By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Just 10 days separated them from their season opener with Stanford when we caught up with the senior superback Dan Vitale and the senior defensive end Dean Lowry. "I would say right now what I've noticed is we've got a bunch of guys who are competitors and want us to do better. . . .," Vitale said when asked what he had learned about the 'Cats during fall camp. "I think we took a huge step offensively and really built some chemistry. That's something I think we kind of lacked the last two seasons. We built that chemistry and got that competitive edge back."
"I would say that competitive edge," echoed Lowry. "Throughout spring ball, the whole emphasis was competition, whether it was within position groups or O versus D. That whole competitive mentality brings out the best in people, and that really carried over into this camp. Guys are really stepping up."
Later they were asked the major difference between the Gator Bowl team, which they played on as freshmen, and the teams of the last two seasons, which finished 5-7.
"I think a lot was that competitiveness," said Vitale. "And I think what goes along with that is the maturity. I would say with this group that we have, with the chemistry we've built, we've put together a pretty-mature football team. Maturity was a big emphasis."
"I would say along with that is the combination of good, young talent and older guys bringing those guys along. . . .," said Lowry. "Older guys like me and Dan have really emphasized trying to bring along those younger guys who can play to make sure we have a continuity from seniors to freshmen."
Back then those observations were just a string of words, declarations not-yet buttressed by any empirical data. But 10 days later the 'Cats toppled the then-No. 21 Cardinal, which gave their words some weight, and now they have not only won three straight after a pair of ugly losses. They have won in them ways that testify to the accuracy and the perceptiveness of what they said then.
First came Nebraska, whom the 'Cats led by two when they got the ball back with 4:18 remaining. They needed a drive now, a drive to keep the ball away from the Huskers, and that's what they got, a nine-play drive that ended with one-last knee.
Then came Penn State, whom they trailed by one when they punted it over with 3:19 remaining. They needed a stop now, which the defense delivered by holding the Nittany Lions to a three-and-out, and then they needed the drive the offense unfurled to set up Jack Mitchell's winning field goal.
Finally came Purdue, with whom they were tied with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Four straight times now the defense would hold the Boilermakers to a three-and-out, and after the third of them the offense would produce a touchdown, and after the last of them it pounded out a seven-play drive that ended in a pair of knees.
"These are the types of games last year we probably wouldn't have won," the sophomore running back Justin Jackson said after that last display of late-game will.
"I would say so," Dean Lowry agreed Monday when asked about that quote, and now came echoes of those observations made way back in late August. "The fourth-quarter effort was just tremendous. Even looking at Penn State and Nebraska, guys made big plays in the fourth quarter. Last year at times that was lacking. It was great to see that, and to see young guys step up like (the redshirt-freshman linebacker) Nate Hall (who's playing in relief of the injured Jaylen Prater). That next-man up mentality, we've really embraced that all year. That competitive edge is paying off in the fourth quarter."
"Dean said it," Dan Vitale then said. "The urgency to make plays and that competitive edge that we developed throughout the off-season. We've been preaching it the last couple weeks now. Just having that will to win. That's something our team has really embraced throughout the year. These games in November, this is when everybody's feeling hurt, everybody's sore and beat up. It's just your will to win. That's what's going to take you to that next level. That's why we've been winning games in the fourth quarter."
"The mindset and urgency, the fight in the fourth quarter. I think that's been the biggest difference," the senior linebacker Drew Smith now said. "If you look at the past two seasons, there were a lot of games that came down to the end that we weren't able to pull off. So it's the fight, and not making excuses for why something went wrong."
"It's the fight for the common goal, and I think a lot of that speaks to the maturity that the team has developed over the course of the last couple of years," Vitale finally said. "Everybody bought in. No one was selfish about it. It just became common knowledge that we wanted to be great and we've taken a lot of strides toward being one of the best football teams in this program's history. We want to continue that and move forward from there."
The last word here shall go to Pat Fitzgerald, who Monday said this when asked about his team's string of impressive late-game performances. "I think we're very similar to what we've been when we've won in the past," he said. "The guys are comfortable and confident in that situation. Sometimes you panic and you press. I haven't seen that. We go up a score, we need a big kickoff, Jack puts a good strike on the ball, we get a touchback. All those things, just going out and doing what we do. It's nothing magical. It's nothing new schematically. It's just executing cleanly, being comfortable in the situation, and not taking the situation for what it is. More importantly, executing what we need to do and how we need to do it in that moment shows great confidence and belief in what we're trying to get accomplished. I'd like to be able to do that the rest of the game"--and here he chuckled--"That would be great. That's what we're working on."
AND FINALLY, LOWRY, on the defense's string of three-and-outs against Purdue: "I think there's a sense of urgency to just go out and make plays. Like Coach Fitz was saying, a lot of our games come down to the fourth quarter. That's when you win the games. It's been really great to see our team, our guys step up in the fourth quarter. I think last year a lot of times that got away from us. It's definitely a point of emphasis in our program, just to finish. Having that has been a great thing this year and we have to keep it up in order to win these Big Ten games."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Just 10 days separated them from their season opener with Stanford when we caught up with the senior superback Dan Vitale and the senior defensive end Dean Lowry. "I would say right now what I've noticed is we've got a bunch of guys who are competitors and want us to do better. . . .," Vitale said when asked what he had learned about the 'Cats during fall camp. "I think we took a huge step offensively and really built some chemistry. That's something I think we kind of lacked the last two seasons. We built that chemistry and got that competitive edge back."
"I would say that competitive edge," echoed Lowry. "Throughout spring ball, the whole emphasis was competition, whether it was within position groups or O versus D. That whole competitive mentality brings out the best in people, and that really carried over into this camp. Guys are really stepping up."
Later they were asked the major difference between the Gator Bowl team, which they played on as freshmen, and the teams of the last two seasons, which finished 5-7.
"I think a lot was that competitiveness," said Vitale. "And I think what goes along with that is the maturity. I would say with this group that we have, with the chemistry we've built, we've put together a pretty-mature football team. Maturity was a big emphasis."
"I would say along with that is the combination of good, young talent and older guys bringing those guys along. . . .," said Lowry. "Older guys like me and Dan have really emphasized trying to bring along those younger guys who can play to make sure we have a continuity from seniors to freshmen."
Back then those observations were just a string of words, declarations not-yet buttressed by any empirical data. But 10 days later the 'Cats toppled the then-No. 21 Cardinal, which gave their words some weight, and now they have not only won three straight after a pair of ugly losses. They have won in them ways that testify to the accuracy and the perceptiveness of what they said then.
First came Nebraska, whom the 'Cats led by two when they got the ball back with 4:18 remaining. They needed a drive now, a drive to keep the ball away from the Huskers, and that's what they got, a nine-play drive that ended with one-last knee.
Then came Penn State, whom they trailed by one when they punted it over with 3:19 remaining. They needed a stop now, which the defense delivered by holding the Nittany Lions to a three-and-out, and then they needed the drive the offense unfurled to set up Jack Mitchell's winning field goal.
Finally came Purdue, with whom they were tied with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Four straight times now the defense would hold the Boilermakers to a three-and-out, and after the third of them the offense would produce a touchdown, and after the last of them it pounded out a seven-play drive that ended in a pair of knees.
"These are the types of games last year we probably wouldn't have won," the sophomore running back Justin Jackson said after that last display of late-game will.
"I would say so," Dean Lowry agreed Monday when asked about that quote, and now came echoes of those observations made way back in late August. "The fourth-quarter effort was just tremendous. Even looking at Penn State and Nebraska, guys made big plays in the fourth quarter. Last year at times that was lacking. It was great to see that, and to see young guys step up like (the redshirt-freshman linebacker) Nate Hall (who's playing in relief of the injured Jaylen Prater). That next-man up mentality, we've really embraced that all year. That competitive edge is paying off in the fourth quarter."
"Dean said it," Dan Vitale then said. "The urgency to make plays and that competitive edge that we developed throughout the off-season. We've been preaching it the last couple weeks now. Just having that will to win. That's something our team has really embraced throughout the year. These games in November, this is when everybody's feeling hurt, everybody's sore and beat up. It's just your will to win. That's what's going to take you to that next level. That's why we've been winning games in the fourth quarter."
"The mindset and urgency, the fight in the fourth quarter. I think that's been the biggest difference," the senior linebacker Drew Smith now said. "If you look at the past two seasons, there were a lot of games that came down to the end that we weren't able to pull off. So it's the fight, and not making excuses for why something went wrong."
"It's the fight for the common goal, and I think a lot of that speaks to the maturity that the team has developed over the course of the last couple of years," Vitale finally said. "Everybody bought in. No one was selfish about it. It just became common knowledge that we wanted to be great and we've taken a lot of strides toward being one of the best football teams in this program's history. We want to continue that and move forward from there."
The last word here shall go to Pat Fitzgerald, who Monday said this when asked about his team's string of impressive late-game performances. "I think we're very similar to what we've been when we've won in the past," he said. "The guys are comfortable and confident in that situation. Sometimes you panic and you press. I haven't seen that. We go up a score, we need a big kickoff, Jack puts a good strike on the ball, we get a touchback. All those things, just going out and doing what we do. It's nothing magical. It's nothing new schematically. It's just executing cleanly, being comfortable in the situation, and not taking the situation for what it is. More importantly, executing what we need to do and how we need to do it in that moment shows great confidence and belief in what we're trying to get accomplished. I'd like to be able to do that the rest of the game"--and here he chuckled--"That would be great. That's what we're working on."
AND FINALLY, LOWRY, on the defense's string of three-and-outs against Purdue: "I think there's a sense of urgency to just go out and make plays. Like Coach Fitz was saying, a lot of our games come down to the fourth quarter. That's when you win the games. It's been really great to see our team, our guys step up in the fourth quarter. I think last year a lot of times that got away from us. It's definitely a point of emphasis in our program, just to finish. Having that has been a great thing this year and we have to keep it up in order to win these Big Ten games."