Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

NIU FOOTBALL 2015
Eastern Michigan vs. NIU
October 24, 2015
DeKalb, Illinois – Huskie Stadium Postgame Quotes

Rod Carey, NIU Head Coach

Opening Statement
Obviously really pleased with the win, you never underestimate winning in any way, shape, or form. It was a great first half in all three phases minus the punt in the first half, that last punt. It was a really good performance. And then the second half was a little sloppy but in key moments, we came up with key stops. We got a couple of scores here in the second half, one at the end to kind of salt it away, that part was good.”

On explosive drives and long sustained drives
“I don’t know that you’re necessarily going out there saying this time I want a 14-play, 8-minute drive and next time you’re saying I want a two- play touchdown. I think some of it just happens in the course of a game. It’s good that we have the ability on offense to grind those out but also be explosive offensively. I think at any time you can have either of those situations.”

On keeping pace up in between each play
“Like I’ve said before, situational football is sometimes you want to go fast and sometimes you want to peel back a little bit. Having the ability to step on the gas and lighting it up is what we’re about, so I wouldn’t call it controlled tempo, I wouldn’t call it just fast. We do what we have to do through the course of the game.”

On the offense
“I don’t know that I had a preconceived notion of what I thought they were going to do. I think that they’re continuing to work to get better and we’re seeing the explosiveness that you thought you could have at times, but I didn’t have a number or yards or anything like that I thought we should be at.”

On the team's second half performance
“I was a little disappointed in that in the second half. We didn’t come out with better attention to detail. I thought our attitude was right coming out of the half and I thought our effort was good but our mind probably drifted a little bit and that causes you to drift on the fundamentals. Give them credit - they came out and made a couple adjustments and we had to counter back. It maybe took us a little too long to make those, but in that scenario you’re not thinking about adjustments as much as you are as moving the ball and keeping possession and trying to get the clock running.”

Drew Hare, NIU Quarterback

On the opening 17-play drive
“It felt good. I didn’t know that it was 17 plays; I didn’t feel like it was 17 plays. We always preach about focusing on the play that we are in.”

Bobby Jones IV, Linebacker

On EMU running back Darius Jackson
“On film he looked pretty good, so I knew that I was going to have to wrap up, tackle, and just read my keys.”

Jordan Huff, Tailback

On his 128-yard performance
“It was a pretty good day. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was good enough for right now. I just have to get better as the weeks go on, and keep grinding it out to make myself better. Just keep pushing forward.”

On his touchdown run
“I felt like I got in. I know I felt him on my back, so I was just trying to move forward and make sure I fell forward into the end zone. One thing we focus on is scoring with our body, so I tried to make it happen.”

Chris Creighton, EMU Head Coach

On EMU’s takeaways from the game
“What I talked to our team about today is there is a difference between winning and losing, and being a winner and being a loser. You know at the end of the game whoever has the most points wins; we all get that, and that’s what everybody cares about. But, for all of us, we’re winners or losers. I think the definition of that term - of being a winner - is never given out. I told them that this morning; whether you’re up, whether you’re down - a winner never gives up. Life’s hard. Football can be hard. And winners never give up.”

On battling back in the second half
“We’re down 35 to nothing at half. We didn’t want to be down 35 to nothing at half; we didn’t expect to be down 35 at half, but we were. And our guys fought back in the second half. Not saying that we got within a possession or anything like that, but we’re at a place where we’re building this thing and if you’re not a winner, then you can’t eventually win. I got a bunch of guys who believe in themselves and are winners, and we’re going to get there. And I’m totally confident in that.”

On slowing NIU’s offensive explosiveness
I think we may have had something to do with it. They had some explosive plays, for sure, but we got a way’s to go as a program. I get that. But our defense, in a lot of ways, played better today against a very good offense. We’re very aware that Northern Illinois can score quickly and has often.”

On what NIU did to beat the Eagles
“I didn’t think that it was any one thing. It always come down to execution; there are times when our defense executed today - when the chips were down, and when it was tough. But overall, Northern Illinois played better than we did today, and third downs have a lot to do with that.”

-NIU-