Colorado University Athletics
Champs Sports Bowl Quotes
December 27, 2005 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike Hankwitz
On the game:
“Well it's a bittersweet moment. I was extremely proud of our team, the way they fought and competed in the most difficult situation, amidst all the distractions, all the things that happened. I was extremely proud of that. I was disappointed that we couldn't stop them there at the end when we needed to and give us a chance to win. I'm proud of the coaching staff and the way they conducted themselves in an even more difficult situation, and I'm proud of the players. It's just one of those disappointing things to come that close, to fight that hard, but I give Clemson a lot of credit. They're an excellent team. We knew that coming in. With 10 points, they could've been a 10-1 team. They've got a great blend of youth and experience, and my hats are off to them.”
On the team's inability to throw and how it is detrimental to the team:
“When a team's one-dimensional, it's a lot easier to defend. We thought James (starting QB James Cox) would relax a little. It's his first time in that situation. We thought he'd relax and be able to throw it more effectively and he wasn't able to get out of his tense, you know, stressful situation for him. Yeah, it makes it easier to defend.”
On James Cox's nerves affecting his performance:
“It's not the easiest situation for a quarterback to have his first start amidst all the things that we've been through. The injuries we had to our offensive line...I mean, that's a difficult situation. I'd have liked for him to have more experience going into it, but that's the hand he was dealt. Sometimes you do that, you try to hard. You press, because you want to do so well, but you hurt yourself unknowingly.”
On game MVP, Clemson back James Davis:
“In our league, we've had some pretty excellent running backs, but he did an excellent job tonight, and he's got a great future. A young guy like that, I believe he was ACC newcomer of the year, and 750 yards, basically. He made our guys miss tonight.”
On the positives to come out of the game:
“We didn't have a turnover. We got an interception. [John] Torp, our punter, punted extremely well. He had a 68 yard punt, which I believe is a bowl record. I think the players should be able to hold their heads high. It wasn't a win. It wasn't what we came to do, but it's hard to explain all the distractions and all the turmoil and all the things that have happened and the effect it could have on those kids. For them to come out and play like they did, I'm extremely proud of them.”
Colorado QB James Cox
On nerves affecting his performance:
“Yeah, I just game out and I pressed too hard, I was trying too hard, and I wasn't myself tonight, and that's frustrating to me because I know I can play a lot better than that. I feel like I let my team down in the first half, and in the second half, things just weren't there.”
On having a sense of relief for the end of this tumultuous season:
I don't want to say a sense of relief. We played real hard this entire year, and we want to go out, especially for our seniors and our coaches, go out with a win. It was tough. We played a real tough game and everybody fought hard, but it didn't work out for us.”
On the close game giving a sense of redemption after the blowout losses:
“It's hard to say redemption when you don't win, because that's what we're all about. We're all about winning. There's obviously some things that we can take away from the game, things that we did well. Our defense played awesome. The second half, we started moving the ball a little bit better. We could take some things away to learn from this.”
On Clemson's defense:
“We knew that they had a great defensive line, and that's how they got pressure, and then they started bringing a little more pressure with their [line]backers. It's nothing that we weren't prepared for. There were things there in the first half, and I couldn't hit the receivers. In the second half, they were getting pressure, and it was hard to get any drop back, because they were getting pressure upfield. It just made it tough on us.”
Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden
Impressions of the game:
“I thought it was a tremendous effort on Colorado's part. What their coaches and players had to go through was an extremely difficult thing. They were given no chance to win and they came out extremely well prepared and played hard the entire game. As far as the way we played, when our defense gives that kind of effort, we're a pretty good football team. It's been indicative of the way we have played all season. We have kept games close all year and then we have had to have a drive at the end and when our team has its back against the wall we seem to respond. It's indicative of how our season has gone all year. Our senior leadership from Charlie on down has built a solid foundation for our team.”
On his seniors
“I told them last night that I will have more bowl opportunities but this would be their final opportunity. I could not be more proud of the way this group of seniors responded. They have accomplished things over the last four years that have never been done in Clemson history and we have been playing football for 103 years. Because of them, I think we have turned the corner...
“We have Charlie Whitehurst sitting up here with a college degree...we have Charles Bennett sitting up here with a college degree...we had eight seniors who were a little late getting down here because they were receiving their college degrees. These guys have been great ambassadors for college football.”
On the final drive
“It was something where you wanted to milk the clock as much as you can. They were out of timeouts, but we still needed first downs to keep the ball out of their hands. It was a time where you worry about having your team buckle, but giving it to James made it easy.”
On Charlie Whitehurst
“I think he is his own worst critic, but I think all great players are. He struggled a little bit last year, but that was my fault, not his. I didn't put him in the position he needed to be in to make plays. I have been here seven years, and I have been very fortunate to have Charlie as my starting quarterback for four of those years.”
On his Defense
“We came into this game without allowing a touchdown on the other team's last 31 possessions. What did they have tonight...One touchdown??? This is the type of defense that it takes to win championships. We have won a lot of games, but this is the type of effort that it takes to win championships.”
On Orlando and the Champs Sports Bowl
“I've told Tom Mickle this and some of our media, but I want to publicly say it. Our team, our players, our staff and our administration have great appreciation for the Champs Sports Bowl. There is not a better destination than to come to Orlando for a bowl game. This bowl game with the leadership it has is going to have a long list of guys wanting to come here. I told my team, six wins you go to a bowl, seven wins you get a choice. This is the one we wanted to choose.”
Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst
“We moved the ball but struggled getting it into the end zone. The defense kept getting the ball back for us and we put points on the board when we needed them. It was a team effort.”
On freshman James Davis
“He's a freshman but he doesn't play like one and hasn't all year. Heck, I think I was more nervous this season then he ever was. We played a lot of first and second year players this year and I think the sky is the limit for them.”
Running Back James Davis
“I'm just a freshman, but I am thankful that Coach Bowden gave me an opportunity this year and I was able to run with it.”
“This was a great week. We got to go to Universal Studios and its something I always wanted to do. I hope I get to spend a couple of more days down here. As for the game, I think we stayed focused and we were ready to go.”
Defensive End Charles Bennett
“Our defense did what it needed to do. Colorado is a good team and we were able to control the line of scrimmage. It's not any one thing any one player did, it was a team effort.”
