Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-California Quotes
September 10, 2011 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Jon Embree
General - "Disappointed. I thought we would win. We continually find a way not to finish. I'm not taking anything away from Cal. Coach Tedford, they've obviously have had their road issues so this is a big win for them to come in here and get a win, especially since we took the momentum from them late in the game. They found a way to win the game. Congratulations to them, but I'm very disappointed."
On Discipline In Game "The one in regulation, I'm ok with it. Close, it is what it is. The first half penalties, there are no excuses, I don't understand the issues of snapping a football. I'll get that fix; that is on me. I will get that fixed. The offensive penalties were self-inflicting fouls and then we kicked the ball out of bounds again. We will get a guy that can kick it inbounds."
On O-line Penalties Being A Result Of New Players "It doesn't matter if you snap the ball on one, it is on one. I can get the Superior little league to do that. We will have to be able to snap the ball. It doesn't matter who is in there. We shouldn't have that issue."
On The Struggles Of The Running Game In The Red Zone "That was part of it, I thought the last play we ran the one that was almost picked I thought that really had a chance. I thought P-Rich [Paul Richardson] rushed it a little bit. He had a great game, he just needed to be a little more patient. Tyler [Hansen] needed to be a little higher with the ball. We did have some issues; I will have to look at the tape to see if it was the inability to run down there. I thought they fought their butts off, I don't know when the head coach decided to go for that fourth-and-inches I don't know if that was in the red zone. We started to look like an offense; we started to look like a team that knew what they were doing. They knew what they were doing with the football, it was the Tyler Hansen that I expected to see last week. Rodney [Stewart] played well, he ran hard. What do you say about Paul Richardson, all of the guys showed up and did the roles that they were supposed to, we just have to win. We have to win."
On What He Told The Team In The Locker Room "I told them that close isn't good enough."
On Cal WR Keenan Allen "We were just playing defense, we were just playing what we play. We didn't do anything special for Keenan Allen. They have two good receivers, you just can't game plan for one. You just have to do your stuff and make plays."
On If WR Paul Richardson Surprised Him At All "No. I think Paul Richardson is a star in the making and we are seeing it. I told him late in the game that he has to run more. We have to get into better shape so he doesn't get gassed. I have to give credit to No. 1 on Cal [Steve Williams], he made a terrific play in knocking that ball out right down in the red zone. I can't remember if it was overtime or at the end of regulation, but it was a heck of a play by that kid. If he touches it, he catches it. It is always great to have that as a quarterback and as a head coach."
On Injuries "[Ryan] Dannewitz I think is fine. [Jack] Harris and don't quote me on this but either has a broken bone in his leg or has a severe sprain. I can't remember, I was getting so many injury reports. Hansen is fine, he was just cramping. He was getting tired at the end running around and scrambling. It was a little bit warmer on the field than the guys anticipated."
On His Makeshift Offensive Line "We didn't play good enough we lost. I don't care if we run for two yards or 1,000 yards, we have to win the game. I don't care how many sacks, we have to find a way to win. So we didn't play good enough."
On The No-call On P Darragh O'Neill Being Taken Down "The official ruled that it was partially blocked so it is what it is. I don't know what happened after that, that led to points. That is what it is going to be frustrating because you will watch this game and you are just going to be sick to be sitting here 0-2. So many opportunities, so many chances."
On The Offense Progressing Being A Positive "Yes, but I also expected to be 2-0. That team and that staff expected to be 2-0 and we are not. I don't want to sound sour, I don't want to diminish what the kids have done, but we came here to win. We prepared and we trained to win. Not to be close, not to 'Oh, next week' it is too much work and it is too hard and 'so close' ain't it."
On Overtime Summing Up The Team's Running Game "I don't know what happened because we ran a play called 'Blast.' It's downhill and up the gut. We've been hitting them with it and I don't know if someone fell off the block or missed a cut I don't know what happened. That little stretch and then fourth-and-one, we went for it early in the game. If we are going to be what we say we are, if we are going to have that identity that we want to have in this program and in this offense, those have to be no brainers. That is the only way you can fix it, is to keeping grinding on it."
On Keeping Morale Up "It starts with me. When they see me Monday, I am going to be optimistic. I am going to point out the good, the bad and the ugly, and start motivating them and preparing them to try and go win a football game. I am not going to let them drag around. We are going to go out, we are going to practice, we are going to coach them hard, we are going to keep being demanding, and we are not going to lower the standard. We are not going to give them the old, 'atta boy.' I keep the standard where it is at. We the coaching staff has to get them to that standard somehow, someway. Part of it is putting players in position to make plays and I think the one negative about being in a new staff, you get kids into game situations and you really don't know who some of the guys are the ones who are playmakers in certain situations and obviously as we continue to grow as a staff and as a team, we will get better at that. But we have to keep them at that standard. Nobody is going to let them feel sorry for themselves. CSU does not feel sorry for us at 0-2. The Showdown at Mile High, we have one team undefeated, we have one team coming in without a win so let's go."
On Not Taking Advantage Of Cal's Third-And-Long Situations "As a defense, it's all about third down. We had a situation with the field goal issues that they were having. If we knocked that pass down, forced them into a long field goal, I would like to think that we would win. We left them off the hook in a couple third-and-longs. The last touchdown drive they had, they had a third-and-12 or something like that. You can't give those up. You work too hard to get them in that situation and then to let a guy to throw the ball and get it, that is poor on our part."
On PK Will Oliver "It was the reason I picked him. It was a gut feeling. That kid is going to be good and he was the answer for us. I don't know how many he made for us. The most impressive was the low snap. He didn't panic. He only had one step and he knocked it through like no big deal, but we also kicked a ball out of bounds, so we have to fix that too. There was a reason why we picked Will. He is doing a good job and he is going to have to continue. All that he has to understand is that the expectations Right now he has been gambling with house money and he is going to have to start gambling with his own money. He has to be ready on take that step."
On Oliver's Kicking Range "He is like a wide receiver that is always open. He is like, "Coach, I can go 58 this way and 50 the other way,' and I say, 'I'm not going to let you kick a 58-yard field goal.' That is one of the reasons why I love the kid he doesn't know any better. I don't know what his range is, but I believe in this team and that is why I went for it on fourth-and-short. After the halftime speech, that is why I went for it on fourth-and-short coming out. There were some things said in there and I wanted them to understand that I meant it. There is a few times that I told Eric [Bieniemy] to be ready for fourth down. I believe in this team and I believe in every guy. The scout team, I trust them."
On Atmosphere In First Home Game As A Head Coach "It is Folsom Field; it is how we do it. We have to get a few more people here. That is how we do it here. I expect that from the crowd every time we come out. This is a special place. There are a lot of things that give us home field advantage here. I'm sure if you ask those guys, once the take their oxygen masks off, at Cal about the altitude ask them about the crowd. Those are advantages that we need. We are at the point in our program that we need all of the advantages that we can get. I want to thank the people today for coming out. We need to continue to fill this place up. We need everybody in the state to help us win."
California Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On The Missed Extra Point - "Obviously that's something we have to get better at. We cleaned it up after that but it should have never have come down to that. That's the second week in a row that we've done that."
On What They Did Well - "Defensively in the red zone, we made some big plays. QB Zach Maynard made some huge throws down the stretch, the one on 3rd-and-10 down the right side and the one in OT down the left side. He did a nice job of hanging in there. It was the second game he missed a couple balls but he also made some big plays. He earned his stripes today. After that first pick, he did a good job of making some nice decisions."
On Tailback C.J. Anderson - "C.J. did a great job running through the tackles and obviously that big touchdown. And today, he earned some more playing time."
On CU Wide Receiver Paul Richardson - "We knew that Paul Richardson was a very good player. They had a nice design. He did some things one on one and they made some nice throws. Once he gets in the open field, he's really hard to catch."
On Defense Against Tyler Hansen - "We didn't disrupt his throws and when he pulled it down he always got positive yards. They did a lot of max protection stuff when he was in there. They did a very good job with one on one max protection."
On Zach Maynard Getting Off To A Slow Start "The first series we dropped the ball on third down, that wasn't Zach's fault."
On The Offense Getting Off To A Slow Start "We just have to execute, it doesn't matter who it is, we just have to execute. It wasn't about Zach starting slowly; it's the offense that needs to make plays. I don't remember what happened on the second series but on the first series we have a first down if we catch the ball."
On What He Thinks Of Colorado - "They are a very good football team. We were playing in a very hostile environment. The fans did a great job for them. They are a good football team. Last week, I think it was a fluke when Hawaii beat them. Hawaii's quarterback made some plays pulling it down, but anything designed, I think Colorado's defense played very well."
On What The Win Says About This Team - "To go up and then have them go back up and in a seesaw game like that, I still believe our guys are going to make plays. Our guys continued to fight and all the things we talked about, it validates everything that we've been working for and believe in."
On QB Zach Maynard - "He is a passionate person and a passionate competitor, he has guys around him who are also passionate competitors. Everybody today stepped up and made plays. Anthony (Miller) made a big one handed catch in the end zone, Keenan (Allen) made some big catches as well. Guys took turns running the football. We had too many penalties down the stretch but then even still we fought back. When we were way back in overtime we showed a lot of character."
On Penalties And Mistakes - "It wasn't too bad there were some (penalties) down the stretch but I thought it was a pretty clean game. Really no turnovers beside that first interception, very few penalties, I thought it was a great clean game."
On His Thoughts Prior To The Final Play - "As soon as we lined up I knew it was a touchdown. The corner was playing tight and Keenan (Allen) can juke people, so just depending on a good throw I knew it was a touchdown."
On C.J. Anderson Providing Depth "Isi (Sofele) is pretty beat up right now, he played a physical game. So someone will have to help take the load off of Isi. Isi is our starter, we just need the one-two punch."
What This Win Means For His Team - "It is very important because we took a young team on the road and we fell behind and had to find a way to win. It was a total team effort I thought. We played well on special teams, on defense we allowed some big plays but we held strong when it counted.
On Injuries - "Isi (Sofele) was banged up, Zach (Maynard) is beaten up a little bit but I don't think anyone came out of the game for injuries."
Colorado Players
QB Tyler Hansen
On Throwing For 474 yards "I'd rather have the win, I'd be ok throwing 20 yards and getting a 'W'. It feels good getting the passing game going, we got to get the running game going though, we got to get those guys up front to pull the ball. It seemed like we didn't get the running game going until overtime."
On The Offensive Line "They did a good job, I don't think I was sacked. We got to get the running game going for sure."
On Cal Defense "They were doing some things coverage wise, their safeties were aggressive, really low on the alignment and they were real aggressive on the run game and their corners were playing tough, they were giving us the short stuff."
On Paul Richardson "He has this look to him during a game or practice where you know his in the zone. He had that look again today; he's a special player."
On Overtime "They did a good job up front; those guys up front were coming up off the ball, we need to get every play and act like it's the most important play. Those two plays where we were inside the five they did a job plugging up the hole."
On The Offense Succeeding "It's real important; I'm the leader of that group. I think that when we do everything right and guys do their assignments I think we are really good offensively. The first half we had those first two drives it came down to that fourth and one that we didn't get. We get touchdowns on those first two drives, so it's a whole different ball game. I think we did a good job of starting fast this week."
On Losing The Run Game "I wouldn't say losing; certain guys are losing individual battles and certain plays. We just need those five up front to mold and play together and play as one unit. Especially in the running game we need to play as a unit."
On Embree In The Locker Room "He just talked about when is enough, enough When is someone going to step up and say, 'This is enough, I'm tired of this, we're going to win.' The message was simple, he was fired up."
On Jon Embree "Absolutely Coach Embree did a great job motivating us. I love the guy; I'll go out there and do whatever I need to do for the guy. I think he does a great job motivating us to go play."
On The 0-2 Start Before CSU "We played two good teams, Hawaii is no slouch and Cal is a good team. We're down to 0-2. Next week is a must win for us, we have to treat it like a playoff game."
On Rodney Stewart "Speedy screen passes are working for us. He kind of hides behind those offensive linemen and backers and kind of straddles them, and he has a good feel for it, and we are going to keep using it. I think every week we need to have a screen to Rodney."
On The Confidence Of His Kicker "Will (Oliver) does a great job. I'm really proud of him. He's a freshman, and he looks like he is 12. He steps up and that's a pressure kick, it's 3rd-and-27 you got to make that field goal to go into overtime and he steps up and makes that kick so we are really proud of him."
On The Advice From The '01 Big 12 Champion Team "They did. They said go out here in the second half and get after those guys. We were playing well and doing what we needed to do, but the score wasn't what we wanted. They said, 'Keep fighting, keep fighting,' and we did."
On The Emotional Loss "We have seniors crying in the locker room, there is no one is talking, it is a real down locker room because we were so close and we wanted this one for Coach Embree and the 2001 team. We were so close, we were fighting, we were up and down, and tied; it takes a toll on you. Coach Embree, he took it pretty hard."
LB Jon Major
On The 1st-and-30 in Overtime "You got to give them props for making that play. You know that's and inch away from winning the ball game for us. You know that's just the way it falls; that's football."
On Overtime "Credit to them, they made the plays when they had to and they made one more than us."
On If He's Played With Someone With Paul Richardson's Explosiveness - "Not in a long time, not here."
On Bouncing Back From A Loss "It's a lot of emotion; a lot of fire. Mark my words, but this is going to be a pivotal moment of the season, so we've got to respond."
On The Inconsistent Play Of The Defense "Yeah I guess right now we got to be more consistent. We are there to make the plays, we just got to make them... It's just making plays that are there to be made. I think if you watch the film, watch the replay you have the opportunity, you just have to capitalize."
LB Douglas Rippy
On The 1st-and-30 in Overtime "It wasn't good coverage, it was just good play by the receiver. We played our hearts out all four quarters, especially in overtime."
On Paul Richardson's Play "You know that's P-Rich, that's him every day. Obviously he's very persistent and that's what he does in practice, so you know whatever he does in practice he does in the game."
On Bouncing Back From A Loss "We got a game next week, you know this is already behind us. At the end of the day it's a game, but you still want to win, and we got to get ready for the next one."
SS Anthony Perkins
General - "It was a hard fought game and at the end they made more plays than we did."
On California's Receiving Corps "They have good receivers, they have playmakers. (Marvin Jones) and (Keenan Allen) are great receivers, they have great hands, and they are great playmakers for them. They made the plays at the end."
On Colorado's Young Cornerbacks "They've been playing great, you win and you lose and as team, and it's on everybody. I think our corners have stepped up and played fantastic, I'm really proud of how they played. But as a defense, we're not getting it done, that's the bottom line."
WR Paul Richardson
On The Offensive Line Play - "(The media) was talking about our O-line not being able to give (Tyler Hansen) enough time, and they did that today. On most plays they were giving Tyler enough time to make good decisions with the ball, and Tyler was putting the ball right on the money."
On Exploiting The Secondary- "Every little hole I saw I tried to attack, whenever I saw an opening I took it."
On Throwing The Ball Downfield More - "The coaches understood that was a strength of ours, and we rehearsed it all week, so when we executed on the down field plays (it was because) we were well prepared."
Thoughts On Breaking The Single-Game Receiving Yardage record- "I didn't even know I broke the record, but without the coaches putting together the game plan and without (Tyler Hansen) being able to throw the ball it would not have happened."
On What The Offense Can Learn From This Game - "That the game is never over until it's over. We made plays, we got excited, we got the lead, then we just (needed) to finish, and that's what we didn't do."
On Settling For Field Goals In The Red Zone - "It was sickening. We see (scoring in the Red Zone) as a strength of ours. It was unfortunate that we were getting down there, and only getting three points out of it. I expect us to be able to fix those issues and get those touchdowns instead of field goals."
On Importance Of The Run Game "It's very important, the run game is what we have been working on, and we have a really strong running game when we are clicking and all doing our jobs. It's our job (as receivers) to make the blocks on the perimeter and spring (Rodney Stewart) free, and we can do that, and we are going to do that (in the future)."
WR Toney Clemons
On Kickoff Returns- "We need to take advantage of the opportunities we get when they kick it off. We need guys to block their man and return men to return it the way (special teams coach J.D. Brookhart) draws it up, and just hit it. We were definitely better about that last year, and we can be even better this year. We just need to get in the film room and break it down, then (go out on game day) and execute."
On Who Is Going To Step Up As The Kick Return Man - "I think we are all capable of handling it. Obviously, I think I need to be back there. I think Brian Lockridge can be back there. We have a lot of guys like Keenan Canty and Tony Jones that can be back there returning and helping each other (to get better)."
PK Will Oliver
On Bobbled Snap- "You just have to be ready for anything, stuff happens, and you just get out there and do what you can. That one worked out for us and if (that kick) would have been any further out I don't know how it would have gone."
On Kicking The Game-Tying Field Goal- "It's the same thing as usual, everyone is cheering for you and they want you to succeed, so you just have to go out there with a smile on your face and do what you are there to do."
On Gaining Confidence From This Game - "It's nice to have, but each kick is its own kick, and it's a clean slate next game, good or bad, and you just have to keep moving on one kick at a time."
RB Rodney Stewart
On Frustrations With The Run Game - "We will get (the run game) going, I'm really not frustrated, I'm just looking forward to next week."
On Not Being Able To Score A TD In OT- "I really don't know, we are just going to have to look at film and see what went wrong."
On Having Success With Screen Passes - "Where ever I can get the ball and do my thing to the help the team, and the screens happen to be working so we stuck with it."
California Players
QB Zach Maynard
On The Team's Performance - "We made big plays when we needed them, and we never really turned the ball over besides the one interception I threw."
On His Thoughts Before The Final Play - "I was thinking touchdown when I saw the defensive back playing tight alignment, and then I just threw the ball up and Keenan (Allen) went and got it."
On C.J. Anderson's Performance "He is a great running back, (he) runs level and has strong balance and his touchdown gave us great momentum."
On The Performance Of Tyler Hansen And Paul Richardson "Richardson how many yards did he have I'd sure like to know, that was ridiculous. The quarterback did very well, he made smart decisions all game."
On The 1st-and-30 play in overtime "Their coverage was flatfooted, I wanted to throw a strong ball and we came up with it."
On His Touchdown Pass - "I might in the future have another big game, but to throw a touchdown pass might not ever happen again."
TE Anthony Miller
On Going Into Overtime - "We knew the game wasn't over, we had to stick together. That's a big thing staying together, we can rally around each other and we can count on each other."
On His Touchdown Catch - "I just knew I had to get in there."
On What This Win Does For The Team - "It wasn't a very pretty win but we came back and stayed together during overtime. It showed the great character that we have."
TB C.J. Anderson
On How Much Fun He Had "It was very fun coming into a hostile environment and going into overtime. We've been working all summer. We knew we were the better-conditioned team and that took over and we got the win. "
On If He Knew He Was Getting Playing Time "No, I was patiently waiting for my number to be called, and when it's called I need to make plays. I just wanted to do whatever I can to help the team. I want to get the 'W'. I want to do anything to help the team and help the team win."
On His Touchdown Run - "The linebackers blitzed, I cut back, and I wanted to use my abilities to get into the end zone. It was my favorite play. We ran that play in junior college. When I came up here, the offense was almost the same. And it worked out great."
On The Atmosphere In Overtime - "After they kicked the field goal and we went out there, it was real loud. We always talked about poise and having composure. If I don't pick up that third and two, we have to kick the field goal and we wouldn't be able to come up here and win. "
DB Mark Anthony
On Paul Richardson's Performance - "Over the week, we talked about Richardson's playmaking ability. But you got to give credit where credit is due. The guy came out and made big plays. That's what we tried to limit, but he was in the right place at the right time. We were trying to limit his big plays. We knew he was the guy they were going to try to go to. Our whole plan was to limit the big plays as much as possible."
On How He Felt After Richardson's Big Plays- "As a defensive back they always teach you to have a short-term memory. When you get scored on, you got to come back and play hard."
On How Disappointing Defensive Play Was "It was really disappointing. After coming off of last year being one of the top passing defenses in the country and number one in the Pac 10 last year, but giving up 500 yards is not a part of the game plan. We got to go back to the drawing boards tomorrow and make sure it doesn't happen again."
DB Steve Williams
On His Ability To Shut Down Paul Richardson Late- "I didn't really get him a lot, but I got a feel for him."
On Richardson's Performance- "I have no clue why he was so good. He was getting open and in the holes of the zones and we just couldn't stop him."
On Their Game Plan For Richardson - "We didn't really have a game plan for him. We didn't know he was going to be as good as he showed us today. We had a lot of film on him because he's their go-to guy."
On his thoughts on Tyler Hansen "I was impressed a little bit, today, he threw the ball very well."
Defensive Coordinator Clancy Pendergast
On The Defense - "We are excited to get the win. Every team win or lose has something to work on. We have to give [Colorado] a lot of credit offensively. They had a great game plan. We knew it was going to be that tough a game playing on the road. They had a lot of players they had when we played them last year. The good thing is we got a win. There a lot of things we have to clean up as well."
On Pressuring Tyler Hansen- "He's very good at getting out of the pocket and they're very good at throwing to the back out of the back field, which neutralizes some of the pressure. But he's a good player. And we knew the players needed to take care of were Rodney Stewart, Tyler Hansen, and Paul Richardson."