Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Northern Colorado Quotes
vs
Arizona State
Nov 22 (Sat)
TBA
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
General
“Our guys played hard. Coach Collins and the University of Northern Colorado made some big plays on us. I knew their quarterback could throw it and I knew No. 81 (Alex Wesley) can run. We didn’t do a good enough of staying on top of them and they made some plays there. We had some uncustomary penalties. I did a poor job coaching our D-line knowing that they were going to do grid-routes. They did play-action, then got really deep with their quarterback. You come off your blocks and you’re farther away from the quarterback than you are in the usual pocket. Our kids are trying to run and make him hurry and had a couple late hits. It’s a situation where we’ve got to do a better job at coaching them on that. That hurt on us a couple drives for sure. Our offense got after it and did some things. We got called for penalties here and there, but we were moving the ball. The turnovers in the red zone hurt us. We should have had 14 more points there easily and didn’t. Overall, I think we played hard and I think UNC played hard.”
On Quarterback Steven Montez Developing And Maturing
“He sat in the pocket well. The play he made where he gets out of the pocket and has the sixth sense to stay behind the line of scrimmage and just throws that ball to Shay [Fields] was a big-time play. I thought he did well. He ran the ball well today and did some good things there. He played much better.”
On Outside Linebacker Derek McCartney Saying The Defense Didn’t Come Out Ready
“That’s not true. Derek doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We gave up two deep balls. If you take away two of those long balls and three late-hit penalties, then they don’t have many yards at all. We held them to 273 total yards. He can say that. We need to do a better job of teaching them to stay on top on the deep balls and when they come off and when the quarterback is holding the ball. No. 1, we can’t hit him up high, which we do work on, but we’ve got to work on it more. I disagree with what Derek was saying there.”
On What The Team Has Done Well And Needs To Improve Through Three Weeks
“We need to improve everywhere. I think today, I thought Steven made a step forward. We were throwing and catching the ball. The quarterback made some better reads, even on the run. Defensively, we’re still playing pretty stout against the run, which is important. You can’t let a team run on you or you’re going to have a really hard time winning the football game. I still think our special teams are playing pretty well. We had the one bounce when the ball bounced and hit the guy in the back. As far as our special teams, we’re going to have to play really well in Pac-12 games with all the great athletes on the field. Our kickers are kicking the ball excellent. I think we’re making strides there. We need to fix those grid shots. I’m sure [Washington head coach] Chris Peterson will put them in and throw the ball deep. We’ve got to be prepared for that. Hopefully, our offense keeps improving, because we’ve got some weapons out there and it started showing today. They’ve had some good glimpses of it.”
On The Targeting Penalties
“I don’t think I’ve ever had two (in a game). That’s the call by the officials and the replay booth. They’ve got a better look at it, they can slow it down. I’ll go by their calls. We’re trying to protect the young men out there and target the correct way. We’ve got to do a better job of making sure our guys target lower. Sometimes they’re trying to get up there and hit the passer while they’re throwing it and they come down. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”
On Safety Ryan Moeller
“Ryan Moeller got a stinger. He should be back. They’ve got to go by the strength of it. He wasn’t able to get back in the game. It’s funny, every time Fo’ [Laguda] gets a targeting call, Moeller gets hurt. It happened in the Washington State game too. He should be back.”
On Play Of Safeties Nick Fisher And Kyle Trego
“Nick came in and had a few big pass breakups. I was glad to see him back with his hamstring. It was iffy if he was going to be back for sure and he was able to roll. He did well. Kyle plays a lot on our special teams. He’s a physical slasher. You always need a bunch of safeties, because that’s a position that you get called for targeting and get dinged up some. It’s a collision area. I think we’ve got a couple guys that can play. The one positive is that Fo’s [Laguda] targeting happened in the firsts half, so he’ll be back for the whole Washington game and Chris’ [Mulumba] will have to first half of the Washington. It’s a good thing George Frazier is back so he can play in that spot.”
On The Team Being Ready For Pac-12 Play
“We’re really excited for Pac-12 play. We’re excited about Washington coming in here and I know they’re excited about coming in too. It’s a rematch of the Pac-12 Championship Game where they beat us pretty good in the second half.”
On The Play Of The Offensive Line
“As the naked eye goes, I thought they played pretty well. We had a couple holding calls and a couple illegal-man-down-field calls. I’ll put that on myself. We’ve been teaching them to run to the ball and be aggressive, so when we’re scrambling around, we’ve got to understand that when it’s a pass you can’t go down field to make more blocks. They’ve got to understand where the line of scrimmage. We’ll work on it. I’d rather have to crank them down on that than for them to be speed it u
“Our guys played hard. Coach Collins and the University of Northern Colorado made some big plays on us. I knew their quarterback could throw it and I knew No. 81 (Alex Wesley) can run. We didn’t do a good enough of staying on top of them and they made some plays there. We had some uncustomary penalties. I did a poor job coaching our D-line knowing that they were going to do grid-routes. They did play-action, then got really deep with their quarterback. You come off your blocks and you’re farther away from the quarterback than you are in the usual pocket. Our kids are trying to run and make him hurry and had a couple late hits. It’s a situation where we’ve got to do a better job at coaching them on that. That hurt on us a couple drives for sure. Our offense got after it and did some things. We got called for penalties here and there, but we were moving the ball. The turnovers in the red zone hurt us. We should have had 14 more points there easily and didn’t. Overall, I think we played hard and I think UNC played hard.”
On Quarterback Steven Montez Developing And Maturing
“He sat in the pocket well. The play he made where he gets out of the pocket and has the sixth sense to stay behind the line of scrimmage and just throws that ball to Shay [Fields] was a big-time play. I thought he did well. He ran the ball well today and did some good things there. He played much better.”
On Outside Linebacker Derek McCartney Saying The Defense Didn’t Come Out Ready
“That’s not true. Derek doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We gave up two deep balls. If you take away two of those long balls and three late-hit penalties, then they don’t have many yards at all. We held them to 273 total yards. He can say that. We need to do a better job of teaching them to stay on top on the deep balls and when they come off and when the quarterback is holding the ball. No. 1, we can’t hit him up high, which we do work on, but we’ve got to work on it more. I disagree with what Derek was saying there.”
On What The Team Has Done Well And Needs To Improve Through Three Weeks
“We need to improve everywhere. I think today, I thought Steven made a step forward. We were throwing and catching the ball. The quarterback made some better reads, even on the run. Defensively, we’re still playing pretty stout against the run, which is important. You can’t let a team run on you or you’re going to have a really hard time winning the football game. I still think our special teams are playing pretty well. We had the one bounce when the ball bounced and hit the guy in the back. As far as our special teams, we’re going to have to play really well in Pac-12 games with all the great athletes on the field. Our kickers are kicking the ball excellent. I think we’re making strides there. We need to fix those grid shots. I’m sure [Washington head coach] Chris Peterson will put them in and throw the ball deep. We’ve got to be prepared for that. Hopefully, our offense keeps improving, because we’ve got some weapons out there and it started showing today. They’ve had some good glimpses of it.”
On The Targeting Penalties
“I don’t think I’ve ever had two (in a game). That’s the call by the officials and the replay booth. They’ve got a better look at it, they can slow it down. I’ll go by their calls. We’re trying to protect the young men out there and target the correct way. We’ve got to do a better job of making sure our guys target lower. Sometimes they’re trying to get up there and hit the passer while they’re throwing it and they come down. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”
On Safety Ryan Moeller
“Ryan Moeller got a stinger. He should be back. They’ve got to go by the strength of it. He wasn’t able to get back in the game. It’s funny, every time Fo’ [Laguda] gets a targeting call, Moeller gets hurt. It happened in the Washington State game too. He should be back.”
On Play Of Safeties Nick Fisher And Kyle Trego
“Nick came in and had a few big pass breakups. I was glad to see him back with his hamstring. It was iffy if he was going to be back for sure and he was able to roll. He did well. Kyle plays a lot on our special teams. He’s a physical slasher. You always need a bunch of safeties, because that’s a position that you get called for targeting and get dinged up some. It’s a collision area. I think we’ve got a couple guys that can play. The one positive is that Fo’s [Laguda] targeting happened in the firsts half, so he’ll be back for the whole Washington game and Chris’ [Mulumba] will have to first half of the Washington. It’s a good thing George Frazier is back so he can play in that spot.”
On The Team Being Ready For Pac-12 Play
“We’re really excited for Pac-12 play. We’re excited about Washington coming in here and I know they’re excited about coming in too. It’s a rematch of the Pac-12 Championship Game where they beat us pretty good in the second half.”
On The Play Of The Offensive Line
“As the naked eye goes, I thought they played pretty well. We had a couple holding calls and a couple illegal-man-down-field calls. I’ll put that on myself. We’ve been teaching them to run to the ball and be aggressive, so when we’re scrambling around, we’ve got to understand that when it’s a pass you can’t go down field to make more blocks. They’ve got to understand where the line of scrimmage. We’ll work on it. I’d rather have to crank them down on that than for them to be speed it u
On Switching Between Two Centers
“We’ll look at it. Jon [Huckins] has played well for us and Timmy [Lynott, Jr.] has played center for us, so he’s played different spots. We’ll look and diagnose how it’ll help beat Washington. It does give us options, and I think good options, not a Band-Aid option. We’ve got some guys that can play in there and do well. Jon could’ve gone, but he didn’t practice all week until Friday. He was cleared. If Timmy would’ve gotten hurt, he would have been able to play. He should be full speed this week and we’ve got to see how we want to play it against Washington.”
On Last Year’s Pac-12 Championship Game
“You can’t ever forget it. Our young men will use it as motivation. I won’t have to say much about it at all. They’re an excellent team and really well coached. They’re clicking and they’ve got a great quarterback. Defensively, they’ve got their linebacker back who was suspended. He’s one of the best linebackers in the country. It’s going to be a tough, tough game. They’re coming to Folsom and we love playing here. This is what you dream about as a player and a coach, to get to turn around and play them that quick again after them beating us last year. It’s exciting for our kids and it’s exciting for Washington. I know they’re thinking about it too.”
On Playing Washington For First Pac-12 Game
“I don’t know if there is an easy Pac-12 game. We’ve got to scratch and claw for every one we want to win. Everybody’s good. They’re all good. I do like having our first Pac-12 game at home.’
On Playing First Four Games In Colorado
“I like playing our first four games at home, but of course I’d like to play our next eight at home too. The first one was in Denver, but we consider that at home. We don’t have to get on an airplane and you don’t get in late for the night afterwards. We’ve had excellent crowds and this place has been a lot of fun. I hope it’s packed this Saturday night, then we’ll be on the road after that.”
On Cleaning Up Mistakes
“You always want to clean everything up. In sports, nothing goes perfectly very often. You have to learn how to adapt and how to handle adversity and handle situations and keep playing. We just keep playing. When we won against Washington State and Utah at the end of the year, we were behind and we came back. We just kept playing. It wasn’t always pretty. We found a way to win. I believe this team has the same fortitude and same effort to be able to do that.”
On Growth Of Quarterback Steven Montez Since Fall Camp
“What I’ve learned about him, just like I saw in the Oregon game the first time, is that he really doesn’t let anything affect him. He’ll have a big play and he’ll get excited, but if he has a bad play, he just keeps playing. He has confidence, but it’s also not a cocky confidence. He just plays. Coach [Bill] Parcells always used to say that you want to watch how a young man reacts when he throws a pick, when he gets hit and when he screws something up. How is he going to come back from that? Steven comes back. Nothing bothers him. That’s a great quality. I’ve been pleased with how he’s done that.”
On Kicker James Stefanou Kicking Well
“I definitely think he has great confidence. He’s a phenomenal talent. You see how quick and high he gets that ball out. I’ve been pleased with him. Davis Price has done well, I’ve been impressed with him. Alex [Kinney] has done well punting. Our long snapper JT Bale has done well. T.J. [Patterson] is a brand new holder and he’s done a great job. I’ve been pleased with our kickers and how they’ve done. Our coverage unit on punt did well today, we’ve been working on that. We haven’t really had a kickoff returned on us yet. That’s what I’ve wanted to see improved. We fixed some things there. The team we play this week has a few phenomenal returners.”
On Punt Returners
“We put Jay [MacIntyre] back there. We put Ronnie [Blackmon] back and we put Isaiah [Oliver] back. Isaiah was taking a lot of hits last game, so I wanted to be able to have guys rotate in there with that. You never know when someone’s going to get injured. You’ve got to have more than one. Today was a good game to rotate some guys back there. It was a situation where those guys could get some confidence back there.”
On Former Buffs In The NFL And Chidobe Awuzie And The Dallas Cowboys Playing The Denver Broncos Tomorrow
“I text them before their games and I talk to them a little bit afterwards. I think I watched one play of the Cowboys the other day, and the one play I watched Chido [Awuzie] kind of messed his ankle up. So, I said I’m not going to watch anymore. We had some guys here that were on some teams that got cut and they’re hoping to get back on. Kenneth Olugbode was here today and yesterday he came to practice. It was awesome seeing him. I’m excited for Chido and I know he’s excited about coming to Denver and playing. I won’t see any of the game, because I’ll be working. I’ll find out how he did afterwards and he’ll text me about it and we’ll talk.”
Northern Colorado Head Coach Earnest Collins, Jr.
General“When you come play a Pac-12 team and you start three freshmen on the offensive line, and you can throw for what should have been four touchdowns. They grew up today. I really wanted to see how those dudes were going to perform against this competition. I told them that I wanted to see heart, I want to see the muscle that you can’t condition. They came out and showed it today. We learned a lot about ourselves this week. Now we’ll get back and watch some film and see where we have to tweak some things defensively, offensively, on special teams, and we’ll get ready for next week.”
On Being One Play Away In The Second Half
“We talked about it at halftime, I told these guys, ‘we get the ball first, we’re going to go out and score a touchdown, we’re going to get a turnover and give the ball back to our offense to go tie it up.’ Some of it came true, but we didn’t go out there and get that second touchdown. Like I said, my guys fought. It’s not about moral victories, it’s about what you learning about yourself. I know that we’ve got a team with guys full of heart and they will fight their tails off to go get W’s. We’re going to take it one week at a time and continue getting better.”
On Whether He Was Worried About His Quarterback Jacob Knipp After Taking Several Big Hits
“No (I wasn’t worried). Not with him, he’s one of the toughest dudes I know. Like I say, if he weren’t playing quarterback for us, he would be playing middle linebacker. That’s the mentality that he has. I made him look me in the eyes after he got hit, and he looked at me and knew what I wanted. He said, ‘coach, I’m fine.’ That’s just his personality. He’s never going to come off, you’ve got to carry him off the field.”
On Hakeem Deggs Dropping a Long Pass
“No question (it hurt us). Not just that play. We talked about all week, when the quarterback scrambles, he scrambles to throw, not to run. There were a lot of plays in there that could’ve changed the game, not just that one to (Hakeem) Deggs. There were a few mistakes in that game that could’ve changed the outcome. That’s where you learn. That’s where you grow.”
On Colorado’s Success Taking Away The Run
“That’s how we were able to get over the top on them a few times. Trae [Riek] was getting chunk yardage, 4 or 5-yards here and there, so they had to respect it. That’s the motor of our offense, that’s what makes us go. We do a good job. (Offensive Coordinator) Jon (Boyer) of taking what the defense is going to give us. We knew we weren’t going to able to just run, run, run.”
On Whether He Thought Team Depth Played A Role In The Game
“No, it wasn’t a big part of it but you could see it in our pass rush. We don’t have the depth to have eight, nine, 10 guys. We were rotating them in, but when you’re playing at a higher level they’re backups are just as good as the first team, and they’re going in and rolling. We’re trying to develop our guys to be that, but we’re not quite there yet. We’ll work on it. We’ll get into the film room and figure out how to improve our pass rush.”
On Postgame Message To The Team
“(It was) about their fight. I know they were probably wondering why I wasn’t calling timeouts with four or five minutes left in the game. This game wasn’t important enough for me to risk (Jacob) Knipp getting hurt or Trae (Riek) getting hurt so let’s get the heck out of here and get ready for conference play.”
On Being One Play Away In The Second Half
“We talked about it at halftime, I told these guys, ‘we get the ball first, we’re going to go out and score a touchdown, we’re going to get a turnover and give the ball back to our offense to go tie it up.’ Some of it came true, but we didn’t go out there and get that second touchdown. Like I said, my guys fought. It’s not about moral victories, it’s about what you learning about yourself. I know that we’ve got a team with guys full of heart and they will fight their tails off to go get W’s. We’re going to take it one week at a time and continue getting better.”
On Whether He Was Worried About His Quarterback Jacob Knipp After Taking Several Big Hits
“No (I wasn’t worried). Not with him, he’s one of the toughest dudes I know. Like I say, if he weren’t playing quarterback for us, he would be playing middle linebacker. That’s the mentality that he has. I made him look me in the eyes after he got hit, and he looked at me and knew what I wanted. He said, ‘coach, I’m fine.’ That’s just his personality. He’s never going to come off, you’ve got to carry him off the field.”
On Hakeem Deggs Dropping a Long Pass
“No question (it hurt us). Not just that play. We talked about all week, when the quarterback scrambles, he scrambles to throw, not to run. There were a lot of plays in there that could’ve changed the game, not just that one to (Hakeem) Deggs. There were a few mistakes in that game that could’ve changed the outcome. That’s where you learn. That’s where you grow.”
On Colorado’s Success Taking Away The Run
“That’s how we were able to get over the top on them a few times. Trae [Riek] was getting chunk yardage, 4 or 5-yards here and there, so they had to respect it. That’s the motor of our offense, that’s what makes us go. We do a good job. (Offensive Coordinator) Jon (Boyer) of taking what the defense is going to give us. We knew we weren’t going to able to just run, run, run.”
On Whether He Thought Team Depth Played A Role In The Game
“No, it wasn’t a big part of it but you could see it in our pass rush. We don’t have the depth to have eight, nine, 10 guys. We were rotating them in, but when you’re playing at a higher level they’re backups are just as good as the first team, and they’re going in and rolling. We’re trying to develop our guys to be that, but we’re not quite there yet. We’ll work on it. We’ll get into the film room and figure out how to improve our pass rush.”
On Postgame Message To The Team
“(It was) about their fight. I know they were probably wondering why I wasn’t calling timeouts with four or five minutes left in the game. This game wasn’t important enough for me to risk (Jacob) Knipp getting hurt or Trae (Riek) getting hurt so let’s get the heck out of here and get ready for conference play.”
Colorado Players
RB Phillip Lindsay
ON PLAYING AGAINST HIS BROTHER- “Definitely, it was a good feeling to get out on the field with my brother. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to play with him, he’s my best friend. It was just a good feeling to see him out there playing. We’ve never been able to play on the same field before. It’s a good feeling, it’s going to be fun and I’ll see him later.”
ON IF THE OFFENSE HAS REACHED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL- “I mean yeah, every team in the nation is going to have sputters and stuff. Not every drive is going to be perfect. I mean it doesn’t matter how many points we put up, you guys are never going to be satisfied, but to us, we don’t care. We’re going to go out there and play ball and we’re going to score what we need to. (Steven) Montez is doing a great job.”
ON WHAT THE TEAM NEEDS TO FOCUS ON BEFORE WASHINGTON- “Just physical. We have to be physical and we have to have that same mindset. They have a lot of talented players and they’re going to play ball, but you know what? We were in the Pac-12 championship too. So we’re going to show what we have too. We’re going to go out and play Colorado football and I think now you guys are going to start to see an all-around team. There’s a lot to this game that people can’t see from a far distance. So when we start playing our game it’s going to be a dog fight.”
ON THE KEY TO COONSISTENCY ON OFFENSE- “We have to move the ball, period. We have to be able to run the ball and get first downs. We have to keep our defense off the field. They’re a great defense and we’re a great offense, and like I said when we play Washington, it’s going to be a dog fight. But you know, we’re ready for that, we’re both going to put our pads on and we’re going to go out there and hopefully win a Pac-12 championship.”
ON IF THE OFFENSE HAS REACHED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL- “I mean yeah, every team in the nation is going to have sputters and stuff. Not every drive is going to be perfect. I mean it doesn’t matter how many points we put up, you guys are never going to be satisfied, but to us, we don’t care. We’re going to go out there and play ball and we’re going to score what we need to. (Steven) Montez is doing a great job.”
ON WHAT THE TEAM NEEDS TO FOCUS ON BEFORE WASHINGTON- “Just physical. We have to be physical and we have to have that same mindset. They have a lot of talented players and they’re going to play ball, but you know what? We were in the Pac-12 championship too. So we’re going to show what we have too. We’re going to go out and play Colorado football and I think now you guys are going to start to see an all-around team. There’s a lot to this game that people can’t see from a far distance. So when we start playing our game it’s going to be a dog fight.”
ON THE KEY TO COONSISTENCY ON OFFENSE- “We have to move the ball, period. We have to be able to run the ball and get first downs. We have to keep our defense off the field. They’re a great defense and we’re a great offense, and like I said when we play Washington, it’s going to be a dog fight. But you know, we’re ready for that, we’re both going to put our pads on and we’re going to go out there and hopefully win a Pac-12 championship.”
WR Shay Fields
ON IF THE OFFENSE STILL IS NOT COMPLETE- “Yeah I mean we did some good things and some bad things, but we did a lot of bad things that we need to fix before we play Washington. That’s what we have to do this week in practice.”
ON IF THE TEAM WAS LOOKING AHEAD TO WASHINGTON- “No I mean we came out and we missed some assignments to be honest. They did some good things on defense, we just have to fix that before Washington like I said and just get ready.”
ON THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN MONTEZ AND FIELDS- “I mean it just happens to work like that. He just happens to roll out to my side and the defensive back just stands around and I’m just turning up the field.”
ON ALL FOUR RECEIVERS CATCHING A TOUCHDOWN- “Oh yeah it’s nice, I mean when you see everyone in the receiving core catch a touchdown, I mean that’s just a special moment. It probably happens once a year if that but just that to happen to every receiver that’s just a great thing.”
ON THE TEAM GETTING AWAY WITH MISTAKES- “I mean just practice. Work habits and just going over them in practice. Going over it, going over it, it’s a mental repetition and that way you know what you’re doing when it comes to Washington so we don’t make those mistakes when it comes to the game.”
ON IF THE TEAM WAS LOOKING AHEAD TO WASHINGTON- “No I mean we came out and we missed some assignments to be honest. They did some good things on defense, we just have to fix that before Washington like I said and just get ready.”
ON THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN MONTEZ AND FIELDS- “I mean it just happens to work like that. He just happens to roll out to my side and the defensive back just stands around and I’m just turning up the field.”
ON ALL FOUR RECEIVERS CATCHING A TOUCHDOWN- “Oh yeah it’s nice, I mean when you see everyone in the receiving core catch a touchdown, I mean that’s just a special moment. It probably happens once a year if that but just that to happen to every receiver that’s just a great thing.”
ON THE TEAM GETTING AWAY WITH MISTAKES- “I mean just practice. Work habits and just going over them in practice. Going over it, going over it, it’s a mental repetition and that way you know what you’re doing when it comes to Washington so we don’t make those mistakes when it comes to the game.”
OT Jeromy Irwin
ON HIS RETURN TO THE FIELD- “It felt great getting back on the field. Last year I wasn’t on the field much so it’s nice to be out there and have a presence.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE BECOMING STRONGER- “It’s just going to have to take everyone doing their job. You know we had a lot of penalties which is going to need to be cleaned up. Some of them were questionable but the refs did a great job. We’re just going to have to look at the film and know what we did wrong. As for the offensive line though, they did say we were going to be good but it really doesn’t matter what people are saying. It matters how we play and we cleaned up some sacks this week, you know? I let someone in the backfield and (Steven) Montez ended up getting sacked so I had to shake off some rust but overall as a group when we’re out there I feel like there’s more of a physical presence. Gerrad (Kough) and some of the other guys played hard and it was good to be back.”
ON IF THE OFFENSE IS STILL NOT COMPLETE- “Yeah I would say so, I mean we had chances to put Northern Colorado away and scheme wise they came out there and they did a lot of stuff and their coaches working with what they had I mean we’re a lot bigger and stronger than them so to do what they did with what they had is pretty good. When we have the opportunity to put someone away we need to do it. That’s something we’ve been struggling to do so next week against Washington will be a big test.”
ON THE OFFENSE BECOME A WHOLE- “Technique. I mean that’s really all it comes down to at the end of the day. We’ve got the talent, the size, the speed so whenever we come out to practice we have to have a better mentality of trying to work on our craft and I spoke to Montez for a long time about that. If you don’t play how you want to during the week in practice, you’re not going to play like you want to on Saturday. So it’s going to have to be us coming out next week and working hard. Getting our technique cleaned up and getting ready for the Huskies is the main thing.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE BECOMING STRONGER- “It’s just going to have to take everyone doing their job. You know we had a lot of penalties which is going to need to be cleaned up. Some of them were questionable but the refs did a great job. We’re just going to have to look at the film and know what we did wrong. As for the offensive line though, they did say we were going to be good but it really doesn’t matter what people are saying. It matters how we play and we cleaned up some sacks this week, you know? I let someone in the backfield and (Steven) Montez ended up getting sacked so I had to shake off some rust but overall as a group when we’re out there I feel like there’s more of a physical presence. Gerrad (Kough) and some of the other guys played hard and it was good to be back.”
ON IF THE OFFENSE IS STILL NOT COMPLETE- “Yeah I would say so, I mean we had chances to put Northern Colorado away and scheme wise they came out there and they did a lot of stuff and their coaches working with what they had I mean we’re a lot bigger and stronger than them so to do what they did with what they had is pretty good. When we have the opportunity to put someone away we need to do it. That’s something we’ve been struggling to do so next week against Washington will be a big test.”
ON THE OFFENSE BECOME A WHOLE- “Technique. I mean that’s really all it comes down to at the end of the day. We’ve got the talent, the size, the speed so whenever we come out to practice we have to have a better mentality of trying to work on our craft and I spoke to Montez for a long time about that. If you don’t play how you want to during the week in practice, you’re not going to play like you want to on Saturday. So it’s going to have to be us coming out next week and working hard. Getting our technique cleaned up and getting ready for the Huskies is the main thing.”
QB Steven Montez
ON IF HE GOT HURT ON ANY OF THE HITS HE TOOK – “No, I finished the game. It’s football, grown men are running into each other and hitting each other real hard so bumps and bruises are going to happen. I’m fine.”
ON THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFENSE- “I think we’re just continually getting better. I think that’s what’s going on. I think we’re starting to gel a little bit more, I think the O-Line is starting to come together. Our receivers and quarterbacks are starting to come together and I think it’s starting to show out there. We just keep building these blocks and keep getting better and better each week. Hopefully our finished product will look really good.”
ON GOING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY- “I think we’re ready to go. There’s still some things we can improve on, which there is going to be the whole entire season. I’m pretty happy with where we’re at right now.”
ON IF THEY OVERLOOK UNC- “They’re competitors just like we are. They come out and play the game. Nobody wants to come out and get embarrassed and they played very well today. I think they played well, I think their defense played well, I think their offense played well. I think that quarterback number seven is a freak, he’s very good. They came out to play, but we walked out with a victory so that’s really all that matters to me to be honest.”
ON THEIR NEW ROUTE- “We worked that route all offseason, all spring, all summer. We come in on Saturdays and throw and we work that route every time. It just shows the kind of work we put in on that.”
ON HIS PHYSICALITY- “I know Coach Mac (Mike MacIntyre) and Coach (Brian) Lindgren don’t like me to finish runs like the way I did today. I know they’re leading towards the sliding thing, but I mean its football. Dudes are talking a whole bunch trash out there and things are getting a little hot so I kind of get a little fired up and I like to hit people too, I like to be physical. I think the run game makes us a little more dynamic, when the quarterback is actually a threat running. It helps take some of the load of Phil (Lindsay).”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE- “I think they played very well today. I think you guys saw at the end that they just took the game over. We were just kind of riding them. We were handing it off to Phil and getting big chunks of yards. Those big boys up front are working real hard. They played a really good game.”
ON IF HE TRIES TO SPREAD THE BALL AROUND THE OFFESNE- “I don’t really try intentionally to spread the ball around. It kind of just happens with whatever read we’re going through. I just go through my progressions. Whether Devin (Ross) catches four touchdowns or each receiver catches one touchdown, either way, as long as we win its fine.”
ON TEMPERING THE PENALTIES- “When you’re scrambling out of the pocket some of those penalties and stuff happen. It’s just going to happen, that’s football. We just have to limit that and clean it up. We’re going to work on that as a team.”
ON THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFENSE- “I think we’re just continually getting better. I think that’s what’s going on. I think we’re starting to gel a little bit more, I think the O-Line is starting to come together. Our receivers and quarterbacks are starting to come together and I think it’s starting to show out there. We just keep building these blocks and keep getting better and better each week. Hopefully our finished product will look really good.”
ON GOING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY- “I think we’re ready to go. There’s still some things we can improve on, which there is going to be the whole entire season. I’m pretty happy with where we’re at right now.”
ON IF THEY OVERLOOK UNC- “They’re competitors just like we are. They come out and play the game. Nobody wants to come out and get embarrassed and they played very well today. I think they played well, I think their defense played well, I think their offense played well. I think that quarterback number seven is a freak, he’s very good. They came out to play, but we walked out with a victory so that’s really all that matters to me to be honest.”
ON THEIR NEW ROUTE- “We worked that route all offseason, all spring, all summer. We come in on Saturdays and throw and we work that route every time. It just shows the kind of work we put in on that.”
ON HIS PHYSICALITY- “I know Coach Mac (Mike MacIntyre) and Coach (Brian) Lindgren don’t like me to finish runs like the way I did today. I know they’re leading towards the sliding thing, but I mean its football. Dudes are talking a whole bunch trash out there and things are getting a little hot so I kind of get a little fired up and I like to hit people too, I like to be physical. I think the run game makes us a little more dynamic, when the quarterback is actually a threat running. It helps take some of the load of Phil (Lindsay).”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE- “I think they played very well today. I think you guys saw at the end that they just took the game over. We were just kind of riding them. We were handing it off to Phil and getting big chunks of yards. Those big boys up front are working real hard. They played a really good game.”
ON IF HE TRIES TO SPREAD THE BALL AROUND THE OFFESNE- “I don’t really try intentionally to spread the ball around. It kind of just happens with whatever read we’re going through. I just go through my progressions. Whether Devin (Ross) catches four touchdowns or each receiver catches one touchdown, either way, as long as we win its fine.”
ON TEMPERING THE PENALTIES- “When you’re scrambling out of the pocket some of those penalties and stuff happen. It’s just going to happen, that’s football. We just have to limit that and clean it up. We’re going to work on that as a team.”
WR Devin Ross
ON GOING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY- “We’re definitely ready. We’ve had a good few weeks and offensively we’re just scratching the surface. We’ve got a lot of potential as you can see and we’ve got to come out this next week and be ready for Pac-12 play. It’s going to be a tough opponent, a rematch of the Pac-12 championship, and we’re ready.
ON THEIR NEW ROUTE - “We’ve been working on that since last season. Me and (Steven) Montez have a really good connection on that route and as you can see it worked pretty well today. I was glad we got to connect for a few good plays. It was a good route for us this week.”
ON HIS FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON- “It definitely felt great, personally. I’m not a selfish person at all though so I’m just glad we got the win. I do like to produce though so I’m glad I got my first touchdown of the season.”
ON THEIR NEW ROUTE - “We’ve been working on that since last season. Me and (Steven) Montez have a really good connection on that route and as you can see it worked pretty well today. I was glad we got to connect for a few good plays. It was a good route for us this week.”
ON HIS FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON- “It definitely felt great, personally. I’m not a selfish person at all though so I’m just glad we got the win. I do like to produce though so I’m glad I got my first touchdown of the season.”
LB Derek McCartney
ON WHAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEFENSE’S STRUGGLES TODAY – “We did not come out very hard today. Northern Colorado played really hard. That was one of the things that was just different between us. We just didn’t come ready to play and we have to get better. We have to be ready in an early morning game.”
ON THE ATTTUDE OF THE TEAM AFTER NORTHERN COLORADO’S FIRST SCORE – “We look at each other and we understand that sometimes we are going to get scored on. It is going to happen. It is football. You are not going to shut every team out. We just have to move on to the next play and keep playing.”
ON THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE SLOPPY START – “It is disappointing. We are not really proud of the way we played but you learn from it – that is what we are going to do.”
ON THE ABILTY OF NORTHERN COLORADO’S WIDE RECIEVERS TO GET BEHIND COLORADO’S DEFENSE – “Some of that may be mental errors. As a guy who rushes the passer, I put that on us. We have to find a way to put more pressure on the quarterback so he can’t make those throws.”
ON HOW TO REDUCE THE PENTALITES GOING FORWARD – “We just have to be more disciplined. That is a part of not coming ready to play today. We have to make better decisions and that is really what it comes down to.”
ON IF COLORADO’S DEFENSE OVERLOOKED NORTHERN COLORADO COMING INTO THE GAME – “I don’t really know that we overlooked them as much as we just didn’t come ready. I feel like it all has to do with us and we have to get better.”
ON THE ATTTUDE OF THE TEAM AFTER NORTHERN COLORADO’S FIRST SCORE – “We look at each other and we understand that sometimes we are going to get scored on. It is going to happen. It is football. You are not going to shut every team out. We just have to move on to the next play and keep playing.”
ON THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE SLOPPY START – “It is disappointing. We are not really proud of the way we played but you learn from it – that is what we are going to do.”
ON THE ABILTY OF NORTHERN COLORADO’S WIDE RECIEVERS TO GET BEHIND COLORADO’S DEFENSE – “Some of that may be mental errors. As a guy who rushes the passer, I put that on us. We have to find a way to put more pressure on the quarterback so he can’t make those throws.”
ON HOW TO REDUCE THE PENTALITES GOING FORWARD – “We just have to be more disciplined. That is a part of not coming ready to play today. We have to make better decisions and that is really what it comes down to.”
ON IF COLORADO’S DEFENSE OVERLOOKED NORTHERN COLORADO COMING INTO THE GAME – “I don’t really know that we overlooked them as much as we just didn’t come ready. I feel like it all has to do with us and we have to get better.”
DB Nick Fisher
ON PLAYING AGAIN AFTER INJURY SUSTAINED DURING FALL CAMP - “It felt good. Things were fast though since I’ve been out for a while, since August 3. Today was my first actual time getting back but it was good. I definitely was [shaking off rust in the first half]. I’ve just been chilling in regular clothes watching football. So this was the first week that I came back. They needed me and I tried to influence the game.”
ON FINDING HIS RHYTHM - “Catching the rhythm [was the hardest part]. When you get back in you just get thrown. Other players are used to other teammates working with them so I haven’t gotten all of my kinks out. This was my first game so I don’t want to hold the team back since I haven’t played in so long, I haven’t worked out all of my kinks. That’s the hardest thing.”
ON DEFENSIVE ADJUSTEMENTS - “When we go into Pac-12 play, when they make their plays they’re going to execute and if we’re not doing what we’re meant to be doing, that’s going to be six points every time. Even UNC was doing it to us. Whether it’s bad reads or our safety not kicking back or our corner not playing the grid right; that translates to points.”
ON THE TARGETING PENALTY – “There’s no real way to keep it from happening. It’s the ref’s call every time. We never think it’s targeting unless it’s obvious. We’re usually just trying to come in there and make a statement. It happens so fast so it’s kind of hard to prevent it. The only way you can is to be really cautious. When you’re going in to make a tackle, really get your eyes to the thighs and wrap it up, not just trying to come in and really hit someone. You have to stay low and any time you hit up high, there’s the risk of targeting because you could lead with the shoulder towards the head or neck area. It’ stuff we work on all the timeout when you get in the heat of the moment, you’re really trying to get the other team to the ground and the intensity really plays into it.”
ON FINDING HIS RHYTHM - “Catching the rhythm [was the hardest part]. When you get back in you just get thrown. Other players are used to other teammates working with them so I haven’t gotten all of my kinks out. This was my first game so I don’t want to hold the team back since I haven’t played in so long, I haven’t worked out all of my kinks. That’s the hardest thing.”
ON DEFENSIVE ADJUSTEMENTS - “When we go into Pac-12 play, when they make their plays they’re going to execute and if we’re not doing what we’re meant to be doing, that’s going to be six points every time. Even UNC was doing it to us. Whether it’s bad reads or our safety not kicking back or our corner not playing the grid right; that translates to points.”
ON THE TARGETING PENALTY – “There’s no real way to keep it from happening. It’s the ref’s call every time. We never think it’s targeting unless it’s obvious. We’re usually just trying to come in there and make a statement. It happens so fast so it’s kind of hard to prevent it. The only way you can is to be really cautious. When you’re going in to make a tackle, really get your eyes to the thighs and wrap it up, not just trying to come in and really hit someone. You have to stay low and any time you hit up high, there’s the risk of targeting because you could lead with the shoulder towards the head or neck area. It’ stuff we work on all the timeout when you get in the heat of the moment, you’re really trying to get the other team to the ground and the intensity really plays into it.”
OG Gerrad Kough
ON TODAY’S PLAY - “We’re never content with what we do. We always want to get better week in and week out. We played better but there’s still a lot we need to work on.”
ON MENTALITY GOING INTO WEEK THREE - “It’s week three, we have a whole week ahead of us before we play Washington so were going to keep trying to get things together and keep working.”
ON WHERE IMPROVEMNTS NEED TO BE MADE - “We just have to keep playing. Regardless of what goes on behind us or with the receivers, we just have to keep fighting. If it takes 10 seconds, it takes 10 seconds. We just have to keep playing. We have to keep working on finishing and keep playing physically.”
ON PREPARATION FOR WASHINGTON - “Every week we treat the opponent the same. We come out and we prepare the same. Guys are ready to go and we’re just going to rock with it.”
ON MENTALITY GOING INTO WEEK THREE - “It’s week three, we have a whole week ahead of us before we play Washington so were going to keep trying to get things together and keep working.”
ON WHERE IMPROVEMNTS NEED TO BE MADE - “We just have to keep playing. Regardless of what goes on behind us or with the receivers, we just have to keep fighting. If it takes 10 seconds, it takes 10 seconds. We just have to keep playing. We have to keep working on finishing and keep playing physically.”
ON PREPARATION FOR WASHINGTON - “Every week we treat the opponent the same. We come out and we prepare the same. Guys are ready to go and we’re just going to rock with it.”
LB Drew Lewis
ON IF THE TEAM HAS MET THE EXPECTATIONS ENTERING THE SEASON – “We’ve performed well. We know where we are at right now. We can’t predict the future. We are going to see what happens next week when we get in to conference play. I am pretty satisfied with our defense and myself as well. I feel like we have been playing a lot more sound than we have in the past. We have been improving every game. It should be interesting when we go into this next week.”
ON HOW TO REDUCE THE PENTALITES GOING FORWARD – “I think it was a lot of mental errors. The offside, false starts, and the ejections just comes with being disciplined and knowing when to lay off the receiver if he’s defenseless.”
ON IF COLORADO’S DEFENSE OVERLOOKED NORTHERN COLORADO COMING INTO THE GAME – “I think this is one of their biggest games of the year. We did not treat it as one of our biggest games. It does not matter who the opponent is. We were lackadaisical coming into the game and it obviously showed in the first drive. We know where we need to improve.”
ON HOW TO REDUCE THE PENTALITES GOING FORWARD – “I think it was a lot of mental errors. The offside, false starts, and the ejections just comes with being disciplined and knowing when to lay off the receiver if he’s defenseless.”
ON IF COLORADO’S DEFENSE OVERLOOKED NORTHERN COLORADO COMING INTO THE GAME – “I think this is one of their biggest games of the year. We did not treat it as one of our biggest games. It does not matter who the opponent is. We were lackadaisical coming into the game and it obviously showed in the first drive. We know where we need to improve.”
Northern Colorado Players
QB Jacob Knipp
ON HIS THREE TOUCHDOWN PASSES - “Yeah it was just straight man-to-man coverage and we were able to get Alex Wesley on those first two down the middle. He was able to put a move on the safety and get over the top so I just threw it and let him get under it.”
ON HIS HEALTH AFTER TAKING HARD HITS – “Yeah I’m fine, it’s just something they have to go through when you get hit in the head. I got hit in the back of the head so they just wanted to take caution and see if it was anything but I am fine.”
ON ANY DEFENSIVE SURPRISES BY CU - “They came out and pretty much did what we thought they were going to do. I think that they started to become aware of our speed on offense so they started play off a little bit, so then we were trying to take advantage of some of the short stuff. They came out how we expected so we were able to capitalize a few times.”
ON TRYING TO MAKE A BIG PLAY – “You can knit pick all you want. I think there in the second half once we got that turnover, that was our time that we should have put our foot on the gas. We didn’t execute, in these types of games you have to come out and execute. You can’t make small mistakes because teams like this will capitalize on them.”
ON ANY TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY – “You take the good and the bad so we are going to go watch film tomorrow. We will take the good and learn from the bad so that we can carry it over to conference play.”
ON HIS HEALTH AFTER TAKING HARD HITS – “Yeah I’m fine, it’s just something they have to go through when you get hit in the head. I got hit in the back of the head so they just wanted to take caution and see if it was anything but I am fine.”
ON ANY DEFENSIVE SURPRISES BY CU - “They came out and pretty much did what we thought they were going to do. I think that they started to become aware of our speed on offense so they started play off a little bit, so then we were trying to take advantage of some of the short stuff. They came out how we expected so we were able to capitalize a few times.”
ON TRYING TO MAKE A BIG PLAY – “You can knit pick all you want. I think there in the second half once we got that turnover, that was our time that we should have put our foot on the gas. We didn’t execute, in these types of games you have to come out and execute. You can’t make small mistakes because teams like this will capitalize on them.”
ON ANY TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY – “You take the good and the bad so we are going to go watch film tomorrow. We will take the good and learn from the bad so that we can carry it over to conference play.”
WR Alex Wesley
ON HOW HE SCORED HIS TOUCHDOWNS – “I mean we just we watch film. We saw what they were going to do against those routes and came out and executed. I was able to beat #26 (Isaiah Oliver) on a couple of routes and (Jacob) Knipp put the ball there.”
ON WHETHER OR NOT HIS ROUTES WERE AVAILABLE FOR THE WHOLE GAME - “It was there and we took our shots and connected on a couple of them. We’re just ready for conference now.”
ON MOVING FORWARD – “We’re looking to ride this momentum into conference. We want to win the conference, obviously. I feel like we have a team that can do that.”
ON WHETHER THE CANCELLED GAME GAVE THEM EXTRA TIME TO PREPARE - “I think it did. We got to get off our feet. We got a couple of extra days to practice, we got to watch the film, so I think it helped us.”
ON WHETHER OR NOT HIS ROUTES WERE AVAILABLE FOR THE WHOLE GAME - “It was there and we took our shots and connected on a couple of them. We’re just ready for conference now.”
ON MOVING FORWARD – “We’re looking to ride this momentum into conference. We want to win the conference, obviously. I feel like we have a team that can do that.”
ON WHETHER THE CANCELLED GAME GAVE THEM EXTRA TIME TO PREPARE - “I think it did. We got to get off our feet. We got a couple of extra days to practice, we got to watch the film, so I think it helped us.”
S Stone Kane
ON HIS INTERCEPTION - “We were in two-high coverage and I was dropping back. I saw them throw that inside ball and it was a little high so I knew it was coming to me and I just tried to dig in.”
ON IF CU’s SPEED WAS A FACTOR – “I think the biggest difference between these two teams is their depth. They’ve [CU] got a few more guys than us. But, I feel like we match up pretty well with them. They weren’t getting behind us very often, so I think we matched up well.”
ON IF DEFENSE WORE DOWN – “No, We were pretty pumped up for this game, obviously. It was a big opportunity for all of us. We came out and played and it was a great game of football.”
ON HOW THIS GAME WILL AFFECT THEIR CONFERENCE PLAY - “We don’t prepare any differently for a Pac-12 game than we do for a conference game. It’s just opponent number two and opponent number three. We’re going to take the same approach that we took this week, into conference play next week. We’ve felt like all year that we’re going to be a good team. I’m excited. “
ON IF CU’s SPEED WAS A FACTOR – “I think the biggest difference between these two teams is their depth. They’ve [CU] got a few more guys than us. But, I feel like we match up pretty well with them. They weren’t getting behind us very often, so I think we matched up well.”
ON IF DEFENSE WORE DOWN – “No, We were pretty pumped up for this game, obviously. It was a big opportunity for all of us. We came out and played and it was a great game of football.”
ON HOW THIS GAME WILL AFFECT THEIR CONFERENCE PLAY - “We don’t prepare any differently for a Pac-12 game than we do for a conference game. It’s just opponent number two and opponent number three. We’re going to take the same approach that we took this week, into conference play next week. We’ve felt like all year that we’re going to be a good team. I’m excited. “