Head Coach Mike Locksley

Opening Statement

"I want to thank our seniors for the great leadership they've provided for the last six weeks and for their four or five years. They've done some really good things. Obviously as we're finishing this thing up we're struggling a little bit but those guys have been great leaders. I wanted to win this for our seniors, I know our team did, unfortunately we didn't get it done. You have to give Indiana credit. This is a team that fought back from a first quarter deficit and continued to play. Hats off to those guys and their coaching staff for getting it done. Our guys are going to continue to fight, we - talked about that at the end of the game today. We have one game left and we're going to finish it the way it should be finished. We're not going to focus on who's hurt and who's not. Whoever is available to play as a coaching staff and a program we'll get them ready to play and show up at Rutgers next week and give it a good fight."

On Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld:

"We knew this going in, we're really aggressive on defense. That's something we want to do and has been successful for us. Nate hit some big passes in the second quarter. He took advantage of some man coverage opportunities. Plays that we've made in the past few weeks we didn't make today. We had some opportunities to make some plays and get back into the game but we didn't make them. Third and goal from the 18 and they hit the slant for the touchdown. We've done a pretty good job the last three weeks on the defensive side of the ball of attacking and being aggressive. Today we didn't get much pressure. Anytime you give a quarterback like their kid time to throw the ball, he's a good passer and he's going to take advantage of that."

On Caleb Rowe's injury:

"Caleb has a concussion. He's going to start going through our concussion protocol. It took place somewhere in the middle to the end of the second quarter. We went in at halftime and he was ruled out. 

On Shane Cockerille coming in for the second half:

We started as a staff preparing a plan for Shane. Shane (Cockerille) was our backup quarterback going into the game. He had been getting reps as a backup quarterback all week with Perry (Hills) having mono. It wasn't as if he didn't get a game plan and was prepared to play. Obviously when you lose Caleb because of the threat of the pass and Brandon (Ross) was running real well, we popped some runs in there. They adjusted and became a more aggressive team. They blitzed a lot more. This kind of negated the run game. Now we're playing behind with a loaded box and it forces Shane to throw the ball to win. We'll always do what our players are capable of executing and that's what we did with Shane in the second half."

On starting Will Likely at wide receiver:

"We went into the game this week and as we prepared for the game on Sunday, Deandre Lane, who would've been our starting inside receiver, was ruled out. Levern Jacobs has been nursing a hamstring for the last two or three weeks as well as a knee injury. We're just out of bodies. We made the decision to start Will on the offensive side of the ball and play both sides for us. It wasn't a package. He practiced on the offensive side of the ball primarily all week. He did get some reps on the defensive side. We were playing a man coverage. In man coverage the schemes are the most important part. We did that in order to get a really good player on the field to help us win a ball game, especially with Perry (Hills) out. We knew we would have to throw the ball to try to win against this team with how they're structured defensively."

On what changed after the 21-3 lead:

"The big thing was we did get out early defensively. We got a turnover and were able to score points and capitalize. They made plays in the passing game in the second half. They made a few big throws and worked themselves back into the game. We continued to run the ball and run our game plan, we didn't execute very well. In the second quarter we had a few three and outs and missed some things there. The biggest thing was the defense gave up some plays they don't normally give up. They got back into it very quickly. They stole a series when they had the onside kick return. Our guys were misaligned and they were able to steal a series there. Defensively, we held them to a field goal on that drive. Their guys executed and made a lot of plays in the passing game. We didn't get as much pressure as we have in the past two or three weeks."

Maryland Running Back Brandon Ross

On having a career game in last game at Byrd:

“I just saw huge holes, that's it. I have to give a lot of credit to the line of course, they were opening them up all game. And the wideouts as well, I was just following their blocks. This being my last game [at Byrd Stadium], I definitely wanted to go out strong. It felt really good I'm not going to lie to you. It felt good to have that kind of performance. I wish we would have gotten the win but personally it felt good to have that kind of game and really jumpstart the offense.”

On how the first run of the game impacted the rest of his performance:

“I feel like it was huge momentum for me. It's kind of different in the beginning of the game when the first run is a negative-yardage play or something like that because I feel like it's all about momentum and rhythm. So when I got that first run like that it just kick started the day.”

On the mood in the locker room after losing on Senior Day

“It's sad because a lot of the underclassmen were teary-eyed. They really wanted to get a win for the seniors going out so a lot of people are upset about it. But we still have one game left and a great opportunity to get a win, so we're going to get ready for that one.”

Maryland Offensive Lineman Ryan Doyle

On Indiana's comeback:

"I feel like some guys start to go in panic mode when that starts to happen and obviously you don't want that going on on your sideline, so as an offensive line, we try to help everyone keep level heads and make sure that they know that we're going to go out and keep doing our thing and score points. That was our primary focus when things started to get out of hand."

On Indiana's defensive changes

"We saw an increase in pressure. They definitely wanted to stop the run because that's how we were getting points; off a quick runs and letting Brandon [Ross] do his thing."

On switching game plans after Caleb Rowe left the game

"Well your game plan has to change entirely. You have to make sure you're running plays your personnel can run. With Caleb [Rowe], he's pretty versatile and we can do a lot of things, whereas Shane [Cockerville] is more of a scrambler who likes to move in the pocket."

Maryland Defensive End Yannick Ngakoue

On the team's focus:

"Guys are still tuned in. We just want to send the seniors off with a win."

On being the Maryland's single-season sack leaders:

"Like I said, I couldn't have done it without my coaches and my teammates and it will be a great thing to look back at down the road."

Indiana Head Coach Kevin Wilson

Opening Statement:

“This was a good win. The defense really settled down. We were giving up a bunch of cheap stuff early. But we settled down and played three strong quarters on the road late in the year. I'm really proud of the kids, it was a good win. The kicking was solid, they loaded the box on defense, forced us to throw, and we made some nice pass plays. It was a good win for us, proud of the guys.”

On winning their first Big Ten game this season:

“We've been playing well. It's just nice for the kids to get a victory. Win, lose or draw you have to do it again. You are playing some good teams every week. I expected our kids to have a better week of practice and they did. I showed them clips of other teams and our coaches talked about how they prepared and our guys say they're a good team, so we prepare like it and we just had another good week of preparation. I liked how we weathered the storm because the game could have gone south. But I think it just shows that we have a great group of guys who believe, and that's why we've been battling so well and keep coming back every week like we do, even though the end result sometimes isn't ideal. We've played enough good football that slowly but surely our team is getting some confidence and we were able to get it done”

On the team's mindset after being down 21-3:

“I just told the offense that we've got to score 100 points, then we settled down. But I did make a comment to the team at the hotel this morning that if it was 28-3, we're up, or 21-3, we're down, we've got to keep playing. We've been complacent when we've been up sometimes this year and we've got rattled. No matter what's happening, if we continue to improve and we play good games here late in November, and when you're a good team you're going to play well, and when it doesn't go well or if it is going well you're just going to keep playing. I would have preferred the other choice of being up 28-3, but they took other advice when we were down. But I appreciate the kids continuing to play and I think it shows maturity. Our coaches settled down, our kids settled down, and the offense got a bit of rhythm and made some plays.”

On running back Jordan Howard's injury:

“He's got a slight knee injury. He tried to practice and get through it, and it kind of glitched him up. Quite honestly I think that he could have played, but in reality the running game was kind of null because if you had six people blocking, they had seven or eight because they were playing man coverage one high, or man cover no high. They were putting a lot of people up there and forced us to throw one-on-one.”

On the offense's slow start:

“The execution and getting a true feel of where they were the main issues. We knew that there were going to be a bunch of guys in the box and they did it a bunch of different ways. Just getting a feel for them and then Nate (Sudfeld) to settle down and really they got hot and we made some pass plays against the one on ones which was huge.”

On team's preparation for the game:

“That's just how good team's prepare for games in November; every game counts. We've played some close games and coming up short. But we keep saying that we are a good team and if you are, you finally start pushing through that. So we've tried to coach and prepare our team because we think we've played enough good football the way a winning football team prepares. It has not been very negative, it's been very strong preparation. We showed some video last week during meals of just us playing on TV. We've played some good football. Now we don't like some of the outcomes, but we've got a team that has played some good football. To go on the road and win, you've got to play good football. I think it's a sign of good things and I think it's one of the better comebacks in school history. But again what happened for three quarters is the best team ball we've played since early in the year and it's good to see, and credit that to the seniors, they're a great group of guys.”

Indiana Wide Receiver Mitchell Paige

On the key win:

“It was great. It has been a tough six weeks. It was really good to just get a win. We are working and pushing so hard and just coming up short. But it feels awesome. It feels really good for how hard we have been working. It is a great group of guys. It just really feels awesome, especially going into The Bucket.”

On Coach Kevin Wilson's pregame speech:

“It was kind of weird how that happened. He said '21-3 if we go down or ahead it doesn't matter we are just going to keep playing.' Obviously it happened. It was just really good to keep playing.”

On going into the Bucket Game next week:

“We love that we still have something to play for in November. Meaningful games in November. That is what we have been trying to play for. Just having games that mean something and to keep pushing for stuff. It is obviously the Bucket Game, a huge rival (Purdue). It is a big game already but the fact that it is going to be for a bowl game makes it even bigger.”

Indiana Quarterback Nate Sudfeld

On Coach Kevin Wilson's pregame speech:

“It was weird how he called it. But nobody was panicking on the sideline. We all knew that we could go out and score. We didn't feel like that they had stopped us. It was really our game. We kept on stopping ourselves.”

On the onside kick:

“Anytime we can steal possession is big for the team.”

On offensive productivity:

“It is awesome. The offensive line did a great job and Simmie (Cobbs Jr.) had some great catches.”

Indiana Wide Receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr.

On his mindset trailing 21-3:

“There was still plenty of ball left to play. We weren't nervous. We knew we just had to make some plays. Early in the game, we weren't making the plays we needed to make. We left some plays on the field. Finally, we got into our motion, and started scoring.”

On the team winning its first conference game:

“We play a lot of great opponents. Maryland is a great team. I'm just glad that we got the victory today.”

Indiana Running Back Devine Redding

On having to replace the injured Jordan Howard:

“It was just like normal. As Coach always says, the next guy has to step up. Our defense was pretty tough, and we knew we were going to pound the ball on offense. It was just about being the next guy up.”

On the team getting its first win

“It's always nice to get the victory, especially as you get closer towards the end of the season. It's just going to lift the team up so we can keep rolling.”

On playing a rivalry game with bowl eligibility on the line

“It means a lot. It would be my first bowl, so that would be great. Next week will be a good team experience for everybody.”