Dec. 2, 2016
Opening Statement
Certainly really appreciative and excited to be here. What our players did, coaches, couldn't be more proud of that and thankful. We are really excited to be here and looking forward to obviously playing a very good, talented, well-coached Penn State team.
Q. Paul, if Connor is not able to go, how difficult will it be able to replace him, his versatility?
PC: We'll see if that's the case. I think all year long when we've had players get injured and miss time, you miss them. I mean, they're starters, players playing a lot for a reason. Yet also feel good about those that have and will step up and into those positions. So we'll still kind of see on Connor.
It's an opportunity for someone else to step up, step in. Yet we know we're always best with all of our guys. But that's not the case so often in the year.
Q. You said last week during halftime the player speeches were so powerful in how they addressed one another. Will you have any of them speak to their teammates before this game tomorrow night or any time between now and tomorrow night? What message do you hope they convey?
PC: Haven't orchestrated or planned anything. Try to mimic what happened last week. We've been talking. They've been talking all week. The message is, from experience, what they want to do. I think that will continue.
But nothing formal. Certainly we had meetings today. We'll have a couple more meetings, but not many. We don't meet a ton right before the game.
They know it's their team. They know that the messages have been clear from everyone. Everyone is onboard. Feel good with where they're at.
Q. What are the challenges for your defense in stopping or defending Saquon Barkley?
PC: I think on his own merit, Saquon Barkley is a heck of a football player, really talented, can make things happen even when it's not necessarily blocked clean or whatever it may be.
I think when you add the fact of what they're doing, McSorley, the receivers, whether it's him running the ball, pushing down the field, our defense will be tested in a big way. We've got to make sure that we play good assignment football.
Penn State forces you to defend the whole field, not just the run game, not just the passing game. We've got to do a great job of playing individual assignment football, but then ultimately team football. Once the ball declares, we have to get as many hats to it as we can.
He is an extremely talented, good football player. I enjoyed watching him until we started getting ready to play him this week. He's a heck of a player.
Q. Paul, obviously Wisconsin is a special place to you. What does it mean to you to have this program on the verge of a Big Ten title?
PC: Well, I do feel really fortunate. I felt fortunate as a player at Wisconsin. When I was able to be an assistant coach, felt really lucky. Certainly to be back now as the head coach...
What I'm most excited for is this group of players. This is their window of opportunity. For them to do what they did to have the opportunity, to earn the opportunity to play tomorrow night, really proud of them. I'm looking forward to them trying to maximize that opportunity.
It's not about me. But I'm proud to be part of it. I do feel that I am part of it. But it's more than that. I don't spend time trying to think about what it means to me. It's what it means to our team.
Also, to me, first thing is what does it mean to those players. They got a window. It's about how they can maximize it. It's pretty cool to see.
Q. Coach, could you talk a little bit about how the playoff talk and debate has overshadowed the importance of conference championships?
PC: Not for us. This is a big deal that we're here. I think one quality of this team that I've appreciated a ton this year is their ability to make the most of the moment. They've done that.
I don't spend any time trying to figure out or think about maybe what you're asking in the question as far as big picture. I know this is a big deal for us and our players. So I don't know if I gave a great answer, but it's not a big deal right now.
It would be doing this game and our team a lot of disservice if we didn't put every bit of energy. And we needed to and we wanted to. And feel lucky to be able to do that.
Q. Coach, Bart Houston has thrown only one pick since that LSU game. Hasn't had a million opportunities. Have you seen something different in him in how he's making different decisions and how that might bode for tomorrow?
PC: Answering the second part of it, any game you play in, turnovers, takeaways play a big factor. Especially if it's a close game, those can be things to sway it one way or the other.
I think he has done a good job. He's played enough, doing things, had opportunities to play. He's done a better job of protecting the football. We're going to need that out of Bart, Alex, runningbacks. A couple games ago, we turned one over on special teams. I think that's going to be a big part of this game, is us making sure we protect the football.
But he's done a good job. I think Alex has been working on it. It's an area I think we still can make strides. But it's been better to this point. I think defensively what Penn State does, they do a great job of creating pressure. I think that's going to be a big storyline for us, is are we taking care of the football.
Q. Paul, for those of us from Pennsylvania, just wondering if you could talk about what the Pitt experience meant to you. Do you recall recruiting some of the current Penn State players when you were at Pitt?
PC: Yeah, I am really thankful and grateful for the opportunity I had to spend in Pittsburgh, with that group of players. I loved it. Certainly there's a number of players that we did try to recruit. Guys I got a lot of respect for, really liked them as players, then when you started to get to know them as people.
I'm really thankful for the opportunity I had in Pittsburgh. But did come across in recruiting, I obviously didn't do a good enough job in recruiting because they didn't come to Pitt, but some really, really good people.
Q. Coach, Jesse Temple from ESPN wrote an article about your discovery of hip-hop music this week.
PC: I knew about it before this week (laughter).
Q. Who are some of your favorite artists?
PC: That's why I write it down. I don't remember them all.
I didn't read it. You know, you just want to get to know your players. I'm trying to think. I got them written down. Some of them I've added to a playlist. Nothing comes to the top of my head here.
There's a couple good ones. I don't want to say the wrong one.
Q. Corey is the latest in a great line of running backs at Wisconsin. What makes him different than some of the guys that came before him?
PC: I've been lucky to be with a lot of them. They're all so different. I think each individual player's journey either to Wisconsin or once they're there sets them apart. Then certainly they all have different styles, playing with different lines, quarterbacks. So they're all very different.
Corey has done a nice job this year. I've enjoyed watching him grow. I think he has taken steps forward this year. He's been playing at a good level. We're going to need him to continue to grow and get better because, you know, we're going to be tested differently.
I've loved what he's done and meant to this team. Can't and wouldn't compare him to all the other guys because they're all so different.
Q. From the beginning of the season to today, in what areas would you say you've seen the most growth in your team?
PC: That's a good question.
The most growth, I don't know yet. When you're going through this each week, you have a tendency -- I haven't taken a step and looked back and reflected.
I do think we're taking strides. You see it so much in each individual. We were talking earlier about if someone is injured, someone stepping up and stepping in.
But I think if I were to answer it, pick one thing, it would be just the ability to stay focused each week. I think I could only probably answer that after a long stretch where you've had highs and lows.
They've been consistent. They've been who they are. They've enjoyed each day. They've been fun to be around each day. I think they had it, which is why I struggle with it. But I think that is one thing they've continued to do, which I think is hard. It could be an area of improvement. They've improved that way because they've been truly tested on it.
Q. What do you remember from your first time here, the first Big Ten championship game? You have a lot of players that were on the team a couple years ago, not a great result. How much do you think that will drive them to come back here and play better?
PC: I remember I think quite a bit from that game. It was a heck of a football game. Talking about our current players, you always learn from experiences, good or bad. They were able to share some of those things with guys that hadn't participated in that game, yet tomorrow night will be a whole 'nother game. We don't know what's going to happen in that game and how we'll respond.
I've got good memories of the first one. I'm excited for this one, certainly.
Q. Tomorrow do you plan to play both quarterbacks?
PC: We'll see where Alex kind of finishes out this week. But I wouldn't hesitate if everything goes good and Alex finishes out this week, I would not hesitate at all.
Q. Coach, do you know James Franklin well? Do you go back at all with him?
PC: Just in the meetings that we have. We did a clinic together when I was at Pitt, he just came to Penn State.
Getting to know him. Never worked with him. Certainly getting to know him at league meetings. Run across him in recruiting. So getting to know him.
Q. (No microphone.)
PC: What I admire about their team this year is I think it's a team that's continually gotten better. I think as a coach, one of the things you strive for and hope for and want is that your team is playing its best football at the end of the year.
I don't know. It looks like to me that they are. I think it's a team that plays really hard. Looks like they're playing with confidence. Looks like they like playing. So those are things that I admire about their team.
I think that's players and coaching.
Q. I'm curious, from a logistics standpoint here in the dome with the lights, they are really bright, will you do any kicking, work with your receivers, just to get the depth perception down? How is your team going to prepare for that?
PC: I'm getting nervous when I hear you talk about it (laughter).
You go out there and you throw and catch and kick, and you try to expose them to it. They've got to adjust to it.
Yeah, we haven't played indoors. But they've got to adjust to it. I don't know what else you can do really.
Q. Coach, you've had a couple players that have been lost for the season to injuries, but they've stuck around. How big of a role have they played with the guys still playing right now?
PC: I think they've had a really significant role. Just because they weren't able to play doesn't mean they stopped being teammates, stopped caring about the team. They're trying to find a way that they can contribute. That's what you appreciate out of everyone on this team. Everyone's got a different role.
We have some kids that didn't travel here that have had a huge impact and a huge role in this team. I think Cichy and Chris Orr, they love the game. They love this game, they love the team. They'll do anything they can. Both have experience. They try to share experiences. They try to study the tape, see if they can pass along something.
This team has been fun I think in large part because of that attitude. The guys want to do all that they can to help in whatever way that they can help.
Q. At the risk of having you repeat yourself, you mentioned it was a big deal to be here. What would winning a championship here tomorrow night mean if it's not followed by a playoff bid?
PC: It would mean that we're Big Ten champions. That's huge. It would mean that we were able to find a way to score one more point than Penn State, one or more points, right?
It's about competition. The work and preparation is to play the game. When you play the game, you want to win. I think I've been very fortunate to be a part of the Big Ten in a number of different ways. When you can say that you've earned the right to be called Big Ten champions, that's a heck of a statement, heck of an accomplishment by a team.
It stands on its own. It's pretty cool.
Q. One more about Pitt. How did that experience prepare you? That was your first head coaching job. Also you mentioned running into James on the recruiting trail. Where was that?
PC: Well, you hope to grow from all of your experiences. I think for me, my first head job, I felt really fortunate to be able to do it at Pitt. Those players mean a ton to me, meant a ton, what they did. I enjoyed that.
I ran across James in a high school in Ohio.
Q. Paul, in a lot of your answers you talk about how a win tomorrow night would be for the players. You talk about Pitt, it was the players. That emphasis on the players. Is there a mentor you had that ingrained that in you?
PC: This is the best part of coaching. I think it's probably you're impacted by all the people, your own experiences, people.
I've always thought that if you were doing a good job in coaching, you were helping those players maximize that opportunity.
I know my dad, who was a coach, he believed in that. I never got to coach with him. I've been around a lot of coaches, we didn't have these conversations, but it was a big part of what drove them.
I've been lucky. I don't know how many years I've coached, but I've coached a lot of years. I hope to continue to coach a number of years.
But players have a limited time that they get to play. I think if you as a coach can help maximize that experience for them, then you're doing your job the right way. That's why I think that it is that window you want to help them maximize.
When I was referring to the kids at Pitt, or the current players I've been able to coach, players I've coached before at Wisconsin or Oregon State, all that, they impact you. That's I think where I get a ton of energy from. It kind of fuels you.
Q. Paul, y'all are part of a playoff picture now. Before the last few weeks, did you have an opinion about the structure of the four-team playoff? What do you think of the playoff format as a guy who has been in college football for a long time?
PC: I've always just felt that there was a lot of people smarter than me, were going to set up the best system.
As I was in it, it was, How can we be the best team? I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it, talking about it, looking at it, analyzing it. But, I mean, college football, the interest, it's at a high level.
I don't know. I don't spend enough time trying to think about it and analyze it to speak about it I don't think.