Colorado-Utah Quotes
vs
BYU
Sep 27 (Sat)
8:15 PM
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
General“I thought we played really hard in the first half. We’re just inept on offense right now, that’s the best way to put it. We’ve got to find a way to move the ball better and get some points. I thought the defense played okay, they just got worn down. When you score points, it kind of gives life, it kind of gives you momentum and we’re just not getting that. We were really poor on offense.”
On His Job Status
“I don’t feel like it’s my last game. We’ve got one more, hopefully we can win that and go to a bowl game. Going to a bowl game will be big for this program, two out of the last three years, when they haven’t done it around here in a long, long time. Hopefully I’ll get to coach another one. I would like to, I want to, nobody has said anything to me except just keep going. There’s always rumors in this business. The thing about this business that’s tough is, when you do good, everybody’s asking why you’re leaving? They get mad at you when you’re leaving. I could’ve left (for) three good places, and stayed. That’s just the way it is. When you’re losing, they want to get rid of you. You never can win as a head coach on that and I understand that. The way I see it is I’m here, we’re going to find a way. That’s what the kids were talking about afterwards. [Senior WR] Kabion Ento spoke up and said, ‘we got one more to win one more.’ That’s what you want to hear from them. We’ve just got to find a way. We’ve done it on offense before, for some reason we’re not able to get it done right now.”
On Whether Opponents Have Figured Out The Offense
“They haven’t done the same thing USC did, but USC did well against us. They’ve definitely figured some things out. We’re not executing as well as we’d like either. Some of that’s our fault for sure, some of it is they’re making plays against us. We’ve got to find a way to change it up and hopefully put some points on the board Saturday to get a win.”
On Backup QBs Sam Noyer And Tyler Lytle
“Sam [Noyer] has gone in a couple of times and hasn’t done great. We felt like at practice this week that Tyler had (earned) an opportunity to do it. Tyler did okay, but he didn’t do great either. Getting those guys experience and figuring out what we can do with them, that’s why we ended up doing that. We like both guys. They’ve got to get a little bit of playing time to get their feet wet and show what they can do. It’s hard going in in those situations as a quarterback, when they know you’re throwing it and their sitting back on pass.”
On Whether He Should’ve Left CU In 2016
“No I shouldn’t have left, that’s why I stayed. A lot of people told me to leave, just like a lot of people told me not some here. I wanted to come here. My family loves it here. I definitely feel like this program has (progressed). You all saw it before I got here, it was abysmal. I feel like we’ve come a long way. This has been a tough stretch, there’s no doubt about it. But no, you don’t second guess anything like that, you do what you feel like is the right thing to do at the time. We love this place and trust the administration, all the people that are here and the guys we’re working with. Things happen in sports. A good friend of mine called me who is on a pro team that’s on a losing streak, last year they were the toast of the town. We were just talking about that and how things change. You just have to keep working and keep believing and keep going.”
On Frustration Of Poor Offensive Execution
“It’s extremely frustrating. We need to find a way to flip that and find a way to get some points on the board. I know I’ve said that a few times but that’s the truth, we were just inept in the second half the last two weeks. It’s very, very disappointing. We should be scoring more points than we are. You can’t win in this league unless you score some points, everybody knows that. The way the games have been going, we’ve had some opportunities and just haven’t done very well. Extremely frustrating.”
On Shoring Up Pass Protection
“When we got behind there, they knew we were throwing. That’s when a lot of those sacks happened. They could pass rush, we had some long down situations, we tried to hold the ball and get the ball downfield. If you can stay on track and not have those long down situations, you don’t have near as many sacks and tackles for loss. That would be the key to helping that, but when they know you’re going to drop back and throw it, they run different stunts, they play softer coverage and do different things.”
On His Talk With Rick George
“It went good. He said to just keep going with everything. Keep playing games.”
On Injury To QB Steven Montez
“I don’t know anything yet. He was limping on it pretty good. I’ll find out tomorrow when we get in there to find out what happens tonight. They are icing and doing everything so we will see. If Steven can’t go, we’ll have to go with Tyler [Lytle] or Sam [Noyer] and find a way.”
On Energy Level In Second Half
“I felt like the defense kept playing extremely hard. We went for it on a bunch of things. We did a fake punt and tried to do everything we could to jump start us. We just can’t get going offensively. That wears on you after a while. It is kind of like when you are on offense in basketball and you have 30 three-point shots and only make one. After a while they are giving it to you, but you can’t hit them. You are just like, ‘Crap, I can’t hit them.’ We have to find a way to score points. We have to find a way. We will get in and work on it and hopefully we can find a way and get it done.”
On Son Jay MacIntyre’s Senior Day
“Anyone who has seen their kids graduate from college and do different things knows it is awesome. All of the different people who have had kids who played college sports understand the time, commitment, effort, energy, all of the things that goes into it. It really molds them. Every kid that came running out I was happy for. I am a little bit of a father figure for all of them in a way. All of them have been in my office in different times with different issues or different things positive and negative. You grow up in college. That is part of it. Watching Jay go out there and seeing his mom, brother, and sister was like, ‘Wow. He is finishing college.’ I knew that and understood that, but that kind of put the exclamation on it. I can’t tell you how proud I am of him. He has grown from a boy to a man. You always say that, but he really has. Seeing his effort on the field, his work ethic, tenacity, what he has done in school, and the leadership qualities he has developed. It makes me a proud dad. It really does. Thank God his mom raised him good because it sure wasn’t me.”
On Wildfires In California
“That stuff in California is sad. That is suffering. That is tough. We may have to move that game (against Cal), but we need to realize why we might need to move the game. I can’t imagine what those people are going through. Maybe there is something we can do for them this game coming up. Life is precious and there are a lot of people really suffering. I can’t imagine what they are going through. I really can’t. It is beyond tragic. Sports are a release from reality in a way and hopefully there is something we can do to help in that area. Keep them in your prayers.”
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
General“Great effort by our guys, particularly in the second half, you know not a lot going on in the first half offensively for us. But we came out in the second half with a purpose, we did a great job moving the football, scoring points and taking control of the game.”
On Defense
“Defense was very good from start to finish. I haven’t seen the numbers but I got to believe that we held them to 200 yards. I think we might have sacked them five to six times, so a lot of good things there.
On Special Teams
“On special teams it was good to see Matt Gay, all of those field goals that were really critical at the time he was kicking to convert on all of those. We gave him a shot at a long one there at the end but he just hit the ground with his foot before he hit the ball, so he didn’t get all of it. That is a very makeable, it is in his range.”
On QB Jason Shelley
“Like I said, proud of our players and proud of our system, the coaches had a really good plan going in. Jason Shelley another solid performance, he showed a lot of poise again for the second consecutive week. He is just a very confident kid, if you are around him and you know him you know that he is a very confident kid.”
On Team In General
Apparently we came out of the game healthy which is key because we have a lot of football left, hopefully. If we had three left that would be great but just proud of how these guys hung in there all-season long. They have handled adversity all season long, I don’t know if I have been around a team that handles adversity any better than these guys. These guys just have a lot of guts and a lot of toughness.”
On If Things Changed Schematically in the Second Half
“Not really, we started attacking the perimeter a little more. We got Covey on those jet sweeps and loosened things up with some more perimeter stuff. It was just more better execution and we did have some guys change their cleats. A lot of them had the molds on and then went to the spikes, the screw-ons which believe it or not made a difference. But no nothing major or drastic as wholesale change we just executed better and like I said went a little more to the perimeter.”
On Playing in the Snow
“It doesn’t bother us a bit. We are up in the mountains up in Salt Lake City so not a problem at all. Our guys I thought handled it very well, it didn’t faze them. So no, we don’t have a preference either way.”
On If He Feels Satisfied at the End of Conference Play
“Well yeah at this point, obviously you look back at the season and replay things. Sitting here at 8-3, at least with the share of the title I guess no matter what happens of the South Division title and perhaps even bigger things. Very proud of our guys, never satisfied but very proud and happy for them. I’m happy for our guys and our assistant coaches.”
On How Big this Win is for the Team
“It counts as one just like the rest of them. It is a great win for our players and I am very proud of them. Now they have at least a share of the Pac-12 South title at minimum so good for them.”
Colorado Players
WR Jay Macintyre
ON IF HE EVER PLAYED IN THE SNOW BEFORE-“No not really, this was the first real time. Me and my brother and my friends would go at night to my high school, and go play in the snow sometimes. That was fun, but other than that, not really. Not like a real game.ON HOW IT FELT TO GET BACK ON THE FIELD-“It was good. It has been a frustrating end part of the season, and we have one more game so we are excited for that. This is our sixth loss in a row, I’ve had two concussions in four games, and I pretty much didn’t play in four games, which was really frustrating. This was exciting to get back with my teammates, it’s a blessing. After the Arizona hit I wasn’t really sure if I would play again. Luckily, I passed all of the protocols, the trainers were really good about it, and I was able to come back onto the field today, it was pretty awesome.
ON IF IT IS EXCITING TO PLAY AGAIN- “It is exciting, I only get to suit up so many more times in my life. I’m not sure what is in store for me after this, but I know for sure that I’ve got one more game and it is a blessing to say that. There are so many people out there who can’t play the game. Can’t walk, or have disabilities. Win or lose, we are lucky to be able to go out and play, but at the same time of course we want to go out and win.
ON HOW SENIOR DAY AFFECTED HIM-“CU has been great to me, and I have put my all into this program, I’ve put it all on the field. Win or lose, I always give it my all. I give it my all at practice, I give it my all to come back from injuries. I had a broken foot last year, two concussions this year, I’m continuing to push through adversity. I’m not going to stop, and this team isn’t going to stop. That is just our character, that is my dad’s character, that is our coaches’ character, and that’s what we do. Yeah we have lost six in a row, and yeah that is frustrating, but we are going to move on to Cal, and we are going to enjoy that. We are going to enjoy that at the beginning of the game, and in the middle, and we are going to finish out strong. I believe in our guys, and I’m excited for us to do that.
ON IF HE LIKED HOW COLLEGE EXPERIENCE PLAYED OUT-“You aren’t really sure how it is going to play out. All you really do is take it one day at a time, work as hard as you can. It has been a blessing to play football at a Division I level, no one can take that back from me. That is something that I am going to take pride in for my whole life. The end of this year hasn’t really gone the way that I wanted it to, but it has been awesome to be a part of, to be a part of the University of Colorado, to be a part of my dad’s team, and to be a part of my team. I love the guys in that locker room, and we aren’t going to fold, and today might have looked like a little bit of a fold based on the score, but we played hard. Things didn’t bounce our way, and we have to make more plays. We are going to continue to work, that’s all that we can do. It’s been fun, I can’t tell if it has been if I thought it would be. I knew that it would be hard, I don’t know if I’d think it would be this hard. At the same time, I’ve grown a lot, I am happy with my decision, and I have no regrets.
ON IF THINGS HAVE FELT DIFFERENT DURING THE LOSING STREAK-“We have just had a lot of injuries. We just haven’t gotten much luck, I got knocked out in the first half of the USC game, then Laviska (Shenault) when down, DB’s went down, the ball just hasn’t bounced our way. That’s not an excuse, we have to go through the work and go get this win. If we get this last win, and we go to a bowl game, and we can win the bowl game, that is a good year. I don’t care what anybody says, you can look at the six losses, but you can also look at how we finished strong even with the six losses. We still have season left, we aren’t counting ourselves out, and I’m not counting myself out. I’m not counting my dad out, and my dad isn’t counting us out. We are going to go shoulder to shoulder into the storm, and today was actually a storm and we didn’t get it done. This week we are going to work even harder to get it done.
ON BEING ABLE TO PLAY IN HIS SENIOR GAME-“It was an emotional week, it was an emotional time to see my brother and my mom and my sister and my dad. I don’t think everyone really understands how much we put in, as a family, to this program. Wins and losses are big to us, and I just know how much it means to them, and how much work that my brother has put in with me. It’s been a fun ride, and I’m not going to take anything back, I’m not going to regret anything.”
TB Travon McMillian
ON HIS LAST GAME PLAYING IN FOLSOM FIELD–“I am really going to miss my teammates. They made me feel welcome here. I wasn’t here for a long time but these guys really made me feel welcome here and I really appreciate that. I am really going to miss these guys.”ON COACH MACINTYRE’S MESSAGE TO THE TEAM BEFORE THE GAME –“To come out and play physical. I feel like we did that the first half. The second half, I think we came out flat and we started having some penalties which messed us up with the field position. Other than that, he said to play physical. I felt like everyone gave their all. Even though we were down in the fourth quarter, I felt no one was on the sideline putting their head down and giving up. That’s all I wanted from the guys is for them to give all they can give. I really appreciate that.”
ON ANY DISTRACTIONS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK–“I don’t think it was a big deal to be honest. I held a player meeting without the coaches. I talked to the players and told them how I felt about the season and the next two games we had. I told the guys that we should give our all for the seniors and for the program. There was a lot of news about coach Mac (Mike MacIntyre). I told them to ignore that and to keep honing in on practice and to keep getting better each and every day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the results we wanted at the end of the game but I feel our games fought until the end and that is all I can really ask for from these guys.”
ON BEING A RESPECTED NEWCOMER TO THE BUFFS–“It wasn’t hard because I’ve played the game for a really long time and I really care about it. I am really passionate about it. Guys see me as a leader on the team. I really respect a lot of guys on the team. I just told them that we have to give it our all not just for us, not just for the seniors, but for the entire program. Unfortunately, we came up short but all we can do is focus on the next game. We are going to try to win this game against Cal. I think we have a pretty good opportunity to get this win. If we can get that win, it would be awesome to go to a bowl game.”
ON FRUSTRATION OF OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES–“It is frustrating especially since it has been a few games that this has happened. The second half, we don’t come out the same way. I feel like we come out strong in the first half. We have to figure out a way to come out the second half, put up points, and keep our defense off the field. That is the problem right now, the defense is on the field for way too long. Those guys get tired and it becomes hard for them.”
ON COACH MACINTYRE’S MESSAGE TO THE TEAM AFTER THE GAME–“His message was to stay together and to focus on the next game. We have to put everything that we have into this next game. We have one more game and one more opportunity. I want to go to a bowl game. Everyone wants to go bowling. We are going to do everything we can this week. We are going to hone in on what Cal is doing on offense, defense, and special teams. We are going to try to execute as much as we can when we get out there.”
LB Davion Taylor
ON PLAYING IN THE SNOW-“It was always a dream to play in the snow. When I got there, I was just trying to have fun. Even though we didn’t come up with a victory, I enjoyed it very much.”ON THE TOUGHEST PART OF THE PLAYING CONDITIONS- “How cold it was. At first, I was having fun, but then it started to get real cold. You started feeling the cold weather. I had to adjust to that, stay close to the heater and stay warm.”
ON BOUNCING BACK FROM THIS LOSS-“We just want to focus more on Cal and try to get to a bowl game. It was a hurtful loss, but we are trying to get that bowl game. Trying to give the fans what they want.”
ON THE TEAM’S MINDSET-“We just want to win. We are tired of losing. It is hurting us. We are coming to come out next practice and try to change up some things. Do whatever we have to do to win.”
ON BLOCKING OUT THE NOISE-“We just tried to focus on the game. Focus on what the coaches were telling us. We weren’t looking at social media because that doesn’t pertain to what we are going to do in the game. Just trying to block it all out and focus on being physical. Trying to come out and beat Utah. For me personally, I tried to stay off social media. If I see something about our football coach I try not to look at the comments or things like that.”
DE Mustafa Johnson
ON PLAYING HARD-“I know I am going to go out there and play my hardest and put it all out there on the field. I am always going to do me. As a team, it is hard to stop the bickering and stop the talking and see what we are going to do. We all respect Coach Mac as a coach so we are going to listen to him no matter what. That’s what it came down to.”ON STAYING FOCUSED-“It is very hard. Extremely hard. Especially when things happen outside of your control. A lot of things come into play when we start worrying about things not in our control. We all have to stay focused on what our jobs are.”
ON THE SEASON-“It has been a tough road. It comes down to we need to get a mindset and a culture that we are going to leave everything out on the field. If we have to die on the field, we are going to die on the field. I have that mindset. A lot of the guys have it. We just need it as a whole team. The scout team, special teams, and every single position has to work.”
ON COACH MACINTYRE’S MESSAGE TO THE TEAM-“His main message was that we need to keeping pushing forward. We can’t dwell in the past. We have to keep pushing forward and work for a bowl game. Play for ourselves because at this point it is about pride. We have to win.”
ON TRYING TO BECOME BOWL ELIGIBLE-“It is easier said than done. The focus isn’t to get a bowl game. That is nice and is always something nice to have, but it comes down to pride. We have to win for ourselves. As a whole, we have to win. That is what is going to come down to.”
ILB Rick Gamboa
ON THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE TEAM-“I wouldn’t say that it’s anything bad. If anything, it’s brought us closer together. As a unit, it feels like everyone is against us. Nobody wants us to succeed. I think that has brought us closer together and closer to our coaches. I think the atmosphere in the locker room is doing really well right now. Especially, at how the past couple of weeks have gone. I’m proud of all the guys in the locker room and the way that everyone has been handling the situation.”ON THE SECOND HALF-“I wouldn’t say we were worn down, I would say they took advantage of the players they had and the schemes they ran. Their players made plays. We just couldn’t make a tackle or there were a few times we messed up communication wise. I think that up front, we did a great job throughout the entire game. We could still be playing a whole quarter if it was up to us.”
ON RECEIVING THE BUFFALO HEART AWARD-“It’s a great honor. I’ve spent the past four-and-a-half years putting my heart and soul out for this team and for all my brothers I’ve played with since 2015. Being recognized for this award is always something I’ll be proud of.”
ON THE EMOTIONS-“I wouldn’t say that it hurts right now. For me, it’s just knowing that this is the last time I’ll play in Folsom Field and I’ll never put a Colorado uniform on again. I’ve been reliving everything I’ve gone through since I’ve been here the past four-and-a-half years. I have a lot of joy and am really happy with what I accomplished.”
P Alex Kinney
ON THE 5-0 START COMPARED TO NOW-“I don’t think I’ve seen anything different. If anything, we’re getting closer and trying to talk to each other more. The underdog mentality we’re used to having as buffs is good. We like it. I don’t really see much of a difference.”ON PLAYING NEXT YEAR-“[Redshirting] isn’t really my decision. A lot of that is on Coach MacIntyre and the other coaches. I’d like to come back next year.”
WR Juwann Winfree
ON IF DEFENSES ARE CATCHING ON TO WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DO-“It has been pretty tough. They called out sometimes in certain situations the play calls that we were probably going to call at that point. That is out of our control. Our job is to get the call and execute. We didn’t execute. In terms of what they are saying on defense, that isn’t something we worry about. Our job is to make the play. Fifth game in a row where we keep coming up short on plays. As an offense, we have to find a way to execute. The defense is holding their own and keep getting these stops. We aren’t doing anything on offense. We have to find a way.”ON PREPARING FOR CALIFORNIA-“This is a huge opportunity for us. We have to attack this week. It’s either ‘go bowling’ or ‘go home’. You can either start your vacation early or continue with football and continue to spend time with your brothers. We’re just going to embrace this whole week. We’re coming in strong because we have a young team. It’s going to be their first bowl game if we go. So, it’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people on this team. We’re going to continue to preach that and work hard.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION-“It’s tough. It’s hard to say when you’re out there. We’ve got to find a way to get the playmakers the ball and get everybody involved. That’s the only way we’re going to win. We’ve got to spread the ball. We have too much talent to be losing all these games. Especially on offense. I felt that we were loaded coming into the season we had all these receivers, all these backs, and a quarterback who can launch the ball. There’s no reason why we should be losing like this. We’ve got to find an answer on offense. We’ve got to find a way to score points. We’ll leave that to the coaches.”
WR Kabian Ento
ON LOSING SIX STRAIGHT- “You never get used to losing six straight. You never get used to losing. In the locker room, we just have to make sure we stay together. We know now that we need one more in order to get one more.”ON IF THE TEAM LOST ENERGY-“You felt a slight momentum change, but that is part of football. We were still trying to turn it around. Trying to move the ball and trying to score. I didn’t see any of my brothers quit. There is always going to be a tough part of the game where you feel like it was the whole turning point of the game, but I don’t think any of my brothers quit on me and I definitely didn’t quit on any of my brothers.”
ON THE RUMORS REGARDING COACH MACINTYRE’S TENURE- “Coach Mac has been positive. He let us know that we shouldn’t focus on that outside noise. He told us that he’s here for us and here with us. He just made sure that we were focused on our tasks and it’s easy to get distracted. No matter whether you’re winning or losing it’s easy to get distracted by the outside noise. We’re trying to get to a bowl. To be honest, that’s the only thing that we’re worried about. We’re not trying to be worried about anything else. Whatever talk is out there, we just have to let them talk. What they’re saying doesn’t help you win or lose football games.”
Utah Players
LB Francis Bernard
ON HAVING TO STEP IN AFTER HANSEN WAS EJECTED-“I didn’t expect it but as soon as it happened I was ready to go. It was fun to get out there and play against them.”ON PLAYING IN THE SNOW-“We’re from Utah so it’s not like we don’t play in the cold weather too; it was nothing to us.”
ON BIG IMPACT PLAYS ON DEFENSE-“They were just good calls. Coach (Morgan) Scalley had a great scheme coming into the game. He knew exactly when to call certain things and I thought that his play calling was on point.”
QB Jason Shelley
ON THROWING IN THE SNOW-“We went out there and just played football, they kept us warm on the sidelines. I kept my hands warm and we just had to go out there and make some plays and the second half showed.”ON BIG PLAYS-“We’ve seen on film that they’ve given up a few deep balls and we just came into the second half trying to exploit that and we ended up executing.”
ON DIFFERENCE BETWEEEN FIRST AND SECOND HALF-“We just came together. We knew that the first half wasn’t us, and we had to come out with a different mindset.”
ON WHAT JAYLEN DIXON BRINGS-“He’s really fast so he stretches the defense vertically and we use his speed to our advantage and we connected on a lot of deep balls.”
ON WHAT SHARING PAC-12 SOUTH TITLE MEANS TO HIM- “It’s huge. Utah football deserves it. We’ve worked hard, we’ve put in a lot of work these past few years and the years before and this is the year we feel like we should’ve gotten some respect and we earned it.”
WR Jaylen Dixon
ON TEAM OVERCOMING INJURIES-“I think the main thing is the coaching staff telling us that they believe in us. It’s always about the next man up, we’re going to miss those guys of course but it’s always about the next man up.”ON FIRST MEMORY OF SHELLEY’S STRONG ARM-“I’d probably say somewhere in high school sophomore year. I was just sprinting down the field running a go and he just launched it. It’s always been that way, he’s always had that strong arm, and as you see he just keeps showing it.”
K Matt Gay
ON KICKING CONDITIONS TODAY- “It was difficult at first. I was trying to get my footing right. I didn’t know if I was going to wear screw-in studs or keep the same cleats I’ve worn all season, more-so the approach with the ground being icy and snowy you slip out on your approach and it leaves you a little off. But once I started kicking I felt like I got it under me.”“Every kick is the same. So when you get up there you’re expected to make it, and you’ve got to put them through the uprights, and whether they’re coming in good weather or coming in bad weather your job is to put it through the uprights, so I try to take every kick the same.”
ON HOW HE FEELS TEAM HAS RESPONDED TO RECENT ADVERSITY- “It’s a different team. The vibe, the personnel, guys have really bought in, losing Huntley and losing Moss wasn’t going to stop us from our goals in the beginning of the season. Obviously those guys are special and they have a lot of talent and bring a lot to this team, but like Jaylen (Dixon) said it’s the next man up mentality.”
ON SHARING PAC-12 SOUTH TITLE-“It’s amazing, I don’t think Utah has ever had a Pac-12 title, and we don’t like sharing, we did our part and we feel good about that, we’re hoping for someone else to do theirs and give us the full reigns of that title.”