Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Colorado-California Quotes
November 16, 2013 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
General              Â
"First of all, I would like to start by congratulating our team, those players in the locker room, I was so happy for them. Our coaching staff has worked tirelessly and really hard together keeping those young men together, and focused. And then, I would like to thank our fans, I thought it was an exciting atmosphere. That's a stepping block for us going into the future. I would also like to congratulate [WR] Paul Richardson for becoming the single-season receiving yards record holder. And then, our quarterback Sefo [Liufau] played really, really well. He got hit on the arm on the one interception, but came back, made some really good plays. I can think – maybe ya'll are starting to see a little bit of what I see – hopefully he'll just keep improving, and I know he will. There is no way he'll get 'big headed.' I just saw his little sister out there, and she said, 'yeah, he did OK.' So, it's exciting there. [RB] Michael Adkins showed his speed again today; [RB] Christian Powell showed his toughness again. Our offensive line, I thought, did some really, really good things; they (Cal) brought a lot of stuff at us, so I thought they did a good job. Defensively, I thought we did a good job. There at the end, they gained some yards on us; we were playing our 'backers a little deeper, which hurts you on the run, and [Cal RB Brendan] Bigelow is really quick. So we wanted to get on him quick, as you saw earlier in the game, we got on him quick. But, when the play-action, we kind of gave up a few yards. At one point, time was more in our favor than points. Of course, [WR] Nelson Spruce made a good play on the one (Cal on-side kick), and we didn't do as good on the next one – I think the (kicker) might of missed hit it – but we got to get on it. We didn't know if it was going to go 10 or nine (yards); that's something we got to work on. Just, overall pleased with everything, and happy for the fans and for our players that we got that 'W' today."
On Win Reinforcing Values Preached To The Team         Â
"I think it validates, to the players, their hard work is paying off. They're staying home on Thursday nights not going out; they're doing the things they're supposed to do. Those little discipline things that you start going, 'well, we're not winning right now, why are we doing that?' Now, this validates staying the course, you keep working, keep working, you keep planting the seeds; you keep watering the seeds and eventually they start to sprout. No way we are there yet, by any stretch, but this is a good step in the right direction."
On How Special WR Paul Richardson IsÂ
"I think he's real special. Just the way he's worked; he's had a hurt ankle, and in the Washington game five minutes before the receivers are about to warm up he comes to me and says, 'Coach I want to try it.'… And he played. Tonight, he wasn't able to practice really until Wednesday full speed, and he kind of went through it and took a little bit of time off late in the week, and then he went out there tonight and played valiantly. Very, very proud of Paul Richardson and what he means to this team. Some guys in his situation say, 'I'll be alright', but no, he is truly a team player. A team player."
On Secondary Holding Cal To 214 Yards Passing
"I was really happy. One of the things that teaches you to get better in the secondary, is to get toasted. I know that sounds funny, but now you know, 'I better be outside leverage, I better be inside leverage, I better have my eyes in the right spot' and they're starting to do that more. But, the other thing that helped us is our pass rush, we had great pass rush. He was under duress, and that helps the secondary tremendously. The best pass defense is a quarterback lying on his back. And we were able to do that some tonight. I thought some of the guys had good rushes and (defensive line coach) Jim [Jeffcoat] did a good job with them. They're really, really, really starting to listen to some of the things we're telling them; and that's making a difference. You do those little things, over and over and over, and eventually it hits and they go, 'wow, that does work.' It validates some of that to them."
On Playing Important Games In Late November
"I think it's real important. Some people thought I was crazy when I said that a while back, and I thought we could win some games here, and I still do, I still think we can win some more left; they're going to be real tough, against real good football teams. But, now there is a little bit more to play for. Senior day is awesome for the seniors, but now the seniors actually have a little bit more to play for, and so do the players out there. So, when they come back Sunday, I guarantee they will be a little bit more tuned up and a little bit sharper. I wish they were always that way, but they'll be a little bit better on their Ps and Qs. They'll be watching a little bit extra film, and they'll be excited about what's going on."
On Cal's Defensive Vulnerability              Â
"We felt like they were going to have to blitz to get – when you really look at it, I saw today that Stanford has the most three to four man blitzes where they sack the quarterback than any other team in the country over the last two, three years; that's why they're so good on defense. So, if you have to blitz to get to the quarterback all the time you might say, 'well the defensive coordinator, he gurued that thing up.' It's feast or famine if you have to do that all the time. We felt like our line could protect against them. We felt like they would have to blitz us some, and when they did we could take advantage of it; and we were able to do that. The screen play that we hit to [RB Michael] Adkins, because they were blitzing us, so we saw we could make a guy miss and he was gone. That's just an example of this, it doesn't always have to be a deep throw. That's what we were able to work on."
On WR Nelson Spruce's Performance    Â
"He put on a show, didn't he? I always tease Nelson, all of summer camp, every day I would say tuck the ball away and turn your body up field. Finally he got tired of hearing it, and I was on him all the time, and now you are starting to see him do that. He's strong. I laugh, he's kind of like [Dallas WR] Keyshawn Johnson always used to say that he was never open, but he was always open. That's the way Nelson is; he's always open. He'll find a way to get the guy off him, and he'll catch it away from him, get the guy off of him. Nelson is a really good player. The play on the onside was really good, the thing I need to talk to him is he could have kneeled the ball on about the one and then we could have ran more time out and then scored. But, that was a heck of a play. Nelson is doing very well, I'm really proud of Nelson. When P-Rich is getting all of the notoriety, those (other) receivers out there all keep pushing, and all keep working, they don't care. They know once they start doing that, they're going to be open. [QB] Sefo [Liufau] does a great job reading coverages and getting the ball to the right guys, and he's very accurate."
On Having Fun Seeing Players Have Fun
"I had a ton of fun watching my players, my staff, the trainers, the equipment managers, the strength coaches, all of those people were enjoying. The video guys that film every Saturday and have to stand up in the towers in the rain . . . It's just fun to see all of their faces smiling. I haven't gotten to all of them yet, but I will try to get to all of them and thank them; it's just exciting because they put in tireless hours and it means a tremendous amount to them, so everybody – the janitors are running around shaking my hand – I mean everybody. So, it's a good deal, it's just really important to us."
On RB Christian Powell's EffortÂ
"He's a warrior. He's going to come and give you everything he's got. I think early on in the year, his thigh bruise was bothering him a little more than he led on to us. I think it's not bothering him anymore, so I need to make sure I get him those big thigh pads all the time, and not let him get out of them. Boy, he runs hard. I thought he got the tempo going early in the game. Tony [Jones], Michael [Adkins], and Christian are a pretty good tag team right now, and we're kind of using them where their strengths are. And then we had a couple of mix-ups today, because people are starting to hone in on us, so we did some things different so they couldn't just hone in on us. So, I thought that was good, and I'm very proud of Christian."
California Head Coach Sonny Dykes              Â
On Cal's Running Game
"They had six in the box all night, it was going to tough to run it. We knew coming in that's what they were going to do, play a lot of quarters and man free, cheat the linebacker to the field and roll the safety down. Later in the game we were able to run because they played five in the box, got the safety back out and we didn't have any run fits."
On QB Jared Goff
"He had a hard time; the ball was sailing on him. We felt like we had guys open all night they didn't do anything different than they did all year. We knew what to expect from the game plan, we just didn't execute."
General
"It's frustrating. Didn't play well on offense, didn't play well on defense, special teams gave up two big plays, an onside kick return for a touchdown and then hit on a squib kick. So it was a bad performance across the board really, obviously we didn't have our guys ready to play so that falls on me."
On Colorado's Big Plays
"You look at the big plays they made; we missed a lot of tackles. A lot of critical third down tackles where we had people in position to make them and we missed them."
On Cal's Program Â
"We have to change a lot of things about our program but we think we know what we need to do, and the changes we need to make. We're going to get a lot of good players back healthy which will certainly make a difference for us and our young guys are going to grow up a year, we're going to have a good football team next year."
On RB Brendan Bigelow
"He did some good things, broke some long runs. I felt like he and Khalfani (Muhammad) both had some opportunities in the open field where they got tackled one-on-one, we have to get better in those situations."
On What He Told QB Zach Kline
"We just told him 'go play.' We hoped he'd give us a spark, we weren't executing very well so we hoped he'd give us a spark and give us a chance to move the ball and he didn't so we decided to go back to Jared (Goff)."
On Having QB Jared Goff Punt
"That was something we wanted to do when we were at the 40 yard line plus. We had an issue with our punt team last week, and we also wanted to try to down the ball inside the 20."
On What Coach Mac Said To Him Postgame
"Oh nothing, we're good friends, we've got a lot of respect for each other, we've competed against each other four times and we like each other so he just said 'hang in there.'"
Colorado Players
WR Paul Richardson
ON SETTING SEASON RECEIVING YARDAGE RECORD – "I think that it is good for the university. I've said it before; they bring guys in each year hoping that they can do better than the guys in the past. We have to rewrite history in order to get this program back to being successful."
ON HIS ANKLE INJURY – "It's sore."
ON THE FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON – I feel like we won today. So I am excited. We can't really alter what we have done in the past, but we can do better in the future. This game was a part of that future. We came in and got that 'W'. I hope that we continue to do that."
ON QB Sefo Liufau'S PERFORMANCE - "He showed what he is capable of. He is growing up out there. Each and every week he is getting better. The mind game was successful today, the running backs helped us. Running the ball well helps the pass game and Sefo delivered the ball very well."Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ON WR Nelson Spruce - "It just showed what he is capable of. Each and every week he is making guys miss and he did that today. I was happy for him. I was even more excited when he took that return for a touchdown. I know it does a lot for his confidence. I am happy all around with our offensive game."
ON QUESTIONING BOWL ELIGIBILITY -Â "No. We started off the season strong. We did that today again. Our defense played so well. When they give us opportunities on offense, we have to execute. It comes down to us executing. Sefo is growing up. He gives us hope. With our line blocking well and us making plays on the outside, I remain optimistic."
ON THE OPPORTUNITY WINNING HAS GIVEN – "It feels great to be able to have that opportunity. We need to finish off this season with a win-streak with these upcoming games. We want that momentum to carry us on throughout the rest of this season. Like Sefo said, it's business out there right now. It was a big win. We are excited and will celebrate, but we have to start preparing for USC."   Â
ON POSSIBILITY FOR A SNOW GAME – "I'm not hoping for a snow game. I don't think any of us are. We have practiced in the snow. We practice in different weather conditions and we will be ready even with the snow."
ON THE ADVANTAGE OVER USC IN THE SNOW - "I don't think any of them have played in the snow before. The conditions could give us the advantage, but our preparation will give us that advantage as well."
QB Sefo Liufau
ON THROWING IN THE WIND - "At times it was hard, but you can't make an excuse for that. I thought overall, I did a pretty good job throwing the ball today. That's all credit to the receivers, the running backs and offensive line."
ON GETTING INTO A RHYTHM - "I thought I got in to a really good rhythm. I felt like the offense overall was just clicking. Obviously, there was one or two times where our drives sputtered out, but I think overall the offense tonight was really good."Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ON CAL'S DEFENSIVE LOOK - "They gave us a lot of different looks. All week we knew what they could possibly give us and we had answers built in for whatever colors they gave us each play. I just took what they gave me."
ON THE LOCKER ROOM ATMOSPHERE - "Obviously everyone is really happy. We are all really excited that we finally got a win in the Pac-12. We are all hungry. We are getting ready already for USC. Our mindset is to go out and get another win."Â Â Â Â Â Â
ON THE FUTURE OF THE OFFENSE -Â "I don't think we are actually thinking about the future right now. We are focused on the team that is at hand and the season we still have left to go. Obviously, we still have high hopes in terms of making a bowl game. It's very possible. If go in to tomorrow and put in hard work, we will ready for USC."
ON THE BUSINESS-LIKE ATTITUDES -Â "We are happy about the win, but we are getting focused on USC already. The guys are going to go out and enjoy this game tonight and the victory. Obviously, we have two more games and we want to go to a bowl game. It's kind of business-like for us."
ON THE CHALLENGES OF THE PAC-12 - "Being consistent and taking what the defense gives me. I have had some ups and downs this season. A lot of the time when they team goes down, it's on my shoulders. It's something that I do. I think that being consistent is something that I have struggled with, but I have progressively gotten better at it each week."
DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe
ON SLOWING DOWN CAL'S OFFENSE – "They are explosive. There is a reason that they are the eighth in passing in the country. They have a great quarterback and a lot of good receivers. I think that the main thing that helped us was slowing down their run game. We knew they were going to come out here and try to initiate their run game and I think we slowed that down in the beginning."
WR Nelson Spruce
ON PERFORMING WELL – "All week we've been told by the coaches it was going to be a big game for us through the air. The wind kind of factored in, but we were able to have a quick game going and make some plays after the catch. It was a fun game for us receivers."
ON HIS 62 YARD RECEPTION – "Sefo did a good job with putting it on me and we were getting a lot of one-on-one coverage from the outside so if we could make one guy miss, we would have a long way to run. I wish I could have made it to the end zone, though."
ON HIS BIG PERFORMANCE – "I think when anyone has a big game like that, it is a culmination of everyone doing their jobs, so it was just a good thing to see our offense working efficiently."
ON THE ONSIDE KICK RETURN – "I was extremely surprised. I caught it, and normally you would fall on it, but I kind of froze up and then I saw the sideline and just took off. It was really fun for me; it was something I was not expecting."
ON THE GAME AS A WHOLE – "It was a lot of fun out there today. With the wind and having all of the heaters on the sidelines, it was kind of a different game. We were able to get that win to stay bowl eligible. We talked about how we were going to win these last three games and this was a great win for us."
ON BREAKING CU'S PAC-12 LOSING STREAK – "I think it is [a big deal to break the streak]. Getting a win is the priority, but I think it is good to snap that streak as well."
RB Christian Powell
ON THE RUNNING GAME – "We knew it was something we had to get going today with the wind being a factor. I feel like everybody took that in and responded to it."
ON THE BIG RUNS EARLY IN THE GAME – "It always key to get big runs. Coach [MacIntyre] called on the offensive line. He talked about how surge was the word of the week and he told them that this game would all be on them and they responded well. I feel like that is them, just making holes for me, giving time for the quarterback, and we came out with the win."
ON GETTING THE MAJORITY OF THE CARRIES TODAY– "It is always fun. Going in, we always expect we are going to rotate a lot with our depth at [running] back. Coach talks every week about how our roles are going to change and we know that. Everybody just tries to make the most out of each of our opportunities."
ON HIS TOUCHDOWN – "It always feels good to get in the end zone and it would not have happened if the line hadn't opened up that gigantic hole for me. I basically walked in, so all the credit goes to them. I just took what they gave me."
ON GETTING A PAC-12 VICTORY – "It was great for this program. The first conference win is huge for us. You can feel it in the locker room, that everybody loves it. There is still hope for making a bowl game if we win these next two games. This was a huge win for us."
RB Michael Adkins
ON THE RUNNING GAME – "The running game went well. The O-line picked up some blocks. It was a key focus going into this week; the theme was to have our O-line surge and they did that today."
ON HIS RECEIVING TOUCHDOWN – "That was all determination. Sefo [Liufau] put it on me, the line blocked, and I just had to make a few guys miss."
ON THE OFFENSIVE SUCCESS – "It was great having a successful offense. Hopefully we can propel us forward and we can pick up two more wins in these last two games that we have."
ON NEEDING TONIGHT'S WIN – "I think it was a great performance. We haven't won a game in the Pac-12 this year, so I feel like it was a good win for us."
S Parker Orms
ON NOT PLAYING IN TODAY'S GAME – "It was disappointing, but to get a win is great. That is all that I am thinking about right now. I am happy for the guys out there, they played really well."
ON HIS NECK INJURY – "It just wasn't feeling right. The coaches didn't think I could protect myself out there and that is the most important thing. Hopefully I can get that strength back for next week. I think I am going to be out there no matter what."
ON TODAY'S VICTORY – "Winning feels a lot better than losing. The more we can get some of those, the better the program is going to be. This game was huge for us and it gives us a chance to go win the next two and go to a bowl game."
ON A HOME WIN IN NOVEMBER – "It is good to get a Pac-12 win and to get some respect. In November it matters, so the win is a big thing right now and we are looking forward to next week."
DB Greg Henderson
ON CU'S DEFENSE TODAY – "It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of three-and-outs, as well as four-and-outs. We played hard and fast. We let up a little bit at the end, but I still feel like we did a good job tonight. It has been awhile since the defense played this well and it is good to have that feeling after winning. We are going to cherish the moment, and then go back to work tomorrow."
ON SHUTTING DOWN CALIFORNIA'S OFFENSE – "We wanted to tip passes from him [Jared Goff] and harass him. The coaches came up with a good game plan. We played it to the T. We did a good job and came out with a victory."
ON THEIR BEST DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE YET – "We played really well tonight. We didn't let any deep passes get past us. We were covering them like a blanket."
ON THE WIN – "It is really big for us, especially because it is our first Pac-12 win this year. We have momentum going into next week. It is another home game, we just have to play hard, play fast, and believe."
California Players
QB Jared Goff
ON COMING TOGETHER AS A TEAM – "We knew coming into the game that it was something we needed to do in order to succeed. We didn't do a very good job of that, and that really falls on me. It wasn't only me, but that's no excuse. We just couldn't connect on the field."
ON THE LOW SCORING NUMBERS – "We never want to score [only] 10 points in the first three quarters of the game, but it happens. It's something we need to work on. We need to work on a lot of things. [The problem] is not just from one side of the ball; it's a collection of things that needs to get better."
ON RECOVERING FROM THIS LOSS – "We are going to go into the next game with a 'nothing-to-lose' mentality."
ON BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE GAME – "I wasn't hurt at all. That was [my coaching staff's] decision, and I came back in after."
ON THE REASONING FOR SWITCHING QB'S – "It was probably because I wasn't completing very many passes."
ON HOW TOUGH THIS LOSS IS – "It was disappointing. This whole season has been filled with a bunch of games that we could have won. It's something that we will need to change, and we know that. It's not one person or one side of the ball or one collective group of people – it's the whole team. We need to change our mentality about stuff. The way we practice. We need to change a lot of things to be successful next year."
ON THE WINDY WEATHER – "It played a little bit of a role, but [Colorado] was playing in it, too. It really shouldn't affect us as much as it probably did. It probably pushed my ball out of bounds a couple of times, but at the same time, I need to keep that ball in-bounds."
ON BIGELOW'S RUNNING GAME – "It was encouraging to see. He has had a little bit of a down year, so for him to come out with that player's mentality at the end was good to see."
LBÂ Jalen Jefferson
ON THE PASSING GAME DIFFICULTIES – "It was definitely a struggle. We were in the right position, we just couldn't tackle. There were short intermediate passes [by Colorado], and every time we ran to the ball, we couldn't take them down. That was when they started busting us with the long runs."
ON TACKLING TROUBLES – "I'm not sure [why it hasn't been fixed yet]. I think that we just think too much out there and focus too much on the plays instead of just worrying about tackling. I think that's what it is. I think we are thinking too much and not playing to our potential."
ON PRE-GAME EXPECTATIONS – "It hurts really badly [to lose], especially with the final score. We worked really hard this week. During the first half, we had them contained, but in the second half, [Colorado] just wanted it more than we did."
ON WHAT CAUSED THE LOSS – "Effort. There were guys out there who weren't giving their full effort, and it definitely showed."
ON MAKING WHOLE-PROGRAM CHANGES – "That definitely has to be one of our main things next year. We have to get leaders to step up. That includes me; I'm a silent leader out there, and I need to be more vocal. That's going to be one of the things that we emphasize next season."
ON COACH'S POST-GAME COMMENTS – "He said, 'Sorry about the loss.' I told him, 'You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all on us. We are out there playing, you're just coaching, and we have to get the job done out there.'"
QB Zach Kline
ON THOUGHTS UPON ENTERING THE GAME – "I came in seeing if we could win the game, and that's the back-up's job. We fought hard, and we gave it our best. Coach just wanted to try something new after a couple of my series. I do what the coach says; I go in and do my best. I wish I could have stayed in there longer, but [Jefferson] fought hard. The whole team fought hard. We have to try to make a dollar out of a nickel sometimes and fight hard."
ON THE PASS TO RODGERS– "I just thought, 'Throw it as hard as you can.' He never drops the ball, so I just trusted him. Especially with the wind, you have to go to your guys who are going to come down with the ball. I saw him on the move, so I just decided to toss it up to him."
ON THROWING IN THE WIND– "We had to throw the ball a lot harder than we thought, because you have to cut through [the wind]. It was pretty cold, but the weather in Oregon was colder and wetter. When comparing this weather to Oregon's, Oregon's was definitely worse. I have a history of coming into some bad weather and trying to win."
ON BEING REMOVED FROM THE GAME – "Obviously, as a guy who wants to be starter – which is every back-up's goal – being pulled out of the game is pretty disappointing. You just have to trust what the coach is doing even if you might disagree. I was disappointed, but I trust Coach Dykes, and I trust Coach Franklin, so I wasn't going to let any frustration be shown to my teammates. That is a time when you have to pull together as a team and fight to win."
ON LOSING TO COLORADO – "It was really tough. We go into every game thinking, 'We are going to beat these guys.' We prepare all week long, and every week is just one of those times when you have to change that record. Especially with Colorado, we wanted this win, especially before Stanford. We wanted to get some confidence going into the big game. I think this also puts some logs onto the fire going into that big game, because now it's just even more [of an incentive] to finish the season on a high note."
RB Brendan Bigelow
ON HIS PERFORMANCE – "Having patience, just reading my blocks. I couldn't have done it without my line, they really pushed forward helping me. I owe it to those guys."
ON CONTRIBUTING TO THE TEAM, LOOKING TO FUTURE – "It's great, you know I've struggled during the season. I've been constant in every week just trying to get better at the things we can get better at. It's great that I'm finally able to click and contribute to the team and help us win the game."