Colorado-Utah Quotes
Sep 20 (Sat)
8:15 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
On this season
“I want to thank our seniors, guys who have really put their heart into this football team and guys who gave it everything they had. I have a lot of respect for our seniors in what they’ve done, laying the foundation for how we are going to play football here, and for staying with it. We didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish tonight. But I have a lot of respect for this football team and I told them to keep their heads up. It’s a privilege to be able to coach this group of guys. Our record doesn’t necessarily reflect everything about this football team.”
On the physicality of the game and how his team played
“I knew it was going to be a physical game. We matched that and it was not an issue for us. It was more about our execution. I didn’t feel like we were overwhelmed by their physicality or anything like that. I thought early in the game we were dominant in some areas. We just need to have more discipline to be more consistent in some areas.”
On what his team has done in the last three games
“Our culture is starting to take hold with our guys. You can see the shift in how way we play, just being able to run the ball, stop the run. You’ve seen flashes of what I think we will be able do on defense. We’ve got a lot of young players who’ve gotten a lot of experience and gotten better throughout the season. I believe that we have the right coaching staff here to be able to get the job done with our players, on and off the field. I believe we have the right coaching staff to be able to go out and recruit and get the players that we need to go out and win championships here. This is just the beginning for us in my mind.”
On the mistakes tonight in special teams
“We had some issues in our kicking game, mishandling the ball and things like. We had one punt where we rolled out right but our coverage released to the left so we gave them a return. We missed three or four tackles on their long punt return touchdown. But you have to give them credit. (Kyle Whittingham’s) been there 15 years, he’s built a great program. They have great players and they play hard. But there’s a lot of things we could have done better in the game.”
On his team going 0-for-7 on third downs until late in the game
“It’s hard to sustain drives and score points if you can’t convert on third down. Same thing on defense. If you can’t get off the field on third down then they are going to sustain drives and eventually score. You could see that on both sides of the ball in the game.”
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening statement
“Great way for our senior class to go out in their last home game in Rice-Eccles. I couldn’t be prouder of this group. They’ve meant so much to our program and have had a big impact on our program. They’re a special group. It is great to go out with this win and go out back-to-back Pac-12 South champions. It’s something to be very proud of. That’s where it starts is with those seniors. We played well this evening once we got going. We had a slow start. The first quarter there wasn’t much accomplished. Credit to them. We just had to get some momentum and we really got going in the second half. We played great defense again. Played the run tough holding them to around 60 yards, and we ran the ball effectively over 200 yards again. I say it every week, but that’s the starting point for us. We took care of the ball on offense and played well on third down on defense. Special teams stepped up tonight with some good punt returns that setup a field goal and one for a touchdown. That was a good football team we played and they had a lot to play for playing for a bowl game so we got their best shot. It was good to see us take control of the game in the second half and close them out. Now we’re on a short week getting ready for Oregon up in Santa Clara. We’ll get to work on them right away. That’s a big reason a lot of these seniors came back. There were four of five of them that could’ve exited, but they had some unfinished business and are now in position to finish that business. Very proud of our team.”
On the fans tonight
“ I am very appreciative of our fans. There were a lot of people there to acknowledge our seniors when they came out of the tunnel. I think our seniors were very excited and grateful about that. We appreciate our fans for making that effort.”
On the diversity of the run game
“We feel like we’re a complete team and that’s something you’ve got to do. We weren’t getting any push at the line of scrimmage to start. Credit to them. They’ve got some big guys up front that force you to run outside. We weren’t getting much to start so we turned to Kuithe who had some big receptions and some big runs as well on that tight end sweep that Andy has designed.”
On if the slow start was due to execution or adjustments
“A little bit of both. We started executing better, but we also started doing some things differently schematically on offense. Defensively, it was pretty solid from start to finish other than giving up that touchdown early. At halftime, we made some adjustments just trying to get what the defense was giving you instead of forcing it.”
On Bradlee and Mika combing for three sacks
“Bradlee, I believe tied the all-time sack record tonight and has some more games to break that record so that tells you how valuable he is over his career here. He’s a great pass rusher and is destined for a long career in the NFL. We’ll be watching him for a lot of years. Mika is just a sophomore so we have him for a couple more years. He’s a tremendous player. Those three players that rotate in there between Bradlee, Mika and Maxs Tupai gives us a great presence on the edge of the defense.”
On having a short week to prepare and if that will change their schedule some
“It does. Monday is more like a Tuesday and Tuesday is more like a Wednesday. You just have to get a day ahead. We’ll have some meetings tomorrow night to get ready for that. We’ve done it before so we have a plan for it. Oregon is on the same schedule. It’s equal footing for both teams.”
On what he knows about Oregon
“Explosive team that plays good defense. They’ve got a lot of athletes in the secondary. I believe they lead the Pac-12 in interceptions, which is usually a pretty good barometer of your athleticism on the back end. They’ve got some tremendous athletes. Obviously, Herbert is a big time player and are very skilled. They have an offensive line that will be a great matchup because they have one of the best offensive lines in the country and we have one of the best defensive lines.”
On thinking about the seniors this week
“I got emotional a lot. Today pregame at the hotel before we got on the bus, we all expressed our gratitude and I got choked up. I’ll probably get choked up right now just talking about them. There are so many players that will go down in Utah history for years to come.”
Colorado Players
OLB/S Davion Taylor
On what the senior class accomplished this year
“Of course, I’m sad with this being my last game. But I’m excited for this program because we just set the foundation for this team. I feel like this group can do great things in the future.”
On the difference in the team from last year
“The bond that we have, we really are family-like. We are so close and they are like my brothers. It’s hard to leave your brothers and being part of the team. I’m just proud of them and proud of the way we worked this season.”
On Utah’s physicality and the weapons they have
“They have so many weapons. The main thing that we were trying to do is stop the run game. I feel like the first half we did that. Then they started throwing to some of their receivers. When we focused on one thing, then they started going to other things. We were so focused on the run that they just got us on a few passes. In the second half we started to balance things out, but we just made critical mistakes that caused us to lose the game.”
WR Tony Brown
On offensive struggles tonight
“It was difficult, but we just kept telling ourselves to keep chopping, keep pushing, and the game’s not over until it hits zeros.”
On the buy-in of the team with Mel Tucker
“There’s been a culture change at CU. Definitely a lot more intensity with Coach Tucker. He brings that SEC culture here. He’s a players’ coach and we all like that, but the culture is what changed and it was a big difference. We liked that change.”
On Utah’s physicality
“I definitely think we matched their physicality. They just made more plays than us. They are a very good team, but physicality-wise I think we matched them.”
Utah Players
WR Demari Simpkins
On how sweet it was for his last game in Rice-Eccles to turn out like that
“There was a lot of emotions in the beginning and I think that’s why we started off so slow. I’m just glad we got out of here with a win and we couldn’t be prouder of a group of guys. We fought hard tonight.”
On how he would describe the team after the USC loss eight games ago
“Hungry. I’d say we have been a lot more relentless during this stretch and we just didn’t want to leave any doubt. Everybody doubted us after that loss and we just had something to prove.”
On how he felt earning his first-career punt return touchdown
“It felt good and I feel blessed. I always knew I had it in me and I just had to wait for the perfect look. I had perfect blocks from the return unit and it just all worked out.”
On how it felt coming out of the tunnel for senior night
“It felt great. I did cry and I’m not even going to lie to you all. It’s amazing how much support we get from our fans, our family, our teammates and especially the Muss. We are just blessed.”
QB Tyler Huntley
On what led to the slow start and how they turned it around
“(smiling) It was cold. It was probably like 12 degrees and it was cold. Really it was just a matter of warming up.”
On what is was like coming out of the tunnel for senior night
“It was pretty crazy knowing it was my last game playing at Rice Eccles. The Muss was amazing and we love going out there and playing in front of them.”
On how Kuithe’s emergence has changed the look of the offense
“We just had to find a way to get him the ball. That is what it led to, we had to get him the ball because he is a playmaker and we have a lot of playmakers on the offense.”
TE Brant Kuithe
On his development throughout the season
“I always knew I could do what I’ve been doing it was just a matter of getting the opportunity and making plays in space. Just credit to all of the guys on the offensive line. Everybody out there on the field and it’s not just me, it’s 10 other guys so credit to them as well.”
On sending the seniors out the right way
“I just think of it as every other game. They are the seniors, they lead and we follow them. Each year after that you just need to take over the reins and they did a great job this year. And we still have a lot more games left, I feel like. They’re going to lead us and we are going to follow and win as much as we can.”
On if he expected to carry the ball as many times as he has the last few games
“For sure. They didn’t stop it last week and they didn’t really stop it this week so we will see about next week.”
DE Bradlee Anae
On tying the career sack record
“I’m just grateful and I would’ve liked to break it tonight but that wasn’t the case. The stats had me at half a sack with that second one but that’s all good and I’m just grateful.”
On playing in a game with so much at stake
“It wasn’t any different. We all came in with the same attitude and the same mentality but as a defense we don’t feel like we were successful in this game. They scored twice and they weren't supposed to score at all. That’s our mentality every game no matter who it is so we just need to get better as a defense.”
On approaching the Pac-12 Championship game as unfinished business
“It’s been a long time coming and a lot of us stayed back for this very reason and it’s just all about finishing and giving it our all.”