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INSIGHT BOWL: IOWA v OKLAHOMADecember 30, 2011Broderick BinnsMike DanielsKirk FerentzMarvin McNutt, Jr.TEMPE, ARIZONA Oklahoma – 31 Q. Marvin, talk about the first half a little bit. Was it a lot of execution, slow start, not finishing plays? Talk about the start you had. MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: We didn't come out the way we wanted to in the first half. Had a lot of negative plays and penalties and things you can't have when you play a team like Oklahoma. Q. Marvin, I think you had a wrist and a shoulder late, and then the camera almost killed you. MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: Yeah, I feel like somebody was trying to kill me on their staff. If you are looking, I'm looking for you (laughter). No. It was lucky it didn't hit me. That corner was pretty sharp, though. Q. Did you hit your shoulder? MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: Kind of landed on it a little weird, but it didn't hurt. I was still able to play. Q. Talk about the matchup you and Jamell Fleming had out there. You and him went one‑on‑one. He had you one‑on‑one. Talk about that matchup. MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: It was a fun matchup. It was a battle the whole game. A lot of times the ball went other places really. Oklahoma had a game plan, and they worked it well. We just weren't connecting when we needed to. COACH FERENTZ: First of all, just congratulate Oklahoma. They played an excellent game. They are a very good football team, very well coached and played an excellent game tonight. On our side of the coin, obviously we came up short, but we are really proud of our players' effort. We thought they competed and worked hard all game long, and tonight Oklahoma is just a better football team. Q. Kirk, what was the difference between the fourth for you guys offensively and the first three quarters? COACH FERENTZ: I don't know if you can put a finger on something like that. We had opportunities in the first half, drove it down, came up short on the fourth down. We had a critical error, an unforced error on a play that would got the ball over the 50, mid‑field. We did some things to hurt ourselves. But Oklahoma had a big part of that too. They are a very talented team, very aggressive, very quick, and they were playing hard. Q. How hard does it make for your defense when you have got to stop not only Jones but also Blake Bell and move into that formation and then the red zone? COACH FERENTZ: They're a tough preparation no matter how you slice it. Jones can really throw the football. Anybody who has played them knows that. He has got a tremendous arm, good scheme. Part of that scheme, they built in the substitute quarterback. That guy is a load. It is a well‑conceived package. They are a good football team top to bottom. It makes it a challenge. They have been averaging 40‑plus points a game this year and moving the ball pretty well. So I thought our guys played hard and really competed hard on defense. And we put ourselves in some tough spots, a turnover, didn't help ourselves in field position in the kicking game a couple times. When you give a team like that a short field, that's not a good thing. Q. Can you assess Jordan's performance? He had a lot thrown at him this week and showed up‑‑ had a lot of touches. And is James okay? COACH FERENTZ:  Canzeri you mean? Q. Yeah. COACH FERENTZ: First of all, James I think is fine. He took a shot there at the end, and I don't think he would have come back at any point in the game. Zusevics came out. He couldn't go in the second half. He had flu the other day and that just kind of wore him down. But if there was a highlight tonight, I think the two things our guys competed hard. I thought our effort was good and the guys competed start to finish. Other guys stepped up and did a good job. Canzeri I thought did a nice job. I think all the backs did. Jason White had opportunities and Bullock and Brad Rogers as well, and I thought Jordan did a really good job out there. Van Sloten had to come in for Zus, and we seemed to operate with him just fine up there. That was good to see. And Anthony Hitchens, too, when James Morris came out on defense. Q. Coach, can you comment on what Iowa can build on out of this game? And also I would like to have the players answer that question. COACH FERENTZ: We knew we were playing a really outstanding football team in Oklahoma and they had their run of bad luck or bad fortune right at the end. But they certainly took this month and went back to work and looked really good out there tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough challenge. I thought our guys really competed. That all starts with your effort and the attitude you take into a game. And I think we have enough players right now where we will build on that and we will start thinking about that here in a day or two. But at the same time, we're losing a group of 18 seniors that really have done a great, great job over the last four years: 35 wins, done a good job in the classroom, and certainly have taken us to four straight Bowls now, winning three of them. So it's a great group of guys. They have been great leaders and certainly have helped set the tempo. To replace 18 seniors like that is no easy task. A lot of other guys at the other end will really have to step up. That's college football too. We are really appreciative of what these seniors have done. Q. What about‑‑ you had a big game just before the half on the pass play and you were flagged for wrong formation. What happened there? COACH FERENTZ: Latter part of the second quarter, I guess. We didn't line up correctly and that's‑‑ as I said, we had a chance to advance the ball over mid‑field. Had a chance to maybe get something going there a little bit. A game like that, you are playing a good defensive team like that, you need every play. The yards came tough tonight. And unforced errors, that's something we can't afford to do. You can't afford that against anybody certainly not a good opponent. Q. Marvin, can you take us‑‑ what was going through your head with that skycam fell? MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: First, I looked: What is it that fell out of the sky? The next I know, the line from the camera was‑‑ kind of scratched me a little bit. It was just pulling me and I knew I didn't want to keep going with it (laughter). Q. Broderick and Mike, can you talk about what the battle was like up front and trying to hold that offense? BRODERICK BINNS: Oklahoma, tough team. Tip my hat off to them. They came out ready to go from the jump. Of course, when you are dealing with a high‑powered offense, different dynamics that you have got to try to defend. We knew they wanted to come out and pass. When No. 10 came in the game, we knew he would most likely run the ball. It is something we practiced throughout the month of preparing for this game. But things just didn't go our way today, so... MIKE DANIELS: They're very dangerous at every position on the offense. So, I mean, when you play a very dangerous team like that, we had a couple hiccups out there that clearly showed‑‑ the results show when you make hiccups against a very dangerous team like that. Up front they were big and they were quick, so they really came off the ball fast and they knew where they were going and made sure they got there. They played physical too. So, I mean, it was very good offense, probably the best we have played all year. Q. Marvin, even though it hurts to lose, how does it feel to finish your collegiate career in the record books at Iowa with receptions for a single season? MARVIN MCNUTT, JR.: It is definitely a great honor to be a part, like I said, of this tradition here at Iowa. Maybe reflect on it in a few more days. Right now just doesn't feel good to lose. Q. Looking back, what are you going to remember about your Iowa career, Mike? MIKE DANIELS: I'm sure I will remember everything that the coaches taught me, all the coaches at every position, all the staff, the trainers, secretaries, the janitors, and watching how all my teammates grew up and matured. Like take Marvin, for instance, he came in as a quarterback and the first pass he ever thrown was a pick and now he changed to a receiver. He's very unselfish. Made an unselfish switch to receiver and now he is in the record books for being one of the greatest. Watching a guy like Tom Nardo play on the scout team for 3 1/2 years and come out and he is all over the place every year, being able to play next to Brod has been an honor. Just seeing‑‑ watching all of my teammates and watching how we all mature together is just one thing that I will definitely remember. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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