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Senior Defensive End Jack Gangwish
On his last time playing
"I guess the No. 1 thing is that I sure wish I could've went out with a victory, but I guess that's the way the dice fall sometimes."
How much do you want the bowl game?
"I'd especially like a bowl game this year. I'd like to prolong my playing time a little bit, that'd be incredible."
How did defense feel at halftime?
"To us seemed like they were going well. We were executing the things we needed to do and hadn't given up too many big plays at that point. We were optimistic that we were going to come through with this thing."
Were you feeling good at that point?
"Yeah we were. I think seven of them (points) were off the pick-six, and seven of them were on a drive when we gave up 30-some yards on penalties, and it's tough to recover from something like that. To us, it seemed like we were in it. We could play with these guys, no problem, and stopping them wasn't going to be an issue in the second half."
Was there any talk about their 68-yard touchdown?
"My understanding is that we missed an adjustment. Something that you try to avoid, obviously, but it happens."
How do you feel the team progressed?
"That's how I saw it. These guys came together, brand new system, new coaches, a whole new set of challenges and these guys bought in really well. They learned the defenses, they learned the offenses, and they really did a good job. The dedication a lot of our guys showed really allowed us to pick up this new system and hit the ground running."
Do you deserve a bowl at 5-7?
"From the program's point of view, going to a bowl is good because it allows us to practice longer. Any time you can get some more time with each other that's great. I think bowl prep is almost 20 practices and if you think about it spring football is only 15 practices, so when you look at it that way, a bowl is a pretty big deal. It's another few weeks of practicing and getting ready to go. To some people who would say that we're not good enough to go to a bowl, maybe they're right, but I'd sure like to go, so that's where I'm at."
Was the 68-yard touchdown a punch in the gut?
"Well, yeah, as a defense that's a very difficult situation to put in. Obviously, you don't want to allow stuff like that to happen, but our guys are tougher than hell and they responded really well. I'm really proud of them."
Junior Linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey
On emotions after the game
“It’s kind of bitter-sweet, for a lot of the guys it’s their last for sure opportunity to play here in Lincoln, here at Memorial Stadium in front of all of our fans. For me, personally, a lot of those guys were there during the ACL, during the groin, during the suspension, first names on my mind, you know, Taariq Allen, a guy that didn’t get a lot of snaps or as many snaps as you expected this year, but I mean for anybody being a better leader than Taariq, I don’t know where I could find him. He kept going, even when he wasn’t playing. A guy that kept everyone going even as the season went on, you that’s just one guy but you just feel bad for those guys that we couldn’t get a win today for them. You know Iowa did what they do, they’re a decent football team, they only had one turnover. You know I thought we handled the run well except for those two runs. Again, I think it just shows we gotta start focusing on small details and just unfortunately we won’t be able to do it with this group but like I told those guys in the locker room we’re gonna make sure we honor those seniors as we go along with this program after I leave, after other guys leave we continue to honor those guys, because those guys had a big part in what we’re doing and what we want to continue doing. It’s rough on those guys, I think they got hit the hardest with the transition because it’s their last year but they all handled it well. We appreciate Coach Riley letting those guys continue to lead, continue being the forefront, like I said, it’s a good group of seniors, definitely going to miss them around this place. Nothing but love for those guys, appreciate them.”
On the defensive effort tonight
"We played like we wanted to play, we wanted to play physical downhill, especially the linebackers, because we knew just the kind of running team they are. They run the ball, there’s no trick about it, zone left, zone right, iso-left, iso-right. I’m pretty sure that not what they name it but for simplicity that’s pretty much what it is. We look at these teams we play, Michigan State, Iowa, some other teams in the Big Ten we got the chance to play, just the constancy they have is something I think we should look into, and mock. Just having the ability to keep going if you have something that you know is working and you have faith in it, just keep going and that’s what Iowa did, never went away from it, never shied away from who they are, I can appreciate that about Coach Ferentz, he’s built an identity to it. As I go into my senior year I wanna have a say so in the identity of this team going on into next year, like I said were very close. The guys coming back are working extremely hard and wanna make sure everybody stays motivated, because at the end of the day, we look at our record and 5-7 isn’t good enough, nowhere near. Guys are going to have to take bigger roles as far as leadership on the field, I know a lot of those guys are itching and waiting and they’re prepared, that definitely one thing I’m excited about, seeing these young guys get an expanding role and seeing what they do, let them go free a little bit.”
On the two long runs
“You know, I think it was two different looks that we got. It was just a variation on what they do and it threw us off a little bit. That’s one thing we’re gonna have to work on, the play could’ve been handled correctly. It was tough losing Nate (Gerry) back there, you lose a little bit of communication skills with those young guys, which is fine, definitely not putting that on them at all, there’s things we could’ve done as linebackers, get over top a little bit better, but you know, two plays will be the plays will be the highlight of what people talk about the defense. As far as overall effort, I’m happy with what we did, we went out there and played with a team that a lot of people said would out physical us at the line of scrimmage and our front seven definitely showed, we’re not no slouch. We’re definitely not someone you can just come here and run over. Definitely proud to be a part of that group, that linebacker group, to be a part of this defense and to be a part of this team.”
When asked about “grown man’s game” tweet
“I think it was just the mentality, for me personally, not going out there with sleeves or anything I just wanted to put it in my head that the cold isn’t a factor. I know a lot of guys did that even if they did wear stuff, just the mentality. Iowa wasn’t going to come in here and throw 50 times, they weren’t going to come in here and air the ball out, and we’re like, ‘woah man, we didn’t practice none of this,' they weren't five wide the whole time. So we knew what they were gonna do and again that’s just the constancy that they have. They know teams, they know what they’re gonna do and line up and run their plays, it’s all about being physical at the point of attack, and we did that expect for two plays. That’s always going to be in the back of my mind, but you can’t take away from the defensive effort we gave out there.”
Junior Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.
On his interceptions
"If it's anybody's fault it's mine. Our defense played well. Our receivers caught well. Offensive line blocked well, put us in great positions to win the game. I just didn't take care of the football. I gave them seven points and put them in great position to win the game. It's something I gotta fix and honestly like I said, if you want to put the blame on anybody, the team played well and I just didn't."
On if Iowa's defense did anything to confuse him or the offense:
"No. We moved the chains well. We ran the ball when we wanted to. I just made poor reads, may poor passes."
On the 4th-and-1 play:
"I covered the zero, take your one-on-ones. We just didn't come up with the ball. I just didn't put the ball in the right place. I kind of led him a little more on the side. If I would have given him a chance to catch the ball, maybe we would have scored."
On the Iowa defense:
"It wasn't tough. I just made poor reads. Like I said, the offensive line blocked their tails off. We made great runs, we had a great game plan. I just had to make better reads."
On the first interception:
"It was just a design play for our fullback. If he's not open, throw it away. He wasn't open, he was jammed up. Like I said, I tried to force a ball that I shouldn't have. [If] I'd maybe tried to run for it or thrown the ball the away, if I would have had another down, it would have put us in great position."
On the pick-six:
"I don't point fingers or anything like that. If I would have put a little more air on it, I get it over his head. That's on me. You gotta expect the unexpected. If he's not on the ground, you gotta get the ball over his head."
On how he uses this game to go forward:
"It sucks, but I'm just disappointed in myself because I let these seniors down. They played their tails off tonight. We were prepared [with] two weeks of planning. I feel like I just let them down out of everybody. Imani [Cross] ran hard. Taariq [Allen] went out there and made plays. Special teams-wise, Andy [Janovich] did his job. They made plays. They got turnovers when they needed to. We put it in the right position, they put us in the right position to win the game. I couldn't take care of the football. That stings my heart to send those guys off like that, when I know at the end of the day I could have made a change, I could have done a little bit more. I could've lived to fight another down with those guys in certain situations, but I forced the ball here and there and caused us the game, caused those seniors to go down with a loss, when obviously, we moved the chains whenever we wanted to. We had opportunities to get first downs, third-and-one, fourth-and-one, when nothing opens, I'm the type of guy to maybe just tuck down and get that first down, I found myself just trying to find people open and that's not me. I just gotta make sure that I'm smarter with the ball. That's all that matters. When your team plays well, and you don't do your part, it sucks. Their job is to tell you, everybody makes mistakes. At the end of the day we're a team, but as a quarterback, you gotta understand, when you have four interceptions, over 300 passing yards and almost 500 yards offensively and you hold the No. 4 team to 300 yards offensively, with our defense, there's something wrong. And all four turnovers came on my side of the ball and my decisions, at the end of the day, that's on me. It's something I want to fix, it's something I gotta fix, in order for this team to win games, in order for this team to become a better team than it was this year, I gotta become a better quarterback, a better decision maker and just a better overall player and a better leader for these guys. My senior year, like I said, I expect guys to play for me and I let those guys down, those seniors and there job is to tell me that everything is going to be alright, but at the end of the day, I feel like I let them down. Me being a senior next year, I would expect guys that are juniors and sophomores to play their tails off for me on my last game and I played hard, but I could have played a little bit harder, I could have made better decisions, but at the end of the day, I let those guys down. Like I told them in the locker room, like I told them out there, I'm sorry. There's so much I can do, but at the end of the day, I gotta fix myself before this team can get better."
On how he would characterize this season under Coach Langsdorf:
"It has been great, but at the end of the day, there's so much a coach can do for you. If you want to become a better person, a better team, we gotta reach out there and try to overcome those mistakes. We could have given up when we were 2-4, but at the end of the day, we didn't. We fought back and this isn't where we wanted to be, but at the end of the day, it's an improving team. We're getting better, but mistakes like, like I said before this game, the team that takes care of the football is going to win this game and we knew going into this game that we were going to have to take care of the football. Running backs took care of the football, but I just have to take care of the football. Overall, the offense under Coach Langsdorf and Coach Riley, this has been a great experience. It's been a learning experience for myself, a learning experience for this team, in general, we just gotta take it upon ourselves to get better. Like I said, there's so much coaches can do for you. You gotta reach out and grab it, you can't just let it sit there. You gotta just take care of yourself and take advantage of your opportunities to better the team. As a senior next year, that's one of the things I'm going to focus on the most is improving myself before I become a better leader on the field. I want to become a better person, do as much as I can improving my game mentally, physically I feel like I got everything physically I can. I can run the ball when I can, I got the arm, I just gotta make sure that I'm mentally more prepared each and every game, just to get these guys going. I just can't have mental breakdowns, like I did this game, where it kinda cost us."