Colorado-Washington State Quotes
vs
TCU
Oct 4 (Sat)
5:30 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
General“Washington State is good team. [QB Gardner] Minshew made some plays like he always does. I thought our guys came out and played extremely hard. I feel like if we had been able to get something going offensive, it might have been a different story. I tip my hat to (Washington State), they played really well, I think they’re 9-1 now. We’ve got a big (game), senior night on Saturday and our kids will be excited about playing Utah, it’s going to be a heck of a game.”
On Play Of Secondary
“I thought they played better. A couple of those pass breakups I wish would’ve been interceptions. I thought they played better. They were up to the challenge. The underneath things hurt us, we had a couple of breakdowns by some of our underneath guys. They have a good offensive line, [Washington State QB Gardner Minshew] was able to hold the ball some, he made some good plays. I thought overall the corners played one of their best games.”
On Play Of WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
“I thought Laviska gutted it out and did well. He wasn’t able to practice much so you could tell he’s a little rusty. I was pleased, in talking to him after the game it doesn’t seem like it’s bothering him. He seems healthy which means he’ll be that much better next week. Hopefully we’ll get [WRs] Jay MacIntyre and K.D. Nixon back, they both would have made a big difference today. There were balls not caught over the middle that should have been. I think those guys would have made a big difference in that area.”
On Decision To Punt From Washington State 36-Yard Line In Second Half
“It was 17-7, I think we were 3-of-20 on third down. If it had been 4th-and-3 or 4th-and-4, (we might have gone for it.) We dropped a ball over the middle right before that. We’re going to have to hold it, if we get sacked the ball is on the 50. I thought we could pin them down around the 10. We were playing pretty good defensively. If it had been 24-7 it might have been a different story, but 4th-and-11, 17-7, third quarter, I still think there’s plenty of time when you’re only down 10 points. You’ve got to pin them back and hope that you can hold them a little bit. If we go for it on 4th-and-11 and get sacked at the 50, you’re asking ‘why did you go for it on 4th-and-11?’ 4th-and-3, we’re going but 4th-and-11 is a tougher situation. We got them at the 10-yard line. Would I have liked to have them inside the 10? Yes. We had some chances there, they made a good drive. That was kind of a turning point in the game. If we hold them and get it back, then here we go. I think I would make the same decision again. Knowing the outcome and (final) score, maybe not.”
On If He’s Ever Had A Season Go Downhill Like This
“I’ve never had a season where, going into the 10th game of the year, we have nine starters out and four other significant players out. [RB] Beau Bisharat didn’t play. [DL] Jase Franke didn’t play. I’ve never had that happen. Basically, more than a third of the guys that you count on to win games aren’t out there. I’ve lost two or three (key players) before, but not that many. That’s a big part of it. I haven’t gone 5-0, then gone 0-5. But that’s part of football, that’s part of life, our guys will learn from it. We’ve got one goal in mind, regroup tomorrow and find a way to beat Utah. That’s something we believe we can do. Utah believes they can beat us, we’ve just got to find a way to do it.”
On Regrouping This Week
“First of all, I hope we get a few of those guys back this week. We hope we get [S] Evan Worthington back, we hope we get [WR] K.D. Nixon back, we hope we get Jay (WR Jay MacIntyre) back. That’s three key players for us. If we can get those guys back that’ll give us a boost too. If we don’t, the same guys have to go work, keep pushing and keep believing. That gripe at each other, which I don’t see going on. When they walk out of the locker room, they’re going to hear things from everybody. They have to block all of that out. Nobody goes in the locker room, nobody goes on the practice field, nobody goes on that game field but us. So far they’ve been doing that, we just haven’t executed as well as we’d like. I do believe that in these last two games, they’ve come out playing hard and doing some things. They haven’t come out dead, they come out ready to compete. Just very unfortunate we didn’t make more plays.”
On Needing One More Win To Become Bowl Eligible
“They (the players) know that. If you touch on it all the time, it might put more pressure on them. They know that and they want to do that. This week, they are going to want to send the seniors out right and are going to want to play well. You only get so many times to play. This year has showed them that. I always tell them, ‘The next guy has to step up.’ The old saying. I always tell them that their role can change in the middle of the game. A lot of roles have changed. There has been a lot of guys not able to play as many games as they would have liked because they are injured. I think they are starting to treasure that and understand that. It is tough. I wish I had a magic wand and could fix it all with a magic wand, but we cant. It is hard work and perseverance which develops character and which gives you hope. All of that works together. They are learning a lot of great life lessons, but at the same time we need to find a way to take that life lesson and take that next step to win the game.”
On Whether He Feels Pressure
“I don’t feel any pressure from my superiors, whatsoever. Nothing but support. I love this place and want to be here. We love it. I think the people know what we do on a daily basis. How we treat our kids, how we work, how we’re recruiting and how our talent keeps going up. We just have to find a way to get going. We have a rash of injuries here, but it doesn’t matter when you step on the field. You have to find a way to win. You put pressure on yourself all the time as a coach. You put pressure on yourself to write a good article. All of that is part of it. I don’t think you would be good at your job or what you’re doing in your life if you didn’t try to hold yourself to a high expectation. I try to look at everything we can do, find it and keeping doing it. You are dealing with 18-22-year-old kids. You are trying to teach them how to win football games. There is no doubt, but at the same time you are trying to mold them. There are different ways to do that. The bottom line is, we have to get some more wins on the scoreboard. They know that and they want that. They are hurting just as much as anybody.”
On Offensive Struggles
“It wasn’t pretty. That is the diagnosis. We will have to get it and dive into it. They had something to do with it for sure, but we had a lot to do with it. We have to find a way to remedy that. We can’t do that next week and expect to win. We have to get in and work at it. The good thing is we have done it before. All those kids know that and we all know that it can happen. If we hadn’t done it all year, you would be like, ‘Yeah coach, you are an idiot. There is no way you can do it.’ We can do it again and we are going to find a way to do it again. Somehow, someway, we have to get it done. Since we have done it before, we will get back in there and get working. Hopefully we will have all four of our starting receivers out there. That would help too.”
On Washington State RB Max Borghi
“Max is a good player. We wanted Max here. We would have loved to have him here. He wanted to go out of state. I am happy for Max. I am not happy for us that he got in the end zone. I have always thought Max was a good player. We offered him when he had a torn-up knee. We wanted him. I am happy that he is healthy and doing well. That is good for Max.”
On Chances Of Getting S Evan Worthington Back
“I sure hope so. I thought we were going to get him back. You go through the protocol and he made it to the last step, but then it stalled. Everyone says, ‘Why are you saying day-to-day?’ It is because that is what happens. It is day-to-day. Hopefully, he will be back. They will run him again tomorrow and hopefully he will be back. He is a big key for us and is a really good player.”
On ILB Nate Landman Being Ejected For Targeting
“When you lose Nate Landman that is a huge deal for you. They made the targeting call and that is what they ruled. That is a really tough play. A guy came right behind the linemen. He couldn’t really see him and the guy is trying to get a first down and he hits him. It is a tough deal, but they are trying to protect the players and I understand they want to protect them which is fine. Losing Nate was a tough blow on us. I guess the positive is we get him for the whole game starting the first half next week. It did hurt us out there some. Some of the mistakes we had happen underneath, he wouldn’t have made.”
Washington State Head Coach Mike Leach
On Calling a Timeout on the First Play of the Game
“Well we stood on the sideline and had too much conversation, we squandered too many seconds and didn’t get the play in. We actually got the play in we just didn’t have the time to run it, by the time all of the substitutions and all that, it wasn’t good. So rather than take the penalty we decided to call timeout. I wish that was the first, I don’t think that is the first for any coach in the world. I think that we would all like to say it is but it is not.”
On What Caused Washington State’s Slow Start
“I don’t know, I usually always think about us and what we can do because the other guy is always going to do as much as he can to keep you out of there. I thought that in our case we just weren’t in really great tempo. We were okay, we did keep the ball away from them. We hogged the ball the whole game, I thought we could have capitalized on more stuff. We could have scored more points in the first half. The wind was really up and swirling, that seemed to affect both teams to be honest. So I think in my case then my play selection in some cases could have been better there too.”
On Going For It on Fourth Down so Often
“Well we had them backed up but it had more to do with the wind and I thought that we would go 3-for-3. That didn’t turn out that way. I mean I will just have to take comfort in the knowing that some of the things that I thought would turn out the way it did I was right about. I wasn’t right about that though.”
On Running Back Max Borghi
“He kind of opened the thing up. The funny thing is that he did that against Stanford too. He is a really coachable multi-dimensional guy and I think that he and James (Williams) really complement each other.”
On Finishing CU in Three Quarters Rather Than Waiting Till Late in the Fourth
“Yeah I would say that it was. I did think that we had a good second half all the way around. I thought that our defense played a pretty complete game, other than an explosive play here and there. They really did a good job keeping the ball out of the end zone.”
On Whether or Not CU Played as Expected
“Pretty close to what we expected. I would say that they blitzed a little less, they played more too safety than they are inclined to which is what people are more inclined to do to us. Even if they aren’t inclined to do it against others.”
On the Importance of this Win
“It is a huge win. Any win on the road in this conference is hard. It is hard going down the path of really quality opponents, in this conference we really don’t have any below-average opponents there is none of that. They are all above-average opponents so we have to keep going down that path because that is the way this conference is. So it is tough to win and this is a huge win for us but we have to dismiss this and just focus on Arizona.”
Colorado Players
WR Kabion Ento
ON IF COACHING HELPS CONFIDENCE-“Not really, the coaches call plays, players make plays. We’ve got to make sure that no matter what plays the coaches are calling, we have to make them work. We aren’t always going to have the perfect look but we can score on any play. We have to stay confident and make sure that we can score on any play.”ON HOW DIFFICULT LOSING HAS BEEN-“It’s been very difficult, it is a whole different feeling in the locker room. We’ve just got to stick together. We understand that we have another tough team coming up next week and we have to be able to fight and we have to be able to trust each other. The defense played well today, but the offense has to be able to put drives together. We’ve just got to trust each other and never give up on each other. That’s what I love about my brothers, they are never going to give up on me and I’m never going to give up on them.”
ON NOT ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT 4TH DOWNS-“In football it is a momentum shift, but we have to block that out.”
ON IF HE WOULD PREFER OFFENSE TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE-“I’m not calling the plays, whatever the coaches tell me to do is what I’m going to do.”
S Aaron Maddox
ON IF THE GAME FELT CLOSER THAN THE SCORE SHOWED- “For sure. We think every game is close, we trust our players, we trust our coaches, we trust what they tell us and how they tell us to do certain things. We just have this resilient fight in us so any game we play, we always think we have a chance.”ON OVERCOMING THE STRUGGLES IN THE SECONDARY- “This week we focused on different things and different personnels but our coaches did a great job of figuring out what we needed to do to give us the best opportunity to stop them. Our coaches and teammates and everything, we work together, we work hard all practice and all week and we are just learning to perfect our craft. Each and every day we’re getting one percent better and getting one percent better every day is great but we did a really good job of adjustments we made in coaching.”
ON IF THE INTENSITY WAS LOST AFTER THE FIRST QUARTER- “No, we actually all stay together throughout the entire game, there are ups and downs and things happen to each other and sometimes when we get a play made on us, the guy will go down a little bit but all of our players will stay together and keep him up. Players make plays and Washington State has a really good team, they executed well.”
ON HOW THE TEAM CAN FINISH STRONG-“We’re just going to keep on remaining the same, we’re going to keep doing what our coaches have told us to do and keep loving each other. We’re just going to come to practice next week and we’re just going to work hard like we always do each week and we’re just going to finish strong like we know we can.”
ON HIS TAUNTING PENALTY- “That was on me, you live and you learn. When I came to the sideline the coaches did a great job of calming me down and letting me know what’s right and what’s wrong and how to do certain things a certain way. I promise you that won’t happen again.”
OLB Davion Taylor
ON THE DEFENSE BEING FATIGUED-“Yes it was fatigue in the first quarter and they drove it down the field but I caught my second wind throughout the game I was getting a little tired but overall, I did pretty well.”ON THE DEFENSE NOT RECORDING A SACK THIS WEEK- “They had a good offensive line. We were trying our best to get back there. We made a few mistakes when it came to us rushing and me personally I did a few things wrong. They had a great offensive line and we just made a few mistakes. That’s the reason why we didn’t record a sack.”
SS Derrion Rakestraw
ON THE DEFENSE-“We had a lot of zone coverages called. We just have been preparing for their players all week. A lot of times we knew what they were going to do and that helped out a lot.”ON IF FATIGUE PLAYED A ROLE- “I don’t think we were too tired. We were good and conditioned. We just didn’t get it done and didn’t put up enough points. We needed some stops.”
ON WSU QB GARDER MINSHEW II-“That was the game plan, to get him to get the check downs and we would all rally to the ball. We were planning on doing that the whole week. We weren’t surprised by it.”
ON LOSING FIVE STRAIGHT-“It is definitely tough, but we are going to come back Sunday focused on Utah. It (next week’s game) is Senior Night and a home game. We are going to come back and get that game then.”
ON THE ROLLER COASTER SEASON-“It has been tough. We obviously didn’t expect to come out here and lose five in a row. Every week we are focused on turning it around. With Utah, we are going to try to turn around this losing streak and go out there and get a W.”
ON SNAPPING THE LOSING STREAK-“It gets harder, but we all love each other. The whole team loves each other. We all know what we can do. We know what corrections we need to do to fix our mistakes. We are going to come back next weekend and be ready.”
WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
ON TODAY’S GAME–“It’s in the past now. I am ready to work. I am ready to see this team work. We need to come out with a win next week.”ON HIS PERFORMANCE TODAY AFTER RETURNING FROM INJURY–“I felt I was lacking everywhere. I am going to put today’s game in the past and get better and get ready for next week.”
ON HIS ASSESMENT OF THE TEAM WHILE INJURED–“As a whole team, we have to play harder and stay focused the whole game. Offensive wise, we just need to finish.”
QB Steven Montez
ON HIS EFFORT TO REMAIN POSITVE WITH FANS AFTER A LOSS–“As crazy as it sounds, I remember what it is like to be one of those kids. I remember when I saw Andrew Luck at Stanford. I went and tried to shake his hand and meet him. I was kind of blown away. I was meeting these guys that I look up to. The kids, they go out there and they want to watch the game. They want to watch football. They have guys that they look up to. Whether we win or lose, it doesn’t really matter. Those kids are here to support us so I am definitely going to show them love whenever I can.”ON THE RETURN OF LAVISKA SHENAULT JR. –“It was good. It was good to see him back out there. It was good to see him running around. It is good to see him healthy. He’s one hell of a player as everybody in this room knows. I think he is just going to keep getting better with his time here.”
ON TODAY’S PERFORMANCE-“I think Washington State is a very good team. They are a very good offense and a very good defense. They played well today. I think it’s just on us executing. I think we have to do a better job executing. I think we had chances and plays that we could have made some things happen but it didn’t go our way. We just have to keep working and keep getting better.”
ON STRUGGLING OFFENSIVELY–“We have to say on the field and convert on third downs. I think we are struggling in the third down area. We had opportunities in this game to keep those drives going but we have to do a better job executing.”
Washington State Players
QB Gardner Minshew II
ON HOW HE MANUEVERED OFFENSE-“We just have to find completions anyway we can get them, move the ball down the field and just be consistent with that, that was one of the things we struggled with in the first half, I was off a little bit and we had a few drops, but we definitely figured it out towards the second half.”ON OFFENSIVE GAMEPLAN-“They decided they were going to go light in the box and we feel really good about our offensive line and our running backs, so we were going to feed them and let them eat up yards for us.”
ON HOW HE FELT IN THE SECOND HALF-“We settled in, in the second half as a team. We were kind of getting in our own way in the first half. I was missing balls, and we cleaned a few things up and got rolling in the second.”
ON HOW IMPORTANT THIS WIN WAS-“It was huge. We’ll take every win we can get, especially at this point in the season. Just got to win one a week and hopefully it will take us to where we want to go.”
RB Max Borghi
ON HOW THE WIN FELT-“I’ve been taking it week by week but this one is something I circled on the calendar, going back home and playing in front of everyone I know is a big deal. It was exciting and I was looking forward to this game for sure. Going out there and doing what I did and doing what the team did was big for us. I live like 10 minutes from here so I’ve been around (this atmosphere) all the time, I definitely had a little bit more energy today.”ON IF HE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE DECOMITTING FROM CU-“I feel like I’m exactly where I wanted to be and I just thank God for that, everything happens for a reason and I’m thankful for that.”
ON WHAT HIS TEAM SAID TO HIM BEFORE THE GAME-“Well obviously they all know I’m from Colorado, and they all know the whole story, so they just said soak it in and go give them what you’ve been wanting to give them since you’ve came.”
LB Jahad Woods
ON LEADING THE TEAM IN TACKLES- “I think it was just a matter of how well we prepared all week, we prepared well for these guys they’re a great offense, but we just made plays.”LG Liam Ryan
ON COLORADO’S DEFENSIVE PRESSURE-“We work hard, we come in every week, punch the clock in, clock out and just do our job. Coach Miller really instills that in us, we go up against the best pass rushers and guys on defense every day so we shouldn’t have a problem each week. We love what we do, we love protecting Gardner; we love keeping him clean.”ON THEIR RUN GAME TODAY-“They were playing a 3-2 box, so the tackles and guards had a good double team going, and Coach Miller told us to get a push off the ball and we’ll work the linebackers later. He wasn’t getting touched until like 3 or 4 yards. Since Miller came (to WSU) he’s pushed the running game more, when we can run the ball we can pass the ball even better and we’re known for passing so it’s going to kill defenses.”
ON HOW HE LIKES TO RUN THE BALL-“We’re big, nasty dudes and we try to get after people, we’re trying to keep it 50/50 and we can run the ball when they’re dropping 7 or 8, but when they’re stacking the box we can pass and I think that’s what makes our offense so hard to cover.”