--
OPENING STATEMENT
It was certainly good, but a little bit unusual to have Saturday off. That's not something we get to do too often. Certainly gave the players a chance to relax a little bit and recharge and just enjoy a little break after doing a good job in a really short week and maximizing that out.
You know, that was great, and just looking back for a second, great to get the win, obviously. Our players worked hard last week and they did a good job out there on the field. Good to see their efforts get rewarded.
I think overall probably the biggest thing is we played clean football out there. We did a good job with penalties and the turnover takeaway battle, so that certainly gives you a chance. Certainly we have a lot to work on right now, but it is good to have Floyd back in the building.
Also just want to take one minute and congratulate Zach VanValkenburg for being recognized by the Big Ten as Defensive Player of the Week. Really good story, tremendous young guy. Joined our team two years ago from Hillsdale College as a graduate transfer, Russian studies.
And really the biggest thing I would say about Zach since he's gotten here, he really takes a mature approach, works extremely hard. Has a great attitude and work ethic and those things I think are what really surfaced on Friday night and he's really been playing better each opportunity. You can see him playing faster, more comfortable now and he really works hard. He is very well respected by everybody on the team. Happy to see him get recognized for sure.
A couple words about Penn State and the Penn State game. First of all, our captains are the same with the addition of one; Chauncey Golston and Nick Niemann will still go out for the defense. Matt Hankins has joined that group. The voting has been really close. And then offensively we have Mekhi Sargent, Tyler Linderbaum and Keith Duncan with special teams. So happy to have those recognized as our captains for the week.
Then basically on Sunday, our focus turned entirely to Penn State, trying to get ready for them. No big surprise when you look at Penn State, they are a very impressive team, pretty much talented at every position and that really comes as no surprise, and their backups look very much the same. They play a lot of people and have done that traditionally, so they are a good football team. Certainly a team that's better than their record right now.
You know, I've got 70 years history I guess watching Penn State -- not quite 70, but I do know this: They have recruited well for 70 years and been coached well, and that's been the same since I was in high school. They have Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris in the backfield, two No. 1 picks. Kind of tells you a little bit about how they have been and how they continue to be. They have got a really good program. The have a lot of good players and they are well-coached. If you look at them statistically, they are a very impressive football team but for whatever reason have come up short.
We know it's going to be a big challenge for us. It's been a decade since we have beaten Penn State or close to a decade. We know we have a big challenge on our hands as we look forward, so we'll do our best to get ready for it this week.
Just the other thing of note, real quickly, we're at the halfway point in the Big Ten right now. I don't know, I don't want to speak for anybody else, but I doubt many people are doing anything differently than we are, just kind of looking at things day-by-day and not taking anything for granted and we are all getting ready obviously to try to prepare and compete for the weekend, the competition on the weekend.
There's a lot of variables right now, and I think real simply we're just trying to look out for our health as individuals and as a team and then also trying to improve on a daily basis. It has certainly been the most unusual season probably for any of us to be involved in and it's just kind of our reality right now. With all that being said, I'll just throw it out for questions.
Last edited:
