Colorado-Nebraska Quotes
November 26, 2010 | Football
Colorado Interim Head Coach Brian Cabral
Opening Statement
"In all reality, the Buffaloes just ran out of emotional gas. It's been a very emotional three weeks, including this week as well. This week, getting ready for this game really has been an emotional deal. They put everything into this game and into this week. I could not be more proud. I'm honored, and I am blessed to have had the opportunity for three weeks to lead these guys. It is so awesome. It's a great group of guys and the staff.
"My hat is off to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They outplayed us. They made more plays and we didn't. We didn't make the plays we needed to make, so my hat is off. They rebounded from their loss in great fashion. My hat's off to them."
On Nebraska's defensive vulnerability
"We knew they were strong up front. We knew they were No. 1 against the pass. We had to win the game up front and it had to come down to that. We put our best O-line against their pretty darn good defensive front. We had to control the line of scrimmage and block them up to move the ball and throw the ball. They, shoot, my hats off to the Blackshirts.
On NU's touchdown before the end of the first half
"That was big. You don't want to go into the locker room with that much momentum on the other side. So that was big. I still thought if we could come out and take the first drive (of the second half) and take it down there, start us off and get that score down, we'd have a chance. But obviously it went the other way. That's a great defense."
On Colorado's confidence with NU missing quarterback Taylor Martinez and receiver Niles Paul
"I fully expected to see (Taylor) Martinez, their (No.) 17 (Cody Green), he did a great job. He did what they needed him to do, just running the ball as well as throwing the ball. They made plays. It was a power football game, and they obviously overpowered us to their credit, and [Nebraska offensive coordinator] Shawn Watson's credit. He moved the ball, drove the ball and we could not stop that."
On preparing for Rex Burkhead and the Wildcat formation
"We've seen wildcat, no doubt. We prepared for that. It's not much different than all the wildcats we've seen before. For some reason we just could not get it done."
Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini
On how it feels achieving the goal they had set out at the beginning of the year
"We're only halfway there. You have to win the Big 12 North first, to get to the Championship Game. We were able to accomplish that today. I'm proud of our kids. I'm happy for our kids. I'm happy for our seniors, that they were sent out the right way. It's a tremendous group of young men. It was fun to win the Big 12 North today. We still have some unfinished business, that wasn't our main goal, but it was a goal we had to reach. It was part of the process."
On Rex Burkhead's play today
"Nothing Rex Burkhead does surprises me, he's a tremendous football player, tremendous kid. He's what football players, they ought to put his picture next to it in the dictionary because he just does so many things to help you and he's a tremendous kid, tremendous individual. He epitomizes what this program is all about."
On Burkhead's touchdown pass to Kyler Reed
"It was actually a pop pass. They covered it, they ad-libbed, and just made a heck of a play."
On Cody Green managing the offense today
"Cody Green played a tremendous football game. I've said all along, we have a lot of confidence in him. He played well in all respects. Trust me, he would be the first one to tell you there are a lot of things he could have done better our there today, like anybody else because he is hard on himself and we're looking for perfection. He played a really good football game."
On if they will start Cody Green next week
"Who knows. I don't know what next week holds right now. We'll worry about that come the weekend."
On if they had to start him next week, would they have more confidence in him
"We've had confidence in him. I know one thing, it has to give him a jolt of confidence, playing in this kind of situation and stepping up the way he did. I'm not sure what the health is of Taylor (Martinez) and where we'll be right there, but now's not the time to worry about that."
On the status of Cameron Meredith
"Cameron will be fine, he just had an ankle sprain."
On the resiliency he saw from his team this week
"I think our team showed resiliency over and over for a long time. A lot of people tried to tear this team apart, and we weren't going to let it happen. Enough said on that."
On getting takeaways this week
"It was a different type of football game than the one in College Station. They were putting the ball in the air, our guys went and attacked the football. There were some really good plays made out there, a couple tipped balls. (DeJon) Gomes' interception, that was a tremendous football play. The guys played well."
On Joe Broekmeier getting catches today
"He's been practicing with us for a while now. When you have a guy like Niles (Paul) it's kind of hard to crack the lineup and get in there. His name went to the top of the list when Niles had the injury. Nothing that Joe does surprises me, he's a good football player. (He) really stepped up today, I'm happy for him. He's a great kid."
On the chances Pelini thinks the team has next week
"I'm not worried about next week right now. I like our chances. I think we can win any game. I have a lot of confidence in our football team and these kids. Enough said on that."
On if he'll watch tomorrow night's Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game
"I won't watch the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game. I'll see that on film on Sunday. You guys can watch it. (I'll) see if there is a good basketball game on."
Colorado Player Quotes
OL Ryan Miller
On how tough the Nebraska defense was
"They're the Blackshirt defense for a reason. They're quick, they're fast, they make plays."
On how Nebraska was shutting down the run game
"They filled the box early on, and we just have to catch balls when they do that. We weren't executing. We executed at home but we didn't execute on the road."
On how vulnerable he thought Nebraska was following the loss to Texas A&M
"Any given day, anybody can beat anybody. It's part of the game."
Linebacker B.J. Beatty
On what made Nebraska's running attack so good
"They're tough. They brought it today. I think last week against A&M put a little fire into them and they definitely brought it today. I tip my hat off to them, their offensive line, tight ends, running backs, they were just tough today."
On if he thought Nebraska would be vulnerable without Taylor Martinez and Niles Paul
"We thought that, but then again they have so many weapons. They have their tight ends; Roy (Helu), Rex (Burkhead), they did a good job compensating. We couldn't really go to sleep because they had guys to compensate."
Nebraska Players
Offensive Lineman Jeremiah Sirles
On what was working on offense today
"We just knew with the quarterback situation that we just wanted to pound the rock. We didn't want to go back to basics, but use everything in our power. We called the bronco and wildcat (formations) with (I-back) Rex (Burkhead). He had a great day running the ball. We came out there and controlled the tempo."
On the importance of the wildcat formation
"Its huge. Having Rex (Burkhead) back there is a huge threat, and we showed tonight that he can throw the ball. Rex is just a great football player, and you have to respect him in every way. He is a huge, huge, huge asset to our offense."
On having a weapon like tight end Kyler Reed in this offense
"We call him Kyler Speed. He is a tight end with wide receiver speed, and he is a blocking tight end. He gets after guys in the piles, and he is definitely a huge threat as well. Kyler is a great weapon to have as well."
QB Cody Green
On if there was anything particularly satisfying about this win
"To send out the seniors with a 'W'. I'm a huge, huge fan of doing things for older guys, so that's something where that really warms me up inside-knowing that I left the seniors with something they'll never forget."
On if it helped knowing all week he would start
"It basically helped out about as much as if they would've just said, 'Hey, you're going in.' Our whole mindset is to basically practice like you're a starter. Doing that, it really molds us into believing that at any point in time, we can start. Thanks to (Offensive Coordinator Shawn) Watson and Coach Bo (Pelini) and the (staff), it really turned us that way. When they do give us the green light to go, we're ready."
On the team's mindset this week after a tough loss"
Really, it was almost scary how focused people were. As a whole unit, we started off on Monday flying around, even though everybody was still banged up. It was kind of like everybody had an inner clock, an inner drive in them that just made them go. That carried on throughout the week. We didn't have a setback, didn't have a bad practice-even a bad period. Things just kept going and kept going, and a good practice week turns into a good game."
On I-back Rex Burkhead's impact on the game"
He ran like a man possessed. For a guy his size, you kind of look at him and say, 'Oh, what can he do?' That little guy has a knack for getting yards, not going down and playing so tenaciously."
DB DeJon Gomes
On what the key was to his two turnovers
"Probably the preparation this week in practice. Also, I think we were flying around and being more aggressive than we have been for most of the season."
On how the team prepared for this game
"It was just making sure we were focused, especially on a short week like this, you have to make sure you prepare well. You get one less day of preparation, so you have to make the most of every practice and every snap."
On why there were fewer turnovers created in the past few games
"I don't know if you could really pinpoint anything. Maybe this offense was more aggressive than the offenses have been in the past couple weeks. We knew that they threw the ball up, and we'd have our opportunities so we'd just have to make the most of them, and we did tonight."
I-Back Rex Burkhead
On his two passes today
"It was kind of neat, bringing those out. Coach (Shawn) Watson had those in the game plan. It's fun to actually run them. The second one, our first target kind of got taken away and Kyler Reed made a great play separating from his guy. It's fun-it's neat to do that."
