Sept. 3, 2011
Indiana State Postgame Quotes
September 3, 2011
Head Coach Trent Miles
Opening Statement:
Congratulations to Penn State. I thought they played a good, solid football game from start to finish,
from the very start. They did a really good job, played very physical, they are a very talented team, well
coached. When you come into that environment you can't start off the game with an opening kickoff
for a touchdown, and start eight seconds into the game down seven points on the road. And then the
next series up for a touchdown. All of a sudden it's 14-0 a couple minutes into the game. On the grand
scheme of things, I thought our kids battled, especially defensively. It might not seem that, but you gave
up a kickoff return on special teams for a touchdown and a fumble deep in our own territory after stopping
them that turned into six points and then an interception deep in our own territory for more points, so
that's 21 points that the defense was not responsible for. There's some things that they did we have to
do better as far as tackling, wrapping up, but from that standpoint I thought our kids battled. Offensively,
that's a very stout defensive line that we were going against and we were not able to establish a running
game. And as you all know if you follow our offense, if we can't run the ball, we're in trouble. We're a
balanced offense, we can't just rely on Ronnie to throw it all the time. We have to get some runs going to
run the clock and keep the defense off the field. We had only 24 offensive plays the first half and we got
a little tired and winded on defense and the rest is history. That's a good football team. It's hard enough
a [FCS] team coming and playing, but anytime you give them things that just makes it that much worse.
We saw some things that we think we can fix. I don't think coming off that field we got beat by things that
are not correctable. I think everything we did wrong we can fix.
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Q: You mentioned the physical dominance that Penn State had, is that magnified a lot by the
defense being on the field for so long?
A: They were on the field forever. I got tired watching them, let alone how they felt playing. Too many
three and outs. We weren't able to sustain any drives, keep the clock moving, let them get a little rest
on the sideline. It was very hot, humid. We told them it was going to be like that, they knew it. If you
can't move it and get some first downs against a team like that it makes for a long day. I thought our
kids battled. When you watch the game film, I thought Ben Obaseki played a very good football game.
His name didn't get mentioned all the time but he was getting a lot of pressure there when he needed
to. There were some things that I thought our kids did well. But at the same time, we got beat 41-7 and
we're very disappointed. We didn't come in here just to play well, we came in here to win. Our kids are
disappointed but we will fix it and move on and be ready for our next game.
Q: What did you learn about your team in this first game?
A: I learned we will battle. I learned that we made a big mistake on our opening kickoff. I learned we
need to be more consistent with our field goals. I learned that we got a really good football team in that
locker room and I think we have a championship caliber team. I told them a true story, I don't remember
the exact year but it was Stanford - a Pac-10 team - goes down to Texas and got beat 69-0 that game.
The coach looks at those kids and told them that we have a championship football team in here just like
I told my guys. That year they went on and played in the Rose Bowl and won the Pac-10. I believe that
we'll still have that opportunity. I'm not going to judge my season off this game.
Q: Was it a surprise to you how well Penn State's pass-rush was?
A: No, it was not a surprise. There are NFL scouts here looking at a lot of those guys. So no, that's not
a surprise. We knew going in they were very good football players and that they were going to be able
to rush the passer. That's how important it was for us to be able to run the ball and take the heat off our
guys having to protect all the time. But you have draft choices on that defense, I don't think I have any
draft choices on my offensive line right now.
Q: Was there a mistake on the opening kickoff coverage?
A: No, I thought he got it somewhere around the four or five yard line. So we got it inside the five, which
was much improved, but our numbers one, two, and three did the wrong thing. You can't do that against
anybody, it could have been St. Mary's the Woods. One, two, and three do the wrong thing and it's a
touchdown.
Q: Lawrence Young got hurt early in the game, how much did that affect the continuity of the
defensive line?
A: He's a starter for a reason. Every time a starter goes down it affects you. But, they did a good job
of rotating and getting guys in there to mix. There were some situations where we were in pretty good
positions to make plays. Again, our guys battled. They played a lot of plays on a hot, humid day against
a much bigger, physical football team. I have no concerns and/or problems with any of that. I have some
things I'm going to fix internally, but I don't have any doubt in my football team after today.
Q: Lawrence Young, Paul Patrick, anybody else injury wise in this game?
A: We had a couple guys that got dehydrated that had to get some IVs and get some fluid in them and
things like that. But they did too. I don't care who you are, when you're battling that hard in that heat
with 30 pounds of extra equipment on, or whatever it weighs, you're going to have guys dehydrated.
Our trainers do a good job of keeping them pumped with fluids. It's just they expend so much that that
happens. I don't know of any major injuries yet but I haven't met with the doctors for the final report.
Q: Do you feel like the check you get out of this game is worth it?
A: Yeah, of course I do. It's worth it. Walking off that game I know I've got a quarterback that can play
against anybody. I see Justin Hilton out there, he can play at this level. I see Ben Obaseki playing.
So the opportunity to allow guys like that - Ryan Roberts and Brock Lough - to come and play at this
level in their career is a wonderful experience for them. They got a chance to play in front of a huge
crowd against one of the all-time greatest programs in the history of college football against the all-time
winningest coach in college football. They have that the rest of their life. I'd trade that any day and get
paid to do it too. That makes everybody happy, that's a win-win.
Q: Did you get a chance to talk to Joe?
A: No, we have a phone conversation coming up. He sent a message to me that he wants to call me
privately. Physically he couldn't come down, which is fine. I've talked to him before.
INDIANA POSTGAME PLAYER QUOTES
#92 Ben Obaseki
Jr./So., Defensive End
Q: Can you just describe the task today and how difficult it was for you guys to keep Penn
State's running game under wraps?
A: It was tough. We knew they were going to be big and physical but we didn't do what we were
going to do and that's what it comes down to. We knew that they'd be running the ball hard, we
did not tackle well, and that's why it ended up the way it did.
Q: As far as the running game, anything that they did that you weren't expecting?
A: I think everything they did was expected. We knew what we were coming into. Like I said, we
just didn't do our job. The running backs did a really good job of running behind their linemen.
They have big linemen so it's hard to see the running back sometimes, and they're really good at
staying behind the blocks.
Q: What did you feel you've learned from your team today?
A: I think I learned that we have a lot of fight in us. The scoreboard doesn't always reflect how
you played. Defense never went out there and rolled over and laid down. Every time we got
called out, even if it was after an offensive turnover, we came and we tried to step up to the
occasion. We did the best we could.
