Colorado University Athletics

Tuesday Football Recap

Tuesday Football Recap

BOULDER? The University of Colorado football team held its weekly press conference Tuesday at the Dal Ward Athletic Center. Head coach Gary Barnett and select players were on hand to talk about Saturday’s match up with the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship game in Houston, Texas. The following are quotes from the session:

 

Colorado Head Coach Gary Barnett

 

GENERAL?"The University of Colorado Buffaloes are extremely excited about playing Texas again and having a chance to play for the Big 12 Championship in Reliant Stadium. It’s a stadium that we are comfortable in; we have been there twice and it will be a tremendous venue. It’s probably not a neutral site, but that’s okay; that’s the way it is. Our preparation this week will be a great deal about looking back at the first Texas game and the mistakes that we made. We are playing a great team. We are obviously the underdog if you guys didn’t know that. They have been a great team all year and it’s just a great challenge for our guys. Our goal was to get to this game and redeem ourselves from a year ago. I didn’t put on our board how many games we needed to win to get there, I just said let’s get there. I looked at all the records today (in the Big 12 North) and we are 5-3. The next closest team is 4-4, so we win the North and get a chance to play Texas. I think everyone in this program is excited about our opportunity.”

 

ON STEPPING UP IN BIG GAMES?“We all have to relax a little bit. Every guy has to step up in his own way. Joel (Klatt) gets so fired up that sometimes he’ll go out and play like a linebacker and not a quarterback. But he has always learned from the tough lessons that he has had to endure.”

 

ON WHETHER HE TALKED TO TEXAS HEAD COACH MACK BROWN?“He left me a message yesterday and said ?I’m glad you’re coming to Texas,’ and that was it. But we’ll probably talk this week. “

 

ON TEXAS? “We held them to more third down situations than any team they played this year. Unfortunately they converted on most of those third downs. We have to address the third down issue and that is probably where we need to make some changes and approach it a little differently.”

 

ON TEXAS QB VINCE YOUNG?“There are the tangiable things that everybody sees, but in my mind his demeanor and the way he plays affects everybody else. The entire team plays with a great deal of confidence which Vince has. He has a great deal of composure, but he’s got an edge to him that you see every once in a while. I think it’s the aura that he brings to his team that is as important as the talent he brings. He was 25-for-29 against us, and like I said after that game, that’s hard to do against ?air’ with nobody even playing on the other side. It’s hard to believe he would do that again, but we still have to change some things up in our secondary from the last time we played them.”

 

ON COMPARISONS WITH 2001 SEASON?“There are a lot of similarities. Texas got into that game because Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma. They had already sent their players away for Thanksgiving and they had to call them back. They didn’t expect to be in the game. It’s a different scenario for Texas. They are a much better football team today than they were then. It’s a similar situation, but I think it’s a little bit different as far as the teams that are involved.”

 

Senior Tight End Quinn Sypniewski

 

ON SIMILARITIES WITH 2001 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM?“I think this is a completely different team from the 2001 team. There are obviously some similarities, but we are just looking at this as a great opportunity to go out there and rebound on national TV.”

 

ON PLAYING TEXAS EARLIER IN THE SEASON? “From an offensive standpoint I think we got behind and tried to do too much at times. When every guy goes out there and does was he is supposed to do and we have fun then that’s when our offense gets rolling. We have to come out there and be more efficient, operate at a higher level and compete.”

 

ON TEXAS BEING A HEAVY FAVORITE?“Texas has earned the right to say they are tops in the nation right now. They are a prominent team and they have definitely earned that. But I think we’ve also earned the spot to be in the championship game. You can’t really look at the figures?you just have to look at the opponent and the game plan and prepare. That’s why you go out and play the games on Saturday. If you go by the spreads we wouldn’t have lost the last two games.

 

“If each team plays it’s best game I think it would be a great game. Obviously if you have two good offenses and two good defenses going at each other it will put good ratings on the TV charts.”

 

ON HAVING A SUCCESSFUL SEASON AS A SIXTH-YEAR SENIOR?“It’s been a dream. I wasn’t sure if I would get my sixth year of eligibility. I came back and worked out with the team all through the winter and when I finally found out that I was going to get my sixth year I put my head down even harder and went to work. I’ve been lucky to have been able to help the team put some points on the board.”

 

Senior Linebacker Brian Iwuh

 

ON PLAYING TEXAS EARLIER IN THE SEASON?“We learned a lot from that last game. We came out and made too many mistakes. Speaking for the defense, we didn’t make Texas beat us. I think as the season went on our defense got better and we started cutting down on our mistakes. This time around I think it will be more of a competitive game. If they are going to beat us, we are going to make them beat us; they are going to have to earn everything.”

 

ON PLAYING IN HIS HOMETOWN OF HOUSTON? “I’m excited. This will be my third time going home to play in Reliant Stadium. I’m excited to be playing in front of my family and friends.”

 

ON TEXAS QB VINCE YOUNG?“This will be about my seventh time playing against Vince since high school. I think he is a great player. He does a lot of things well and he continues to get better. I like playing against him. I take it as a challenge to go out there and play well. I think our whole defense is going out there to play harder. It’s one thing to go out there and shut down other teams, but when you shut down a great offense it helps your confidence. We have to take advantage of this opportunity we have to play against him. We made a lot of mistakes last game, so I can’t really say that he dominated us. We made a lot of mistakes that we usually don’t make?I don’t know if we were caught up in the moment or what. When I played against him in high school I could see right off the bat that he would be a great college player.”

 

Senior Quarterback Joel Klatt

 

GENERAL? “We know that we haven’t played our best football the last couple of times we’ve been out, so we are looking forward to getting a chance to redeem ourselves a little bit. We are fortunate to be able to do it on a big stage against a great team like Texas.”

 

ON TEXAS? “They are a fantastic football team. They do almost everything very well. The can run the ball, throw the ball and they play tremendous defense. We are going to have to play probably our best game of the year to have a chance. We are looking forward to the opportunity and hopefully we will have that type of effort.

 

“They could be ranked No. 1 if USC wasn’t on this tremendous streak. The spread really means nothing to us. We are going to go out there, cut it loose, have fun with each other and look up at the end of the day and see if we have a chance.”

 

ON PLAYING TEXAS EARLIER IN THE SEASON? “They came out gangbusters and really put us behind the 8-ball. That forced us out of our element a little bit and they didn’t have to continue to pressure us too much to stay ahead in that ballgame. What we hope is that we can come out and play better early so that we force them to make plays for the duration of the game. We want to continue to be in a heavyweight fight with them so hopefully down the line they will break. Someone is going to fall down and we just hope we’re the ones standing at the end.”    

 

ON WHAT HE HAS TO DO TO PREPARE FOR BIG GAMES? “I’m out there in charge of the offense and I need to play a very efficient game and make a lot of good decisions to keep us in the game. I am going to prepare myself the same as I have throughout my career and hopefully I can cut it loose. I’m very much a competitor and can get very hyped up, but you have to realize that every game in and of itself comes down to how I control your emotions.”

 

Several Buffs Make Up All-Conference Team

 

            Eighteen Buffs were selected to the All-Big 12 Team Tuesday, as selected by the conference coaches. Tight end Joe Klopfenstein, center Mark Fenton, place-kicker Mason Crosby and punter John Torp were named to the conference’s first team.

 

            “I think out of that group, Mark Fenton would be the surprise for everybody. Mark Fenton has come the furthest out of any player on our team?maybe the furthest out of any player I’ve ever coached. He has absolutely changed everything in his life to achieve this particular award. He has really worked hard to get to this position and it is cool to see him get acknowledged.

 

 “(Joe Klopfenstein), coming in, I think everybody knew he was a heck of a player and he just had to prove that as a senior and he has certainly had a great year. John Torp is a spectacular young man and a terrific talent and (Mason) Crosby is a once-in-a-lifetime player.”

 

V-Back Lawrence Vickers made the second team as a fullback and wide receiver Stephone Robinson made the second team for his kick and punt return duties. Linebacker Brian Iwuh was also named to the second team.

 

Eleven other buffs were honorable mention All-Big 12 selections: Safety J.J. Billingsley; cornerback Gerett Burl; running back Hugh Charles; offensive lineman Brian Daniels; linebacker Jordon Dizon; safety Tyrone Henderson; quarterback Joel Klatt; defensive tackle Vaka Manupuna; offensive lineman Clint O’Neal; tight end Quinn Sypniewski; linebacker Thaddaeus Washington.