Postgame Quotes – Minnesota 21, UCLA 17
POSTGAME QUOTES
Minnesota 21, UCLA 17
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Oct. 12, 2024
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster
opening remarks
“It was a tale of two halves. We came out in the first half and played well, outscored them 10-0, and pretty much didn’t really execute or, the attention to detail wasn’t there. The discipline that we need to play in the second half wasn’t there at all. We are a one-half team right now. I have to find a way to get these guys to come out and approach the second half like we do [with] the first half of games. Until we do that, we aren’t going to be able to get out of our own way, and we are going to continue to take losses like this.”
on finding success against Minnesota’s pass defense in UCLA’s three scoring drives
“Anytime that we can keep them off Ethan [Garbers], he’s going to be able to find guys. Our o-line was able to protect a little better, and in situations, like I said, if we can keep him upright, Ethan can find some guys, and we were able to do that.”
on the team’s defense
“Coach Ikaika [Malloe] called a good game. We just weren’t able to execute the way the we wanted to. But like you said, the defense played well. The offense kind of put them in a couple of situations in the second half that weren’t ideal. We are just going to have to regroup and get ready for this next game.”
on UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
“He’s just the type of player that you want on your team. Former walk-on, he earned a scholarship and he has not changed his mentality. He just plays like he has something to prove. He practices how he plays in games. That’s why he’s able to be successful.”
on how he would best describe the last few minutes of the game
“Just a non-disciplined team, basically. We didn’t do stuff that we wanted to do, didn’t do stuff that we have been coached to do. We’ve got to find ways to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. And just to get out of our own way. It’s hard to beat good teams when you are getting in your way. So, it’s just a tough loss and it’s full of emotion. Just a tough loss.”
on the team’s psyche and how these coaches are keeping the guys focused
“When you have resilient players like I do, they’re just champing at the bit to get another opportunity. This is a tough loss. This one will sting a little bit. We really wanted to come out and put on a good showing for our home crowd. We have not really played the way that we’d like to play in the Rose Bowl. It’s just unfortunate that we really only put one half together. Our guys are some resilient dudes, and we are going to continue to fight and it’s going to turn around.”
on playing with a lead in the first half and where he sees strides being made with this team
“We started with the lead, like you said, but we just didn’t execute in the second half like we wanted to. But the run game, we have to find a way to get that rolling and be consistent. We did not really run the ball the way that we’d like. That’s a good team we played against. But we just did not do what we needed to do at the end of the game.”
on missed opportunities in the first half
“Oh yeah, most definitely. There were a couple of opportunities. But we were able to get out of the half with 10 points and we had the ball coming out. That is what I was really excited about, to try and get some points coming out of half. And that didn’t happen and from that point on, we kind of snowballed a little bit.”
on UCLA running back Jalen Berger and getting more opportunities
“He had a really good game against Penn State. He’s just been trending in the right direction, so we were trying to give him some opportunities to play ball, really.”
on UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers’ performance against Minnesota
“Ethan played a good game. As long as we keep Ethan upright and he doesn’t have a lot of people in his face, he’s able to be successful. One of those picks was a tipped pass, and another one he was getting hit as he through it, so it’s not just Ethan out there. There are 10 other guys out there who have got to do their job for him to be successful, so we’ve just got to get back and regroup and get ready for this next week.”
on being backed up on the 3-yard line (on offense), and how that situation dictated what they could call on offense
“Any time that you are backed up, your call sheet kind of gets cut in half. They had a good punt. They were able to field it, but that’s ball. You’ve got to be able to execute in those situations. We have to be a little bit more detailed, and we just have to continue to grow. This one is going to sting. I’m going to be pissed off for a little bit. It’s hard to sit up her and try to be positive, but we need to truly hone in on our pillars so that we can get out of our own way and be successful.”
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers
on what went wrong offensively
“Offensively, we still have guys just not doing their jobs, including me. I can’t turn the ball over like that, we will never win games like that. I have to be better; everyone else has to be better. We have to play assignment sound football.”
on his health and connecting with J.Michael Sturdivant
“Thanks for asking, I feel good. I feel fine. We were working all week in practice. J-Mike was just getting open, it’s as simple as that. You get open, you get the ball. He was doing a great job tonight. He made some fantastic catches, I wish we could have gotten him the ball a bit more in the second half to start off the second half. But I’m super proud of how he played.”
on throwing for 293 yards against Minnesota
“Just watching tape during the week, studying what they do. They do a great job defensively. They are really well-coached. They are really disciplined. The stats don’t really matter when you have three turnovers in there. Like I said before, you will never win games with that many turnovers. I have to be better in that area.”
on staying positive
“If anything, this will just motivate us even more because we are still hungry to get a win in the Big Ten. This is just going to motivate us even more to work harder and keep this thing going.”
on getting T.J. Harden the ball more:
“T.J. is an explosive player. As you guys saw tonight, those screen passes are huge because it kind of neutralizes the pass rush, and it gets the ball in your playmakers hands quick, with blockers and a lot of space in front. T.J. is a phenomenal player; he does all the right things in pass protection and in the run game. He is great and I am excited to keep that going this year.”
on why UCLA’s offense stalled between the first and fourth quarters:
“We just weren’t executing, it’s that simple. First and second down we were not really getting positive [yards] so we were put in third and longer situations than we would like to. But at the end of the day, it comes down to execution, and like I said at the beginning of this, I have to be better. I can’t turn the ball over in those critical situations.”
on the missed opportunities in the first half against Minnesota
“100 percent. Like I said, it was a tipped ball. I threw an interception when we were getting into the red zone, that hurt definitely. We just didn’t execute and didn’t find ourselves in the right spots.”
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
on what the defense can improve on
“Defensively, we give away too many yards on penalties, penalties that are just discipline things, and we just have to clean that up.”
on getting 4.5 tackles for loss
“When it comes to stats, maybe I’m the one getting on the stat sheet, but what people don’t see is the front line eating up double teams, allowing run-throughs, DBs holding it down on the backend so we don’t have to worry about the pass. We call them havoc plays when we are all working as one unit, and I just happened to reap the benefits in this case.”
on how the defense is supporting each other
“Coach Malloe gives everything for us so we want to give everything for him. Every time we step on the field for the brothers, for our coaches, we want to be able to make plays and get a win. I think losing in that fashion makes it hurt a little bit more, especially when you are that tight-knit of a group.”
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck
opening remarks
“First and foremost, you got to give UCLA a lot of credit. My goodness, what a football game. This is what the Big Ten is all about. There are no easy games in the Big Ten. Period. I’m not saying this was easy for them, or it was easy for us. I’m saying there were no easy games. Look at the scoreboards as we go through the week – SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, ACC. It’s unbelievable. Jim Tressel said it best – you have no idea who’s going to win. That was probably one of the worst halves I’ve been a part of in the first half. We’re writing that part down and we probably should. What was amazing is you get 60 minutes to play football. I always equivalent that to 60 years of your life. There are so many life lessons that our players learned during that game. It’s not that they just learned it, they have it in them. That’s what I tell you all the time, they’re going to be great husbands, fathers, dads, uncles, grandfathers. This is a ‘life’ program. You’re all going to judge us on wins and losses, and I get that. Even when we’re down 17-14, I’m walking up and down, I wrote down in my notepad that I’m proud the team I have. It’s unbelievable the resiliency, the resolve [of this team]. We said, ‘It’s going to come down to us.’ We gave them a boxing analogy this week. We got a team backed into the corner that played four top-20 teams and lost. The records of those [top-20] teams is 20-1. This was a good football team, playing at their place, all the way across the country. We just had to keep swinging. They came out swinging. We had to be each other’s cornermen. I’m going to be honest; I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a team like that at half time. It was real honest to every single position group. It wasn’t negative, it was pumping belief into all of them, including coaches. That wasn’t very good in the first half, but that’s football. How many people are going to have a press conference of the 67 teams who lost and say “We didn’t play our best football.” It’s coach-talk, it’s cliché. We came out in the second half and played better. We won the turnover battle which is incredible, and I think that’s the difference in the game. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team and of our administration (Mark Coyle). Our administration allowed us to travel the way we needed to travel and make the trip worthwhile. We had lots of people coming out, two airplanes. That takes a lot for administration in times like this to be able to do that. We needed that in the second half. I can’t thank all our fans enough. We had 15,000 plus in the Rose Bowl. They made the trip out here. In fact, we gave them the game ball. I’m not giving out 15,000 game balls – I’ll get the bill for that one. We’re going to keep a game ball that says “The Fans” on it with today’s date. I know it’s not the Rose Bowl bowl game, but I’ve never been here and this was special. Special for our program, special for our fans because of the venue, where it’s located, the memories. I’m just proud to be the coach of that football team in there. You’re waiting to ask questions but this is called stalling because I really want to talk about the people that mean so much to this program. This is one win, it’s 1-0, this isn’t a championship, but it’s a one-game championship. If the goal of the week is to win, there are no bad wins. Hard losses teach you a lot. This is just a tremendous win for our program and you got to give UCLA a lot of credit. They’ve got really good players that play their tail end off and Coach Foster should be congratulated for that.”
on what he saw on the last two-minute drive from Max Brosmer and his team’s offense
“I thought that we could be able to open and throw the football down the field. We got into our two-minute set where I think he is really comfortable. Some people say, “Why don’t you just do two-minute all the time?” Well, that’s just not how we play. When he is in that mode he is really comfortable. When we’re able to use it, he is really effective. Our wide outs did a great job. I thought our players did a good job for majority of the time. They had 10 penalties and we had four, and four is high for us, but I thought we kept our composure in the second half and I felt like that was some of the difference in some of those drives. I thought our guys did a really good job of being poised. That last play – I don’t think you know hard that is. He [Brosmer] went through four reads. O-Line held up, pressure in his face, ducked, moved around, found Darius [Taylor] – which is his last option – and Darious does the rest. That’s execution. It came down to execution. In the first half, we didn’t execute. We had a drop that might score. We have a false start on the second drive, couldn’t get the first down. We drop another ball on third down on the third drive. We missed a field goal on the fourth drive. And then we only had one more and we punted. Yuck. Second half, way better. I thought we got pressure on them all night and we kept them off-balance. They’ve got some really good players as you saw.”
on why the team was “flat” in the first half and the message to the team at half time
“I didn’t say harsh, I said intense. [The message] was positive. We made sure [the players] understood what they we’re doing. If I had the answer to your question about why we were flat in the first half, we would have fixed it in the beginning. We crossed every “T” and dotted every “I” but my responsibility is to make sure they’re ready to play every game for 60 minutes. We need a bye. I’ve never met a bye at a wrong time. We are beat up. I don’t know the answer, but it's difficult to do, but our player overcame. Again, that is my responsibility.
on offensive struggles in the first half and challenges presented by UCLA defense
“I thought they had a really good package in the first half. They had some really odd fronts and over-loaded some sides. They pinned back their ears and came after us to create some negative plays. UCLA played as good in the first half as I’ve seen on film. They played a complete first half. Offensively, they had a really good rhythm. We had no idea which [quarterback] we were going to face. Based on the data that we saw, we thought we were going to see six [Justyn Martin]. But four [Ethan Garbers] did a really good job.”
on Daniel Jackson’s performance and what he means to the program
“I think Daniel Jackson is going to go down as one of the greatest receivers in Gopher history. We have a lot of [receivers] in our top-10 now. He is the ultimate playmaker. Daniel is able to make crucial plays under the pressure of the situation. He’s only getting better. He’s a great teammate. Over the last two years, I’d say he’s grown the most in his leadership and being the best teammate he can be.”
on Koi Parich’s first interception
“It was pretty good. That’s what he does. I’ve never met a more confident person in my entire life. I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s got great eyes and great feet.”
Minnesota running back Darius Taylor
on the Minnesota Gophers’ fans attendance and if he could feel that
“It felt great just to hear our crowd cheering. When we got into third down situations on defense, just hearing our crowd making noise out there was a great experience. I really appreciate the fans. That plays a big part in the game. It’s just awesome to have them out here along with our families and things like that.”
on what stood out about UCLA’s defense and the changes Minnesota made at halftime
“I think that on film they showed they had a stout d-line. They have a great secondary. They have a tough schedule and just play really well. I think that their schedule doesn’t represent how good of a team they are. I think that their defense is a really good defense and stout up front. At halftime we knew that they were what they showed on film: stout up front. We just need to make plays like we could and just execute like we can.”
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer
on the game-winning touchdown pass to Darius Taylor
“It started the whole drive to be honest. It was difficult to get him out. UCLA did a really good job tonight getting our running back in protection. We couldn’t get him out as much. It’s a big credit to them. The running backs are a big part of our offense, obviously. When we got down there, we were able to get them out. It became the perfect progression where they covered everything up and he was the last outlet. He got to a good spot. The protection was absolutely elite. It was simple execution and making the plays less difficult.”
on the message at halftime after the offense’s struggles
“Yeah, it was a challenging message. That was not our best 30 minutes of football. We always talk about playing 60 minutes of football and we didn’t put that together in the first half. We all knew that. Coach Fleck was coming in to challenge us to play our best 30 minutes the next part of the game and guys did amazing at that and responded. We got our minds right offensively and defensively and special teams unit. We played complimentary football. That’s why we won the game.”
Minnesota linebacker Cody Lindenberg
on the challenges UCLA’s passing offense poised to the defense
“I think it’s just doing our job. I think that we hurt ourselves a lot whether it was not getting the right check, not getting that check all the way around, solid communication, our eyes, not being in the right spot, not being where we are when are supposed to be there and then once we’re at the ball, make a play on it. Again, they have great players as well. They made great throws, great catches. Hats off to those plays, hats off to those players.”
Minnesota wide receiver Daniel Jackson
on offensive issues in the first half
"I just feel like we didn't start fast. We had a drop here and there and we were counting two drops. We started slow a bit, and we picked it up. Our offense in the second half was sticking with it, and we just continue to grow."
on what Minnesota’s head coach said at halftime
"He came in and got us fired up. We knew that wasn't our best half of football, and we had to make a change to go in and get the dub. He just got us fired up. He was himself. He came in energetic and got with us and wanted to make changes."
on if that was the best game Devin Eastern has played
"That definitely could have been one of the ones, but I know he's a dog. He plays his heart out, and every single time he comes off the field he's breathing super heavy. He puts it all on the field. I don't know if this was his best game – it could have been his best game, but I just know he's giving his best.”
on how he was able to step up with 10 catches
"I just see it as really being locked in. Being focused and being locked in. I don't take anything for granted. Just creating the separation a little bit when the ball is thrown at me. “
on the two wins leading into the bye week
"It just proves to us that we are a confident group and that we know we can play with anybody."
Minnesota defensive lineman Anthony Smith
on adapting to a new role
“It has been fun, everyone has been super supportive. This week the whole defensive line came together to help me build my confidence.”
on getting a third down stop to get the offense the ball for Minnesota’s final scoring possession
“Be what we say we are, that is his whole thing. Be there for each other, if you’re not in, you are hyping all of your guys up.”
Minnesota 21, UCLA 17
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Oct. 12, 2024
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster
opening remarks
“It was a tale of two halves. We came out in the first half and played well, outscored them 10-0, and pretty much didn’t really execute or, the attention to detail wasn’t there. The discipline that we need to play in the second half wasn’t there at all. We are a one-half team right now. I have to find a way to get these guys to come out and approach the second half like we do [with] the first half of games. Until we do that, we aren’t going to be able to get out of our own way, and we are going to continue to take losses like this.”
on finding success against Minnesota’s pass defense in UCLA’s three scoring drives
“Anytime that we can keep them off Ethan [Garbers], he’s going to be able to find guys. Our o-line was able to protect a little better, and in situations, like I said, if we can keep him upright, Ethan can find some guys, and we were able to do that.”
on the team’s defense
“Coach Ikaika [Malloe] called a good game. We just weren’t able to execute the way the we wanted to. But like you said, the defense played well. The offense kind of put them in a couple of situations in the second half that weren’t ideal. We are just going to have to regroup and get ready for this next game.”
on UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
“He’s just the type of player that you want on your team. Former walk-on, he earned a scholarship and he has not changed his mentality. He just plays like he has something to prove. He practices how he plays in games. That’s why he’s able to be successful.”
on how he would best describe the last few minutes of the game
“Just a non-disciplined team, basically. We didn’t do stuff that we wanted to do, didn’t do stuff that we have been coached to do. We’ve got to find ways to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. And just to get out of our own way. It’s hard to beat good teams when you are getting in your way. So, it’s just a tough loss and it’s full of emotion. Just a tough loss.”
on the team’s psyche and how these coaches are keeping the guys focused
“When you have resilient players like I do, they’re just champing at the bit to get another opportunity. This is a tough loss. This one will sting a little bit. We really wanted to come out and put on a good showing for our home crowd. We have not really played the way that we’d like to play in the Rose Bowl. It’s just unfortunate that we really only put one half together. Our guys are some resilient dudes, and we are going to continue to fight and it’s going to turn around.”
on playing with a lead in the first half and where he sees strides being made with this team
“We started with the lead, like you said, but we just didn’t execute in the second half like we wanted to. But the run game, we have to find a way to get that rolling and be consistent. We did not really run the ball the way that we’d like. That’s a good team we played against. But we just did not do what we needed to do at the end of the game.”
on missed opportunities in the first half
“Oh yeah, most definitely. There were a couple of opportunities. But we were able to get out of the half with 10 points and we had the ball coming out. That is what I was really excited about, to try and get some points coming out of half. And that didn’t happen and from that point on, we kind of snowballed a little bit.”
on UCLA running back Jalen Berger and getting more opportunities
“He had a really good game against Penn State. He’s just been trending in the right direction, so we were trying to give him some opportunities to play ball, really.”
on UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers’ performance against Minnesota
“Ethan played a good game. As long as we keep Ethan upright and he doesn’t have a lot of people in his face, he’s able to be successful. One of those picks was a tipped pass, and another one he was getting hit as he through it, so it’s not just Ethan out there. There are 10 other guys out there who have got to do their job for him to be successful, so we’ve just got to get back and regroup and get ready for this next week.”
on being backed up on the 3-yard line (on offense), and how that situation dictated what they could call on offense
“Any time that you are backed up, your call sheet kind of gets cut in half. They had a good punt. They were able to field it, but that’s ball. You’ve got to be able to execute in those situations. We have to be a little bit more detailed, and we just have to continue to grow. This one is going to sting. I’m going to be pissed off for a little bit. It’s hard to sit up her and try to be positive, but we need to truly hone in on our pillars so that we can get out of our own way and be successful.”
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers
on what went wrong offensively
“Offensively, we still have guys just not doing their jobs, including me. I can’t turn the ball over like that, we will never win games like that. I have to be better; everyone else has to be better. We have to play assignment sound football.”
on his health and connecting with J.Michael Sturdivant
“Thanks for asking, I feel good. I feel fine. We were working all week in practice. J-Mike was just getting open, it’s as simple as that. You get open, you get the ball. He was doing a great job tonight. He made some fantastic catches, I wish we could have gotten him the ball a bit more in the second half to start off the second half. But I’m super proud of how he played.”
on throwing for 293 yards against Minnesota
“Just watching tape during the week, studying what they do. They do a great job defensively. They are really well-coached. They are really disciplined. The stats don’t really matter when you have three turnovers in there. Like I said before, you will never win games with that many turnovers. I have to be better in that area.”
on staying positive
“If anything, this will just motivate us even more because we are still hungry to get a win in the Big Ten. This is just going to motivate us even more to work harder and keep this thing going.”
on getting T.J. Harden the ball more:
“T.J. is an explosive player. As you guys saw tonight, those screen passes are huge because it kind of neutralizes the pass rush, and it gets the ball in your playmakers hands quick, with blockers and a lot of space in front. T.J. is a phenomenal player; he does all the right things in pass protection and in the run game. He is great and I am excited to keep that going this year.”
on why UCLA’s offense stalled between the first and fourth quarters:
“We just weren’t executing, it’s that simple. First and second down we were not really getting positive [yards] so we were put in third and longer situations than we would like to. But at the end of the day, it comes down to execution, and like I said at the beginning of this, I have to be better. I can’t turn the ball over in those critical situations.”
on the missed opportunities in the first half against Minnesota
“100 percent. Like I said, it was a tipped ball. I threw an interception when we were getting into the red zone, that hurt definitely. We just didn’t execute and didn’t find ourselves in the right spots.”
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
on what the defense can improve on
“Defensively, we give away too many yards on penalties, penalties that are just discipline things, and we just have to clean that up.”
on getting 4.5 tackles for loss
“When it comes to stats, maybe I’m the one getting on the stat sheet, but what people don’t see is the front line eating up double teams, allowing run-throughs, DBs holding it down on the backend so we don’t have to worry about the pass. We call them havoc plays when we are all working as one unit, and I just happened to reap the benefits in this case.”
on how the defense is supporting each other
“Coach Malloe gives everything for us so we want to give everything for him. Every time we step on the field for the brothers, for our coaches, we want to be able to make plays and get a win. I think losing in that fashion makes it hurt a little bit more, especially when you are that tight-knit of a group.”
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck
opening remarks
“First and foremost, you got to give UCLA a lot of credit. My goodness, what a football game. This is what the Big Ten is all about. There are no easy games in the Big Ten. Period. I’m not saying this was easy for them, or it was easy for us. I’m saying there were no easy games. Look at the scoreboards as we go through the week – SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, ACC. It’s unbelievable. Jim Tressel said it best – you have no idea who’s going to win. That was probably one of the worst halves I’ve been a part of in the first half. We’re writing that part down and we probably should. What was amazing is you get 60 minutes to play football. I always equivalent that to 60 years of your life. There are so many life lessons that our players learned during that game. It’s not that they just learned it, they have it in them. That’s what I tell you all the time, they’re going to be great husbands, fathers, dads, uncles, grandfathers. This is a ‘life’ program. You’re all going to judge us on wins and losses, and I get that. Even when we’re down 17-14, I’m walking up and down, I wrote down in my notepad that I’m proud the team I have. It’s unbelievable the resiliency, the resolve [of this team]. We said, ‘It’s going to come down to us.’ We gave them a boxing analogy this week. We got a team backed into the corner that played four top-20 teams and lost. The records of those [top-20] teams is 20-1. This was a good football team, playing at their place, all the way across the country. We just had to keep swinging. They came out swinging. We had to be each other’s cornermen. I’m going to be honest; I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a team like that at half time. It was real honest to every single position group. It wasn’t negative, it was pumping belief into all of them, including coaches. That wasn’t very good in the first half, but that’s football. How many people are going to have a press conference of the 67 teams who lost and say “We didn’t play our best football.” It’s coach-talk, it’s cliché. We came out in the second half and played better. We won the turnover battle which is incredible, and I think that’s the difference in the game. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team and of our administration (Mark Coyle). Our administration allowed us to travel the way we needed to travel and make the trip worthwhile. We had lots of people coming out, two airplanes. That takes a lot for administration in times like this to be able to do that. We needed that in the second half. I can’t thank all our fans enough. We had 15,000 plus in the Rose Bowl. They made the trip out here. In fact, we gave them the game ball. I’m not giving out 15,000 game balls – I’ll get the bill for that one. We’re going to keep a game ball that says “The Fans” on it with today’s date. I know it’s not the Rose Bowl bowl game, but I’ve never been here and this was special. Special for our program, special for our fans because of the venue, where it’s located, the memories. I’m just proud to be the coach of that football team in there. You’re waiting to ask questions but this is called stalling because I really want to talk about the people that mean so much to this program. This is one win, it’s 1-0, this isn’t a championship, but it’s a one-game championship. If the goal of the week is to win, there are no bad wins. Hard losses teach you a lot. This is just a tremendous win for our program and you got to give UCLA a lot of credit. They’ve got really good players that play their tail end off and Coach Foster should be congratulated for that.”
on what he saw on the last two-minute drive from Max Brosmer and his team’s offense
“I thought that we could be able to open and throw the football down the field. We got into our two-minute set where I think he is really comfortable. Some people say, “Why don’t you just do two-minute all the time?” Well, that’s just not how we play. When he is in that mode he is really comfortable. When we’re able to use it, he is really effective. Our wide outs did a great job. I thought our players did a good job for majority of the time. They had 10 penalties and we had four, and four is high for us, but I thought we kept our composure in the second half and I felt like that was some of the difference in some of those drives. I thought our guys did a really good job of being poised. That last play – I don’t think you know hard that is. He [Brosmer] went through four reads. O-Line held up, pressure in his face, ducked, moved around, found Darius [Taylor] – which is his last option – and Darious does the rest. That’s execution. It came down to execution. In the first half, we didn’t execute. We had a drop that might score. We have a false start on the second drive, couldn’t get the first down. We drop another ball on third down on the third drive. We missed a field goal on the fourth drive. And then we only had one more and we punted. Yuck. Second half, way better. I thought we got pressure on them all night and we kept them off-balance. They’ve got some really good players as you saw.”
on why the team was “flat” in the first half and the message to the team at half time
“I didn’t say harsh, I said intense. [The message] was positive. We made sure [the players] understood what they we’re doing. If I had the answer to your question about why we were flat in the first half, we would have fixed it in the beginning. We crossed every “T” and dotted every “I” but my responsibility is to make sure they’re ready to play every game for 60 minutes. We need a bye. I’ve never met a bye at a wrong time. We are beat up. I don’t know the answer, but it's difficult to do, but our player overcame. Again, that is my responsibility.
on offensive struggles in the first half and challenges presented by UCLA defense
“I thought they had a really good package in the first half. They had some really odd fronts and over-loaded some sides. They pinned back their ears and came after us to create some negative plays. UCLA played as good in the first half as I’ve seen on film. They played a complete first half. Offensively, they had a really good rhythm. We had no idea which [quarterback] we were going to face. Based on the data that we saw, we thought we were going to see six [Justyn Martin]. But four [Ethan Garbers] did a really good job.”
on Daniel Jackson’s performance and what he means to the program
“I think Daniel Jackson is going to go down as one of the greatest receivers in Gopher history. We have a lot of [receivers] in our top-10 now. He is the ultimate playmaker. Daniel is able to make crucial plays under the pressure of the situation. He’s only getting better. He’s a great teammate. Over the last two years, I’d say he’s grown the most in his leadership and being the best teammate he can be.”
on Koi Parich’s first interception
“It was pretty good. That’s what he does. I’ve never met a more confident person in my entire life. I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s got great eyes and great feet.”
Minnesota running back Darius Taylor
on the Minnesota Gophers’ fans attendance and if he could feel that
“It felt great just to hear our crowd cheering. When we got into third down situations on defense, just hearing our crowd making noise out there was a great experience. I really appreciate the fans. That plays a big part in the game. It’s just awesome to have them out here along with our families and things like that.”
on what stood out about UCLA’s defense and the changes Minnesota made at halftime
“I think that on film they showed they had a stout d-line. They have a great secondary. They have a tough schedule and just play really well. I think that their schedule doesn’t represent how good of a team they are. I think that their defense is a really good defense and stout up front. At halftime we knew that they were what they showed on film: stout up front. We just need to make plays like we could and just execute like we can.”
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer
on the game-winning touchdown pass to Darius Taylor
“It started the whole drive to be honest. It was difficult to get him out. UCLA did a really good job tonight getting our running back in protection. We couldn’t get him out as much. It’s a big credit to them. The running backs are a big part of our offense, obviously. When we got down there, we were able to get them out. It became the perfect progression where they covered everything up and he was the last outlet. He got to a good spot. The protection was absolutely elite. It was simple execution and making the plays less difficult.”
on the message at halftime after the offense’s struggles
“Yeah, it was a challenging message. That was not our best 30 minutes of football. We always talk about playing 60 minutes of football and we didn’t put that together in the first half. We all knew that. Coach Fleck was coming in to challenge us to play our best 30 minutes the next part of the game and guys did amazing at that and responded. We got our minds right offensively and defensively and special teams unit. We played complimentary football. That’s why we won the game.”
Minnesota linebacker Cody Lindenberg
on the challenges UCLA’s passing offense poised to the defense
“I think it’s just doing our job. I think that we hurt ourselves a lot whether it was not getting the right check, not getting that check all the way around, solid communication, our eyes, not being in the right spot, not being where we are when are supposed to be there and then once we’re at the ball, make a play on it. Again, they have great players as well. They made great throws, great catches. Hats off to those plays, hats off to those players.”
Minnesota wide receiver Daniel Jackson
on offensive issues in the first half
"I just feel like we didn't start fast. We had a drop here and there and we were counting two drops. We started slow a bit, and we picked it up. Our offense in the second half was sticking with it, and we just continue to grow."
on what Minnesota’s head coach said at halftime
"He came in and got us fired up. We knew that wasn't our best half of football, and we had to make a change to go in and get the dub. He just got us fired up. He was himself. He came in energetic and got with us and wanted to make changes."
on if that was the best game Devin Eastern has played
"That definitely could have been one of the ones, but I know he's a dog. He plays his heart out, and every single time he comes off the field he's breathing super heavy. He puts it all on the field. I don't know if this was his best game – it could have been his best game, but I just know he's giving his best.”
on how he was able to step up with 10 catches
"I just see it as really being locked in. Being focused and being locked in. I don't take anything for granted. Just creating the separation a little bit when the ball is thrown at me. “
on the two wins leading into the bye week
"It just proves to us that we are a confident group and that we know we can play with anybody."
Minnesota defensive lineman Anthony Smith
on adapting to a new role
“It has been fun, everyone has been super supportive. This week the whole defensive line came together to help me build my confidence.”
on getting a third down stop to get the offense the ball for Minnesota’s final scoring possession
“Be what we say we are, that is his whole thing. Be there for each other, if you’re not in, you are hyping all of your guys up.”