MSU Soars in Win Over Penguins, 55-17

Post-Game Quotes: Youngstown State  

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio

Opening Statements...
I thought today we obviously got great play from our offense. The most impressive thing to me was that we made those 50-50 catches - those catches that are difficult to make. We made them in crowds with people hanging on you. I thought (Connor) Cook played well. He ran the ball effectively and controlled things. I thought he threw the ball really well. We were solid on third downs. Shilique (Calhoun) played well again. Anytime you don't have an offense get over 200 yards you know you're playing well defensively. So, big team win, go to 3-0 which is as good as we can be right now and thankful for that.

On Connor Cook...
I thought Connor played well. It was the plan to go with him and to stick with him if he had a difficult time. I thought he responded. Connor Cook is the number one quarterback.

We made that decision (for Cook to start) later in the week and said you're going to go. He was excited about that opportunity. When you get your number called, you're going to be excited.

He's always been a good practice player. I think all of our guys work hard out there. He had a very good Thursday practice. I really thought he threw the ball well on Thursday. We upped tempo on things on how he was handling the huddle and that was a positive.

I think we had great protection from our offensive line. He's always been pretty resilient in there and I think he showed where he's at. I think he had 191 at halftime and I think he only played one more series after that, so I thought he played well. I thought he ran the ball well and made some good decisions.

On the second-string quarterback situation...
I think that has to play out. We did not want Andrew (Maxwell) to play on a lopsided win like that. Tyler O'Connor needed more of an opportunity to show what he had. I thought he played pretty well, threw the ball pretty well and did some good things. We'll evaluate his performance off the game film. He got a lot of plays in there, which was a positive. I think I've said we try to slow the game down and give people opportunities. I think we've done that. We let it roll from there.

On the importance of the quarterback decision today...
I don't think it was vital. I don't think it was crucial. I think you want to make decisions as soon as you can, but sometimes I don't make that the decision, the players make that decision. They have to play well under some pressure situations and continue to play well. When it's close and you're going back and forth, you sort of have to let things roll as a coach.

On the team's performance overall...
I thought we had a sense of urgency. I thought we needed to play well offensively because we had not to level that I think we're capable of. Defensively, we played very well. We need to continue to do that and there are things on special teams that we need to get squared away. If you look at us offensively, almost 550 yards. I think we had one turnover. We had a turnover on a punt return. Offensively, I think 10 out of 15 on third down and one-for-one on fourth, so that's a positive. We ran the ball pretty effectively. Even though it was by committee, we ran the ball. I thought you saw some guys make difficult catches. Macgarrett Kings, Jr. was obviously very exciting. (Aaron) Burbridge made a big catch and run. You saw what (R.J.) Shelton could do on the edge a little bit. Bennie Fowler made a big play on a reception and I thought Tony Lippett played well and had some big catches. We got our tight ends involved a little bit in getting catches. We spread it around, which was a positive. Defensively, we did what we had to do. It was unfortunate they got a turnover down close. Obviously a kick return gave them a ball down close, within 50 yards, as well. Still, we don't want to give up touchdowns, but they had the one and something else. I don't remember.

On Macgarrett Kings, Jr...
I continue to say that Macgarrett Kings, Jr. had a great fall camp. He catches everything. His confidence is very high right now and that's what you do. You put a premium on confidence when you're a skill player, whether that's the quarterback, tailback, or wide out. When your confidence is high, you can catch it all. We put him back there for punts today and he responded with a 15-yard return, so that's something we have been wanting to do as well. He's a playmaker. We've got to get him the ball and touches to see how he responds.

On the tailback situation...
I thought Nick Hill played very well. He gave us a spark with that big run before half. He's electrifying at times. (Jeremy) Langford can do some things, but Riley (Bullough) is a little different. He's continued to grow in really only his third game as a tail back. He brings something different to the game. Those are guys who compliment each other in some sort of way. You had 25 or 30 carries between the three of them. I thought they played well and play-calling was good.