Sept. 2, 2008

On the Illinois State win: It was good to be home and get a win and get a little confidence boost as we go on the road to face a very good Wisconsin team. After looking on them at film, it's the Wisconsin of old. They have not changed one iota, just very solid.

On Wisconsin's running game: Obviously, we're going to see a steady dose of (Wisconsin running back) P.J. Hill. I like their other two backs too, a little like our stable. We have Darius (Marshall) and you have Chubb (Small) and Terrell (Edwards) as complements. A lot of similarities there. Their offensive line is huge. They get on you and try to hurt you. It will be a good challenge for our defensive line and our defensive front in general. There will be no tourists on this trip, our DB's are going to have to tackle this week.

On the large size of the Wisconsin offensive line: Its been like that for ages, that's just the way they recruit to their program. We'll have our hands full trying to stop P.J. (Hill)

On the similarities between Marshall's and Wisconsin's opening games: It's interesting watching the film, we dominated a little more than the score indicated, and, unfortunately, as I watched the Wisconsin film against Akron, they dominated a little more than the score indicated, too.

On the expected large crowd in Madison this weekend: That is why you play college football. For that very reason. I think our guys are up to the challenge. The young kids that we're playing right now have a lot of poise. I think we'll be fine.

On his advice to the players going into Madison: The student section will be live, one corner of the end zone is going to be very, very loud. In the fourth quarter, they play jump around and that is one of the neatest scenes in all of college football. It's a pretty neat scene and it sends them into the fourth quarter with a little extra swagger.

On his relationship with Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema: I consider Bret a friends. In 2000, I was becoming the defensive coordinator at Minnesota and I believe Bret was at Iowa and I was trying to get him to come and be my linebacker coach at Minnesota before I left and went to Ohio State. We've been on the road together a lot and have stayed with each other on recruiting trips to South Florida. He's done a great job there. (Barry) Alvarez did a great job picking his successor. Bret's a little fiery, he's a defensive guy, he's got some fire to him.

On the defensive back's need to tackle: They (Wisconsin) are going to make your DB's need to tackle. That's just the way it is when you play these guys. We are going to have to be on top of our game. (Illinois State running back) Geno Blow is a good back, I was very impressed with him. That was a good test for us going into this week.

On quarterback Mark Cann going into the Wisconsin game and his play against Illinois State: He'll be fine, Mark is a very poised kid, very mature for his age. In the first game, some of the mistakes I thought that he made really was not him after looking at the film. There were a couple of busts there that you did not see when it first happened. Hopefully he makes that jump from game one to game two, but he's going against a lot faster players than he went against last week. There's more speed on this defense than what he faced last week, so it will be another transition for him.

On Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum: I recruited Travis Beckum out of Milwaukee. He is a very good player, we've got to have a plan for him. He is very similar to Cody (Slate), just a little taller.

On the keys to this weekend's game: The keys for us this week are to eliminate penalties, don't turn the ball over and take the ball away. The two games they lost last year, Ohio State and Penn State, it was because of turnovers.