's better this year. So I just think that's the way you approach every player, and the same with Mitch.
Q. This team starts off a pretty rough stretch to close out the season. Is it daunting at all to play four straight games you know are going to be pretty tough?
COACH KILL: Don't really think about it, because we got the schedule a long time ago. We knew, we talked to our kids about it. And that's the way it is, so I mean all we do is concentrate. Literally, you know, is this game is a rivalry game. It means a ton to our state. It means a ton to our university, you know, and where we're at right now, you know, it's a big game. And so I think that you literally concentrate on that, and then you go to the next one.
And you know, as you look through, you know, we played TCU, who I think is ranked sixth or seventh in the country. So we all knew we had a tough schedule to start. So we just take them one at a time, and I think our kids understand that?
Q. Understanding Cobb's had such a great year, but Rodrick I think has three straight games with zero carries. Any I mean a lot of that's David Cobb, but anything with
COACH KILL: No, he hasn't done anything wrong. You got David Cobb, and he's played well. You know, there may down the stretch here, different game that we're in or so forth. He may play more, but I mean it's one of those things where, you know, David's played awfully well. Rodrick hasn't done anything wrong. He's playing on special teams, et cetera, and he'll be ready if his number is called. He works hard every day, very hard.
Q. What do you think of Jonah's performance at Illinois? I know Ben Lauer is out. He might play a little bit more, Jonah?
COACH KILL: He may, yeah. He may start, you know. We'll have to see how Ben Lauer is. He hasn't practiced at all.
We'll see how we've had kind of revolving doors in the offensive line, so we'll see how he Ben's going to practice a little bit today, but Jonah is improving every week, and he played sick, too. I mean he was, you know, halftime he wasn't doing very well. You know, he knew he had to stay in there and play, you know, so he's gotten better every week, and he's a young player, but he's big.
I thought he had a really Sunday really had a good practice. I mean he really did a nice job. The more you play, the more success you have, the more confidence in your game. But you know, we certainly need him right now. We need him to come through. There's no doubt about that.
Q. How is Connor Mayes coming along?
COACH KILL: You know, again, he's a guy that with our situation at guards is that you don't want to throw somebody in there, but we had to do what we had to do, and so we need to get him coached up because he's going to have to give us some minutes. And he's done a good job. And you know, it's just like anything; we gotta just do it.
Again, with injuries and things like that we've had, it's put a kids have stepped up, done a great job. We wouldn't be where we're at. But when you have that in the offensive line, start three different guards and all that stuff, it's hard to build that continuity.
You see NFL teams all the time with because of the communication that goes on from snap to snap, you know. So with that depth factor and where we're at. Wish we wouldn't have had to do it, but we had to and so we are where we're at.
Q. What goes into the redshirt decision, when you're doing it that late? Is that something where you bring the kid in, and do you present it to them, like this is what we want to do or this is what we're going to do?
COACH KILL: No. I think, you always talk to the kid and see if he's ready to play. And so I mean I think, you know, I talked to him earlier, and he just goes, Coach, I gotta get better at pass pro. And you know, these kids are gotta get better at pass pro, and I said, think you're ready to play? What do you think? Coach, I think I'm ready to play now.
So I mean a lot of that's, kid, where you're at, communication. You know, so that's pretty much how we've always dealt with it.
We've made a lot of good decisions. Every once in a while you go back and you go, oh, boy, I wish I but right now, until we get we've been here, this is going on our fourth year, and this will actually be our fourth recruiting class. When we got here, we were scrambling, but it's one of those deals until you get it all built up.
In a perfect world I'd redshirt I wouldn't have maybe played two freshmen this year, and that's how you build up depth. But you know, we're in a situation where we're scrambling to continue to do that.
I hope next year's class, the way things fall, that we can maybe redshirt a few more people. But situations dictate that. We've had, I don't know how many injuries, eight, nine guys that have made surgery. And you have that, you gotta do what you gotta do.
And the young kids we've played, I mean they've done okay, you know, but you look down the road, just like you'd love to out of the senior class, you look at Cedric Thompson, you know, boy, I'd like to have him back for another year, you know. You look at Derrick Wells, if he'd have been able to redshirt maybe physically. You look at all that. But we've had to do it. So...
Q. The morale last week going into Iowa earlier, how do you handle that when you have a bye week?
COACH KILL: You know, the first bye week, we were all out on the road, and there was two or three of us stayed in and ran practice and really didn't spend a lot of time on Northwestern, very little.
We did a lot of film work and so forth, but on the practice field we didn't do as much. More fundamentals.
This bye week we spent, you know, less time because we couldn't you know, you're only allowed so many times on the road. If we did that. This one we're able to not only do our preparation, but we were able to do a little bit more on Iowa on the two days that, you know, that we practiced.
Q. Weisman has had a couple big games against the Gophers. Can you talk about him, what kind of threat he poses?
COACH KILL: He's put a lot of good games up against a lot of people. He's a good football player, 245 pounds. If I had a film, I'd show you.
Offensively, they run the outside zone, two back zone as good as anybody. And they run the same thing, you know, adjust it a little bit, but they'll run it, run it, lead the fullback up there and he can hit the seams.
You know, they got a lot they run a wide zone. They stretch it, and he just hangs in there real patient and lets the linebacker run over the top, and then he sticks it. He does a great job.
That's why from a defensive standpoint, we have to be big time disciplined. Everybody's gotta do their job. And you gotta stay in the gap. Linebacker's gotta stay in his gap. They make you be disciplined. And that's what makes him good.
They just keep coming at you, and then they try and make you make a mistake. And then they take advantage of it. Thank you.
An Interview With:
COACH MATT LIMEGROVER
Q. Last year's game Iowa's linebackers were pretty much all over the place. I think they were all three seniors, but what have you seen from this younger group of linebackers?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You know, jersey numbers may be different, but they just have a great way of reloading. You know, they have a really, really strong system. They're basic. They're very fundamental all the way around, all 11 positions. What you see is what you get. They don't change too much.
They're not super outstanding one year, like No. 1 in the country and they're not 125 in the country. They're very consistent. And that doesn't change from year to year, and really it's no different. They got a younger group of linebackers, but at front four there is really front six or seven when they rotate some guys through, that kind of picks those backers up and allows them to get a little more experience, but they're very solid all the way around.
Q. Do you try and challenge your team, I mean the Xs and Os are one thing, but you know what they're going to do on defense. It hasn't changed for years. Do you challenge your team from down here and say this is about toughness one on one, can you reduce it to that?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Yeah. You know, there's nothing tricky about them, nothing at all. They're going to let you know exactly what they're going to do, and they do it well. So absolutely, there becomes more of a, hey, this is going to be a one on one battle; how are you going to face it, how are you going to step up to the challenge. It's always that way. It's classic Big Ten football. It's just going to be body on body, and who's going to be better at what they do. And that's the theme, without a doubt, for the last seven or eight days.
Q. It was obvious that Mitch's confidence was really rising when he reeled off those three solid games in a row, but do you worry at all just how he'll rebound after having a little bit more struggles at Illinois?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Well, you know, I think there were some good things that he was able to do at Illinois. You know, we were able to hit the long ball, you know, which we needed to, and definitely benefited us.
Mitch doesn't let a whole lot phase him at the end of the day. He's learning that each week and getting better at that. Having the week off to kind of put Illinois in our rearview mirror and set our sights for Iowa, I loved his demeanor and how he went about things on Sunday, and expect more of the same this week and going into the game.
Q. It seems like some of your first drives, a couple drops that just I think back through the season where maybe Mitch's confidence takes a hit that moment. I mean obviously you'd want those catches made, but just is that something you've thought about, too, that if you could just get that first first down, how things can start to
COACH LIMEGROVER: Yeah. That's all part of it. That's all part of the preparation going into the game. You know, that's the idea of scripting, you know, initial starter plays, you know, whether it's first 12 or 15 or 18 plays. You know, you look at it and you say, hey, how can we get this guy going, how can we establish something here. You know, let's see what they're going to do to a formation to set the tone for the rest of the ball game. Let's get our quarterback going in the right direction.
So yeah, it is a little bit disheartening when you have something, and maybe there's a drop or maybe the ball wasn't put where it needs to be, because you really put a fair amount of time into trying to get those situations as advantageous as you can, because you do have the time in the preparation and then you're able to see, okay, here's how they're adjusting to us, here's what they're doing and then that's when the end gate stuff kind of kicks in.
So anytime you have a situation like that, I think that it does make it a little harder to fight through when those situations come up early in the ball game.
Q. You mentioned before you guys have actually more plays at 30 yards or more this year than before. Do you find yourself more apt to gamble on some of these bigger big yardage plays?
COACH LIMEGROVER: I don't know if gamble is the right way to put it. We've got a lot of confidence in David Cobb that if we do take a chance on first down and we want to come back and run the ball on second down, that he's a guy that'll find a way to get us into third and manageable.
So that's always the challenge when you're not a drop back, throw it 50 times a game type of team is, okay, where do we go on second and ten, and sometimes that shies you away from taking some chances, but when you look at it and say, hey, we feel very good about being able to run the ball and also having some good shots that maybe aren't down the field, but that'll get you into third and manageable, because then that becomes your goal on second and ten is get yourself back on track. So we're feeling better and better about those things that we have as well, so it allows us to open things up on first down a little bit more.
Q. Cobb seemed pretty devastated after the game last week. Do you just reinforce with him, hey, keep running the way you do or do you have to say be mindful when you're trying to break tackles and guys are going to try to strip it?
COACH LIMEGROVER: It's a tremendously fine line because you gotta continue to coach and say, be smart, understand the situation, but at the same time, some of his best runs, some of his most impressive runs is he's had a guy hanging on each leg, another one jumping on his back and he's found a way.
So the way I'd sum it up is the same thing with the running back, if you're running zone scheme and the guy gets the ball early and he cuts the thing back and has a good gain, those guys want to keep cutting it back all the time. You can't take that out of them, but you gotta keep them on track.
And I think that's the same thing in the situation like that. We preach so much about team football and about taking care of the ball, about being good teammates, not putting the defense in a bind. That's the ultimate there is not only fumbling, but them taking it back for a touchdown.
So the reinforcement has gotta be, hey, we love what you do, but let's be mindful of taking care of that football, because if the worst thing we have to do there is punt on 4th and 12, so be it. Let's let our defense finish this thing off.
Q. Until you notice guys because he does try to pressure guys, try to punch the ball out when they have several guys on him?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Oh, yeah. And you know what's interesting about that, and I think Tracy would tell you the same thing, is sometimes those guys are trying so hard to do that, that's what gets him that extra you know, there are times where I'm fortunate to be in the box with Tracy, and he gets mad at our defensive guys because they're not wrapping up and tackling, they're trying to go for a strip or trying to get the ball, and all of a sudden the guy squirts out and gets 10 or 12 extra yards. I think David is very good at that, but because of that kind of style, he is prone to people going after the ball more, and he's definitely gotta be more mindful of that as he's trying to get those extra yards.
Q. How have the guys gotten over the Illinois loss and how can you tell that they've put that behind them?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Well, you know, I think having the week the off week definitely came at the right time mentally, you know, because there was the grieving process. You know, nobody felt good about it.
You know, Coach gave them a day or two away. We watched the film. We made the corrections, and then we tell them all the time, put it in the rearview mirror.
You know, one of the things we talk about is toughness individually and as a team, and it's not just the physical toughness of going out there, you know, and going one on one or whatever, but there's also a mental toughness of get it in your rearview mirror and keep looking forward.
And we stressed that to those guys last week, and come Sunday there wasn't a word about it. We were moving forward and got a huge game, big game, big conference game, border opponent. Everybody knows that. We're well aware of what's ahead for us this next week. So it was good to kind of have that week to get through that and then move forward.
Q. Northwestern didn't seem to be posing much opposition for them. They just looked like they caved in.
COACH LIMEGROVER: Well, I'll tell you what, we had a chance because having Saturday off, we had a chance to watch a little bit of the beginning of that game, and you know, they had special teams breakdowns. They were in third and long their first three or four possessions, Northwestern was. They were in third and eight plus, I think each of their first four possessions, and that's not where you want to be against Iowa.
So they just didn't get anything going, and it was one of those where before they could even take a breath, they were down 24-0, and it was a combination of poor field position, special teams, couple big plays by Iowa.
I think they were able to start one drive on their own side of the 50, and you give them a short field, they're gonna take advantage. So we know that special teams are going to be huge. We've gotta win the special teams battle, and then we can't, you know, as I've said all along, we gotta be good teammates on offense. We may not get a first down, but we can't go from third and eight to fourth and 18 and lose 10 more yards and put ourselves in a bind and start tilting that field away from us. So we'll use that as a good template as to what not to do for sure.
Q. Ben Lauer sounds like his ankle is acting up again. Is it fair to say that if he was healthy, he and Jonah are both two guys that could be starting and one reason you guys have split time there is to save Ben some wear and tear?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Yeah. You know, they're both younger guys, and physically they're not fourth or fifth year seniors, you know, in the strength program and developmentally. So what I found last year, you know, Eddie Olson was kind of banged up, so he wasn't going to make it through a full ball game. And then you had Ben Lauer as a redshirt freshmen.
Now, Ben got stronger over the off season, but he's still not where he probably needs to be to be a dominant Big Ten offensive lineman. Then you have Jonah who's had a lot of injuries but now is healthy, a little bit behind that way. So when you can trot a fresh kid out there every other series as opposed to a younger kid getting worn down, I never used to believe in that, but since I've gotten here, and particularly in the last two years, I think you're able to get more out of them.
So those guys being co-starters when Ben's healthy, I think that helps both those guys be strong throughout a ball game. Instead of having 70 plays in a ball game, each of them getting between 33 and 37, it seems to get the most out of those guys right now.
Now, what I'd love for it this time next year or two years from now, depending on how things go with what we do with Josh Campion and those guys be our bookends and they're fourth year seniors now and they're stronger than they've ever been and they're both huge bodies. That's what the really good programs are able to do is take those guys and build them over time.
So that's why we do that with those two guys in particular.
Q. Do you feel that Connor has progressed now that he's taken that next step up; you've taken the redshirt off him. How have you seen him develop the last couple weeks?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You know what, the off week really helped him as well, to get the couple extra days in. That's the one good thing about a team like Iowa is we'll be able to get Connor in there a little bit more, because like I said, for the most part we know what they're going to do. They're going to be very good at what they do, but there's not going to be a lot of, like I say, sometimes for a freshmen it's like the what you see on a commercial where there's somebody standing on a street corner and they speed everything up around them.
A lot of times for a freshman in general, but especially a freshman offensive lineman, you kind of feel like that guy standing there when that stuff's going at warp speed around you. I think the last couple of weeks that stuff's really slowed down for Connor and it's given him an opportunity to really work on that technique, especially the last seven days or so.
So this is not an ideal game for him because it is Iowa, but it is good as far as being able to get in there and get going.
Q. Matt, you're two thirds through this season. How would you in kind of a short overview, how would you evaluate where the offense is?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You know, as always, it's a work in progress. I feel like we're I feel like we're further along than we were at this point last year, but I don't think we're far enough along that we can completely week in and week out say, hey, you know, defense has an off day, we're going to be able to against the better teams in the conference go out there and dominate a game and score 40 points in a ball game.
Eventually that's your goal is you want to do that every week, go out there and no one's going to stop you from scoring 35 or 38. And we're working toward that, and I think we're getting closer, but still definitely a work in progress, and each week's going to be, as it is with everybody in this conference, going to be a challenge to find ways to score points against good defenses.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
An Interview With:
COACH TRACY CLAEYS
Q. From a personnel standpoint, do you feel like you guys are built better to face that this year?
COACH CLAEYS: Last year we did pretty good against Michigan State and Wisconsin, so we had the people to stop. It's just a matter if you tackle well enough and to get off blocks, you know, and chase the ball. So it's not whether we have the people or not. It's how we execute.
Q. What was your main focus with your defense going into this bye week in terms of did you feel like they really needed to regroup after the early struggles against Illinois?
COACH CLAEYS: Actually, we gotta start better. After that we played well after the first 20 minutes of the game.
And even the first 20 minutes, sometimes people panic, but we missed a sack, or we were out of the first one. We miss tackled on another one, we were out of there. And then the third one we let a receiver go on man coverage. We couldn't stay with the receiver.
So those three plays just happened to hurt us. After the first 20 minutes we played really well. So there's no need to panic, just need the plays we need to make and get out of the gate better than what we have.
Q. What goes into those early struggles, do you think? Is that something guys maybe being over hyped or is it just taking a while to settle in?
COACH CLAEYS: If I knew, it wouldn't happen twice in a row. So it's you know, we just keep going, talk about it, emphasize it, and hopefully we'll start better than what we have.
Q. You look at your body of work defensively is still solid. Seems like the kind of unit that could take it to another level with just a little bit more consistency. Is that fair to say that you guys are just trying to avoid any of the
COACH CLAEYS: I think, you know, the last two games, if we'd just started better. I was more mad with the Purdue thing, because there was issues there when you give up that many points in a whole half, then you got issues there.
But this last game we were just a few plays away from keeping it out of the end zone, and thought we really played well at the end, had an opportunity to win the ball game. And just so happens they picked up a fumble and score, and then that's the ball game.
You know, so we're about the same place we were a year ago on everything, and we've had some chances to make some plays, and so we have missed a few plays that you'd like for us to make, but you know, it all comes down to we've played well enough where we're still in first on our side, and it comes down to the month of November, how we play in November. So I think the kids are looking forward to that and getting back to playing a game again.
Q. Coach talked about their zone offense and the importance of your guys staying in position, everybody doing their job. Are you concerned at all, Tracy, in such a big game emotionally as is coming up Saturday that people maybe will lose a little focus at times trying to jump around too much or getting out of there?
COACH CLAEYS: All I can do is say last year Michigan State and Wisconsin were big games, and we stayed where we needed to be and made the plays we need to make.
You know, so the one thing they do, and I always get emails every year is they put so many guys in the box. There's 22 personnel. They're going to block your front seven, your front eight. Your secondary has gotta tackle well. And guys gotta get off blocks and chase it. Everybody's like, well, your linebackers or your safeties made too many tackles. Well, it's because they block everybody. Between two tight ends, two backs, they block the people in the box and they make your secondary tackle on a back that's coming downhill. There's those games we tackle well and not give up the big play on the play actions, then the fourth quarter we'll have an opportunity to win.
Q. Most people think of Iowa think about their running game, but they've been passing pretty well lately. What do you see different there?
COACH CLAEYS: I don't think there's any difference. Their protection, they do a very nice job of pass protection, and even against the blitz, they give him time to get rid of the ball and convert on third down. So up front they're playing very well up front, not just in their running game, but in their pass protection also.
Q. Can you talk about the young linebackers that have been playing a little bit more, Everett Williams?
COACH CLAEYS: Yeah, you know, there will be maybe some opportunity for a few more of them to play with more of the two back game in that.
If there is a concern of playing them, it will be their first time to play against somebody who's really come downhill like that in two backs.
That's probably the biggest concern is how some of those younger kids will play that are going to have to take some snaps versus the two backs. But they practiced well last week and practiced well this week, so one way to learn is get thrown in the fire.
Q. Jack, I mean he obviously
COACH CLAEYS: Yeah, I'm not too worried about Jack. In Michigan he got after them pretty good. He'll come downhill and get after you. So it's more of, you know, with Jon and Everett and De'Niro, the snaps they take, of being ready for what's going to hit them coming downhill.
Q. Brandon Scherff, I mean all the things you hear about him, does he stand out, I mean among the guys you've faced at left tackle?
COACH CLAEYS: I think, you know, by far they're the best line we've played all year. I mean he's a good player, but they got there's not a weak link up there, up front that you can take advantage of.
They're coached very well. They have a system that they believe in. You line up this way, they're going to run this play and block it this way. You line up this way, they're going to run this play, so they know what they want to do and they concentrate on execution and make you get off blocks and try to get the ball to the secondary; and they think the back can take care of the secondary.
So that's and then, you know, when you cheat up too much, then the play action over the top. I think they hit a flea flicker this last week against Northwestern, so it's all staying disciplined in what you're supposed to do and tackling.
Q. Over the bye week, you know, they go out and have that kind of a game against Northwestern, and I know in your preparation so much more than one game goes into it, but do you almost hope the guys weren't too locked in on that game on their off week?
COACH CLAEYS: I think they need because that's how good they can be. If you don't play well and don’t do what you're supposed to do, they can embarrass you. That's to the point they are, and so no, I think that's good. I think it'll we should be ready to go and take them seriously, because they can do the same thing to us if we're not ready to play.
Q. Is there any discernible difference between their two quarterbacks?
COACH CLAEYS: No. They do the same stuff. Same stuff. Both of them like I say, they've done well on third downs, and because their offensive line protection wise, even when people blitz them, you just can't get to it; they give you time to get the ball off.
