Nebraska Player Quotes - Joe Ganz

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008
Memorial Stadium

Joe Ganz
Senior, Quarterback
On what step one was in regrouping after last week’s loss
"Putting the game behind us, forgetting about it as quick as you can and moving on because we have another tough opponent on the road. Our first road game is going to be another big test for us. Hopefully the guys have put it behind them already. I know I have. The quicker we can do it the better."

On if the game plan will be similar to what it was against Missouri
"I’m not to sure yet, we don’t go over the total game plan until today. We just get a taste of it. I’m not really sure what to expect. I know they are pretty good against the run and they give up some things in the passing game. They are kind of the bend don’t break defense. We’ll see what Coach (Shawn) Watson wants to do and whatever he comes up with we’ll be fine I’m sure."

On if there has been anything surprising, good or bad, to him this year on the offensive side of the ball
"Not really. Good is the way Mike Smith has stepped in at left tackle. I think he has played really well. He is kind of undersized but he has been playing as hard as he can and that’s pretty much all it takes. Just playing as hard as you can and he is doing a good job. I think he has been one surprise for me because I didn’t expect him to start this season. I think he has done a great job and has been a surprise for me."

On how far away they are from executing like they should be on a consistent basis
"We’re close. We played pretty well on offense we just stalled in the red zone. We stalled some of the drives with turnovers. That’s the stuff that kills us. We can’t stall. We have to put the ball in the end zone. We can’t be settling for field goals or punts. It’s just finding that extra gear to push our way through. We we’re pretty close we just couldn’t finish. That was the most disappointing part."

On how much penalties stall drives
"They do, we obviously need to get better on those. Those are drive killers backing ourselves up and shooting ourselves in the foot. We know we need to keep those down and we’re working on it every day at practice. We know we need to play a cleaner game in order to win."

On if there is more pressure to score against a team like Texas Tech
"Not really. You don’t really look at the scoreboard you just go out there swinging. You keep fighting and doing everything in your will to score. It doesn’t matter what their offense does because we're going against their defense, and there is no point in looking at what their offense will do. You’re just out there kind of rooting for your defense and whatever happens, happens. You can’t let that affect the way you go out and play. We know they are capable of putting up a lot of points, so we know we need to be ready to score, but that’s our objective every week is to go out and score as many as we can."

On if he thinks the offense can be effective without the running game
"I think we do need to run the ball, but we’re capable of putting up big yards in the passing game. If the running game struggles we should be able to throw the ball. We should be able to put up big numbers and kind of use the short passing game as the controlled running game. I know we need to be able to run the ball, and I want to run the ball, but if we can’t the passing game needs to pick it up."

On why he feels like the running game is important
"Part of it is ball control, especially against a team like Texas Tech. You don’t want to give them too many chances. Time of possession is going to be big and the running game will help that. It helps to demoralize defenses if you’re able to run the ball against them. It’s what we want to do. We want to be able to run the ball, and trust me we’re not going out there saying, 'OK let’s rush the ball for 50 yards this game that’s our goal.' We’re trying, we’re coming up with different ways, different schemes, and we’ll be able to run the ball, it’s just a matter of actually getting it going early and getting the confidence in the running game for those big offensive linemen. Get the confidence back and hopefully we’ll see how it goes from there."

On how important first and second down are
"First and second down efficiency is big. Putting us in those third and manageable situations makes it a lot easier to convert. We did a pretty decent job on Saturday converting on third down. We weren’t in a lot of third and longs. That is big and it is going to help against good teams like Tech being in those third and manageable. You can call a run, a play action pass, drop back. You can do a lot of things on a third and 4-5 or 3-5. You can do a lot more than you can do on third and nine. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense because the offense can do some many different things. It’s going to be a key to the game, especially on the road."

On how he would evaluate his play through five games
"I think I’ve played OK. There is some good and some bad. I just have to work at it and be more consistent. Try not to make too many plays. Sometimes I feel when we get down you kind of rush and try to make that big play. When the big play is letting it come to you and taking a check down and letting them run for 30. Just don’t feel like I need to make every play, kind of rely on my teammates to help me out. Just understand that sometimes the best play is to punt on third down, and just be more consistent."

On if he thinks the majority of his mistakes have come in situations where they were behind
"Yeah, I mean it’s no excuse really. That’s just how it happened I guess. It’s no excuse. I’m not going out there saying I was just trying to bring my team back. I still know that they were bad decisions, and I need to fix those and work on being more consistent."

On if he thinks playing the first five games at home will help them in their first road game
"We’ll see, I don’t know. We haven’t been there yet. It’s not that different besides the travel part. I kind of like going on the road. It's fun running on the field getting booed and having people throw stuff at you. It’s pretty fun. I know a lot of the guys don’t really mind it. We don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I’m interested to see how we respond being on the road when adversity hits."

On where he was at the last time NU played Texas Tech on the road in 2004
"I think I went down to Illinois State to visit my friends. I know we watched the game a little bit and then it kind of got out of hand and we decided to drive back that night."

On what he remembers about that game
"I was still a freshman, so I didn’t really know a lot of the guys or know how they reacted or felt, but obviously it hurt and they were embarrassed. We we’re embarrassed as a program. That’s long behind us, so we don’t even think about it."

On what it was like coming back on Sunday for running drills in 2004
"The guys we’re just down. They were embarrassed. It has no relevance now, so it doesn’t really matter."

On if the game came easier to him last year
"Well we threw the ball a lot more. I think I threw the ball the most last game it was like 36 times. We we’re throwing the ball 50 times last year. With those extra 15 passes a game I’m going to put up a lot more yards. We we’re throwing the ball almost every down. It’s really easy to get into a rhythm when you do that. I knew my numbers weren’t going to be as big as they we’re last year just because we weren’t going to throw the ball as much."

On if he senses the difference in his play from last year to this year
"I thought I have been playing pretty well. I have been completing the ball a lot. I knew my yards weren’t going to be as much because we’re not going to throw the ball 50 or 60 times a game. I knew that coming in. I don’t really care how many yards I throw for. It doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t matter to the rest of the team. We just care if we have one more point than the other guys at the end of the game. Individual stats mean nothing for me, and it doesn’t reflect on how hard I’m playing or how well or bad I’m playing."

On how tough it is to make the right decision in the heat of battle
"It is tough. You want to go out there and help your team as best you can, but sometimes that works out for the worst. It is tough. You think someone is open, then someone falls back and makes a good play. It’s going to happen. Some of the plays where I could maybe throw it out of bounds or run and get a couple then punt is where I am going to have to be more mature and realize the situation."

On how the circumstances were different from last year to this year
"I didn’t go into last year saying, 'OK this season is over and I am just going to play these three games and let’s go home.' I wanted to win all three of those games and go to a bowl game. I didn’t prepare any different. That’s not the type of person I am. I went in there and I gave it my all just like I have done this year for every game and I’ll continue to do that."

On if he puts any added pressure on himself because he is the starter
"Not really, just more media interviews I guess. Other than that I still go about everything the same way. I’m still the same way with the guys in the locker room. The only thing that has changed is I play more. There is no big change in the way I go about my business."

On what he thinks when people say this team isn’t built to run the ball
"I don’t believe in that. I know you ask our offensive line and they won’t believe in it either. The last four years we still practiced running the ball. It’s not like all we did was the two-minute drill. We still had the same type of half-line run drills, team run drills. These guys know how to run the ball, it just goes to confidence we have early in the game. I think we need to be able to have a couple break-out runs and have the offensive line gain the confidence back knowing that they can run the ball. I think that’s all it’s going to take."

On the difference in play calling from the last three games last year
"We have different game plans. We have a different way of going about things. We’re not going to throw it 60 times a game. When you only throw it 25 or 30 times a game, you’re obviously not going to put up the same kind of numbers. It didn’t come easy to me last year. We just had to throw the ball so much. Nothing is really easy in this game. I thought this year I have been playing pretty well. Last year and this year are two totally different animals. I didn’t expect to put up those numbers. Nothing really came easy to me last year. Nothing came easy to me this year. You still have to go out and earn everything you get. It just so happens we don’t throw the ball 60 times this year."

On if the alleged dirty play has affected the team at all
"No. I didn’t see anything dirty. I didn’t hear anything about spitting. I watched the game too, and I didn’t see any dirty play. The kid gets hit maybe three times in a game and he thinks it’s dirty, I don’t know. I don’t really agree with it. I watched the same game he played in and I didn’t see anything dirty. He got one late hit called on him which was right after he threw the ball we hit him. I didn’t see anything dirty. I go against these guys everyday and they aren’t dirty. We don’t put any merit into what happened. It’s not going to affect us at all."