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INSIGHT BOWL: MINNESOTA v IOWA STATE

December 31, 2009

Alexander Robinson

TEMPE, ARIZONA

Iowa State 14
Minnesota 13

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we're joined by Iowa State Head Coach Paul Rhoads and student-athletes Alexander Robinson, Christopher Lyle, Austen Arnaud. Congratulations, Coach. We will ask you to make an opening statement.
COACH RHOADS: Thank you very much. My wife asked me before I was leaving the hotel, she said, What kind of game is it going to be? And I said, I believe it will be a white-knuckler for all 60 minutes. I guess that certainly came true.
Can't say enough about the support of the Iowa State fans, how many of them made this trip, how many of them support our athletic department and our football program. It wasn't Jack Trice Stadium but Sun Devil Stadium. Certainly felt like it for 60 minutes of a football game out there.
Our football team showed a lot of grit to overcome four turnovers and still be in a position to win a football game, but we certainly took advantage of their second turnover and then behind our offensive line and the production of the guy setting to my left, Alexander Robinson and the one to my far left, Austen, were able to finish the thing out and run the clock out.

Q. Paul, you won seven games, winning season, Bowl games, snapped a lot of streaks throughout the season. Talk about how much progress this team actually made this year.
COACH RHOADS: I don't know if you can measure it. I don't know what defines it. We've certainly improved, and that was the number one goal, was to improve in every aspect of our program.
And I think we've done exactly that. I'm talking about academics. I'm talking about fundamentals. I'm talking about schemes and certainly wins and losses of the program.
Going into this game at 6-6, we've made some noise. We made some people happy and made people take notice of Iowa State football.
But by winning this game, by winning a Bowl game, by finishing with a winning record, which, by the way, this 2009 Iowa State winning football team never had a losing record. By finishing with a winning record and you go into the off-season with a program that certainly is on its way, I guess I would just say it best that way.
When we start our workouts in January, our guys will report to work. The program has credibility based on what we've done thus far, what we set out to do and what we've accomplished. And I certainly owe that to all the kids in this program and embracing what we set out to do and doing it day after day after day.

Q. Coach Rhoads, you were on the other sideline with Pittsburgh the last time Iowa State was down here. Talk about what it was like to get a win in your first Bowl game as head coach.
COACH RHOADS: It is overwhelming. The funny thing about it, the game went so fast. Both ball teams were playing so hard and the turnovers and missed opportunities.
We were in control of the football game and thought we should have been more in control of the football game. But mistakes and turnovers kept us from doing that.
I'm proud to lead this program and this team in whatever we do, whether it is a community service project, or through a practice or winning a Bowl game. But you don't do that without the kids believing and being all in and going out there and accomplishing all the goals and expectations that we set.

Q. Can you talk about the play there when they reviewed and the lengthy review of the fumble?
ALEXANDER ROBINSON: The screen play we ran? Well, he had his hand on it when I was running. I felt it. I tried to cover it up with both hands. And I felt my knee go down. I knew the whole time I was down. But I was a little nervous with them reviewing and taking that long with it. I thought maybe the fans could have helped with some of their screaming after seeing the replays. But guess not. (Laughter).
COACH RHOADS: Made you feel a lot better about it.
ALEXANDER ROBINSON: Yeah, yeah, they did.

Q. Austen, did you sense a big game coming out of A-Rob going against his hometown team?
AUSTEN ARNAUD: Every time he steps on the field I expect a big game. He is a spark for us. We love the kid to death. His work ethic, it defines our program. You see guys like these two next to me, those guys work their tail off all year-round and now it has finally paid off with a winning record and a Bowl win.

Q. Austen, it looked like in the first half you were trying to do a lot of the work -- two of your first three incompletions were interceptions. Did you feel like you were trying to do too much in the offense in the first half?
AUSTEN ARNAUD: I didn't feel that way, but it probably looked that way. Coach Rhoads is always good about coming over and settling me down. He is always telling me to reply within myself. It was unfortunate for me to have a game like this in a big game, but it is lost to me now. We won the game, and that's all I really care about.
COACH RHOADS: You don't lead a football team when you make mistakes like that without coming back and having credibility with your teammates.
When a football team has got doubt, somebody has to snap it out of them. And our quarterback certainly did that tonight.

Q. A-Rob, can you talk about the impact, the third-and-long conversions that you had on your first scoring drive in the first half that really set you guys forward and going into that first half there?
ALEXANDER ROBINSON: Definitely third downs is something we call money downs. We practice it probably every day. We have periods when we work on third downs and we have to continue drives, and the defense is always trying to stop us and things.
We get after it. We work on third downs, like I said, probably every day in practice. We call it a money down, like I said. It is important to us. And it can keep drives alive and demoralize defenses.

Q. Talk about -- what about the defense that had such a good day to keep them out of the end zone?
CHRISTOPHER LYLE: Well, we practiced all week putting our scheme together. We just went out there and followed our scheme. It came out and brought out what we practiced all week and we were ready for it. That's what happens.

Q. Chris, was this the best game that the defensive line had all year because you got quite a bit of rush on you? You may not have gotten a lot of sacks. I didn't see your stats but you made life uneasy for your quarterback. Is this your best game and why?
CHRISTOPHER LYLE: No, I don't think it is my best game. It is just -- it just wasn't my best game, but -- there was other games I played better. This is one of the ones that we got a win and it counts for something.
COACH RHOADS: I would follow up, we got pressure early in this game and then we got a sack -- we got two sacks. We got a sack early. We got pressure early, and that affected play calling from there on out. Balls were out of their hands faster. That allowed us to continue to play good defense.

Q. Chris, can you talk about what this win means for veterans like yourself who has been through so many changes and a lot of tough losses over the course of your careers?
CHRISTOPHER LYLE: Yes, it means a lot to us because we get to go out the right way, going out on a win, on a Bowl win. That's good. You know, being one of the first in Coach Rhoads' coaching career are as a head coach to go out and start a foundation for this program. It is good.

Q. Coach, can you talk about Brandtner's punt late in the game?
COACH RHOADS: Great coverage. Any time you are dealing with a punt unit, you are dealing with 11 guys. I think we were a little bit fortunate in the bounce and the hustle by Jeremy to finish it off and his body control not to go across the goal line.
But Michael has been a very solid performer all year long. I think the punt that he slipped got his balance back and head down to the 14 might have been more important for us in the overall saving our football team. That football very easily could have been blocked.

Q. Christopher, talk about the play that Ter'ran Benton made to get that fumble that they were going on to maybe score there? And then, Austen and Alexander, talk about being able to run out the clock right after that turnover.
CHRISTOPHER LYLE: Along with Brandtner's punt, that was a big play in the game and that really changed the outcome of the game. It was a big play and it gave our team a chance to run the clock out with an offensive possession.

Q. Coach, talk about the importance of the field position throughout the game.
COACH RHOADS: The total output was 860 yards, I think, something like that between the two teams. When you only have 27 points scored, field position is involved.
And it's hard to be successful over and over and over and gain all those yards and finish up every drive in the end zone. So -- because of the length that they had to go, we were fortunate to get stops. Overcoming a turnover deficit of two, you need a little help. I think they got three points is all off of turnovers. And the positioning where those turnovers game certainly aided in that with the field position you are talking about.

Q. A-Rob and Austen, talk about what was going through your mind after you got that last turnover, got the ball back. What was going through your mind about hanging on to the football?
ALEXANDER ROBINSON: For me it was just Coach Rhoads came up to me. He said, Protect the football. He said, If you see a hole, hit it. Otherwise just keep two hands on it and get as much as you can and get down.
AUSTEN ARNAUD: For me, I know I couldn't do much worse with the ball in my hands (smiling). I just did all that -- just one of those things. When the ball popped out a couple times, it is not what I wanted. But I will be darned if it didn't get out again.

Q. Coach, talk about right before halftime, the decision with not much time on the clock, the confidence you had in Austen and the offense to push it down and get what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
COACH RHOADS: Huge drive. I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up before.
I don't know what it was, a minute 13 or a minute 23 or something like that, but it was exact scenario that we practice all the time as far as a two-minute drive is concerned. The interception and the ensuing return that David got off of that I thought was great momentum that was wise to try to capitalize on.
So the offensive staff and I talked, and I said, Let's start the drive and see what happens. And we started the drive with success and let momentum take over, and were able to execute a great two-minute scenario.
The most encouraging thing about that is about the only thing I left the practice field with disappointed was our two-minute game as we finished up our preparation for Minnesota. The defense did a fantastic job, and the offense didn't let it materialize. But they certainly did at the end of that half.

Q. On a lighter note, last two teams to beat Minnesota in this game, Mark Mangino's Kansas Jayhawks and Mike Leach's Texas Tech Raiders haven't had good luck following this. How do you feel about your luck going in the off-season?
COACH RHOADS: You describe that as a lighter note? (Laughter).
On a lighter note, I know our team liaisons, Mike, Mike and Steve are thrilled to have a victory with Iowa State. We would be thrilled to have them with us.

End of FastScripts

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