Colorado-Arizona State Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Jon Embree

General
"First thing, Brady Daigh had movement in his extremities and he had good strength, I think it was more of a precautionary thing (to have him carted off the field). He did have some pain so they are taking him to the hospital, but as we get more information on that, we will let you know, but right now things look ok. As far as the game, I thought we played a very good first half. Third quarter, we talked about coming out of the locker room and doing a great job of covering the kicks, and obviously we didn't do that. We did not have any rhythm in the second half offensively. I thought the defense, though, for the most part in the second half played well. Obviously towards the end, after Brady's incident, there was no juice or air on that side of the ball. I thought the defense, again, like the UCLA game, they gave us a chance if we could just get a little momentum going offensively. So, we will be off tomorrow, Friday, and we'll get going Sunday and get ready for the next one."

On Progress Of Offense
"I'm not happy with it; I'm not happy where we are offensively. There are some things we would like to do, and there are some guys we have recruited that will come in and help some of it. But I'm not happy at all with what we have done offensively, and so as an offensive staff we will take a look at some of that come tomorrow."

On ASU's Second-Half Kick Off Return For Touchdown
"Well, that's big, you have them 20-17 and then you give up a touchdown like that. So that's big, there is no doubt, you cannot have that happen. We wanted the kick left, and it was a deep left kick, we just need to execute. We need to get off blocks and make a tackle and be in your lanes."

On Getting Rhythm Offensively
"To get rhythm offensively, you have to get first downs. You have to have first downs to get rhythm, because then you stay on the field and you get a little bit of a groove and you get a good feel (for the game) and get tempo, and when you don't get first downs, it's hard to get in a rhythm."

On Executing Screen Plays
"You just have to keep doing it, you know. You practice it, so you have to do it. You got to keep doing it in game situations and get the timing down and do it right."

On Improvements Needed To Be Made
"Playing a complete game; playing all four quarters; playing the second half like we played the first half. We need to get better in all phases, obviously, I have to get better and our coaching staff has to get better. So we'll just keep grinding away at it."

On Not Winning At Home Yet
"Any time you don't win, it's frustrating, whether it is at home or on the road. There are three opportunities left for our seniors to (win at home) and were running out of time to get them a win at home."

On ASU's Execution Of Screen Plays
"We were in man coverage, we play a lot of man coverage. When you play team's that run the spread (offense), you play a lot of man and you mix a little bit of zone. The screens didn't have an effect on the other aspects of the passing game."

On Team's Morale
"Our kids, and I really mean this, I'm proud of how they compete and how they fight. And I really do believe that they don't look at the scoreboard, I don't think they look at the scoreboard and say 'Oh now were in it, or oh now were out of it'. They really do go out and play hard and play hard every play and the next play like you would want as a coach. We just need to find a way to put two halves together."

On ASU's Quarterback Taylor Kelly
"I think Taylor does a good job of playing within the system, I said that last week, he plays well within the system and doesn't force things. He is a gamer, he's a good player. I was talking to (ASU's Head Coach) Todd (Graham) about him, before the game, that he's just one of those guys that is a quarterback; he knows how to play the position well, and he protects the ball, and when things weren't there he makes play with his feet."

On Most Frustrating Aspect Of Loss
"Just that we weren't able to do some things offensively, that's probably the most disappointing, and the kick off. We talked about how important that first play was going to be to start the third quarter, and trying to pin them down there and then let's go. So I would say those two things."

On What They Did Well In First Half
"Well, I thought we mixed the run and pass well. We hit passes, Nick Kasa is continuing to play better each week, which is encouraging. We were able to convert some third downs and stay on the field, and that allowed us to get opportunities. We didn't do well on first down, in particular, in the second half. We had a lot of second-and-longs, and you can't be in that situation and have an opportunity to be successful. In the first half, I thought it was getting first downs and guys making plays (that was the difference from the second half).

Arizona State Head Coach Todd Graham

General
"I'm really proud of our guys we faced a lot of adversity right there before the half. You got to give Colorado a lot of credit they came out with their home crowd and really had a lot of intensity. Our guy's responded with great poise and great character. We came out and shut them out in the second half. I'm really proud of our guys, especially being on the road. We just calmed down and relaxed, I think our guys showed great character."

On What He Said At Halftime
"I always talk to them right before they go out and say, hey guys lets calm down, do what you're coached to do, we've got to be the most passionate team on the field and if we do that, take care of the ball, no penalties, we'll dominate and that's what we did. It's more about us; we worked really hard this week to make sure we were focused on this game. Maybe early in the show we weren't but I'm really proud of our guys. I think these young men have done a great job of buying into a completely new system and we're sitting here 5-1, 3-0 in conference and I'm really proud of them."

On Rashad Ross's Kickoff Return
"That was about as excited as I've been all year, I've been waiting for that one and Rashad (Ross) just responded in a big way and hit that thing big time. I like how he hit it I think that gives him great confidence, that's the kind of playmaker we need. I'm really proud of the guys on their blocking and I'm proud of their efforts."

On Marion Grice
"He was impressive, we got some impressive backs that do a great job. I thought Cameron (Marshall) ran the ball really physical tonight. (On the fumble) He can't reach the ball, he reached the ball out and turned it over. We have some talented players I thought Taylor (Kelly) had, I don't know how many touchdowns he had, probably four or five, but he did a great job. I'm proud of our special teams. I thought our special teams did a good job tonight, we won special teams. Every game that we win we win special teams so I'm proud of them."

On Taylor Kelly's Running Ability
"That's what he does, that's part of it, that's part of having a guy that can extend plays and make good decisions like that. I think each game he's gotten better and better. He did a nice job."

On His Mood At Halftime
"I just came in and I strained them a little bit because they know how I feel about some things. They were doing some extra shoving after the whistle and our guys we're acknowledging it. We don't do that, because that distracts us from our game. Saying stuff to the officials, we don't say anything, there were just some things like that I'm going to get pretty hot about. I'm pretty calm other than that, I told them at halftime 'here's the deal, here's what we did, now let's go to the second half and forget about it.' I'm proud of how they responded to that. I know people think that's little bitty stuff, but that's the difference winning and losing."

On Looking Forward To Oregon
"I can tell you for the last week and a half I've been watching Oregon every day. It's hard not to do that especially when everyone keeps asking you about it. I will tell you that our players didn't look at Oregon at all. I think you got to give Colorado a lot of credit. They came out with energy and all of a sudden boom boom you have a couple of big plays and that's what happened. It's hard to get guys up for every game but you got to, you got to get up for every single week and it won't be hard to get them up this week.

Colorado Players

TB Tony Jones
ON SECOND HALF – "That kickoff return really killed us. We just have to keep our heads up and got to keep fighting. We just let the score get ahead of us."
ON USC - "We just have to go back to the drawing board and keep going. We just have to stay focused. This game is behind us now so we just have to look forward to the next game now."
ON TURNING THE SEASON AROUND-"That's what we are trying to do every week. We are definitely trying to turn everything around. We are trying to put points up on the board and trying to come together as a team. We just got to do what we do best. We just have to drive down the field and score touchdowns."
ON IMPROVING –"We try to get better at what we do each week. We are just trying to win some games. That's the only thing. That's what we are trying to do."

ILB Derrick Webb
ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HALVES- "First half, we were able to get to the ball. We were able to get to the ball and stop their zone run plays and surround their ball carrier so they had to get real creative with the running game and finding unconventional ways to run the ball and a lot of that was with the quarterback. In the second half, defense played hard but they were able to capitalize on the pressures we had. They pretty much knew when we had pressures and were able to counter with screen plays. They did this for a couple of scores and that hurt us. The special teams play was big. We have to win on special teams."
ON THE FAST PAC-12 OFFENSES- "Discipline for the most part. We play a zone routine. Having two or three options on each play, you have to be disciplined. Each guy has a job. We have to be great tacklers in space. These teams like Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona they all are going to try to get their best players in space. We have to surround them. We have to get more than one guy around the ball carrier. We have to hold teams."
ON PREPARING FOR USC- "This is already behind us. We went out there and played our hardest and gave our best. Unfortunately we lost the football game. We have to get ready. Starting tomorrow everything is towards USC. We can't look back. There is no rearview mirror. We have a good team and [Southern] California is ready to beat our butts a week from now. So we have to prepare for them. We have to find a way to get a win. It is the most important game."

OLB Jon Major
ON PLAYING A FULL GAME - "We just have to find a way to finish and keep the energy. A few bad things happened, it's that snowball effect. We have to get out of that. Offense has to get in a rhythm and defense has to put a string of stops together. We just couldn't get that today."
ON ARIZONA STATE'S OFFENSE – "I think they prepared for us very well. It seems like they had an answer for everything and they adjusted well. It's good coaching and good players. It's hard to beat a team like that."
ON SECOND HALF KICKOFF RETURN – "I don't think they took the [momentum] out too much. We knew we had to answer quick. It was still early. I don't think it drained us at all. We just knew we had to answer and we had a hard time."
ON PLAYING USC NEXT WEEK – "We have to keep improving. Hopefully everything falls into place."

QB Jordan Webb
ON HOW THE GAME WENT- "The second quarter we really got some momentum going. We got something we could build off. But the second half we just couldn't get into a rhythm. We'll have to look at tape and learn from it. Our skilled players were making plays. The O-line was protecting well against a pretty formidable opponent. We need to try to build momentum with that. Nick Kasa made plays. He is a beast. So that's something we're super excited about."
ON NICK KASA – "The last three games, I think he caught a touchdown. He's averaging a touchdown a game. That's a real big deal."

DB Terrel Smith
ON WHY ARIZONA STATE'S SCREENS WERE EFFECTIVE – "Blown coverage's pretty much."
ON THE TEAMS MINDSET GOING INTO HALFIME – "We had a great mindset. After the fumble and the field goal we were confident. The coaches drew up a few plays in the locker room at halftime and corrected some mistakes. Then they ran back the kickoff and that took the air out of our sails."
ON IF HIS FUMBLE RECOVERY WAS CALLED RIGHT ON THE FIELD – "It was to the house. The officials should let that go whether or not he was down and let it play out. I don't understand how they can blow their whistles so quickly. That was going to be a touchdown."
ON COLORADO'S MISTAKES IN THE SECOND HALF – "We shouldn't be making those mistakes. There are no excuses for blowing those assignments."
ON IF COLORADO IS BETTER THAN THEIR 1-5 RECORD – "Just look at the first half. In the second half we blew it. But we can play with every team we play. Just a lot of mistakes shows us at 1-5.
ON THE SECOND HALF KICKOFF – "Guys were just trying to do too much. We just need to keep our focus and do our job."

TE Nick Kasa
ON THE SECOND HALF STRUGGLES – "We just stopped moving the ball. We worked on a lot of stuff and nothing they did changes our how we should attack them. We just couldn't do it when it mattered in the second half."
ON ARIZONA STATE'S ADJUSTMENTS – "They didn't make too many adjustments, we just couldn't pick up first downs."
ON WHAT IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED – "We just need to improve on what we did in the first two quarters. We need to pick up 4 ugly yards a play."
ON IF COLORADO IS BETTER THAN THEIR 1-5 RECORD – "We don't want to use our record as a focus going forward."
ON HIS PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE OFFENSE – "Every week I am getting more and more comfortable."

Arizona State Players

RB Marion Grice
ON THEIR SECOND HALF RETURN FOR A TD – "It just shows that we don't give up. We're going to keep going, keep fighting because there's four quarters to a game."
ON HIS RAPID IMPROVEMENT – "I still have to get better. Coach tells me that I still have to work on things."
ON HIS NEW ROLE OF RECEIVER – "My opportunity was there and I took it."
ON PLAYING OREGON NEXT WEEK – "Basically we have to take it a game at a time, we can't skip a game, we have to play every game. We're all excited; we just have to keep practicing and keep preparing for the next one."

S Chris Young
ON THEIR FIRST HALF STRUGGLES -"Obviously we came out struggling in the first half. We were just feeling it out. Like you said, it was just sluggish. I couldn't you why it was like that. We've prepared for Colorado all week and there have been many different distractions. We have to turn that around for future games that we have."
ON THIS WIN – "We might have overlooked Colorado just a little bit. But we came out with the 'W'. We played a great second, shut them out and that's a great win for us."
ON WHAT THE COACH SAID AT HALFTIME – "He told us that we just need to stick it out. Just to do what we've been coached to do. We had a lot of blown assignments in the first half. We had a lot of misalignments. So basically he just told us to read our keys and do our assignments and that's what we came out to do in the second half."
ON PLAYING OREGON NEXT WEEK – "We can't have any mishaps or anything like that. The only thing that goes through my mind is preparation and determination. We just need to find a way to win when we play Oregon."
ON RASHAD ROSS' RETURN FOR A TD – "That was a big turnaround for us. We obviously got some momentum from that."
ON SECOND QUARTER DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES – "People have a lot of downfalls and adversity. We face adversity from time to time so we really just have to pull together and stick together to pull it out in the second half."

LB Brandon Magee
ON WHAT THE COACH SAID AT HALFTIME-"It's the little mistakes that cost us in the close games. He said come out and be more disciplined; we kind of mouthed off to some of those players. And they were mouthing off to us and we can't have that in this program; just go out there and shut them out."
ON PLAYING OREGON NEXT WEEK – "I know how the Pac-12 works. I wasn't overlooking anybody and I knew we had a tough game with Colorado [tonight]. But it's time to focus on Oregon. It's a big time matchup; I hope it's going to be sold out. I'm excited to play them, who wouldn't be? We're ready."
ON KEEPING MOMENTUM IN THE SECOND HALF – "[The fumble] was huge. You know, I only the sack because the D-line was beastly. It's big, a lot of players stepped up today and I was proud of our defense. I'm just proud of us."

Players Mentioned

Nick Kasa

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