Post Game Quotes
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 2010
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Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement:
I'm really proud of the way our players played, the way our fans reacted in a class way to welcome a real legend like Joe Paterno and his team here. There's not very many people who've done as much for college football as Coach Paterno. They've got a good team. They play hard. They play with a lot of toughness, and I knew that it would take a real concerted effort on our part to match them physically with their toughness and discipline to execute. I was really proud of the way our guys competed in the game, but we did not execute on a few things, didn't finish some drives, and messed up a short-yardage play at the end of the game. I think the key to the game was probably the turnovers in the red zone - they had three - and that was the key to the game. Turnovers always play a significant part in the outcome of any game. I think we had four, but we got three very timely ones when they made drives.
I think the point of emphasis for our team is really that it's a great win, enjoy it for 24 hours, but there are a lot of things that we need to improve on. We had to play some different players on defense today. Courtney (Upshaw) was not 100 percent. He played a little bit, but we got him out. We moved Kerry Murphy to five-technique instead of nose guard, which was a new position for him. We thought we needed to be a little bigger, a little stouter in this game, to play against their team. We still made a ton of mental errors out there and probably could have finished some things a little bit better on offense, but it was kind of our plan to go no-huddle empty against them early in the game to try to wear them out a little bit, spread them out, and that was very effective for us on our first drive. The reason we didn't do it to start the game, which we would have, is because we got poor field position after a penalty on the kickoff return. We had a real game-management error there at the end of the game which could have been costly to have third and half a yard or fourth and half a yard and want to go for it but then have 12 guys run out on the field after a timeout. Not good coaching. Not smart playing. Not a very good game-management move on our part, so we need to get that cleaned up.
I thought Greg (McElroy) played very well in the game. I thought Trent Richardson had a fantastic game. I think this was the first back that's gotten over 100 yards against their defense in a long, long time which says a lot about their defense, but it also says a lot about Trent making the 140 yards that he made. I thought Greg did a really good job of managing the game, and I thought we had four or five guys make plays out there and we need to continue to have more guys make big plays to continue to be a good offensive team. We had good balance, and I think that's going to be the key to us continuing to improve.
I was pleased with special teams. We have not done a good job on punt return for two games in a row against what we call Bulldog Punt, which is a spread punt. That is something that we definitely need to improve on.
I'm really proud of our players, in terms of the way we competed with toughness in the game. I think we had good intensity. I think it was a tough night out there, and I think some guys got tired in the second quarter, but I think we came back and finished the game fairly well other than the few errors that we talked about.
I was really pleased with the stadium, the excitement, the crowd, the energy; it really had a great impact on the game, especially their young quarterback, and I appreciate that from our fans. I know our players do. The big focus for us is what we need to do to improve, and sometimes that's hard to get guys to understand when they have success, but it's going to be a real key to us becoming a better football team. We'll have to eliminate mental errors, play with better technique, and don't give up as many big plays or else that'll be an issue for us down the road.
We had some injuries. (Chris) Jordan had his shoulder. He probably is going to get an MRI tomorrow; he would be the most doubtful guy. James Carpenter will probably be okay with his ankle. And (DeMarcus) Milliner stretched his hamstring, so he should be okay."
On spreading the offense out:
I think we have a lot of good players on offense, and I think that it is important that we show confidence in all those players. The more the young guys make plays, the more their confidence will grow and I think that is something that is going to make us be a better team. I was pleased that we got more guys involved tonight. Julio (Jones) made some big plays. He's a big-play player and we probably need to throw the ball a little more downfield if we are going to get more explosive plays.
On the guys returning next week:
Hopefully, Mark (Ingram) will be back next week. He practiced a little on Thursday but we didn't think he practiced enough to play. He'll practice more on Monday so that will be helpful. It will be helpful to get Marcell Dareus back on defense, but I think we just need more players to contribute especially on defense where there are more young guys who just need to take advantage of the opportunity.
On the identity of the team:
I was pleased with the way our guys competed in the game, and I was pleased with the toughness our guys played with. I think we went out there with the right attitude, but I think we need to have a little better discipline and execution and some of that is going to come from experience and knowledge. Guys are going to learn from the experience that they have, especially on defense, where we have so many young guys playing. Tonight we got turnovers; we got four turnovers and that's how we stopped drives. I think we need to do a little better job about being more consistent and not giving up as many big plays.
On the protection while in an empty set:
When you are all empty you only have five guys left to block. Everybody has a philosophy of how they play it and they changed how they played it in the second half. They went to pressure and that's really not their history, they don't pressure a lot, and our guys did a really good job of giving us the time we needed to make plays. That's something that we should be good at, it really is. We have good skill-players and going empty is something that we probably need to do more of. We're capable of doing it but you have to be able to handle blitz, and you have to be able to handle pressure if you are going to do that.
On his conversation with Coach Joe Paterno after the game:
I told him that he had a good team and that he is one of the best ever in college football. I got asked the question this week, "Do you think this will be the last time you ever coach against Joe Paterno?" and I told them that I got asked that question 15 years ago at Michigan State. He's still coaching, so I don't think it warrants an answer. In his 45 years at Penn State there isn't a classier program or classier gentleman, a better teacher, or a guy who has affected more lives in a positive way in the terms of the class of program that they have and the quality of people that they always seem to be able to produce. I know that Joe has given a lot back to the institution, and that's something that all of us young coaches - I may not feel young any more in comparison - should do more of.
#12 Greg McElroy, Quarterback
On the importance of this win:
Well I think it's a big win it will help catapult us into the rest of the season. We divide the season up into segments and this is the end of the first segment. Now it's really time to start playing some football so I think we are pleased with what we accomplished tonight, but there's a lot of room to get better.
On the atmosphere, playing Penn State at home:
Well it was a great atmosphere. It's a game you come to Alabama to play and it was a special opportunity for us playing against a legend like Joe Paterno. Penn State has classy fans, a classy program, and a really classy team. It was a great opportunity for us and I am glad we took advantage of it.
#3 Trent Richardson, Running Back
On his performance and the offensive line:
I just try and run hard on every carry. Our offensive line did a great job of creating holes and they just worked hard all night. They have worked hard all season and it showed today with what we were able to do.
On getting a win against a prestigious program like Penn State:
It was an honor to play in this game, especially against a legend like coach Joe Paterno. It was an honor just to see him out there on the sidelines. This will be something that I will remember for a long time.
#99 Josh Chapman, Defensive Lineman
On Penn State:
They're a physical team. They want to run the ball at you. They're a great team, and they played great ball. The things that Coach prepared us to do, we went out there and executed those things. The ones that execute the plays win the game.
On Penn State's running game:
They're a great group of guys, but we feel we can be the best defensive line in the country. We practice day in and day out and feel like nobody can stop us. They're a great program, but nobody can do what we did tonight.
#30 Dont'a Hightower, Linebacker
On the atmosphere of the game:
Coming here tonight and playing a great team like Penn State and a great coach like Joe Paterno, getting this win was great. Bryant-Denny felt electric. It felt great out there tonight.
Only holding them to three points:
We had a great game plan, but we made a couple of mental errors. We have got to get into the film room and correct those errors. We caused turnovers in the red zone though, and that helped us a lot.
Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno
On what he thought of Alabama:
I thought they (Alabama) had a very good football team. They're well-coached. They outcoached us and outplayed us.
On his thoughts on being back in Alabama:
I didn't think about being back in Alabama. I was just trying to think about whether we have a little better of a football team than we showed today.
On the play of quarterback Robert Bolden:
Good and bad. What you'd expect when you play against a tough crowd and a tough football team. Well-played, well-coached and good at every position. They made it tough on him. We didn't do a very good job coaching and getting ready for this one. I think we've got a long ways to go to be a good football team.
On whether he felt like the defense played better in the second half:
I thought we played better overall in the second half. I just think we didn't play with the kind of intensity early enough in the football game that you have to have against a team as good as Alabama. We came down here knowing how good they were and we didn't wise up to it. I'm not just blaming the kids. I thought our kids didn't play well and I don't think we did a good job coaching. Period.
On not capitalizing on the red opportunities:
It's over. Alabama deserved to win it. They were the better football team today, a better coached team today and they deserved to win it.
#47 Jordan Hill, Defensive Tackle
On his evaluation of the Nittany Lion defense:
It wasn't our night tonight. This upcoming week we are going to work harder in practice and we are going to bounce back against Kent State.
On Trent Richardson:
He's a strong kid. It showed off, whatever he was doing in the offseason. He worked hard. It's just one of those things. He's a good player.
#20 Devon Smith, Wide Receiver
On the speed of the Alabama defense:
I don't think their speed was that fast. I guess because I'm a fast guy, so I was just kind of keeping up with them. They played good as a defense. They were real physical.
On missing on scoring opportunities:
It's hurtful. We were in the red zone three times. We could have got a field goal or a score. It's just hurtful. It kept us out of the game.
#83 Brett Brackett, Wide Receiver
On the loss:
We're definitely beating up on ourselves a little bit because we had some opportunities we didn't capitalize on. Whether it was not executing, dropping the ball here, not blocking, or fumbling, there were just a couple things we beat ourselves with. We're definitely disappointed in that aspect.
On freshman quarterback Rob Bolden's play:
I thought Rob did a good job. He got stuck in some tough situations and unfortunately it didn't go our way. But it's a learning experience. He has to learn from it. We have ten more games and we can't separate as a team. We have to come together as a team and come back and fight.
