Northwestern vs Iowa Postgame Press Conference Notes

[mikefitz7]

Pat Fitzgerald

• Northwestern will practice on Sunday instead of Tuesday to allow players to vote
• Says these are the games you need to win in order to have a special season
• Proud of how the defense responded after the tumultuous start
• Says Northwestern got lucky late in the game with Iowa missing an open receiver but otherwise great job from a "young and talented" secondary
• Will reevaluate 4-minute offense after it sputtered today
• Ramsey knew the pick was bad and the coaching staff just let it go and didn't beat him up over it
• Praises RB depth and is especially proud of how Jesse Brown has battled back from injuries

Players

• Chris Bergin says the defense wanted to close out the game and fed off the momentum created by the offense
• Peyton Ramsey says Iowa did a great job of rerouting receivers, forcing him to tuck it down more than he wanted
• Bergin says the confidence of having Ramsey on the other side of the ball helps the defense believe they aren't out of it
• Brandon Joseph says the DBs have a collective mindset of forcing turnovers
• Jesse Brown says all of the running backs are capable of big plays, which makes them even more dangerous

 

[zbag51]

I LOVE #1 getting meaningful reps and impacting the game!

 

[techtim72]

Note the comment on Iowa's success at rerouting receivers. Basically jamming them. Expect to see more.

 

[DaCat]

Just watched the Fitz post-game interview on YouTube. Two additional highlights:

- Lees picked up a freak injury on Thursday so he was already injured coming into the game
- Coach Fitz lit up in a big smile when our @mikefitz77 introduced himself to ask a question, i think Coach Fitz likes our WR writers

 

[Alan Smithee_rivals156293]

I’m glad Fitz was worried about the open receiver late, but if it’s the play I’m thinking about, they were a long way from a completion. The Ioa QB ended up near the near sideline, while the RB released clear across the field. If he’d seen him, that pass had to spend a long time in the air to get there, with our defenders closing on the play.

 

[NU Houston]

I’m glad Fitz was worried about the open receiver late, but if it’s the play I’m thinking about, they were a long way from a completion. The Ioa QB ended up near the near sideline, while the RB released clear across the field. If he’d seen him, that pass had to spend a long time in the air to get there, with our defenders closing on the play.

I don't think that's the play he was referring to. Late in the game, Iowa had the ball on around their 10 yard line. The QB scrambled to the right, and a WR running a long post across the field slipped by the safety and was wide open. It was miscommunication by the DBs, and the safety came up to cover someone on a shorter route. The WR was 10-15 yards past any defender, and the QB didn't see him. A decent throw there would have resulted in a 90 yard TD play.

 

[DaCat]

I don't think that's the play he was referring to. Late in the game, Iowa had the ball on around their 10 yard line. The QB scrambled to the right, and a WR running a long post across the field slipped by the safety and was wide open. It was miscommunication by the DBs, and the safety came up to cover someone on a shorter route. The WR was 10-15 yards past any defender, and the QB didn't see him. A decent throw there would have resulted in a 90 yard TD play.

Yeah the announcers commented on that play. That would've sucked!

 

[NU Houston]

Yeah the announcers commented on that play. That would've sucked!

Not to dwell on the negative, but there was the play in the first quarter down near the goal line where NU didn't cover the TE coming off the LOS. Thankfully the DE was able to get to the QB quickly and force a bad throw. NU made several potentially costly mistakes in the game and still came out of Iowa City with a win. Great to see.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I don't think that's the play he was referring to. Late in the game, Iowa had the ball on around their 10 yard line. The QB scrambled to the right, and a WR running a long post across the field slipped by the safety and was wide open. It was miscommunication by the DBs, and the safety came up to cover someone on a shorter route. The WR was 10-15 yards past any defender, and the QB didn't see him. A decent throw there would have resulted in a 90 yard TD play.

Yup. Think that was it. Dodged a bullet.