Randy Walker Quotes

"We had expectations, we had high belief in ourselves. But [prior to Saturday], there was nothing to confirm it."

"Playing a top-15 football team in the country, not a small achievement. But we do have a way of making it interesting. 'Why can't we do this easy?' I kept saying in the fourth quarter."

"I believe it's gonna be one of those years where you could be 6-2 and be the Big Ten champion. I've said this since August at the Big Ten media luncheon. I think it's gonna be a very balanced, competitive year."

"The Big Ten is probably too strong. College football has a certain amount of variability when it comes to who plays for the national championship, but if you look at the Big Ten and the quality of football, it is as good as it has ever been. The trouble is, you show up every week, and it's tough."

"I couldn't ask for more from our defense. They scored a couple more touchdowns, they forced them to kick and gave us the ball back. Fifty points looks bad and they got some yards, but we've been in that game all year and we were today."

"If you're prone to losing your focus, you can lose it fast in an environment like that."

"I've been coaching football for 30 years. I've seen a lot of good football players -- but I haven't seen any better than A.J. Hawk."

"I'll say what I say on the sidelines: There's a lot of football left, ... There's a lot of football left in this season a lot. We need a great off week."

"The last few years we've found ways to win some games,"

"If they knock you out in the first round, they do not let you come back and keep fighting. We have to make sure the game goes four quarters."

"There's no question they did a great job of reversing momentum."

"We just need to get one more point than them. Heck, if it's 7-6 and we win, I'm happy with that."

"I can see the evaluation process going all the way through (fall) camp. We could go to October. I hope not."

"In terms of depth this will hurt us, but we have guys who can step up."

"I keep being reminded about how tough the remainder of our schedule is. But we just need to worry about us, not about who we're going to play."

"I've made clear my commitment to Northwestern. I'm not a 1-800 guy, calling everybody. Does everybody have a price? Sure. But there's a value in the kind of kids I get to coach, the institution I represent, where I live. I don't know if there's a better job."

"My understanding is things haven't changed with him. It's out of our control as a football program. I don't anticipate having him."

"It's tough to lose a game like that."

"There's a lot of football left. We're just one game out."

"We made some mistakes to let this thing get to where it was, but last time I looked, we had more points on the scoreboard. We were playing a top-15 team in the country, and that's no small achievement. It wasn't a work of art, but we won."