KIRK FERENTZ: Welcome, everybody. Just to start out, we've been really pleased with getting the win Saturday and overall with our team's performance during the September block of the schedule. I think a couple things about the team thus far into the season, they've worked hard. I think they've been focused on the right things. Been ready to go to compete at kickoff, and we've had four different kickoff times now, so we've had good training in that regard.
And I think maybe as important as anything, we've played through a lot of tough circumstances, a lot of different situations, and for the most part the team has really responded well.
Happy about all that. Been saying this team has really worked hard. They've had a good attitude going back to January when we got started. They've had good work habits. I think we're seeing growth right now, and probably the most impressive thing is just the leadership that's been emerging during the course of the last eight weeks or so.
That's been good, and certainly credit goes there to our senior class. They're really working hard. They're together. I think they're doing a lot to pull the team forward.
You know, good start that way. Now we shift into October certainly and get into conference play, which I think anybody that plays in the conference, that's certainly significant, so something the teams are all looking forward to, something fans are looking forward to, and it's just another part of the schedule that we're excited about.
Our captains are the same this week. We've got Drew Ott, Jordan Lomax on the defensive side; Austin Blythe, C.J. Beathard offensively. We're kind of locked in there it looks like. Medically, we had a few guys have different issues during the course of the game. My guess is it's going to be like that all season long. We haven't had anybody eliminated yet, so we'll just keep moving forward. A couple guys are limited, and hopefully they'll gain ground as the week goes along and be ready at game time.
Moving into Big Ten play, we start certainly with a great challenge this Saturday traveling up to Wisconsin. The last five years Wisconsin has played as well as anybody in our conference, and certainly on the west side. And really that kind of dates back to 1999. They've had good football teams historically up there, and I think the common denominator is they've had good players each and every year. They've been very, very well-coached. They play hard, and then when you play up in Madison, that's an extra challenge on top of it.
We've got our hands full as we start to prepare. Again, I think we've got a good football team right now. We'll certainly learn more about our football team over the next eight contests, next nine weeks just like every team in the conference will.
We've got our work cut out for us right now. We're rolling through our preparation, and need to really have a good week here to give ourselves a chance to compete the way we want to on Saturday.
I'll throw it out for questions.
Q. Do they look kind of like a combination of Wisconsin from last year and Pitt together with what they're doing?
KIRK FERENTZ: You know, yes and no. It's kind of interesting thinking about that, I think this is the fourth coaching staff we've faced now since I've been back in '99. Typically they've looked pretty similar, and obviously Paul was a big, big part of what they were before he left there, and now he's back and he's done a great job, and the way they looked at Pittsburgh offensively last year is very similar to what we're seeing now and what Wisconsin did look like.
Defensively they made a shift when Coach Andersen came in a couple years ago and they've remained constant there. It's kind of an interesting back and forth, if you will, the Pittsburgh dynamic and all that stuff when we played them a couple weeks ago. So it's an interesting preparation.
But what we're seeing defensively is an excellent defense. It is a departure from what they used to be, but they're playing at a really high level again, and offensively they come at you. They're a really physical football team that likes to run the football.
Q. Talk about Jordan Canzeri; he scored touchdowns last year, he's got eight this year, but it seems like you're as happy with his pass blocking and blitzes as you are with anything?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, that's the first thing that came to my mind the other day. It's interesting, I don't know if you can say somebody has a quiet four touchdowns, but it just seems like it was the other day. But it's a real tribute to him and the work that he's put in. He's been a good football player ever since he's been here. He's had some injury issues on and off, that type of thing, but the good thing is this year, including last spring, he's been able to really practice the way he wants to, and it's been really fun to watch him.
I talked about our seniors giving us leadership. You can start right there. He's done a great job that way, as well. Talked about a couple weeks ago LeShun had to come out of the ballgame. He assumed that carrying the whole load for us, and he's just done a really nice job. But that pass protection part to me, it's a dividing thing for a player, from being a good player to a really good player.
Q. You have a chance to pass the guy who picked you up for your job interview in victories. Is that just a number or does that mean anything to you?
KIRK FERENTZ: I haven't paid that close attention. To be in a group with him, that would be an honor, that's for sure. That's just a good thing that way.
Q. LeShun Daniels doesn't seem quite to have his pop. Is that something that's going to linger do you think?
KIRK FERENTZ: Hopefully we're getting there. I thought he looked better today in practice, and hopefully we're climbing the ladder and that's really why he didn't play much the other day. He's healthy, he's cleared, but didn't look as efficient as he had early in the season. We're trying to get him back where he can really play the way he wants to play and the way that he's deserving of.
Q. Wisconsin's offense doesn't look too complex. But how much more difficult does that make it because they do it so well?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's not a calculus equation necessarily and it never has been, but they play well. I talked a little bit about Pittsburgh's defense a couple weeks ago. It's not like they've got 43 blitzes that you have to pick up, but they know what to do and when to do it. And to me that's the definition of really good football. It's probably the definition of good anything is not being overly complex but knowing when to do things.
I can assure you what they do creates a lot of stress on you. Defensively they just -- if you try to load up in one area they're going to find it real quick because they know their system and they know where to go when you're hurting them. That's the challenge that's at hand right now.
Just look back the last couple games with them, you're playing them well, you're playing them well, you're playing them well, and then boom, they hit you with that one play, and I think that's kind of a characteristic of a good football team, and certainly they've been successful at that for quite a while.
Q. How do you get the guys ready for Madison, just a fantastic atmosphere?
KIRK FERENTZ: The good news is we got good training two weeks ago or three weeks ago when we traveled on the road. There are a lot of tough environments in our league, and certainly playing across our state, that's a tough place to go for us, too. It's a high-voltage experience for sure.
You know, that training is a starting point. I'm glad that we have a tough road game under our belts, but it really gets down to concentration, really being focused on what's going on out on the field. Believe it or not, it's not loud every snap when you're out there typically, but they have good fans. They know when to get rowdy and when to get loud, and that's where our communication has to be right on spot, and that's why preparation, the right preparation is so important, because as a player you're not always going to get the call. You're not always going to hear it, but hopefully you know what to do just by looks and those types of things.
Q. You saw a lot of pressure against Pitt, and this defense applies a lot of pressure, completely different, but with Schobert and Biegel, you saw them last year, they seemed to be -- their level of play seems to be rising this year.
KIRK FERENTZ: They're really an outstanding duo, and to play that kind of defense, the kind of defense they do, it really helps if you have two outside linebackers that are disruptive, and they both are very disruptive.
I don't want to call them nondescript. It's not that they're not descript. They're good-looking athletes. They're good linebackers and what have you, but they're not Andre Tippett, 6'5", 250- or 260-pound type guys, but they're just really good football players. They know how to play. They're very tough to block, and if you do block them they don't stay blocked. They just have a real good knack, and it's not something that comes natural. I'm sure they've worked very hard at it. They have a really good understanding of what the scheme is, and they're disruptive, really tough guys.
So it starts with those guys. Blocking those guys is a big, big part of things.
And I think maybe as important as anything, we've played through a lot of tough circumstances, a lot of different situations, and for the most part the team has really responded well.
Happy about all that. Been saying this team has really worked hard. They've had a good attitude going back to January when we got started. They've had good work habits. I think we're seeing growth right now, and probably the most impressive thing is just the leadership that's been emerging during the course of the last eight weeks or so.
That's been good, and certainly credit goes there to our senior class. They're really working hard. They're together. I think they're doing a lot to pull the team forward.
You know, good start that way. Now we shift into October certainly and get into conference play, which I think anybody that plays in the conference, that's certainly significant, so something the teams are all looking forward to, something fans are looking forward to, and it's just another part of the schedule that we're excited about.
Our captains are the same this week. We've got Drew Ott, Jordan Lomax on the defensive side; Austin Blythe, C.J. Beathard offensively. We're kind of locked in there it looks like. Medically, we had a few guys have different issues during the course of the game. My guess is it's going to be like that all season long. We haven't had anybody eliminated yet, so we'll just keep moving forward. A couple guys are limited, and hopefully they'll gain ground as the week goes along and be ready at game time.
Moving into Big Ten play, we start certainly with a great challenge this Saturday traveling up to Wisconsin. The last five years Wisconsin has played as well as anybody in our conference, and certainly on the west side. And really that kind of dates back to 1999. They've had good football teams historically up there, and I think the common denominator is they've had good players each and every year. They've been very, very well-coached. They play hard, and then when you play up in Madison, that's an extra challenge on top of it.
We've got our hands full as we start to prepare. Again, I think we've got a good football team right now. We'll certainly learn more about our football team over the next eight contests, next nine weeks just like every team in the conference will.
We've got our work cut out for us right now. We're rolling through our preparation, and need to really have a good week here to give ourselves a chance to compete the way we want to on Saturday.
I'll throw it out for questions.
Q. Do they look kind of like a combination of Wisconsin from last year and Pitt together with what they're doing?
KIRK FERENTZ: You know, yes and no. It's kind of interesting thinking about that, I think this is the fourth coaching staff we've faced now since I've been back in '99. Typically they've looked pretty similar, and obviously Paul was a big, big part of what they were before he left there, and now he's back and he's done a great job, and the way they looked at Pittsburgh offensively last year is very similar to what we're seeing now and what Wisconsin did look like.
Defensively they made a shift when Coach Andersen came in a couple years ago and they've remained constant there. It's kind of an interesting back and forth, if you will, the Pittsburgh dynamic and all that stuff when we played them a couple weeks ago. So it's an interesting preparation.
But what we're seeing defensively is an excellent defense. It is a departure from what they used to be, but they're playing at a really high level again, and offensively they come at you. They're a really physical football team that likes to run the football.
Q. Talk about Jordan Canzeri; he scored touchdowns last year, he's got eight this year, but it seems like you're as happy with his pass blocking and blitzes as you are with anything?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, that's the first thing that came to my mind the other day. It's interesting, I don't know if you can say somebody has a quiet four touchdowns, but it just seems like it was the other day. But it's a real tribute to him and the work that he's put in. He's been a good football player ever since he's been here. He's had some injury issues on and off, that type of thing, but the good thing is this year, including last spring, he's been able to really practice the way he wants to, and it's been really fun to watch him.
I talked about our seniors giving us leadership. You can start right there. He's done a great job that way, as well. Talked about a couple weeks ago LeShun had to come out of the ballgame. He assumed that carrying the whole load for us, and he's just done a really nice job. But that pass protection part to me, it's a dividing thing for a player, from being a good player to a really good player.
Q. You have a chance to pass the guy who picked you up for your job interview in victories. Is that just a number or does that mean anything to you?
KIRK FERENTZ: I haven't paid that close attention. To be in a group with him, that would be an honor, that's for sure. That's just a good thing that way.
Q. LeShun Daniels doesn't seem quite to have his pop. Is that something that's going to linger do you think?
KIRK FERENTZ: Hopefully we're getting there. I thought he looked better today in practice, and hopefully we're climbing the ladder and that's really why he didn't play much the other day. He's healthy, he's cleared, but didn't look as efficient as he had early in the season. We're trying to get him back where he can really play the way he wants to play and the way that he's deserving of.
Q. Wisconsin's offense doesn't look too complex. But how much more difficult does that make it because they do it so well?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's not a calculus equation necessarily and it never has been, but they play well. I talked a little bit about Pittsburgh's defense a couple weeks ago. It's not like they've got 43 blitzes that you have to pick up, but they know what to do and when to do it. And to me that's the definition of really good football. It's probably the definition of good anything is not being overly complex but knowing when to do things.
I can assure you what they do creates a lot of stress on you. Defensively they just -- if you try to load up in one area they're going to find it real quick because they know their system and they know where to go when you're hurting them. That's the challenge that's at hand right now.
Just look back the last couple games with them, you're playing them well, you're playing them well, you're playing them well, and then boom, they hit you with that one play, and I think that's kind of a characteristic of a good football team, and certainly they've been successful at that for quite a while.
Q. How do you get the guys ready for Madison, just a fantastic atmosphere?
KIRK FERENTZ: The good news is we got good training two weeks ago or three weeks ago when we traveled on the road. There are a lot of tough environments in our league, and certainly playing across our state, that's a tough place to go for us, too. It's a high-voltage experience for sure.
You know, that training is a starting point. I'm glad that we have a tough road game under our belts, but it really gets down to concentration, really being focused on what's going on out on the field. Believe it or not, it's not loud every snap when you're out there typically, but they have good fans. They know when to get rowdy and when to get loud, and that's where our communication has to be right on spot, and that's why preparation, the right preparation is so important, because as a player you're not always going to get the call. You're not always going to hear it, but hopefully you know what to do just by looks and those types of things.
Q. You saw a lot of pressure against Pitt, and this defense applies a lot of pressure, completely different, but with Schobert and Biegel, you saw them last year, they seemed to be -- their level of play seems to be rising this year.
KIRK FERENTZ: They're really an outstanding duo, and to play that kind of defense, the kind of defense they do, it really helps if you have two outside linebackers that are disruptive, and they both are very disruptive.
I don't want to call them nondescript. It's not that they're not descript. They're good-looking athletes. They're good linebackers and what have you, but they're not Andre Tippett, 6'5", 250- or 260-pound type guys, but they're just really good football players. They know how to play. They're very tough to block, and if you do block them they don't stay blocked. They just have a real good knack, and it's not something that comes natural. I'm sure they've worked very hard at it. They have a really good understanding of what the scheme is, and they're disruptive, really tough guys.
So it starts with those guys. Blocking those guys is a big, big part of things.
