Iowa Quotes

Iowa 28, Illinois 0

Memorial Stadium // Champaign, Ill. // November 19, 2016 // Attendance:
39,091

Head Coach Kirk Ferentz

Opening Statement:
Im just really pleased and proud of our football team. Im pleased for them. Im
proud of the performance they gave today. Certainly, I thought they played with a
lot of determination out there, a lot of discipline and a lot of decisiveness. We
walked into what was a very challenging environment. A big contrast from last
week. A lot of fronts: weather, the environment itself, not being a night game, all
that type of thing. We still had some injuries to overcome on top of it. Im just really
pleased with the way the guys fought through all that. We experienced some bumps
early in the game. In the first half some things didnt go quite as we had hoped. The
defense kept playing, they came ready from the start and played good football and
kept us in the game. And then, certainly, in the second half it was just a really
strong performance by everybody involved. Offensively we ran the ball effectively,
special teams played really well and the defense continued to press on and came
home with the shutout. Its been quite some time since weve gotten a Big Ten
shutout. You combine all that together- a road win in the Big Ten and a chance to
get our seventh win- just really, really happy for our team, really proud of
everyones effort and itll be a good ride home for everybody.

On this game being a statement win

Yeah, I think its a real strong thing. A lot was made during the week about a trap
game and those types of things. To me, it all gets down to your approach and thats
what we talked to our players about. One thing weve always tried to work with our
guys on is to take a consistent approach. It really gets down to the detail, the way
they approach their preparation and then most importantly the way they bring
energy and compete on the field. If you can establish those kind of habits and fall
back on those things some good things can happen out of it. Fortunately in the
second half, I think the guys really pulled it together.
On having a balanced running game
Weve gotten to a point this year where we feel like we have two guys that are
really strong football players, trustworthy, dependable and great attitudes. Theyre
just really good veteran players. I was all for Akrum (Wadley) last week and I was all
for LeShun (Daniels, Jr.) this week. The bottom line is you really need both guys.
Theyve really complemented each other very well.
On getting a shutout victory

Its special for all the guys anytime you get a shutout. Theyre hard to do and its
hard to come by. Its a compliment to them all. The whole staff did a good job and
certainly, our players, they are the ones out there playing.