TicketsSept. 6, 2005
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On Eastern Michgan Win
"I was happy with our Eastern Michigan win. Eastern Michigan is an improved program. Offensively, we were able to run the football effectively. Dustin Grutza was able to get into a rhythm and get things done out there. Six times we were put in the position of having to come out from our goal line due to their great punting. All six times we were able to come out of there, which was a big factor in the game. All-in-all, it was a pretty good job offensively.
"Defensively, we're a young team. They run a no-huddle offense and they are dominated by seniors, and it took our young guys a little time to adjust. We settled down. We had that big defensive stop late in the game. (That play) was another opportunity for us to face adversity and grow from the experience.
"Our special teams need to play better. We are using a lot of young players. Our redshirt freshman had punted the ball well throughout the summer, but he didn't have a very good night. Punter is up in the air. We will make a decision either Wednesday or Thursday.
"We lost 27 players who were seniors on last year's team. Ten of those guys were in NFL camps this summer. It looks like five of those guys have made the NFL. These guys played a lot of football for UC, and show where the program is going.
On Penn State Game
"Penn State has a lot of starters coming back, and a lot of them on defense. Their offense has eight starters back. It seems like their quarterback (Michael Robinson) has been there forever--I remember preparing for him two years ago when I was at Ohio State. He's very diverse is what he can do. Derrick Williams will remind you of the great wide receivers they have had in the past. He will get a lot of touches. Tony Hunt is a very good running back. They have good experience on the offensive line. Levi Brown is probably an All-American.
"Defensively, they've got a lot of good players. They remind me of our Ohio State defense in 2002. Teams are not going to score on them. They are very sound defensively. Their pursuit angles are good. They don't give up big plays. They pressure the ball and force turnovers.
"We'll challenge our players in a couple of ways. We will talk to them about what TCU did to Oklahoma. We'll talk to them about what Air Force did to Washington. We can't to go up there and not be up tight. We need to play. We need to play hard and play with enthusiasm. I think we have the right attitude.
"This is an opportunity to coach against a legend. Coach Paterno was coaching when I was a boy and started to follow college football. I have been up there lots of times to play them (when at Michigan State and Ohio State).
"Joe has had success because he treats the players well. He has a great coach-player relationship. He can recruit. He probably has a way of keeping things in prospective."