Dec. 5, 2010

TicketCity Bowl Announcement
News Conference

Northwestern Director of Athletics Jim Phillips
Opening Statement...
"We're ecstatic about going to the TicketCity Bowl for a variety of reasons. I talked to (TicketCity Bowl president and CEO) Tom Starr frequently over the last four weeks, maybe even longer. He was here at our Iowa game and I've had a long relationship with him. I think to be part of the first game of this bowl says a lot. The Jan. 1 window, I think most of you know how historic the Cotton Bowl is -- only the Rose Bowl has held more bowl games than the Cotton Bowl. For our University, our department to be able to play there, it really is historic. The Jan. 1 window is unoccupied from a television standpoint for the first hour of the game, that's a great thing. The list goes on and on. We haven't been back to Dallas in a while. The last Big Ten team to play there was in 1986. So there's all kinds of history and tradition. I think our fans will travel really well, we have a strong alumni base there and immediately when it was announced we got a lot of interest relative to tickets and people flying out. We're thrilled, it's a great opportunity to showcase a world-class University and it'll be an exciting New Year's Day game for the second year in a row."

On if the TicketCity Bowl was the selection he expected...
"It played out the way we thought it was going to do but I would say that over the last week or so there was a lot of jockeying for position with all the 7-5 teams and obviously one 6-6. At the end of the day, we just thought this would be a great destination for us. We traveled so well to Houston (Rice) earlier this year, those that were there saw 8-10,000 Northwestern fans, so we felt really good about going anywhere in Texas. The more we got into it and the more conversations we had with Tom Starr, it just cemented the idea that Dallas would be a great destination for us."

Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement...
"When I told the team tonight we were going (to the TicketCity Bowl), they were ecstatic. Another opportunity for us to compete on Jan. 1. As Jim alluded to, we get the first game in college football in 2011. If history has anything to do with it, the last Jan. 1 game we were in was pretty exciting. We've had a couple practices already this week, we're getting healthier and there's no question our team is hungry for another opportunity to compete. It'll be great for our young men to get together in a great city like Dallas, in a historic venue like the Cotton Bowl. The TicketCity Bowl is going to be a great tradition in the Big Ten and to be the first Big Ten team to be part of that is going to be really special.

"I'm excited for our seniors. This is one more opportunity for them to play one more Northwestern football game and the opportunity to be the winningest senior class in school history. Obviously there's a lot riding on the game and a lot for us to work on between now and then. It couldn't fall at a better time for us, it'll allow our guys to go home for the holidays. We were really hoping and excited to play on Jan. 1."

On the injury status of LB Bryce McNaul and RB Mike Trumpy...
"I would say at this point that as of last week Mike practiced in a limited role and we gave Bryce the week off like a number of guys. I'll have more updates game week, all those things are way too early to tell. I expect everybody except for the guys who were out (vs. Wisconsin) to be back to play. Mike Trumpy will be a decision as we get a little closer."

On what he hopes to accomplish during bowl practices...
"Any bowl prep, you need to improve fundamentally. Early we've been sticking to our plan of A, B, and C's. We went four practices last week and then over the weekend, our focus was whole-heartedly on getting back to basics and improving blocking, tackling, getting off blocks, finishing blocks, throwing, catching, the things you learn in grade school football. Our coaches will game plan this week. With a bowl game you have more time but you don't want to put too much in, you want to go out and do what we typically do. The focus is on our players, see what we do best and play to our strengths. Fundamentally, we need to improve. If Saturday and Sunday's practices are any indication, we have an extremely hungry football team. I thought we had two of our better practices of the year. We're limiting some guys who were a little dinged up but it's great to have a lot of the young guys competing for jobs."

On a tentative schedule leading up to the game...
"We'll be here through the 20th, we'll practice that morning and let the guys go home that night. We'll reconvene probably the 26th in the evening, we'll have a team meeting and do some things to knock the rust off that night. We'll come back and have our Tuesday-type practice that morning and we'll decide whether we'll fly out that night or the next day, somewhere around the 27th or 28th."

On what he knows about Texas Tech...
"It'll be entertaining. I watched a few of their games on tape, I saw in their kicking game they have explosive athletes and they're extremely well-coached. Coach (Tommy) Tuberville has been in a ton of big games and bowl games. The success that they've had at Texas Tech, it's their 11th-straight bowl appearance, this is a program that knows how to win. It's going to be a huge challenge for us but that's what makes it so much fun to be in the Big Ten. Every bowl game that you'll play in is against a great opponent, in a great venue in a great city. It's a great experience for the student-athletes, the coaches and their families, which is a great reward for a solid season, but even more so that chance to play against a solid team. For our fans to be able to travel to be part of another Jan. 1 bowl game, I don't think that gets old. To be going to three straight bowl games I think shows our program is moving in the right direction, to be a consistent winner. To find a way to win this game would be very special for a lot of reasons."

On playing in Texas...
"It should be a great atmosphere. We've got a lot of alumni in that area, you saw 8-10,000 in that game at Rice so we'll travel well like we have the last two years. That's what's been so fun for me, we've gone to some special venues and this is another special venue we have the chance to play in. Our fans have been there, they've been incredible, and it's been great for our players and their families. It's a great reward for a solid year."

On the importance of NU winning a bowl game...
"It's a similar opportunity, absolutely. It's a lone negative, I guess, that you can say about our program and our guys are working to improve and get better on the field. I think that's definitely a monkey we want to get off our backs."

On the progress of QB's Evan Watkins and Kain Colter...
"It's been a great deal for those two. They've already had as many practices in a week as they had for Illinois and Wisconsin. They get all the credit when we win and all the blame when we lose, that's part of the deal being a quarterback. They understand that. You look at our last game, early on, those turnovers weren't all on them. They're going to improve and our offense is getting some improved chemistry. They worked with Dan (Persa) all offseason, all spring practice, all summer long, there was a chemistry there. With Evan and Kain now, that chemistry is starting to improve. They'll take finals week where we won't work with them but I guarantee they'll work on their own, then we'll come back next week."

QB Dan Persa
On how he is recovering from his injury...
"It's going well. Obviously it's a slow process at the beginning but I see a lot of improvement pretty quickly which is exciting. I'm ahead of schedule. It's a long journey so I'm just trying to take it day by day. I meet with a doctor every week and he tells me what I can and can't do. I don't want to look to far in the future because that could kind of get me in trouble."

On NU's quarterback situation since his injury...
"Obviously it's always tough coming in as a young guy at the end of a Big Ten season. For me, I was able to warm up with the nonconference season but to get thrown into a Big Ten schedule is a tough deal for them. I think they've been improving a lot, they're attitudes are in the right spot but they have a long way to go, these practices are definitely helping them out. I've been at pretty much everything so far trying to coach them up after each play, each series, and the good thing about them is that all the quarterbacks practicing right now are eager to learn."

On what he's learned being in a coaching role since his injury...
"You see a couple things that you wouldn't see playing. I think the biggest thing is just how precious it is to play. I knew that before I got hurt but once you're sat down for six months, you say, `Now I really understand it.' That's probably the biggest thing, how quickly it can go away."

DT Corbin Bryant
On his thoughts about the TicketCity Bowl...
"I think it's going to be great. It's going to be in one of the most historic venues ever at the Cotton Bowl so it should be a great experience for all of us. But we're going down there with one mindset which is to win the game."

On the thought of ending his career with a bowl win...
"It'd be great to be starting a stepping stone for the program. We could say 20 years from now that we started the trend of winning bowl games. That's the mission, the goal we have in our minds right now."

On having learned from NU's last two bowl preparation experiences...
"We got a lot of time as Coach Fitz said to work on our fundamentals, to do a lot of things we did in preseason camp and get better. We can get ourselves technically sound to be able to play this game."

On what he's seen from Texas Tech...
"I just watched a little bit of them. They remind me a little bit of our offense, they spread things out and like to throw it a lot. They have a pretty good running back. I don't know too much but I know they throw it a lot."

On NU's rush defense the last two weeks of the season...
"We just haven't been gap-sound as we usually are. A lot of teams are running schemes where they create extra gaps on the outside so it's been tough especially with some of the young guys getting in there, getting over the top and seeing some things. We've been able to look at the film from the past couple weeks and give guys the information they need to get through those types of things."

LB Quentin Davie
On the importance of NU winning a bowl game...
"That's one of the questions we faced in 2008 when we were headed to the Alamo Bowl. That's one thing that we need to get off our backs. I think a bowl win would take the program to another level. To win our bowl game our last year would set things up great for years to come, for people to expect great things from Northwestern."

On having learned from NU's last two bowl preparation experiences...
"I always think of a bowl game as the first game of the season because we watch so much tape throughout the summer and study the team, and Coach (Mike) Hankwitz has all of kinds of different things we can throw in there. It's a great time for our guys to study a team and learn them and that's why we come out so well in bowl games."

On NU's rush defense the last two weeks of the season...
"It's just been basic fundamental things we haven't been doing, like tackling. I think it's good to take it back to the basics in these practices. As we sat and watched the film, it wasn't anything they were doing that we didn't see all season. We just didn't finish the job and help each other out. When somebody missed a tackle, we didn't have enough pursuit to come and make the tackle, things like that. It's a want, an attitude we have to choose. You might take a play off but we can't afford that with our defense, we're an 11-man operation and we have to work together. Everyone has to get to the ball."

OL Al Netter
On having time to gel with NU's new quarterbacks...
"The great thing about bowl season is the 15 practices leading up to the games. We look at it as a spring-ball-type deal. We go back to our base fundamentals and that gel-ling that an offense goes through in spring ball and the beginning of camp. Every day we're just trying to build upon that and improve our technique. I think it's been really good so far. Every practice we can get together is a plus."

On the offensive line trying to make things easier for NU's quarterbacks...
"That's something we're going into the bowl game thinking. Evan and Kain are both extremely talented quarterbacks if we give them the time and I can't say we did that the last two games. We're really taking it upon ourselves because if we can protect then our offense will flow."

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!