Players Mentioned
Colorado-Washington Quotes
November 09, 2013 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
Opening Statement:
That was a long day to say the least. It was the worst tackling day we have had for sure. I don't know why, like to figure it out.
On if today was a step back:
I don't know if it a step back, we just didn't tackle. I saw that on film last year and hadn't seen that this year until today. We'll figure that out. If we have to go in pads every day, we'll go in pads every day.
On the defensive effort:
There was not enough intensity in the tackling are. That is something that I have to fix.
On if after UCLA he thought things were going in the right direction and this changed it:
No, I didn't see anything. We have to win football games. We didn't have a chance to win tonight. I think that is the first time I completely felt like that. We just didn't tackle and then we turned the ball over in some key areas. We haven't really done that either. It kind of got out of hand. It was ugly.
On the defensive intensity:
I didn't see it in the tackling and we have to improve that. I was worried about them being leg weary a little bit, so we tried to taper down. We practiced the same amount, just didn't go in full pads the whole time. We have to tackle better. We just have to tackle better.
On if the defense was in the right place:
I don't know if we were tonight. I don't think we were. They made some plays, there is no doubt about that, so I'll look at in on film. There was one play there that we missed four tackles. There were third downs that we missed tackles. It's very frustrating.
Washington Head Coach Steve Sarkisian
Opening Statement:
That was a great start to the fourth quarter of our season. I though all three phases performed really well. On the offense in the first half we were really efficient. We ran it, we threw it. I thought Keith used his legs tonight as good as or better than he has all year, running the ball. I thought he distributed the ball really well to a variety of people; Jaydon, Kevin, Bishop out of the backfield, Austin with some big plays, Martin Hall, so a lot of different guys. Defensively, in the third quarter, creating those three turnovers was big. That was one of the things we emphasized coming out of the bye-week, and then we get three turnovers and two of them go for touchdowns. So that was fantastic for the guys. And a lot of guys got to play, which was huge. Especially with the short week a lot of the starters didn't have to play too much in the second half. We got to get back to it tomorrow and get ready for UCLA.
On Austin getting more involved this week:
Honestly, when you lose Kasen, who is a talented guy especially on those one-on-ones, we found some things there to get Austin some one-on-one opportunities. If the game hadn't gone the way t had gone he probably would have gotten more. We had a few more tricks up our sleeves to get him the ball. Again, I've been saying it every week; he blocked his tail off tonight again. So many of those runs are going behind him. That holding penalty against him, I don't know, I'll have to look at the film but it sure didn't look like he held him. But he's blocking great and his energy is really good. He's a force when he's got one-on-one match-ups. It was good and Keith found him and allowed him to go up and make some plays.
On scoring 21 points in two minutes of possession:
It was a little odd, the whole game was. I've always said I respect the game and I respect the football gods and you just try to do things the right way and the way that third quarter went when we were scoring on defense, not even on offense, it was a little bit odd. But I was happy for our defense because we need to do that, we need to create turnovers. We need to knock the ball loose and intercept passes. So I thought that was big.
On John Ross' plays:
I think the world of John Ross when he has the ball in his hands. It is a point of emphasis for us, and it was going into the game. Obviously he gets it in the kick-returns, but we're still trying to find ways to get him the ball. It is hard to take Jaydon off the field because he is doing so many good things for us as well. But that's the luxury of having a lot of weapons and we're fortunate that way. He is electric when he has the ball in his hands, that's for sure.
Colorado Players
QB Sefo Liufau
How disappointed were you with tonight's results?
Very disappointed. I never thought of it as a homecoming since I'm from Tacoma but it's frustrating to lose. It's been frustrating these last couple of weeks. Everyone is frustrated in the locker room. But like I keep saying, we're going to go back to work tomorrow. This game is behind me already and we're looking towards Cal.
Do you feel frustrated that the team hasn't turned the corner yet?
Everyone is going to have their own opinion on how far or how close we are. I think we're getting closer. It's never as bad as it is and it's never as good as it can be. It's just frustrating because we know that we can do a lot better than what we put out tonight. Next week is another chance for us to prove that we're a good team.
Did you know before the game if Paul Richardson was going to play?
I wasn't sure if he was going to play or not. We have enough receivers and Paul is a great athlete, if he wasn't going to play, we weren't going to have a drop off. It was great to see him play though. He played well and we'll just see how he is next week.
LB Derrick Webb
What problems were you guys having with tackling today?
I really can't tell you what happened out there today. We are usually a lot better tackling team than we were today. For some reason we didn't show up ready to tackle [Bishop] Sankey today. He's a great back. You got to give him credit for being a great back but we've faced other great backs this year and we've done better tackling. We usually say you have to get bodies to the football and I feel like we got bodies to the football, but we just missed tackles. It's something that we need to take care of this week.
What's the mindset of the defense?
We should be pissed off and I definitely am but it's also a bright side to this season and that's how I look at it. As bad as things have gone this year, we still have three games left this season that we're very capable of winning. As bad as things have been this season - the good points, the low points - we still have the opportunity to go to a bowl game and that's a blessing to think about after today. My mindset is that we keep getting better throughout the week and get ready to beat Cal like coach said. We're going to make a run for these last three games, we haven't given up at all.
DB Parker Orms
What has been the team's problem with tackling?
I don't know. It's tough because we practice it all the time so it's not something that we don't work on. It's just a 'want-to' thing, we just got to go out there and want it more than they do.
How frustrating has this season been?
We're mad, we're frustrated but we have three games left. We can't just cry about it, we have to go out there and play. You can just see it in the locker room, guys are mad, guys are frustrated but you can't let frustration take over. You just have to go out there and play.
What are your thoughts on Bishop Sankey?
He's a great back. He's hard to wrap up. He's definitely a guy that you need all 11 guys running to the ball and wrapping him up.
Washington Players
DT Danny Shelton
On getting pressure on the quarterback:
Coming off this break everyone was tired of staying home. Everyone missed football. As D-Linemen we just made it our goal to get in the quarterback's face and creating turnovers. He is a freshman and a good quarterback. There were times in the game where he was too patient and comfortable with where he was. We just want to keep doing it for the rest of the season.
On next weeks matchup against UCLA:
We will watch some film tomorrow and see what we need to do. UCLA has a good quarterback too, so we just have to keep him contained in the cage. We can't leave any openings for him to run. We just have to get in his face because he is a good quarterback.
LB Shaq Thompson
On getting pressure on the quarterback and turnovers:
It was great pursuit from our D-Lineman. We really stressed the issue of getting to our quarterback and getting the ball out. There was a great tip ball by Marcus and a nice play by Tre, and Sean Parker got one. It was a great strip by Shirley then a great play by Marcus. First thing we have to do is score when we get the ball.
On next weeks matchup against UCLA:
We are not going to do anything different. They are just like any other team. Just because they are UCLA and in the top 20 doesn't mean we have to worry about doing anything different. It is just another game.
On getting banged up at the end:
Yeah I'm good, it was just a little stinger.
DB Sean Parker
On forcing turnovers:
Coach told me it was coming before they ran the play. I relied on my technique, and just played what I saw and made the play.
On gaining momentum for UCLA:
We will take whatever we can get. UCAL is a good team. After a week of preparation we are going to go down there and play husky football.
RB Dwayne Washington
On winning big:
It feels good. We just came out here ready to play on offense, defense, special teams. We prepared for them all week long and it was a good night.
On scoring touchdown:
It felt good. It was great getting back on the field and playing with my team.
On huge offensive night:
We didn't do anything different. We just executed our plays and played hard and everything worked out.
WR John Ross
On winning big:
It's normal around here. We don't lose at home and we really try to stand by that and play like it. Tonight was just another step—another team in the way of where we need to be.
On being bowl eligible:
It's awesome. Especially for the young guys on the team, it's going to be a huge experience. it's like getting extra benefits after the season. But we still have three more to go, and UCLA is where all our focus is right now.
On big offense night:
The offense keyed in on what they needed to get done. Coach told us to not let up on the gas until he told us to. Those first three quarters we were on the gas and didn't let up.
WR Jaydon Mickens
On getting the win:
It feels good. We got to six wins. We're coming off a three-game losing streak, but we came back focused, determined, and ready to go. And tonight we got that sixth win, became bowl eligible, and you have to be happy about that.
On great offensive game:
From day one on Monday, we were in the film room looking at these guys. We saw the holes, we knew what we had to do to get open, and tonight we just executed the things we were told all week.
On younger guys getting playing time:
It helps the team out a lot because you never know what's going to happen. It's football. Just like Kasen last week, somebody can go down and we need those young guys to step up. And them getting some playing time really shows that we have some young guys who can contribute when we need them to.
On preparation for next week:
We're just going to prepare how we regularly prepare. We're going to look at them and try to find as many holes as we can and make plays off of them. Basically, we're just going to come out and play hard.