Jim Leonhard
Wisconsin Interim Head Coach
Postgame Quotes
Opening statement
"I'm just so proud of our guys right now. It was such a rough week early on. We really needed to win a game where we didn't play well for 60 minutes. We needed to win a game going through some adversity and to see our offense and defense respond late in the game. I am really proud of the resiliency we showed today."
On if this win means more because they came from behind
"I prefer easy, but that's not always the case. Anytime you win and you have to battle for four quarters, make plays and come from behind, you just gain so much confidence from it. As coaches you are proud. We had not won a game like this yet this year. Obviously, this gets us bowl-eligible, which is another huge accomplishment for this team."
On what he saw overall on the offense's play
"You need to find a way to get a chunk. We were moving the ball down the field. We were in a good spot with the clock, but at the same time getting a chunk changes everything. Just proud of the way we battled. Again, it wasn't perfect and was tough weather to throw the football in, but we battled. Just continued to fight and find a way. That's what you need. Players have to make plays. That's what it comes down to. It's about them and finding ways to finish. We needed that in a big way and we got it done."
On the run game in the first half and the scoring success in the second half
"We were moving the ball, controlling the block and were on the field for a long stretch of time and felt good, but we just weren't finishing drives. We just couldn't punch it in the end zone. We were moving the ball well in the first half at times. We knew we had them on their heels a little bit in the run game, and we wanted to stay patient. We continued to make plays, and obviously getting that touchdown was a good one."
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