Colorado-UNC Quotes
vs
Iowa State
Oct 11 (Sat)
1:30 PM
Colorado Head Coach Karl Dorrell
Opening Statement-“Our team was inspired playing in front of people, again, and I do take my hat off to coach McCaffrey and the team. I think for not having a season and a half and for him to play the way they played I thought they fought really hard. I think they have a really good program, a good team, and we were fortunate enough to make a few more plays than them. I'm really disappointed in the discipline of our team right now, and that is where I am frustrated. We should have played a lot cleaner. I know it is the first game and some of those things happen, but from my side of it, I just felt we could have played and executed better. I have to give it to the Northern Colorado team, they had a completely different defensive scheme, and we never had a chance to get any information on it and I think that helped them in the first half of the game. Our offensive and defensive coaches at halftime made the right adjustments and we figured out what they were doing and then we were able to have some successful drives in the second half. That gave us a little more continuity and some points on the board so it was good problem solving. I felt that the coaches and the players responded in the second half pretty well, just disappointed in the penalties, I think it is very uncharacteristic of the team and we will get those things fixed. We addressed that at the end, in our locker room and we are not going to see that again. It was great to see that we have really good depth in our backfield. The challenge right now is trying to keep them all happy when not all of them carry the ball at the same time but it's a great problem to have, and it is good to have that type of production from all from all those guys.”
On Brendon Lewis-“I was pleased with Brendon Lewis and pleased in a way that he felt uncomfortable and certain things in the game were not open but, he will tell you that he missed a few today, but I felt he did a really good job of managing the game. He didn't throw any errant passes into the other people. He had to throw the ball away a few times when he was flushed out of the pocket but I would say, it was a solid performance from him and really that defense was very challenging because they're very similar to what San Diego State's defense was last year so they did a great job of scouting us because they have more information on us, and we had none on them but I had to give our team credit in the second half we know as soon as we understood what they were doing. We were able to put more points on the board.”
On Defense-“I felt defensively we did pretty well, you know we didn't want them to run the ball and we didn't allow them to run the ball. I think that first and foremost, we got a chance to get a lot of players playing because we have some depth but they are young on that side. The young corners got a chance to have a couple of strong series at the end of the game so it was good, it gets some depth into the game and gets some college experience and hopefully we will continue to build on their experience as we go. I thought coming off of injury for Chris Miller and Nate Landman they both played solidly, and I was really encouraged by their leadership. I think the communication, both in the backend and with what Nate does on the front seven was good and to see that both of those guys back healthy and playing and without any ill effects was great. I think overall the defense played really well. Unfortunately for the last touchdown that UNC had we did give up, we just missed some tackles and that's usually what plays a defense in the first game is missing tackles and it's unfortunate that came up late in the game for us.
On Dimitri Stanley-“Demitri Stanley is a really good player, a dynamic kid, and he enjoys returning punts and we enjoy having him back there. Our special teams played solidly. A little weekend protection on our field goal unit, and I know we missed a field goal there a 53 yard where it hit the crossbar, but I feel strongly and we had some touchbacks and good coverage. The return units did pretty well so it was a good start over on special teams.”
On Chase Penry-“Chase Penry was one of those freshmen that came in and just has a great knack for understanding our system I think he picked it up pretty fast and he was performing like that all camp, whenever he had a chance in practice to make a play on the ball, he would do it. I think the quarterbacks all feel very confident in what he is and he made a tremendous third down catch in traffic and that's the kind of kid he is but he's been performing like that the whole camp as well.”
On Penalties-“We all know what's in front of us. The penalties will take you out of the game. I know that's what we discussed at halftime. When we make great plays and we get a chance to get off the field defensively, you can't have a personal foul penalty. Those things really reset the chains, they get better yardage and that puts us behind the 8-ball again. Offensively, we had a personal foul. A couple drives were started and we’re getting deep into the opponent's territory in a red zone, then we have a personal foul that takes us back to midfield. That's uncharacteristic. That's not team football. If we continue down that path, it's going to hurt us all season long. We’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to play within our system and use better judgment and play more disciplined. Those are the characteristics we're all about. The one thing that clouded this whole night was that I'm so disappointed in the penalties.”
On Ralphie and the Student Section-“The environment was awesome. I thought the student section was rocking. They were right behind, and our players really gravitated to that, and they fed off that energy. It's a shame we can't run too close behind Ralphie just yet. When she ran off and did her loop, we had to make sure she finished her loop before we took the field. We're trying to progress to that next phase when we can run out with her. She's a baby, but she looks good. I think she enjoyed having the crowd cheering for her. Everything's different right now from that standpoint, but it's good to have Ralphie back. She's going to be a good one. She's got an interesting personality too. I got to meet her a few times and I'm sure that she's going to enjoy every step of the way in the future.
On Team Struggles Despite Winning Decisively “I was trying to express with the team in the locker room that we won 35-7. It was a pretty decisive win, but how good can we be? My vision of this team is we can be as good as we want ourselves to be. We were shooting ourselves in the foot today, but won a decisive game. They're going to learn from that. Mehki Blackmon made a great interception, and he was excited about it. It was good to get (Chris Miller) back in a game where he's healthy, and can make some plays. All those things are good things, but the things that would cause you to start losing games are the way that we played after the whistle. If we continue to do that, we're going to shoot ourselves in the foot and we're going to end up losing games. Hopefully we've learned that tonight, and I've expressed that enough with the team tonight. We'll get those things fixed going forward.”
Northern Colorado Head Coach Ed McCaffery
Opening Statement“I’m really proud of the young men in our football program. We haven’t played football for two years and we stood toe to toe with one of the best teams in the Pac-12. We had a shut out for a quarter, I needed to do a better job of putting our guys in a position to have success on offense for sure. We missed a couple opportunities, that’s on me in the redzone. But it wasn’t for lack of effort or lack of hustle or determination, our players played a really good football team and fought them four quarters and never gave up. Again, I’m going to go back and do a better job of putting them in a position to have success. You know when you lose a football game it feels like a funeral it hurts that much since you put that time and effort and blood sweat and tears into it, we just talked about it you know, although it seems like your darkest hour you know if you stare long enough into that darkness you’ll start to see a light. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we watch that film tomorrow, and were honest with each other, and we work hard to correct the mistakes and work hard to get better. That light is going to get brighter and brighter and brighter for this football team.”
On First Game of the Season
“Yeah, it's great to play football. I think it's all the excitement on our players faces. Despite the outcome, you know, It's more about us than it is about them, it's more about who we are as men, and who we are to each other, it's about that shared sacrifice, and it's about just pads popping and playing the game that we were born to play, and I was excited to coach, again the results certainly wasn't what we were hoping for, but I'd rather play football and lose and not play football.”
On UNC’s Defense
“I thought the defense was flying around we showed a great team speed, again we shut them out for a quarter and then we gave and they got a couple of short fields, and see you as a talented football team and they have a big old line they run the ball well they got receivers solid young quarterback I mean they're really good and we stood up and, you know, toe to toe with them. For most of the football game, and you know once they got into the field position game and it was difficult for us to flip it, they had a couple of short fields couple of special teams plays but now I'm so incredibly proud of our defense hopefully when you watch the tape you can see we got some playmakers over there on that side of the ball.”
Game Play
“Yeah, I mean I'll watch the film and come away with critiques for everybody at every position. But we did hold up pretty strongly there for a while, and then the wheels kind of came off for a minute again it was when they had those short fields and a couple big special teams plays and no offense not scoring twice in the redzone hurt us on the scoreboard, and you know you look at games like this and you know, five or six plays. We scored touchdown instead of turning over in the red zone the next time down even at the end of the game. We had a shot. You know crucial first down at midfield, which could, you know, keep a drive alive, little things like on defense, you know our defense played so well today but there was a couple of times we had a sack doesn't quite get it. But look, we live in learn so I know I can get better. That's what I'm going to concern myself with I can get better putting us in position to have success, I hadn't coached in a while, either. And so, I learned a lot about myself and I learned, hopefully, got a little better as a coach. After today, but I'm just so incredibly proud of our young men for how hard they fought. Yeah, no one, no one's given us a chance and we thought we'd lose by 60, and we really thought we could win this game that's what's so frustrating but it's, you look at the film, it's really a couple plays here and there and that's a close football game. That one thing I think all of our guys have that Dylan does Dylan points the finger himself first I point the finger at myself first and you really just need to take a hard look in the mirror and a hard look at the tape. We have to be honest with ourselves, what can we do to get better. I know I for sure we can get better if I left some plays on the field I have some regrets from the game, but it wasn't for lack effort on my part, either I gave everything I had to get ready for this game, but I came up a little bit short but there's definitely things I can do to help our players get in a position to have more success and that's what I plan on doing starting tonight.”
On Dylan McCaffery
“I thought like everyone else, you know he hadn't played in a couple years. I really thought he came alive in the second half and was moving the ball extremely well showed toughness and it has some great, great passes in the second half, you know, in the beginning, you know, we missed a couple, he was, again, hadn’t played football in two years and we have new receivers, two of our receivers went down, which made it a little more difficult in terms of getting lined up right and executing the plays that we were calling, but man, tough as nails. he took some hits to He's tough as nails. Well unfortunately it's a curse when the McCaffery family, taking hits but I'm so proud of him man after not playing for two years and coming back and just competing for four quarters. You know he's a leader and he's a hell of a quarterback and he made some throws today with that were phenomenal. Yeah, I'm sure he wants a couple back, wants a couple of play calls back too, but I think that type of mindset with our quarterback, with our offensive line, with our defense with everybody with our, with me, started with me, that type of mindset is going to be the reason we will be successful”
On Colorado
“Their whole team's hard prepare for, they have a lot of talent. They have a lot of talent. I mean I don't know what else to say about Coach of the Year in the Pac-12, Player of the Year in the Pac-12 and defensively three, what I consider first name on Pac-12 players and the second the young secondary, some of those young guys measure way better than they were a year ago. They're good. Again, I thought for half of that game, it was even game, and the other half, you know, unfortunately play too. And, and they kind got up on us and we couldn't quite stop the momentum they had in the middle part of that football game, but again, we did a lot of really good things out there today.”
Colorado Players
LB Nate Landman
ON BEING BACK – “It's all great. You know I didn't have the perfect game and there's no such thing as perfect game. I was excited to be out there, you know I felt good.”ON ADJUSTMENTS-“Yeah, we had to keep it really vanilla, coming into the game, you know, and find as much film as we could. We didn't get much, we didn't know much about them and so you know we kept a vanilla scheme coming in and we would make a lot of adjustments during the game. Especially in the first quarter, and then going through halftime, we made some adjustments during halftime and they came out with some new stuff, also in the second half. So, you know, they were just trying to dictate where the ball would go and get us moving, get us in awkward positions but I think we adjusted the defense pretty well for not having great film on them.”
ON HAVING TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS-“For sure, especially for you know if we have some young guys in the defense some of the older guys may be used to it. Man can adjust on the fly like that but for young guys to see the process and how that goes, it's huge for building depth for the team.”
ON PENALTIES-“For sure we had a lot, I think was in the double digits, and they were able to extend drives off those penalties. They even scored off one of the drives extended by two penalties; sloppy ball we didn't play well. It's definitely going to be an emphasis this week clean up; it's not how we played during camp, and you know we don't want to be that kind of team. So that's definitely a big issue now. I think it's something that's going to get fixed this week.”
“We’re going to be playing a bigger games and that stuff can’t happen in bigger games, that's how you lose games. You know if that kind of stuff happens next week we can't, we can't give any advantage to that team or any team we're playing. Maybe that extra energy may cause those boundaries but we got to be better and we got to be mature about, you know, playing defense and offense, the right way and not causing those penalties.”
ON FIXING PENALTIES-“It's just a maturity thing so, you know, you get those out your system game one hopefully, and hopefully we get those out we got those out of our system and we move on. We see what those penalties do to the drives and then, you know, end up scoring points against us. So I think it's a mature thing and you know those guys are getting”
ON PLAYING BIGGER GAMES-“Yeah you I mean you always want to treat it just as a football game, so that's what it is you know they're going to get some plays, we're going to make some plays, and you want to get better each week. So that's just going to be our goal is getting better each week learning from this experience. They threw a lot at us and being able to adjust like that was huge for gaining experience getting rid of those penalties and just getting better each week. We want to be playing our best ball towards the end season just getting better each week.”
ON PLAYING TOP 10 TEAMS-“Yeah, it's huge, I mean this this program, got great history of winning championship winning titles and, you know, one of my goals whose team is to get this get this team back on the map. Having those big teams coming in and, you know, playing those big games. Especially in Colorado having the fan base here is going be huge for getting the program back and, you know, we're looking to play our best football next weekend. You know, it's a huge game for this program and it could set it could be a big milestone set for the season. “
RB Jarek Broussard
ON FANS BEING BACK-“It was good to see everybody out there again supporting us, getting the students back into it, letting them get the experience of watching us play. That was a cool experience (with having fans back in the stands). Playing with fans again was full of emotions. It was fun to see everybody come out and watch us play. To get a win was good.”
ON FOUR RB’S SCORING TD’s-“We got a good group of guys that can all do great things. It was good to see those guys come out and get into the end zone. It was fun to watch my peers and have a good time.”
ON JAYLE STACKS AT FULLBACK-“Having a guy like Jayle is really good to clear the hole up for us. Another thing a lot of people don't know is that he talked about it as well. I should look forward to seeing that soon.”
WR Dimitri Stanley
ON FIRST GAME-"There’s always those first-game jitters. We have a new quarter. The fans are back. It’s a lot of stuff coming at you all at once. I think the coaches mindset was to get B Lew’s [Brendon Lewis] feet wet. I know he played in a big game last
year, but he hasn’t been the starter at the season. We’re just kind of running plays to kind of get him prepared honestly. I feel like we’re right where we want to be, but we definitely need to start faster.”
ON UNC DEFENSE-"They didn’t really give us much to go off of. We just had to make adjustments as the game went on. Some can say it’s unfair to prepare for a game like that but you can’t really cry about it. You just have to go out and play.”
ON MAKING ADJUSTMENTS-“Our run game definitely stepped up in that second half. They were playing a lot of zone. We kind of just made adjustments in the pass game in that situation as well.”
ON RETURNING PUNTS-“I’m just trying to do as much as I can for the team to get us in position to score. If the pass game isn’t working, I have to do something with the ball in my hands any chance I get. I’m glad that I was able to do a little bit and gain a couple more yards off those returns. Hopefully, I can keep on doing that throughout the season.”
ON IF HE WAS SURPRISED UNC KEPT PUNTING TO HIM-“Some of my teammates were saying that on the sideline. They were like ‘They’re going to stop kicking to you in a second.’ I’m like, ‘I hope not because there was just a lot of plays to be made on the field. I think I could have made a couple more, could have gained a couple more yards. I'm happy with that being the first game back.”
ON ENJOYING PUNT RETURNING-“I don’t know if you guys know this, but my dad was a punt and kick returner in the league [NFL]. I grew up loving punt returning and all that. It’s just explosive plays. It flips the field. It’s everything you want in a game. That excitement, everything comes with those returns. A lot of people don’t really have the will to do it because you can’t really see the people in front of you when the ball is in the air. I just stay calm and trust my athleticism at that point.”
ON HIS FAVORITE RETURNER BESIDES HIS DAD-“Probably Devin Hester. He’s the obvious one.”
ON LEARNING FROM OTHER RETURNERS-“You can definitely learn from any position. I even asked Jarek [Broussard] for a couple of tips. He was giving me a couple of tips on the sideline, telling me how to make my returns more explosive with cuts and some of the stuff that he does as a running back. I’m always trying to learn. Always watching guys in the league and what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I’ll watch guys in college at bigger schools and how they’re doing it. Just taking what I can. Those bits and pieces and putting it into my game.”
ON NEXT WEEK AGAINST TEXAS A&M-“I’m extremely excited. But in all honesty, we have to play five times better than we did tonight. I feel like we made a lot of stupid mental errors and we got a lot of stupid penalties on ourselves, which again makes you appreciate your growth which isn’t good for any team at the end of the day. We definitely have to eliminate those against a big top 10 team like A&M.”
ON CUTTING OUT THE MISTAKES-“We just have to face it. Coach Dorrell talked about it in the locker room after the game. It’s a learning opportunity and we just have to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
ON BEING A LEADER FOR THE YOUNGER PLAYERS-“Those guys [Lewis and La’Vontae Shenault] are playing a lot now. We have to bring them along. There’s not really any time, especially with a big game like A&M, for them to settle in. This was kind of the only game to do that. I’m looking for them to make those big plays like Montana [Lemonious-Craig] did tonight. Like Vontae did towards the end of the game. They’ll be ready. We’re not worried about it.”
year, but he hasn’t been the starter at the season. We’re just kind of running plays to kind of get him prepared honestly. I feel like we’re right where we want to be, but we definitely need to start faster.”
ON UNC DEFENSE-"They didn’t really give us much to go off of. We just had to make adjustments as the game went on. Some can say it’s unfair to prepare for a game like that but you can’t really cry about it. You just have to go out and play.”
ON MAKING ADJUSTMENTS-“Our run game definitely stepped up in that second half. They were playing a lot of zone. We kind of just made adjustments in the pass game in that situation as well.”
ON RETURNING PUNTS-“I’m just trying to do as much as I can for the team to get us in position to score. If the pass game isn’t working, I have to do something with the ball in my hands any chance I get. I’m glad that I was able to do a little bit and gain a couple more yards off those returns. Hopefully, I can keep on doing that throughout the season.”
ON IF HE WAS SURPRISED UNC KEPT PUNTING TO HIM-“Some of my teammates were saying that on the sideline. They were like ‘They’re going to stop kicking to you in a second.’ I’m like, ‘I hope not because there was just a lot of plays to be made on the field. I think I could have made a couple more, could have gained a couple more yards. I'm happy with that being the first game back.”
ON ENJOYING PUNT RETURNING-“I don’t know if you guys know this, but my dad was a punt and kick returner in the league [NFL]. I grew up loving punt returning and all that. It’s just explosive plays. It flips the field. It’s everything you want in a game. That excitement, everything comes with those returns. A lot of people don’t really have the will to do it because you can’t really see the people in front of you when the ball is in the air. I just stay calm and trust my athleticism at that point.”
ON HIS FAVORITE RETURNER BESIDES HIS DAD-“Probably Devin Hester. He’s the obvious one.”
ON LEARNING FROM OTHER RETURNERS-“You can definitely learn from any position. I even asked Jarek [Broussard] for a couple of tips. He was giving me a couple of tips on the sideline, telling me how to make my returns more explosive with cuts and some of the stuff that he does as a running back. I’m always trying to learn. Always watching guys in the league and what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I’ll watch guys in college at bigger schools and how they’re doing it. Just taking what I can. Those bits and pieces and putting it into my game.”
ON NEXT WEEK AGAINST TEXAS A&M-“I’m extremely excited. But in all honesty, we have to play five times better than we did tonight. I feel like we made a lot of stupid mental errors and we got a lot of stupid penalties on ourselves, which again makes you appreciate your growth which isn’t good for any team at the end of the day. We definitely have to eliminate those against a big top 10 team like A&M.”
ON CUTTING OUT THE MISTAKES-“We just have to face it. Coach Dorrell talked about it in the locker room after the game. It’s a learning opportunity and we just have to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
ON BEING A LEADER FOR THE YOUNGER PLAYERS-“Those guys [Lewis and La’Vontae Shenault] are playing a lot now. We have to bring them along. There’s not really any time, especially with a big game like A&M, for them to settle in. This was kind of the only game to do that. I’m looking for them to make those big plays like Montana [Lemonious-Craig] did tonight. Like Vontae did towards the end of the game. They’ll be ready. We’re not worried about it.”
DB Chris Miller
ON BEING HEALTHY-“It felt good just to be out there to be contributing. It was my first full game since 2019. It felt good to be back out there playing my role and doing whatever I can do for my brothers.”
ON DEFENSE-“It was a decent game for us for it being the first game. We made some mistakes, but those are fixable. We all had great effort and great energy the whole time. I think that was good for us, and a good learning experience. We get watch film and learn from all the mistakes that we had and grow from it. I think there is a lot more in store for us.”
ON PASS INTERFERENCE PENALTIES-“We need to understand we have got to be more patient, play better on receivers and become the pressure. We will watch the film, learn from mistakes, and we can do better.”
ON YOUNGER DB’S PLAYING TIME-“They got a lot of heart and they played with a lot of effort. They’re going to be good in the future, so I expect a lot out of them.”
ON DEFENSE-“It was a decent game for us for it being the first game. We made some mistakes, but those are fixable. We all had great effort and great energy the whole time. I think that was good for us, and a good learning experience. We get watch film and learn from all the mistakes that we had and grow from it. I think there is a lot more in store for us.”
ON PASS INTERFERENCE PENALTIES-“We need to understand we have got to be more patient, play better on receivers and become the pressure. We will watch the film, learn from mistakes, and we can do better.”
ON YOUNGER DB’S PLAYING TIME-“They got a lot of heart and they played with a lot of effort. They’re going to be good in the future, so I expect a lot out of them.”
DB Mekhi Blackmon
ON PASS INTERFERENCE PENALTIES-“We’ve got to be smarter. We let our emotions get the best of us but that is fixable.”
ON HIS INTERCEPTION-“Our front seven was able to pressure them all day. (UNC Quarterback Dylan McCaffery) was probably not comfortable back there, overthrew the ball, and I made a good play on it.”
ON YOUNGER DB’S PLAYING TIME-“They were a little frustrated that they weren't able to get in a little earlier (in the game). I had told them ‘Once your chance comes, play your game.’ I've been telling a lot of people those guys are going to be really good. They can play now. Their confidence is through the roof already so them being able to play a show they're talented and can do the job.”
ON HE AND CHRIS MILLER REHABBING INJURIES TOGETHER-“Chris and I are around the same age. When he got injured that took a toll on me. I followed him with an injury. We were both in rehab together and understood we can play good, but we got to stay healthy. It hurts to see him out but once he's back, we ball out together. That’s the upside for me (on playing with Chris).”
ON HIS INTERCEPTION-“Our front seven was able to pressure them all day. (UNC Quarterback Dylan McCaffery) was probably not comfortable back there, overthrew the ball, and I made a good play on it.”
ON YOUNGER DB’S PLAYING TIME-“They were a little frustrated that they weren't able to get in a little earlier (in the game). I had told them ‘Once your chance comes, play your game.’ I've been telling a lot of people those guys are going to be really good. They can play now. Their confidence is through the roof already so them being able to play a show they're talented and can do the job.”
ON HE AND CHRIS MILLER REHABBING INJURIES TOGETHER-“Chris and I are around the same age. When he got injured that took a toll on me. I followed him with an injury. We were both in rehab together and understood we can play good, but we got to stay healthy. It hurts to see him out but once he's back, we ball out together. That’s the upside for me (on playing with Chris).”
RB Alex Fontenot
ON PRACTICE CONVERTING TO GAMES-“Every practice is like we’re competing. We’re never slacking on that end. Just competing makes us work harder. We always just want to show each other up in a competitive way which is good. That just gives us our offense more weapons.”
ON BEING BACK ON THE FIELD-“I’ve been waiting for that for about a year. It was great just getting that experience again.”
ON REHAB-“It was really just doing more than what was expected and getting back out there even faster so when I do go out there I was better than before I was hurt.”
ON RALPHIE VI-“It’s cool. It’s kind of crazy. It’s great having Ralphie out there. We got to see her at practice a couple weeks ago. It was cool how they let us see her first. That was a cool experience.”
ON TEXAS A&M-“It’s going to be a great experience. We have to treat it like any other game and prepare for it. Go over the film, get with our coaches and just get right.”
ON THE RUNNING BACK ROOM-“It’s cool because everybody does their own little thing differently. You might learn something new from each other, which is really good because that just takes your game to the next level.”
ON BEING BACK ON THE FIELD-“I’ve been waiting for that for about a year. It was great just getting that experience again.”
ON REHAB-“It was really just doing more than what was expected and getting back out there even faster so when I do go out there I was better than before I was hurt.”
ON RALPHIE VI-“It’s cool. It’s kind of crazy. It’s great having Ralphie out there. We got to see her at practice a couple weeks ago. It was cool how they let us see her first. That was a cool experience.”
ON TEXAS A&M-“It’s going to be a great experience. We have to treat it like any other game and prepare for it. Go over the film, get with our coaches and just get right.”
ON THE RUNNING BACK ROOM-“It’s cool because everybody does their own little thing differently. You might learn something new from each other, which is really good because that just takes your game to the next level.”
DL Jalen Sami
ON ELIMINATING PENALTIES-“It’s extremely important. Coach Dorrell wanted to emphasize that with us, especially in the locker room. We can’t beat ourselves. We can’t allow those plays to continue to drives. No one is worth 15 yards, especially me. We all have to play smarter. Play our techniques and trust ourselves and our eyes so we can see what we’re going to see and play how we play. If there’s one thing we’re going to focus on going into next week, it’s definitely eliminating those mistakes, those penalties, the selfish plays and just coming back ready to play Texas A&M.”
ON WHAT COACH DORRELL EMPHASIZED POSTGAME-“We had a good game, but it could have been better. Personally on defense, we shouldn’t have allowed them to score. We should get three-and-outs, stop the run and convert on third downs to get off the field so they can punt. Offensively, it was a slow start for us. It should have been better, but based off of circumstances, they overcame and came back for the second half and played well. They balled out. Other than that, it’s just really team oriented. We have to do what we have to do. If everyone does their job, we’ll have a great team. We still got the win and we’re happy about that, but there’s a lot to improve and we still need to get better.”
ON UNC’S OFFENSE-“It was very surprising. At first, we thought they were going to run the ball coming out. We’re expecting them to come out in 12 personnel and try to run it on us but that wasn’t the case. They came out and started throwing it. It took us off our game plan, but we expected that whatever personnel the got in we were going to play against it. We are going to re-emphasize stopping the run and forcing the quarterback to throw the ball. When they came out throwing it, it was a little different. We adjusted and played well.”
ON TEXAS A&M-“We’re extremely excited. Especially, to play at Empower Field. They’re a good team. We watched a couple of their tapes, especially how they ended last year. There’s a lot of pressure against us but that’s something we’re willing to accept and just climb and use that as momentum to force us to play our best game next week. We know we can’t play like this next week. We’re going to go out there and fix it. A good team like A&M will capitalize on those penalties. We can’t allow that. No selfishness. The way we play ball, like how we played in the first half, stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback, that’s how we have to play. If we do that next week, we’ll be in good shape.”
ON GETTING INTO THE UNC BACKFIELD-“It felt good. It was exciting, but it’s pretty much all practice. We practice that. We practice playing schemes and how offenses will play against us. So they came out and did what they did against us. We’d been practicing it all week. It just became second nature. It was just a very exciting moment for me. It was a good game, especially having all our brothers out there, getting a good rotation in. Everyone just getting that fresh feel of we’re in season. We’re playing games. It’s time that everyone gets some touches on the field and gets the experience.”
ON WHAT COACH DORRELL EMPHASIZED POSTGAME-“We had a good game, but it could have been better. Personally on defense, we shouldn’t have allowed them to score. We should get three-and-outs, stop the run and convert on third downs to get off the field so they can punt. Offensively, it was a slow start for us. It should have been better, but based off of circumstances, they overcame and came back for the second half and played well. They balled out. Other than that, it’s just really team oriented. We have to do what we have to do. If everyone does their job, we’ll have a great team. We still got the win and we’re happy about that, but there’s a lot to improve and we still need to get better.”
ON UNC’S OFFENSE-“It was very surprising. At first, we thought they were going to run the ball coming out. We’re expecting them to come out in 12 personnel and try to run it on us but that wasn’t the case. They came out and started throwing it. It took us off our game plan, but we expected that whatever personnel the got in we were going to play against it. We are going to re-emphasize stopping the run and forcing the quarterback to throw the ball. When they came out throwing it, it was a little different. We adjusted and played well.”
ON TEXAS A&M-“We’re extremely excited. Especially, to play at Empower Field. They’re a good team. We watched a couple of their tapes, especially how they ended last year. There’s a lot of pressure against us but that’s something we’re willing to accept and just climb and use that as momentum to force us to play our best game next week. We know we can’t play like this next week. We’re going to go out there and fix it. A good team like A&M will capitalize on those penalties. We can’t allow that. No selfishness. The way we play ball, like how we played in the first half, stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback, that’s how we have to play. If we do that next week, we’ll be in good shape.”
ON GETTING INTO THE UNC BACKFIELD-“It felt good. It was exciting, but it’s pretty much all practice. We practice that. We practice playing schemes and how offenses will play against us. So they came out and did what they did against us. We’d been practicing it all week. It just became second nature. It was just a very exciting moment for me. It was a good game, especially having all our brothers out there, getting a good rotation in. Everyone just getting that fresh feel of we’re in season. We’re playing games. It’s time that everyone gets some touches on the field and gets the experience.”
QB Brendon Lewis
ON HOW HE PLAYED-“It felt good to get a win. I felt I played decent, but I could have played better. I was disappointed that I missed a few throws. I’m going to come back next week and get better and better for Texas A&M next week.”ON IMPROVEMENTS FOR NEXT WEEK-“I can get through my reads better, not trying to escape the pocket. I know I had to a couple times. I made a couple good plays extending plays. I can do better progressing on my reads.”
ON FIRST COLLEGE START-“It was a different feeling going into the game knowing I would be the starter. It was a different feeling than waiting behind somebody, then going into the game. I knew I was going to play (in the Alamo Bowl against Texas). Still, it was a different feeling going in and knowing I was going to be the guy.”
ON NOT HAVING FILM-“We didn't have much film on them. They came out with a defense we did not not prepare for at all. We did a good job coming out of halftime making adjustments.”
ON BEING NAMED A CAPTAIN FOR THE GAME-“It meant a lot of me. It made me feel good knowing that my teammates rely on me because they voted for it. It felt good that they have my back and thought that I was one of the guys that could lead the team.”
ON FOUR BUFFS RB’s SCORING TD’S-“It's no surprise. Every dude in the running back room is a dog. I wasn't surprised to see every single one of them get into the end zone. They're all really good at what they do.”
ON TEXAS A&M-“It's a big game, playing at (Empower Field at) Mile High. Every game is a big game. We're not going to get too “ra ra ra” over this game. We’re going to prepare as need be for the game because we know it's a big game. We’re not going to get too into it to where we’re distracted.”
ON HITTING EIGHT DIFFERENT RECEIVERS-“I like getting everybody the ball. They're all really good and our offense can be really good. We have a lot of weapons on our team and they're good at what they do. I take pride in spreading the ball around
and get everybody the ball. It felt good getting Montana (Lemonious-Craig) his first collegiate touchdown.”
ON THE PENALTIES-“That surprised me, because like Coach (Dorrell) said in camp, we did not have those penalties at all. When we got those penalties, I was like, ‘Come on guys we got to lock in.’ We were not doing that in camp, but we'll get it fixed this week going into next week. I don’t think that will ever happen again.”
ON FAMILIARITY WITH UNC PLAYERS LEADING TO DISCIPLINE ISSUES-“There was “chippy-ness” going on, not necessarily from other Colorado players. It was from other players on UNC, but I don’t think that played a factor with the penalties. That’s part of the game.”
Northern Colorado Players
QB Dylan McCaffery
ON TEAM PLAY-“We learned the team can fight there we got really good defense really good o-line and, and I was excited there's a lot of stuff to build on. That's a really good opponent we're playing. And, you know, we're gonna learn a lot from it. And I think the way we respond will teach us a lot, but I'm really proud of those guys, I know, I personally got to put us in much better situations than I did. You know, but I'm really proud of those guys>ON HIS GAME-“I try not to put as much pressure on my situation. I thought my throws were all over the place, felt like we had some good concepts out of that you know. I held on a little too long.
ON GETTING THE TOUCHDOWN-“ It did feel good, you know I was by saying it the first points the hardest to get applies for one game, one season. So it's good that we came along with that, I think that driving through the go, we had a couple of good drives you know that unfortunately didn't finish. So that's something we'll be focusing on; we’ll work on.”