Postgame Quotes – Northwestern 17, UCLA 14
POSTGAME QUOTES
Northwestern 17, UCLA 14
Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (Evanston, Ill.)
Sept. 27, 2025
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper
opening remarks
“How that game went, I’m proud of the guys for fighting and finishing. We need to start a lot better in that first 30 minutes. We kind of spotted them some points and some plays. A lot of bonding and talking at halftime. We came out with a lot more fire and energy. We started making the plays, so the guys started believing in everything that we were talking about. We pitched a second-half shutout, and we got some drives going on offense, but I wish we would’ve played the first half better. I think that it would have been a different outcome.”
on the feeling in the locker room after that game
“Yeah, a lot of competitors in that locker room. It stings. It really does sting. But like I told those guys, you’ve got to keep your heads up – I mean we are going to be in a fight every single game. It is all conference games now. This is a really good conference. No one is going to feel sorry for you. So keep your heads up, and it is going to be a tough flight home. But once we land back home, we got to get ready to go for the next one.”
on if he considered going for it on fourth down, on UCLA’s second-to-final drive
“Yeah, so we had three timeouts. We punted that thing knowing that if we got the stop, we’d get the ball back. I did not feel comfortable backed up in the distance that it was. So we were going to go ahead and punt it, trust the defense, they were playing really good, lights out in the second half. We got the stop. I mean, we work two-minute all the time – there was plenty of time. Time wasn’t the issue. We just didn’t make the plays. You can’t get sacked inside two minutes without timeouts, and that is what happened and the clock kept ticking away.”
on UCLA’s struggles in the run game
“Nico was the emphasis for this week. We saw in some of their previous games, quarterback runs gave them problems. He was a big emphasis. We rotated a lot of guys in there. I thought the touchdown drive, we started to run it a little bit better, especially with our pistol runs. But obviously, every week will be a little different. We have to see who we are playing against to know what we are going to do.”
on what he saw with UCLA’s defense
“We did a lot of different things. This was a completely different scheme, right? I’m proud of the guys for how they fought. In the first half, we acted like it was a new scheme. We were thinking, we didn’t wrap up and tackle and things like that. But in the second half, we settled down and we started playing ball. I like the fact that we were rotating a lot of guys, a lot of different people and played well in the second half. So we have something to build off of.”
on whether coach Kevin Coyle was calling the defensive plays
“Yes, that’s very accurate, he was calling the defense.”
on assessing coach Kevin Coyle and that being his first game with UCLA
“It was good. We didn’t have any communication issues or those sorts of things. Like I said, it just comes down to making plays. The first half and second half were two different halves. The first half, we were thinking too much and things like that and didn’t make the plays. In the second half, we started making the plays and things looked better.”
on how he rallies the players heading into the next week
“No doubt, no doubt. I’m telling you, there are a lot of competitors in that room. They have to lock in. We feel bad right now, but there is a lot of ball left. We have only played four games. There is a ton of football left, no matter whether if it’s gone good or bad, you know that you have to play a full season. We will have to bounce back. Nobody is feeling sorry for us, and we’ve got to go.”
on preparations for this game after a bye week and if he’d do anything different
“I would actually do exactly what we did. I thought the guys fought. In the first half, we were just a little hesitant, a step slow, but we picked it up in the second half. I think that we’re building in the right direction. I liked how we fought until the end – we just have to keep going, have to keep going. There is no reason to question anything, or anything like that, we are going to keep moving forward. We’ll be fine.”
on any attempts to get more running backs involved
“Like I said before, we are game-planning off what the defenses are giving us. They have kind of struggled a little bit with QB runs. We thought that would be a good thing for this week. Every single week is going to be a little different. Definitely [we] have a lot of good backs, a lot of guys rotating in there, so we have just got to get it jump started.”
on Nico Iamaleava being a competitor and any worry with him taking multiple hits
“There is always a worry, right, with your quarterback? You never want him to take a lot, but he actually enjoys the contact. He is one of those guys. He likes to lower down and go run, so we will use him as much as we can. We obviously know that we need to protect him, also. So it’s going to go how the games go, and we’ll keep on rolling.”
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava
on more self-inflicted wounds
“First half started off slow with penalties on both sides of the ball. It didn’t help us out at all. In critical moments we had penalties. It’s getting to a point where I’m repeating myself every week. We’ve got to fix it. It’s on the players. It’s on our discipline. We’ve got to rely on that in critical moments.”
on if the team’s second half rally is something to build off of
“I think that’s the same thing every week. We’re rallying back in the second half of every game. The message in the room is to ‘start fast’ and we’re not doing that at a high level right now.”
on getting the run game going
“We just need to execute up front. Know who our keys and who our reads are. Really just execute up front.”
on getting Rico Flores Jr. back from injury
“It was great having Rico back, man. He’s a big time playmaker for us. I’m excited he’s back working for us.”
on the changes interim head coach Tim Skipper made
“Not too many changes. I just think Coach Skipper bringing great energy. With all the stuff going around the team, you can lose focus on what the main goal is. I think Coach Skipper just came in re-emphasizing the message. We’re still playing for Coach Fos at the end of the day, too.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Rodrick Pleasant
on his block
“Just trying to make a play and be there to help my team out. Do anything possible to help us win this game.”
on the defense’s stops late in the game
“The guys played good. We obviously didn’t execute a lot better. Proud of the guys. Played hard and played well. … We were just fighting. We’re all we got and we’re all we need. Just fighting out there and doing what we have to do.”
on the changes to the defense over the last two weeks
“We’ve practiced really hard. We’re trying to figure things out. It’s been good, the change. It’s different but we’re all adjusting. That’s the biggest thing. Adjustment.”
Northwestern 17, UCLA 14
Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (Evanston, Ill.)
Sept. 27, 2025
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper
opening remarks
“How that game went, I’m proud of the guys for fighting and finishing. We need to start a lot better in that first 30 minutes. We kind of spotted them some points and some plays. A lot of bonding and talking at halftime. We came out with a lot more fire and energy. We started making the plays, so the guys started believing in everything that we were talking about. We pitched a second-half shutout, and we got some drives going on offense, but I wish we would’ve played the first half better. I think that it would have been a different outcome.”
on the feeling in the locker room after that game
“Yeah, a lot of competitors in that locker room. It stings. It really does sting. But like I told those guys, you’ve got to keep your heads up – I mean we are going to be in a fight every single game. It is all conference games now. This is a really good conference. No one is going to feel sorry for you. So keep your heads up, and it is going to be a tough flight home. But once we land back home, we got to get ready to go for the next one.”
on if he considered going for it on fourth down, on UCLA’s second-to-final drive
“Yeah, so we had three timeouts. We punted that thing knowing that if we got the stop, we’d get the ball back. I did not feel comfortable backed up in the distance that it was. So we were going to go ahead and punt it, trust the defense, they were playing really good, lights out in the second half. We got the stop. I mean, we work two-minute all the time – there was plenty of time. Time wasn’t the issue. We just didn’t make the plays. You can’t get sacked inside two minutes without timeouts, and that is what happened and the clock kept ticking away.”
on UCLA’s struggles in the run game
“Nico was the emphasis for this week. We saw in some of their previous games, quarterback runs gave them problems. He was a big emphasis. We rotated a lot of guys in there. I thought the touchdown drive, we started to run it a little bit better, especially with our pistol runs. But obviously, every week will be a little different. We have to see who we are playing against to know what we are going to do.”
on what he saw with UCLA’s defense
“We did a lot of different things. This was a completely different scheme, right? I’m proud of the guys for how they fought. In the first half, we acted like it was a new scheme. We were thinking, we didn’t wrap up and tackle and things like that. But in the second half, we settled down and we started playing ball. I like the fact that we were rotating a lot of guys, a lot of different people and played well in the second half. So we have something to build off of.”
on whether coach Kevin Coyle was calling the defensive plays
“Yes, that’s very accurate, he was calling the defense.”
on assessing coach Kevin Coyle and that being his first game with UCLA
“It was good. We didn’t have any communication issues or those sorts of things. Like I said, it just comes down to making plays. The first half and second half were two different halves. The first half, we were thinking too much and things like that and didn’t make the plays. In the second half, we started making the plays and things looked better.”
on how he rallies the players heading into the next week
“No doubt, no doubt. I’m telling you, there are a lot of competitors in that room. They have to lock in. We feel bad right now, but there is a lot of ball left. We have only played four games. There is a ton of football left, no matter whether if it’s gone good or bad, you know that you have to play a full season. We will have to bounce back. Nobody is feeling sorry for us, and we’ve got to go.”
on preparations for this game after a bye week and if he’d do anything different
“I would actually do exactly what we did. I thought the guys fought. In the first half, we were just a little hesitant, a step slow, but we picked it up in the second half. I think that we’re building in the right direction. I liked how we fought until the end – we just have to keep going, have to keep going. There is no reason to question anything, or anything like that, we are going to keep moving forward. We’ll be fine.”
on any attempts to get more running backs involved
“Like I said before, we are game-planning off what the defenses are giving us. They have kind of struggled a little bit with QB runs. We thought that would be a good thing for this week. Every single week is going to be a little different. Definitely [we] have a lot of good backs, a lot of guys rotating in there, so we have just got to get it jump started.”
on Nico Iamaleava being a competitor and any worry with him taking multiple hits
“There is always a worry, right, with your quarterback? You never want him to take a lot, but he actually enjoys the contact. He is one of those guys. He likes to lower down and go run, so we will use him as much as we can. We obviously know that we need to protect him, also. So it’s going to go how the games go, and we’ll keep on rolling.”
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava
on more self-inflicted wounds
“First half started off slow with penalties on both sides of the ball. It didn’t help us out at all. In critical moments we had penalties. It’s getting to a point where I’m repeating myself every week. We’ve got to fix it. It’s on the players. It’s on our discipline. We’ve got to rely on that in critical moments.”
on if the team’s second half rally is something to build off of
“I think that’s the same thing every week. We’re rallying back in the second half of every game. The message in the room is to ‘start fast’ and we’re not doing that at a high level right now.”
on getting the run game going
“We just need to execute up front. Know who our keys and who our reads are. Really just execute up front.”
on getting Rico Flores Jr. back from injury
“It was great having Rico back, man. He’s a big time playmaker for us. I’m excited he’s back working for us.”
on the changes interim head coach Tim Skipper made
“Not too many changes. I just think Coach Skipper bringing great energy. With all the stuff going around the team, you can lose focus on what the main goal is. I think Coach Skipper just came in re-emphasizing the message. We’re still playing for Coach Fos at the end of the day, too.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Rodrick Pleasant
on his block
“Just trying to make a play and be there to help my team out. Do anything possible to help us win this game.”
on the defense’s stops late in the game
“The guys played good. We obviously didn’t execute a lot better. Proud of the guys. Played hard and played well. … We were just fighting. We’re all we got and we’re all we need. Just fighting out there and doing what we have to do.”
on the changes to the defense over the last two weeks
“We’ve practiced really hard. We’re trying to figure things out. It’s been good, the change. It’s different but we’re all adjusting. That’s the biggest thing. Adjustment.”