Opening statement
"There's nothing like rivalry week, especially where we are in our season, down to one game. Some disappointing things have happened. As I was talking to our football team, you start going over the rivalry that we have with Northwestern. But, you don't have to go into a whole lot of detail because every player I ask  'who was your high school rival?' you instantly got an answer. There are some natural rivalries that you have, and I think athletes know exactly what it means when this week comes around. Northwestern week is here and we can't wait to play. [Northwestern] is having an outstanding year, winning six games in a row, with good players on both sides of the football. Jackson is an excellent running back, Thorson has done a lot of good things at the quarterback position. We know what we're facing and, talking about our football team, after last week's effort we can't wait to get back on the football field. We should get a couple guys back this week, hopefully to be a full force. I also love playing your last game at home, so a lot of good things to look forward to. We kind of changed our schedule up a bit with Thanksgiving coming up, so we've moved everything up a day. So, we'll be out on the football field today full force."

On Cam Thomas' health
"[Cam] was close last week. He was able to do some things, so we think he will be good to go. He's been out a  few weeks. If we don't see any setbacks, it should happen."

On the mentality of the team
"We can't complain about the effort we've gotten throughout. The story has been, not been able to finish football games. We've started fast, but haven't been able to finish strong, but the effort has been there. Taking the last game away, we've had an opportunity, so, as a coach, that's what you want to see. You want to see your team keep fighting. You like to see big steps, but we've taken small steps throughout. It all comes out to this game. There's one more, no tomorrow."

On the positives from Saturday's second half
"We've seen a lot of players get an opportunity to contribute to our team. A guy like Amari Hayes being able to get the touchdown in his senior year. A guy like Cam Miller hasn't gotten a lot of reps and has been on the scout team most of the time this season, to come in and be 1-for-1 with a touchdown. You have to like some of those thins that have happened."

On the renewal of the Illinois-Missouri rivalry
"All in favor of it. As we talk about rivals, there are some natural rivals, especially when you're close; St. Louis is a big recruiting area for both of us. It's about halfway in between [Columbia and Champaign.] Just looking at football through the years, there was a time when that was one of those games that you looked forward to seeing. Geography of where we are, fans should like it. It's far away, but it should get here so I'm all in favor of it."

"Missouri is a good program. You want to match up against good teams as much as anything. SEC is a strong conference, so to play a team from the SEC is a good thing too."

On the Dick Butkus statue announcement
"It's fitting. You should see a lot of Dick Butkus. You look at the top of our stadium and there's a reason why he's there. When you talk about Illinois' program, you know Dick loved the university, went to school here, and so it's only fitting that we be able to really see him daily."

"I knew him enough to know it was an honor every time you talked with him. And, I knew exactly who was I was talking to. The history, a fan of football and the history of football, you have to love that. I appreciate what he's done for the game, and really appreciate what he's done for the university."