QUOTING ILLINOIS HEAD COACH Ron Zook...
On the turnovers:
"It's the intensity and a collaboration of things that happened. If there was any positive in it, we could have shut it down and they had enough there to keep fighting and come back, and to me that's a little flame there that you can have. The interception, the kickoff return, and the fumble, those are things that you are not going to be a very good football team until you stop turning the ball over."
On the last three games:
"I know this, we are going to be where we need to be. If you go back and study programs that have been in the same situation, I think you see a lot of things that are happening to us that you have to go through. It's unfortunate that you do, but it's a growing process and a learning process. I'll say this about our kids, they are giving us all they have and I really believe that."
On the defense:
"We played the last few weeks pretty good defense and I wouldn't say we played bad defense. We didn't get off the field when we needed to get got off the field on third down and that was probably the one thing that we had down the last few weeks that we didn't do today. We didn't give it to them like we wanted to."
On Juice Williams:
"As he learns and gets more and more experience, he'll mature and sit in there a little bit longer. I think you have to give a lot of credit to number 49, that guy is a good player and we knew he was going to be good player. He had a great game."
On the senior class:
"I told the seniors I was sorry that we didn't get one for them, and as I said all week long, I am still so proud of them. They have hung in there and been so positive and done everything that we've asked of them. When our team gets going like it's suppose to be going they are still going to be a big part of it."
On Pierre Thomas' performance and breaking the Illinois career kickoff return yardage record :
"I told Pierre on Monday that I was going to give him the opportunity to set the record, and he did and I was very happy about that. He did a great job and I think our kickoff return, we had a little bit of a seam going for him and he did a great job running with the football. There are always certain teams that he's had success with and this was one of those teams today."
QUOTING ILLINOIS PLAYERS:
QB Juice Williams...
On turnovers:
"It's something that Coach Locksley has been preaching to us all year. The turnovers are causing us to beat ourselves. We just need to keep focusing on the fundamentals as a team. We need to keep drilling it until we get it corrected. It's a mistake, but fortunately it's a correctable mistake."
On next week's game at Northwestern:
"Next week is very important, not only to leave the seniors with something to remember, but it's an important step in our momentum going into next year. We want to get a streak going and the train moving to give us something to build off going into next season."
On the youth of team as a factor in losing momentum:
"We don't want to keep using that as an excuse. We need to find a way to come up with victories. We have to learn how to finish games off. Instead of starting off well and then relaxing, we need to keep fighting until the end."
LB J Leman...
On this week's performance:
""We thought we could build off from the game last week, but we just didn't capitalize. Our intensity seemed to lack after a turnover, when it should be at its highest. When you give up a turnover inside your own 35, we have to step up and get a stop or at least hold them to a field goal. We were only able to stop them one time after a turnover and that clearly is not enough."
On the seniors:
"I feel bad for them. They are the foundation. The guys that are coming back will get to see how they helped build our castle up, but unfortunately the seniors themselves are not going to be able to see it."
RB Pierre Thomas...
On his last game at Memorial Stadium...
"One of my main goals was to get a touchdown in my last game on my Illinois field. On my way back into the locker room, I had to stop, take one final look just so I can remember everything that this field has brought me. There is nothing better than playing in front of these fans at Memorial Stadium."
On his kick return record...
"Kick returns are something that I love to do. I love being able to see the whole field and make my move. It's an honor to have the record, but Chris Duvalt already told me to cherish while I can cause he is going to break it."
QUOTING PURDUE HEAD COACH JOE TILLER...
On earning Bowl eligibility:
"These guys, particularly the last year's senior group, discussed the impacts of not going last year and how to have it happen, particularly on the road. That group went out and really kick started it. Last year's senior class really showed these guys how to go out there and finish strong, and these guys took it upon themselves to do that, so it's always good."
"I think just the pride that our players has is important. Our players expect to win, and if we can accomplish anything at Purdue it is getting these players believing they are winners and can go out there and make things happen. This is big, it will help our young players, it will make us better for next year. I am excited about this football team, and we have an opportunity for more time to play."
On winning its last three road games:
"It's been a long time since we've done that on the road. I like this team, I like this staff, I like the way they work together. I think our seniors, even though we don't have a lot of them playing, they really help these guys get focused. I give a lot of credit to the staff, because when you go on the road, it's more common to press on the road than it is at home. You have to stay with your calls offensively and defensively, and as a staff not panic with the calls, and from a player point of view stay patient and within the system."
On Illini QB Juice Williams:
"You know this is a tough offense to defend particularly with that quarterback. I don't know how many times he got out of there and made plays and how many times we had a beat on him and couldn't get it done. I think that the thing with him, and many other quarterbacks, is that he is a really physically strong guy. He is able to break tackles and make plays."
On Illinois defense:
"You know coming in I wasn't blowing smoke. I was going over tape, and I thought that they were playing as good of defense as anybody, if not better than anyone in the league. So to be able to put up these type of points was big. I know we scored a lot of points, but I'm still impressed with their defense."
QUOTING PURDUE PLAYERS:
Dorien Bryant ...
On overcoming a poor first half:
"I will be the first to admit I didn't come out as focused as I needed to be. It was cold and I kept trying to use my body to catch balls. You can't do that and be productive. Coach challenged us a group and in the second half you could tell we were a different team."
On Quarterback Curtis Painter:
"Curtis and I are definitely on the same page right now. Defenses are still trying to do things to take me away, but give credit to the other receivers making plays. That is what allows Curtis to be able to find me as much as he did today."
Curtis Painter...
On the touchdown run:
"I saw the hole open up and a lot of green in front of me, so I just kept running. The guys were giving me a hard time saying that I should of pitched it and that maybe we should call a timeout before the PAT, so I could catch my breath."
On the option's success today:
"I think we stuck to the basics and really read their defense well. The running backs did a great job today hitting the holes and blocking for me when I kept it."
On being bowl eligible:
"We were in the same situation last year and weren't able to get it done. This was one of our goals coming into the season and you could tell in the locker room after the game guys were excited about getting Purdue back to a bowl game. Hopefully, this excitement will help get us prepared for the next two games."
On the defense forcing turnovers:
"The defense did exactly what we needed them to do today. They forced turnovers at exactly the time we needed them. We capitalized on a couple of them and they put some points on the board, too. Today's game was a great example of defense putting the offense in a position to score."
Dan Bick...
On turnovers:
"We knew coming into the game that Illinois had a problem holding on to the ball. Obviously we took advantage of that weakness and our offense was able to capitalize by putting points on the board."
On allowing so many rushing yards:
"They had big backs and Juice was hard to stop, but overall, I think we just missed spots and weren't flying around like we needed to be. I know we are capable of stopping the run, it's just that we weren't able to do that today."
